In space, drifts the GF Sol-Alpha Centari 24A; a huge space colony that once was midway between Sol and Alpha Centari. Many of these huge space colonies and smaller cities and ports exist between many of the star systems, to help close up the distance between them. GF Sol-Alpha Centari 24A, or as it was often refered to as "Eden" because of how it was so full of plant and animal life in abundence and was very peaceful there. Many of the assorted species lives together in one place, and often the different species not only often interacted together has great friends and not just neighbors, but many of them even had romantic relationships together even if there was no chance of interbreeding.

Despite not being on a planet, the colony was very ecological; the buildings didn't hinder the growth of plants and lvied in harmony around the animals. Stores often were more like an open market than the faceless chain stores we have today. People could go to any one of the thousands of parks and watch people play music, put on plays and so forth.

It was at peace with other colonies too, even if not all of them were peaceful as they.held free trade between them. They had thousands of ally space colonies, cities and planets; and no enemies. There were no real enemies within Eden too; sure, there were arguements, but they all treated each other as if their opinions mattered and that's because they did.

But Eden has strayed from it's protective path; and it pays the price for it. A large cluster of meteors and space debris rains down through Eden, cutting large holds through it. Slamming through the parks and stores, destroying residental areas and schools and nurserys. Hospitals, churches, libraries, you name it, they are destroyed. And finally, from all the damage Eden blows up in a huge spectatular explosion.

But do not fret; for in that explosion, not one death occured. Because throughout the colony, the very young up to the very old of all the species, all the animals and plants that live there had already escaped Eden a long, long time ago.

Sadly though, it was through a slow and painful death of the lack of their life support system.

This story was inspired entirely by the online game Exmortis, which can be found at this link: http://www.minijuegos.com/juegos/jugar.php?id=2427 . This story and all its characters are entirely fictional and are intended to be that way. Also, please come visit my blog at http://andreux.mindsay.com . Thanks!



PART ONE: "The Future Horror Trilogy: The Mansion"

Remember, Abe. Just remember. Don't think of anything else. Just try and remember.



The strain was enough to put Abe back to sleep again anyway. He had
just woken up in the middle of the woods in front of a dilapidated
mansion. Abe had this peculiar recollection that any complex thinking
would cause him to faint once more.



Shit, it's cold out here, and the sun's going down behind that house. Where the hell am I? Whoa, whoa...



Instantly, Abe's sight began to blur. Those thoughts again -- he absolutely shouldn't think too hard.



Guess it's into that house for me.



And so he rose and marched toward that dark mansion, treading over those crunchy, dead leaves.



Those trees swaying in the distance could remind anyone of that typical
patient in the asylum -- rocking back and forth. A gentle sway like a
breeze, but one would know better. That patient; he's mad. It's
obvious. He's frail like those trees, and some other force is rocking
him. The wind? His subconscious? Guilt? Desperation to return to the
womb?



That patient must forget his sanity of years and years past. It's all
dead like those leaves that Abe walks over so nonchalantly. They
just... fell, and they're just... there. There's no use in salvaging
any of it now.



He hesitates before the entrance:



Hello? Anyone home?



Abe knocked, expecting someone to answer the door. How silly of him!
There's not a soul in sight! And why should there be? Just look at the
scarlet hue of the setting sun! Absolutely terrifying.



Yeah, I don't really know if anyone would be out here anyway.



So naturally, he just pushed the door open and walked right in. As he imagined, no one was living in the house.



The foyer was old, and cobwebs filled every nook and cranny. Before him
stood a flight of stairs, and at the landing, Abe thought he saw a
shadow out the corner of his eye. It was probably his eyes playing
tricks on him like always. His sight did blur earlier as well, after
all.



This place isn't so bad, I guess.
It's warm in here too like someone was just here, but these cobwebs
wouldn't be here if someone was living here, right? I don't understand
why more people don't appreciate antique stuff like this.



Alas, these thoughts urged Abe to explore the house.



Abe first strolled past the foyer and staircase toward the sole dark
hall to the left. He stopped before entering to admire the paintings
decking the hall, but they were all ruined by graffiti.



Stupid kids... wait...



