September
HERE'S THE SONG
I can’t remember what happened in September,
When everything is gone, when it’s dark an I’m alone…
I put a hoof to my head and feel a small metallic device. Taking it off, I see it’s burned; useless. I discard it.
I slowly get to my feet. Pain. Blinding, numbing, all-encompassing pain. My cursed body was bruised and battered almost beyond use, but I stand anyway. I look around as the dust begins to settle.
Death.
There’s death everywhere. The smell fills the air, and the sight of dead ponies covers everything. I’m in the centre of a town… somewhere. The sound of a resounding crash floods the vicinity and I duck behind the nearest cover, a flipped cart. Looking back over, I see a cloud of dust and smoke rising from a burning house.
I see a partially torn newspaper nearby. The date is almost unreadable. All I can make out is September 12th. The rest of it is illegible below a cover of dirt.
I cough as the cloud of smoke and dust reaches me. While walking away, I silently move my mouth to make some sounds, just to test my voice. My sight flashes. I see a madman holding a metallic device with wires leading down from his platform
Stop him! He’s trying to kill us all, stop him!
The pain returns. White-hot daggers dig into my retinas as my entire brain throbs. I fall to my knees and grasp my head.
I... can’t remember…. What happened? I need to know! What do I know? It’s September… or, it was…. Everything is gone. It’s dark and I’m alone. I need to find out where I am.
I look around. The smell of burning hay and flesh is the only one present. A few houses are on fire, and there are wagons crashed everywhere: walls, ditches, even into other wagons. Further away I can see an official looking building. That’s probably my best bet on finding out where I am.
I settle back on attempting to recover… something from the deep recesses of my mind. Name. What is my name? I can remember something.
‘Yes, Doctor, progress is coming along quite well! We’ve isolated the faulty transformer in the prototype and are ready for another beta test.’
‘Perfect. We have a deadline of three weeks; else they’re going to cut my funding.’
Damn it. More questions. Always more questions. What is the prototype? Who was talking to… was it me? Am I a doctor? Who was going to cut my funding?
I finally reach the town hall. The doors are already unlocked; one sitting ajar. I push it open and freeze as it creaks. I habitually glance up into the corner of the ceiling to stare into the lens of a camera.
Instinctually… do I… did I work here?
I look over to the back of the room. There’s the body of a mare- probably the receptionist- slumped over a desk. There’s blood trailing over the table. I look away and attempt to catch my breath before I’m sick.
There’s a familiar picture on the wall. It’s a simple painting of a bowl of fruit. The painting’s not what caught my attention… so what did?
I walk over to the painting and subconsciously place my hoof, palm down, on the frame. I catch myself realising I was about to remove it.
What is going on here?
I go ahead with lifting the painting, casting it to the floor behind me. There’s a steel panel behind it with a green screen and small keyboard. What is this? A safe? An emergency panel? It needs a code… come on, brain, what’s the code? I think harder on what the code may be. Something comes back: an image of my hoof above the keyboard, but I can’t see what numbers I’m pressing. Another memory comes to mind: placing my hoof flat on the screen next to the keypad.
After a moment of indecision, I place my hoof down where my memory indicated. A line of light passes up and down the screen before something clicks behind the panel.
The entire wall in front of me begins to rise and I step back in surprise, almost tripping over the painting on the floor.
‘Welcome, doctor,’ says a smooth, robotic female voice.
Everything stops moving except for a slowly settling cloud of dust disturbed by the door opening and an eerie silence falls over the area. I notice that my breath is coming heavily and there’s a film of perspiration covering my body.
There’s a hallway beyond the compartment of open wall, and stairs are barely visible in the darkness beyond. I spare one final glance to the receptionist slumped over her desk and take a deep breath. With so much death already, is it really a good idea to go into the darkness? I need to find out who I am, and this is the best chance I have. Why did the machine recognise my prints? Why did I glance to the camera when I walked in? I look up again at the camera in the corner of the ceiling and begin to walk. The temperature drops almost immediately.
The walls change from plaster to metal as I begin to walk down the stairs, and the smell of blood becomes present over all other scents. Without thinking, I press my hoof to the wall and flick a light switch, then recoil at what I’d done. Again with the instincts… what’s going on here?
