by Amy Cross
“No-one wants this,” Elly said. “Only Langheim ever wanted it.”
“I can help you,” Annie told the creature. “You can learn to survive.”
“It hurts!” the creature screamed, starting to gurgle as blood ran faster from its mouth. “The flesh is burning! My thoughts are trapped in here!”
“Your old body is failing,” Elly explained. “There's nothing left for this thing except pain and fear. Annie, you have to show some mercy and let it go! End its suffering!”
“I can't,” Annie sobbed.
“This isn't like the situation with Taylor!”
“If you don't end this,” the creature sneered, “I'll go from body to body until I find an escape. I'll rip this whole world apart if that's what it takes. Every second of this pain feels like an eternity, but if I must suffer, I'll make sure that everyone else suffers along with me! How many of your wretched species are there? Six, seven billion? I'll race through them all, if that's what it takes. Or I'll turn them against each other and watch as they fight.”
“You can't unleash this thing,” Elly said firmly, as tears continued to roll down Annie's face. “There's only misery ahead if you let it continue. Only nightmares and horror.”
Annie's finger squeezed against the trigger, but still she couldn't quite bring herself to fire.
“I have seen it all,” the creature said suddenly. “From here, I have looked back and seen all of human history, from the very beginning. Do you think these brains were part of you at the start? Of course they weren't. They came from somewhere else, maybe from the stars, and they became part of you. Like parasites. They took happy human flesh and made a home in there. The human flesh reacted against the brains and tried to separate them off, encasing them in bone, but the brains were able to reach out and control the body. Ever since then, the story of humanity has been the story of the conflict between the flesh and the mind.”
Annie shook her head, unable to believe what she was hearing.
“It's instinctive,” the creature continued. “It's in all of you. At first, the neanderthals and cavemen railed against what was happening. The smarter ones tried to destroy the brains, but they were no match. Over time, the brains won, and human evolution took the path that led you all to this age. You could be so happy without these over-thinking things that nest in your skulls. They're in other animals, of course, but human hosts turned out to be by far the most receptive. There's evil in the brains, and this evil is drawn toward electrical charges. Now the next evolutionary stage has arrived, and that evil is starting to leak out through clouds that exist in the air. Haven't you ever wondered why telephones and the internet seem to bring out the worst of people? It's because the dormant evil in these brains is waking up and finally finishing the job that began in pre-history. Soon, they might not even need the flesh at all.”
“This isn't real,” Annie said firmly. “I know it's not.”
“And I want no part of it,” the creature added, as a split began to tear open on its cheek, releasing a thick dribble of blood. “I thought I wanted a human body, but now I realize I can stand to play no part in this struggle. You are a cursed species, and this kind of consciousness is not for me. I prefer to go back to how I was before, to when I was floating aimlessly, to when I wasn't one cohesive whole. At the same time, I can feel the lure of the brains, offering me everything I want if I just stay and make them stronger. I don't know how much longer I can resist. But I want no part in this true and very real horror that is at the heart of the human experience. Truly, madness is the only sane response to that horror.”
“No,” Annie replied, “it's not -”
“Release me!” the creature screamed, suddenly lunging at Annie.
Flinching, Annie pulled the trigger, blasting the creature's face at close range. In a flash, the entire head exploded, spraying blood and brain matter all around.
Horrified, Annie stared at what was left of her old body. Remaining upright for a moment, the creature stood with blood gushing from Annie's own severed neck, and with the top of a cortex extender poking out from the meat. And then, finally, the body toppled backward and slammed down hard against the floor.
Annie stood in silence for a moment.
“You destroyed the brain,” Elly pointed out calmly. “Now the entity's consciousness will dissipate. It'll go back into the atmosphere, and hopefully it'll never clump together like this again. Hopefully this was a one-off.”
All Annie could do, however, was stare down at the body that had – until a few hours ago – been her own. Finally, out of the corner of her eye, she saw that the message on the monitors had changed, and she turned to see three simple words flashing up onto the screens:
NEED A FAVOR
“This started with you and Kirsten Winter,” Elly pointed out. “Whatever she wants, I think you owe it to her to help.”
Annie paused, before stepping over the headless corpse and making her way over toward the monitors, where the message was already changing again:
TRAPPED IN SYSTEM HERE
NEED WAY OUT
HAVE PLAN
“Do you want a body?” Annie asked. “I don't think I can do that. I wouldn't know where to begin.”
The message changed yet again:
SICK & TIRED OF BODIES
TOO MUCH HASSLE
BIGGER PLANS
CONNECT CONSOLE TO MAIN SYSTEM
Annie furrowed her brow.
“Plug all the cables in until something happens,” Elly suggested. “It can't be that difficult. You know you owe this to her, Annie. You and her worked as a team to defeat the entity. You promised you'd help her escape when it was over.”
“I did?”
“You know you did. Now keep your end of the bargain.”
Annie looked around, before seeing that several large cables had at some point been pulled out from a set of connectors on one of the walls. She had no idea where to begin, but at the same time she had a vague memory of making a deal with Nurse Winter.
