Atrium
There was no blood here only scattered papers and even a shoe laying on the floor, the atrium was a large round room with a rectangular planta in the centre with a round glass dome that was on the roof of the building to allow light to illuminate the room. Kara saw the information centre which would have access to the some of the outpost’s systems, she came around the counter and tapped at the holographic interface “There must be a directory to find the O-SEC sector” she swiped through the icons on the screen and brought up a map of the station and found the location of one of the security sectors, she nodded and looked to Paulson “You’re right, it’s not far” she looked to the portable holographic computer that was around her wrist but couldn’t see a connection port “Dammit I could have downloaded the map but there’s no adaptor” Kay replied “If we can find the control room then we can access the system fully from there, I’ll be able to guide you to the transmission tower and be able to help if you come across any locked doors” Kara liked the idea she gave Kay a supportive grin “Excellent” she quickly found the directions to the control room they were further into the outpost than the security sector, Kara moved around the counter “Come on, let’s go” they headed to the door that led to the rest of the outpost.
Sliding open the network of corridors and rooms that was Fort Haven was now before them, Kara moved in first with the axe held up close to her chest, the lights activated with the motion sensors as Kara walked cautiously taking the path on the right “Ok guys I think we are clear” the group moved at a similar pace behind Kara, Ahmid looked around the walls and floors there was no blood here as well “Maybe Trent was right, maybe the man in the shuttle bay was contained after the terminal” Allison who was near the rear of the group spoke “Then where is everyone? all the lights are out” Ahmid replied “They could have gone to the far side of the outpost to evacuate the area in case he got through” Kay spoke “But if they had an incident why not send out a warning beacon to notify any incoming ships” Paulson nodded “They’re right the Lafayette would have received the warning long before we arrived, there was nothing” they continued taking the right corridor passing posters about travelling with the shuttles and using proper safety equipment in flight. They turned a corner to another door, Kara opened it and the group were stunned by what they saw, there was blood not as much as the terminal but there were several patches and smears along the floor and on the walls, the walls however were also covered in writing some of it was English but there was some that looked like complete gibberish Kara peered to Ahmid “I think this answers your question” Trent stared at the walls “What the actual fuck?!” Paulson “Was this the colonists?” Kay was stood next to him “What are the words?” Allison gazed at them as well “Looks like they don’t make any sense” Ahmid stopped and looked at the markings and something clicked “Wait this all seems familiar, it’s not gibberish…this is something old, ancient even” Kara wander and stood next to Ahmid “Can you read it?” Ahmid gazed with intent at the words “No, there was a book I read once and there was something similar” a metallic bang rang out from somewhere far but it was enough to make everyone jump and turn to the direction of where it may have come from, everyone was holding their breath but there was nothing Kara sighed slightly “Come on let’s move on” she moved away from Ahmid to press on.
They moved through several corridors, all of them dark but in different states of blood and chaos and more of that unusual writing that Ahmid was becoming increasingly enamoured with muttering it under his breath as he walked. Ahead of them was a T junction and there was a flicker of lights from a corridor that was already activated Kara held out her hand for the group to stop the others from advancing, Kara whispered “All passageway lights are motion sensor right?” Trent answered his voice hushed “It’s standard issue to conserve power and strain on the generators” Kara kept looking ahead “Which means…” Trent finished the sentence “Someone must be there” Kara turned to the group “Ok stay here I’m going to check it out” the group didn’t question her as she turned away and stepped slowly to avoid making any noise. The end of the corridor drew closer and Kara leaned against the wall on the left side and slid down into a crouch, she shuffled closer until she was at the edge, she could hear the sound of the lights buzzing she was concerned that if someone was waiting then the light from their passage would draw attention to them but nothing happened.
She peered around the corner, there was someone but they weren’t alive, Kara stood up and turned the corner to get a better looked the others hushed warnings at her to come back. Walking forward Kara saw that it was a man hanging from his neck by the pipework in the ceiling, the body was swinging slightly enough to keep the lights activated, she looked to the blood which dripped from the man’s bare feet into a pool on the floor Kara turned to the wall opposite and noticed that there were lit candles and pieces of meat and other things lying at the base of the wall, in the centre was more ramblings and gibberish phrases but this time there was a picture a crudely drawn one in white paint. It looked almost skull like but once it reached were the nose was there was several tentacles going down a partial length of the wall, the grotesque image was horrible and yet almost impossible to look away from, around the painting amongst the English and alien phrases was one common occurring work Kara without thinking or reason mumbled it “Cthulhu” a child’s laughter snapped Kara to reality as she heard the noise fade away in echoes down the passage, the recognisable sound ran a shiver straight to Kara’s core causing another word gasped out “Emily?” there was now only the buzzing from the lights. Paulson eventually emerged to see if Kara was alright and found her next to the hanging body staring at nothing, he called her name “Kay? Kay are you alright?” he placed a hand on her shoulder and shook her slightly, Kay blinked and shook her head as she focused whilst Paulson asked a second time “Hey, you ok?” Kara turned to him still feeling shaken “Yeah, yeah I’m fine…thought I heard something” Paulson looked to the body “Jesus, poor bastard just like the other guy in the terminal” Kara nodded “Although looks like he’s been bled rather than gutted” she pointed to the shrine of bloodied offerings and there was several cups filled with blood, Paulson grimaced “Fuck me” his eye caught the sight of the strange image of the tentacled face on the wall “What in the hell is that?” Kara also looked at it “No idea but don’t you think this looks like whoever did it is worshipping it?” Paulson didn’t speak he focused on the image and it unnerved him like it was actually staring back at him he pointed “This…this is some freaky occult shit right here” they both kept staring until finally Paulson nudged Kara on the arm “We need to keep moving” Kara nodded “Yeah, yeah let’s get going” they moved away and regrouped with the group who were still waiting, Kara seemed a bit distant but she gestured the others to take the other passageway “Alright, this way” as they headed off to the right Kara quickly looked back to the hanging man and the homemade shrine before turning away to leave.
Outpost Security Sector One
Finally they reached the O-SEC sector and found that the access door was locked Trent cursed loudly “Fuck! How are we supposed to get in if its locked?” Kara fumbled in her jacket pocket and found her O-SEC ID card and swiped it on the door lock it beeped and the light turned green as a computerised voice spoke [ID approved access granted] Kara smiled and glanced at Trent who wondered how it was possible “All O-SEC personnel ID cards work on every lock across the outer world colonies in case of any emergency” the door slid open and Kara wandered inside.
The sector was a large size area of multiple rooms consisting of a locker room, surveillance room and an armoury as well as a break room with bunks for those working longer shifts. It was a mess and there was a blood trail leading to a corridor, Kara followed the blood with the axe at her side the corridor lead to the armoury, she opened the door and found a member of the O-SEC team. The body was slumped against one of the weapon racks sat in a large dried pool of blood, Kara crouched down to examine the body it appeared that they had suffered multiple stab wounds to the stomach and must have locked themselves in the sector and dragged themselves to the armoury to get a weapon then bled out, she put a hand on their forehead and recited the O-SEC slogan “Defendo et protego”.
