Chapter 1 - Shane tries to die, but fails to do so

For Shane this was just another stormy night. He drank his tea and prepared himself to embrace Morpheus in order to gather strength to face another day of working 9 to 5. Unbeknownst to him a deadly tumor hid inside his brain. As he fell asleep he noticed something was not right. Despite panicking he lost consciousness as the world around appeared to swirl and twist on itself.

When he came to he found himself looking at a distant world. The world beyond the confines of the steel wall he was suspended by. As his eyes adjusted he noticed the world around him was shifting and changing. He felt paralyzed in fear. Not knowing what was wrong he looked around to try and figure out why he couldn't move.

As his eyes adjusted he noticed that the walls he was standing on were now made of liquid metal. He was standing on a metal catwalk above a viscous liquid pool of purple. It looked like oil and looked like water. The colors of the liquid swirled and flowed around him. Not knowing what to do he simply crouched and waited for whatever was happening to go away.

As his eyes adjusted he saw the catwalk stretched out in front of him. In the distance he saw a giant mass which he could only describe as some type of monster. It's body was stretched out behind it, making it look like a living husk. It was a conglomeration of many different species. The eye sockets of some species where shattered as shards fell onto the floor. It's skin was scaly and cracked. Spikes jutted out from its side and other places. Long tentacles trailed behind it as it appeared to sniff the air. He realized that his mind was trying to fill in the blanks. His mouth made no sounds and he couldn't remember what he had done to get where he was.

Above him a female appeared. She was similar to the monster that was above him. She was roughly humanoid with large curvy horns, a forked tail, a body made of tusks, and long fangs. Her body was distorted with eyes sunken into her head and her left eye was missing. The only parts of her that he could see was a patch of hair, short clawed hands and fangs dripping with some form of dark substance.

She walked over to him. Her hands were large and looked like she had spent her life in the water. She knelt and pulled him to her. She pressed her lips against his mouth. He tried to push her away but she just wrapped herself around his body and wrapped him in her wet tusks. He was shocked but still unsure of what was happening.

As he tried to protest, she put a large wet tusk to his mouth. As it slid over his lower lip he felt his mind fly into a tailspin.

As she pulled him closer she pulled herself closer as well. She was now in a sitting position in front of him. He couldn't see anything else but her. She lowered her head. His mind was overloaded and finally snapped back into reality. He struggled against her and she screamed in rage. Her skin was now a dark purple color and her mouth, fangs and tongue were stained with blood. He felt a sharp pain on the back of his head and his entire body started to swell. His eyes bulged out, teeth emerged and the most beautiful and hideous sound he had ever heard came out of his mouth.

The monster lifted him up in her claws and looked down at him. Her body began to shake violently as she let out a single scream. It was the sound of a wounded animal. As if the soul was ripped from its body and forced to kill itself. It was a deafening sound, like that of a million church bells ringing until they fell apart. All around him the other monsters watched and then turned away in disgust. He began to have trouble breathing, a horrible tearing sensation consumed his entire body. The sound was horrid, but at the same time seemed to welcome him to his end.

As the noise from the other monsters grew louder he felt his entire body lighten. The giant mass below his feet began to part. Her mouth was ripped off his face as it burst open and her internal organs began to spill out. Her skull cracked as it crumbled away to reveal another monster. It was a mechanical being that's eyes glowed bright red and blue and spoke to him.

Its voice was raspy and deep as it spoke. "Shane ... I am the design you built . .. Shane ... We're almost done with your legacy."

It wasn't long before the surface was gone and he was walking along the bottom of the ocean. He was covered in seaweed and muck. The sun was high above him and looked to have already gone to bed. As he moved closer to the surface he felt pain shoot through his entire body. A spasm ripped through his body and his head burst into flames.

His body exploded into a million glowing pieces and fell into the ocean.

Anne walked over to Shane and hugged him. She was still crying and her tears were freezing over on her cheeks. He was still alive but barely. His hair was burned off his head and he was covered in salt and muck. He stared at her with glazed eyes.

"Shane? I need you." She said in a frightened voice. "You have to wake up. Help me get him out of the water and to the shore. Please." She picked up his lifeless body and dangled it over her shoulder.

Maggie stepped out from behind a nearby rock and looked at her. "I was really worried. I could not find you."

"I'm sorry. I really thought I could take care of myself."

Maggie held her hand out for Shane. He slowly opened his mouth but no words came out. He tried to speak but nothing came out.

