by T. K. Kato
No, I had to go back up the way I’d come and hope the cultists had moved on to do whatever they intended with Smith.
I paused for a moment. Eating had restored HP.
I knelt by the waters and lifted a sip to my mouth. It was startlingly cold and very fresh-tasting.
1 HP restored
Color seeped back into the edges of my vision. Just what the doctor ordered, right? I took another sip.
1 HP restored
1 HP restored
All right, then. I took another, but got no flashing message. I tried again. Maybe three was the limit. Oh well, better than nothing. After rising, I returned to the gorge side.
My hands had no easy purchase on the slick rocks, and my fingers slipped twice before I managed a proper grip. Maybe I should have spent more time outside and less playing video games. Grunting, I half-jumped, half-pulled myself up to the lower outcropping. Once I gained my feet, I paused to catch my breath. Then I repeated the maneuver twice more to get back up onto the slope by the bridge.
Other than the trampled ground and a few blood splatters, no sign remained of either Smith or the cultists.
Satisfied, I stalked slowly across the bridge. Starlight pierced through where a bullet had punched a hole in the wood, but that was hardly enough to see by, forcing me to rely on my flashlight once again. Huh. Wonder if it had unlimited batteries. I sure hoped so.
I pushed on, wary as I crossed the bridge, though I saw no one. At the threshold, I called up the map and checked my position against the rail station. From the looks of it, I could make it there in just a few minutes’ walk.
I couldn’t afford to get careless, though. I moved off into the underbrush beside the road and crept along through this until I neared the rail station on the edge of town.
No fence surrounded this, so I simply followed the decrepit tracks right up to the station. It was eerily quiet here, with no sign of life at all. After finding every other place I’d been well-guarded, the emptiness was almost more unnerving.
The building had fallen into a stark decay. All the windows were broken, the wood was rotting, and from the look of it, a section of the roof had fallen in. The main double doors stood slightly ajar. From every opening a faint pink light emanated.
This place was obviously long abandoned. Was it possible I had the wrong location? If there was no gem here, I was probably wasting my time. Still, I’d come this far …
I snuck up to the edge of the main doors, and peered inside.
A tangle of roots had overgrown the inside of the rail station—at least I took them for roots, at a glance. They were dark purple in color, like a bruise, and as I watched, they writhed and stretched, glistening with goo. Between them grew a pinkish flesh-like membrane that emanated the faint light I’d detected from outside. As if the entire rail station were the inside of some massive living beast, though not one at all similar to those of Earth.
-1 Sanity
I stood there, gaping, awed and horrified at the nightmare that unfolded before me. Not even certain why, I reached out and touched one of the roots—maybe I had to know if it was real. It was chilled under my fingers, and at once coarse and slippery like an eel.
-1 Sanity
I jerked my hand away from the disgusting substance, my gut churning even as I did so. I’d seen bizarre alien overgrowth in sci-fi games before, sure. But to walk into it in the flesh, I just … I couldn’t …
I actually had to press a hand to my heart to control the growing sense of panic gripping me. What the actual hell was this shit? I turned about slowly as I walked into the station, trying to keep from hyperventilating.
The urge to remove the headset seized me and I grabbed it, but hesitated before pulling it off. It was just part of the game. Besides, I had to know how this was going to play out. There had to be a plan behind all this madness. And behind this particular abomination against nature, I’d no doubt acquire another power. Yeah, focus on that.
Three train cars remained standing on the abandoned tracks, the nearest almost completely encased in roots that looked intent on crushing it like a nut.
Fleshy matter squelched under my sneakers as I walked in further, making me cringe. Then a slithering root bumped my ankle and I jumped away from it, landed on another, and swayed precariously. The odious things continued to writhe about the floor.
In fact, those roots had spread over the walls, crawling up them like vines growing in reverse. As I stood staring at, the ground beneath my feet shuddered. As if the whole station was … breathing.
-1 Sanity
No kidding. I shut my eyes a bare moment to block out the hideousness. Then popped them back open in a hurry. Whatever the hell this place was, walking around blind sounded monumentally stupid. Cringing with each squelching step I took, I glanced one way and then another.
The root things kept moving, almost always outward along the floor, like an animal stretching in all directions. Tracing their path backward, they all seemed to lead to a particular train car. While roots had grown over the other cars, from this one they breached outward, punching through the ceiling and walls and floor in several locations. From these gaps, the roots spread out to cover the rest of the station.
The source of the infection.
Infection … the word had come unbidden to my mind. But these roots did seem like a blight, a disease corrupting the town. They may have belonged in a Lovecraftian tale, but not this one.
The designers had clearly co-opted other works from outside the Innsmouth story to add to the challenge in the park.
The car had an old-fashioned wooden door that could slide open. Though tendrils had punched through it in places, it remained largely intact and shut, obstructing my view of whatever lay within. Honestly, I didn’t really want to see any more. But I needed those damn gems, so …
I grabbed the door handle and heaved. It wasn’t locked, but the roots punching through it meant I couldn’t move it more than a fraction of an inch. Not enough to get a look at what lay inside. As I pulled, the roots growing out of the car writhed more fervently, constricting with enough force the wooden door began to splinter from the force of it.