Kara noticed that the officer had got one of the hand guns, she picked it up and checked the magazine then the chamber there was ten rounds which was a start, she stood up and checked out the weapon racks there wasn’t many weapons left but most likely O-SEC had to deal with whatever hell had occurred here. Paulson appeared by the door “We locked the door, any luck with findin weapons?” Kara opened one of the racks and was surprised at one of the rifles it was long and square shaped she picked it up “A bolt rifle? Fuck Aspen not willing to pay for updated equipment” Paulson walked over to her and saw the rifle “Is it going to be a problem?” Kara pulled back the bolt and checked the function of the gun “It looks ok but bolt rifles are nearly one hundred years ago, but I’m guessing single fire ordnance would be less risk in deep space” Paulson agreed “You’re O-SEC you should know that low impact rounds are standard issue to avoid risk of decompression” Kara shrugged as she loaded the rounds into the rifle “Yeah but usually its with more updated tech” Paulson gave a humoured hmph “This ain’t the outer worlds, places like this take what they get” Kara placed the rifle on table and took another one along with the remaining two handguns and began loading them “Explains why the outpost looks more like a ocean rig than a planet survey lab” Paulson sat on a stool next to the table “Have you ever been O-SEC on colonies before?” Kara stopped loading the rounds as Paulson pointed to the guns “You seem to know how to handle a weapon” Kara paused the answered “I did three tours with UAF before joining O-SEC, there I worked Serrasiss, Undakar, Leopolla along with service on multiple ships and orbital stations” Paulson was curious about Kara “That’s a lot of different places, how come you ain’t been stationed to just one?” Kara was becoming hesitant “I don’t like staying places too long, I like to keep moving” Paulson leaned forward “Then why come here? There’s nowhere to go after this” Kara just stared into space her eyes flicking through old memories, Paulson could tell that he wasn’t going to get anything else from her so he stopped asking “Well all I’ll say is I’m glad you are here, I don’t think the school teacher would have gotten us so far” Kara replied “I don’t know seem like a guy that knows how to handle himself, UNF right? So you’ll have some combat knowledge as well” Paulson laughed and patted his stomach “With this big gut? Ain’t going to be much use tackling a flight of stairs let alone a fight” Kara turned to him “You’re clearly not giving yourself credit, you were more than capable back at the dock and besides I’ll take you watching my back over the school teacher” Paulson gave a pleasant smirk “No worries O-SEC” Kara gave a nod with a hint of a smile “Here take this pilot” she heaved the second bolt rifle through the air towards Paulson who caught it. Kara wandered over “You use this type of weapon before?” Paulson shook his head “Naw just standard military side arms” Kara thought as much pilots were not normal needed to use specialised weaponry “It’s pretty standard, magazine goes in the bottom give it a good whack to go in, then the bolt handle on the side pull back till you hear a click then push it forward to load the round and it's ready to fire, like I said it’s not an automatic weapon so you will have to reload after every shot” Paulson took the bullet magazine and jammed it into the slot then he pulled back the bolt easily with a click then pushed the bolt forward back into the original position loading the rifle “Seems easy enough” Kara gave him a reassuring pat on the arm as she slung an ammo belt around her waist and picked up a rucksack and passed it to Paulson “Gather anything you can spare ammo, any medical supplies and put them in the pack, I need Kay to help go through the surveillance footage, we might be able to see what happened here” Paulson agreed and they both headed out of the armoury.
Back in the main area Kara walked in and holding the spare handguns “Does anyone know how to use one of these?” Kay and Ahmid remained silent but Trent gave a slight shrug “Um, we operate machinery like pike guns and rivet plugs, so we might be alright” Allison nodded in agreement a lot of the mining equipment they used was almost weapon like and did require a licence in order to operate them, Kara handed each of the two a gun along with spare rounds she then spoke “Alright you three help Paulson find supplies that we may need MREs, medic kits, flashlights anything, Kay I need you to come with me to the surveillance room” Kay followed after her leaving the other to their task.
The surveillance room door slid open and Kara walked in with Kay not far behind “Although my ID will open locks it the chief of security that has coded access to the computer systems, will you be able to access it?” Kay sat at the computer and began typing “Well these systems always tend to have a backdoor for maintenance…just…need…to…find it” they tapped on the blue holographic keys and windows opened with scrolling code that Kara didn’t understand but Kay was typing like it was nothing, Kara was in a bit of wonder “I’ve never been able to type that fast, takes me ages to draft an email” Kay spoke not looking away from the screen “Not computer friendly?” Kara replied “Machines and moving parts I can deal with, used to do it all the time as a kid I would help my mum on the engineering decks on the Mars colonies, this though a whole other language to me” Kay spoke “I was similar I have been around computers all my life, built my first one when I was 12, was at one of the best tech universities by 17” Kara was impressed that someone excelled so much like that at an early age “So why come all this way then?” Kay shrugged “This was my first off world job, I work for the people who funded this operation the Aspen Corporation” Kara was aware of Aspen a large multi-divisional corporation that had its nails clutched in many places across the galaxy, she wasn’t surprised that they’d want to get their hands on a whole planet all for themselves “Yeah I’ve heard of them they tried to buy the Langford Security Company who I work for a few years back but the CEO told them to stuff it, self-entitled pricks…sorry” Kay put a hand up in consent “Preaching to the choir here” Kara sat on the chair next to Kay “Then why work for them if you don’t like them” Kay turned to the security officer “Unfortunately it comes to the fickle fact that they pay really well” Kara gestured in agreement “Hell I understand that completely” Kay continued working on the computer.
After several more minutes Kay finally broke through the password lock “There we go I’ve got access” Kay moved away to allow Kara to access the computer, she found the most recent video which was the person who was dead in the armoury the video crackled to life on the holograph screen and the voice spoke out ‘This is O-SEC officer Harry Ainsley, I have no idea what the hell is going on here it’s all just erupted into chaos. Everything was fine until that sound shook the station then some of the colonists went nuts and began attacking people…I think I hear them outside, luckily I managed to lock myself in here…although one of those fuckers got my with a knife, I also managed to lock it down the control room to prevent them from accessing the station systems…I’m probably going to bleed out at some point, tell my family I love them and fuck this place’ the video switched off, Kara put her hand to her chin and leaned on the table “Let’s see if there is any footage from the cameras” she tapped at the screen and pulled up the footage of different parts of the station. Everything seemed alright as people went about the hallways and working in labs and offices, Kara fast forward the feed and then they reach the moment in the video although there was no sound on the surveillance footage. People suddenly stopped and appeared to be looking around at something peculiar, Kay spoke “That must be the sound the officer mentioned” Kara nodded “Seems to be but whatever it was the whole station could hear it” before she could say anything suddenly multiple people on the screen began attacking others, a couple of the O-SEC officers began shooting Kara couldn’t believe how quickly it all unravelled “Jesus Christ” searching through the footage she noticed one section in the madness a man in a black suit walking calmly amongst the violence, those that had turned hostile seemed to ignore him Kara was curious “Who is that man?”. Kay’s heart pounded in their chest at watching the crazed colonists “So could those people still be here?” Kara stopped the video and got to her feet “Well with that thing in the docks and what we’ve seen, I would say yes” Kay seemed worried “Fuck we’re screwed aren’t we?” Kara reassured Kay “We stick to the plan and take each corridor at a time we’ll get through this” Kay was feeling fully confident but Kara’s gave made them feel slightly calmer, Kara put a hand on Kay’s shoulder and took the handgun from her holster and held it to them “It may bring you some comfort” Kay took hold of it, it felt odd not as heavy as they thought it would be “Never used one before” Kara smiled “As long as you don’t shoot me then it will be fine” she lead to computer tech out the surveillance room to re-join with the others.
