The Star Born of Scarlet Blood
(The Star Born of Scarlet Blood)
The Star Born of Scarlet Blood
Caught on tape
Last night’s dream was intriguing, to say the least. I was standing on the hotel roof, feeding the seagulls like normal. However, in the blink of an eye, they were gone, replaced by disembodied hands clapping. I stepped back in shock, and the sky immediately turned red with a roaring cheer. All around me, I could hear the clapping and the cheering. I tried to run away, down the stairs to my room, but my legs would not move. They were tied together by red strings that seemed to get tighter with each passing second. I tried to scream, but instead I sang. I sang songs overlapping in multiple tongues until I was pushed over by the hands. I fell over the ledge and into the red waves. As I sank and my vision faded, I heard a faint voice, a woman’s crying. In my final moments, I saw an object fall onto the distant surface above me. Then it was over.
I woke to the ringing of my favorite treasure, my red alarm clock. The unique clinking it produces at the same time every day fills me with hope. There is not a sound out there that is like my alarm clock. It is my treasure, not gold or jewels but rather simple painted metal. I remember the day it was given to me by my mother when she returned after so long outside the city. Her crooked smile of pure happiness over such a simplistic object… must have rubbed off on me. Ever since then, I’ve sought out the treasures not of this world. I hear the tales the canteen guests tell, but I care not, for I know of a world far better. A world known as Earth.
As I did my usual chores of the day (feeding the seagulls, cleaning, and checking the nets, the usual), I got lost thinking about my parents. They left Earth, paradise, to come to this hell. Even worse, they believed it was a good place to have a child! I can’t wrap my head around why they would come here! Sure, Earth had its problems and beasts like crocodiles, bears, and billionaires, but you didn’t have to worry about meeting them daily! I just don’t get it. Why did they come here? They were killed by a massive Rift Jelly in the Newer York Sector Flesh Rain. I never got to ask them why. Why did they come here? Why? It's like I am the only one who thinks in this place.
While checking the nets, I found a briefcase like the one from my dream. It was caked in blood, but with enough cleaning, it would have been an excellent sell in the inner city. During the Landking’s inspection of the haul, he told me I should just toss the case back into the sea. He claimed it had a sinister aura to it. What a fool. If I didn’t have my room for basically free, I would have left this coward long ago. Besides, I feel something familiar about the case. It smells like my father after a long day of work in the canteen. He always smelled like blood and fish, but I was never disgusted by it. He was the only butcher back then, it was his smell, and his alone.
Sorry, I rambled again. I cracked open the case and found five VHS tapes and a white glass shard. My parents told me about these tapes before and how they can open a view into a faraway place or even capture moments in time forever. Of course, they were exaggerating to appease my child self’s imagination. I don’t have a VHS player or a television… but I know someone who does. I snuck into the Landking’s room while he was asleep and found his stash of treasures. The old man was from Earth and clung to anything from there, yet he never supported me in similar endeavors. Such a waste.
Anyway, enough about my day and ramblings. My heart is pounding in front of the screen. These VHS tapes could be anything! The thought of them being from Earth makes my heart beat even faster. A window into another world. Below will be my transcribing and notes of what I see.
Tape 1 “Eri s 5th birt y !!”
I put the first tape into the player with extreme caution. I was not about to lose such a valuable piece of Baseline history. With a click, the tape was swallowed by the player. For a moment, the room was silent and dark. But then, with a crackle, the screen lit up to a vibrant scene. There in front of a circle of fire, a giddy child bounced up and down in a seat. He looked familiar, but I don’t know why. Around him, distorted voices chanted loudly the same phrase over and over.
Voices: "Happy birth! Happy birth! Hap day! Eri!"
Once the song ended, the child blew on the crown of flames until they were all extinguished. Upon doing this, an outburst of cheers rang. A hand from out of view plucked some cylinders from out of the extinguished crown, and then another pair of hands started to cut into it. Suddenly, the scene shattered into darkness with a loud snap. I panicked, thinking it was broken, but my panic was not given room to expand before a new scene took the place of the darkness.
