ANOTHER ONE × ADVANCED PLOTTING

Anouk stood in the dimly lit room of a mother ship. Its darkness didn’t bother her, failing to convey the fear its people wanted so desperately to strike upon her. However, she was stricken with the tensity brought by the company of nervousness. The musty air of the old cell made her cringe as she turned her head back towards the small window that they had somehow permitted to be built into the chamber. Stainless steel blinds hung over it, the light from a distant star filtering through; the yellow light graced the left half of The Lithe’s face. She knew not his name, only that he was a captive here as well. Only time will tell if, by some impossible odds, that the distance he had observed her was in measurement of how attached he had grown to her. However, she could see in his cold eyes, void of emotion, that he cared not. He only observed with some demented interest, disturbingly inquisitive of what may come of her. He only wanted to see how her life came to an end, like when one had reached the last page of a book. He knew she was the only one who had mastered the art of reading him, and that was one among few reasons that he had stayed with her until this day. In that his curiosity is what tugged him so close that she could sometimes hear the air that left his form, thus signaling when he had grown bored of her. His white eyes peered at her, his jet black body sinking back into the shadows until the light didn’t touch him. His movements were the picture of grace that even a cat could not master. The darkness seemed to bleed into him, as if it desired to become him. Not because he was corrupted, it was due to something deeper. Perhaps in the knowledge that he held. Rumor had it that, somewhere beyond his gaze, he knew of ages past, of worlds long forgotten. She had never heard him speak a word, and that was among the many thoughts that rubbed against her skull. By the look of him, Anouk had many ideas of how his voice may sound. She had this fantasy that his voice was soft, quiet. Though a single whisper could have the same effect as an explosion.

As the witch grew ever more on edge, she was reminded of how so little people knew of his existence. Among the few who did, it was understood that they believed he was nothing more than myth. It was only until now that she felt word of his existence, the fact that he was real, was beginning to spread like wildfire. The Lithe was more than a creature of mystery. His actions were cloaked in this mist that invaded the minds of those who attempted to decipher him, it plagued them with questions that had no answers as long as he never spoke. That gave her the idea that he might be selfish; that in his perspective knowledge was to him like gold was to a dragon. Reluctantly, Anouk’s gaze drifted away from The Lithe to examine the room at which was now her only shelter. The walls, ceiling and floors were smooth and a silvery-gray color. Streaks of light, like the markings on a microchip, were all over the walls. Ever so dimly they glowed a dark red, a sinister color that may indeed reflect her future. Her eyes flickered to the right, there were thin indentions on the wall that indicated the presence of a door. The cracks were so small that no light came through, and the walls were sound proof. She was surrounded by a deafening silence and eerie darkness.

She looked back towards The Lithe’s general direction, he was still in the corner across from her - eyeing her. For a moment, she thought she could see the gears turning in his mind. What was he working out? A plan perhaps, assessing the situation? Or was he simply analyzing her, silently pulling theories of when and how she would break? Some part of her wanted to be naive enough as to be pressured into believing he cared for her, maybe even loved her. But his solace was in the art of watching other’s lives pass by. Sitting there with all the beauty of the old and new worlds, in all their iniquity and magnificence. As they observed each other, ever still in the ambient darkness, she came to a sudden realization. She could see her future and exactly how it play out. On the day of her execution the soldiers would march in, she would not fight or struggle so she would go out with at least some dignity. Thus, as they dragged her towards the door, The Lithe would only watch. The only witness to her death being like that of an unmoved audience. She flinched at the thought, and caught the ooze creature’s blink in response to her actions. She wanted to break down here and now, allow her insides to crumble inward as she fell to the floor with ugly tears. Instead, entangled in the sheer mass of her thoughts, she only stood in the corner and stared at the floor; a hot tear rolling down her left cheek, light from the window dancing gloriously off of it. In that moment she couldn’t bare to meet The Lithe’s dead gaze as her throat tightened, choking back any more tears that may come. Slowly, she reached up and wiped the tear off her face. Half of her expected the sympathy she would never receive from the shadow that observed her in the corner when she finally glanced upward. Somehow, she was surprised by the fact that The Lithe wasn’t watching. He had moved into the light and lifted the blinds to instead observe space. He glanced at her before he gently jerked his head backward, as if to motion her towards him. She swallowed hard, her throat still tight, she stepped forward to stand beside him. She gazed out the window to find a green nebula, but she couldn’t name it. Much unlike many of her ancestors, she didn’t know anything about space. “It’s the Wreath Nebula.” She heard a telepathic voice tell her, it sounded strangely feminine. She turned her head towards The Lithe, as if in knowing that he had been the one who had spoken. He did not return the stare, instead he appeared to remain captivated by what lingered beyond the window. She was tempted to ask him his name now that he had spoken to her after all these years. Instead, she simply looked away from him and back outside. “It’s beautiful.” She replied after a long moment of silence, “It will likely be the last nebula I see.” She continued. Anouk then felt his gaze on her, “You will see many nebulae.” He stated. She watched him disappear from the corner of her eye, and she immediately turned to look at him in confusion. What did he mean by that? The Lithe slinked into the shadows, his white eyes the only indication of his presence. “You’re life has not ended.” He continued, “But it will.” She retorted, “Soon.”

