Chapter 1 | Haven or Hell [part 1]
one
Horizontal shafts of light dash across Alisa’s emerald eyes and critical gaze through the blinds of a bloodstained brick tenement. The streets are pretty much empty save for a couple strays and a lone toddler walking into the shadow of overgrown weeds plastered on the screen of a blinding billboard.
One of the many.
This was once the romantic city of Belruse, a port town known for its charming nightlife and seasonal festivals. Seeing that toddler walking alone at night reminds Alisa of when she got lost during the Christmas Merryland festival as a kid.
Tired of screaming “Mommy! Daddy!”, she simply gave up, slumping through the jubilant crowd until she was eventually found. Looks like the only thing that’s changed is that this little one won’t be found…
Floating through a crowd of ghosts.
“Lees,” starts a mellow voice from the back of the dark room, the only light coming from through the blinds. Alisa doesn’t bother turning her head to look at the lean and scruffy man with metal bracelets leaning on the kitchen counter known as Eldin.
“Hm,” she responds.
“Stop lookin’ at that kid,” he says.
“I’m not.”
Eldin scoffs.
Another moment passes, before Eldin starts looking through the rickety cupboards and rusted fridge only to find an empty can of rations and a half-empty water bottle.
“This plan of yours better work ‘cause uh…” Eldin mutters. “Well we only got two recall pods left and, I mean, unless you wanna cross the line—”
“Save it, Eldin,” Alisa interrupts.
“I’m just sayin’.”
“Yeah, well I’ll pass on ‘just hearing’ it this time.”
“Well sooner or later—”
“We’re not eating them!” Alisa asserts, now turned to look at Eldin with irritated conviction. After a breath, she returns to looking out the window. “They’re not animals now just ‘cause they can’t think for themselves”
Eldin sighs, understanding why she has such misplaced hope.
“This is why you need to go to Mobilhaven,” he says, leaning back on a kitchen bar stool.
“Please don’t start with that,” Alisa groans.
“You wanna save the world? You know where to go.” Alisa remains silent. “Hey, you listening?”
“And what about you?”
“Oh geez,” Eldin sneers, rolling his eyes. Alisa steps away from the window and heads into another room. “Lees, I know you wanna think I’m some kinda hero just ‘cause I saved you from ending up like one of them, but—uhphf!” A backpack with a bandolier strapped to it flies into his lap from the room Alisa’s in. “I don’t have to be here, y’know!”
Alisa comes out of the room now dawning her armored, super cropped jacket and combat boots carrying a wrapped object with a strap hanging from it by its handle.
“Fine. After this, you can leave,” Alisa concurs. She starts out the door, walking passed Eldin without looking at him. “It’s probably better if the ads don’t think I’m connected to anything or anyone. Besides if everything goes as planned, this place should be free of those damn screens.”
“And if everything goes to crap?” Eldin argues. Alisa stops at the exit’s threshold.
“Then I try again.”
Alisa continues out of the building, grabbing a grenade off the counter as Eldin dramatically grumbles as he gets up from the bar stool.
“Don’t forget the recall pods,” she adds. Eldin opens a cabinet near the exit to see two metal spheres with buttons and lights on them. He reaches to grab both…but stops.
Instead he only grabs one.
Eldin closes the cabinet and catches up with Alisa at the front door of the building.
Alisa pulls the wrapped objects over her head to hold it around her torso, pressing a button on the hilt that glows as it powers up. Eldin unholsters the two pistols from the bandolier, attaching them to his metal bracelets causing them to compress and look like watch heads.
“Ready, hero?” Eldin asks softly. Alisa looks at him, barely smirking. She grabs the door handle…
And opens the door.
●
The stars are invisible on the streets of Belruse nowadays thanks to the ads; screens implanted anywhere they can from billboards to street signs running deviously tailored advertisements 24/7. Somehow, these ads have been able to enslave the minds of what seems like the entire planet.
It’s quiet save for the screen buzzing, but that’s something one gets used to.
Alisa and Eldin’s HQ is an old apartment on the parkway leading to the famous Ilexa Pier where many a Belrusian couple would tie the knot. Most of the buildings are made of brick and concrete with wood on the outside while some of the more important buildings have columns in the front. Belruse was known for its “modern colonial” aesthetic.
The parkway is mostly clear with potholes and trash littering the street; an abandoned car or two. Back in the day, this would be unacceptable.
Nowadays, people barely come out of their homes especially since they were herded back into them doomed to watch the ads in their TVs. This allowed Alisa to find out that there is someone behind all this after she spotted agents posing as postmen delivering the goods people were ordering off the ads.
