Post by Nathan Saniti on Jul 31, 2017 19:30:25 GMT -5
The Star of Babylon - Lust - Chapter 11
Nathan cupped the luminous acorn in his hand as it pulsed and thrummed a soothing tune. The colors swished and swayed hypnotically, having a calming effect on the previously panicked patrons. Without knowing just why or how, they knew what needed to be done to save Magdelline. They still needed to locate the seed, but without Neville's assistance, they knew collectively that the task might be as impossible as Nathan getting true forgiveness from Seromine. The preacher had his sights leveled at Nathan and no amount of convincing would stay him from emptying both barrels before admitting defeat. That was a problem for another time.
They peered into the darkness of the Master's Chambers, their gaze met only by writhing reflection of the light from the doorway and the crimson glow of their host's eyes. The white of his shark-toothed grin pierced the black, chilling the blood in their veins as it grew and curled upwards. The howls of pain and fright from the "dinner guests" had been replaced with a forced, almost sensual, moaning of tortured souls deep within the shadows. Nevertheless, the four of them steeled themselves at the entrance, phallic tentacles reaching out at every corner of the doorway, impatiently inviting them, daring them to step forward.
Step forward, they did. The appendages swiped at them furiously, the Harvesters fighting them off with righteous fervor. Except Nathan. The tentacles seemed to be leaving him completely unmolested as he entered the room. In fact, the worm-like outgrowths seemed to shriek in pain and cower away if they ventured too close to him, and specifically, the Seed. Nathan had an idea.
"BROTHER!" he shouted to Neville, who was rapidly losing his own battle against the interloping arms.
He peered up long enough to see the glowing thing being hurled at him. The extensions of the creature at the head of the table hissed in protest, trying to muscle his arm away as the illuminated acorn flew across the room and into Neville's grasp. Immediately, the limbs retreated, shrilly proclaiming their discontent. Neville waved it around him, keeping the innumerous threat at bay.
"TAKE THAT THING AWAY!" ordered the Captain with a growl. His arms slowly engulfed the other guests and attempted to do the same with the Harvesters. Nathan, Naomi and Rasputin retreated back outside of the doorway. The Seed gave off the only light they had to go by to see what was transpiring. Neville approached the throne, only to have the Captain shrink backwards before they could get a proper glimpse of the creature they were against. Each step Neville took to collect his beloved made the Captain dive deeper into the blackness of the seemingly never-ending room.
"Don't worry about him," shouted Naomi desperately. "Get Magdelline!"
Neville shot his arm out to the things wrapped around her, invading her body. They recoiled in horror as he slowly freed his love from their intruding grip. Once the last one shot away, she fainted to the floor in a spent heap, her eyes lolled back in her head.
"NOOOOOOOOO!" raged the Captain, his crimson eyes glowing bright enough to overcast his entire face. The hotel shook in answer as if caught in a monumental temblor. The Captain's eyes returned to their normal glower. "Gomorrah awakens. You're all too late." He chuckled malevolently, he and his many limbs slipping into the shadows from whence he came, his guffaw fading like thunder in the distance. As his tentacles released their prizes, the mummified corpses of his guests hit the floor with a sickening boney clatter, every ounce of fluid in their bodies drained.
The entire building shook, the rafters creaking in protest. The remaining staff members ran in a panic. The head manager, known as the Night Man, looked at the place crumbling around him. It was a scene he had relived countless times. Each bellhop, each receptionist, each chambermaid, clamored to escape in all directions as the ceiling and walls cracked and fell around them, revealing a pinkish, fleshy, pulsating partition hidden under the layers of crumbling decor.
Tendrils reached up from the softening floor, grasping the staff in place as they fled. Even the Night Man himself found he was tied to place. As the fight became futile with each poor soul, they became engulfed by a membrane, their screams instantly shut out as it completely encompassed its victims. The Night man looked at Nathan and the Harvesters, warning them of their fate with his final utterance. "Relax. We are programmed to receive." The membrane crawled up his chest, and then his neck. "You can check out any time you like, but you may never leave."
The mucus-like substance clamped closed at the top of his head, some of his already sparse hair snipped off in the process. A pink, viscous fluid began filling the separate pods surrounding the staff. The Harvesters watched in horror as the workers seemed to begin drowning in it.
"Good heavens," whispered Nathan, wide-eyed as he looked around. "This hotel IS Gomorrah!"
Neville huffed out of the Master's Chambers carrying his beloved. He witnessed as the pods began drowning their inhabitants, setting Magdelline down to regain some strength.
"NEVILLE! NO!" Rasputin shouted.
It was too late; Magdelline was being encapsulated as well. Neville thrust the Seed at it, but unlike the tentacles that belonged to the Captain, the membrane marched forward unfazed.
"Nathan! Help me, brother!" Neville plead as he attempted to tear at the thing engulfing his love.
Nathan pondered the predicament, his senses overloading from the damp and spongy floor and the coppery odor it emitted. He had no idea how to save his brother's betrothed. He was clueless where or how to escape this increasingly hazardous surroundings they were ensnared in. Even the Seed offered little insight of how they were to destroy the Sin of Lust. Patience took time, and theirs was rapidly running out.