Upon closer inspection, Abe determined that those weren't typical
gangster symbols. They looked like cult symbols of some sort. What on
earth was this place? It's likely that whatever cult that used this
place died out ages ago. Remember the cobwebs.



Abe pried his eyes away from those satanic symbols and started down the hall again --



HOLY SHIT!



A translucent figure stood at the end of the hall. Abe stopped
immediately in his tracks and stared at the figure writhing and
twisting its head furiously. And as fast as Dominic stopped to watch,
the figure vanished from the spot.



What the fuck was that? Shit... this place must be haunted... with some messed up spirits at that.



Abe leaned forward into the hall as if to make sure the figure had
vanished entirely. Once he was sure that nothing else was there, he
crept forward. The end of the hall led to a rotunda with two doors. The
door to the left was locked, so he went through the door to the right.



Inside, Abe found a 23rd century kitchen. It looked so old in
comparison to what he was used to. He can't remember specifics, but he
does know simple facts about the way things looked, the way voices
sounded. He still had his five senses. He just couldn't remember why he
was in such a forboding place. What could explain something like waking
up in the woods anyway?



Man... if there was anything both good and bad for this universe, it was the Valencia Family.



How odd that Abe
would remember such a fact. The Valencia Family was the royal
intergalactic family that ushered in a new era of philosophy, art,
technology, and other such faculties of creativity. Valencian art, of
course, revolutionised interior design as well back in the 22nd
century, hence the distinguishable style of this kitchen. But why did
Abe remember the Valencia Family of all things? It would help if he
could remember why he would wake up in that scary forest outside.



The Valencia Family carried an obnoxious eccentricity to them. They
were so eccentric that they themselves created a unique plural form for
their kind: The Valenciae. They even made a whole new calendar like the
ancient Romans did. In fact, the calendar at the entrance noted the
current month as being Anexia, year 2580. The first letters of the
names of each month formed out the name "V-A-L-E-N-C-I-A".



They were to be the next empire, and just about everyone accepted them, however, disregarding their outlandish behaviour.



They were here to help -- to save everyone from their "Imprisonment"!



At least, that's what the Valenciae had many people thinking. Abe began
searching the kitchen for some sort of means of communication. Perhaps
a mobile...? A two-way radio? A rotary phone? Something. Anything! Abe
opened drawers and cupboards. He opened the microwave, and a severed
head rested inside.



FUCK! This place gets creepier by the second!



Abe stared at the face for a second. He knew that face. That was the
face of Dominic Valencia, one of the few remaining descendants of the
original Family.



That's right. There were only five of
Them left. Well, make that four now, I guess. How on earth is His
Majesty's head here? Does anyone know about this? I need to get a hold
of someone quickly.



Dominic's forehead bore
a strange symbol, almost like it was tattooed. Abe recognised the
symbol. It was from the graffiti on those hallway paintings. Something
was very special and peculiar about this place. Something sinister, and
Abe was going to get to the bottom of it.

PART TWO: "The Future Horror Trilogy: The Journal"


Past the microwave was a swinging door connecting the kitchen to another room. Abe walked further.



Abe stepped into what seemed to be a library. The room was dark, and
books were scattered all over the place. Only one of them was open,
however, on a desk near the window at the far end of the room. Abe
walked over to read what appeared to be a journal:




After reading everything that was written, Abe quickly turned away from
the journal to hear violent kicking noises coming from upstairs in the
mansion.

Newly Added: PART THREE: "The Future Horror Trilogy: The Axe"

This place is creeping me the fuck
out, but I just can't leave. I have to know what's going on. I have to
know how I got here. Maybe if I find that out, I'll figure out how to
leave these woods.



Abe
retraced his steps back through the kitchen, across the rotunda, down
the hall, and into the foyer again to see the staircase. He marched
upstairs to find the noise. Someone had to be around who could help
him, and hopefully it wasn't the murderer. Suddenly, Abe had a
frightening thought:



Hopefully it isn't the murderer...
hopefully, I won't be killed. Maybe that's why I don't remember --
because the killer drugged me so I wouldn't remember that I'm a royal.
This can't be! My brothers and sisters would be dead by now! I need to
escape, but how?