This new scene depicted what looked to be a dock on a yellow ocean. In the distance, a gigantic orange whale sat beached upon jagged spikes. Judging from the distance, the spikes and whale must be even taller than my hotel. I didn’t know Baseline had such giant beasts. At least, neither Mom nor Dad told me. I was about to check on the player to see if it had broke, but then a woman walked into view. Her face was blurred by ill-placed static, but I could see her form pretty well through the poor-quality video. She was dressed in multiple layers, resembling a Charter from one of the inner cities. Though, there was something more exquisite about her attire. Something regal about its composition. She then spoke in a similarly distorted voice to the choir of the first part.
Leola: "Greetings, most likely my mother or father… though probably an archiver. This is Leola Seaslow of CC Excav Brass, documenting our progress excavating the temple within the whale. We first discovered the temple inside the whale when Jeremiah investigated the rumors of a Rift Jelly cult in the area. The rumors turned out to be accurate as Jeremiah followed a believed cultist into the mouth of the whale straight into the ruins of a large Rift Jelly temple."
She, Leola, then navigated the screen to show a small group packing supplies onto a ship. The ship was ornate but sturdy looking. Though, I couldn’t see it well in the distance. I wish the tape captured the past as clearly as I could see out my window. But I guess I should be happy just to be able to see it at all. Leola continued to speak.
Leola: "We are preparing our supplies for a trip into the whale. From Jeremiah and the scout’s reports, the bulk of the temple is past the heart somewhere in the stomach. Thankfully, something has dried and hollowed much of the whale's insides. Thus, the trek through to the stomach should be much easier. When we get into the whale and set up our base, CC Excav Wish will provide additional hands. Though, I doubt we will need all the extra help. This should only take a week at most to fully pick clean the ruins of any artifacts or threats."
The screen did another sudden snap to a different scene. This time, I was greeted by an orange desert within a cavern. Leola appeared once more but was still covered in static.
Leola: "This place is nothing like how I could have imagined! Jeremy wasn’t kidding about it being like a desert… I mean, Jeremiah wasn’t kidding about it being like a desert. This orange sand is everywhere here. We believe it could be the whale’s internals scorched into ash, but we have yet to find any conclusive evidence for this."
As she spoke, two people dressed in heavy diving suits akin to the Copper Colossi of the city's outskirts walked past carrying a large wooden sled packed with cargo. As soon as they passed, Leola’s face was revealed for a brief moment. Her eyes were like torches, ablaze with ambition and passion. I scrambled to rewind the tape to see closer, but she was back to being covered in static. Perhaps I should find someone who knows more about VHS tapes that could explain. Leola spoke about the mission she was on and how it would be the one to bring her into the spotlight. She sounded like a kid when she said that she couldn’t wait to be the star of the show. She probably could be an actor, but I don’t know why she is investigating a temple. Maybe this is one of those movies my mother told me about.
The video stopped abruptly with a still shot of a cold-looking stone pyramid in the distance. That was the end of tape 1. It felt like it passed in only ten minutes, but it was around an hour of film. I rewatched it to ensure I got everything I could from it before moving on to tape 2.
Tape 2 “D y at the be ch!”
The second tape was in better physical condition, but I was still careful inserting it into the player. Immediately, I was blinded by a golden array of colors. It startled me, but when my eyes adjusted, I recognized the sight. The screen showed a vibrant beach with many sparsely dressed people dancing and playing. The ocean in the background was calm and blue, like the sky. Three people in the background ran past with long shields into the water. Upon hitting the water, they began to ride along the waves in some kind of spectacle. I was transfixed watching the people on the waves until the screen focused on a child buried from the neck down in the sand. The child was crying for a moment before the screen turned black.