Paulson and the others had managed to find a couple of medical kits, some food rations which were put in the back pack and two flashlights, Kara and Kay appeared Trent spoke “Did you find what you were looking for?” Kara nodded “I did, it doesn’t look good” Allison spoke with a slight uneasy tone “What did you see?” Kara looked at each of them before replying “It seems that many of the station colonist have gone insane, they began attacking people for no reason” Ahmid shifted his weight back and forth “So what are we going to do?” Trent spoke with certainty “We stick with the plan right? Head for the control room” Kara nodded taking the back pack from Paulson she put the axe in the loops on the side and shuffled it over her shoulders “Right let’s get to it” she attached the flashlight to the rifle’s under rail then headed to the door.
Stepping one foot out Kara slowing emerged out of the security sector, her rifle was pointed downwards but ready to use if needed, Kay, Ahmid, Trent and Allison followed behind with Paulson taking guard at the back of the group.
Residential Block C
Wandering through corridors the group arrived at one of Fort Haven’s residential blocks multi-level areas that contain apartments for colonists and their families, there were many similar blocks to house the 3,000 people who lived here. The large door opened and the was more horror here, rooms were located around the edge of a large rectangular area with an open area in the centre showing three levels there was an opening on the left side that lead to another section of rooms, however hanging from the balcony on the upper floors was more disembowelled bodies covered in bloodied symbols cut into the flesh, Kara raised the rifle ready to fire and scanned around looking for anyone “Fuck…me” Ahmid gagged slightly at the smell of the blood as the others tried not to look so terrified, the automatic lights didn’t work here but candles had been placed all over the block bathing it in an eerie erratic orange glow.
Across the floor and walls the language and symbols were spread across almost no surface was spared the scribblings, on several of the doors written in blood was the words ‘Non Believer’ with a large X below, long streaks of blood were spread all across the floor a clear sign were bodies had been dragged away some clearly to be strung up but others seemed to be missing. Kara become tense the combat training kicking in sending her body on full alert so spoke back to the others “Take it easy and keep it quiet” Kay spoke in a whisper “So where are we going?” Kay peered over her shoulder “The way to the control room is up on the third floor, we need to pass to the far side of this block and take the elevator up”. They moved slowly but Allison’s attention was caught by the sound of music playing, she turned and saw that the door to one of the apartments was open she walked towards it, entering the apartment she saw that it was in complete disarray she heard the music coming from a bedroom on the far side. Allison pushed opened the bedroom door and it was revealed to be a room for a baby but Allison threw her hand up to cover her mouth as tears welled up. The bloodied crib was evidence that whatever happened here that children were not spared, Allison gasped “Oh my god” she jumped almost letting out a shriek as someone touched her on the shoulder, it was Trent “Hey we can’t get separated” Allison gave a tearful sob “I heard something and thought maybe someone was still alive” she looked back at the crib and the tiny body that lay in the red stained sheets, Trent took a moment to see the grim sight as well, he put a hand on Allison’s shoulder “Come on, let’s go” Allison nodded silently and followed Trent out of the room.
Kara moved ahead of the group as Trent and Allison re-joined the others, they reached the elevator in the far side of the block and pressed the call button, everyone jumped at the man who was slumped in the far right corner Paulson cursed under his breath “Shit that scared the dick out of me” Kay saw a name badge and took it to examine “There’s too much blood on it, it’s something Kravin…wonder who he was?” Paulson shrugged and moved into the elevator and crouched down “Come on Trent let’s get Mr Kravin out of there” they lifted the body and placed it laying down on a cushioned bench Allison watched them “Must have thought he would have been safe in the elevator” Trent huffed “Fool, must have thought he would be safe hiding in here” Kara interjected “Lots of people do irrational things when they are scared” she stepped inside and put an arm on the door to prevent it from sliding shut, the others stepped in.
As the elevator rose up the two flights a muffled sound began to emerge Ahmid noticed it first “Can anyone here that?” the others tried to be a quiet as possible then Kay heard it “It that someone shouting” as it got louder it turned out that Kay was right it was the sound of someone shouting, a woman in fact. Trent looked to the ceiling of the elevator like the noise was coming from the speakers “She sounds like she needs help” as it got louder the shouting swiftly transformed into screaming, frantic, terrified screaming. The door opened and Kara charged out with the rifle ready ahead was the way they need to go to the control room but she turned 180 to look back at the apartment where the screaming was coming from, she walked along and saw a room that had been broken into up ahead. Two men appeared one was wearing only work boots and dirty work pants whilst the second had similar clothes but wore a dark green jacket, they were pulling a women by the legs and dragged her out onto the walkway as she clawed at the ground, they laughter and pulled her up onto her knees and as the second one spoke “You are need to give praise the mighty one, your blood is need for his returned” Kara aimed the rifle and yelled “HEY!” the men looked up surprised and saw the group, the first man smiled “New children to spread the word of the old? Or more offering to sate his hunger?” Kara spoke with a strict tone “Let her go and step away!” the second man looked down to the woman “But of course” before Kara knew it the man pulled out a knife and slit the woman’s throat, blood spilled down her chest soaking her clothes and some spurted out with every failed breath before she slumped to the floor to bleed out “Holy shit!” Kara was shocked looking at the dying woman but she needed to return her sight on the two crazed men.
They stood there watching the newcomers the second one still holding the knife as beads of blood slowly dropped from the metal tip, Kara still had her rifle raised now she got a good look at them, just like some of the bodies they too had some of the symbols carved onto parts of their skin, without looking back she spoke to the others “Guys start making your way to the door behind” the first man responded with haste “You can’t leave, the mistress requires flesh to offer, flesh for him” Kara questioned “And who is your Mistress?” the first man held out his arms and closed his eyes “She is our blessed mother, Lady Garvel, it is through her divine words that she opened our minds to the void and what lurks inside” Kara knew she wasn’t going to be able to reason with the two colonists they had clearly lost it, as she stepped back herself the second man suddenly flew into a rage “HE SAID YOU CAN’T LEAVE!” he lunged forward raising the knife to attack but before he could reach her a shot rang and the bullet struck him in the chest and burst out the other side of his back with a wisp of blood and fibres from his clothes, Kara cocked the bolt to reload as the second man fell backwards from the slight force of the shot. The first man looked at his dead companion but only smiled and looked to Kara “You can’t kill us, when the flesh is destroyed we become one with him in the void and give our strength to him” he began stepping forward and Kara didn’t hesitate, the second shot cracked and this one shredded through the man’s neck making him spin around and face plant into the ground.
