The Wastelander

by Tipsy Wanderer

  Roste pulled his cane out of the ground and led what remained of his transformed bodyguards away from the slaughter. Almost as an afterthought, he ordered someone to come and clean up the mess of blood and bone left in his wake.

  When Cloudhawk came to, he found himself lying in a lab with hands and feet bound to a table. A strap kept his neck fixed to the table, so he could barely turn his head. His cloak, mask, staff, the Gospel of Sands, and even his bear armor were gone.

  Things were very, very bad. They’d captured him alive.

  He lay flat on the operating table clad in only thin clothing. Once he got his bearings, he began to hear whispering all around. People were coming and going, a fact that made him both anxious and angry. He began to struggle.

  “He’s awake!”

  “Give him another dose of tranquilizers!”

  “No need.” This was a curt and familiar voice. Chimp walked into Cloudhawk’s line of sight and looked coldly down at him. “We must gauge his reaction as we administer the serum. Keep him awake.”

  The gathered scientists nodded.

  Cloudhawk had the distinct sensation that he was a sheep in a slaughterhouse. “What are you gonna do? Let me go!”

  Chimp’s laughter was mocking and sinister. “We wanted to keep you in the dark. We’d have less to worry about, and it would have saved you some suffering. Things being what they are now, however, we have no other choice.”

  One of his assistants arrived carrying a flask full of strange green liquid. Something that looked like red plant matter floated within it.

  “This is an herb from the Elysian lands, Antirrhinum ignis. It is phenomenally expensive, so none of us are able to enjoy its particular functions. I hope you appreciate that.”

  Struggle as he did, Cloudhawk couldn’t fight them off. The scientists forced his mouth open and shoved a tube down his throat and into his stomach. The strange concoction was poured in.

  What awful way of taking medicine was this? It was like gulping down a powerful acid!

  Immediately, Cloudhawk felt as though every organ in his body was on fire. The burning quickly spread until he could feel every blood vessel searing, every muscle aching. He couldn’t bite back his agonizing screams.

  “You bastard! You better kill me, or I’m gonna fuckin’ tear you apart!”

  “Tsk tsk. You still have the energy to threaten me?” The lab director went on enigmatically, “You shouldn’t waste it struggling pointlessly. You can’t escape. You know, this medicine is a precious component, smuggled out of the Elysian lands at great expense. It will greatly improve your physique. No typical wastelander would ever be able to enjoy its benefits.”

  If Cloudhawk’s eyes could spit fire, this wretched pervert would have burnt to ash. If he’d known this would be his fate, he would have killed Chimp when he had the chance!

  Chimp checked the time. Cloudhawk had suffered for hours now and still wasn’t exhausted. This strange brew simultaneously increased his strength and reduced his stamina. For Cloudhawk, this was a painful combination that extended his torment considerably.

  “That’s enough.”

  When they felt he’d absorbed enough of the concoction, the doctors produced a series of syringes. They were sharply jabbed into his veins and their contents were pushed inside. The young wastelander didn’t know what they were giving him now, but before long he felt muddled and dizzy. His whole body was weak.

  Two transformed soldiers walked in and removed his constraints.

  Cloudhawk regained freedom of motion but could do nothing with it. He felt like his bones had been pulled out or that he was trying to swim through mud. His captors dropped him in a prison, locked behind iron bars.

  Scientists entered and left with bottles of colorful liquid that they hanged on the walls. Their contents were dripped through a series of transfusion tubes that joined into a single tube inserted in Cloudhawk’s neck. Every drop of this hateful serum that entered his veins felt like a fire raging throughout his body.

  “That’s enough for today. We’ll pick it up again tomorrow.”

  They closed the door and shut him in behind three sturdy locks.

  Cloudhawk lay in his cell, unable to summon an ounce of strength. He tried to just lift his hands, but they wouldn’t obey his will. He didn’t know what that bastard Chimp had given him, but not only did it burn like a motherfucker, it also felt like thousands of ants gnawing his bones and crawling under his skin.

  He could feel that, somehow, this process was strengthening his bones, though the pain was more than a normal man could endure. Cloudhawk managed to drag himself to the door of his cage and peered out, seeing four guards who stood as silent sentries. They were as still as statues and stared at everything with stoic indifference.

  They weren’t taking any chances with him, even though he was behind thick iron bars. Were these damn guards really necessary?

  They’d taken all of his equipment, but even if they’d left it with him, he couldn’t bust out of this prison, much less escape from his four steely-eyed guards.

  Furious, he screamed in vain several times, raging at his helplessness. He didn’t even have the strength to bash his head against the wall to try to kill himself.

  On the second day, scientists brought him back into the labs where he was pumped full of all manner of drugs. One such substance was something they called Elysian balm. Wherever they smeared it, his body drank it up. What followed was the agonizing sensation of his pores being torn open. He passed out when he began sweating blood.

  Before he lost consciousness, Chimp explained that this famed medicine came from the cities of the Elysians. They called it transfusion balm.

  It was said transfusion balm was part of the foundational training of a demon hunter. Although the process ruptured countless capillaries and caused serious hemorrhage, it also cleared out any toxins or impurities within the body. The recipient’s bones and muscles were highly strengthened by it.

