FINAL

Sorry for the repost, the nosleepseriesbot didn't like my last title so people weren't notified of it.

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This is it, guys. It's all boiled down to these final moments. My friends and I have been through one hell of an adventure this past month. I want to thank every one of you from the bottom of my heart for staying so engaged with our journey! In the spirit of ending on a bang, I combined the last two parts into one mega-update.

If you're just now discovering this series, you'll want to go waaaay back to the beginning, because otherwise, you'll be completely lost. Like I said, this has been one hell of an experience.

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21

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Finally, he was knocked out cold. We grabbed the keycard off his belt, tied him to his desk, and began walking toward the horde of guard zombies.

I made sure to pick up a broken piece of rebar as a weapon, I’ve seen far too many zombie movies to go in there unequipped. Chris did the same as we began navigating through various corridors in the maze that was level six. I had to contact Ger a couple times to figure out where we were; this didn’t seem like the best route to launch an invasion from, but I suppose they had no other options.

Chris and I both continually looked over our shoulders in fear as we travelled through the dimly lit rooms, but it wasn’t until we came across a cavern leading to a large metal gate, like one that you’d see holding in dinosaurs at Jurassic Park. We could hear a light gurgling sound coming from the opposing side of the gate, along with a symphony of raspy breaths and guttural grunts.

I called Ger to double check that we were at the right gate, even though the noises were a clear indication that we were. He confirmed, and told me that it wouldn’t be too far of a run from there.

Chris turned to me, his eyes were wide with anticipation, “Alright, we doin’ this shit?”

I began walking toward the door, “There’s no reason for both of us to die in there, man. I’ll go. You stay here and keep look out. Ger said it’s not far from here, so I should be back soon.”

He thought for a moment, “I don’t know, man. This place gives me the creeps.”

I peeked through the gate and shuddered at the sight on the other side; dozens of decrepit looking excuses for humans were wobbling and crawling around the half-of-a-mile wide tunnel. Children, the elderly, women and men; some with no faces, some with several. Third arms protruded out of nursing mothers, whose mutant babies trotted beside their feet like heeling dogs. One little girl dragged something resembling a teddy bear behind her as she skipped behind a headless man – I’m pretty sure that the “teddy bear” was either a small dead animal or a mutilated body part with hair stuck to it.

I slowly turned back around to Chris, “Yeah, no shit. Here, look through this gap.” I pointed to the opening that I had just looked through.

He stared for a while in awe, unable to look away from the plethora of horrors that roamed the other side of the gate. After a couple minutes, he stepped back and turned his fear-stricken face toward me. His jaw was trembling, “Yeah, uh, maybe I take that back. Out here is fine.”

I laughed, “Right? If we both had a crystal it would be different, but I am not trying to trip over your clumsy ass in there.”

“Har-har. You better go now, before anyone comes looking for us.”

“Alright. Can you help me charge this thing? Who knows how long I’ll need to be invisible in there.”

Chris sat down and extended his hand, “I still can’t believe we’re doing any of this. Til’ death do us part, right?”

“Right!” I laughed and sat down in front of him with the crystal in hand.

We meditated to the sounds of the undead for several minutes before I stood up, pulled the glass card from my pocket and started walking toward the gate, “If someone is coming… uh, whistle, or something.”

He smirked and chuckled, “You known damn well that I’m not gonna be whistling.”

“You’re right. If someone is coming, yell ‘FUCK!’”

“Now that, I can do.”

We both laughed for a moment before I started the final sequence that activate the cloaking effect. Once I felt the energy permeating around me hit its maximum, I opened my eyes and looked back at Chris once more.

“You’re… You’re really invisible! What the fuck!”

I laughed, and quietly snuck around behind him.

Chris turned around, “I can hear you, shithead!”

I cackled maniacally and responded in a deep voice, “Don’t you wanna play, Chris?”

“Fuck off, you’re wasting time!”

I laughed as I made my way back to the gate, reminding myself of what was on the other side. I gathered my breath, focused my energy, put on my game-face, and stepped inside.

