Night Terrors: 17C “Moonlight Sonata”
by mjbanks
Act 3/3 |Moonlight Sonata|
The heavy metal band plays a muzak version of a heavy metal song from a millennium ago as they enter the gala. Ivalien walks determinately straight across the gala, a headache persistently toying with his focus, while trying to seem inconspicuous by walking slower and spending his conscious effort to watch for danger and keep a pollyannaish smile on his face. His state-issued acrylic windbreaker jacket closed and collar upward covers scars except the one peaking by an inch above his collar. Lara walk with more haste than he and gets to tell a friend of his that he’s sick from a food allergy, after his friend mentions that the infirmary is behind them, and her minimalizing reply. A fight breaks out near one of the bars, nothing more than a drunken scuffle over athletic fandom, but it is enough to get them across the dance floor unobstructed.
It is too perfect for escape and dutifully he spots guards ahead of him and not long thereafter, Cmdr. Ryu himself, following them. The bacchanalia, like all other beer brawls patrons allow to continue, for it is down to only two men trading blows that soon to end in one victim and one victory stopped by Ryu. In disgust, the Commander punches the prevailing fighter with a single blow that sets him unconscious, the prey of the pugilism on bended knee with bloody face takes a kick from the commander to lie broken but awake and breathing on the floor. The bandleader and secondary proctor of the event sees the dispute end as it has and jumps to the center stage and initiates his earpiece communicator that transmits to the audio entertainment broadcast system, urging the band to stop during the guitar stretching strings, and leading the entire event in a round of applause. As the people begin to clap their hands, Ivalien tries to hide among his peers, watching Ryu take the stage after the speaker lauds then announces him, his wounds show and drying blood slowly runs like primordial secretion and his face sullied black from the ash of charred molecules in the air during his hunt.
Ryu: “A prisoner has escaped. There is a traitor on this rock, who is one of us. He is wounded and in this hall.”
Ivalien coughs slightly, trying not to look around himself at the many people and soldiers, his lungs and innards scarred from the symbiote causes him to cough again, this time the patrons begin to distance themselves from him.
Ryu: “There, seize him!”
Before the Ivalien can reach for a pistol Lara’s allies open fire from the edge of the ceremony, the exit that he and she had hoped to use it taken by her friends with bloodshed and decisive action. Soon the lasers fly across the room as shooters with heat vision visors fire onto any being with a symbiote in their bodies, Lara already practically dragging Ivalien to the guarded line. Most patrons of the event are not carrying weapons, but the law allows all persons to carry pistols and all officers on duty it is a requirement, so the shooting continues even more intense. With the majority of weapons fire directed at the insurgents there are patrons firing at each other and others to the symbiotes who are unabashed in killing everything in their path regardless of station, people hiding and people fighting it is not a firefight for long.
An explosion at the main exit disrupts the gunplay shortly, allowing them to escape, those of their allies trapped within the barrier fight with the armed attendees in unison firing on the bloodthirsty symbiotes. The lesser paths and terminals around the blockage, clogged by fleeing patrons some merely visiting the planet, become new course to chase after Ivalien, from instance of shootout to now that the blast has blocked the vehicle hallway.
Ryu is furious and he hunts with the type of trepidation exuded from pure hatred, his eyes are bleeding black tears that in his rage he notices not, his lips dark his skin white. With the rifle butt to his shoulder, he grasps at the handle and barrel with his hands, so tightly that they could be bleeding if not the sweat and the debris. Departure clearance is technically revoked, security records he can erase, if Ivalien escapes his agenda is imperiled, and despite this circumstance, he still kills every person in sight, as if by vengeance desiring to destroy all humans.
His steps track through chaos and blood, his pace quickens until his is nearly running and firing, few bystanders, catching sight of Ivalien he shoots Lara in her shin, as they leave a door to the outside world a fervor spills into green self-regulating grassland meadow, short blades that come to point. Lara’s comrades usher them into a vehicle, dragging her into the car as her friends fire on Ryu, two uniformed guards on alert from nearby collect into this firefight against those Ivalien has left behind their escape, Cmdr. Ryu kills everyone not in a vehicle and takes the security bike into hungered pursuit. Three cars in Ivalien’s caravan and Ryu, leaning starkly forward on the motorbike, his aptitude much greater than that of the host human body, the rifle over the steering bar he follows in a speed dangerous to any human. He reaches the velocity in which the acceleration rate lessens, but it continues to gain as he takes aim while closing the distance, forced to weave thru traffic of suburbia during regulation sleep hours in the first straight chase he gets chance, he takes a shot and kills the driver of the third car and it crashes into a house. In the first car Ivalien and Lara’s driver calls for help.
Driver: “Serious bug problem, major fucking mayday, can’t go home, need some help.”
Radio Voice: “This is swatter base, we’re going to cast a net, but you’ll have to stay on the road you’re using.”
Shotgun: “Can we do that?”
Radio Voice: “Already in place, just like we rehearsed.”
Shouting thru the telecom for support from further allies, one of them takes a can of medical foam spray and fills the wound in her calf, it quickly it quickly begins to heal soon to be natural flesh again.
Ivalien: “Give me that shit.”
Ivalien sprays some into his hand and spreads it on the gash on his neck across his collarbone, sighing about the medication relief. Ryu still follows, after each shot his rifle powers-up for larger longer distance shots, in the second vehicle one-passenger hit then a rear tire. As the second vehicle spins Ryu shoots the car at its side, killing the driver and flipping the vehicle, as it tumbles it jumps and he drives his motorcycle under the wreck and smoke, confident and malign. When his rifle recharges for firing he shoots their trunk, the car fishtails then regains course, closer still he shoots for Ivalien blowing a hole in the roof like a knife tear in fabric, yet even closer still thru the rear window and shooting the front seat passenger who fired at Ryu in a fit of glory. Blood everywhere Ivalien takes the dead man’s rifle and fires at Ryu, hitting him in the back the bike slows because his body has received the laser blast impact, but the acceleration continues, again he shoots at Ryu and misses, black blood leaks and sprays from his back wound. Ryu takes another shot and blasts an even larger opening in the car roof, burning the driver bad in the arm that in fear puts the accelerator pedal on the floor.
Radio Voice: “Okay, you’re almost there.”
The driver begins to scream pure adrenaline, Ryu behind them sees to mechanical units on each side of the road, he aims for one of the units and places his sight to assure the sight, but the rifle insufficiently charged enough to re-fire, and short wave laser blast would not make the shot in distance or accuracy. Ryu hopes the rifles charges and accelerates as fast as he can possibly hope to make his bike travel. The mechanical units begin to show signs of glowing and initiation, faster still to travel, harder yet to aim, periled ever farther, in glory of battle too little too late. Just as the car passes the line the laser grid initiates across a subtle road outside suburbia, Ryu is at the speed to collide with their car just ahead of the laser barrier. Just before impact, he tries to push himself from the cycle and crosses his arms before his face and body, the damage and fire pours slightly onto their car as they escape. The laser defense is disengaged and its operators quickly abandon them after placing detonation charges to ruin the evidence.
The upper half of Ryu lives, halved by the laser lines, he laughs with black bile in his lungs and throat, he attempts crawling with ravaged with broken and burned hands. Two soldiers of the rebellion approach him and his humor in reluctance, he turns onto his back with his entrails trailing from his midsection, and he presses a button on a device wrapped around his wrist and rests while dying.
Ryu: “Father they escape, I have not.”
In a room elsewhere on a throne of melted sheet metal a creature from within a human abstract speaks, the symbiosis has been for long, enough that its joints protrude and skin with calcified growth as mutated armor. The knuckles and shoulders stretched with raised points, a face with fangs and dead eyes rotten and gone still gifted with sight it answers.
Chouko: “We see, we are prepared, die with dignity.”
The soldiers standing aside Ryu watch him reach for a pistol and shoot rapid fire until he is no more than offal and carrion. Ivalien looks back at what has happened, but it is too far to see clearly, the shots fired shine flashes of light with some certainty, ahead of the vehicle a medium shuttle flies to ground level and their battered car enters its cargo bay and the door closes.
Ivalien: “Why did you help me?”
Lara: “You are the chosen one.”
Chouko watches a live-feed video of the shuttle rescue, the trajectory of it from the surface is only by 1°, but the straight line it takes elevating into the atmosphere will soon depart the planet, the bony malformed creature moves to a computer screen and touches holographic controls to mark the shuttle as a target. The computer display shows vessels moving toward it and weaponry targeting it for destruction, John enters the creature’s room wearing the uniform of a soldier that is converted and insomuch loyal to the alien conquest, and scars around his collarbones that had hidden beneath the collar of his flak jacket, revealing that he is one of them, in rebellion.
Chou’ko: “We have survived detection, we have won.”
John: “We have.”
John slides the weapon strap and holds his laser rifle to his side, other guards enter the poorly lit room, in the hall, dead soldiers lay on the floor and more bodies are falling to stealth and revenged murder.
Chou’ko: “[What is happening here?]”
John: “[This is a raid.]”
John and his so-called men kill Chou’ko, when he seems to be without breath he moves to the computer and cancels the kill order, when ships call to confirm he reaffirms the order, and sets new target for the military ships in flight and the artillery stations at their current location.
John: “This is Captain Chou’ko, there is a Code 5 outbreak from a failed experiment in Research Facility 11, doors are sealed and most are evacuated, level that structure now! [Everybody out, right fucking now! Let’s go, let’s go!]”
John and his allies run to the hall and down its length to an emergency exit where one of them has already bypassed the lock, they escape on state-issued motorcycles straight over the cement and thru the grass, watching the munitions fly toward Area 11, Chou’ko sees artillery coming at him while his life enters eternal darkness.
| Moonlight Sonata | 3/3
17A “Integument"
17B “Subcutaneous”
17C “Extraction”