man screamed, rolling free and bouncing to the carpet, grabbing at the gush of blood. He stared up through drug-fuelled eyes, his hands stained with his own life. ‘You shot me!’
Carter’s boot hammered the man’s face, and he picked up the limp, moaning woman from the bed. She was naked except for knee-high boots, and she cradled herself to him as the room shook. Carter moved to the window and stared down onto the decorative flagstones. Too high to jump. He moved back, into the corridor. The smell of fire was much stronger now, and without the staircase he would have to find another means of escape. Carter started to jog, near-naked woman in his arms, struggling to keep his footing on the sloping twisted floor. He could hear cries for help from the wounded man behind, bleeding in the room. ‘Find your own fucking way out,’ he thought simply. He reached the end of the corridor and stood staring through a huge bay window made up from lots of small panes but with only a few panels of actual glass remaining.
The rumbling ceased.
‘Thank God,’ Carter whispered in relief.
Rock tore and screamed, and from the window he watched the snaking crevasse appear, sucking snow from the slope directly before him and zigzagging crazily across the gardens towards the hotel. Time should have slowed but it did not, and Carter felt a sense of panic well up madly in his chest. He fought it down.
His mouth was still dry with sudden fear as the world cracked open in front of him, though.
The moaning woman shivered, cold in Carter’s arms, as the mountain breeze stroked her skin. He looked down into her beautiful mascara- and tear-smeared face - her eyes opened slowly, confused, and she stared up at him, her full red lips parted slightly. Carter saw there a reflection of his own fear and a bewilderment about what was happening ...
The sound of screaming, tearing rock filled his ears and the hotel began to sway, throwing Carter off balance. He kicked his way through the frame of the bay window, stomping its wood to match-tinder, and with a disbelieving prayer he leapt towards the snake of rapidly splitting ground.
The buzz of Air Zermatt rescue helicopters filled the air and the song of sirens rose from the valley below. They buzzed, muffled and distant, a dream.
Cold air howled past Carter, whipped at him as he fell helplessly towards the widening, speeding, zigzagging crevasse.
He closed his eyes against the horror ...
Spiral Mainframe
Data log #12874
CLASSIFIED SADt/6778/SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT
Data Request 324#12874
NEX
The Nex Project Nx5
Nicknamed ‘Necros’ or ‘Nex’, the Nx5 Project was pioneered in the 1950s as a response to the Cold War games of the USA and Russia.
The Design Brief was simple: create a creature that was a blend of insect and human, capable of withstanding chemical, biological and nuclear toxins. Using an ancient machine originally developed by the Nazis, Skein Blending allowed genetic strands to be spiralled together - woven into an artificial or enhanced creature. When the human element was kept dominant the resulting hybrid had many of the powerful characteristics of an insect. A much increased strength, agility and speed. An increased pain threshold. A resistance to chemical, biological and radioactive poisons with an incredibly enhanced immune system. Increased speed of thought processes. Some grew external and internal armour to protect organs and bones, and all became incredibly lethal killing machines without remorse. The perfect soldier, with an ability to repair themselves.
One downside was a change to the subject’s mind-state. Many subjects lost all emotions, lost the ability to love, to nurture, to care. The mind became like that of an insect - sterile and completely focused on tasks.
Spiral withdrew funding following bad media coverage, several laboratory catastrophes and a growing concern over the moral standpoint.
Keyword SEARCH>> NEX, SAD, SPIRAL_sadt, DURELL,
Carter’s boot hammered the man’s face, and he picked up the limp, moaning woman from the bed. She was naked except for knee-high boots, and she cradled herself to him as the room shook. Carter moved to the window and stared down onto the decorative flagstones. Too high to jump. He moved back, into the corridor. The smell of fire was much stronger now, and without the staircase he would have to find another means of escape. Carter started to jog, near-naked woman in his arms, struggling to keep his footing on the sloping twisted floor. He could hear cries for help from the wounded man behind, bleeding in the room. ‘Find your own fucking way out,’ he thought simply. He reached the end of the corridor and stood staring through a huge bay window made up from lots of small panes but with only a few panels of actual glass remaining.
The rumbling ceased.
‘Thank God,’ Carter whispered in relief.
Rock tore and screamed, and from the window he watched the snaking crevasse appear, sucking snow from the slope directly before him and zigzagging crazily across the gardens towards the hotel. Time should have slowed but it did not, and Carter felt a sense of panic well up madly in his chest. He fought it down.
His mouth was still dry with sudden fear as the world cracked open in front of him, though.
The moaning woman shivered, cold in Carter’s arms, as the mountain breeze stroked her skin. He looked down into her beautiful mascara- and tear-smeared face - her eyes opened slowly, confused, and she stared up at him, her full red lips parted slightly. Carter saw there a reflection of his own fear and a bewilderment about what was happening ...
The sound of screaming, tearing rock filled his ears and the hotel began to sway, throwing Carter off balance. He kicked his way through the frame of the bay window, stomping its wood to match-tinder, and with a disbelieving prayer he leapt towards the snake of rapidly splitting ground.
The buzz of Air Zermatt rescue helicopters filled the air and the song of sirens rose from the valley below. They buzzed, muffled and distant, a dream.
Cold air howled past Carter, whipped at him as he fell helplessly towards the widening, speeding, zigzagging crevasse.
He closed his eyes against the horror ...
Spiral Mainframe
Data log #12874
CLASSIFIED SADt/6778/SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT
Data Request 324#12874
NEX
The Nex Project Nx5
Nicknamed ‘Necros’ or ‘Nex’, the Nx5 Project was pioneered in the 1950s as a response to the Cold War games of the USA and Russia.
The Design Brief was simple: create a creature that was a blend of insect and human, capable of withstanding chemical, biological and nuclear toxins. Using an ancient machine originally developed by the Nazis, Skein Blending allowed genetic strands to be spiralled together - woven into an artificial or enhanced creature. When the human element was kept dominant the resulting hybrid had many of the powerful characteristics of an insect. A much increased strength, agility and speed. An increased pain threshold. A resistance to chemical, biological and radioactive poisons with an incredibly enhanced immune system. Increased speed of thought processes. Some grew external and internal armour to protect organs and bones, and all became incredibly lethal killing machines without remorse. The perfect soldier, with an ability to repair themselves.
One downside was a change to the subject’s mind-state. Many subjects lost all emotions, lost the ability to love, to nurture, to care. The mind became like that of an insect - sterile and completely focused on tasks.
Spiral withdrew funding following bad media coverage, several laboratory catastrophes and a growing concern over the moral standpoint.
Keyword SEARCH>> NEX, SAD, SPIRAL_sadt, DURELL,
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