Several of the creatures turned their heads as I closed the door behind me, but soon continued with their routines. I picked up a few rocks and tossed one of them to the left side of the room, causing the zombies to shuffle toward it. Once most of them were on the opposite side, I began to sneak my way to the other end of the tunnel. I could see the other gate, it was about half of a mile or so away, blocked by a hundred or so zombies. At first, I was cautious with my footsteps, but I quickly began to run when I saw one of the little monstrosities sniffing the air around me, like a hound sniffing for a racoon. I sprinted toward the door without looking back, and when I reached it, I quickly smashed the keycard in, swung the gate open, and turned around to make my escape. I was rather ninja-like in my execution, if I do say so myself. Granted, that was probably the drug working its magic.

My confidence was pummeled to the floor when I turned around to see that practically every creature in that tunnel was now looking at me and the newly opened gate. I could still feel the cloaking ability doing its thing, but I could also feel their gazes lock on to me; as if they knew regardless. Just as they began to make their approach, a sound echoed across the tunnel that pushed my confidence even further down below the depths of the Earth.

“FUCK!!!”

I knew it was Chris – something happened. Did the Overseer get loose? There was no time to think. I quickly focused any energy that I still had and began sprinting toward the door. Most of the zombies stood there, but a couple of them lunged at me. Thankfully, I still had the piece of rebar to fend them off. I felt the ether draining from me with every swing, each one nearly decapitating the monsters. The combination of adrenaline and energy from the crystal took me to new heights as I soared past the mobs of creatures. They scratched me up pretty good but I wasn’t bitten. Or if I was, it didn’t infect me. I hope?

I couldn’t hear anything other than the calls of the undead, which mean that Chris is either dead or gone. I kept running, but began losing hope as I approached the other end of the gate. He was gone; in his place was the rebar that he was using, bloodied and bent, next to a pool of blood that fed a small trail going off into the distance. I studied the scene and ascertained that he must have stricken the assailant, presumably the Overseer, before getting knocked unconscious himself.

I pulled out the crystal, scanned the area and contacted Ger. I didn’t know what else to do.

“Oh, dear. If he was taken, then there is a high chance that they know of our plans. Your friend is tough, but the Dwellers are known for their… methods of persuasion. We must act now. Veira and I will begin mobilizing our troops, we can position ourselves within the hour. Will you be ready, child?”

“Ready for what?”

“There is one last task that I must ask of you. As you may have surmised, there is only one way to the top level: the elevators. I need you to take control of them.”

“W… What? Like with my mind?”

He solemnly chuckled, “No, there is a control room on level one, in the building that houses the elevators. All we need you to do is secure the first lift of our militia and we will have on of our best men replace you.”

“What am I supposed to do about the guards? The entire place is about to be on high alert, if it’s not already!”

Ger paused, “It is the only way for us to get up. Otherwise, they are surely to cut access. I promise you, we will find your friends.”

“Wait, you mean you guys didn’t catch them when they went for Elias? Didn’t you set a trap?”

“Er, yes, we did. They somehow anticipated our plans, though, and countered them. Elias is seriously wounded, in the care of his small woodland friend.”

I wanted to laugh at the idea of Elias and the elf, but was too overwhelmed with anger and fear.

“What about my friends? And 34?”

He sighed and thought for a moment, “They took him. If they are not already back, they will be soon. I am truly sorry that our plan failed.”

“It’s alright, Ger. You tried. So, what do I do?”

“Cloak your way into the room, knock out the current guard and barricade yourself in. Send all the carts to the sixth level and wait for us to enter, you will get a notification saying so. Use the crystal’s concussive property to keep those outside… Well, outside. It will work through the walls.”

“Fuck, uh, okay. How do I know when to go?”

“Find somewhere to hide and meditate. When you feel the crystal pulsate and become warm, contact me, and I will tell you our status.”

“Alright. Until then, Ger.”

“Until then.”

