Living Metal: Metallic Soul

Living Metal: Metallic Soul

By Matthew Harrington

Copyright, 2000

Chapter 1: Anna’s Dream.

In a heap of debris atop a blazing skyscraper laid a young woman with cascading crimson locks, her police uniform in tatters. Her metallic badge lay shattered near her feet with only her first name, Anna, visible. Gasping for breath and on the brink of losing consciousness, she struggled to comprehend the events that had led her to this surreal and perilous situation.

This dream had been recurring for the past three months, but this time, it felt more vivid and tangible, as if it were no mere figment of her imagination, but an actuality. Her sky-blue eyes widened with excruciating pain as her arm dislocated. She clutched her right side as she arose amidst the debris. Her long elf-like ears twitched frantically as she struggled to stand up. A nagging voice in the back of her head urged her to escape this nightmare.

As she attempted to move forward, a searing pain shot through her body. Anna collapsed to the ground with a thud. She squeezed her eyes shut, overwhelmed by the intensity of the agony. The scorching heat of the fire that consumed the building licked at her skin, and the metallic taste of blood trickling from her lip convinced her that this was no mere dream.

She stumbled back up and hobbled a few feet to an exposed metal girder that jutted out from the floor. Knowing that this was going to be excruciating, she braced herself and shut her eyes tightly. She hoped that by doing so, she could awaken from this nightmare. Anna clutched one side of the girder and drew in a deep breath. With all her might, she slammed her left side onto the beam with a sickening thud.

“DAMN IT!” she bellowed in agony as her dislocated arm snapped back into place. Gasping for air while clutching her arm, she collapsed to her knees. Anna frantically tried to recall why this was happening to her, but nothing came to mind. It was as if she was paying the price for someone else's mistake. This dream was refusing to let her wake up, and that unsettled her.

Once the pain became tolerable, Anna struggled to her feet while clutching her injured arm, and gazed out at New Di’con City. A surge of grief and fury erupted in the pit of her stomach as she surveyed the cityscape. This was more than just a place of residence; it was her sanctuary. All of her efforts to establish a new life on Mars were now disintegrating before her very eyes. The agony in her heart from the devastation caused by this blunder or decision she couldn't recollect was far worse than the pain in her shoulder.

Why….why can’t I remembered how this all started?

The air was suffocating with burning debris as she listened to the screams of the innocent bystanders, the desperation evident as they fled for their lives. Her eyes welled up as she attempted to suppress the tears. She was so consumed by her painful dilemma; she nearly overlooked the colossal mechanized war machine crashing down before her.

Something felt off, something unnerving as this metal behemoth aimed its gun barrels at her. The odor of rust was overpowering as she slowly gazed up, tracing the trail of blood seeping out from the frame. She could discern that the one who was orchestrating the machine was not in the cockpit but atop the contraption.

Anna wiped the tears in her eyes to get a better look at this young woman with light violet hair. Just like her, this woman could fuse with and control any types of metal. Unlike her, she had no concerns about harming others. Anna scowled as she could tell that the pour soul in the cockpit was tortured to death.

The sounds of hateful laughter muffled out the sounds of the innocents screaming. Anna looked up closely at her adversary. Her flesh assimilated the metal around her while transmuting her body to have the same armor that the war machine possessed.

She mounted the machine like she was taming a wild bull. Her crimson eyes glared like daggers at Anna with a malevolent smile. It seemed like this woman was determined to exact punishment on her, and was willing to set the world ablaze to achieve it. She advanced towards Anna, with the gun ports aimed directly at her.

Defiantly looking back towards the city, Anna refused to be intimidated. She couldn't recall why this woman had attacked her, only that she kept calling her Levia. This name was from a forgotten past, and from the destruction before her, she wondered if it was for the best not to know. She closed her eyes hoping that she could wake up from this nightmare.

Instead of waking up, Anna found herself lying in the middle of a frigid metal floor. With a mix of surprise and caution, she scanned her surroundings to discover the remnants of a desolate abandoned laboratory. Only corroded shells of robots and shattered equipment remained to greet her. There was no sign of life anywhere. She was alone.

She noticed that she was wearing her vibrant teal green tank top, and soft light blue pajama shorts. It was as if she had gone to sleep in her cozy bed. She shivered from the chilly air as the eerie darkness surrounded her. There was a delicate light purple bed sheet beside her. Anna quickly wrapped it around herself to keep warm. This place felt oddly nostalgic, almost like she had been here before. She looked around and yelled in a shaky voice, “Hello!”

