Stabe: Prologue

Chapter 0

Prologue

March 9, 2002: Paradisi Inferni

Snow fell and the wind was whipping the flakes into a full blizzard. A tall, muscular, man grunted as he forced the door to a large vault shut. He put his back against the door and slid down holding his face.

“We’re gonna die,” the man sobbed. “Miles below the damn surface and we’re gonna die!”

“Shut up, Marston,” another man grumbled.

“No! You shut up!” the first man, James Marston, yelled. “You don’t have kids back up there!”

James was six foot four inches and heavily muscled. He had short black hair with pale skin and dark brown eyes. He, like the other four people in the room, was dressed in white combat fatigues. James was about thirty-two years-old. Lying beside James was an assault rifle with a large drum magazine attached.

“I never said you didn’t,” the second man growled. “I was just telling you to stop your whining.”

The second man was Ralph Martinez. He was five feet eleven inches but skinny. His skin was tanned and his hair and eyes shared the same greasy black color. Ralph was thirty-five years-old. He held a small pump-action shotgun in his right hand.

 

“Would you both be quiet?” a young woman the team ordered.

Sarah Strife was younger than most of the other people on the team. She was also the shortest, standing at a mere five feet six inches. Sarah had long blonde hair and dark green eyes. Her skin was as white as the uniform she wore. Sarah was twenty-four years-old. She held a small handgun in both hands.

“What are you thinking about?” Sarah asked the final surviving member, a man by the name of Zyden Kain.

Zyden stood six feet three inches tall and was slim, but intimidating. He had short brown hair and pale green eyes. His skin was white but he also bore a slight tan. Zyden cradled an assault rifle that resembled James’.

“I’m trying to figure out a way to get out of here alive,” Zyden murmured.

“How can we?” James howled. “Our only way out is back out this door!”

“Shut up, James,” Zyden ordered, scanning the small room they stood in.

The vault door that James leaned against faced west. To the east was a large staircase leading to a tall tower. Zyden sighed and turned back to his teammates.

“All right. We’re going to go up the stairs and get to the top of the tower,” Zyden explained. “If I remember correctly it should get us close enough to the surface that we can send out a distress signal. Deus Caelum can’t ignore the signal. We can still get out alive.”

The room became deathly silent as the other members absorbed Zyden’s idea. James was still crying against the vault door. His choked cries became mixed with laughter. James’ brown eyes became red as blood replaced his tears.

“W-we’re not going to get out of here alive,” James whispered. The room fell into silence again as James stared at Zyden. “We’re all going to die down here.”

James’ chest rippled once and his neck snapped from an unknown force. Something was twisting around, trying to break free of James’ body. He continued to lay there, dead to the thing trying to escape his body. Blood began to stain his white uniform and an inhuman hiss echoed from James’ chest.

“Get moving,” Zyden whispered, raising his weapon.

“I-it just came out of his chest,” Ralph stammered, stepping back. He gripped his shotgun with both hands.

“I said get moving!” Zyden commanded. White vines began to extend from James and crawl up the walls. Zyden began to back towards the staircase as Ralph and Sarah both ran to the stairs. “Don’t stop until you get to the top.”

The vines began to sprout white roses and crawl over to the three survivors. A white, ghost-like, creature rose from the remains of James Marston. It hissed at Zyden as he turned and began to run up after his team.

The creature hissed even louder and the vines moved faster. They rushed along the ground towards the stairs sprouting more white roses. The creature slowly seeped into the ground as the vines reached the stairs and began their ascent.

Zyden caught up to the other two quickly. A gloomy light shined through the windows, displaying the blizzard outside. The three adults continued up the stairs at a quick pace. About three quarters up the tower, the vines tripped Zyden.

             As he fell, roses sprang from the walls. White spikes shot out from the roses skewering Ralph dozens of times. Sarah’s arm was stabbed twice and she cried out in agony. Zyden pushed himself up and brought the butt of his gun down on one the spikes. The white spikes broke like glass and Sarah stepped away, clutching her arm.

             Ralph was slowly dragged towards the wall. His body vanished as the vines linked to the white roses. Zyden half pushed, half dragged Sarah up the remaining stairs. The vines were at their heels the entire time.

At the top of the stair, a solid metal door stood in their way. Zyden released Sarah and rushed to try and force open the door.

             Zyden pushed and pulled to no avail. He noticed roses begin to blossom on either side of him. Zyden turned, raising his assault rifle. Sarah stood amidst the vines and roses, looking at the ground.

             “Sarah?” Zyden asked, his weapon trained on the woman.

             “We came into a very evil place,” Sarah whispered. She looked up displaying red eyes and a line of bloody tears.

             James slowly rose from the floor on Sarah’s left. “We deserved to die,” he murmured.

             Ralph was released from the wall at Sarah’s right. “Are you ready to join us?” Ralph asked. His eyes and bleeding tear ducts echoed James and Sarah’s.

             “What the hell are you things?” Zyden growled, his finger hovering over the trigger.

             “We are the messengers,” the three humans said in unison. “We are your beginning and your end.”

             “If you’re my end, then show yourselves!” Zyden barked. He fired four shots, each hitting James in the torso. His body fell to the ground. “I won’t be brought down the same as these people have.”

             Zyden turned to fire at Ralph. Another three bullets dropped him. Finally, Zyden turned on Sarah.

             “If you think that killing your friends will save you,” Sarah began. Her voice had a faint echo of James and Ralph. “Then you are sadly mistaken.”

             Sarah fidgeted and bent over backwards. A loud snap echoed from her spine as she bent. A ghostly hand stabbed through her stomach and the creature that had burst from James’ chest struggled from Sarah’s abdomen. It balanced on Sarah’s remains for a moment before stepping down. Sarah’s body collapsed as soon as the creature was safely on the ground.

             Everything about the creature was long and thin, except its head. It had a fat head with two beady black eyes. The creature lacked a nose but had a long mouth. Its jaw mirrored a human’s but all of its teeth had been replaced by razor sharp triangles. It resembled an elongated, bone white, human body. Its hands bore five long, spear-like, fingers and the creature’s feet lacked toes, instead coming to a dagger-like point. The creature’s face was its most interesting quality.

             “Does this satisfy your request?” The creature asked. It voice was like a whispered hiss, almost like a snake’s. “Will you submit to death now that I have shown myself?”

             “Wh-what are you?” Zyden demanded, letting his guard drop momentarily. The creature seized the opportunity and lunged forward.

             The creature’s claws became buried in Zyden’s gut. He coughed blood onto the white monster’s shoulder. Zyden slowly turned to look into the black pits of the creature’s eyes.

             “We are your beginning,” the creature hissed, pushing its arm deeper into Zyden’s stomach. “And we are also your end.”