Perhaps this was the reason that Abe remembered so much about the Valenciae.



Still, Abe marched on, and still, he could hear the violent kicking.



Reaching the landing, Abe found door leading to a room of the second
floor and a trapdoor leading to an attic. Abe quickly realised that the
source of the kicking lied in the latter. He stepped toward the
trapdoor, creaking the old planks on the floor. Once they creaked, the
kicking stopped. Someone was listening to Abe.



Frantically, Abe opened the trapdoor, climbed the ladder to a
horsefly-infested attic. Directly in front of him hanged the bare torso
of Regina, youngest of the Valencia Family. Her body didn't drip blood
anymore, but she was tattooed with a symbol on her breast. Abe was
recognising this only family that he knew with every cadavre he was
finding. Something shone in the moonlight underneath Regina's torso.
Curious, Abe reached under and grabbed a skeleton key.



The other door. The other door on the first floor was locked.



Abe quickly ran downstairs in hopes of discovering some truth to this
horrific episode. Standing in the rotunda of the ground floor, Abe took
a deep breath before entering the new room. He gave the key a turn and
stepped in to find a laboratory... and a severed arm lying on a table
arrayed with spilled beakers. After seeing so much gore, Abe found this
much easier to look at. He advanced toward the arm and found another
tattoo and a bracelet that read "Elisabeth".



One by one, Abe was discovering body parts of the deceased family. The
laboratory was splashed in blood, but something caught Abe's eye: a
mirror on the wall with letters written in blood.



"Remember"... my family must be warning me!



A sound came from upstairs. Like someone was walking. Abe sidled
upstairs as fast as he could so as not to be caught by anyone. He had
forgotten that there was another door on the second floor, so he snuck
past the opened trapdoor to open what might be the final door. Inside,
all Abe could find was a tattooed heart organ atop a snowy white bed.
It must have been the heart of Cesar, the fourth Valencia sibling,
meaning that Abe must be the last one.



But where was the killer?



Abe made a mad dash downstairs in a panic... and he found another door
to look behind. A door he hadn't seen before in this mansion. It was
located in the hallway. He must not have noticed it while he was
staring at the writhing translucent figure in the rotunda.



Perhaps that is my way out. The killer might be coming any second!



Abe opened the door and found a single axe lying in a cellar... the
very same cellar that the author of the journal was speaking of.
Quickly, Abe turned around to find he was completely alone in the
mansion. No one was ready to shove him into the cellar and murder him,
so he took the axe for protection. He dove further into the cellar to
find an exit without the killer knowing.



As he walked further into the cellar, he saw torches hanging on both
sides of the underground caves. He also found to his surprise a corpse.



Who is this?



Abe stumbled, making a noise, and the corpse stirred. Suddenly, the corpse stared at him and uttered:



"I'M GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU!"



The corpse ran after Abe, and Abe gave a strong hack of his axe,
decapitating the corpse in a swift and single swing. Stunned, Abe stood
for half a minute deeply panting and shifting his eyes frantically in
as many angles as he could without moving a muscle in the rest of his
body.



Abe killed the murderer. He was free.



Free... until he finished watching the head roll on the rocks. On the
back of the neck, a tattoo of a cult symbol could be found.



What does this mean? What's going on? What's with all these tattoos?



No one else could be found in the caves. Just the corpse and he lied staring at one another.



I'm the murderer. I'm the one that wrote those journal entries, and I need to go.



Abe ran up the cellar stairs and out the door, clutching that axe in
his hands should he meet anyone, into that cold forest. He couldn't
remember anything, but it was all coming back to him now. He remembered
everything.



"C" was his boss... or alter-ego. Something. "C" was that voice inside
his head telling him to kill the descendants of that new world order
created those hundreds of years ago. He was the reason that technology
was gone in the universe. He was the murderer of the Valencia Royal
Family, and it all made sense now. How could he live with himself now?
He was the fall of civilisation as the world knew it, and he was a
murderer. He'd be hated.



And with that axe in his hands, Abe gave a final swing of his axe. And
as he fell to the ground in his horrific display, so fell the final
leaf of the swaying forest.

