December 18th
Cradle 04 Residential Block
5:17 PM (Mars time)
Like a wing of blackness, Cradle 04 drifted lazily through the Martian skies. Some would have compared it to a flying tomb, one bereft of life, littered only with the war dead...
But nothing could be further from the truth.
Nestled within its depths, eerie, vaguely human-sized pods adorned the walls of the former residential zone. Most, once pulsating with life, were now grey and lifeless - some, with the bones of their former occupants now exposed to the open air, or left in crumpled, misshapen heaps on the floors. Rotten, distended organs, and warped flesh ensued that even those unfortunate enough to, however briefly, regain consciousness would not need to suffer the cruel joke of their existence for long.
Life pulsed anew here, following a newer, more egalitarian path that could only be described as... alien.
The swift death which awaited the unfit was, however, nothing short of a mercy compared to the fate which awaited their more resilient peers. The spider-like veins that crisscrossed the womb-like enclosures they had been forced into pulsated vilely, as with each passing moment, a new chapter in human evolution came closer to penning its first, wretched words.
But fate works in curious - and sometimes - merciful ways.
Grrrkrkrkrk...
There was the groaning of metal, as dust suddenly fell from the ceiling across the pods. A powerful impact rippled through the walls, such that it caused the teeth to rattle in one's mouth. Then, another - closer, this time.
A disruption. Who? How? Irrelevant.
Unacceptable.
Hurriedly, chemical solutions, enzymes, proteins, hormones all of alien make, were dumped from waiting organelles into the pods. All that was needed was to place the finishing touch, the mind-control parasite, that writhing, insect-like creature that would fuse where the spine and brain met, enslaving the victim. Just a few moments-
Grrkrkr-KSHAAK!
Without warning, the ceiling collapsed as a furious detonation ripped through the cradle, accompanied by inhuman chittering and screeching as pieces of talons and claws blown free from their malicious owners were whipped out into the open Martian sky. Chunks of rebar, support beams, and concrete rained down, crushing and punching into the pods beneath, spraying the walls with blood and quasi-amniotic fluid. Emergency shutters rolled into action, cordoning off the lost areas, as klaxons screamed through the depressurized air.
In less than a minute, it was over - and pressure began to normalize again in the ruined sector. All the pods lay in states of various disrepair...
Yet one, at least, beat with faint life.
Cradle 04 Residential Block
5:17 PM (Mars time)
Like a wing of blackness, Cradle 04 drifted lazily through the Martian skies. Some would have compared it to a flying tomb, one bereft of life, littered only with the war dead...
But nothing could be further from the truth.
Nestled within its depths, eerie, vaguely human-sized pods adorned the walls of the former residential zone. Most, once pulsating with life, were now grey and lifeless - some, with the bones of their former occupants now exposed to the open air, or left in crumpled, misshapen heaps on the floors. Rotten, distended organs, and warped flesh ensued that even those unfortunate enough to, however briefly, regain consciousness would not need to suffer the cruel joke of their existence for long.
Life pulsed anew here, following a newer, more egalitarian path that could only be described as... alien.
The swift death which awaited the unfit was, however, nothing short of a mercy compared to the fate which awaited their more resilient peers. The spider-like veins that crisscrossed the womb-like enclosures they had been forced into pulsated vilely, as with each passing moment, a new chapter in human evolution came closer to penning its first, wretched words.
But fate works in curious - and sometimes - merciful ways.
Grrrkrkrkrk...
There was the groaning of metal, as dust suddenly fell from the ceiling across the pods. A powerful impact rippled through the walls, such that it caused the teeth to rattle in one's mouth. Then, another - closer, this time.
A disruption. Who? How? Irrelevant.
Unacceptable.
Hurriedly, chemical solutions, enzymes, proteins, hormones all of alien make, were dumped from waiting organelles into the pods. All that was needed was to place the finishing touch, the mind-control parasite, that writhing, insect-like creature that would fuse where the spine and brain met, enslaving the victim. Just a few moments-
Grrkrkr-KSHAAK!
Without warning, the ceiling collapsed as a furious detonation ripped through the cradle, accompanied by inhuman chittering and screeching as pieces of talons and claws blown free from their malicious owners were whipped out into the open Martian sky. Chunks of rebar, support beams, and concrete rained down, crushing and punching into the pods beneath, spraying the walls with blood and quasi-amniotic fluid. Emergency shutters rolled into action, cordoning off the lost areas, as klaxons screamed through the depressurized air.
In less than a minute, it was over - and pressure began to normalize again in the ruined sector. All the pods lay in states of various disrepair...
Yet one, at least, beat with faint life.