The hive mind

" The giant structure dominated the landscape from afar, it's sharp geometric shape in stark juxtaposition to the rest of the landscape. As I trekked through the landscape that had been affected by it, I could see all the bodies embedded into the cubes, their eyes following me, those with mouths attempting to speak. Then I heard a familiar voice, its sudden appearance from amongst the rest made me stop in my tracks and turn towards it.

"Laz! I thought I recognized you." Its mouth moving, but the rest of its body having been consumed into the cube, the head just barely poking out. Even so, I could recognize him " Sal." I cast my eyes upon him, I was conflicted, I was glad to see a familiar face, but not like this. Sal rattled on, his speaking was strangely fluent, even though his body being fused into the mass made his lower jaw barely able to move, his face permanently transfixed to look up, his eyes had to angle downwards in an uncomfortable manner to look at me. "Didn't expect to see you around here...Don't worry about me, it was my own choice to become a part of the cube." His face had remained pleasantly neutral with a hint of a smile, but for a moment something happens to his face and it contorts to what what seems like terror and anguish, his eyes fixating on me before returning back to normal. "You know, there is not much left in this world. It's just damn depressing out there, how can you still go on, I don't know, but you have my compliments!" A smile flashes through his face as he continues. "What with the filth and all, and that is not even the worst of it, I doubt the conclave is looking any better since we left, huh? Here we are all protected though, it's great! Our bodies may dissolve, but our minds will remain, untouched and safe." Sal suddenly grits his teeth suddenly, still smiling, making his expression a strange and unnerving contradiction. " So I though to myself, why not join them, it's really the only hope we have, Laz." Suddenly the anguish and terror returns to his face, parts of his expression contracting and moving in unusual ways, as if he is trying to make four different expressions at the same time. "Laz, please, kill me!" As I hesitate his expression goes back to that positive neutrality that it started off as. "Laz, you gotta join me, it's great, you don't have to suffer through with any bullshit anymore, we could be together again. I am finally happy, Laz, and you should be too." As he noticed me steadily raise my firearm to level with him he continued. "Please Laz, what are you doing, why are you aiming that at me, I know it looks terrible, but I feel happy for the first time in such a long while." I could see his face begin to contract and his teeth clench. "LAZ, I BEG, END ME!".

The gun went off and he fell silent, I couldn't breathe. Then, abruptly, all of the half embedded around me began screaming out, their eyes staring at me, " LAZ, PLEASE, KILL ME, I BEG OF YOU!" Over and over their screamed, some voices fell apart entirely as they moved their jaws they chewed their tongues off. Eventually the agonized screams devolved into guttural agonized sounds. I had already began to run away from there before the sounds suddenly ended and an uneasy silence fell around the place, as I ran, I glimpsed behind me, and there I could still see in the distance, Sal's lifeless body."

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