From: sdenoms@austin.onu.edu (Cyberlok)
Subject: The Corrupted
Summary: new techno horror story
Date: Fri, 27 May 1994 04:34:37 GMT

Here is the short story I was talking about...

copyright c.1994 Stephen Denoms (sdenoms@gauss.onu.edu)

				The Corrupted
				-------------

CARELESS!!!!!!!!
    That was the only thing my brain could scream to rest of my body as I
pulled myself out of the dust trap.  Breathing came hard to me and even with
the mouth filter I could feel the dust that had leaked through, coating my
throat and clogging my lungs.  If I hadn't been using the filter before I
fell in the pit I would have surely died in that trap.  An ingenuous thing
a dust trap made only by the Xenan cultists.  A deep pit filled with very
fine dust that is kept afloat in the air.  Covering a trap is usually a
hologram or other means so that it is kept totally hidden and the dust stays
in.  Some creature falls in stirs up the dust and when the poor thing has
to breath be it through mouth, gills, or skin it will suffocate, like I
almost did.
    If I am this easy to catch so early on then the chances of me getting
later on has shrunk considerably.  But, this is still too sweet a deal the
Baron has put me on to pass up.  He came to me and recounted one of his
lessons about the Xenan cultists.  They worshiped a god known only as the
"Great Corruptor" and as offering brought him gifts of there loved ones
encased in gold.  These were priceless offerings because the loved ones
were alive until they were dipped in gold.  Millions of Xenan's were
killed this way, some say yearly, and the Xenans did this gladly.  The
one problem is that only a few of these gold encased bodies have been found.
Much like when I was a student in his classes I almost fell asleep, but I
snapped awake when he told me that he had located the "Shrine of the
Guilded Ones", which is a nice way of put the mausoleum of were the
"beloved" turned statues were kept.  When I asked him why he's tell me
this a failed archeologist turned treasure hunter he simple said "I am
sick."  And judging from the greenish tint of his skin and the black
saliva he kept coughing up, I'd say he was right.  So off I went to find
gold, the greatest archeological find in the 21 century, more gold,
prestige, much more gold, respect in the archeological world, and did I
mention there would be a lot of gold?
     Hacking up the last of the dust I set my bioscanner to look for
water, I figured there would be no need to deplete my sources.  Who knows
how far I have to go.  It didn't take long and the scanner lead me to a
little stream.  After scanning it for impurities and finding it within the
safe zone I gulped down as much as I thought safe and then washed my face
and hands off in it.
     Wow, I don't know what was in that water but I feel totally refreshed
and headed down the path.
     After preparing myself for what seemed do be ultra-high level
security for Xenan booby-traps I went very cautiously.  Bioscanner on for
any anomalous readings or life forms.  Goggles set for infravision,
ultravision, heat, and light amplification.  I even had on my motion
sensors on and mini-radar/sonar on.
     I deftly avoid multiple fake floors, blades, hidden automatic
weaponry, and other semiliving nasties.  But the farther I go in the
bigger the evil of this place seems to grow, a... I don't know... a
wrongness of everything.  However I've got bigger problems to worry
about.  Occasionally all my sensors will start reading that all hell is
going to break loose around me and I'll be in the middle of it, then it
will disappear.  Other times, even to my own senses everything just
ceases to exist for a fraction of a second.  I'm trying to rely on my
instincts more then the electronics now, my worry is that I can almost
feel the presence of something or someone behind me, around every corner,
just everywhere.
      Once again I catch my mind wandering and I try to focus on reality
or what ever it is and keep pushing on the only thing thats keeping me
going is the gold, it is almost filling my vision, hidding these black,
slime covered cavern walls.
      I snapped back just in time to see a Drisgoth slash at me.  The
head-sized paw barely missing my unprotected throat but it did manage to
rip off my armoured flack cover-alls and weapons belt.  On the return swipe
he knocked me through the air about 20 feet on to a rubble pile.  I could
feel a stalagmite pierce my side,  my blood, black as night ran freely
from my side.  I gasped in horror at my blood, then the pain hit.  It
wasn't from the pierced hole in my side it was like a living creature was
clawing its way out of me.
     I let out a scream that wasn't my own because it was like a beast's
howling at being freed, not like the scream I would have let out, one of
pain and fear.  I was still in control of my mind but my body seemed to be
possessed by another.  I look at my hands and arms as they broke off the
stalagmite and slid it out of the wound.  All of the joints looked
unnaturally swollen, my nails had lengthened and become jagged claws and
there was a black puss running from underneath them, and the skin was faintly
tinted with a blackened greenish color.
     The scream had faded to a raspy giggle and with a speed I didn't
think my legs were capable of I launched myself towards the Drisgoth.
The drisgoth was totally taken back by the fact his prey was now attacking
him but that didn't keep my mind from yelling to run away.  In nanoseconds
I was on the drisgoth my nails turned claws raking his face, the puss
insinuating into his wounds.  It was his turn to scream.  It futilely
