Monsters Outside

One does what one must.
>Fling sewage like an angry monkey.

YOU THROW POOP INTO THE FORMER MAILMAN'S MOUTH!



As he chokes and struggles to spit it all out, both Alyssa and Malia manage to slip free and attack him! Alyssa goes for his eyes while Malia breaks an arm!

The monster screams!

“Costovo! COSTOVO!”

You toss the grenade to Alyssa. In one smooth, fluid motion, she unpins the grenade and throws it into the ex-mailman's mouth!

The monster explodes.



Your doorway is clear now. The monster's body has been reduced to a black smear. Your doorway has also widened considerably.

You ask both Alyssa and Malia.

“Are you two okay?”

Alyssa reloads her rifle and catches her breath.

“Yeah, I'm all right. Damn, that was close. It's a good thing those letter-things didn't reach you. And thanks for saving us.”

You sit down on the floor.

“Hey, don't mention it. Besides, you're the one who finished him off.”

You and Alyssa get the same idea and waste no time moving the fridge to block part of the now-wide front doorway. You also clean up some of the mess.



Malia approaches the hole she made earlier and speaks to you.

“Costovo, I'm okay too. I'm going downstairs now for food.

You cry out.

“Wait! Is there a ladder or furniture down there I could use to climb back up?”

Malia looks back at you and answers.

“I'm sorry, no. There's nothing there but food.”

You cannot help but wonder what she means by that. You get up and look down into the hole.

It's just. Dead monsters. Four dead monsters, arranged like they were ready to buried. One of them looks like it was partially eaten.



Oh God, has Malia been eating corpses? You have to ask.

“Malia... did you kill them?”

Malia trembles.

“No! No! I didn't! I found them like that! I don't know who killed them but it wasn't me! I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I've been collecting them. Dead monsters. Costovo, there was nothing else to eat! I could have eaten your pizza but I didn't because I wanted to keep it for you! I had to. For three days I didn't eat. I had to scavenge. I had to scavenge like an animal. Like a rat. Vulture. I was hungry. I'm sorry I'm sorry you must think I'm a monster too.”

You can't help but feel sympathy. You speak to her as softly as you can.

“It's okay. I understand. I believe you. You were scared, hungry and there was nothing else. I'm sorry I made you upset, I just needed to know what's down there.”

She's still trembling.

“I hate this, Costovo. I hate being like this. I hate crawling on the floor like an animal. I hated being forced to eat dead bodies. I wish this was all a dream. I don't remember anything about my life before this but I know I wasn't like this. I just... I just want to go home. Go to sleep and wake up to find out this was all a nightmare. Go back to my old life.”

Alyssa seems to have been able to hear your conversation too. Malia must have said the same things to her. The former soldier joins in.

“Hey. I can relate.”

She removes the top part of her suit.



She speaks again.

“I know what it's like to hate being what you've become, Malia. I know what it's like to look at yourself and wish everything went back to the way things were. I wish I was human again. Being a monster sucks. I don't feel a compelling urge to spread the disease, but I'm always hungry. Doesn't matter what I eat or how much.”

She points to your door.

“You saw him, right? The former-mailman? He must have eaten God knows how much to get that big. The virus turns any extra nutrients into extra mass. The hunger never stops. Monsters don't poop. We just absorb, burn calories, grow extra flesh. Everything gets used up. Everything.”

You ask Alyssa.

“You're always hungry?”

She nods.

“Yeah. It sucks, Costovo. Even while I was shooting at the monsters I felt that hunger. So many times I wanted to eat them after killing them. I had to stop myself. I had to remember that the hunger isn't real. I'm still fighting, because I hope one day we can find a cure for what's happened to us. I don't really think we will, but we're still people, right? We can still make choices, right?”

You can see Malia intently listening to Alyssa. You can hear her silent voice.

“Alyssa, thank you for speaking to me. I feel a lot better now. But... I'm still hungry.”

You give Malia one of your rations.

“Here. You don't have to eat corpses anymore. Stay here and you'll always have food.”

She thanks you as she eagerly eats through the packaging.

“This is the most delicious thing I've ever eaten! Thank you!”

As you watch her eat and Alyssa put her suit's helmet back on, you wonder if the scientists in the future will ever find a cure for this disease. It's turned people into monsters, but maybe if their minds are still lucid, maybe they can at least look more human somehow.

You decide to stay in your bedroom, as you miss the feel of sleeping on a bed, and you have two people watching out for you now.

The rest of the day passes uneventfully, aside from some explosions outside. The military has been intensifying their bombing campaign, turning several buildings into rubble.

