I held the men together the best I could but it
had been nearly 48hrs since we were trapped.
Mostly in the dark to conserve the batteries we
had. Sparks was nearly fully recovered, he had
the wind knocked out of him but overall was no
worse for wear.
It was hard to pick up even the slightest breeze
down in this cavern. It ran at least 2 miles side
to side, front and back from our location. I can
not give a specific direction because our compass
just spins continuously. Perhaps there is a strong
natural magnetic field down here. There has been
no further markings reported to me by my scout
parties or observed by myself in this large
chamber. I have decided to leave a marker and a
note and continue with what the men are referring
to now as Right. Hopefully, it is the right way out
of this would be Tomb.
After several hours of moderate advancement we
became aware of something “seemingly” following
us or at least behind us. Sound down here is somewhat
abnormal and we could be hearing an echo of our own
movements. Something deep inside me tells me we aren’t
going to be that lucky. I can’t imagine what kind of
animal would be down here. Last thing I need is my men
to be firing at monsters in the dark.
I quickened our pace and kept the men quiet for at least
2 hours before stopping to rest. Suddenly I heard a scream
and what sounded like distorted German. “Hillf Meer” or
something like that was about all I could accurately discern.
One of my men who spoke a little German told me he thinks
someone is yelling for help. Who ever it was sounded to be,
in a bad place. We took up a defensive stance, lit up and
listened.
The German voice was getting closer and it was hard to
tell from what direction it was coming from. Then I saw
it… my first reaction was is this a trap… a Trojan Horse or
tactic… then horror set in my soul as I came to realize what
it was I was seeing. I heard a collective gasp from my men.
The German looked at us his head could barely move and
in near perfect English and sincerity his eyes locked with
mine and he said “Please, for the love of God… kill me…”
I took aim and ordered my men to open fire.
The German was half dissolved into this creature. It had a
metallic head with no eyes. Twisted metal and various war
wreckage seemed to compose the bulk of its body. It had what
seemed to be 5 oddly placed arms and I could make out what
seemed to be 2 legs. Several dead Germans were nearly fully
dissolved into this bazaar creature.
Maybe it was a German experiment gone wrong or
some demon of war whatever it was the shots were
ricocheting all around us… I ordered my men to hold
fire, slowly they complied. We got ourselves together
and moved on immediately. I couldn’t shake the image
of that thing from my mind.
We marched until 0230 and I let the men fall out. I posted
a few guards I was surprised no one mentioned the encounter
with whatever that thing was. I noticed a rash was developing
on most of us. Small sores and everyone was looking pale. We
only had a day or so of rations left and nearly all our batteries
were drained. Only the guards and men on point were to use lights
from now on.
I had this horrible dream I was floating in the dark and I saw
this sculpture or machine thing or something… like a black cube.
I woke up suddenly… they were all over us. Dozens of them… all
over the walls and my men… What kind of obscenities have the Nazi’s
created? These half men half Caterpillar creatures had swarmed us. More
then half my squad were missing. Sparks was holding a flare… I was still
partly blinded from the dark and the light maybe I was still dreaming… I
pulled my side arm and started firing. Sparks picked up his bag and it
seemed as if we were the only two left.
He looked at me and I nodded, a silent order had been given. A
consensus of men had been reached with out a word being spoken. I
held the flare in my left and fired with the right. Sparks hands worked
like the hands of a great master painter. Within a few seconds he was
done, we weren’t going done alone. He tossed the bag into the middle
of the creatures and we took off running. It was only a few seconds
before the explosion… I was thrown several feet and came down hard.
A large portion of the cavern had fallen in. It was getting hard to breath
with all the dust and debris and I guess I must have passed out.
There was a dim light shinning down on me from up above. I called
out to Sparks, he was no where to be seen. There was a horrible smell
nearby and I could swear there was something moving in the darkness.
Like large insects in a huge swarm.
The cave in from the explosion had been massive. I… was now the only
one left… I picked up my side arm and climbed up the rubble toward the
dim light. I managed to pull myself up into a small chamber that looked
like a basement or bunker. I wandered around room to room the power
fluctuating more and more as I progressed on ward and upward. I had only
one round left and I was tempted to use it. I kept thinking of my men…
all lost. The creatures I saw… that darkness. My skin was irritated to the
point of rotting and flaking off. I found iron ladders and an occasionally
staircases upward. Finally, I saw above me what looked like a sewer grate.
I piled some loose pipes together and braced them against a wall. It made
for a frail ladder but I managed to slowly inch my way up in and push open
the grate. I found myself in a dim abandoned alley.
Old closed up shops lined both sides of the street. It was
in English… I couldn’t believe my eyes… I was in England…
but it all seemed so abandoned and forgotten.
I walked a few blocks more, a hazy yellow fog was setting in
for the evening… my watch was smashed I had no way of
knowing what time it was. The fixtures in the streets were old
gaslight types. They gave off a ghoulish glow, a yellowish haze
seemed to be everywhere.
The streets were filled with a rattling noise as if a hellish morse
code from pipes and metal grates. I could make out some vague
figures in the sickly fog... snarling and menacing, like starved
rabid animals they started to advance.
I was dehydrated, hungry and barely able to walk no less fight
these people. That’s when I heard horns of some kind blowing.
I quickly turned the corner of the alley and then I saw it. It was
unmistakable.
It was the Empire State Building.
The vehicles in the streets and avenues were unfamiliar and
very advanced. I started to laugh… I must have lost my mind.
People in the streets avoided me and wore odd clothes. The
women were half naked for the most part in sexy styles with
strange hair- dos. I started to run toward the Empire State
Building. I entered the lobby and some guards came over to me.
My first instinct was to pull my gun and they pulled theirs. I
could see their mouths moving but nothing was making any
sense to me… I put the gun in my mouth, smiled and pulled
the trigger.
Something must have gone wrong. I woke up days, months
maybe years ago... in this hospital room. Unable to speak or
move. Blind in one eye and tubes connected to me. A color
television in the corner for company. Mostly set to something
called the History Channel.
*Note:
This story implies/uses one or more Kult creatures/situations TM
and besides the story set up/telling I claim no rights to these ideas
and descriptions. I just put the elements into this story/setting.
11/28/03 - LC (little fixes/changes on 11/30/03 & 12/1/01) - LC