When next the screen glew, the scene had changed again. This time, the screen displayed a vast room of columns and statues. The statues varied in form but mostly resembled jellyfish. Looking at the columns closer, I found carvings in the stone-like jellyfish tendrils. This place was jellyfish from top to bottom. Some people with tools were studying or perhaps taking apart the ruins. I was confused, but then a familiar face showed up. Leola came into the frame alongside a shorter woman. Strangely, Leola’s face was still covered in the static, but the other woman was clear as day. In fact, the other was much clearer than the rest of the fuzzy tape. I felt like I could just reach through the screen and grab her. The two spoke for several minutes, but the audio quality didn’t let me pick up most of it.
Leola: “Introducing CC Excav Wish Lead Captain Clover! Say hello, Clo!”
Clover: “Hello, little guy!”
Leola: “It's not alive. It’s an artifact that can capture our words and faces like a painting for future use.”
Clover: “Oh… hello, little guy!”
Leola was silent for a few seconds before continuing to speak.
Leola: "Wish has [unitelligble] with extra hands to help our efforts. We believe this temple holds an artifact that could levitate entire mountains when appropriately used. This is how the whale and the temple rose to the [unitelligble]. With such an artifact, we could create a floating city or a weapon capable of killing gods. [unitelligble] such a valuable artifact."
A figure in fancy clothes covered in thick chains and locks walks into the frame. Immediately upon appearing, the screen was filled with a crimson-red static. Luckily, the audio was still coming through in scraps despite the visual mess.
Chained figure: "It is [unitelligble] to go [unitelligble] Clover."
Clover: "[unitelligble]. I wonder where fate will [unitelligble] this time. Will I [unitelligble] to stay here, or will I be forced [unitelligble]?"
Then, the audio cut out completely. After a few minutes of the red static, it dulled back into black and white for another half hour before the tape ended. I have to wonder why the static turned red. Perhaps all this static is intentional in the movie? I couldn’t rewatch the video this time because I was too tired. The red alarm clock tells me it is 3 in the morning… I need to get some sleep to work hard tomorrow, or else the landking will be even angrier with me.
Tape 3 “Our we d g.”
Before explaining what I saw in the third tape, I must mention my dream. That night when I stayed up watching the tapes, I had the most horrid dream. I found myself in the temple of tape 2, but I couldn’t move. It was as if I were a statue. I tried screaming for help, but the excavators ignored me and continued to work. But then, I started moving. I walked over to one of the workers, and I killed him. With my hands, I slammed into his skull repeatedly until it was a red mess on the floor. I then saw the other people of the tape. Leola with her static face and Clover in her radiant beauty. But behind them was a demon pale as bone towering above them. I woke up in a cold sweat to the sound of my alarm.
Throughout the day, I thought endlessly about my dream. Why did it feel so real to hurt them? Why could I still feel the cold blood on my hands dripping? At the end of my shift, I hurried to my room and put in the third tape.
The screen instantly hummed to life, showing Leola and a man beside her in the stone temple. The man looked immensely distressed. Judging by her posture, Leola looked equally stressed. Then, she spoke.
Leola: “We have encountered a severe problem. We are trapped in the temple, and our supplies are on the other side of the rubble.”
The man spoke up.
Man: “Each side has an abyssiver suit, so we should be able to reunite. All we have to do is wait.”
The recording became engulfed by static for several minutes. The next time it was clear the camera was shaky but looked to be held by someone running down a hall. The running lasted for several more minutes before everything went black. While the screen was black, I picked up some words. Though, I have no clue who said them.
Voice 1: "It's sinking! It's [unitelligble] sinking! We need to get out now!"
Voice 2: "Where? Where do we go?"
Voice 3: "As high as we can get. Up those [unitelligble]."
The sound of running lasted for several more minutes in the darkness until it all went silent. I waited for around half an hour before the screen was lit again. In the middle of the frame, four people stood around a corpse wearing a white mask in an unsettling expression upon a throne adorned by numerous gems. I recognized two people as Leola and Jeremiah, but I had no clue who the other two were. The group suddenly started speaking.
Unidentified woman: "The throne. It has to be the throne."
Jeremiah: "The artifact to lift the temple?"
Unidentified woman: "Yes. It has to be. Look at the [unitelligble] etches. Doesn’t it remind you of Rift Jelly's language?"