DAY 4

You wake up in your bedroom and answer your phone. It's Dr. Cobra.

COMMSOUND AUDIOTALK
Ver. 1.1.4
(all conversations monitored by Government under Emergency Act)
(You are speaking with Friend Cobra-Doc)

Cobra-Doc: Morning. We've checked the sample you sent us. Whatever changed Malia, it's not the same thing that's turning people into the red monsters.

You: So it's a DIFFERENT virus?

Cobra-Doc: Yes. A completely different kind. It works much faster, but the infected creatures don't feel compelled to spread it. Costovo, I need to tell you something else that we just discovered.

You: Yeah, doc?

Cobra-Doc: Tagonia is not responsible for the epidemics. I mean, our current problem did come from that direction, but all this? It's extraterrestrial.

You: Are you serious? You're talking ALIENS?

Cobra-Doc: Yes. I am. These microbes, they don't behave like anything we've ever seen in nature or artificial bioweapons made by any country. I believe we may be dealing with some kind of terraforming agent. The Tagonian government has confirmed that the source of all this is a spacecraft that crashed in their territory. It was carrying containers full of unknown life-forms. The Tagonians have seen even more varieties than we have on this side of the border.

You: Oh my God. Are these viruses trying to turn our planet into an alien world?

Cobra-Doc: I believe so. We're looking at ecosystems being transformed. We are already working with the Tagonians to contain the threat. They were embarrassed to ask for help earlier, but now they understand they have no choice. Our armies are busy shooting and bombing the hell out of anything that's become hostile. Our brightest minds are also busy, studying this new life.

You: Wow. What a time to be alive. Aliens are real.

Cobra-Doc: Yes, well, if only they weren't also ruining people's lives.

You: Yeah. Hey, Doc, any word on when I'll be able to get out of here?

Cobra-Doc: Ah, about that. Your extraction will come the day after tomorrow.

You: Really?

Cobra-Doc: Yes. The military is preparing a team with a helicopter to pick you up.

You: Uh, okay. What about Malia and Alyssa?

Cobra-Doc: They'll be coming with you in a sealed compartment on the same vehicle. We've been busy modifying the chopper to carry biohazardous materials.

You: This is good news! We'll just have to wait another day and then we'll be out!

Cobra-Doc: We're also air-dropping some weapons onto your apartment building. Alyssa already knows and will go up to the roof to pick them up. Shotguns, handguns and swords.

You: Swords?

Cobra-Doc: Military figured they'd be useful considering the close-quarters environment. They just forged them to deal with the monsters. Stay vigilant, Costovo. Trollmaster Hades is still out there. He's lost a lot of followers last night after our bombing runs, but he's still determined to infect you. From what the military's been telling me, he might actually come for you himself. Be ready, Costovo.

You: If he's coming, I'm going to mash him to a pulp.

Cobra-Doc: You got spirit, but be careful. He'll be armed with guns and bombs.

(Audiotalk ended)

You eat your government-approved breakfast of rations and spend much of the morning trying to distract yourself with your laptop in your bedroom. You play an old but still-good videogame from ten years ago to pass the time.

11 AM comes. Alyssa returns with a haul. 2 shotguns, 2 swords, and 2 handguns, with lots of ammunition packed tightly in boxes. She already took 1 of each new weapon, and put the others on the floor/



You cannot help but ask.

“So why did they send you two of everything?”

She smiles underneath her suit and hands you a shotgun.

“Because the top brass authorized you to handle firearms.”

You're a little surprised. You've never touched a gun in your life. You ask her another question.

“Are you going to teach me how to use this thing?”

She shrugs.

“Yeah, might as well. We got a lot of time before the helicopter shows up, and I want you to be ready just in case Hades or any more of his monsters show up.”

You spend the rest of the day learning how to use the weapons you've been given, as best as you can. A single day is not enough, but at least you know the absolute basics.

However, you DO find out you're better with one weapon than the others. Which one?

Is it the shotgun? It carries only 4 shells but it's devastating. Reloading it takes time, though, and you're not sure you can reliably insert the shells without dropping them yet.

Perhaps the handgun? It has 12 shots and you can aim a lot faster with it than the heavier shotgun. It's easier to reload too. The only real problem with it is that the bullets are very small. Alyssa says despite it being standard military issue, it was originally designed for police officers, not the military, so it has a low chance to actually kill anyone unless you can hit a vital organ. Apparently, the Government wanted to save money on side-arms.

Or maybe the sword? It's surprisingly light and really sharp. Alyssa says it's pretty durable too, and can easily cut through flesh. Your only issue is that you might get tired even if it is pretty light.

>_