Catharsis of Cthulhu
"Doctor Hall, the mold has already proven to be extremely infectious. The fact that it was able to infect the other doctors through the safety of their sealed suits is just another reason why it shouldn't be permitted to leave this planet," you calmly reason with the doctor, already snapping the compartment shut as he looms into your space.
"And your inability to understand the risks and sacrifices that science must make understand the grandeur and sublimity of the unknown is just another reason why you're just a hunk of junk, as much as you may try to imitate humanity," Hall hisses, his proximity becoming more and more threatening.
You pause as if to consider his scathing comments, but really they just slide right off of you. You've heard worse from drunken crew hands on more than one occasion.
"Doctor Hall," you begin quietly. "Now that I think of it, isn't it strange that all of the other doctors seemed to submit to the symptoms of the infection, though not all at the same time, with the exception of yourself. Don't you think it's strange that you are the only one human who seems to be unaffected?" you ask pointedly, as you stare up into his snarling face.
Doctor Hall seems to freeze for a moment, his mouth (once a placid easy thing) slowly begins to twist itself into a sneer. Then, it begins to open into a large gaping 'o', farther and farther, until the skin in the corners of his mouth begins to crack.
No blood runs from the wounds. Hall has most likely been dead for hours, his blood congealed in his veins. You thought that Catharsis might be imitating a heart beat. Now you know that she was. As was Doctor Hall.
Hall pulls in a deep breath, obviously filling his lungs for one last great scream to call forth his comrades. You don't give him the chance.
Using the lighter you still have in your hand and the igniter fluid that's still installed in your other hand, you create and impromptu fire thrower and point it straight at Hall's face.
The fire comes out in a roar. Hall is still sucking in oxygen desperately and quickly pulls the flames down into his delicate and vulnerable lungs. You know from experience that they most likely collapsed within seconds.
Doctor Hall writhes in silence for what seems like hours, but is most likely actually minutes seconds into minutes. You idly hope that the real Doctor Hall is no longer alive inside his shell of a body along with whatever possessed him. You rather liked the real Doctor Hall.
Once the body has stopped it macabre dance, you pay it no more mind. You open the compartment in your wrist and toss the little piece of black mold to the floor. It wriggles and strives, as if with a mind of its own. You give it no chance at life and bring you boot down hard and grind down until there's nothing left of it, save a black smudge on the floor.
From far off, your sensors pick up a small scream, but are unable to pinpoint its location.
It is irrelevant.
You step into the escape pod with a grim sense of success and survival. As the doors close, you allow your systems to power down into sleep mode and dream of what your next exploration will bring.
<Congratulations! You have defeated Cthulhu and the possessed Doctor Hall. Though the human crew has perished, you have survived to escape the nightmarish planet of M-5434. You have achieved the good ending.>
"And your inability to understand the risks and sacrifices that science must make understand the grandeur and sublimity of the unknown is just another reason why you're just a hunk of junk, as much as you may try to imitate humanity," Hall hisses, his proximity becoming more and more threatening.
You pause as if to consider his scathing comments, but really they just slide right off of you. You've heard worse from drunken crew hands on more than one occasion.
"Doctor Hall," you begin quietly. "Now that I think of it, isn't it strange that all of the other doctors seemed to submit to the symptoms of the infection, though not all at the same time, with the exception of yourself. Don't you think it's strange that you are the only one human who seems to be unaffected?" you ask pointedly, as you stare up into his snarling face.
Doctor Hall seems to freeze for a moment, his mouth (once a placid easy thing) slowly begins to twist itself into a sneer. Then, it begins to open into a large gaping 'o', farther and farther, until the skin in the corners of his mouth begins to crack.
No blood runs from the wounds. Hall has most likely been dead for hours, his blood congealed in his veins. You thought that Catharsis might be imitating a heart beat. Now you know that she was. As was Doctor Hall.
Hall pulls in a deep breath, obviously filling his lungs for one last great scream to call forth his comrades. You don't give him the chance.
Using the lighter you still have in your hand and the igniter fluid that's still installed in your other hand, you create and impromptu fire thrower and point it straight at Hall's face.
The fire comes out in a roar. Hall is still sucking in oxygen desperately and quickly pulls the flames down into his delicate and vulnerable lungs. You know from experience that they most likely collapsed within seconds.
Doctor Hall writhes in silence for what seems like hours, but is most likely actually minutes seconds into minutes. You idly hope that the real Doctor Hall is no longer alive inside his shell of a body along with whatever possessed him. You rather liked the real Doctor Hall.
Once the body has stopped it macabre dance, you pay it no more mind. You open the compartment in your wrist and toss the little piece of black mold to the floor. It wriggles and strives, as if with a mind of its own. You give it no chance at life and bring you boot down hard and grind down until there's nothing left of it, save a black smudge on the floor.
From far off, your sensors pick up a small scream, but are unable to pinpoint its location.
It is irrelevant.
You step into the escape pod with a grim sense of success and survival. As the doors close, you allow your systems to power down into sleep mode and dream of what your next exploration will bring.
<Congratulations! You have defeated Cthulhu and the possessed Doctor Hall. Though the human crew has perished, you have survived to escape the nightmarish planet of M-5434. You have achieved the good ending.>
