★Memorable Author: [El_Roy_1999] The Procedure

[El_Roy_1999]

I got up and said:
"We need to get away now!"
July stood up and replied:
"Definitely. Follow me."
Audrey put her hands over her eyes and said:
"Why? Why did I have to get stuck in this?"
"I'm really sorry."
Outside, the gunshots were getting louder. July stepped briskly over to the counter and stepped over it. Even though my mind was on other things right now, it was amazing to see her just lift her leg and actually take a single step over the bar. She was so tall it was easy for her. She grinned at the cook and pulled open a hatch in the wall. With a twist of her shoulders, she let her arms drop down and squeezed into the hole in the wall. I looked at the thing and couldn't help wondering how I would do this. From the depths of the dark came a voice:
"Come on! It gets wider below."
I looked at Audrey and squeezed in, chafing my skin and tearing my clothes in the process. I cursed as Audrey gave me a push. I fell down a shaft and landed in a pool of... Honestly I didn't want to know what kind of liquid that was. Above me, July clung to the ceiling like a bizarre spider, her neck twisted around so she could look at me. Once again, her body began to glow softly in the dark. Audrey fell down next to me, spitting out what we all hoped was water. July said:
"Let's move!"
With these words, she scuttled off into the tunnel.

[El_Roy_1999]

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[Metal Sphere]

Goddamn, the undercity is gross as hell. If it's old sewage that's bad, and if it's that ichor from before it's even worse.

[solitariodude]

Yeah, I'd be thinking what's worse: dealing with the goons shooting at you, or dealing with the slow, nasty death of some toxic sludge

[Metal Sphere]

I'm still looking forward to a rematch between them and the three agents.

[El_Roy_1999]

I'm sorry there's a hiatus, but I'm swamped right now. It'll get better soon. Thank you for the comments and the ongoing interest. It's really motivating.

[solitariodude]

Hey, that's o.k. We just really appreciate you finding the time to continue

[Metal Sphere]

No problem, El_Roy. I'd rather wait a little for the next installment if it meant maintaining the quality we have now.

[El_Roy_1999]

Audrey and I were forced to wade through the darkness. I took her by the hand and led the way, hoping I wouldn't encounter anything even more horrible than what I knew of. Every second, I expected to feel some thing brush against my legs. There! I stopped and waited. Up above us, the gunfire slowly grew quieter. Audrey asked:
"What's up?"
"I don't know. There was something..."
I could feel her clench my hand harder. Summoning all my strength, I took a step forward. Nothing. Good. I continued to take one step after the next, waiting for another brush with whatever was living in there. Meanwhile, July had already reached the end of the tunnel. She climbed down and waved.
"Come on! It's not too far now."
Her strange light turned the place into a half-shadowed crypt. I took another step and suddenly jerked back. There was something. It was there, it was close.

I screamed and ran.

Audrey stumbled behind me, running as quickly as she could to keep up with me. It wasn't easy since I sprinted at full speed and refused to let her hand go. I slammed into the wall at the far end, July grabbed me by my neck and pulled us up. She dropped us on the concrete floor. It wasn't concrete. Those were just some age old, withered stone slabs. Where were we now? Was this still the undercity?

[El_Roy_1999]

I had to ask:
"Just how old is this city anyway?"
July looked down at me and replied:
"I don't know, but I met a guy once who was an urban historian. He spent all his time crawling around in the depths of the town and looking for some historical artifacts. He was a bit of an Indiana Jones guy. He told me that this place has been settled quite early. It was one of the first places where humans built a settlement around here. I guess this must be ancient history down here."
Audrey tried to rid herself of the remaining slick that stuck to her clothes and said:
"I don't mind the history lesson, but we should be going. If those government guys started shooting people up there, they probably won't give no quarter once they find us." She shivered. "Also, there's something here..."
I asked:
"You feel it too?"
"Absolutely."
July blinked. Her eyelids flickered left, right, up and down. It was disconcerting to watch.
"There is someone. And he's close. Let's move."
We entered the tunnels. Some of them were just earth and stone, with big puddles of stagnant water. The whole place was dusty and derelict. Before I followed the women in the gaping hole, I looked back. July's light fled the brackish water behind us. This was when I saw the bubbles.

"July? RUN!"

[solitariodude]

Ugh, sounds like sewer monsters. Had to deal with a couple of those once, when the plumbing stopped up

[El_Roy_1999]

She turned around, saw the thing approaching and stared at it. Audrey and I ran as fast as we could down the dark tunnel. I bumped into boards sticking out of the walls and stubbed my toes on rocks and bricks, but I didn't care. Behind us, the beast, whatever it was, emerged from the water. July was still standing there. At best, she was slowly backing away. The creature in front of her planted two huge arms on the ledge and opened its enormous maw. Inside, we could see some strange greenish light shining. It was the same that July's body emitted.
It dawned to me...

