Galaxy Corps Interactive Fiction: Illusion of Reality

Black Dreams - Illusion of Reality

Illusion of Reality (02/03/01 )

Davion sat up. The stars on the ceiling above him were staring down at him. It was as if the veil that hid the real world had been pierced. What was beautiful before, now seemed hideous. He could no longer see the Vendorian constellations, all he saw were grotesque faces staring down at him. He could smell the repulsive musk of Ulfrick. All Davion felt was disgust at how he had seen his father in the eyes of such an alien monster.

As he quickly put on his clothing, he had to fight the urge to retch. The sentimental old wolf had cleaned and pressed his clothing earlier in the morning. The clothes were saturated with his stink.

Davion’s face contorted into a mask of rage. ‘How dare he touch my clothes. He will pay for that!’ Already he could see the surprised look on the wolf’s face.

‘So he shall.’ Mikhael said, his voice surprisingly calm. ‘You must hurry lest he catch you unarmed. I can sense your anger, use it to increase your strength. Leave your shoes off, it will help conceal your movements.’

Davion carefully crept to the door. Everything hinged on him getting a weapon before the wolf noticed that he was awake. He slid the door open. He looked at the coffee table, where there were some scones and glasses of fruit juice already set out on the table. The wolf was standing at the small kitchenette’s electric grill, wearing a white and red checkered apron and humming while he was handling the skillet. Davion caught the smell of bacon being cooked up. His back was to the bedrooms.

Mikhael pointed to an open drawer in the kitchenette. ‘That drawer there. That is where you will find a suitable weapon that should suit your purpose. His back is turned, you should be able to sneak up without being noticed.’

Davion nodded saying nothing for fear that the alien would hear. He was wondering how Mikhael could speak without fear of being heard.

‘Do not worry, I am an angel. I can only be seen and heard by those I allow to. You are the chosen warrior, I currently will only be seen by you. The mongrel dog will not have any chance of detecting my presence.’ Mikhael said, laughing a bit. ‘I'm surprised you had not figured that out already. Then again, you were not the most religious, not that it matters.’

Davion ignored him as he snuck across the room, shuffling his feet across the thick carpet not making a noise. It took a few tense minutes to sneak up to the drawer, but he was not heard. Finally he was at the open drawer. He peered in at the assortment of kitchen cutlery.

ÔWhich one should I use?Ô Davion though, looking at Mikhael.

‘The long one with the black handle and leather sheath.’ Mikhael pointed to one of the largest knives in the drawer, a sadistic smile on his face. ‘That one will be the best. It is a long and thin, perfect for stabbing. The serrated edge should help in cutting through flesh. Now is the time.’

Davion slipped the knife through his belt. He then tapped Ulfrick on the shoulder. ‘Smells good. What are you making.’

Ulfrick jumped a little. ‘I was just making some bacon for breakfast. I didn’t hear you get up. You know, you should be a little gentler on a poor old wolf’s heart, you nearly gave me a heart attack.’

‘I know, that's what I wanted.’ Davion said.

Ulfrick’s eyes grew wide. ‘What did you say?’

Davion just smiled. He felt the rage flood him, he could hold out no longer. With a scream of pure hatred, he threw himself at Ulfrick, not even bother to draw the knife as he hit the old wolf. Instead, using his shoulder as a battering ram, slamming him into the kitchenette’s counter top.

The skillet went flying, spraying hot grease all over Ulfrick's left arm, and he howled in pain, catching him completely surprised. The old wolf did nothing to defend himself. His left arm was useless because of the intense pain that was shooting though it, and was no match for Davion’s strength. His back was rammed into the counter top, as the air was forced out of his lungs by the force of Davion’s shoulder, accompanied by the sound of snapping ribs. He fell to the ground whimpering in pain.

‘Pathetic’ Davion sneered as he spit in the old wolf’s eyes. ‘How can you even call yourself a man and cry like that?’

‘I...’ the old wolf started, but was cut off by another kick to his stomach.

‘I do not require an answer!’ Davion roared.

With that he lost all control. He grabbed the wolf by the head and began to drag him to the ancient electric grill. Ulfrick was in too much pain to protest. He just went limp.