batted its paws at me trying to dislodge me from his face, but i wasn't to
be moved.  Finally I bent down and with a slash of my jaws I removed the
drisgoth's throat.  It slumped to the ground quietly. Eagerly I began to
lick the blood up giggling in between mouthfuls.
     When I had gotten my fill I proceeded deeper into the caverns.  My
mind was deep into shock, my body was incomplete control and it led me
through the caverns like it had lived here for ever.  I was practically
racing through the caves, until i saw ahead, golden welcoming light.  My
body slowed down and almost in reverence entered the lit cave.
     What I saw in there was began to bring my mind back.  Gold, and
jewels, and more gold, and artifacts lined and layered the place.  The
room was circular, with a dome top and disks and platforms to walk on.  There
was no floor that I could see only a yawning pit whose bottom was hidden in
the darkness.  The walls were completely lined in what looked like golden
statues of billions and billions of humans.  There seemed to be an alter
on the central platform.  The alter was all gold and encrusted with every
jewel I think of and a few I couldn't.  The tough of how rich I was going
to be erased everything else that had happened
      "Come Forward."  a pleasent voice ordered.
      Obediently my body walked across a pattern of disks and stepped on to
the central platform.  Floating there was what looked to be an angel.  She
was one of the beautiful creatures I had ever seen, and her robes of pure
white seemed to give off their own light.  It was a robe of gossamer
material which let you see her perfect body beneath it.  "Where are your
wings?", I numbly asked.
       "Wings?" she questioned.
       "You look like an angel..."
       "An angel?", an amused smile crossed her lips and she tittered
musicly (unlike my consistently racsous giggle).  Her hand caressed my
face, ran down my chest and lightly touched my stomach.  "Oh my little
one, I'm am not an angel," her amused smile turned into a grimace, "I AM
THE CORRUPTOR!" she roared, and a flash of energy from her hand went into
my stomach.
      The pain flared anew except it seemed as if the beast was burrowing
back into my stomach.  My body began convulsing as I fell to my knees.  My
stomach began to heave and I threw up and I kept throwing up.  It was a
black ichor coming up and it kept coming up more and more pooled around
me.  I began to think that my whole body couldn't contain all of this.
And then I stop and fell back.  The taste in my mouth was so bitter.  I
wiped my mouth with my hand even though that was a useless gesture seeing
as my entire body seemed to be soaked in the ichor.  What struck me is
that I had control of my body, and after one more fear filled glance I
stared at the Corruptor as she called her self.
      My eyes went back to her expecting to still see the angle like
creature there but what I saw there reviled me even worse then my
transformation.  She was definitely no angel.  Her robes were little
flickering flames and her body was replaced with slithering snakes and
little vermin that acted as if they were a single body.  Her face still
was beautiful on one side but the other side was missing the face, there
was only the skull, blood, puss, and maggots there.
     "You see little one," she started , "the seed within you was your
love of the good things in life." as she leered at the golden statues "All
beings have a seed with in some more than one some are the central of it all
I took that greed and watered it and feed it until it grew, until it grew
into this!" she pointed at the pool.
     My stare was dragged back to the black ichor when it began to move
on its own accord.  As I watched it began to thicken and reshape itself
going from a pool into a column and then the column formed arms and legs
and a head.  Then its features began become more distinctive.  My eyes
became even wider when it finished shaping itself and turned towards me.
It was an exact copy of me, the obvious difference being it was made
completely out of black ichor.
     I began to edge away from the pair and towards the edge of the
platform.  Thoughts of finally having peace by suicide entered my head.
With lightning reflexes he grabbed me an hauled me to my feet.
    The Corruptor spoke, "Not so soon little one.  We need your body
still, and maybe the body of a loved one and maybe another body to serve
me and maybe..."  Her voiced drifted off as my mind out of sheer terror
began to shut all of my functions down and await death.
     The last thing i remember was her saying "Thats it little one... give
up, give in.  It will make things so much easier."  and with that my
doppleganger opened my mouth wide and thrust his head in.  He slowly
dragged the rest of himself after.   Impossibly, I never choked just
swallowed when he finished getting in...

****A few days later*****

    "Hmmmm, I don't know Reed I can see that your sick, and you should go
to the medcenter.  But I don't know about taking on this exploration for
you."
     "The clues that I found points to the fact this maybe the next Wonder
of the World." *giggle*cough*
     "I don't know... did you contract this sickness from the caves?"
     "No my wife, she is... in isolation right now but you have nothing to
fear you can't catch this from me.  Anyways, just think, if this the
"Guilded Ones" resting place can you imagine the gold that's in there?"
*giggle*cough*
     "Hmmmmmmm gold. A lot of gold.... But for science."
     "Yes, what else?" a smile plays across his lips.

				  The End
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