  On day three, they put him in a pool filled with a frigid, milky-white substance. The moment it touched him, it froze, and within the space of a few minutes, Cloudhawk found himself sealed in a block of pale, white ice with only his face exposed to the air.

  The cold that seeped down to the depths of his body was another special kind of torture.

  Day four… day five… day six… every day, the evil scientists employed some new hell with which to torment Cloudhawk. These days were the most painful and frightening days of his whole life. A living nightmare.

  At the end of the sixth day, he was thrown back in his cage. He was left in the dark where it was moist and silent. Four guards had since become eight, and now, they kept him shackled hand and foot.

  He sat up and took stock of everything. Over the last few days, he could have sworn that he’d grown a few inches at least. He ran his hand over his abdomen, and the muscles felt firm and well-defined. No longer the waif he was before, his clothes seemed several sizes too small all of a sudden.

  The benefits of these medicines were evident.

  The Academician didn’t officially begin the power transfusion right way. When Cloudhawk arrived, he was too weak. He was Roste’s most important subject, and so he had to be strengthened before the real process could begin. That was the goal behind this week of torture.

  More than his physical abilities, Cloudhawk’s sense of sight and smell had also improved in addition to his strength and constitution. Under any other circumstances, he would be thrilled, but as it was, he felt more like they were fattening up a pig for slaughter.

  Was that evil old fuck going to have his way? Damn it!

  He strained against his shackles, making them creak. Bulging muscles caused his clothes to burst a few seams. They’d taken everything from him, everything except the stone that hung around his neck. His captors were a cruel bunch. They hadn’t even given him a change of clothes this entire week, so the rock didn’t even catch their eye.

  Cloudhawk slipped the rock over
his head and held it in his hand.

  He was out of options. His only hope was this unreliable stone.

  Transport me out of here! I beg you. Get me out of this place!

  Since he found the stone, it had only awakened twice and only passively as a reaction to circumstance. Cloudhawk knew that Roste was cunning and cautious and would leave him no chance to escape. He was nothing more than a lab rat caught in the madman’s clutches with no recourse but to face his suffering day in and day out.

  If he hoped to survive, it would be through this unassuming stone clutched tightly in his hand. If he could learn to use its power of teleportation, he could escape from this fucking place!

  119 Excitation

  Academician Roste lit a candle, its frail light spreading out through the dark room. He removed the finger bone necklace from his neck and carefully rubbed each one. Clearly, this odd choice in jewelry and the dozen or so bones that comprised it were special to him.

  Raped by bandits… wife slain… brother eaten alive by mutants… a son starved to death and a daughter killed by illness…. his teacher taken by old age.

  From ignorant youth to haggard old man, Roste had lived a harsh life that no one could know. Everyone who was important to him had died, and each time, he took a single finger bone to remember them. Eventually, he gathered enough to make his necklace, which he wore every day. Those he’d loved and lost were always with him, their tales a part of his own.

  Why were humans made to be so frail? So weak?

  The slightest injury or illness could take them. Disaster both natural and man-made could snuff their lives out in a blink.

  As he ruminated on these bitter thoughts, Roste stroked the bones one by one. He did not know whether it was his hazy vision or a trick of the candlelight, but he could almost see the smiling faces of those he’d lost behind the veil separating life and death. It’d been years, but every detail stood out vividly in his mind’s eye as though they were right in front of him.

  Happiness, sadness, sweetness, despair, pain, confusion, hesitation… these complicated and intense emotions lived within the mementos. They traveled with Roste through every day of his struggles.

  I will succeed! I will create the mightiest creature in the world, one that does not grow old, get sick, or die. My creation will be invincible!

  It doesn’t matter if no one understands. I don’t need anyone to understand because the road to greatness is a lonely one. One day, they’ll know. My work is for the good of humanity. My research will reverse our sorry destiny and save this broken world! I will wipe away history and create a new future!

  Roste did not fear death for there was nothing left in this world that he cared about. He would sacrifice anything and anyone in pursuit of his dream. Answering to no one, he alone would transform the future of the planet and create something new!

  He had already learned all the secrets of the wastelands. It was time to turn his attention to the Elysian lands. Once these two disparate realities were combined, a new golden age would arise.

  “Do you see? My work is almost complete! I ask that you be with me.”

  He doubled over, coughing into a clenched fist. The deep crevices carved through his face grew deeper as he winced against the strain. When he could breathe again, he slipped the bones back around his neck. Footsteps were approaching from behind, and from the sounds, he could tell the disposition of whoever they belonged to. This gait was rapid and unrestrained, meaning it was someone familiar with him. Someone with good news.

  Chimp appeared with a smile on his face. “That kid’s tolerance is much better than we expected. He’s already gone through one round of drugs, and the process is advancing rapidly. He’s strong. We can likely begin the next phase.”

  Roste had been prepared for this eventuality for quite some time. He produced a box and handed it to Chimp. “Go.”

  The director reverently took the box and held it tightly in his hands. Suddenly, he had a thought. “Academician, what are we going to do with Hellflower and Hyena?”