The rifle cocked again expelling the spent round, as Kara turned about she noticed down on the bottom floor, down below several figure were looking up at them most had some sort of weapon in their hands, there was a woman in the middle she wore some sort of mask covering the bottom part of her face it looked like she had tentacles like in the image they saw before, the woman pointed to them holding a radio “Brothers! Sisters! The flesh will be offered to the old one!” the figures began to advance chant the alien language, Kara cursed “Shit!” she knew that they were calling for more Kara looked to the group “Go!” they turned and rushed for the door of the residential block, hearing voices shouting and chanting as the large door slid closed behind them.
Kara lead the group moving quickly she had her rifle up “Go, go!” she checked every corner and corridor, Allison looked back from where they had come from “Who the fuck were they?!” Trent replied “No clue!” Paulson barked “Keep it down! I can hear them behind us just keep moving!” muffled shouting was coming behind them, one of the pursuers emerged and called out “The void calls to us all!” he threw a knife towards them which narrowly missed Kay, Paulson stopped and turned back and fired a shot which struck the man in the shoulder he yelled in pain but was quickly silenced when Paulson sent another round into his chest. Kay rushed around a corner and stopped in their tracks “Oh shit!” their noticed that the door ahead was sealed, it appeared to have been barricaded during some altercation during this madness, Kara joined them “Fuck, fuck, no!” Allison looked for another door “Are you serious?! Is there another way?” Paulson appeared and saw the sealed door along with the others looking like trapped rats, Kara turned to him “We can’t get through, the control room is just beyond this door” he moved towards the door “Trent you and Allison keep those crazies busy” they moved the corner taking position peering round to see if anyone is near.
Paulson banged on the metal plating that was on the wall of the right side of the door, Kay wondered what he was looking for “What the hell are you doing?” finally Paulson heard the hollow thump he was banging for he barked with eagerness “Yes!” with a strong firm heave he pulled the panel of revealing a passage through the piping and wires “Maintenance access!” Kara rushed over and handed Paulson her ID card and the back pack “Go, get Kay to the other side and get to the control room we’ll be with you soon we need to take out the rest so they don’t know where we are going” Paulson was hesitant but Kara gave him a small shove “Go, we’ll be right behind you” he nodded then pushed Kay into the access way. Kay clambered in and began shuffling through, they looked back to see Paulson squeezing in putting the rifle to his side and following after them, they kept moving as Kay glanced around “What is this?” Paulson grunted as he moved “Like I said maintenance access they have them of the Lafayette, easy way for engineers to access the stations internal services like lights and heating, they also make for good short cuts, hopefully this should come out near the control room” they shuffled further through the passage until they reached two pathways one going left, the other going straight ahead Paulson called out from behind “Go left kiddo” Kay moved towards the left and Paulson followed behind them. Kay saw the opening and climbed out carefully looking around to make sure they were clear, they turned back and helped Paulson to get out, he looked around and saw on the wall a sign pointing towards the control room “Come on this way”
Kara kept her aim as she crouched low by the edge of the corner, she couldn’t see anyone but she also couldn’t hear them, Allison stepped out to try and get a better look Trent saw her “Alison you crazy cow, get back here!” she looked but it was quiet, Ahmid peered around the corner “Maybe they left?” Allison flinched and fell as a knife struck her in the left shoulder, she yelled from the impact and hit the ground hard. Trent moved to help her “SHIT!” Kara turned to Ahmid pointing to Trent “Ahmid help him pull her back” Ahmid began stepping back shaking his head “I can’t…I can’t, I can’t” he turned and rushed to the maintenance access Kara yelled at him “AHMID YOU BASTARD!” she heard the attackers coming but need to hide the fact that Kay and Paulson had gone to the control room, she quickly ran to the hatch and put it back in place, Kara rushed to help Trent but a man appeared and struck her with hard knocking her out cold, the colonists had captured Trent and Allison and then began dragging all three of them away. Ahmid moved through the passage slightly easier than the other two, but in his frantic state when he arrived at the two pathways he continued moving straight in his mind he hoped he would find some sanctuary soon from all this madness.
Control Room
The door slid open and Paulson entered putting the key card in his pocket as the light and power activated, the room was large and circular with three rows of individual work stations at the front was several large screens, below the screens was a rectangular holoprojector which most likely would have been used to bring up 3D images to be examined or if repairs needed to be done. Kay closed the door and made sure to lock it from the inside should any of the crazed colonists should make another appearance their realised that Kara and the others hadn’t come yet “Wait where are Kara and the others?” Paulson stopped and he realised too that they should be here “She did say they were right behind us” he moved to one of the consoles putting the rifle down and typed to access the security cameras. After a few moments of typing he managed to get the feed from the corridor that they had been trapped in, but couldn’t see Kara or any of the others, Kay frowned with concern “Wait where are they?” Paulson replied “Not sure just…g’me…a second” flicking through he found them and both of them saw the group being dragged away by the colonists “Shit!” Kay replied cursing as well “Fuck no!” Paulson moved away from the security feed as Kay stood there looking stunned “They took them…they took them” Paulson stood there rubbing the back of his neck stressfully “I know” he tried to think of a plan whilst Kay was panicking “What are they going to do to them, are they going to kill them like all those people?” Paulson closed his eyes and grimaced “Give me a minute Kay” Kay continued to babble “They could be hanged, tortured, Kara let us go, she can’t…” Paulson turned and barked loudly “KAY!” Kay jumped slightly from hearing Paulson yell so deeply, Paulson lumbered over to them and put his hands on Kay’s shoulder “I am going to do everythin I can to help…I’m going to look at the security feed to see where they are bein taken so I really need you to calm down and focus, ok?” Kay took a deep breath and nodded, Paulson sighed as well but tried to be positive “Ok” he sat back at the console and searched through the camera feed and found where they were possibly going. There was a group of the colonists in an area of the station which seemed to be in front of a church or chapel they were gathered for some reason, he got up the directions on the map and looked it over until he knew the way to get there and back. Paulson got up and picked up the rifle and cocked it he looked to Kay “Lock the door behind me, open it for no one cept for me alright?” Kay nodded silently again Paulson gave a confident smirk “I’ll be fine kiddo and I’ll be back” Kay gave a slight smile “You better big guy” Paulson gave a nod and headed for the door. He unlocked it and the doors slid open, he turned back a final time “I’ll find them kiddo don’t worry” he headed of into the dim lit corridor and towards the maintenance access to go after the others before something happens to them, he would need to hurry.
