Into the Darkness

by C T Scribe

  35

  Chapter 35

  It had been three days since he entered the cell. The injection sent pain coursing through his body. The voices in his head intensified to near madness. At some point, while rocking himself on the floor, the edge wore off. Slowly, as if emerging from a cocoon, he felt his body changing. His muscles didn’t seem to grow, but they were heavier now. His chest the same size, yet more solid. His ears could hear just beyond his soundproof cell door. He knew when people were coming and going. He could smell them too. The air in the cell was foul. He had been sweating, bleeding, and spitting for days. He also smelled of the beast who nearly killed him, and something else he couldn’t decipher completely. Gunpowder or diesel fuel or something similar had left its mark on his clothing. During the first night he felt his teeth and nails sharpening. The pain as his teeth turned lethal then normal repeatedly gnawing at his mind. He felt his bones turning more jagged as the spurs of bone nearly pierced his skin. Nearly, but even the sharp bone was unable to cut through his newly thickened hide. The things he had seen this past year. The plant monster in the old path, the man outside the dorms, and the beast at that bar will die from this newly forming body. He focused on that thought. He focused on the revenge he had been brewing since the longest night of his life began. With every lethal shift his body made he embraced the pain. With each alteration to his DNA he silently said prayers to the girl he lost. The only girl he had fallen for. The girl he could not save. He continued his metamorphosis night after night, until finally he slipped under from the pain. Asleep in a locked cell of an unknown bunker his body shifted back. His skin appeared normal. It was filthy, but it wasn’t too pale or glowing. When he awoke to his normal body he was surprised. From different films he’d watch over the years he didn’t know which would happen, but he imagined his skin would be different. He thought his eyes might change, or he would be branded in cult like fashion. Nothing happened. So he sat in the dark cell waiting. Waiting to see what the fuck he got himself into this time.

  With heightened senses he knew they were here for him. Not just him, they were here for all the people locked in the cells. Tye wasn’t sure when he knew there were others, but he could feel them. Looking down at his dirty hands he appeared normal. No signs of the freakish fantasy change he thought he was going through. No he went through it. Cloudiness of the last few days in that cell overtook his brain. He wondered if he imagined the lethal carnal form he felt himself shifting into. Aside from his ordinary appearance he felt extraordinarily weak. Fatigued may be a better word for the limp body exhaustion emanating from his muscles. He was weaker than the night he nearly died trying to save Mari. He wasn’t sure how many days he had been in the cell. From the footsteps he could tell there were two people approaching. He wasn’t the first to be released. Another cell clicked open down the hall. The pattering of footsteps magnified with each addition to the group, and something else. He sensed something else. He couldn’t identify it, but he felt it as a warm breeze in the coldness. It grew with each new cell unlocked. The warmth was neither good nor bad. His body purred from it. The hairs on his arms and legs extended towards it. His weakened body grew stronger as it approached. This feeling or power overwhelmed him. If all “changed humans” could tap into this strength, he thought in disbelief. No wonder he stood no chance at the bar. With so many beast all tapping into each other’s power. With him being a frail human. With him understanding nothing of true strength. Even now he was just barely picking up this frequency of strength. How deadly were those who had spent years or even decades learning to hone it. Using it to sharpen their own abilities. For the first time Tye realized why Mari told him to look away. Rushing after the plant monster in the road was stupid. Mari must have truly thought he was an idiot. Even after her warnings, choosing not to listen to someone who truly understood the worlds darkness. She understood this immense power that he didn’t know existed. That night outside his dorm her movements were faster than he could see. She came to protect him with no weapons. She resolved to stop that beast that night as if it was nothing. She saved him, and no matter how much he wanted to save her he was too weak to do anything. He should have died. He would have died to keep her safe. The clicking continued as more feet pattered along towards his cell. The voice in his head had been unusually quiet, but this new revelation was too much for it to hold back. “I always told you how weak you are boy,” bellowed the voice. The voice had an accent now. It’s tone was not quite Irish sounding. It possessed more guttural undertones. How had he never heard the strange dialect before. His mind was more clear than he had ever realized it could be. He had secretly hoped that meant an end to the second voice inside his head. It seems he can simply hear the void’s voice more purely. Not only his voice but he can see his eyes. In the back of his mind focusing on the voice he can see blue fiery eyes staring back at him. He didn’t notice the click of his own cell. He didn’t notice the tall man staring at him, or the others lingering outside the cage. It wasn’t until the familiar voice of Julianne calling his name and handing him his new script of pills that he found focus. His mini sun’s returned to his orbit, but with much more potency. Only then did he stop gazing at those blue eyes, and realize everyone was waiting on him. He rose. He joined the pattering of footsteps. He allowed himself to get lost in the rhythm of the power frequency, as a tall man and his shrink led the way into his afterlife.