I backpedaled away from the car before those roots decided to lash out at me. Yeah, I’d seen enough sci-fi horror to know that could happen. Get too close and I’d have writhing things wrapping me in a cocoon or something. Screw that.
I held up my hands to start a telekinetic lift beneath the doors, then heaved upward. The already compromised door cracked, then split in half just before ripping free. As the pieces broke off, my telekinetic ability flung them skyward, some actually clattering off the ceiling.
Not that I watched them. Inside the car, the mass of tendrils grew out of—and wrapped around—a statue of Cthulhu taller than I was. They glistened with some kind of slime, wriggling more fervently inside than before. Those that had been in the door flailed around angrily, with a fury that stole my breath.
-1 Sanity
The tendrils—tentacles—slapped at the air for a bare moment. Then they began to lurch toward me.
Stifling a scream, I raced backward, tripped over another of the roots, and landed hard on my elbow. It stung, but at least I didn’t lose HP off this one. It was all I had time to think before one of the tentacles from the car was on me, reaching for my leg.
Frantic, I jerked my hand forward. A telekinetic blast wave struck the tentacle and sent it slapping into the car.
2 Damage
Wait, two damage? That was it? I scrambled upward, backing away. As I turned, another of the tentacle-root-things was breaking off the wall and reaching for me. I thrust my hand at it as well.
2 Damage
It flew away as well, seeming stunned but hardly harmed by my efforts. And what did I have to hurt an enormous living building?
Another tentacle reached out of the train car, and I blasted that one too.
2 Damage
-1 Sanity
Damn it. I couldn’t k
eep using these powers like this. I was getting nowhere. I raced along behind the train car, fleeing from the tentacles. They were numerous, but not too fast. If I just kept moving, they might not catch me.
The ground trembled so violently it sent me tumbling down. I landed on a root that wriggled beneath me. I rolled over to see other roots breaking away from the ceiling and slowly clawing their way toward me from all directions. That was … awful.
As I regained my feet, the car from which these things came shook and shuddered, then jerked upward. Massive tentacles as thick around as my waist hefted it off the tracks and held it suspended in midair.
I gaped at it.
Those tentacles came from a hole in the ground beneath that car, one at least fifteen feet in diameter. Dozens of the tentacles rose upward. I didn’t even want to know what they were attached to under the ground.
-1 Sanity
Scrambling over other roots, I fled as far as I could from the car. Through the open door, the statue of Cthulhu stared hatefully at me, as if animated by these things. Other roots grew over the main entrance to the station, walling it off and closing me in. There were windows, but those too seemed largely obstructed by the roots.
A scream died in my throat, unable to get past a terror beyond expression. I actually choked on the fear, stumbling around without even knowing where I was going. I wanted to back away from the abomination, but it was all around me. I was practically inside it.
Cthulhu seemed to laugh at my horror, eyes watching.
My breaths came so fast my chest hurt.
And those tentacles beneath the car kept lifting it higher, just kept coming and coming out of that hole. Like there was no end to them. How could I possibly hope to fight something so massive and lacking any discernible weakness? It had no vital organs I could see, no anatomy, no clear … weak point?
It was a damn video game.
A game.
I was playing a game.
Every boss in a game has to have some vulnerability.
Under the tentacles, the Cthulhu statue danced, vile and hideous. The cornerstone of the Mythos, the most famous of all Lovecraft’s twisted creations. Ugly bastard.
A thrust of my palm sent another telekinetic blast outward, this one aimed at the statue. The blast struck the stone and sent cracks spreading through it. The tentacle beast shrieked, a sound like grating metal, and the whole station trembled again.
New tentacles lurched toward me faster than before, while others formed up in front of the opening into the hovering train car.
Oh, got you now, asshole. I ran from the tendrils as they chased. One tentacle from the hole crept toward me, while others closed in from the walls and ceiling. Panting, I kept running around, dodging, blasting only when I absolutely had to do so.
I ran around to one side, drawing another of the tentacles to chase after me. It broke away from where it had covered the opening, leaving only a single tentacle to guard the gap. I doubled back, ducked under the tendrils reaching down from the roof—now nearly upon me—and spun to face the opening.
Another telekinetic blast.
This one missed the statue, hitting the tentacle instead.
Damn it.
I was running out of time—and out of places to run to. Grunting, I thrust again and again. The blasts struck the tentacle. It recoiled and loosened its grip, leaving just enough of a hole … Screaming, I thrust my palm forward again, sending another blast wave at the statue.
This one hit, blowing Cthulhu’s mocking head clean off. The crack in the statue widened until it crumbled and the whole idol fell apart. A fresh shriek echoed from the monster, so loud I covered my ears. The roots above me turned to goo and began to fall from the ceiling and walls. Slick, viscous ooze dripped on me.
The tentacles holding up the train car shuddered and collapsed to the floor. An instant later, they, the roots, the flesh, all began to evaporate into green particles and vanish.