Heading over, she reached down and began to plug the cables back into the system.
Almost immediately, a loud whirring sound began to fill the room. Annie plugged the final cable back into place, before turning and seeing that the central column was turning.
“She's re-aiming the radio telescope,” Elly explained. “I think she's switched it to broadcast as well.”
“Is she going to broadcast her own mind out of here?” Annie asked. “Why? To where?”
Turning, she saw a new message on the screens:
EVERY FUCKING WHERE
“What?” Annie asked out loud.
The message changed:
SICK OF THIS PLANET
TRANSMITTING TO NEAREST STAR SYSTEM
HOPEFULLY SOMEONE PICKS ME UP
“You're going into space?” Annie said, still struggling to understand. “But... how do you know there'll be anyone out there who'll receive your signal?”
GOTTA BE WORTH A SHOT
SEE YOU AROUND, ANNIE
LOT OF LAUGHS
YOU DID GOOD
MAD ANNIE
Annie opened her mouth to reply, but suddenly a series of beeps rang out from the monitors. She looked over toward the central column, and that was when she realized that she was too late. Nurse Kirsten Winter was broadcasting herself to the stars, hoping against hope that somewhere out there there'd be people who could pick up her signal.
“Good luck,” Annie whispered, as the beeping got louder and louder. “Wherever you end up.”
Suddenly one of the consoles exploded, showering Annie with sparks. She barely had a chance to step back before another console did the same thing, then another, and then a loud creaking sound rang out across the ceiling.
“She's over-revving everything,” Elly pointed out. “She must be going for maximum power and -”
Before she could finish, one of the other systems exploded, sending chunks of metal crashing across the room. Turning, Annie saw t
hat a fire had broken out, and a moment later part of the ceiling collapsed nearby. The beeping sound was getting louder and louder, and when Annie turned to the other computer screens she saw warning signals flashing everywhere.
“I think that's your cue to get out of here,” Elly said. “She's going to push this thing until it blows.”
Annie hesitated, watching as the fire spread.
“You're not going to burn here, Annie,” Elly continued, grabbing her by the hand. “Annie, I won't let you simply give up and burn here. You're going to get out of here.”
“I don't know where to go!”
“You can figure that out later.”
Again, Elly pulled on Annie's hand.
Again, Annie stayed frozen to the spot.
Nearby, the flames were getting stronger and stronger, filling the room with heat. Above, the radio telescope was still transmitting, but an ominous creaking sound suggested that the entire thing was about to come crashing down at any moment. Finally, as smoke began to fill the red-lit room, Annie took a couple of steps back.
“You can still get out!” Elly shouted. “Run!”
Coughing, Annie turned to run, before stumbling and almost falling.
“I told you!” Elly hissed. “Annie, watch out! I told you he was still dangerous!”
Annie opened her mouth to ask what she meant, but suddenly a metal pipe slammed into the back of her head and sent her thudding down to the floor. She began to roll over, but in that moment Katia screamed and jumped at her, landing on her chest and then hitting her with the pipe again, this time cracking the bone in Annie's left arm.
“Fight back!” Elly screamed. “Annie! You have to stop him!”
“Dumb little bitch!” Langheim shouted, still in Katia's voice as he raised the metal pipe again, preparing to bring it crashing down. “I won't let you get in my way again!”
“No!” Elly yelled. “Annie! Fight! You have to snap out of this!”
Crying out in anger, Langheim brought the metal pipe slamming down against Annie's face.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Crying out in anger, Langheim brings the metal pipe slamming down against my face. At the last moment, however, I reach up with my remaining good arm and grab his wrist, forcing him aside and shoving him to the ground.
Rolling over, I slam my knees into the girl's ribs, and I feel a cracking sensation in her body as I pin her down and then climb on top of her, straddling her between my legs. She's already trying to push me aside, but I refuse to let her escape. After everything that's happened here, Langheim can't be allowed to survive.
“You let that magnificent creature go!” Langheim spits up at me, wriggling furiously as he tries to get free. “There might still be time to get him back before he dissipates too far!”
“He wanted to go!” I say firmly. “He didn't want to be your slave!”
“He shouldn't have had any say in the matter!” Langheim replies, before adding something in German and then returning to English. “I'll find a way to get him back! That's what I do! I always find a way!”
Sneering, he stares at me for a moment.
“Did you hear that awful speech the entity gave, right before it died?” he asks, his eyes widening with astonishment. “I think he actually believed all that nonsense. The human brain is not some extra-terrestrial thing that came down from the stars and corrupted our innocent species. The human brain is the pinnacle of evolution, and I am one of the greatest examples of its brilliance. There is no instinctive horror in humanity, no primeval distrust of the brain. We should all glory in its potential, and bow down to those who understand how to turn that potential into the greatest achievements known to history. To me!”
I open my mouth to reply, but suddenly Langheim swings the pipe at me. I manage to block it just in time, and then I twist his wrist with such force that he cries out and lets the pipe slip from his hands. Before he has a chance to take it again, I grab the pipe and hold it up, and this time I know exactly what I have to do. I take a deep breath, but the air is filled now with thick black smoke and I can feel immense heat against the back of my neck. The ceiling is still creaking, and I'm certain that at any moment this entire building is going to collapse.