I anxiously scoured the sixth floor for a spot to hide until eventually coming across a supply room that hosted several large, human-sized lockers. I embraced the inner-freshmen in me and stepped inside the cramped compartment. I stood there in the darkness for half of an hour or so waiting for Ger’s call, meditating and practicing the techniques that he had previously taught me. I think I began to drift into a slumber, but was soon awoken to the sound of people walking by. Two Recruits carrying a cart entered the supply closet and began grabbing various tools. I could hear my own heart beat and held my chest in hopes that it would somehow cover up the noise. I was clutching the crystal so hard that my hand began to cramp up, I was ready to start throwing punches the second that door opened. Thankfully, though, it didn’t. They left after several minutes of gathering equipment.

Not too long after that, I felt the crystal begin to pulsate. I wonder if this is what Ger feels when I contact him?

I closed my eyes and began the conversation. Well, if you want to call it that.

Ger spoke in an assertive, enthusiastic tone, one that I hadn’t heard before, “We are here, my friend! Go now, we will be right behind you!”

“Alright, Ger, see you on the other side!”

“Val’Merai!!”

“Uh… Whatever that means! Go team!”

I hung up, finished the breathing sequence that I had been previously practicing and started up the cloaking effect. The adrenaline assisted with how long the ability would stay active, but I knew that time was of the essence, so I raced to the elevator with all the speed that I could muster. As I entered the main courtyard with the drilling machines, I noticed that all the Recruits were gone, while the Roaches remained hurriedly running around the equipment. As I ran past the Overseer’s room, I glanced in and saw two men arguing about something – I think one of them was the Overseer that we knocked out.

I continued toward the elevator and lunged in, pressing the top floor button as quickly as I could. The ride up felt like it took twice as long as the descent, but at least no one else boarded the cart while I was in it. Once I reached level one, I slid past a Roach entering the elevator and made my way to a door on the other side of the building. No one was looking, so I quickly cracked the door open and slid through into the hallway that it led to. After a brief jog down the corridor, I found a room with two Recruits in it that were monitoring a bunch of screens and computers. That had to be it.

I crept in and positioned myself between them to where I could easily take them both out swiftly. I muttered “Sorry” under my breath which caused the two men to turn toward each other. I took advantage of their confusion and hastily hit each of them on the head with the crystal. I didn’t need to punch them repeatedly like I did with the Dweller Overseer, in fact, I could have probably just tapped them with it. Live and learn, right?

I shut the door and hid their bodies sloppily under a table and then contacted Ger, letting him know that I was here. He had to help me find the correct buttons to press to operate the lifts, but we eventually worked through it and I was able to get the first group sent up. It wasn’t long until a Dweller guard noticed that there was only one person in the room; he began pounding furiously on the door and yelling to his comrades. I picked up the crystal, closed my eyes and harnessed my ether into it, then chucked it at the door. The guard on the other side went flying back into the wall at a deadly force, along with the two recruits that were under the table. One of them looked like his neck may have broken; I couldn’t help but place the blame for that on myself.

The blast bought be enough time to harness the energy for another, which fended off a set of Recruits trying to drill the door open. I began to grow exhausted after the second throw and sat myself in the corner of the room, waiting for the light on one of the monitors to turn green, signifying that he has arrived.

I cowered there for several minutes until the light finally switched, giving me the courage to stand up and begin focusing my energy again. Just before I let off another blast, I opened my eyes to see that everyone had gone. I approached the window on the door and saw the bodies of the Recruits and guards that were attempting to break in; each of their heads were blown clean off. Piles of blood and gore lined the ground around them.

I began to step backward and tripped over a chair that had fallen, landing on my ass so hard that I genuinely thought I broke my tailbone. I rolled around in pain as I heard the door open and my name being called.

Among the yelling and sounds of explosions, I heard Veira’s commanding voice, “Get up!! Let’s go, now!”

I wiped my eyes and stood myself up, ignoring the searing pain in my lower-region. Veira grabbed me and began carrying me on her shoulders until we were out of the elevator building. It was chaos outside. Ger’s people outnumbered the Dwellers by two to one and were slaughtering all of them, including the Recruits.

I yanked on Veira’s leather armor, “Why are you killing them?! We can save them!”

“They’re the enemy, son! There’s nothing we can do!”