"He cannot speak Maggie." said Anne. "He's dead." She picked up his body and laid it down on the sand. Maggie and Anne began to strip him of his remaining clothing. They threw his jacket on top of him as they stripped him of his shirt, pants, socks and boots. His flesh was as pale as snow. His face was blue, his eyes looked like they were going to pop out of his skull, his teeth and tongue were all melted away. His skin was frozen, his veins were slicked with red, his eyes were a dark blue and his hair was burnt to a crisp.

"How can he still be alive? What did you do to him?" Maggie yelled in frustration.

"Let's get him out of the water and see if we can bring him back to life." Anne said, tossing him her jacket and wrapping it around him. Anne stared at Maggie and continued. "No need to get too close. The witch was responsible for Shane's mutation. She used some kind of spell. He doesn't look like he is even going to make it through the night."

"What if we wait to kill him. He has not killed himself yet. He is still alive. His body might not be physically okay, but he is still alive. And he's still alive because he's a vampire. All vampires are susceptible to water. The water just destroys them and destroys any remnants of them that are left. He will only start to rot when his body begins to shut down."

"Let's just kill him now. We have no need to play with his corpse." Maggie said.

"If you insist." said Anne, pushing him down to the ground and slicing his throat. His head rolled off of his neck and landed on the sand. His body began to stiffen. His legs bent and his arms became brittle and white. He stared up at Anne in a terrified expression.

Anne began to feel anxious as she stared at him. What had she done to this man? He was now completely a zombie and there was nothing she could do to save him. She looked at Maggie and noticed her looking at her. Anne pointed at Shane and Maggie looked up in horror.

"What the hell is that?" she asked.

Anne rolled her eyes. "He is a zombie."

Maggie's jaw dropped and she knelt next to him and touched his forehead.

"My God." She said. "He's freezing cold."

Anne shrugged and picked up Shane's head. She cradled it in her lap and covered it with her jacket.

"We should really go." said Anne.

Maggie did not respond. She bent down and picked up his head from Anne and brought it in her arms. She held him close to her and began to stroke his hair.

"It's ok." She said.

Maggie's shoulders began to shake and she could feel herself start to cry.

"Don't cry Maggie." said Anne, taking a step forward. "Don't let it bring you down."

Maggie slowly shook her head. She could no longer hold back her tears.

"I feel so sorry for him." She sobbed.

"He's gone Maggie. He's gone."

Anne wrapped her arms around Maggie and held her close. She could feel Maggie trembling. Anne gently stroked Maggie's hair and waited for her to calm down. She rubbed her back and looked down at Shane. He was a mangled mess and she could not understand how anyone could do that to another person.

As Anne held Maggie she realized that she was forgetting the body of a boy.

Shane.

The man's dead body lay on the sand. It was stiff and cold. It looked as though he had been there for quite some time. His teeth and tongue had melted away and his skin had fallen off of his body. His body had become extremely pale and looked like it was going to crumble at any moment. His body was still as the sand dug through his skin and bones. Nothing was left of him.

"Let's go Maggie." said Anne.

Maggie did not respond. She dropped Shane's head onto the sand and began to cry. She reached for Anne and held her tight. Anne hugged her back and allowed Maggie to cry.

The vampire crawled up and wrapped her arms around Maggie. She pulled her into a tight embrace and whispered in her ear.

"You have to be strong now."

Maggie could not control her tears anymore. She sobbed.

"It's ok Maggie. You can let go."

"We need to go now." she said. "Anne, help me get him into a fresh bag of blood."

"Yes ma'am." said Anne, unwrapping the bag from her belt. She licked her lips and placed it gently around Shane's broken body. Maggie began to sob and Anne took her by the shoulder and gently guided her towards the water. She carried him there gently and when she had placed him gently on the shore, Maggie was holding onto Anne tightly and crying again.

"I'm sorry Maggie." said Anne.

"You're not to blame." said Maggie, still crying.

Anne put her arms around hers and began to rub Maggie's back.

"Come on, we have to keep moving." said Anne.

"Shane." said Maggie.

"Shane." said Anne.

"Don't leave me."

"Maggie. It's going to be ok. Let go of me."

"No." said Maggie, her voice quivering. "We're a family. You can't leave me."

"Maggie..."

"Oh God. You can't leave me here alone. You have to come with us."

Woah, this is narrator. So our Main Character (MC) has already died thrice in the first chapter. It does not bode well. Clearly the AD (Artificial Delirium, not AI) is out for bloooood!

We currently have the following characters:

Now what should we do with the story? It is the first chapter and it is already this messy. Why did I have to be hired as a narrator to a little shitty story like this?

Choices: