Empyrean Iris Story Collection Vol. 3

Generations

Her shadow loomed over him, so tall, impossibly tall since the last time he had seen her. Glados Flattened her ears back against her head and barred her teeth as she sniffed at the air around him. Her almost, childlike appearance had deteriorated since the last time he had seen her. The soft baby skin of her face was now covered completely in a wash of delicate white blond hairs, which while they were clearly human made it look more like fur. Her adaptid side had taken over her appearance since he had last seen her, from the fur covering her head right down to the massive spikes that made up her feet. The only thing particularly human about her had to be those eyes, bright green and with a dilated pupil that made her look almost manic.

When she bared her teeth they dripped and glittered with saliva.

"Father." She said back.

Her voice was strange, deeper than it should have been, or perhaps distorted like a voice might be through static.

It was the kind of voice you might expect from a creature in a horror movie, though he supposed that was not so far from the truth.

She leaned down to sniff at him.

It was hard for him to wrap his head around the fact she was under two years old, as she was now almost as tall as a horse, or taller than some horses. When she lifted her head on flat ground, she would have been able to look him directly in the eye, though she stood on a root now, and towered over him.

"You took your time." She growled.

"I'm sorry Glados. I'm sorry." He didn't know what else to say."What.... Happened?"

She growled low in her throat but did not speak.

"Glados!" He turned his head towards more voices, and watched in surprise as three other figures scuttled out from the darkness.

Cortana, Vicky, and Eve.

Behind him the marines had sort of bunched together in a tight group. Not using him as a shield per say, but it was close.

The spiderlings, now more like spider giants descended from above their spiked feet digging into the bark of trees as they clambered down.

Cortana made a sort of chirping noise and rushed over. If he didn't know for a fact that that was her being happy, he might have run in the other direction, "Father!"

Her voice was even less human than Glados, but she shoved her head in between them and stuck out her neck. He patted her snout and then hugged her feeling bunched muscle under her fur hair rippling against his arms.

Vicky licked the side of his head

"You're here!"

"Finally." Glados mumbled.

"Maybe he can help." It was Eve speaking this time He didn't remember Eve all that well as she had opted to stay with the colony originally. Her voice was the last human out of all of them, and sort of sounded like a voice might, if you heard it over a warped speaker.

"Help with what.:

"Get his help." Glados snapped, "he's the reason this has happened.'

Adam felt the guilt coming on hard, but Vicky turned and snapped at Glados with her large teeth, "Stop being a bitch, its not his fault. You're just mad we haven't seen him in a while."

Glados went silent.

He guessed he could understand that.

"Again, I am sorry." He didn't bother making excuses.

Vicky shook her head, "Not your fault. After the other hybrids were adopted, Eris offered to take us with her, but at that point it seemed more important to come back here and help the colony." She shook her head sadly, "They have been having trouble."