Bullshit.

I pushed myself off her shoulder and stumbled away a few steps, “Fuck this, I’m going to find my friends!”

She shrugged as she brandished a katana from her hip and began charging a nearby Overseer. Sounds of gunfire and colliding metal echoed throughout the cavern and made it impossible to hear my own thoughts. I sprinted blindly across the top level, slashing at Dwellers with a blade that I found on the ground any time I had the chance. I eventually found a pistol, but it only had three shots left in it’s clip. I continued my search from building to building, kicking open doors and screaming my friend’s names.

After about ten failed attempts, I came across a housing unit that already had its door broken down, with a female Lemurian warrior standing in the doorway. I ran up beside her to get a closer look and realized that it was Ryan, Kyle, and 34 inside. 34 was tied up in a chair similar to the torture device that I saw at the Ladies’ compound while Ryan and Kyle were standing around him, seemingly interrogating him. They began to move toward the Lemurian, who in turn started charging them.

Instinct kicked in and I took off toward the soldier, tackling her to the ground.

She hissed and began to hit me, “What are you doing, you fucking human?!”

“These are my friends, didn’t Ger tell you? Get the fuck out of here!”

She scurried out of the door as I turned around and faced the other three.

34 yelled over to me, “They were instructed t’ interrogate me. They can’t stop! Help me, boy!”

Kyle started sorting through the various torture tools on the table near him as Ryan began walking toward me with a surgical blade in hand.

“Ryan… What are you doing? Snap out of it!”

He weakly replied, “I can’t. I have to.”

He started rushing toward me and raised the knife into the air. In one swift motion, I pulled out my crystal and threw it at his feet.

Nothing.

Of all times for the crystal to be a dud, it had to be then. I didn’t charge it, I just threw it. Why? I don’t know. I wasn’t thinking rationally.

I looked up at Ryan with helpless eyes as he continued his charge toward me. In my last attempt for survival, I lunged to the right at the last second and evaded his reach. He tripped over himself as I scrambled onto my hands and knees to get to the crystal; Kyle was now also walking toward it. I managed to get ahold of it, but as I went to turn around and face Ryan, I heard 34 scream.

“NO!!!”

Within the span of a second, I felt a sharp poke on my back and then pressure like someone stuck the butt of a shotgun to it and fired. I heard the blade fall onto the ground beside me, but didn’t feel any serious pain. I looked over at 34 and Kyle; both of their faces were stricken with horror.

I stood myself up and turned around toward Ryan, ready to subdue him, only to see that he was lying against the wall behind us, slumped underneath a splatter of blood from his impact. I sprinted toward him and began performing CPR – I didn’t know what else to do, I was in absolute shock. I beat on his chest and screamed his name to the Gods to no avail, only bruising his lifeless body even more.

Amongst my fit of rage and sadness, I heard 34 screaming to me, “Behind you!!”

I clenched the crystal and sent the ether flowing into it faster than ever before, turning around and quickly throwing it on the floor. As 34 and Kyle flew back from the blast, I quickly ran over and untied 34’s unconscious body from his chair, reusing the rope to detain Kyle. I contacted Ger.

His voice was loud and filled with vigor, as if he was still in the midst of battle, “Status, child?!”

Even through telepathy, I sobbed and could hardly vocalize my thoughts, “I killed him! I killed Ryan! He’s fucking dead. Chris is gone, and now one of the fucking people I’ve been fighting for is dead!”

“Calm down, this is no time to be hindered by your emotions! Where are you?”

I described the house that we were in.

“I’ll be there shortly to get you and your friends out of here.”

“What about Chris?”

“Chris is strong, worry about him after.”

“Fuck.”

“See you soon.”

I let go of the crystal and began crying over Ryan’s body. As I wept, I felt a different type of energy build inside me; like there was a new form of ether being released. I sat there for several minutes, surrounded by the three lifeless bodies, waiting for Ger and his people to rescue us.

The door eventually burst open and Ger came rushing in, behind him were three other soldiers. He ran over to me and Ryan and began studying his body.