This is the story I have been writting; except given a new name, and with some (very) minor editting

Intro

300 years have passed since the destruction of the computer that controlled all technology; the species of the galaxy paying for their foolishness of putting their eggs all in one basket. Space ships had stopped working so there was no longer travel between the stars and planets; machines on those planets had long since died, effectively putting the inhabitants back into the stone age. And space ships and stations in outer space shut down in an instant, effectively making them a drifting coffin for all those unlucky to be if them when they totally shut down. In one second, all those intellegant species living on the assorted planets became stranded and set back to the stone age and all those in space died.

Part 1

The two suns rise over the mountains to the east on Incalfacio, a harsh and terrible desert planet. Before the collasp of civilization the planet was in the middle of terraforming and settlers were moving to it. The atmosphere was made livable for humans and species that came from worlds with very simular atmosphere denisity and make up. Water, plants and animals were only around 1/5 completely when all technology died, leaving the planet unfinished. And without the planet moved to its more habitable orbit around the star the water had slowly been evaporating off and the plants and animals dying over the 300 years. It was slowly dying once again, and the decendants of those settlers slowly with it as well.

Back to present; I slowly watch the suns rise after I begin to head back to the rements of the planets capital city. Once it held several thousands of inhabitants; now the sands have reclaimed most of it, and the 40 some people who remain living there constantly must dig themselves out. Only at night though; during the day, it gets too hot to properly do anything.

Life is unbearably hard; we actually live in the cave systems below the city where water still exists, but keep enough of the city unburried so we can come and go as we please and so we can carefully watch over what little crops we can grow. There are other jobs too; those who repair the buildings for our crops, those who take the animals out during the night so they can get fresh air; and then there's me.

I am Luthin, and my job is to find relics of our technological past and build new machines from them that will be able to work on their own. I build and repair water pumps, those that bring fresh air into the cave systems, those that help dig out the sands and so forth. I'm the only one with this talent, so if I don't do my job the rest of them will die. This skill was passed down to me from my father, who was an engineer from when technology still existed.

For those who are wondering, yes, my father was alive back then. I might be mostly human but in our past my ancestors interbreed with another humanoid species that was very long lived; I might only look 23 by normal human acounts but I am really 120. Maybe I'll get to live long enough on this dead planet to be the last survivor.

Part 2

With the suns rising, the heat causes the air to warm up and thus the wind picks up with it. A dust storm is in the works; quickly I run through the ruins, heading towards at least some of the buildings that have access to one of the caves down below. There are other buildings that are uncovered, but they'd probably end up being death traps if entered during this storm. I'd never be able to get out of them once this picks up really fast and hard

All around me, the wind and sand fly about me wickedly whipped up by the canyons between these the giant dunes. Have to make it; I have to. Unfortunently the bag of machinary I'm carrying doesn't help me get there any faster. I can't drop it though; we need this stuff to help repair some machinary in the caves. If I drop it, and the machines decide to break down in the middle of sand storm we could be royally screwed.

"Oh damnit!"; I know I won't make it with his heavy thing. I drop the bag and shuffle through it, looking through a few choice pieces to safe and take with me. Putting them up my shirt to protect them from the sand I continue to bolt for one of the buildings with a cave enterence. Luckily, I make it just in time as the storm begins to really build up and the dunes I was just in partially collasp, buring the machinary I left behind in 20 feet of sand while will in turn be covered in 10 more by the time this storm will be over half a week from now. What a loss

Before I decend into the caves I sit in the empty house to catch my breath. Grabbing one of my simple light producing machines I turn it on so I can look around me. An old apartment building this once was; long ago abandoned for living, it was converted by my father into one of the air systems for circulating fresh air into the lower levels, but with the storm brewing outside it automatically shut itself off to protect the inner workings of it from being damaged by blowing sand

Suddenly from behind me, I hear foot steps. "How much machinary did you get?"

Part 3

I turn around to see who it was. "Oh, hello Ankor"

Ankor... he's an interesting guy. A large insectoid species, somewhat a cross between ants and praying mantis. He's basically the leader of our small group, making sure everyone of us does our job. He is basically a tightass.