The creature only blinked at her in reply, a strange look of disapproval in his eyes. “I’ve been told you will never die.” He replied, she laughed, “My species doesn't live forever.”

“I’m talking about you as an individual, not your species.” She only shook her head at him, still bewildered by his previous statement. “Who told you I’d live forever?” She inquired, he just stared at her. “I’m not immortal, and even if I was the length of my life is now determined by the execution date.” She told him, his eyes moved in the dark as if to suggest he were tilting his head at her. “Whoever told you, you were told wrong.” She added before she retreated to the right side of the room, leaning against its wall and sinking to the floor. The Lithe crept out of his hiding place, appearing to move strangely about the darkness until the light revealed him once more. He paused directly in front of her, and crouched down until they were at eye level. Anouk couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable by his close proximity to her. “That is simply untrue. It was the truth that had been spoken to me.”He insisted, she sighed, “Alright then. If you’re so sure-”

“I will prove it.”

“How could you prove something like that?” Never before did she think that, if she were ever to have a conversation with him, it would be this confusing. However, it could only grow more unsettling from here. Emotionless as he stared deep into her eyes, almost as if piercing her soul, his form suddenly seemed to take on a melted appearance. Her eyes widened, attempting to shift backward and push herself up away from him. The Lithe appeared to melt into a large black glob before lurching forward. Fear hit her, bubbling up with such speed that a bloodcurdling scream escaped her as the glob fell forward and wrapped itself around her legs. She struggled against him, her arms flailing as the ooze attached itself to her lower arms. She tried to push him off in vain until her arms, too, disappeared in his blackness as he consumed her. “How is death living forever?” These hoarse, screamed words were the last to leave her before he engulfed her head. “In death, you may live again, in me.”

About a month and a half ago, a failed experiment was shoved into his cell. She was a grotesque, pitiful thing whose limbs were different lengths and sizes. Nothing about her was proportional and her skin was scarred with third degree burns. Her expression was emotionless, a feign attempt to look as if she were braving another day; but her eyes betrayed her. They were red and puffy, and the look in them was so powerful he was unable to describe it other than with the simple word, 'pain.' Nonetheless, she had managed this far. However, the only reason she could possibly be before him and breathing in her pathetic state was most probably due to the scientist's serums. She had but a few locks of hair left, her eyebrows were gone and her skin peeling. Her hips seemed to have become slanted and her stomach was so thin her ribs had to have been shoved inward. She wasn't a survivor, she only existed. As Piper studied her he tried to piece together an image of what he thought she used to be. Her scraggly hair had to have been full and wavy beforehand, likely shining with one of the brilliant shades of blonde. Her complexion, he guessed, had to have been near perfect. The experiment before him suddenly let out a heave before slumping over like the hunchback of Notre Dame and collapsing. He watched closely as their bony back rose and fell, shuddering now and again. When it did, her eyes watered with suffering.