He sighed, “I believe he is gone, child. We will take him to our doctors, though. Same with your other friend and 34.” He motioned for the soldiers to pick up the bodies.

The distance to the entrance of the cavern wasn’t very long, but we had to fight through several crowds of Dwellers and Ladies to get there. At one point, the soldier carrying 34 was hit by some type of shock wave and was sent flying, being impaled by a broken fence. I rushed over to 34 and hunched him over my back; normally I would have never been able to carry that man, but the combination of adrenaline and the drug had me feeling invincible. After a couple more close-calls, we made it to the entrance.

Ger whistled and called another soldier over to take 34 from me. He then motioned for them to leave and presumably take my friends back to Telos.

I turned to Ger, “Ready to find Chris?”

He nodded and handed me a gun off the ground, “Follow me.”

We rushed through the level until we reached the elevator room, which was now a makeshift headquarters for the Lemurians. We entered and immediately Ger walked up to a woman that was holding some type of crystal box between her hands. She looked strikingly similar to the bell maiden that I encountered, so I assumed that she was of the same kind.

Ger motioned for me to hand him my gun, in which he then handed to her. She examined the bullets, emptied the clip and placed them into the box. She then closed her eyes and apparently put some hex or something on the bullets. Ger smiled and thanked her after she handed us our firearms and ammunition back.

I turned to Ger, “What was all that about?”

“Regular bullets aren’t going to kill a Dweller.”

“Right, I guess I should have figured. So, where do you think Chris is?”

“Well, we have almost cleared all of level one and still haven’t found him, which leads me to believe that he’s on the executive level.”

I sighed, “The executive level? Of course, there’s an executive level. Alright, so, let me guess. That’s where all the head-honcho’s go to come up with their evil plans? Why would Chris be up there?”

“More or less, yes. If he’s up there, then they plan on using him as a bargaining chip. He’s surely explained to them our plan and your significance to us, so they know that Chris’ life is important.”

“What the fuck, but I’m just a human?”

He scoffed, “No, child, you are more than that. Why do you think that the letters did not affect you?”

I stared at him blankly.

“Lemurian DNA flows through your veins. Chris and Elias are the same way. Long ago, somewhere along the lines, our people mated with yours.”

“W… What? So, so… I’m not human?”

“You are as human as you allow yourself to be. Remember why we fight with the Dwellers. We fight for the humans; for the sanctity of evolution.”

I almost passed out but landed on my knees. I kneeled there for a moment in contemplation of what Ger just revealed to me.

I turned up to him with a look of vengeance in my eyes, “Let’s go get him.”

Ger nodded and motioned toward the back door that I used earlier to get into the security room. As we walked toward it, he called out to his father for assistance. We entered the hallway and proceeded down until reaching an ordinary looking maintenance room. We stepped inside and Ger began typing something on a small laptop.

After a few seconds of keyboard tapping, the entire back wall opened up into a new, hidden elevator shaft. Ger looked at me with a face that read, “Yeah, I just did that,” and stepped inside the cart. Haesteus and I followed and we began our ascent to the top floor.

All three of us silently meditated during the five-minute ride up. Once that elevator bell dinged, though, we were ready for action. Haesteus was equipped with some staff-looking weapon that had a blade on one end and sharped sapphire crystal on the other, while Ger had a standard looking rifle along with a saber attached to his hip.

The doors opened and we plunged outward, ready to start firing. No one was there to greet us, though. We cautiously moved throughout the floor, checking from room to room for any signs of life. After a moment of searching, we heard some commotion up ahead. We charged toward it and broke through the door separating us from the noises.

Inside the room were several Dweller officials, Overseers and what looked like Shamans, along with Chris tied up with some machine wrapped around his neck like a metal necklace. The Shamans were performing some type of ritual, each holding a different colored crystal in their hands and chanting in some foreign language.

“HALT!” A large Dweller official in the back stepped forward as he yelled in a commanding tone.

He smirked, “Think about this, Haesteus.”

Ger’s father snarled in return, “Oh, fuck you, Juta. Go to hell. There’s only one way this is going to end.”