She had been alone in the darkness before then she would usually open her eyes when the blood quickly spilled around the fragments of shattered glass as it was wash by the rain water, Kara lay there on the concrete of the road the rain pelting her face. Kara was floating over the road she remembered feeling happy, but in a blink she was back in the corridors of Fort Haven but she looked around and saw that tentacles were squirming along the walls, she walked down the corridor watching the long limbs writhe and coil she felt a sense of unease like somehow although only tentacles they could see her, watching her. As Kara stepped a voice spoke that same voice that whispered in her ear but this time it was loud, dark, inhuman “He is coming” Kara continued to walk now the tentacles had begun to recede disappearing into the cracks and holes in the walls hiding deep under the skin of Fort Haven but they were still there. The walls of the station cracked and then fell away leaving Kara just feet away at a large crevasse in the planet’s surface, she looked down into the black as the voice spoke again “He waited silently, dreaming but now…he is awake” a strange howling roar echoed from below trembling the very surface of the planet. Staring into the nothing Kara didn’t notice the long black fingers caress over her shoulders and gripped firmly “They are with him, in the void, just give yourself to him” Kara wanted to step of the ledge, the roads rushed by in the night soaked from the pelting rain the night was as dark as the void that lay by her feet, despite the dark the blood never looked so red and the crying a child desperate, frightened but…no one cried that night on the road, the world began to fade as Kara was being pulled from this dream and back into reality.
The House of the Old Ones
Kara felt the ground against her face as she regained consciousness, she moved to try and get up but she felt her hands had been tied behind her back, she tugged at the bindings but she couldn’t loosen them a voice spoke out “I’m afraid my dear that my children have been rather overzealous with your restraints” the voice was of a woman old but strong it called out again “Please help her up onto her knees” hands grabbed hold of Kara’s arms and she was hoisted up rough and awkwardly onto her knees. Kara looked around and saw that she was in a church of some kind, she noticed that the walls and carvings of the language that they had seen throughout the station scribbled all over, she look to her left and saw Allison and Trent kneeling close by she was glad that they were alright “Trent…Allison are you alright” Kara noticed that Allison was shaking and the wound on her shoulder was bleeding from the knife having been removed. She turned to the people who were in the church they were the colonists some still wearing their uniforms or clothes that had the Fort Haven emblem they were all dirty, many were covered in blood “You need to stop the bleeding…she will pass out if you don’t” they stood there silently just watching Kara yelled out “Someone help her!” the old voice spoke again “But we are my dear” Kara faced the front of the church and saw the old woman standing by the alter at the far end, the woman’s seemed to be wearing some sort of blind fold although even from a far distance Kara could see the red marks of blood something had happened to her, the woman was Lady Garvel. Garvel began walking slowly towards the trio despite being unable to see she moved unimpeded “It’s why we have brought you here to be part of either two paths” Kara scowled at the approaching woman “And what paths ae those?” Garvel smiled “Why the path of salvation or sacrifice” Garvel raised her arms gesturing to the images along the church walls “This has all been for them and although our congregation is small ” Kara noticed the group of people there must have been nearly a hundred, hundred and fifty she was curious “Is this is all who is left then were is everyone else? Last I heard there were 3,000 people here at Fort Haven” Garvel nodded “There were, many died in from sheer shock from the sound of his awakening taking their own lives unable to comprehend the beauty of his words, some were killed when my followers rose up to prepare for the rising it took several days to offer up the flesh to him, I believe there are a few that are hiding but we shall find them eventually” Kara wanted to know why they were doing this “Why? Why cause all this death and misery?” Garvel once again gesturing to the walls “Like I said it all been for them, but mainly one in particular” the images depicted a variety of monstrous looking creatures some were a non-formable mass of eyes, some had the form of great multi limbed beasts but Garvel pointed to one in particular one, Kara saw it. The form was that of a monstrous creature with large bat like wings and a head with multiple eyes and a mass of tentacles hanging from where the mouth should be, Kara recognised the picture it was the image she and the others had seen on the wall by the hanging man, without thinking the word slipped from her mouth “Cthulhu” Garvel turned quickly “Yes” Kara was confused and spoke “How did I know that…how did I know its name” Garvel stood in front of Kara and crouched down to be level with her “Because you’ve heard it, calling to you from the void” Kara felt her heart sink but she didn’t know why “What is it? What is the void?” Garvel gently placed her hand on Kara’s cheek “An expanse of nothingness, emptiness, but although empty it is filled by them, the Old Ones gods who ruled this world and many others across the entire cosmos” she paused for a moment as if saddened by the rest of the story but she continued become more agitated as she went on “But they were driven away by humanity’s ignorance and most were cast into the void only to fade away into a distant memory…but some found solitude in this realm to sleep and wait to be called again, to rise up and reclaim what was once theirs to rule!” she turned back to the picture of Cthulhu “This is why we are here, in his house of R’lyeh dead, Cthulhu waits dreaming” Kara remained silent and continued to listen to the woman’s ramblings “There were books, books about these great entities one in particular told of the great Cthulhu, that he lived in a city below the sea somewhere on Earth…but they were wrong, this planet here, this is the dead city, this planet…is R’lyeh” Kara responded “I have no idea what you are talking about or what is going on” Garvel faced Kara “But you have heard the call, the voice calling out from the darkness, I can sense it in your tone you have heard it” Kara replied “And what does that mean?” Garvel placed both hands on Kara’s face “It means that you are worthy of his embrace…but the other two they must pay the price, blood and flesh for his awakening” she glanced to her congregation and nodded to two of them and they without second thought marched over and picked up Allison.
Kara struggled at the restraints and began shouting “No, what are you doing? Stop!” Allison tried to thrash and scream but was too weak from the blood loss, Trent yelled in protest “Let her go you crazy fucks! Let her go!” Kara also called out “He’s right, like you said I’m one who heard the voice he has chosen me, so take me instead!” Garvel turned away and began walking down the aisle “The flesh has already been claimed let it begin!” the mass of hooded faux tentacled fanatics began chanting “gn'th'bthnk, bthnkor, gn'th'bthnk, bthnkor” over and over as they brought Allison to the alter still screaming.
Garvel approached the alter as the two men held Allison upright, she ran the tips of her fingers across her face and down the length of her torso “Don’t fear him sweet child, the void beckons and we all will dance in the ecstasy of the eternal black” Garvel held out a hand and another woman much younger handed her the large knife, she raised the blade up high in the air “The blood shall wet the ground he walks upon and satiate his thirst and the flesh will give him strength” she thrust hard at Allison’s stomach but the blade only went partially in, Garvel ignoring the woman’s agony filled screams pushed the blade in slowly then began to move the blade back and forth along her abdomen, Kara cursed loudly over the screams and chants she looked over her shoulder and saw the rifle and handguns on a table by the church entrance she tried to struggle again but couldn’t free her hands. Her heart skipped when a voice came from right behind her whispering “Hold still O-SEC” she glanced behind and saw Paulson working at her restraints, she checked the colonists all were watching as Garvel disembowelled Allison, her innards spilled out onto the floor she had stopped screaming now, Garvel held the knife and looked at the shaking woman “Now, pave the way for his return” she flicked the blade across Allison’s neck and held out her arms as blood gushed from the split in Allison’s throat.
