The Alpha-Mind
CHAPTER 12: THE ALPHA-MIND
The central chamber was massive and circular in shape. The walls were lined with computer towers and other machinery while a console stood at west end, near the entrance. The room's centrepiece was an enormous tank, in which lay what could only be described as a tentacled monstrosity.
Nearly twenty feet in height, the creature's bulbous body was covered in eyes and soaked in slime, which also leaked from an orifice near the bottom. Dozens of black, slime-covered tentacles emerged from its back and sides. As Reed and Jimmy stepped inside the room, the Alpha-Mind turned all of its eyes toward the duo.
"This is what's controlling the Slime?" Jimmy asked.
"Precisely," replied Reed, "The Alpha sits at the centre of a massive hive-mind that encompasses all Slime units on the surface, as well as any potential units en route to Earth."
"What makes you so sure that there's more Slime in space?"
"These creatures appear to travel exclusively via meteorite. While we have not yet pinpointed the exact location of their homeworld, we can surmise it is far beyond our solar system, and any journey over that kind of distance would take hundreds, if not thousands, of years to complete. Despite that, two meteorites landed on Earth within one year of each other. With that, I can safely assume they have reserves."
"Jesus…"
Reed approached a nearby console and began entering some information while Jimmy strolled the exterior of the tank, examining the massive creature inside. As Jimmy pressed his hand against the glass, the creature startled him by slamming one of its tentacles and letting out a roar.
"Try not to provoke the specimen," Reed warned, "Not that it can escape. Its tank is built to withstand explosives."
"Got ya," said Jimmy, backing away.
After pressing some buttons on the console, it printed out a long sheet of paper, which Dr. Reed skimmed through.
"Hm," he said, "Vitals appear to be normal. Stress levels are heightened somewhat, no doubt due to our presence…"
"So," began Jimmy, "We kill this thing, the infestation ends, right?"
"Correct."
"It's really that easy, huh?"
"If you call being trapped in this hellish laboratory for hours waiting for help to come along 'easy', then sure. Plus, we've no idea just how resistant the Alpha-Mind actually is. Fortunately, I have a plan; do you remember when I redirected all of that power to this room? Well, it wasn't for nothing. My plan is to overload the machinery in this room to critical levels, resulting in a total system meltdown. It's risky, but it is the only way to purge these horrid experiments for good. Once I press this button here, you and I will have approximately ten minutes to escape before everything blows up. That should be more than enough time to reach the elevator in Sector C, understood?"
Jimmy nodded.
"Good," Reed continued, "Now, before we proceed, I need to administer a sedative. This will inhibit the Alpha-Mind's movements and further reduce its chance of escaping this room."
"Do what you gotta do, but make it quick. I don't wanna get overrun."
After inputting some commands into the console, several automated syringes descended upon the Alpha-Mind's head from within the tank. The creature roared loudly and put up a brief resistance, before the syringes bore themselves deep into the creature's back. Within seconds, the creature ceased struggling and slumped downward.
"Did it work?" Jimmy asked.
"Out like a light," Reed chuckled, "Now, let me just…"
As Reed prepped the system overload, he grew hesitant.
"What gives?" demanded Jimmy, "Come on, let's destroy this thing already!"
"Wait," Reed insisted, "I-I need a sample first."
"A what? Are you fuckin' crazy?"
"You don't understand; this is the most significant find in human history, and we are about to whitewash all trace of it from history! I must ensure at least some part of it lives!"
"In case you haven't noticed, doc, this thing is evil and it's destroying this city! Let's just kill it and go!"
Reed ran from behind the console and approached the tank.
"Perhaps you are right," he said, "But I still require some kind of bargaining chip. See, the government spent millions on Project Alpha and they will not take kindly to us tearing it all down. Perhaps you don't care, but my career as a scientist will be over! Not unless I have some kind of leverage."
"Leverage? What are you, insane? We have to leave, now!"
"I'll be only a few seconds."
With that, Dr. Reed opened the tank and entered, sealing the door behind him. He drew a small phial from his pocket, along with some tweezers, and began picking small amounts of slime off of the Alpha-Mind's unconscious body. Outside the tank, Jimmy paced anxiously, waiting for Dr. Reed to complete his task.
"Fuckin' hell," he muttered, "What is he…Uh-oh."
Jimmy glanced inside the tank and saw that the Alpha-Mind's eyes were beginning to open. Jimmy ran to the tank and pounded on it to draw Dr. Reed's attention. Dr. Reed could not understand what Jimmy was saying through the thick glass and simply showed off the phial while giving a thumbs up.
"Look, you moron!" Jimmy yelled while pointing.
Dr. Reed looked up in terror and saw that the Alpha-Mind's tentacles were moving. Before he could reach the door, one of the tentacles wrapped itself tightly around his body and lifted him off of the ground. The Alpha-Mind proceeded to slam Dr. Reed into both the walls and floor of the tank repeatedly, leaving blood stains everywhere. From the outside, Jimmy watched this series of events unfolding with a look of pure horror.
The creature finished Dr. Reed off by slamming him full force into the bomb-proof glass, hard enough to partially shatter it.
"Oh, God," said Jimmy, "Oh, Jesus…"
Through the cracked glass, Jimmy observed Dr. Reed's mangled face. Despite his injuries, he continued moving his mouth, like a fish out of water gasping for air.
