! REPORT
They Know (Part 3)
3D Render by slofkoskyThe vent cover didn’t come loose at first.
Eydis hooked her fingers through the slats and pulled with more strength than a human can apply until the metal bent around her hands. Behind her, the hulking, wrinkled mass of flesh and questing tentacles crashed fully through the wall display, its body lit by firelight and broken glass.
Baxter barked once.
She caught his muzzle, gentle but firm.
With the grate torn free.
She shoved the neon parrot into the duct first, then Baxter.
“Go!she shouted.
Baxter scrambled into the vent, nails scraping metal. Eydis crawled in after him and dragged the broken grate crookedly over the opening. It would not stop the thing. But seconds mattered now.
They crawled fast through the narrow metal throat of the station, Baxter panting ahead of her, firelight pulsing through the seams.
Then the sound came.
A thin, needle bright scream bled through the walls, too high for human ears to properly understand. Her sensors caught all of it. The frequency cut across her systems like static through exposed nerves.
Pain response: manageable.
Below them, the corridor went silent.
Not gradually.
All at once.
Baxter whimpered around the parrot and flattened against the duct floor. Eydis covered him with her body, palms clamped over his ears, counting each frightened breath until the vibration passed.
Then something wet struck the wall beneath them.
After that came a softer sound.
Chewing.
Eydis moved again.
The duct opened into a larger maintenance crawlspace crowded with pipes, heat and hanging cables. Three levels above them, the command center waited. From there she could find the breach points, the escape pods, the living and the dead.
Her processors wanted probabilities.
Her heart yearned for just one.
Martin.
Probability of surviving: 38%
NOTES:-----------------
I really should put a TL;DR thingy at the top.
So many problems trying to render this third scene. Daz Studio SEEMS to have a problem with VDB's at times. I can't render past iteration 87 when I have the VDB flames. It just freezes forever. Same results in Beta version of DS. The render you see is with "Post Denoiser *" turned ON, rendered to exactly iteration 87. I then sharpened it in Google Snapseed but it's still missing details.
NO AI just editing in the free Google Snapseed and free Affinity Canva
Part 1 here: https://www.renderhub.com/gallery/91481/they-know
Part 2 here: https://www.renderhub.com/gallery/91669/they-know-part-2
Eydis hooked her fingers through the slats and pulled with more strength than a human can apply until the metal bent around her hands. Behind her, the hulking, wrinkled mass of flesh and questing tentacles crashed fully through the wall display, its body lit by firelight and broken glass.
Baxter barked once.
She caught his muzzle, gentle but firm.
With the grate torn free.
She shoved the neon parrot into the duct first, then Baxter.
“Go!she shouted.
Baxter scrambled into the vent, nails scraping metal. Eydis crawled in after him and dragged the broken grate crookedly over the opening. It would not stop the thing. But seconds mattered now.
They crawled fast through the narrow metal throat of the station, Baxter panting ahead of her, firelight pulsing through the seams.
Then the sound came.
A thin, needle bright scream bled through the walls, too high for human ears to properly understand. Her sensors caught all of it. The frequency cut across her systems like static through exposed nerves.
Pain response: manageable.
Below them, the corridor went silent.
Not gradually.
All at once.
Baxter whimpered around the parrot and flattened against the duct floor. Eydis covered him with her body, palms clamped over his ears, counting each frightened breath until the vibration passed.
Then something wet struck the wall beneath them.
After that came a softer sound.
Chewing.
Eydis moved again.
The duct opened into a larger maintenance crawlspace crowded with pipes, heat and hanging cables. Three levels above them, the command center waited. From there she could find the breach points, the escape pods, the living and the dead.
Her processors wanted probabilities.
Her heart yearned for just one.
Martin.
Probability of surviving: 38%
NOTES:-----------------
I really should put a TL;DR thingy at the top.
So many problems trying to render this third scene. Daz Studio SEEMS to have a problem with VDB's at times. I can't render past iteration 87 when I have the VDB flames. It just freezes forever. Same results in Beta version of DS. The render you see is with "Post Denoiser *" turned ON, rendered to exactly iteration 87. I then sharpened it in Google Snapseed but it's still missing details.
NO AI just editing in the free Google Snapseed and free Affinity Canva
Part 1 here: https://www.renderhub.com/gallery/91481/they-know
Part 2 here: https://www.renderhub.com/gallery/91669/they-know-part-2
Wonderful story, expressive image and exellent postworkas always 

REPLY
! REPORT
slofkosky
Karma: 11,556
Tue, Apr 28Thank you so much Samara! Always wonderful to hear from you my friend.
Your writing style is palpable. I feel the emotions of the situation because of how you build suspense. A TL;DR would cheat the semi-literate out of a treat! I'm really enjoying this story! It's a page turner.
Thanks for mentioning the VDB flame issue. I thought it was my problem.
Thanks for mentioning the VDB flame issue. I thought it was my problem.
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! REPORT
slofkosky
Karma: 11,556
Tue, Apr 28I so, so, so appreciate you saying xyer0! And I totally agree that a TL;DR would cheat everything but, sometimes, it's just a lot of text and I get that. I do feel the story brings the visual into the realm of a tv show or something. Fun I hope and am so thankful that you have read it!
I'm elated!
Thank you.
I'm elated!
Thank you.
"Then something wet struck the wall beneath them. After that came a softer sound. Chewing." Oh my gosh, I can't get these sentences out of my head! Great job with the story, Thomas! Very powerful. Perfect tension. As to the TL;DR - let them read!l
I am sitting here in total awe of the expressions you were able to get on Baxter. You are the Expression King! <3<3<3
I am sitting here in total awe of the expressions you were able to get on Baxter. You are the Expression King! <3<3<3
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! REPORT
slofkosky
Karma: 11,556
Fri, May 01Kirsten, oh my dear, that is so kind of you to say. You know those days when you wake up, are so tired, you just don't know how anything good is going to come of the day? I'm feeling that right now, trying to see if coffee can change it around, but then I read your comment.... Thank you my friend! I feel it helped turn the tides. I appreciate you.
thehermitcreative
Karma: 2,162
Sat, May 02Ugh, I'm so sorry your day started out like that, Thomas. I hope yesterday got better for you, my sweet friend. <3
For 87 illustrations, the image turned out surprisingly well. The post-processing was also spot on. I still haven't been able to solve the persistent problem with the VDBs. Great angle with "Thing 2" above the three of them. I wouldn't want to trade places with them. Although I haven't quite figured out what happened to the parrot. It's probably due to my poor English skills A super "hot" picture in the truest sense of the word...
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! REPORT
Samara Blue
Karma: 11,482
Sat, May 02Grins, I just noticed I already replied to this picture. But that was only briefly. Since I'm currently looking at all the pictures in order, this comment is the more important one. 

slofkosky
Karma: 11,556
Sun, May 03Samara! Hey chime in as often as you want, I love hearing from you. Thank you very much too for all of the kindness and kinship you give.









































