You are inexplicable. | ONC 2021

iiii - RESISTANCE.

I haven't updated this story in two years! I do want to finish it, and I have an ending loosely planned out now. Keeping it dark and weird. Super rough drafts, though.

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"We've been getting impatient, Kai," says a man with a neatly-trimmed beard and an unkempt, greasy mop of hair.

The room goes silent again, staring at you, waiting for you to speak.

"Why?" you ask.

He stands up. "You said you would solve this. You convinced us you knew something we didn't. But we're tired of being strung along." The man's eyes graze the table, meeting nodding heads. His pupils halt and tighten when they land on you. "Tell us everything you know."

You eye the exit, but Jeane grabs your hand and leads you to sit down.

"I don't know anything," you say.

The standing man paces the room. "Ah, so now you're changing your tune?"

You don't know what to say besides the implausible truth. "I'm not the Kai you knew."

Jeane grabs your hand, squeezing encouragingly. "What do you mean?"

With a deep breath, you launch into a recollection of the past two days—your entire memory of being. First, gaining consciousness in the office of Death, being taken to this strange world, and Jeane dragging you here, all without explanation.

The table erupts into indignant conversation.

"Hey!" Jeane says. "Stop. I believe Kai."

"Why, because you like—"

"When we came in, Mr. Schulz said this wasn't Kai."

"Jeane, you know that man hasn't had any marbles in at least a decade. If it looks like Kai, then it is."

"He was so coherent and sure. I've never seen him like that, Felix."

The table is tense, multiple members staring daggers in your direction.

The apparent leader, Felix, ignores Jeane and drops the topic. "Today, we're heading to the outskirts of the city to fight Spiders. Anyone willing to help is welcome to come. The only way to stop this invasion is to halt its growth, to stop it from consuming any more of the city."

You want to see more of the city and the invasion, so you tag along.

Jeane shows you the ends of the vessels that weave through the city streets. They all have sucking mouths lined with sharp protrusions like teeth. In the distance, a spiny creature skitters down the cobbled streets.

"That's a Spider," Jeane says.

You're sure it has more than eight legs, more like a centipede than an arachnid. It's the size of a small dog, and it's carrying a chunk of what looks like meat in its pincer-like appendage.

"They bite people. Their venom will either knock you out, put you into a coma, or kill you, depending on how much it has left. Then they feed you, piece by piece, through these tubes. They all lead to the heart of the city. They're always growing, spreading. The Spiders are like worker bees, feeding the Queen."

You watch as a Spider leaps into a shattered apartment window. Inside, people scream, then go silent.

Here, along the streets, you can also see giant slimy sacks attached to the walls of buildings. They're pearly white and distended, held together by marbled-looking mucus. When you look closely, you can see movement inside, like hundreds of tiny little growing Spiders ready to hatch.

"Stay away from those," Jeane warns. She hands you a long sword.

In surprise, you grip its sturdy handle. You test the weight of its long, slightly curved metal in your hand, unsure what she expects you to do with it. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it. Look, I can tell you're not the same Kai. Your reactions to everything here...." She giggles. "It's obvious you haven't seen any of this and are as disgusted as any first-timer."

You give a grateful smile, happy to be believed by at least one person.

"Use that sword to slash anything alien. Just not the egg sacs. Trust me."

You observe her slashing furiously at the ends of a vessel, eventually severing it and releasing a gush of green, simmering digestive juices. She wipes the sweat from her forehead.

You notice a Spider creeping up behind her, fangs bared and preparing to leap. You slash the heavy sword and bisect it midair, two twitching pieces falling to the ground. Your heart pounds, taking in how quickly disaster could come and be averted.

Jeane turns around. "Hey, thanks. We all need to have each other's backs at a time like this. All of humanity standing together against—" She slashes some more at the shriveling vessel before her "—a common enemy."