"Arrogant humans…" a strained, hoarse voice came from Dr. Reed's mouth, "Foolish humans…"
As Jimmy paced around the exterior of the tank, the Alpha-Mind's dozen eyes followed his every move.
"Thought you could command me…" the voice continued, "Command my children…But you were all wrong…"
"The good doctor told me about how you tricked him for over a year," said Jimmy, "Nice work."
"You know nothing of our work! Countless worlds have fallen before us. Like so many others, yours too shall fall."
"So that's your endgame, huh? Travel the stars, turnin' everyone you meet into mindless slaves?"
"The form you see before you was taken from the last world we conquered…Its species was small, insignificant. My children elevated them into gods…"
"Yeesh! You call that a god? I call it calimari!"
"You believe that by killing me, this will all be over? Fool! This form is already dying. Soon, it will perish, but my consciousness will live on as I unleash my newest children upon your world. They will seek out worthy hosts to replace me as the next 'Alpha'."
"Yeah? Not if I kill you first, asshole!"
"Your bravery in the face of death is admirable…You shall be considered a potential host…"
With that, the Alpha-Mind let out a scream that seemed to shake the room. It slammed Dr. Reed into the glass once more, completely shattering it. One-by-one, its tentacles burst open, revealing a new Slime variant cocooned inside; this one resembled the Crawlers, except it had powerful hind legs which it used to leap like a frog.
"Aw, shit!"
Jimmy immediately ran to the console. Recalling Dr. Reed's instructions, he pressed some buttons, triggering the overload.
"Warning," said a voice over the intercom, "Power levels critical...Facility self-destruct imminent...Recommend full-scale evacuation. Warning…"
All around the room, pipes began to explode, while machines short-circuited. As the Leapers approached, Jimmy retreated to the bulkhead while firing shots at them. Once he got the door open, he ran as fast as he could down the hall.
"Gotta get outta here," he said to himself, "Aw, where the fuck's that elevator?"
As he entered one hallway, he was met by a horde of infested.
"Nope," he said, "Not by here…"
Jimmy turned the next corner and entered the nearest room.
"Whew," he said, sealing the door behind him, "That was…What the?"
Jimmy looked around. The room he was in appeared to be some kind of armoury. The walls were lined with military-grade weapons.
"Oh," said Jimmy, "Hell. Yes."
Jimmy grabbed anything and everything he could off of the walls. First, he tied a belt around his waist, in which he holstered two M1911 pistols while also attaching several grenades to it. Next, he slung a bandolier containing magazines for his BAR over his right shoulder. Finally, he grabbed an M1919 Browning Machine gun with over 100 rounds of belt-fed ammunition. To top everything off, he grabbed a spare belt and wrapped it around the shoulder opposite his bandolier.
"It's showtime," he said.
Upon stepping out of the armoury, Jimmy was greeted by the horde of Infested. He casually raised his LMG and unleashed a maelstrom of bullets upon the helpless creatures. The recoil from the massive gun was intense, but accuracy was a non-issue since with so much ammo to spare. The powerful shots ripped many of the creatures to shreds.
Once the creatures were all dead, Jimmy proceeded to the next room, the mess hall, which had large tables thrown around and slime covering the walls. Additional Infested, plus several Leapers, occupied the area.
"Jimmy's here, cocksuckers!" he yelled, firing upon everything that moved, "Ready to die?"
Several of the Infested were armed, forcing Jimmy to take cover behind a lunch table. Placing his LMG atop the table, Jimmy continued to fire, taking anyone out before they had the chance to fight back. Once all creatures were dead, Jimmy approached the emergency escape map hanging on the rear wall of the room.
"Let's see," Jimmy read, "I should be close now..."
Just then, another explosion rocked the facility, causing Jimmy to stumble.
"Warning," said the intercom, "Power levels critical. Self-destruct..."
Before the recording could finish its announcement, it was cut off by sharp, piercing feedback, indicating that the intercom system had failed. The lights began to flicker as well.
"That doesn't sound too good," Jimmy noted, "I ain't got much time to waste!"
Jimmy ran down the hall to a stairwell that led up a floor. There, he entered a room with checkered tile flooring similar to the first reception area he passed through. The elevator to go up was just at the end.
"Almost home-free," he said to himself.
After blasting several Infested out of his way, Jimmy was knocked to the floor by another rumble. When Jimmy turned his head to look behind him, he saw a massive tentacle punch through the floor.
"Aw Christ," he muttered.
The Alpha-Mind burst through the floor behind Jimmy and wrapped a tentacle around Jimmy's legs, dragging him across the floor in an attempt to pull him down. In addition, several Leapers jumped through the hole in the floor. Having dropped his LMG, Jimmy reached for the BAR slung on his back.
"Not today, Alpha-Bitch!" Jimmy yelled.
Jimmy fired his rifle at the Leapers, blasting them to shreds, while also striking some of the Alpha-Mind's many eyes. The creature roared in pain and released Jimmy, who promptly reached for a grenade on his belt.
"Eat shit!" he quipped.
Jimmy threw the grenade down the hole before standing back up and running away. The grenade exploded, blowing much of the Alpha's flesh off. As the creature roared in pain and sunk back down the hole, Jimmy reached the elevator and called it.
"Time to go," Jimmy said.
Jimmy entered the elevator, just as the floor behind him fully collapsed. After pressing "Up" the elevator began to move, leaving the decaying facility behind, once and for all.