Chapter 8: PROJECT: Demons of Veritas
"CORRECTAMUNDO!"
A shrill sound pierces Kils ears as his cell began slowing down. It was still falling, but no longer at the same terrifying speed.
"Well now isn't this an interesting. It seems there's another condition we weren't aware of."
The sound of clapping echoed throughout the chamber. Kil's on the right track.
"To truly stop…I'm assuming everyone one of use has to give the right answer."
He quiets down as he assesses the situation and thinks to himself.
"If our mystery man Gunmetal keeps to himself, I won't be able continue."
He takes a seat on the ground and chuckled to himself.
"This is getting pretty fun."
The shepherd moves on to Little Mercury's cell.
"Your turn Ms. Mercury."
She jumps up and down in excitement.
"I LOVE quizzes!"
Jericho continued.
"What are the umbrella terms for the 3 impacts."
Little places a finger on her lip.
BEEP.
"DING, I've got it! The umbrella terms for the impacts are Motor sequences! They function by-"
"That'll be enough Little, don't take the fun away from our next prisoner, TAZ OSBORNE!!!"
Taz removes his finger from his ear and rubs the ear wax onto his clothing. He immediately jumps as his name echoes throughout the cell.
"Oh, it's my turn already?"
He grinned
"Heh, sweetness."
Jericho continued.
"What are the impacts of the motor sequence?"
Taz raises an eyebrow and laughs to himself, his laughter gets more intense as he tries standing up nearly losing his balance in the process.
"Hold…hold on a sec, so you're telling me that if I don't answer something as simple as that, we'll all die?"
Jericho begins tapping his foot impatiently.
"Well since you're all taking your sweet time…"
He taps a button on his desk
"I think this calls for our very first penalty."
A sharp beeping sound came from the cuffs attached to each prisoner.
"Listen here my little demons, because of your dear friend Taz here, you'll all be spared from death by falling."
Everyone in the cells stop in their tracks.
"If you don't answer within the given time, your hands will be blown off. You'll the. bleed out until you slowly die from blood loss."
Osbornes eyes widen. The sound from his cuffs accelerated rapidly.
"Oh and Osborne?"
Jericho smiled.
"I didn't say that your time limit was stopped."
He looks at his hands as a cold sweat runs down his face.
"WAIT, WE'VE GOT RELAY, INFUSION AND P-!!!"
"Too late."
One of the cuffs explode on his right hand, taking his hand off in the process.
His violent screams fill the cells followed by him cussing and thrashing around.
Then suddenly-
Silence.
The communication link to his room have been cut off.
"Next up." Jerichos voice lowered. "Our man of mystery. Gunmetal."
His tone darkens considerably.
"What are…the reversed aliens?"
Jericho proceeds to muted communication from each of the rooms except Gunmetal.
"You know," he said quietly, "there's something strange about you, it's been gnawing at me."
BEEP!
"The bane of humanity's existence…alongside the J.O of course…"
His voice distorted.
"These are humans who's syntax has been corroded by the reversed virus. Think of it like malicious malware infecting a machine."
"They survive by devouring humans and consume their being."
"Their origins are unknown…and there is no known cure."
"They've wiped out multiple colonies in the solar system."
Jericho gives a rare sigh.
"Anything else?"
He keeps quiet.
"They are the only thing that we fear more than you bastards."
"I see."
A moment of silence fills the area. Jericho glanced at his watch. He resumes communication with all the cells.
They've all gradually slowed down.
Except Iver's.
"Sadly we've run out of time." Jericho announced. "The main event is about to begin.
He grinned.
"My final demon will be spared."
It widens unnaturally.
"But of course the eye of misfortune bestows itself upon you!"
Iver's clicks his tongue in irritation.
"Not good."
Jericho finally stood from his chair.
Behind him rests a pristine white cloak hung on a rack. He runs his fingers throughout the fabric.
"I won't let you down sir."
He grabs the cloak and throws it around him and clips it around his neck enveloping his entire body. The length drapes over the floor and claps his hands twice.
"I'll take care of him."