His blank eyes only watched like your everyday man at the couch trapped in a TV coma. Then he glanced towards the security camera, they expected him to dispose of their waste as they knew he would soon be in need of more cells. He rose from the bed at which he had been and slowly made his way over to the woman. He sat down, serene as a buddha. The woman seemed to barely register his presence, and only blinked rapidly a few times as he pushed the hair out of her face. It seemed the entirety of her focus was on breathing. Suddenly, he seemed to melt as his ooze overtook the clothes he wore. Some chemicals escaped him and bled out onto the white tiles that were the flooring as he shrunk into his true form. He shifted over her head until he was completely wrapped around it. Now blind to his surroundings, he began to feel the experiment's muscles jerk and contract, hot air from her mouth blowing against his form. Her will to survive left her clinging on to life until he felt her heave one last time. Then she relaxed, she was gone. The creature's ooze slowly overtook the body and consumed it, there was nothing left but her clothes.

A brief, possibly confusing intro.

After a catastrophic event, only one government remained to rule over the remaining populace. Citizens still withheld most of the freedom that America had obtained. However, they were not allowed to have guns and rations were introduced to keep families from having more than they need. Any form of protesting against the government was forbidden.

Citizens were to respect and fear the government. It was normal to have soldiers posted and patrolling the streets. It wasn't out of the ordinary to have random, large to small bases throughout the city. Pedestrians who lived by such bases were not to be alarmed or concerned to wake in the night to screams that cried out with such animal intensity that they could not possibly be human.

With only one nation left, and one major city, the government went by the rules of the Georgia Guidestones: [list type=decimal]
[li]Maintain humanity under 500,000,000 in perpetual balance with nature.[/li]
[li]Guide reproduction wisely — improving fitness and diversity.[/li]
[li]Unite humanity with a living new language.[/li]
[li]Rule passion — faith — tradition — and all things with tempered reason.[/li]
[li]Protect people and nations with fair laws and just courts.[/li]
[li]Let all nations rule internally resolving external disputes in a world court.[/li]
[li]Avoid petty laws and useless officials.[/li]
[li]Balance personal rights with social duties.[/li]
[li]Prize truth — beauty — love — seeking harmony with the infinite.[/li]
[li]Be not a cancer on the earth — Leave room for nature.[/li]
[/list]

Of course, governments are prone to corruption. Therefore, they may not always follow the rules.

A little more information.

The government has the tendency to allow the population to grow several thousand past five billion. When this happens, areas of divisions are sectioned off and no one is allowed to exit or enter other than the soldiers. DNA samples are taken from those within before a horde of zombies or one to three horrific, infected creatures are released into the sectors. Once all or a good majority of the population within are killed off, the zombies are slaughtered and infected are captured or killed. Either way, all bodies are taken back to the bases. A gas is released into the area to kill off any remaining zombies, but it doesn't harm the survivors. Finally, the survivors are loaded onto a truck and moved to a secret base whose location is undisclosed.

There is no question among society that this is done to keep the population within the limits. However, it is quite curious why the government would allow it to grow to such a degree before slaughter - and why in that manner when these people could humanely be shot.

Ages ago, a 2051 phenomenon occurred where there was some toxicity in the air. Some argued it had to do with plants out in the world that were beginning to melt down. Others protested that the government had released it. Nonetheless, it made everyone ill to various degrees, but only a handful of the population died within a few years. Originally, the gas had been released into the air to kill of the weaker members of society - especially those with cancer. The toxicity faded after just a decade and new generations were born, unknowingly with a recessive gene. Upon its discovery, scientists began to make various attempts to turn it into a dominant gene. When this failed, they turned to another answer. Perhaps the gene, like others, could be made active when the carrier is exposed to certain things. A number of tests were tried before they decided to incorporate keeping the population down with their efforts to activate the gene.

I thought that [perhaps], these modified people could be called the 'recherché,' which means rare, exotic, or obscure.

Other notes
There is wonderfully atmospheric game called 'Inside' that I recently watched a play-through of. It is full of mystery and definitely has a creepy air to it. I thought I could incorporate ideas from the game into the plot, but I am unsure how. I am also afraid that I would describe it incorrectly. Thus, if you don't mind, I can send you the three videos I watched. If you like the thought of incorporating it somehow or making adjustments I think that the plot could get very interesting. However, if you do not like it, I am open to looking for other options.
part one.
part two.
part three.