The Mechanical Era



"What in god's name are you all?" Eamon questioned the creature taking possession of Winston's body. His voice echoed throughout the chambers of the compound, covered in darkness. Though Earmon held a facade of stoicism and bravery, the man shivered internally, his lungs breathing heavily, and his heart beating fast, as he was afraid of these alien creatures. 

"Us? We are not from here. We don't have a name for us. You can call us whatever you see fit," the creature replied, its voice a mingle of Winston's voicebox, low pitched. It send a little shiver down everyone's spine when they heard him speak. 

"Are you all demons? Do you know them?" Eamon asked next. 

"Fortunately for you, no. We are not demons. We are separate beings, far removed from them. However, we do have experience in dealing with these 'demons' as you say.

Like the 'demons' of this world, the demons had come to our world long ago through a portal. We are not particularly friendly with them. They had unfortunately managed to succeed in taking over our realm, and thus we had to come here."

"...How did you get here?"  

"There is a portal in this place. When it was activated, we came through and took over. It is that simple really." 

Eamon hears the word 'Portal' and makes a mental note of it. Though he was curious about this 'Portal' thing, he had more important questions to ask before he get on to that subject.

"What have you done to our friend? Is he alright?" Eamon questioned the creature, worried about his fellow explorer and long-time friend. 

"Winston? I temporarily took over his body. Though we saw you with the crew, I couldn't get the chance until he was separated. Do not worry, he is completely safe."

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"How did you spot us? How did you know we were here?"

"One of us saw your crew just exploring the forest. Do you remember that furry creature you call a bear?" it asked. Eamon and his group only had to think for a second before it snapped. The bear! The grizzly bear they spotted earlier! It must have seen or heard them and they did not notice! They did wonder why it was out in the middle of the forest in the winter.

"We wondered why that was. Why were you all possessing a bear though?" one of the explorers asked, to which Eamon nodded, asking them the same thing. 

"Like all living beings, we need energy to function and continue our long existence. It was just out to get some when it spotted you all." 

"If you spotted us, then why didn't you come to... well..." Eamon asked, unable to finish his question. The creature attempted to make a gentle smile on Winston's face, to ease them down once again. 

"We had no intentions of using you all for energy. We tend to stick to the many demons that reside in this forest. Besides, we needed you all to be alive. The same goes for your friend.I needed him in order to bring you all here." 

The explorers exchanged glances at one another. before Eamon spoke again. 

"Why do you want us here for?" Eamon questioned. He starts to worry that something bad is about to occur. The faces of the group members start to sweat as they sensed something bad was about to happen. Winston smiled once again, to calm them down. 

"Do not worry. It is not something too big. When I entered your friend's head, I learned that you all were exploring because you were trying to find a suitable area for your leaders to perform military exercises. Is that correct?" 

"Well, yes. That is correct. And?" Eamon asked, not sure where the creature is getting at. 

"Then I have a proposal for you all. I want you all to contact your government, and let him know that we exist. Show them our location, while bringing a high-ranking government official. We would like to make a deal with them,"the creature claimed. 

"What kind of deal?"

"A deal in which I believe would be mutually beneficial for both parties involved. You see, we would like to have a stable source of food, to continue our existence. In return, we will allow you all to make use of this place, and make use of our services for fighting demons." 

"And what if we refuse?" Eamon asked.

"Then I am afraid I would be forced to keep you all here," it answered. His answer paralyzed the explorers. They were fully aware of the disadvantaged position they are in. Eamon, knowing that this is a life-and-death situation, gave himself some time to think it through.

"I am sorry, but I am not whether I can convince them that... you people exist, even with my team. Besides, I am not sure whether this place can meet the strict criteria I have," he claimed.

The creature gave Eamon's answer some thought, while Eamon stood there, very still. He was unsure of what the creature could be thinking. Perhaps he managed to screw them over. The creature made Winston smile, and extend out his hand.

"Well then, why don't I give you all a tour?" it politely asked the group.

"A tour?" Eamon asked, a little confused. 

"Yes. I can show you all around this place. If it does match the criteria, you will be able to convince them to come here, is that correct?" the creature responded back. 

"Well, I suppose so..." 

"Wonderfull! In that case, just follow me. I will show you around. If you are all interested, I can even show you the portal." Eamon remembered the time when the creature mentioned the portal, which was the way they got here in the first place. 

"A portal? This place has a portal?" he queried further.

"Yes, there is. It is how we managed to get to your world, Mr. Eamon Silverman.It is deeper down in this fortress. A sort of testing facility for them to open the permanent portal," the creature muttered. 

"Permanent Portal?" Eamon asked them to elaborate further.

"Yes. I can show you." The creature started elaborating. He told them their story, of how they came to be here, and the dangers that it followed.

...

30th of Heinz, 5018.

It was a normal winter afternoon in the city of Hoverdam. Kant had already left for the city of Vallina in the morning, accompanying a bunch of guards with him. He was going to attend this meeting that Rose Valline was holding, to discuss something 'important'. The specific details to which, they don't know.

Alan was seen leaving his back on his swivel chair while keeping his legs on his table. He had worked hard for the past few days, and thus, desired a well-earned rest. Sure, he did get the Sunday off tomorrow, he excused himself, claiming that the break would help boost his productivity. 

As he was just about to get comfortable, he hears a knock on his door. After maintaining himself in a more professional position, an illusion meant to trick people into thinking that he was working, he allowed the man on the other side of the door to enter. 

"Come in," he spoke. The door swings open, revealing a messenger carrying a yellow envelope with them, most likely made out of cheap parchment.

"Minister Alan, I got a letter for you," the messenger spoke. He quickly handed the envelope to Minister Alan, before leaving the office. Alan, after placing his feet back on the table, opened the letter to read its contents. 

The letter had come from his trusted explorer, Mr. Eamon Silverman. In the letter, he had claimed that found a suitable location, which hosted a hidden fortress meeting all the criteria he had given to Eamon.

"Way to go Eamon! I knew you could do it!" he spoke. Alan had a great smile on his face. He wouldn't even have to go with constructing a new facility. Just using the base for their testing side. As he continued to read the letter, Alan noticed something was odd. Eamon wrote about this weird creature that lurks in the fortress, who they call a 'specter'. He claims that the 'specters' want to negotiate a proposal with the government.

The letter claimed that the 'Specters' occupied the compound, and would be willing to allow the government to use it. In return, the government out to help it 'gain energy', which is a source of food for them. 

Although Alan found it hard to believe, even pondering whether Silverman was drunk while he wrote this, he knew the explorer Silverman very well. He wasn't the type of guy to write something like this unless it was a serious matter. Besides, the handwriting was very neat, especially for someone who is drunk.

Then again, he could afford to waste his time to meet these so-called 'specters' if they were real. As such, he decided to send a group of individuals to their location and confirm the existence of the creatures.