Paulson saw the blood spilling out from the poor miner “Jesus Christ” he managed to get Kara’s hands free and passed her one of the handguns he whispered “Make each one count I’ve got your belt, we will need to run” he moved carefully and began freeing Trent as Kara silently checked the gun to see if there was a round chambered, Trent was freed quicker and the three of them stood up. Garvel stood as Allison was dropped to the ground “Oh Great Old One accept this flesh and soon you shall rise…prepare the next” the room was filled with gunfire Garvel turned as Kara, Paulson and Trent fired at the crowd of cultists, they were caught off guard as many fell to the floor dead, Kara rushed to the table and grabbed her rifle before yelling at the two men “Just run!” they turned about and rushed out the door. The remaining cultists began to give chase but Lady Garvel spoke her voice booming “NO!” she had her arms raised to gesture for them to stay put “Let them go, tend to dead they shall be given to the Great Dreamer” she turned to a cultist “Prepare a summon circle” the other woman nodded and replied “Yes Lady Garvel” if the old woman had eyes they would be beaming with anticipation of what she had planned.
Kara, Paulson and Trent rushed through the corridors until they reached one of the security doors Paulson used Kara’s key card and the thick metal door slammed down giving them a moment to catch their breath Paulson gasped “Fuck, I’m not…built for runnin” Kara placed a hand on her back “But you saved us and thanks for that” she looked up and saw that Trent was quiet she moved towards him and stopped pausing for a moment “I’m sorry about Allison” Trent spoke through gasps for air “Those fuckers…those…fuckers!” Kara spoke with a slight softness than her usual stoic attitude “Did you two work together?” Trent nodded “I was her trainer she had joined the company only two years ago back on Earth, I was coming here to show here how to work on deep space mining…”. Kara rested a hand on his shoulder but she now needed Trent to focus before the cultists show up “We are going to get out of this, but we need to focus on what to do and think about what happened later” Trent looked to Kara “But you saw what they did to her? They fucking butchered her!” Kara grabbed Trent by the shoulders “I know what they did but right now my only priority is getting off this planet alive, once we’ve done that then we can make those nutbags pay and airstrike this whole place to hell” Trent was silent but still angry Kara spoke again “Right?” Trent nodded reluctantly Kara nodded back “We may encounter more of them later so you’ll get the chance to take some of them out, now come on let’s go” the three of them headed off to make their way back to the control room.
As the elevator rose up the two flights a muffled sound began to emerge Ahmid noticed it first “Can anyone here that?” the others tried to be a quiet as possible then Kay heard it “It that someone shouting” as it got louder it turned out that Kay was right it was the sound of someone shouting, a woman in fact. Trent looked to the ceiling of the elevator like the noise was coming from the speakers “She sounds like she needs help” as it got louder the shouting swiftly transformed into screaming, frantic, terrified screaming. The door opened and Kara charged out with the rifle ready ahead was the way they need to go to the control room but she turned 180 to look back at the apartment where the screaming was coming from, she walked along and saw a room that had been broken into up ahead. Two men appeared one was wearing only work boots and dirty work pants whilst the second had similar clothes but wore a dark green jacket, they were pulling a women by the legs and dragged her out onto the walkway as she clawed at the ground, they laughter and pulled her up onto her knees and as the second one spoke “You are need to give praise the mighty one, your blood is need for his returned” Kara aimed the rifle and yelled “HEY!” the men looked up surprised and saw the group, the first man smiled “New children to spread the word of the old? Or more offering to sate his hunger?” Kara spoke with a strict tone “Let her go and step away!” the second man looked down to the woman “But of course” before Kara knew it the man pulled out a knife and slit the woman’s throat, blood spilled down her chest soaking her clothes and some spurted out with every failed breath before she slumped to the floor to bleed out “Holy shit!” Kara was shocked looking at the dying woman but she needed to return her sight on the two crazed men.
They stood there watching the newcomers the second one still holding the knife as beads of blood slowly dropped from the metal tip, Kara still had her rifle raised now she got a good look at them, just like some of the bodies they too had some of the symbols carved onto parts of their skin, without looking back she spoke to the others “Guys start making your way to the door behind” the first man responded with haste “You can’t leave, the mistress requires flesh to offer, flesh for him” Kara questioned “And who is your Mistress?” the first man held out his arms and closed his eyes “She is our blessed mother, Lady Garvel, it is through her divine words that she opened our minds to the void and what lurks inside” Kara knew she wasn’t going to be able to reason with the two colonists they had clearly lost it, as she stepped back herself the second man suddenly flew into a rage “HE SAID YOU CAN’T LEAVE!” he lunged forward raising the knife to attack but before he could reach her a shot rang and the bullet struck him in the chest and burst out the other side of his back with a wisp of blood and fibres from his clothes, Kara cocked the bolt to reload as the second man fell backwards from the slight force of the shot. The first man looked at his dead companion but only smiled and looked to Kara “You can’t kill us, when the flesh is destroyed we become one with him in the void and give our strength to him” he began stepping forward and Kara didn’t hesitate, the second shot cracked and this one shredded through the man’s neck making him spin around and face plant into the ground.
The rifle cocked again expelling the spent round, as Kara turned about she noticed down on the bottom floor, down below several figure were looking up at them most had some sort of weapon in their hands, there was a woman in the middle she wore some sort of mask covering the bottom part of her face it looked like she had tentacles like in the image they saw before, the woman pointed to them holding a radio “Brothers! Sisters! The flesh will be offered to the old one!” the figures began to advance chant the alien language, Kara cursed “Shit!” she knew that they were calling for more Kara looked to the group “Go!” they turned and rushed for the door of the residential block, hearing voices shouting and chanting as the large door slid closed behind them.
Kara lead the group moving quickly she had her rifle up “Go, go!” she checked every corner and corridor, Allison looked back from where they had come from “Who the fuck were they?!” Trent replied “No clue!” Paulson barked “Keep it down! I can hear them behind us just keep moving!” muffled shouting was coming behind them, one of the pursuers emerged and called out “The void calls to us all!” he threw a knife towards them which narrowly missed Kay, Paulson stopped and turned back and fired a shot which struck the man in the shoulder he yelled in pain but was quickly silenced when Paulson sent another round into his chest. Kay rushed around a corner and stopped in their tracks “Oh shit!” their noticed that the door ahead was sealed, it appeared to have been barricaded during some altercation during this madness, Kara joined them “Fuck, fuck, no!” Allison looked for another door “Are you serious?! Is there another way?” Paulson appeared and saw the sealed door along with the others looking like trapped rats, Kara turned to him “We can’t get through, the control room is just beyond this door” he moved towards the door “Trent you and Allison keep those crazies busy” they moved the corner taking position peering round to see if anyone is near.
