ELDRITCH NIGHT (Rough Draft)

Chapter 39: Eye of the Storm

The door to my cell slid open with a grinding clank of gears and the soft hiss of depressurizing pneumatics. I was startled, not by the door, but by the lack of energy that came with it. I had been accustomed to collecting small traces of eldritch energy whenever the door was opened, and yet this time the air was fresh, pure, and bereft of the invigorating corruption.

"What is it this time?" I asked.

Sebbit stood in the doorway, his face contorted in a way I had never witnessed on his normally unreadable face. His eyes were narrowed, and his inner eyelids had even partial contracted creating a ring around his slit pupils. His face was tense, and his jaw and the corners of his mouth were arched downwards. His entire body seemed to be vibrating with barely contained energy.

The alien captain held what looked like a tablet in his left hand; the other was by his side clenching a massive revolver with chambers that looked large enough to hold tennis balls. Behind him stood two massively tall female peacekeepers in jet black armor. Each was carrying a rifle the size of a small tree.

"Take this," Sebbit said while tossing me a small sphere.

The ball was matte black and seemed to be made from interlocking hexagons. As I caught it the orb began to unfold into long filaments that clung and wrapped around my hand before beginning to spread down my arm and up around my shoulder.

"What the hell is..." my words were cut off as the material spread over my head and began to worm around both shoulders and down my back. Within seconds I was completely encased in the substance and it quickly hardened until I was unable to move. It was like being encased in solid stone as a great weight bore down to crush me.

"Give it a moment, Mr. Finn," Sebbit said. He was no longer using a translator and his English was stilted and his voice deep and gruff.

I screamed profanities into blackness, unable to understand what was happening. It didn't take long, however, before the weight decreased and my limbs were no longer restricted. My vision slowly came back as well, as if a dark haze was slowly being lifted from around me.

I lifted my hands up to my face, but they stopped several centimeters in front of my eyes. I moved my fingers upwards and found that there was a barrier around my head that seemed to be almost weightless and was perfectly translucent.

My hands and arms were covered by the same material the sphere had been made from — a dark graphene like substance that was so black that it seemed to absorb any light that came in contact with it. Looking down I saw that the substance had grown around me like a suit of armor.

I began to stammer out a question, but before I could finish Sebbit turned on his heel and began to walk away – his two guards stepped to the side to create a hole. Just as he exited the door he looked over his shoulder, "Come with me, Mr. Finn. I believe that I require your assistance."

"Just like that..." I began to say. Sebbit didn't wait, instead quickly charging down the narrow passageway with his guards in tow.

I stood staring at the open door not knowing what to do. I had been a prisoner for so long that it felt strange and faintly uncomfortable to contemplate freedom. I suspected that it was a trick, or a mistake. I quickly brushed aside my hesitation with a shake of my head and stepped through the door.

If Sebbit needed my help, then the situation was probably already beyond fucked. I might as well follow and find exactly what form of mayhem this particular dicking would take.

The alien captain had already disappeared by the time I entered the hallway, but one of his massive bodyguards was standing next to a narrow metal staircase that led up to an open hatch. I took her presence as an invitation and quickly sprinted down the hall.