The beast stopped. It moved in a strange pattern, lowering some kind of head on a stalk to face July and said in a susurrating voice:
"You are a young one. A very young one."
We stopped in our tracks. July looked up at the creature.
"I don't understand."
"You are still human. You are still one of them."
July asked:
"And you are?"
"I have become more. But we can't have that. It is a time of thinning. Who made you?"
"The Russian doctor."
"I see. Another young one. He is the youngest of the prophets, I hear. Well, he'll die next. But first..."
In mid-sentence, the beast attacked, extending a huge five-pronged tongue and smashing it into July's body. She yelped and was thrown against the wall. The beast instantly recoiled the appendage and smacked her again. July was stunned.
I stared at Audrey.
"What should we do?"
"I don't know. Help her?"
"How?"
"No idea."
She grabbed a brick and threw it at the monster. The beast opened an enormous eye on its maw and gave us what could best be described as an incredulous stare.
"More? Wonderful!"
It pulled itself up in the tunnel and charged.

[Metal Sphere]

Oh damn, a preview of what July may turn into down the line.

[El_Roy_1999]

Honestly, I cannot remember much of what happened next. The few things I can recall are that Audrey pushed me down, that I clambered over some fallen rocks, that July jumped on top of the beast and grabbed its headstalk and tore it off and that the whole creature howled and screamed as we fled. After a headless flight through the depths of the earth, we finally ended up in a large underground cavern with a domed ceiling. The room was littered with the rotten carcasses of beasts and men alike. Even now as I try to recall the details, I shudder in horror. It was really awful. Behind us, I could still hear the monster scream obscenities at us. We retreated through the cavern, eventually finding an exit and wandering through more underground halls. It was amazing how extensive this city's underworld had grown over the centuries. At the same time, I was deeply horrified by the strange discoveries we made. I could only catch passing glances of the strange and primitive paintings on the walls, but they showed what seemed like bizarre rites out of the most insane imaginations. Do you know HP Lovecraft? This.
I must confess that as I saw these strange drawings, I couldn't help thinking of July. She had caught up with us after a while and seemed oblivious to the horror around us. It was strange to say the least. As she reached us, she said:
"We'll see how soon this guy finds us without his head."
She grinned. I found her strange before, now I was feeling that she was repulsive.
"You're calling this a guy?"
"Sure. Not a nice one, but, you know."
"July, he was a huge monster." I stopped. "Man, now I'm calling him a 'he'. What is all this crap?"
July shrugged.
"Keep calm, Ed. You're doing fine. Everything will be well. There must be an exit around here somewhere."
I stood still. The two others turned to me. Audrey was still oddly calm. As a firefighter, I somehow expected her to stay calm under stress. Maybe she was in shock, I didn't know. I turned to July and said:
"July. Please listen for a second. You know I've always been a friend. I really tried to help you whenever you were in trouble and I was there if you needed someone to talk to. You must be aware that you can trust me. With your life. But please, please, this has to be mutual. I have to be able to trust you. And right now, you're coming across as a complete nutjob. You let some quack turn you into a monster-alien-beast, you dragged us down here into Dante's inferno and now we're fleeing from a mutant sewer aligator headstalk. Please, for my sake, try to understand our situation and help me cope with it. Please tell me what you're up to and try not to shove us any deeper into the shithole we're in."
July blinked with her weird lids. I stared at her in disbelief. She hesitated.
"Well..."

[Metal Sphere]

Oh boy, this has been a long time coming.

[El_Roy_1999]

She sat down slowly, folding up her huge body and finally taking a deep breath:
"Ed, you've been the only guy I ever trusted all my life. You know there were a lot of things that were crappy. I always lose control whenever I believe I understand, you know? I wanted to be someone special, but at the same time, I wanted the others to be like me, so I wouldn't be alone. All the other people where always whispering behind my back, but you, you cared about me and at the same time, you didn't try to change me. That was a lot of help. So be sure, I really trust you. I don't think I trust anybody else."
She looked up to me and continued:
"What I did now was weird. I'm aware of that. Also, I've dragged you into this. It's not entirely my fault, but I'm hardly innocent either. However, I can explain why. The more I saw what being human meant, the less I wanted to be one. It has been going on for years. Back when I was really drugged out, I sort of decided to kill myself. I tried, it didn't work. But I really wanted to quit being me. I never told you, but I actually tried being straight for a while. I worked at an insurance company. Me!"
I stared at the huge alien creature in front of me and imagined her in a pantsuit. I had to snort with laughter.
"It didn't work. When I heard of the procedure, I realised that this was my way out of here. I wanted to end myself and start again."
She stood up and walked over to Audrey and me.
"Now, I'm different, but I'm still the same. You can trust me and if we manage to get out of this, I'll do everything I can to clean this mess up. But right now, I really need your help. Is that okay?"
I didn't know whether extraterrestrial beasts can cry, but I was pretty sure she would now. I nodded:
"Fine. Let's get out of here and find out what is actually going on."