The lights above my head flicker as they heat up. When they finally stop, I see the source of the smell. Four bodies in blood-stained lab coats are on the floor. Three are face-down to the floor… one of them…
I fall back on the stairs and start gasping for breath before leaning over and convulsing. Those eyes… his eyes were gone, and blood was spattered all over the floor in front of him. Another memory overtook my senses.
‘Finally… finally it’s done, hahaha… it’s finally done, hahahahaa!!’
‘Stop him, he’s trying to kill us all! Stop him!’
‘NO! No… I’m going to save you! I’m going to save you all! Don’t you try to stop me!’
I’ve regained a small memory. I think it’s a clue… something tells me this is worse than I knew.
I feel cold. The cold goes beyond the room temperature; I can feel it in my bones. Something terrible had happened… something unnatural…
I’m left with two choices. Well, three really. One, go back the way I came and look for help. Two, sit here until I starve, or three, go on and try to find out what the fuck happened...
I sit on the stairs for a few more minutes until the smell of bile becomes too much, and I decide to move on. I’ve probably seen the worst of it… right? After a few more seconds of indecision I move into the lab. I see an identification card hanging from the pocket of one of the scientists and take it quickly, trying not to touch the body more than necessary. The only bodies immediately visible are the ones I just passed. I breathe a sigh of relief and allow my legs to carry me where I need to go.
The lab is of a simple set up; much like you’d see in those old movies. There’s a white hallway with testing rooms leading off of it; reinforced glass separating the rooms from the hall. I see more dead ponies in a few of the rooms. Without thinking about it I raise my hoof and slip the keycard through a machine on the side of a door.
‘Welcome, Doctor Greene.’ Greene. Tom Green. Thirty-something, nice guy. Wait, what the fuck was that? How did I know who it was? I double check the screen to be sure there’s no extra information I could have subconsciously read. Only the last name. I take a calming breath and walk through the door.
The lab is almost bare. There’s a table with several metal instruments and syringes, and next to that is a terminal. Good, I might be able to get some information. I walk over to it and see that it needs a password. Oh, bloody hell, seriously? Hoofprint to get down here and keycard to get in, now a fucking password?!
I sigh and look up at the bare wall. Looking closely, I see a faint scratch. I look harder and see that there are more scratches. They’re making a pattern. Someone had left a message… ENTROPY.
I key the word in and the machine beeps. It was accepted. It shows a quick loading screen followed by a list of audio logs. Well, let’s start at number one. I press the Enter key and it starts the log. A stallion with an English accent comes over the machine.
Day one of Project Entropy. My name is Doctor Brogan, and I’m leading the project. Our goals are to create a successful cure for cancer. It sounds like a joke, yes, change the world, cure cancer, all of that, however, we believe we’ve figured out a way to do it, we need only build a device to suit our plans. This project will take a lot of Government money; likely in excess of the hundreds of thousands. The device is intended to use a certain wave frequency to cause cancerous cells in a pony to… to commit suicide, basically. When the cancerous cells are hit with the wave, they will be damaged and the body will be able to destroy them. Problems we may run into include, though are certainly not limited to the waves causing other cells to be damaged, and the machine causing more cancerous cells.
The log finished. I stared at the screen for a few seconds blankly. That told me nearly nothing… maybe the next log will help… I press the down key followed by the Enter key and the next log starts.
Day nineteen of Project Entropy. We have secured a lab underground in a country town that will remain unnamed for its safety. If word got out about this Project the press would be all over it. Surely ponies would disagree, claiming that cancer cannot be cured and that this is a waste of money. I wish ponies would see how likely our efforts truly are, but alas, society will not listen to claims of cures unless they involve something that can be digested or injected. We are set to move into the new lab in the morning. Many of the engineers and scientists are going to have to leave their families to live in the town; very few are allowed to bring their families, and even then, it’s only for the sake of appearances. It’s for the greater good, I know, but I wish it did not have to be so.
I look around the room. This is- was- their new lab…. I sigh and set the next log going.
Day ninety-seven. It’s been over three months since we began the project and some of the scientists are beginning to feel the strain. I think they believed we would have cured cancer within the month and been back home in time for dinner, the fools! Perhaps if they worked harder and stopped slacking off all the time, we… no. No, I will not speak about them in that way. It appears the strain is getting to me, too. The townsfolk are getting suspicious. They have been ever since Tom forgot to take off his lab coat before leaving for the night. The device is nearing completion, though we still haven’t done a single test yet.