Meanwhile…
SHHHHHHk
The cells gradually ground to a halt.
Suddenly.
Each of them are then launched in opposite directions assuring that they are all separated from each other.
Every prisoner except two.
Iver's cell alongside Osborne's cells plummet towards their doom.
A horde of thoughts rush through Ivers head.
The cries of the cells drown out in his mind and fade into background noise. He immediately drops flat onto the floor, he protects his head and neck and spreads his weight to brace for impact.
"SHIT!!!"
SLAM
It goes black…
…
Jericho walks up onto a platform as the clock strikes 10. He speaks into a thin microphone.
"It's time to go live."
3.
2.
1.
LIVE!
Screens light up infront of him.
Then another behind him
Then countless others begin popping up within the room. They surround the entire room.
The luminance of each holographic display flashes around Jericho bathing him in a white light. The viewers connected across the solar system.
"I THANK YOU ALL FOR JOINING US TONIGHT-"
He spreads his arms out welcoming the audience.
"-AND FOR SPONSORING THIS LITTLE PROJECT OF OURS!"
He snaps his fingers.
And a massive holographic model materialises before him.
An enormous prison complex.
"This right here is the maximum security prison known as 'VERITAS'."
"It is responsible for holding some of most dangerous criminals in our current existence ."
A comment pops up on one of the holographic screens from a viewer.
"Does it not go by another name?"
"Well… yes it but it's rather distasteful."
He swiped upwards.
The facility moved revealing something horrifying:
An enormous 6 layered underground facility descending endlessly into darkness.
"This is where our death row inmates and rogue force users dwell…"
He grinned
"Completely unsupervised."
"Those behemoths have had the audacity to label it…."
His grin twisted.
"The Six layers of Gehenna".
Elsewhere.
Iver groans in pain as he slowly regains consciousness. His vision blurred violently.
He tried standing.
He immediately doubled over and vomited.
Again
And again
He puts his fingers into the back of his throat to continue doing so…as if searching for something.
Until something slips out.
He breathes out heavily as he catches his breath.
"I can't…afford to lose liquids…not when I haven't assessed the situation."
He pulls something out of the pile of his puke and what appears is a thin black USB drive covered in a sticky substance.
It's the one Kei gave him.
"Otherwise I'll die before taking a crack at this thing."
The cell around him had completely collapsed inward from the impact.
Twisted metal surrounded him from every side.
A narrow opening had formed nearby.
The outside is completely dark…that is until a a crackling noise can be heard from the outside. Iver immediately puts his back against the wall and steadies his breathing.
"What now."
…
…
Another comment pops up on one of the displays.
"Aside from the two main attractions
…we were promised to finally see them."
Jericho raises an eyebrow before grinning as every one of the displays began spamming the same words over and over.
WE WANT TO SEE IT
WE WANT TO SEE IT
WE WANT TO SEE IT
"Settle down now. Don't worry they're there, sadly however those who placed their bets on the Masked Drifter will be the only ones to see it."
Jericho stretches his arms and utters the words.
"Broadcast."
With an electric crackle Ivers "viewers" are given a close up broadcast of Ivers cell.
…
"…that sound….it isn't human..."
CHITTER
CHITTER
CHITTER
A cold sweat runs down Iver's back, he stares into the darkness…and something stares back right at him. It chitters in response. Iver goes back down and avoids contact at all costs.
BEEP
BEEP
BEEP
Suddenly his cuffs emitted a sharp rapid beeping tone, different from the one that was heard from Taz. Color drained from his face.
…
Jericho grins to himself.
"I think it's time we all log on to our bets and enjoy the show."
The holographic displays disperse into perfectly fitted squares of the room he's in.
"And to answer your question…they're here alright."
A twisted grin plasters itself onto his face.
"The reversed aliens."
…
As light begins flooding Ivers chamber.
A black thin clawed arm stretches out across the floor.
A distorted voice comes from the outside.
Wrong.
Broken.
Distored.
" i wAnT…*%##…yOuR…me…mEaniNG$&&$."