Only the echoes of her own voice responded back to her. She held the wrapped blanked close to her lips as feeling uncertainty turned into anxiety. There was no one here, no one to help her to explain what was going on. She felt like she was abandoned or forgotten about. A cold breeze flushed by her milky white skin. She held tightly to the bedspread and tried to cover. All that Anna wanted to do now was to find someone, anyone, so she won’t be alone.

The moment she attempted to leave the room to check for any signs of life, the ground convulsed and shook as thunderous sounds of hydraulics reverberated from the steel floors behind her. She staggered forward and clung to the wall, then slowly slumped down to the floor. Her gaze shifted to the other side, and she witnessed three colossal mirrors ascend. They were secured with steel pillars, and surges of steam enshrouded the space, completely veiling the mirrors. Anna cocked her head in astonishment and rose to her feet.

Slowly with her blanket tightly wrapped around her she went over. She stopped a few feet in front of them. She wiped off the moisture on the mirror to see herself in all three. Her ears twitched upward just as she touched the mirror, Anna felt the hairs back of her neck rise up as the tips of her fingers sent out static electricity and shattered all three into pieces.

What was strange to her was this dream always ended with the breaking mirrors. Behind the shattered mirrors was all new to her. She nervously nibbled on her thumbnail as she pondered if she wanted to find out what was next. Hesitantly, with a light adjustment to her blanket wrapped around her, she stepped beyond the broken mirrors.

In front of her was a long corridor littered with broken humanoid looking robots. They were all huddled up with each other with their faces covered by their hands as if they wanted to hide. Anna looked around, and wondered why she was dreaming this.

Within the chaos there was a small pathway leading into the back. There was light at the end. She hoped that there was an exit, and started to quicken her steps forward. To her dismay, there was no exit, only swelling lump metal mass sticking out of the back wall.

Her ears twitched lightly as she could hear something that resembled a heartbeat. It was coming from the same direction where the large lump was. It was almost hypnotic to her, as she couldn’t help but to come in closer. She slowly reached out to touch it. Once she laid a hand on to swelling she felt the heart beat, “No way, is this thing alive?”

She placed her head onto the metal and closed her eyes. It was so warm and relaxing to her touch. She smiled as her anxiety of this place faded away, “Oh wow, I could just sink into it.”

Anna raised her head back up and looked around the area. She tilted her head to the left, and said to herself, “Strange, and yet, this feels so familiar to me. It’s like, I’m home.”

Anna noticed on the floor next to the lump, an identification marker with a name that she could see.

“Sara… huh? Are you in…,” she paused, as she felt the metal on the lump moving around her left hand. Just as she looked over to see what it was, the metal had already warped around her hand. It felt like she was getting sucked in jelly. Her ears twitched upwards, and a look of bewilderment, Anna tried to pull away.

“What the F…?” Anna felt a tug on her hand and became aware that something or someone had grabbed a hold of her hand, “Ah, Hey!”

Since she couldn’t release the grip on her hand, Anna with all of her might started to pull out whatever was attached to her. Her eyes widened as she saw a woman close to her thirties with short blond hair and crimson eyes.

She must be Sara, she thought. However at this point, Anna had no recollection of who she was. Yet, she felt a kinship with her as if she needed to help her.

As she came out, Anna thought that Sara was naked then she became aware of how her skin had a metallic tint and all of her sensitive parts were covered by steel. Anna’s ears again twitched as she realized that Sara was about to fall on her.

“Hey! Wait, don't fall on me!” yelled Anna as Sara, nearly comatose, fell on top of her. For a moment they both laid on the ground. Anna felt Sara’s body, and was surprised at how similar they were, “It’s soft like mine. Could she be like me?”

Her voice helped Sara recognized who it was and reopened her eyes. She slowly got off of Anna, looked up at her, and said, “Levia, you shouldn’t have come back for me.”

Anna’s ears twitched downwards, and said with a confused look, “Ah sweetie, I’m not Levi…”

She was interrupted when Sara came up close to her, and placed her hand on her arm, “Look, we don’t have much time. He knows that you are here.”

Again, her ears twitched back. Her face became flush red from the awkwardness how close she was to Sara and said,

“Ah… he? Wait, I don’t… what is going on here?”

Sara looked around with stress in her eyes, and said, “I don’t know if I can protect you anymore from him. He’s grown stronger since the last time you came. The threat of our kind is imminent. You have to run.”