However, this didn’t mean they were safe. She found that out the hard way.
The door of Alisa and Eldin’s tenement opens slowly, creaking louder than they’d like though the sound is lost in the hourly voiceover ad.
~~~ Call now and get a SECOND month of Uvcorse absolutely FREE! ~~~
Uvcorse is apparently a subscription service that allows unlimited streaming of every medium of narrative, sports, comedy, and pornographic entertainment ever made. Its ads are played over the loud speaker to play subliminal desire to people’s primary obsession. And it works since their target audience is anyone with pulse. That’s all people really have any more anyway.
The two head down the steps of the front door and start down the parkway toward the Pier Mall. On top of the roof one building over is a spire that according to Eldin’s intel should shut off power to the new screen models installed a couple months ago.
It’s 3:47 AM.
According to six months’ worth of experimentation, Alisa hypothesizes that there is a three-minute window where the “all seeing eye” isn’t looking. However, they can’t just make a break for it or else the “all feeling hand” will sense abnormal motion.
Three minutes to walk as far as they can. Then the cattle will be released from their pens. And though Alisa likes to believe the people of Belruse aren’t animals, they sure as hell aren’t human. Not anymore.
3:48.
The two can’t help but tense up a bit as they continue to walk slowly down the empty parkway. Alisa keeps an eye on the toddler she was watching earlier, hoping to God that he’s headed inside. She knows that if he tries to get her she’ll have to kill him. Especially during a swarm.
3:49.
Eldin swallows as quietly as he can as to not disturb the “all hearing ears”. A single drop of sweat falls down Alisa’s face. As they step into the light of one of the largest screens in town, the green streak in Alisa’s dark brown hair reflects a viridescent glow…like a signal light.
3:50.
Go.
Eldin slaps his wrists together, his pistols assembling like living machinery as he flips them around his fingers with expert coordination.
Alisa grips the handle of the mysteriously wrapped object on her back, pressing the button under the one she pressed before. It glows, her eyes fixed on the toddler.
He turns to enter a building at the intersection before the mall. Alisa exhales in relief and in focus.
She twists the hilt of her weapon sending the wrappings zipping back into the guard of magnificently grungy, gold-steel gunblade.
The toddler stops. Turns. His super dilated eyes meeting her guilt riddled gaze.
Immediately, the doors and windows of every building on the parkway blast open; feral humans that otherwise look like normal people flooding out like caged beasts. Foaming at the mouth, inaudibly screaming the names of their material obsessions.
“Let’s goooo!” Eldin roars as he dashes toward the stampede. Alisa pulls back her blade before following suit.
The two rush in head first, slicing and shooting.
Eldin pops two foreheads before launching himself off one’s back. Flying through the air, he spins like a lead pumping death blossom of bullet hell fury. PAPAPAPAPA!
Alisa sweeps a group blocking her premeditated path. Piking one, decapitating another with an airborne twist. After leaping off one of the abandoned cars, she drives the gunblade into someone’s torso, swipes to clear her six, then clears her second route with a multi-impale lunging drive.
“RrrrraaaaaAAAAAHHH!!” she yells, tears running down her face.
Halfway to the mall, Alisa and Eldin rush toward each other. They reach out their hands at the cross and grab on. Using the momentum, they form a human top with Alisa in the low position sweeping close range attackers and Eldin in the high clearing out targets beyond the gunblade’s reach.
“Up!” Eldin prompts after before he launches himself off of the top formation, their area of effect cleared out. Alisa halts her spin and reorients toward the mall.
Eldin tucks back into a glorious open body flip as he releases the clips from his pistols, flinging them out toward the crowd knocking out two other people. He clicks in two more clips.
Alisa pulls up her blade and lays it flat on her back as she sprints toward the mall entrance. Eldin lands on the blade, surfing on it with perfect balance as he continues firing back into the crowd.
Someone in the stampede climbs on top of another one of the abandoned vehicles and throws a glass bottle at Eldin’s blind spot. It crashes against the side of his head!
“Aagh!” Eldin exclaims as the blow throws him off Alisa’s blade, hitting the ground rolling. Alisa slides to a stop.
“Eldin!” she yells. He slowly pushes himself off the ground, blood running down the side of his head.
“I’m…good,” Eldin grunts. Alisa suddenly hears the huffing of a what sounds like…
The toddler.
He rushes toward her, mumbling something about his “mommy and daddy”.
“I-is it your mommy?” Alisa stutters, trying to get through to the kid. “Y-your daddy? You’re lost, I know! I can help you!” But the mindless youngster doesn’t even acknowledge her attempts to snap him out of it.