Paulson banged on the metal plating that was on the wall of the right side of the door, Kay wondered what he was looking for “What the hell are you doing?” finally Paulson heard the hollow thump he was banging for he barked with eagerness “Yes!” with a strong firm heave he pulled the panel of revealing a passage through the piping and wires “Maintenance access!” Kara rushed over and handed Paulson her ID card and the back pack “Go, get Kay to the other side and get to the control room we’ll be with you soon we need to take out the rest so they don’t know where we are going” Paulson was hesitant but Kara gave him a small shove “Go, we’ll be right behind you” he nodded then pushed Kay into the access way. Kay clambered in and began shuffling through, they looked back to see Paulson squeezing in putting the rifle to his side and following after them, they kept moving as Kay glanced around “What is this?” Paulson grunted as he moved “Like I said maintenance access they have them of the Lafayette, easy way for engineers to access the stations internal services like lights and heating, they also make for good short cuts, hopefully this should come out near the control room” they shuffled further through the passage until they reached two pathways one going left, the other going straight ahead Paulson called out from behind “Go left kiddo” Kay moved towards the left and Paulson followed behind them. Kay saw the opening and climbed out carefully looking around to make sure they were clear, they turned back and helped Paulson to get out, he looked around and saw on the wall a sign pointing towards the control room “Come on this way”
Kara kept her aim as she crouched low by the edge of the corner, she couldn’t see anyone but she also couldn’t hear them, Allison stepped out to try and get a better look Trent saw her “Alison you crazy cow, get back here!” she looked but it was quiet, Ahmid peered around the corner “Maybe they left?” Allison flinched and fell as a knife struck her in the left shoulder, she yelled from the impact and hit the ground hard. Trent moved to help her “SHIT!” Kara turned to Ahmid pointing to Trent “Ahmid help him pull her back” Ahmid began stepping back shaking his head “I can’t…I can’t, I can’t” he turned and rushed to the maintenance access Kara yelled at him “AHMID YOU BASTARD!” she heard the attackers coming but need to hide the fact that Kay and Paulson had gone to the control room, she quickly ran to the hatch and put it back in place, Kara rushed to help Trent but a man appeared and struck her with hard knocking her out cold, the colonists had captured Trent and Allison and then began dragging all three of them away. Ahmid moved through the passage slightly easier than the other two, but in his frantic state when he arrived at the two pathways he continued moving straight in his mind he hoped he would find some sanctuary soon from all this madness.
Control Room
The door slid open and Paulson entered putting the key card in his pocket as the light and power activated, the room was large and circular with three rows of individual work stations at the front was several large screens, below the screens was a rectangular holoprojector which most likely would have been used to bring up 3D images to be examined or if repairs needed to be done. Kay closed the door and made sure to lock it from the inside should any of the crazed colonists should make another appearance their realised that Kara and the others hadn’t come yet “Wait where are Kara and the others?” Paulson stopped and he realised too that they should be here “She did say they were right behind us” he moved to one of the consoles putting the rifle down and typed to access the security cameras. After a few moments of typing he managed to get the feed from the corridor that they had been trapped in, but couldn’t see Kara or any of the others, Kay frowned with concern “Wait where are they?” Paulson replied “Not sure just…g’me…a second” flicking through he found them and both of them saw the group being dragged away by the colonists “Shit!” Kay replied cursing as well “Fuck no!” Paulson moved away from the security feed as Kay stood there looking stunned “They took them…they took them” Paulson stood there rubbing the back of his neck stressfully “I know” he tried to think of a plan whilst Kay was panicking “What are they going to do to them, are they going to kill them like all those people?” Paulson closed his eyes and grimaced “Give me a minute Kay” Kay continued to babble “They could be hanged, tortured, Kara let us go, she can’t…” Paulson turned and barked loudly “KAY!” Kay jumped slightly from hearing Paulson yell so deeply, Paulson lumbered over to them and put his hands on Kay’s shoulder “I am going to do everythin I can to help…I’m going to look at the security feed to see where they are bein taken so I really need you to calm down and focus, ok?” Kay took a deep breath and nodded, Paulson sighed as well but tried to be positive “Ok” he sat back at the console and searched through the camera feed and found where they were possibly going. There was a group of the colonists in an area of the station which seemed to be in front of a church or chapel they were gathered for some reason, he got up the directions on the map and looked it over until he knew the way to get there and back. Paulson got up and picked up the rifle and cocked it he looked to Kay “Lock the door behind me, open it for no one cept for me alright?” Kay nodded silently again Paulson gave a confident smirk “I’ll be fine kiddo and I’ll be back” Kay gave a slight smile “You better big guy” Paulson gave a nod and headed for the door. He unlocked it and the doors slid open, he turned back a final time “I’ll find them kiddo don’t worry” he headed of into the dim lit corridor and towards the maintenance access to go after the others before something happens to them, he would need to hurry.
She had been alone in the darkness before then she would usually open her eyes when the blood quickly spilled around the fragments of shattered glass as it was wash by the rain water, Kara lay there on the concrete of the road the rain pelting her face. Kara was floating over the road she remembered feeling happy, but in a blink she was back in the corridors of Fort Haven but she looked around and saw that tentacles were squirming along the walls, she walked down the corridor watching the long limbs writhe and coil she felt a sense of unease like somehow although only tentacles they could see her, watching her. As Kara stepped a voice spoke that same voice that whispered in her ear but this time it was loud, dark, inhuman “He is coming” Kara continued to walk now the tentacles had begun to recede disappearing into the cracks and holes in the walls hiding deep under the skin of Fort Haven but they were still there. The walls of the station cracked and then fell away leaving Kara just feet away at a large crevasse in the planet’s surface, she looked down into the black as the voice spoke again “He waited silently, dreaming but now…he is awake” a strange howling roar echoed from below trembling the very surface of the planet. Staring into the nothing Kara didn’t notice the long black fingers caress over her shoulders and gripped firmly “They are with him, in the void, just give yourself to him” Kara wanted to step of the ledge, the roads rushed by in the night soaked from the pelting rain the night was as dark as the void that lay by her feet, despite the dark the blood never looked so red and the crying a child desperate, frightened but…no one cried that night on the road, the world began to fade as Kara was being pulled from this dream and back into reality.