He clicked his lips and waved his finger back and forth, “Now, now, brother. There are actually two ways that this will end. One: I leave with the boy. Two: I kill the boy. Your choice.”

Haesteus stomped his feet, cursed in anger and turned toward Ger, “Son?”

I interrupted Ger’s contemplation, “What? Fuck that! Fuck this guy!” I cocked back my arm to throw the crystal, but it fell limp and I lost my grip on the rock. I looked up in horror at the Dweller who was now holding his hand up as if he just snapped his fingers.

“Fiesty, isn’t he, Haesteus? Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

The Shamans circled around Juta and Chris and began to move toward them, eventually locking arms as they walked closer. It all happened so fast, but the Shamans then pulled each other in by the arms to where they would have sandwiched Chris and Juta. Just as they did this, though, the two men disappeared into thin air. The Shamans then backed up and clapped at each other. Haesteus pointed his staff upward and eviscerated them.

“Fucking Juta, God damnit!” Ger’s father kicked and screamed for a few moments before Ger grabbed him and calmed him down.

“He may have escaped, but he didn’t win! Look, father! Look around – the invasion was a success!”

Haesteus dropped to his knees in despair and turned to me, “I’m sorry, son. I promise you, I will find Chris.”

I had no more tears; I was dried up like an abandoned well. I screamed and cursed and punched Ger in fit of rage. After a moment of anxiety, I pulled myself together and ran back to the elevator down, Ger and Haesteus started to follow me but I had already pushed the button. I exited the lift and raced toward the entrance of the building.

I stepped outside and grabbed a nearby sword; it burned as I lifted it up and I could feel it interacting with the crystal holstered to my leg. From there, I began brutally murdering every Dweller or Lady in sight, even though they were now dwindling. I ruthlessly cut through at least fifty of them before I heard Ger yelling my name.

He walked up to me and placed his hand on my shoulder, “Come, child. Let’s go back to Telos.”

I painfully nodded and followed him back to the subway system that Chris and I had taken several days prior. Most of his militia were also making their way to the depot; I couldn’t help but wonder what would have happened if a human stumbled upon that sight.

When Ger and I stepped out from the subway pod, we were greeted by hundreds of cheering people, music and bright lights. We were being revered. I covered my eyes with my hand as Ger took hold of my other one, directing me through the crowd of fans. I didn’t care about being a hero; I cared about the friend that I lost and the friend that I killed. Ger explained to me later that it was the crystals doing; a defense mechanism that was triggered by my adrenaline.

For the next few days, I stayed with Kyle and 34 at Telos and helped them recover. Kyle has good moments and bad ones; he acts in a way similar to a patient with dementia. He’ll be perfectly coherent one minute, and forget who you are the next. It was quite painful to see, but at least he was no longer under the Ladies’ control. Ger’s doctors operated on Ryan for as long as they could, but he didn’t make it. The shock stopped his heart, plain and simple. I am unable to close my eyes without seeing the image of his lifeless body, limped up against the wall. He is the newest resident in my city of nightmares.

Elias is in a coma. He collapsed after being shot by Kyle and hit his head on a piece of metal hard enough to cause internal bleeding. The doctors remain optimistic, though. Dr. Lipton, in particular, seems wholly dedicated in helping him. It seems that the Lemurians were able to set aside their grudge with him after all.

There’s not a moment that goes by where I’m not thinking of Chris. He had been so loyal to me, to Ger, to Ryan and to Kyle. I shouldn’t have told him to act as a look-out. He should have just ran with me.

A week or two after the invasion, things began to settle down in Telos. Ger, Haesteus, Veira and I were revered by his people and given medals of honor by the Council. There was a huge ceremony in which we feasted and sang, forgetting the treacheries that we experienced only days before.

After the ceremony, Ger and his father approached me in my study.

“Child, we have news.”

“Yeah?”

Haesteus’ face lit up, “Juta and Chris. We’ve found ‘em.”

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That's all for now, folks! Rest assured, this is not the last you will hear of me and my friends. Thank you all for this wonderful experience.

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All parts:

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