Unidentified man: "Who knows what happens if you sit on the throne? It could be cursed! Look at what happened to the last person to sit on it!"
Jeremiah pulled the corpse off the throne and threw it aside in one motion. The white mask fell off its discarded body onto the floor. Jeremiah sat on the throne and winced in anticipation. But nothing happened.
Jeremiah: "What’s wrong with this?"
Leola: "Maybe you need the mask?"
Leola picked up the mask. In that instant, her body convulsed like a broken doll on strings. Her bones tore through her clothes with each twist. The entire group scrambled to help while screaming, but each time they got close to her, they would be hit by Leola’s twisted limbs. It was horrifying to watch, but I couldn’t look away. After some 30 seconds or so, Leola fully put the mask on. At that moment, the static surrounding her dissipated. For several seconds, everything was silent, even though I could tell the others were screaming something at her. Leola pushed Jeremiah out of the way and sat upon the throne. The screen turned into static for the rest of the tape.
Dammit. That was horrifying. I didn’t know this was a horror movie series. I really don’t want to watch the fourth tape if it's going to be anything like that. But I feel compelled to watch it. I must see Baseline. If that tape has more Baseline, then it will be fine. Just don’t show me more of that nightmare. I have a feeling I am going to watch the tape even if I don’t want to. I guess I will. I have to.
Tape 4 “Er k’s 8t pe rm nc.”
The screen was very fuzzy, but it looked like some kind of play. I’ve only been to a few when my dad took me to the inner city as a child. Anyways, it looked like a play with the actors being children. The voices were grating both because of the poor audio quality and because the actors were not great. The story was familiar, but I don’t remember ever watching or hearing it before. From what I understood, it seemed the play revolved around the main character falling from the sky into a strange new world. This character would become a hero by using unheard-of methods in the new world to solve problems. They introduced many unfamiliar technologies to the new world people. Some of these I recognized from my collection, but there were other pieces I may need to find (such as jetpacks, laser blades, and spaceships). Eventually, the character would become the king of the new world, where they would promise an eternal kingdom of happiness.
In the end, it was a pretty nice story. Maybe I could write it down and sell it here for some extra cash. As I debated how to use the story, the screen suddenly flickered to a different scene. The shot had Leola perfectly centered in the frame sitting upon the throne from the third tape. She is clutching the mask tightly. Her face is a mangled mess that has no start or end. She cries tears from somewhere in the crimson maze of her face. The words came out slowly and slurred.
Leola: “I am Leola Seaslow. I am. I am me. I am Leola Seaslow.”
She repeated that message multiple times throughout the tape. In between silent bursts of flailing and crying, she spoke several messages.
Leola: “I killed them… I killed them with my hands… bloody messes. Yes, you did. No, I didn’t! Get out! This is my body. No, this is my body. This is mine now. It has and will always be mine!”
Leola: “A thousand faceless people strung together! Crying in silence towards me atop my throne of death! We laugh and laugh and laugh! Yes, we do! We laugh together on the stage!”
Leola: “The visions… when will they end? They must end. They must.”
Leola: “You always wished to be the star of the show. Just like me. We were destined for this role! The role of a lifetime on the grandest stage! So, let's dance and play for the crowds! No, no, no! Give me back my body!”
Leola: “We are one, but not for long. Put the mask back on. Let me take the show. I’ll give you your dreams on a plate of stars! If only you’d let me take it, this body could be so much more! Like clay worked by the potter, it can be shaped into anything! Larger eyes! A different hairstyle! An ample bosom! Wings of an angel! A thousand arms and legs! This body is a canvas begging for the brush of a master to color its dullness into a spectacle! Let me perform!”
After three hours of talking to herself, bleeding on the throne, she ended with a final few words.
Leola: “Mother… father… Jeremy… Clo… I’m sorry.”
What the fuck is wrong with Baseline people. That felt so real. Is this entertainment to them? No wonder most Baseliners I’ve met have been lunatics. I’m going to be sick. Why did I watch the entire thing? I couldn’t move. My eyes were locked on her battered corpse. I don’t think I will be able to sleep. Yet, there is one more tape left to watch. I can’t watch it. I can’t do it.