“I just pulled you out of whatever that metal thing you were in. Who are...wait…protect me?” said Anna as she was scooted back a bit. She was perplexed by the situation and wondered how this woman was trapped inside the wall. Sara looked completely exhausted, and in no shape to protect anyone, especially herself.

“What about you? I can’t just leave you here.”

Sara smiled and sat back, “Always caring about others, I am glad to see you. I am just worried that could be your downfall. You’re the only one who can stop this madness. Just like before.

“I’m not sure what you want me to do? And what do you mean, before?

Just then they both felt a pressure wave coming from the shadows behind them. Anna saw Sara's face turn pale as a ghost and eyes widened with fear.

“Damn it,” said Sara as she got up and looked around. “He found us. Please, remember your promise to me.”

Anna’s heart started to race as she looked around. There was nothing, only a cold dark room and yet she felt like someone was with them. She could feel the blood lust coming out to get her. “What is going on? This can’t be my dream.”

Sara, distraught, knelt beside her and placed her hand onto Anna's cheek, “This isn’t a dream! We are all connected. Just listen to my voice. Levia, you have to remember what you promised me!”

Without warning, metal-like tentacles sprung forth from the darkness and grabbed a hold of Sara. It instantly wrapped around her body, legs and arms. As the last one went around her throat, the look of horror raced across Sara’s face as she was viciously snapped back into the shadows.

The sound of a sickening thud echoed throughout the room from Sara’s body slamming against the metal wall. Sara gasped from the impact and nearly lost consciousness. Anna wanted to help her and tried scramble towards her, but couldn’t. When she tried to move, body started to sink into the metal floor boards. It felt like she was in a tar pit and the more she struggled the more she was getting trap.

She gazed up at Sara and saw that she was also getting sucked into the metal frame of the building. As her eyes peered down below Sara’s position they widened in fear as something large was coming out from the wall. Two massive sized cybernetic eyes flashing yellowish red with metal tubing encircled each one was coming out from within the wall.

The more that Sara sank into the wall the more that a face appeared. A mouth form with jagged metal tube like teeth and multiple turbines like mouth came forth. Sara screamed, “Levia, hurry and, wake up!”

The face spoke with multiple voices that shook the entire laboratory, “Leviathan, you have finally come to me at last.”

The floors in the room began to warp as five huge metallic fingers came up behind Anna who was now in complete panic mode. She screamed out in distress, “You’ve got to be kidding me! Hey buddy. I have no idea what you’re talking about! I just want to wake up!”

The face in the wall began to be more distinguished as it was shaped to be a skull-like face. Turbines in its mouth began to rev up as steam came from the vents beside his jaw line. It had enough movement to come towards Anna. Its eyes were on fire causing the metal tubing around the eye’s sockets to heat up with a bright yellowish glow.

“No more games, little one. You have betrayed your purpose. You have betrayed your friends. You have betrayed your family. I have come for you. I am your redemption!”

With extreme stress from of this metal monster coming at her, Anna with trembling legs desperately tried as hard as she could to scoot back, but couldn’t.

“What the hell,” she said as she looked around her. The metal floor felt like glue drying on her skin preventing her to move, helpless to break free. She tried to use her ability to manipulate the metal that she was sitting on and instead of freeing herself she became more entangle within the floor.

She looked up at this metal skull and around the room. She saw that the entire place was warped and moving towards her. Everything was attached to the skull.

“Crap, it’s like us…IT CAN CONTROL THE METAL!!”

Anna frantically looked back to see that she was literally in the palm of its hand as the fingers started to close on top of her. The skull opened its mouth and screamed with a deep low pitch voice that shook the ground, “Leviathan!!! Come to me!”

Anna turned back and screamed back, “Screw you buddy. I do not have the foggiest idea who or what you are. Just let us go!”

All of the sudden the fingers stopped moving for a moment. It was Sara who had enough strength to fight back. She was still sinking further into the wall as the metal around her was like thick liquid.

“No!” screamed Sara, “Get out of here! Leave me be. I can hold him long enough for you to find my body. Just remember the promise and wake up.”

With a half cracked smile and confused Anna replied, “Wake up she said, and how the hell do I do that?”

The metal floors around restarted to engulf her, Anna look at her bindings and tried to wiggle out. To no avail she was stuck and said, “Hey, the floors… crap! It’s sucking me further in!

The massive metallic skull came inches away from her and yelled, “Leviathan, there is no hiding from me!”

Just before Anna was completely swallowed up by the metal floor boards and screamed, “For the last time, my name is ANNA! Wait… what I need to…