‘Here’s a little taste of the afterlife monster.’ Davion whispered in the Ulfrick’s ear. He then slammed the left side of the wolf’s face on the white hot coils.

Ulfrick howled in agony as his face was ground into the coils. After a few seconds, his body went limp. The smell of burnt flesh and fur filled the air. Davion hurled the unconscious Fenrir onto the coffee table, sending scones and juice flying. Unable to take the weight of a full grown Fenrir, the table shattered, and Ulfrick fell to the floor.

Davion stood with his fists clenched, breathing heavily. ‘Is... he... dead... yet?’ he panted.

Mikhael went over and Ôfelt’ Ulfrick's neck for a pulse. ‘Sorry. Not yet. It matters not, you can kill him in a few minutes. I have something much more important for you to do while he is out of commission for the time being. Follow me.’ he said motioning for Davion to follow him into the pharmacy.

Davion was led across the store. ‘What are we doing? I thought I was supposed to wipe the blasphemies off the station? Why are you leading me through the creature’s store?’

‘For this.’ Mikhael said, pointing at the bottles of iodine. ‘This is what you will use to wipe out the rest of the aliens.’

‘This? This is going to kill off the aliens? What are they, some sort of germ? Even if I mix this in the water, there isn’t enough to poison the entire station? You have to be kidding me.’ Davion laughed.

Mikhael just looked at him. ‘I don’t expect you to understand the entirety of the plan right off from the start, so I will explain it to you. It is not the iodine alone that will slaughter the aliens. Take a few bottles and follow me to the cleaning supplies.’

Davion did as he was ordered. He grabbed a shopping bag from behind the checkout counter and stuffed as many bottles in as he could. Then he went over to the angel.

‘This is the other ‘cleansing’ agent. Simple ammonia. Been a common cleaner for centuries, yet few know its... other uses.’ Mikhael said simply. ‘I know that you did not pay much attention in chemistry, so I will not explain it in great detail. Mix the two together in the appropriate quantities, you get Nitrogen Tri-iodide. Very explosive. With about 100 ounces of this should be enough to do some serious damage to the VDS-1. All you need to do is cause humanity to rise up and force the aliens into a single sector of the station. The explosives go off, and the aliens are sent spinning off into the void where they came from. About four times that, and you will cripple the station.’

‘What if humanity refuses to destroy the aliens?’ Davion asked.

The angel just stared into Davion’s eyes. ‘If an eye forces you to sin, you must pluck it out. If a limb becomes diseased beyond repair, you must amputate. If the VDS-1 will not be cleansed of the aliens, then the humans are beyond saving. It is your job to destroy them in order to save humanity as a whole. The sacrifice of a few will sanctify the whole. Now hurry, the mongrel is beginning to stir.’

Davion dropped the bag of iodine bottles and ran into the back room. Sure enough, the old wolf was beginning to try and prop himself up. Ulfrick's left arm was burned badly and he was putting little weight on it. The entire left side of his face was a burned mess, still smoldering. The eyelids were fused shut, and the wolf’s eye was most likely charcoal. Davion chuckled a bit when he though of the amount of pain the old wolf would be in after his death. He drew the long knife from its sheath.

‘Why is this happening Davion?’ Ulfrick whimpered. His right eye was clouding up with tears. ‘What did I do wrong?’

‘Nothing much, only that you were born.’ Davion yelled, burying the knife up to the handle in Ulfrick’s chest, laughing as Ulfrick screamed in agony.

Driven on by the pain of his victim, Davion stabbed Ulfrick over and over in the center of the chest. He kept stabbing until his victim fell silent. Davion then wiped the blade off in the wolf’s apron, and sheathed the blade.

‘He is not dead yet, but he soon will be. So begins the modern Crusade for humanity. Follow me, there is much we have to do, and so little time to do it.’ Mikhael said as he walked to the front door.

‘But what about the body of the mongrel?’ Davion asked.

‘Leave him for the heathens to find. That is to be our calling sigh. Oh, grab a couple of bottles of alcohol while you are at it, you will need them later.’ Mikhael said as he strode out the door, not even bothering to open it.

Davion did as he was ordered, picked up the bag of other ingredients. He paused at the door, did a smart salute. ‘Ulfrick, your torment is just beginning. I hope you enjoy Hell!’ Then he walked out of the store.