Muse 9 (ONC 2020)

Chapter 13

The flight of stairs ended on a smooth, ebony, stone slab, surrounding by the circular walls of the tower. Except there was no door, simply an opening into whatever lay beyond.

I paused on the last step, warily glancing at the opening. Slinging my rifle down from my back, I made sure it was set to kill and proceeded to walk beside the wall towards the aperture.

I peered out of the opening, getting a quick glimpse of the landscape. Instead of stonecrete, it seemed mostly pure rock, rough ground spreading out and away from the tower. In the distance, I saw a red, pulsing light.

The heart of the Drain.

Rolling out through the opening, I came up on one knee and twisted to the right, then to the left. No one was there, waiting for me.

A good start, all in all.

Rising, I pivoted, staring up at the tower soaring into the rock ceiling above me. Then I looked out towards the red light, narrowing my eyes at it. The walls, which arced out around the tower here, seemed to grow more constricting as they stretched out toward the light.

I glanced at my wrist tracker and frowned. It was nearly midnight of the second day since I'd entered the Drain. With everything that had happened, I hadn't even noticed the time passing. Eurykhan's Restor pill probably hadn't helped any in that aspect.

I stepped back inside the tower and took out my Muse 5. After adjusting the settings, I fastened beams of energy across the opening out of the tower and over the opening into the stairwell. Satisfied that no one could enter and kill me while I rested, I retreated into the corner near where the staircase ended. Sinking down with my back up against the wall, I rested the Muse 8 across my knees and leaned my head back.

[----]

I bolted out of my sleep, jerking into a defensive position before I had even cleared the drowsiness from my eyes. Bringing my rifle up, I pulled my legs up underneath me and rose, turning in both directions and scanning the entire base of the tower before I allowed myself to relax.

Settling back down against the wall, I pulled some provisions from my pack and ate, relishing the taste of food. I washed the jerky and basic carbohydrate mix down with water. I hadn't realized how thirsty I was until now.

Time to go.

Using my Muse 5 to undo the energy beams over the exits, I then repacked my gun in my pack and slung it over my shoulder. Stepping outside, I surveyed my surroundings again before setting out, heading for the distant glow.

The walk was long. Continually glancing around as I moved, I held my Muse 8 rifle at the ready. The walls narrowed as I slowly drew closer to the heart of the Drain. They rose up towards the ceiling overhead, effectively feeling like a trap.

I certainly felt trapped.

I glanced at the walls, following its rough lines up towards the darkness gathered far above me. My illuminators cast shadows shifting against the rock, reaching as far up the walls as the light climbed.

Silence filled the air.

I kept walking, my rifle held casually before me. The red light in the distance continued to pulse, an ominous beacon that usually warned people away. But here I was, walking right towards it.

The walls changed. The simply rough exterior grew more pockmarked and the crevasses became deeper. The clefts were high enough up to avoid the light from my illuminators.

Anything could be in there.

I picked up my pace.

No noise reached my ears, no flicker in the shadows betrayed a presence. But years of stalking donors on Kycene had taught me the skills of silent hunting. It had also honed my ability to tell when I was being stalked myself.

And I was being stalked.

The heart was drawing nearer and nearer. The light was starting to take on a more distinct form than just a vague blur, now a large, pulsing spheroid.

The hairs on the back of my neck rose.

I spun, dropping to one knee and aiming my rifle up at the walls. I pivoted from the right wall towards the left, but my stalker didn't show itself.

Rising, I resisted the urge to run. But as I turned back towards the heart, something struck my back, knocking me flat onto my face.

The stone bit into my skin as I slammed into the ground, my rifle cutting into my abdomen as I fell on it. I gasped, feeling blood spout from my cheek. Rolling over onto my back, I raised my rifle at...nothing.

I could see no one.

Shoving up onto one knee, I gazed up and around, searching for the attacker. But no matter which way I turned, I could see no sign of them.

A moment later, I felt the blow touch the back of my head. But this time, I rolled forward, using the energy from the strike to propel myself forward. I came up a couple feet away, flashing my rifle back and firing, blowing a hole through the lower leg of my attacker as it tried to spring away.

The attacker clawed at the wall, but as it dangled trying to gets it limp leg to grasp at the rough surface, I fired again. This time the beam went through its chest and it fell to the ground, clawing at the air, mouth open in a silent scream.

I pushed up and moved towards the creature, dropping into a crouch beside it. Holding my illuminators closer to it, I felt my eyes widen as I got a good look at it.

It looked almost...human.