  Roste knew the desires that lived within Chimp’s black heart. “We wipe their minds. I leave you to deal with that.”

  A twisted grin split Chimp’s face. One of the labs was already prepared for just that purpose. Once the drugs broke their wills, the two of them would be as compliant as the rest of their mutated soldiers. Hyena mattered little to him, but he’d coveted Hellflower’s supple flesh for a long time. Before long, she would serve him in whatever way he wished. Just thinking about it made him salivate.

  “But, our work is first and foremost. Do not ruin everything we’ve strived towards.”

  “Don’t worry, Academician. I will personally supervise Cloudhawk’s process. I swear there will not be any problems.”

  Academician Roste’s frail body shuffled away.

  Chimp bowed to his boss’s retreating form. His respect and loyalty were absolute. He was different from Hyena and Hellflower who had joined the cause later. He was one of the first to follow Roste. Although he was a lascivious and timid man, he believed in the Academician with every fiber of his being.

  It was more than just that Roste was his teacher. After so many years, he knew that the old man’s heart was true. He wasn’t evil or ambitious for ambition’s sake. Chimp fully believed in their mission to transform the wastelands and humanity’s destiny.

  There were many in this base, even around the Academician himself, who had no choice but to serve the scholar’s will. However, Chimp was certain in his belief that one day, Roste would be hailed as a savior. His name would be forever remembered in the beautiful future they envisaged.

  And that bitch Hellflower… she actually dared to try and steal the great man’s research? Laughable!

  Academician Roste’s accomplishments were the result of decades of careful study. He was the only one in the entire world capable of completing this research. Trying to pilfer his important work for selfish gain was an unforgivable sin!

  Hmph, she’ll have to wait. Right now, the Academician’s work is more important than anything else.

  When their work with Cloudhawk was finished, he would make that woman understand what desperation was. He would teach her the meaning of pain. Let Roste have his fun and then, when her will was broken, the traitors would be punished. At last, he could vent his hatred.

  Chimp brought several scientists with him to Cloudhawk’s cage. When they arrived, they found him crouched inside with his hands tightly held together. He was saying something, too quietly for others to hear. Perhaps, he was speaking with his god, though it was not the typical posture or style for prayer.

  He’d been kept in a confused state of mind for several days.

  “He hasn’t lost his mind, has he…?”

  Cloudhawk was desperately trying to awaken the stone, but all through the night, no matter how hard he tried or what he did, there was no reaction from it. He was so filled with rage and resentment that when he heard Chimp coming, he would have torn him apart with his teeth if he weren’t shackled down.

  “He still has his faculties? Good, that’s good.” Chimp gestured with his hands and the guards opened Cloudhawk’s cage. They forced him to the ground long enough for the scientist to inject him with a sedative, and once again, Cloudhawk was rendered helpless. “Take him,” Chimp ordered.

  Was it all beginning again? Was today another day of torment?

  The drugs made him feel like his muscles had been replaced with mud. His mind was clear, but his body wouldn’t cooperate. The first thing he noticed was that they did not bring him to the lab they used normally. This room was different, narrow, and filled with crude wastelands equipment.

  Transparent vats filled with colorful liquids lined the walls. An empty tank rested in the middle.

  “Today, we begin the first phase of transformation.”

  Chimp did not waste time with talking. At his command, two of the guards produced daggers and cut away Cloudhawk’s clothes. They forced a breathi
ng mask over his face, foisted him into the tank, and sealed the lid.

  All the while, Cloudhawk was acutely aware of everything that was happening. He was forced to watch with no way to protect himself or fight back.

  Chimp flipped a switch, and the vats surrounding them began to drain their fluid into the sealed capsule. After about ten minutes, Cloudhawk was entirely submerged.

  “Injecting the Academician’s supercells. Begin the culture stage.”

  Chimp personally opened a nearby refrigerator and retrieved a syringe from inside. Without wasting any time, he pressed the needle into a tube’s injection port and slowly pushed out its contents. Meanwhile, Cloudhawk floated in the brew, breathing with the help of the mask. It felt like he was being aggressively stabbed by a hundred thousand tiny needles. Every inch of skin, every cell, felt like it was being cut up.

  “Beginning Phase One cultivation.” Chimp ordered the eight guards to remain and look after him, adding, “Arrange for a hundred of our best men to be posted all throughout the area. Absolutely nothing can go wrong, or I’ll make sure every single one of you pays for it. Do you understand?”

  “Yes, sir!”

  Cloudhawk’s fist was still tightly clenched. Within his palm, the rock remained.

  He wasn’t going to let that stone go easily, not until his final breath. Despite repeated failures, he still tried everything he could to awaken it to no avail. There was no reaction at all.

  Then, he began to feel like things were growing dim, like something was separating him from the world outside. The pain, the itching, the hot and cold all persisted while all of his senses were cut off. Suddenly, he was in an infinitely dark hell of torment. No light, no hope, no future. Just endless anguish.

  He could feel something invading his body, a hundred million tiny pinpricks that stabbed at every piece of skin, muscle, and bone. Was this the beginning of the transformation?