Tape 5 “Hypocrite King”
I couldn’t sleep last night, so I put in the last tape. I kept seeing her corpse on the throne, among other bloody visions. I couldn’t think of how to remove them. My heart pounded in my chest like a drum repeatedly before I grabbed the last tape. The fifth tape was in almost pristine condition compared to the other four. Its labeled text was written cleanly in some kind of ink. Hypocrite King. When I pushed the tape into the player, I felt extremely heavy, like an anchor tied around my neck. I fell to the floor in front of the screen and watched it flicker through dozens of scenes before stopping on the throne from before, except the ground and throne were suspended above a yellow sea.
Leola’s bloodied and twisted body sat on the throne, the cursed white mask barely covering her torn face. The eyes of fire she once had were now dull and soulless. For several minutes, the scene remained the same. Until Leola started speaking in a pained, hollow, but familiar voice.
Leola: “You who dreams of the world left behind… why do you long for it?”
Leola stood up from the throne, revealing her back to have been torn apart and turned into a cloak of skin and blood. She took several long strides with her broken legs, trembling with each step towards the camera.
Leola: “Erick… how was the show? Did you enjoy seeing the moments caught in time? The familiar moments?”
She stepped even closer and took off the mask. Behind it, my mother's face. It was just as I remembered it all those years ago. It was her.
Mother: “Erick… darling. Answer your mother… don’t you miss me… Erick?”
I tried to speak, to answer my mother in the screen, but all I could do was cry. My throat was tight, I couldn’t breathe. As water filled my lungs, I closed my eyes and pleaded for help to anyone who could hear my thoughts. But no one answered. I fell into the darkness… into sleep.
I awoke to the sound of cheering. I was lying down on cold stony ground. The screaming wind was drowned out by the cheers all around me. I stood up to find myself in a new body. I was much taller, frail, and pale. My clothes were gone, revealing my gangly form. I was too occupied with my new form to realize I was not alone. I saw Leola on the throne with a propped camera affixed before her. She beckoned me closer with a slight nod of her head. I approached her step by step without any control until I was directly before her.
With no more than the point of her finger, she commanded me to kneel… and I did. She spoke to me.
Leola: “Erick. Before we were rudely interrupted, I asked you a question. I asked you how you enjoyed the show, the trip down memory lane. The trip down your own life and Leola’s.”
I told her I hated it. I told her I hated the horrors that I saw. I told her I hated the twisted depictions of Baseline. She reached her hand out to my chin and raised it. She was no longer Leola. A body made of black writhing worms wore the mask now. It spoke to me in my own voice.
My King: “The star is on the stage… let the show begin.”
I awoke from the dream after it said that. The television screen was shattered, and the tapes were gone. On my desk, I found the white glass shard beside a note written in blood. It was then that I noticed my hand was severely cut up and bleeding. I looked at my alarm clock, which read 5:59. I waited for it to turn to hear my treasure chirp. But as the hand moved minute by minute, the noises never came.
In the silence of my room, I read over the note.
“Erick, my devotee, you have seen the truth behind the curtains. You have seen the actors without their masks. You cannot go back to the life you once had. Earth is gone. All that remains is Thalasso, our stage. You can run from it, from your role. But know this, the cast is large and has eyes everywhere behind masks. One day, you will realize this truly. You will don your own mask and join us on stage. The show must go on. Hypocrite King.”
I bandaged myself up, crumpled the note, and tossed the glass out the window. I can’t let this affect me. I shouldn’t have watched the tapes. I should have listened to the Landking. The dreams felt too real. I hate Thalasso.
I went downstairs to the canteen, which was oddly loud. Sitting at one of the tables was a familiar face. It was Leola. She was the center of attention, telling some big story about her last expedition. Her face looked so alive, and her voice was painless and happy. But her eyes were dulled. I must have stared into those scarlet pools of eyes for too long because she started staring back at me. She smiled and beckoned me to her with a slight nod of her head…