Alisa shuts her eyes and grits her teeth as she closes her heart to what she’s going to have to do. The toddler comes closer. She opens her eyes as they well up.
“Gyaaahhh!!!!”
BANG!
Alisa is stunned. The child lays dead on the floor in front of her. She looks to her side, Eldin standing while smoke rises from the barrel of his gun.
“Come on, Lees,” he says, trying to catch his breath. Alisa can’t move.
Eldin jogs toward her, the herd gaining on them. He grabs her by the arm, pulling her back to her feet.
Alisa finally snaps out of it and starts moving her legs. As they come to the entrance, Eldin starts slowing down; losing consciousness. Alisa quickly notices and starts supporting him.
“Almost there, buddy,” she assures. “Just a few more steps.”
They jog passed the main steps and head to the wall just next to the front entrance.
“Come on, Eldin,” she says tapping his forearms. “Up and atom.”
“Aw man, I thought you’d finally let me die,” Eldin jokes. “No fooling you.” Alisa scoffs as Eldin raises his arm and aims at edge of the mall roof. A mini hook shot launches from his metal bracelet. Eldin activates the grapnel making a loud zipping noise.
Just as the stampede catches up to them, the two ascend toward the roof like bruised and bloody angels.
When they reach the top, Eldin releases the hook and they pop up on their feet. Alisa wastes no time quickly digging through Eldin’s backpack to grab some gauze.
“I got it, Lees,” he says as Alisa wraps his head. “Thanks.” She hands the rest of the gauze to him before returning to the backpack to pull out four charges.
“This should be enough to take down the tower,” Alisa says looking to the top of the spire on the next building over. “You should’ve let me take care of the kid. I know why you did it, but I need to have the strength to do what needs to be done.”
“Well if you’re not gonna go to Mobilhaven, I figured your heart should still have a little squish to it.”
“Don’t make that decision for me,” she quickly retorts. Eldin holds his tongue. Alisa looks back down at the gap between the mall and their destination. “You okay to jump?”
“You kidding?” he grins through the pain. “That’s the only thing I’ve been lookin’ forward to.”
Eldin takes one power step before zooming toward the edge of the roof. Like a winged gazelle, he jumps the gap with a graceful wind stride. Even with a definite concussion, Eldin keeps his eyes forward. He himself would drop before his skill level would.
Alisa hops a couple steps in place before bursting into a mad dash toward the edge. She lifts.
BOOOM!
Both structures explode from between the gap sending Alisa back while the charges fly out of her grasp!
“Alisa!” Eldin shouts. He spots the charges about to fall down the gap and reaches out over the concrete gorge to barely catch them. “What the hell was that?!”
Alisa starts pushing herself up, gritting her teeth. Then…
CRAAASH!
Through the building and out through the roof just behind her emerges a giant, fleshy, worm-like beast. Its veins pulsate as it roars, showing its silver, razor-sharp teeth.
“Holy shit,” Eldin murmurs. He knows what this is.
As the beast continues to roar, the sound begins to resemble more of a human wail. Alisa notices this just before spotting something in the mouth of the worm monster…
A person.
Alisa’s eyes widen as she knows immediately what she’s going to do. She turns back to Eldin.
“Set the charges!” she commands. “I’ll keep this one busy.”
“What?!”
“Just go!!”
Eldin complies, growling in reluctance.
Alisa stands firm facing the mega worm. She grips her gunblade with both hands then blasts toward the enemy.
After getting close enough, Alisa jumps up and drives her weapon into body of the worm. It shrieks and writhes in pain as blood and silicone gel project from the wound. Alisa holds on for dear life, bracing herself as she’s tossed like a salad.
Finally, the beast throws its head up for another roar. Alisa rips out her blade and leaps up for another stab just a couple yards beneath its mouth.
The monster twitches violently, trying to bite at Alisa. She uses the handle of the sword to swing and dodge its attacks.
But one misstep and the side of one of its silver teeth knicks her shoulder pads. She loses grip of her blade! With a burst of adrenaline, Alisa drives her hand into the fatty worm latching on from inside its tick epidermis.
Through the tossing and twisting, Alisa crawls her way back to the hilt of her gunblade. The beast wheezes with exhaustion.
Now!
Alisa tears out her blade from the giant worm’s body, using its momentum to land a blow on its head. Its mouth wide open in pain, she flips up and around the sword to fling herself into its mouth. She quickly lodges the weapon in the beast’s jaw keeping it from closing.
Carefully, Alisa slides a couple feet down the inside of the worm to meet its human host; a person of indistinguishable gender whose limbs are stretched out attached by semi-natural looking tendons to the inside of the monster. This person has altered themselves to the point of mutation.