The House of the Old Ones
Kara felt the ground against her face as she regained consciousness, she moved to try and get up but she felt her hands had been tied behind her back, she tugged at the bindings but she couldn’t loosen them a voice spoke out “I’m afraid my dear that my children have been rather overzealous with your restraints” the voice was of a woman old but strong it called out again “Please help her up onto her knees” hands grabbed hold of Kara’s arms and she was hoisted up rough and awkwardly onto her knees. Kara looked around and saw that she was in a church of some kind, she noticed that the walls and carvings of the language that they had seen throughout the station scribbled all over, she look to her left and saw Allison and Trent kneeling close by she was glad that they were alright “Trent…Allison are you alright” Kara noticed that Allison was shaking and the wound on her shoulder was bleeding from the knife having been removed. She turned to the people who were in the church they were the colonists some still wearing their uniforms or clothes that had the Fort Haven emblem they were all dirty, many were covered in blood “You need to stop the bleeding…she will pass out if you don’t” they stood there silently just watching Kara yelled out “Someone help her!” the old voice spoke again “But we are my dear” Kara faced the front of the church and saw the old woman standing by the alter at the far end, the woman’s seemed to be wearing some sort of blind fold although even from a far distance Kara could see the red marks of blood something had happened to her, the woman was Lady Garvel. Garvel began walking slowly towards the trio despite being unable to see she moved unimpeded “It’s why we have brought you here to be part of either two paths” Kara scowled at the approaching woman “And what paths ae those?” Garvel smiled “Why the path of salvation or sacrifice” Garvel raised her arms gesturing to the images along the church walls “This has all been for them and although our congregation is small ” Kara noticed the group of people there must have been nearly a hundred, hundred and fifty she was curious “Is this is all who is left then were is everyone else? Last I heard there were 3,000 people here at Fort Haven” Garvel nodded “There were, many died in from sheer shock from the sound of his awakening taking their own lives unable to comprehend the beauty of his words, some were killed when my followers rose up to prepare for the rising it took several days to offer up the flesh to him, I believe there are a few that are hiding but we shall find them eventually” Kara wanted to know why they were doing this “Why? Why cause all this death and misery?” Garvel once again gesturing to the walls “Like I said it all been for them, but mainly one in particular” the images depicted a variety of monstrous looking creatures some were a non-formable mass of eyes, some had the form of great multi limbed beasts but Garvel pointed to one in particular one, Kara saw it. The form was that of a monstrous creature with large bat like wings and a head with multiple eyes and a mass of tentacles hanging from where the mouth should be, Kara recognised the picture it was the image she and the others had seen on the wall by the hanging man, without thinking the word slipped from her mouth “Cthulhu” Garvel turned quickly “Yes” Kara was confused and spoke “How did I know that…how did I know its name” Garvel stood in front of Kara and crouched down to be level with her “Because you’ve heard it, calling to you from the void” Kara felt her heart sink but she didn’t know why “What is it? What is the void?” Garvel gently placed her hand on Kara’s cheek “An expanse of nothingness, emptiness, but although empty it is filled by them, the Old Ones gods who ruled this world and many others across the entire cosmos” she paused for a moment as if saddened by the rest of the story but she continued become more agitated as she went on “But they were driven away by humanity’s ignorance and most were cast into the void only to fade away into a distant memory…but some found solitude in this realm to sleep and wait to be called again, to rise up and reclaim what was once theirs to rule!” she turned back to the picture of Cthulhu “This is why we are here, in his house of R’lyeh dead, Cthulhu waits dreaming” Kara remained silent and continued to listen to the woman’s ramblings “There were books, books about these great entities one in particular told of the great Cthulhu, that he lived in a city below the sea somewhere on Earth…but they were wrong, this planet here, this is the dead city, this planet…is R’lyeh” Kara responded “I have no idea what you are talking about or what is going on” Garvel faced Kara “But you have heard the call, the voice calling out from the darkness, I can sense it in your tone you have heard it” Kara replied “And what does that mean?” Garvel placed both hands on Kara’s face “It means that you are worthy of his embrace…but the other two they must pay the price, blood and flesh for his awakening” she glanced to her congregation and nodded to two of them and they without second thought marched over and picked up Allison.
Kara struggled at the restraints and began shouting “No, what are you doing? Stop!” Allison tried to thrash and scream but was too weak from the blood loss, Trent yelled in protest “Let her go you crazy fucks! Let her go!” Kara also called out “He’s right, like you said I’m one who heard the voice he has chosen me, so take me instead!” Garvel turned away and began walking down the aisle “The flesh has already been claimed let it begin!” the mass of hooded faux tentacled fanatics began chanting “gn'th'bthnk, bthnkor, gn'th'bthnk, bthnkor” over and over as they brought Allison to the alter still screaming.
Garvel approached the alter as the two men held Allison upright, she ran the tips of her fingers across her face and down the length of her torso “Don’t fear him sweet child, the void beckons and we all will dance in the ecstasy of the eternal black” Garvel held out a hand and another woman much younger handed her the large knife, she raised the blade up high in the air “The blood shall wet the ground he walks upon and satiate his thirst and the flesh will give him strength” she thrust hard at Allison’s stomach but the blade only went partially in, Garvel ignoring the woman’s agony filled screams pushed the blade in slowly then began to move the blade back and forth along her abdomen, Kara cursed loudly over the screams and chants she looked over her shoulder and saw the rifle and handguns on a table by the church entrance she tried to struggle again but couldn’t free her hands. Her heart skipped when a voice came from right behind her whispering “Hold still O-SEC” she glanced behind and saw Paulson working at her restraints, she checked the colonists all were watching as Garvel disembowelled Allison, her innards spilled out onto the floor she had stopped screaming now, Garvel held the knife and looked at the shaking woman “Now, pave the way for his return” she flicked the blade across Allison’s neck and held out her arms as blood gushed from the split in Allison’s throat.
Paulson saw the blood spilling out from the poor miner “Jesus Christ” he managed to get Kara’s hands free and passed her one of the handguns he whispered “Make each one count I’ve got your belt, we will need to run” he moved carefully and began freeing Trent as Kara silently checked the gun to see if there was a round chambered, Trent was freed quicker and the three of them stood up. Garvel stood as Allison was dropped to the ground “Oh Great Old One accept this flesh and soon you shall rise…prepare the next” the room was filled with gunfire Garvel turned as Kara, Paulson and Trent fired at the crowd of cultists, they were caught off guard as many fell to the floor dead, Kara rushed to the table and grabbed her rifle before yelling at the two men “Just run!” they turned about and rushed out the door. The remaining cultists began to give chase but Lady Garvel spoke her voice booming “NO!” she had her arms raised to gesture for them to stay put “Let them go, tend to dead they shall be given to the Great Dreamer” she turned to a cultist “Prepare a summon circle” the other woman nodded and replied “Yes Lady Garvel” if the old woman had eyes they would be beaming with anticipation of what she had planned.
Kara, Paulson and Trent rushed through the corridors until they reached one of the security doors Paulson used Kara’s key card and the thick metal door slammed down giving them a moment to catch their breath Paulson gasped “Fuck, I’m not…built for runnin” Kara placed a hand on her back “But you saved us and thanks for that” she looked up and saw that Trent was quiet she moved towards him and stopped pausing for a moment “I’m sorry about Allison” Trent spoke through gasps for air “Those fuckers…those…fuckers!” Kara spoke with a slight softness than her usual stoic attitude “Did you two work together?” Trent nodded “I was her trainer she had joined the company only two years ago back on Earth, I was coming here to show here how to work on deep space mining…”. Kara rested a hand on his shoulder but she now needed Trent to focus before the cultists show up “We are going to get out of this, but we need to focus on what to do and think about what happened later” Trent looked to Kara “But you saw what they did to her? They fucking butchered her!” Kara grabbed Trent by the shoulders “I know what they did but right now my only priority is getting off this planet alive, once we’ve done that then we can make those nutbags pay and airstrike this whole place to hell” Trent was silent but still angry Kara spoke again “Right?” Trent nodded reluctantly Kara nodded back “We may encounter more of them later so you’ll get the chance to take some of them out, now come on let’s go” the three of them headed off to make their way back to the control room.
To Be Continued...
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