There are four more logs on the machine. Hopefully they’ll give some more information on what went on here. I set the fourth of seven going.
Day one hundred and thirty two. The device was finished two days ago. We got a terminal cancer patient in for a test and it… the device… he…
The log was interrupted by the sound of retching.
I’m sorry, I just… I don’t think I’ll ever forget it. The device destroyed the cancerous cells as was intended, though it also destroyed every cell on the way to it. He was left with a gaping, bleeding hole right in the middle of his torso. Those screams… they were truly the things of nightmares. He gave one final, pleading look, straight into my eyes, and I… I couldn’t do anything. I could only watch as the light in his eyes faded….
The stallion’s voice began to break and he let out a sob before the log cut off. That gives me some idea of what happened, but it’s not what I’ve seen. Their eyes… something worse than just that happened.
Mentally bracing myself, I set the next log going and lean on the edge of the table to rest.
Day one hundred and forty three. I’ve denied any requests of tests until we figure out what the hell happened in that first test. Some agree with my choice, but most have been convinced that they can’t correct the problem without further testing, and rats will simply not work. Head Office contacted us and they said that they would replace me if I didn’t give the green light for further tests. Good riddance, I want nothing to do with this God-forsaken project! They can replace me with a hamster for all I care, I only wish to return to my family, and a full bottle of scotch….
I don’t hesitate in setting the next log going. That last one told me nothing. A different voice is narrating this log. My voice.
Alright, I’m the new head of this operation. The old idiot couldn’t take the pressure, so HQ sent me in to replace him. Oh, right, I think it’s day a hundred and fifty one. Thanks. Anyway, I’ve already given the green light for further testing. Some of the lab colts disagreed. I sent them packing, simple as that. The immediate two tests after yielded similar results, but the lab colts say they’ve “isolated the issue in question.” A faulty bloody inhibitor is what it was. Got an engineer to replace it and we continued the testing. It works. It bloody works. ponies… ponies are the only cancer on this planet.
I find myself agreeing with the log without even thinking about it. After I realise what I’d said, I freeze. Ponies… cancer? What? Oh no, don’t tell me…. I set the final log going.
Give it more juice.
I can’t doctor, we’re pushing the limit as is.
You’ll do what I bloody well tell you to or you’ll see yourself on the other end of this thing!
…Yes, doctor.
The sound of screaming comes over the log, followed by an insane laughter.
Now it’s your turn, hahaha!
I hear scuffling and in my minds’ eye I can see what’s happening. I’m grabbing the other scientist from behind and throwing him through a door reinforced with lead. A second set of screams fill the audio log as he joins the test subject.
‘Finally… finally it’s done, hahaha… it’s finally done, hahahahaa!!’
The final log cuts out, but the memory continues to play in my mind. I take the pulse inhibitor and tuck it behind my ear to save myself, then I take the remote deploying device from the table and throw the door to the lab open, running through the hall.
Stop him, he’s trying to kill us all, stop him!
NO! No… I’M going to save YOU! I jab a hoof at the shouting stallion, then point throughout all of the gathered scientists. I’m going to save you ALL! Don’t you try to stop me!
I continue to run through the hallway and up the stairs, bursting through the already open hidden door. I can hear screaming and shouting. Some scientists had gotten out before me and were shouting for ponies to evacuate. Never argue with a stallion in a lab coat, I screamed. Running straight through the door and into the street, I see several men waiting to subdue me.
This is your redemption day, everypony! The men advance. GO AWAY FROM ME! Stay away from me! Go awahahaay-hahaaa! You can’t touch me nohohow! You see this button here? I lift up the small device in my hooves. I’M GONNA PRESS IT! The men finally realise the severity of the situation and begin to run. Too late, scum! I press the button. A whining sound emanates from the ground as the machine charges for a few seconds and the last second of the memory flashes with screams and ponies falling.
I’m on the floor; how long I’ve been here, I have no idea. I slowly get up through the blinding pain in my head and move to start a new log on the computer.
‘I just remembered what happened in September… I’m the one who killed them all, I survived after the fall!’