“I will always find a way to keep going with my work,” Langheim snarls. “Do you understand? I always have, and I always will. You dumb little bitch, you're all the same. I will always, always come back! And you -”
Before he can get another word out, I bing the metal pipe crashing down, crushing Katia's face and immediately silencing Langheim. I feel a flicker of horror at having to do something so awful, but I know the real Katia has been dead and gone for a long time, and that Langheim probably made her suffer immeasurable pain in her final moments, so I quickly recover and hit him again, then again and again, each time smashing away more of the skull until blood starts splattering against my hands.
Even then, I don't stop.
Something seizes me, some kind of fury, so I keep going until the corpse's face and skull have been mashed open, and finally the brain is exposed. Whereas Katia's face was so young and beautiful, the brain within the skull is ancient and yellowed, which makes sense since this is an old, old brain, probably more than a century old. Rudolf Langheim's brain has been moved several times from body to body, but finally I've brought him out into the open. Blood is dribbling from the brain's sides, and I can't help thinking that despite all the damage he might still be deep in there somewhere.
Still waiting.
Still plotting.
Yet for a moment, all I can do is stare in wonder at Langheim's exposed brain, at the intricate patterns that exist beneath the pools and smears of blood. How can something so small, so strange, contain the sum of a human mind? For a moment, I feel as if I have to protect this brain at all costs, to take it away and make sure that it's safe.
And then, slowly, the line between the two hemispheres starts to crack, and the brain's two sides begin to open, revealing something at the very core.
This isn't real.
This is part of my madness.
Slowly, as the two halves of Langheim's brain spread apart, four small, sharp little fangs unfurl around a kind of mouth. And that's when, at the very center of the brain, the mouth snarls and the teeth shudder.
Suddenly filled with a kind of primeval, instinctive disgust, I start smashing the metal pipe into the brain once again, carving away great ragged chunks. I don't have any particular plan, so I simply keep on striking the brain until pieces start to get smeared across the white floor, and then I keep going until there's really nothing left that even resembles a brain any longer. I strike so hard, I start scratching lines into the floor, but I don't let this stop me. In a blind fury, I crush and mash Langheim's brain until finally my arms seize up and I drop the metal pipe, at which point I start using my hands to smear the last remaining solid chunks across the floor.
“There,” I stammer breathlessly, as I pull back and see the vast patch of blood and mashed brain, “come back from that.”
And then I fall back, slamming down onto the floor as all the last strength drains from my body. All I can hear is the sound of my own snatched breaths, and then a moment later the burning ceiling creaks again. At any moment, this entire building is going to collapse, burying Langheim and me together forever. There'll be no coming back from that, no digging ourselves out. When Kirsten Winter's signal finally breaks the generators, a radio telescope is going to come crashing down straight onto my head.
“Now where?” Elly asks.
After a moment, she leans over me, silhouetted against the flames.
“Nowhere,” I whisper, barely managing to get the word out. “There's nowhere to go.”
“There's one place,” Elly replies. “One last place.” She pauses, before leaning closer. “It'll be a long journey, Annie Radford, but not as long as the one that Kirsten Winter just started. And when you get to the end of it, maybe you can finally rest.”
; “There's nowhere,” I tell her. “You don't know what you're talking about. You're just an imaginary friend.”
“But I could be more than that,” she says with a faint smile. “Think, Annie. You don't have to die here. All you have to do it pick yourself up and start walking. There's still time, before this place collapses.”
I hesitate, before slowly starting to lift myself up. My whole body is trembling, but I know that I can't simply die here on the floor. I have one more task to complete.
“You know where to go, don't you?” Elly asks. “Annie, tell me you know.”
Ignoring her, I once again pick up the metal pipe.
“Annie, think about -”
Suddenly I scream as I start hitting the floor once more. Elly shouts at me, but I don't let her voice back into my head. All I can think about is that I can't allow even the tiniest scrap of Rudolf Langheim's brain to survive. I have to smash the wretched thing apart atom by atom, no matter how long that takes. So that's what I do. I hit the smeared patches again and again, screaming and crying out as I use every last ounce of energy in my body. And no matter how much Elly tries to calm me down, I simply let my rage and fury take over as I work on making sure that Langheim's brain can never ever come back. Even the smallest pieces must be destroyed. Especially the smallest pieces.
And that's all I can think about, even as the ceiling collapses and as Kirsten's signal ends and as burning rubble comes crashing down all around me. For a moment the brightness flares, as flames fill my vision, and then in an instant everything goes black.
Epilogue 1
A little more than four years later
Sunflowers stood tall and proud in the field. There were thousands upon thousands of them, stretching as far as the eye could see in every direction. The only interruption was a farm in the distance, but otherwise there were just sunflowers everywhere, as if nothing else existed in the whole world. And as a light breeze blew across the land, the heads of the sunflowers danced slightly.
