same world, different life

Chapter 14. A Living Realization

It seemed like weeks before Daniel was even back to his old self. To him, though, It seemed like my bonds were beginning to splinter. I saw him waving in front of my face from time to time while I was tending to patients. It would be no avail to him as the Infestation had completely brainwashed me and molded me into their leader; they had taken control of the very neurons in my brain. One night though, a dream flashed before me, and my trance was cleared.

"My family, they're alive!" I said in shock as I woke up in a panic.

"Yes, now then, head to where they are and get out of this nightmare," something replied to me.

I headed outside the nest to creatures looking at me as if they all knew what was up. They all looked at me with joyous expressions, yet it didn't bring much of it to my face. I headed down through multiple districts throughout the ship until I found the door I was looking for. On the other side, though, it seemed as if I had stepped into a game testing ground.

The current area had Minecraft zombies in it, of multiple types. Their punches didn't have much force to them, though. I probably got punched around enough times for the player in the actual game to die twice without anything on them. However, once I saw the village, my attitude changed, and spikes came forth from where the Infested was at my wrists. I began to show them as a warning sign to no luck. Once one fell into a ravine, though, I knew they were simulated, so I began stabbing each zombie one by one as before heading to an iron door. It was locked, and once I touched it, I heard a horn and guns spawned everywhere.

It was pillagers, and they were attacking the town and decked out like terrorists; some even with TNT strapped onto them or creepers in tow. 

I grabbed what I could carry before fighting them off only to find the door unlocked, I went in, and now it looked like the interior of a corpus ship. Walking through, I saw something through the window that very few see in person. Our home, Earth, in all of its glory. Naught a single light on the dark side of the planet. I could only imagine what happened in the few short months that humanity was off of the Earth. 

Then something else caught my eye. Venus was terraformed. Somehow the alien race that took us had made a shield strong enough to prevent Venus from gaining more heat and warming again, and Titian was orbiting it. The moon's mountains now were melted, and the planet was covered with water and was green in some areas, Venus was too. I could only imagine what they did to Mars.

Then I heard something come behind me. I could feel its presence, and I knew that it was with the hive queen. "come now, before the simulated one finds you. The Ultramorpth knows where your family is," I heard her say to me. I followed it through the corpus ship, which seemed to be entirely abandoned. Soon I found what I was looking for, my family looking as if they'd been put in stasis. "Come on, help me get them out," I told the Ultramorpth.  

Then the simulated variant came down through the vent. My guns drawn, I fired upon it to little effect. Then the real Ultramorpth charged and attacked it, but I didn't leave it behind; I aided it with my Infested bone spikes. I jabbed at the Simulated one at the neck before managing to fell it.

Coning up to the stasis pods, I could see the vitals of my family. All were alive, and I soon felt relieved, but questions quickly overshadowed that. Why are they here? What was Machiavelli, Dante, Clair, and Virgil doing with me? Was this an experiment? I was about ready to open them until I suddenly blacked out.

I then woke up in my old room in Machiavelli's home. I went into the living room to find a note that read: "Dear Nathan, my apologies for any pain I've caused you in this experiment. You have taught us a lot about the American people and how much they believe in their system and how persistent a person can be to fight for what he believes in. I'll have you know that your family is still very much alive, and you now only have your human form, but if you want your other forms back, just tell me."

Then Machiavelli came behind me. "You're not mad, are you?" He asked me. "Be honest with me."

"I feel violated, you messed with my very psyche, and yet I still feel inclined to stay in your home now. Because what matters to me more is that my family is still alive," I replied. I soon headed with him to see my family for the first time in months. A time that seemed like forever.