The car crashed down to the ground with an enormous crash and a shower of dust.
The ooze coating me vanished along with the rest of the beast, thank God. Coughing, I waved a hand in front of my face to clear the dust.
Everything had gone incredibly still, and, without the pink light from the creature, dark. I pulled out the flashlight and advanced slowly on the wreckage.
As I drew near the train car, my light reflected off a pink gem. The prize lay among the rubble of the statue. It must have rested within Cthulhu’s chest. I reached down to grab it. The moment my fingers touched the stone, a pulsing glow began to radiate out of it.
+2 Lore
-3 Sanity
The welcome and familiar wave of dizziness washed over me.
Eldritch Power Acquired
Hell yeah. I opened my mouth to access the menu and check out my new power. Before I could get a word out, a small army of cultists burst in through the main station door.
“Spread out! Find him!”
The moment the cultists burst in, I scrambled down behind one of the other train cars. The dust and darkness worked in my favor. Crouching there, flashlight flicked off, I struggled to catch my breath and keep silent.
“How in the name of Dagon did he bring it down?”
“The deep lord only knows!”
I dared a quick glimpse around the corner. There had to be a dozen of them, several with flashlights, others with guns. All were combing the station and would be here any moment. I needed to … I faltered.
They were still speaking their croaking language, but now it seemed to make sense to me. All their mutters and curses sounded, if not sensible, at least intelligible.
Not sure what to make of that, I pushed my back up against the train car.
“Hey! Remember, we need him alive to wake almighty Cthulhu.”
“He doesn’t know that.”
“If you don’t focus, the Great Old One will devour your soul.”
The first speaker grunted. “In his house at R’lyeh dead Cthulhu waits dreaming.”
All dozen of them repeated the line in unison, the air of ritual strong.
So I could understand the Deep One language now. That didn’t help me get past these bastards, though, which seemed a more immediate issue to deal with. Sticking to the shadows, I snuck another peek, waiting for those with flashlights to turn them in another direction. I needed to make it to the next car.
The cultists had spread out in a fan, but they’d left no guards on the exit. So if I could just sneak from one car to the next, maybe I could make a break for it. They wanted me alive for their sacrifice—meaning they wouldn’t want to shoot me. It gave me some leeway, as long as none of them got close enough to grab me.
So I just had to wait for the right … now! Staying low, I scurried along the ground heading for the next car. My enemies were looking away, so I might just make it.
Failure
Stealth failure? Oh, damn.
“He’s there!”
So much for stealth. I rose even as all of them began converging on my position. As I stood, I thrust out my palm. The blast wave caught a pair of them that stood too close together.
17 Damage
17 Damage
It flung them away and sent them sprawling to the ground. I was already running for the door. Another cultist cut me off, barring the way with arms stretched wide. My next telekinetic blast caught him right in the head and sent him tumbling end over end in midair before coming crashing down onto the ground at an odd angle.
24 Damage
Despite the situation, I had to chuckle just a little at the comical sight. The cultist nearest him hesitated, and I took the opportunity to bull forward, running for all I was worth. Maybe I wasn’t the fastest sprinter, but I was sure as hell motivated. The stunned cultist made a delayed attempt to grab me, but I dodged around him with a move I imagine a footballer would have used.
The exit was just ahead. All I had to do was make it a few more steps—
An unseen cultist
collided with me from the side, flinging me down to the ground.
-1 HP
The impact dazed me for only a split second, but it allowed several others to close in. Lying on my back, I thrust out both palms. Each sent a telekinetic blast out, one catching the man who’d tackled me, the other blasting a pair that were closing in.
17 Damage
17 Damage
17 Damage
-1 Sanity
Nice. I hadn’t been sure firing two blasts would’ve worked. And you know what? Screw these bastards. They wanted to fight? I’d give them a damn fight. Even as I climbed back to my feet, I launched blast after blast.
Cultists flew one way and then the next while damage numbers flashed across my vision. One of the goons slammed straight into a train car and lay in a broken pile of bones. Another collided into one of his own people.
-1 Sanity
-1 Sanity
Whatever. I blasted a cultist already on the ground, and he exploded into green particles that drifted up into the air. By the time only two remained, they were backing away from me. One made a break for it and hid behind the same train car I’d vacated moments before.
Standing in the doorway, I hesitated, panting. Smashing these assholes to a pulp was satisfying, but I was bleeding off Sanity points pretty quickly and I’d only lit half the gems. Which was kind of disappointing—throwing these shock waves was … it was a blast. I chuckled at my own stupid pun.
So, finish these goons off and risk losing more Sanity, or play it smart and make a break for it? Well … If this was anything like the old tabletop RPG, Sanity was pretty much irreplaceable. It was a resource best conserved.
Which meant maybe I should be looking for some food to recover some health. I might need to take down a few more cultists before this was all done. For now, I turned and ran from the station, then dashed off into the underbrush in case they were dumb enough to follow me.
The AI was good, but NPC enemies in most games had the self-preservation instincts of lemmings. I pushed through the bushes as fast as I could, but my chest was starting to ache from all the running and fighting.