Alisa puts her head behind the person’s head to lift it. Its face is open stiff, twitching every second or two. Tears of blood are dried on its raised cheeks as its smile is seemingly sewn as wide as can be.
Its ghastly stare makes its way to Alisa’s eyes.
“Can you hear me?” she asks. A moment passes. Its still looking at her. “If you can hear me, say something.”
Alisa waits again…
“Di…one,” it manages.
“Huh? You…” Alisa mutters. “You can hear me?”
“Di-i…” it stutters.
“Hey. Hey, hey! Snap out of it, I can help you!” Alisa begs holding its head with both hands. “Please tell me someone’s still in there!”
Then…
It shifts its head. Alisa gasps, awaiting its response. Another moment passes.
“Ha-il…Dione,” it says.
“W…what?”
“Hail…Dione,” it repeats. “Hail Dione. Hail Dione! Hail Dioooone!” Alisa backs up from the person, disturbed by this phrase. The mouth of the mega worm starts to shudder. She looks back to see her gunblade struggling under the force of the monster’s jaw.
Alisa looks back to the worm’s host as it continues to maniacally hail this “Dione”. Her eyelids lower as she accepts her only option.
“Hail Dio--!” the host’s words are replaced with a grenade shoved in its mouth. Alisa crouches to ready herself.
Pushing herself off its torso, Alisa pulls the pin as she’s launched up toward the monster’s mouth. She nabs the gunblade out of its jaw before plummeting passed the host.
Alisa flips a switch on the hilt releasing a trigger mechanism. Plunging down the throat of the beast, she pulls back one of the hammer levers on the guard causing the accents on the blade to glow bright pink. A powerful vibrating sound fills the space.
She pulls the trigger.
SPLABOOM!
Chunks of flesh go flying as the cherry blossom power blast decimates every layer of the worm monster’s body in Alisa’s way.
She sticks the landing—KABOOM!—just as the grenade detonates the beast’s head, its body going up in flames.
“Dione…” she thinks out loud.
“Heyyy!” Eldin calls out from afar. Alisa looks up, getting out of her head. Eldin is pumping his fist in cheer. “Charges are set, you crazy bitch! Hahaa!”
“Hm?” Alisa realizes, turning around to look at the damage she did. It’s not just the worm host’s words that are bothering her, but the fact that it said words.
Still… “Dione.”
●
Alisa and Eldin stand on the roof a few buildings over from the mall; a safe distance from the spire.
“Would you like to, uh…” Eldin starts, handing Alisa the detonator. “Do the honors?”
Alisa accepts and looks out over her hometown with silent revelry. Finally, she thinks.
With a press of a button, Alisa detonates the charges. The lights lining spire flicker before the whole structure starts tipping. The deep sound of bending steel signals the completion of their mission.
The tower tumbles into the mall and continues into the parkway. Dust and smoke cover the entire area, blinding the two from witnessing their results. Alisa closes her eyes, imagining sight of the Belrusian night sky; the stars watching over her home again.
The dust finally settles…
“Oh no,” Eldin says.
Alisa doesn’t make a single move aside from clenching her fists so hard her knuckles crack. More light starts to shine through the clearing veil.
Nothing. The screens are still on, the ads still playing.
Eldin remains silent, waiting for Alisa to say something. He takes off his backpack and rummages around for the single recall pod he brought. He pulls it out, thinking hard about his next move.
“Let’s go,” Alisa finally says, her voice a bit shaky. Eldin starts inputting coordinates into the pod sphere.
“Right,” he replies.
Alisa turns to Eldin shoving the recall pod onto Alisa’s chest. The sphere flattens as it initiates the unfolding process.
“Hey, what the—?” Alisa stops after reading the coordinates he set.
Mobilhaven.
“No, no, no!” she roars. “Dammit, Edlin!”
“I’m tired, Lees,” Eldin declares. “And I’m not gonna let you die out here trying to save the world on your own.” Seatbelt straps shoot out from the sphere and wrap themselves around Alisa including the gunblade on her back.
“Stop this thing now!” she yells, trying to free herself from the seatbelt as the full pod starts forming around her. “I’m going to kill you for this!!”
“I’ll look forward to it,” he chuckles. “This world’s so far gone though, I’ll probably be dead before you find your way back.”
“Screw you! I’m living proof that this world is worth saving!”
“Alright then,” he smirks just as the pod completes its assembly. After a few seconds of powering up, the sphere starts to hover. Alisa bangs her fists against the glass, tears running down her face as she cries out inaudibly. Finally, the recall pod rockets away from the city and passed the coast until it disappears over the horizon. “Prove me wrong, hero.