"How much machinary did you salvage?"

"Five pieces", and I drop them out of my shirt then.

"Five?! You could've found 10 or 15 in that time!"

"I found 20, but I had to leave most ofit behind or I would've died!"

He picks me up and holds me by the collar of my shirt. "If you hadn't taken so long with the one water pump earlier you could've gotten outside sooner!"I look at him in the eyes as I cough, "Machinary isn't always easy to figure out! I'd like to see you be able to fix the damn things. And if you kill me, that's what you'll be forced to do!"

"... bah" he drops me. "Go up and make sure all the aie circulators closed right. Don't need the upper layers fill with sand and break the floors"

Asshole. I rub my neck as he goes down into the caves. I stand up and begin to climb up the stairs. His kind, the graar, do best in this desert world. Out of the 40 people here, there are 15 of them. 10 humans, 5 of that other humanoid race called "hamuns" and 10 of a lizard race named "lacerta".

Making my way up through the different levels, I see each air circulator is off and closed automatically, as it should be; that is, until I get to the top level. One of them is open, but luckily not much sand has gotten in yet so it's an easy fix.

Suddenly though, I heard a very loud boom from outside. Looking out through the sand I can make out a huge metallic object falling from the sky and plowing into an old and still sand covered part of the city. Remember where that landed, Luthin; you'll need to check that out when this storm dies down

Part 4

I race down the steps of the building; "Could that have been a space ship falling from space?" I wonder to myself. If it is, that's wonderful. With the life systems and what not dead in them but still covered by an electro-magnettic system that was controller seperately from the master computer, there is a good chance the machines on it are still in great condiction. Hopefully the fall didn't destroy too many of them, but even so I could probably work with it. May also be food on there still... wait, no. Even in the depths of space with nothing living in it, I wouldn't trust the food. 300 years is 300 years after all.

Ankor better get me some help to dig that thing out and scavenge from it; even with his incredibly strictness, he should realize such a thing holds too much potential for usefullness. He may be a bastard, but he isn't too stupid to realize that.

Nearing the bottom of the building I realize something else; could that crashed ship have been large enough to hold any smaller ships? They were different than most of the larger ones; for one, they usially could only hold 10 people at the most, but the most important fact was a lot of them didn't use the master computer and ran under it's own power. They either were from before the master computer's time, or were altered so they didn't need them. The ones who flew them didn't like the master computer regulating the speeds of their ships and where they could and couldn't go so they removed them so they could do whatever they pleased. If one is working in there, or maybe two... maybe we coulduse them to try to get everybody off of his dying rock and to a planet with less problems.

Newly Added Part 5

Finally, I reach the part of the caves we live in. The musty smell hits me; I am 'home'

For the most part, it is quiet. Most of the people have gotten ready for rest or have already turned in, the three young children are still awake and running about. A graar, lacerta and human 3 year olds running around and tumbling. They were the last young ones to be born here since 20 years ago. We need to get out of this place, and to a world with more people

"Luthin; how are the air systems looking? Closed for the storm?" I hear Ankor say, coming up behind me

"Yes; one was open but I got it closed. Not before I saw something crash though..."

"So I didn't hear things. What was it?"

"A large space ship; seemed to be intact. Could get a lot of machianry from it... or maybe it'll have a smaller ship on it

"So we're both on the same page I see... this dust storm seems smaller than most. Maybe it will die down by tonight and we'll head out to check it out"

"Sounds good to me," I nod

"Good; now head off and get some sleep," he says turning around to head for his own little nook in the wall

It's always a change to smell Ankor in a calm and agreeing mood like that; and yeah, I said smell. It's a graarian phrase; seeing as graars are insects that means they have an exoskeleton, so they have no facial expressions. So they convey their moods through pheramons, smells. And let me tell you, one usially doesn't smell the fresh, slightly sweet smell of calmness on him

I head for my own private part of the cave and lay down; I always prefered being alone and to myself than out with the group. They are family to me, but I just prefer to be off to myself and tinkering with one thing or another. But no tinkering today; I sleep up for our trip outside tonight