  36

  Chapter 36

  This isn’t what he expected from his afterlife thought Tye. Sitting in a desk in a classroom was miles away from what he envisioned. This reminded him more of grade school than any goth romance movie he had ever seen. Looking around the room he noticed the others looking as uneasy as he felt. Twenty four students including Tye occupy 24 desk in the small room. Like a typical school setup the girls gravitated towards one another. Their forced small talk was the only thing filling the air. Beside him sat the only comfortable person here. He had told the class his name, Marco, when first arriving. Then he zipped up his hoodie completely covering his face, propped his feet on the desk, and began snoring intermittently. Tye couldn’t fathom how he could be so comfortable in this strange situation. As he sat there he listened to the tiny pieces of his “classmates” identities. Up front sits mixed gender identical twins. They sit closely together. If it wasn’t for their identical faces they could pass as a couple. Shifting his gaze Tye takes in a dark skinned long haired woman. She looks older than him he thinks, but not by much. Her hair woven in twin braids extending to the small of her back. She’s been crying since they were ushered into the room. In the rooms center sits a massive olive skinned man. He’s been nervously talking to the others seated near him the entire time. His voice has been Tye’s sole source of amusement with it’s high pitch. The big guy kind of sums up this whole experience so far Tye thinks. Nothing here is as he’d imagine. Another ten minutes go by as more of his classmates introduce themselves to each other. The noise grows. Marco shuffles in his seat as if to signal he also notices the rise in noise. It’s not just the noise, but the power frequency has been rising slowly this entire time. When someone finally enters the room most of his classmates don’t notice. The talking continues. The frequency keeps pulsing. A few of them however turned towards the opening door. No one was there. Tye and the others who noticed looked around to explain the opening of the door, but saw no cause. The majority of the others were now laughing and joking together. Tye could sense the presence his eyes couldn’t see. He looked hard towards the desk. Nothing. He continued looking at the desk, willing his senses to focus on the presence he knew was there. Nothing. He would have given up his search if it wasn’t for the small infantile hand reaching up the front desk. The rest of the infant’s body followed behind as he propped himself on the table. A baby. Tye didn’t know why there was a baby here, or what sick things these people would do with a young child. The baby however stood tall and paced back and forth on the desk. A few more classmates noticed and looked ahead. O
ne by one each classmates noticed, and looked ahead mouth gaping at the child pacing the desk. Hands behind his back. Never had he seen an infant walk this way. Tye could feel energy oozing from the child. It was similar to the beast energy or the smaller monsters around school he had to avoid. He would ask more about the strange power later he thought. The twins and their group didn’t notice the child at all. In fact they were laughing, and joking so hard the babies patience seemed to wear thin as he stared in their direction. It happened in a flash as his hand and nails grew large and elongated. The chalk board let out a unique screech from the talons now digging into its surface. All eyes now on the baby with the beast hand. This wasn’t the hand of a Fren Tye noted. This hand was more reptilian in nature. Small webs between the fingers and a lack of hair being the easiest differences to spot. His pacing finally stopping in the center of the desk. Now facing the class with pointed fangs. The room fell silent. Even Marco pales from the beastly arm, and sat up in his seat. With little time to consider the babies current form the lights flick out. Tye searches with his senses in the dark. He can hear rumbling in the classroom for a brief moment before the screams start. In an instant Tye is out of his desk. Searching through the dark with his heightened senses for whatever is attacking them. More screams ring out from the front of the class. The voice in his head mocks him. Assuring him that he can see the beast attacking. Tye shakes his head clear hoping to sense the unknown enemy. In the dark the scuttle of desk and shrieks make it hard to pin down the attacker. Terror fills his mind. The screams remind him of Mari. In an instant he’s taken from the classroom, and transported back to the bar that night. He can hear her begging them to tell her he was alright. He was powerless to save her. He was still powerless. The creature was on him faster than he could react. He felt a prick in his palm and then it was gone. Then the screaming stopped. The lights flicked back on revealing the infant on the desk once more. His hand had returned to normal during the blackout. The other classmates were huddled against walls or behind turned desk. Each one clenching their hand in pain just like Tye. Even Marco couldn’t play it cool with his hand oozing blood. “I’m sorry to frighten you children,” said the baby. His voice deep as a man added more confusion to the day. It had both power and authority when he spoke. “My name is teach. I do want to apologize for the confusion. It’s an unfortunate necessity of the process. The beast that cut you all was me.” As he spoke the words his hand transformed once again. He raised it in the air slowly as it shifted back to a normal form. “Shape manipulation is one of many skills immortals may have. It does help a bit in a fight. So will the cuts on your palms. True immortals have never been portrayed in any human film. If you were hoping to become a vampire I’m sorry, but that’s not what we are. Vampires are among the beast clans. Vampires are actually one of the more peaceful beast. Unless you enter their territory or you are in the skies during mating season vampires are of little interest to us. Other beast you may be aware of are werewolves or Fenririans. We call them Frens for short. I am a half beast of the sea. We go by the name Logonians. It’s an ancient film, but fully transformed I am more a creature from the black lagoon. I prefer my human form however. Some of us here were never human. Keep in mind that all beast are not your enemy. Well except for Frens. They can never be trusted. Beast can be formidable, but immortals are much more powerful. Now hold your hands above your desk, and let the blood take shape.” The classmates all listened to the baby standing on the front desk. The blood didn’t drop out. It slowly oozed and glowed in red pulses. As it pooled on the desk it started to take on a spherical shape. The oozing pooling pulsing blood formed an egg of sorts. Tye watched as his blood stopped pouring, and the cut closed. The blood swirled along the eggs surface. “Blood is our strength. Our blood is quite unique you see. In it is the ability to become more than our human shells. My name is Teach. Your first assignment will be to guard your egg until it hatches.” If the other classmates were as puzzled as him, Tye couldn’t tell. There was no denying that their teacher was an infant, or that they all created these magical bloody eggs. As he looked at his egg it swayed as if looking back. Slowly stretching a hand to it, he watched as it cautiously allowed itself to be touched. A ripple spread through its surface as a rock hitting water. A ripple spread through Tye as well. He wasn’t sure what they were hatching, but he could feel the raw power inside. Teach dismissed class with no further explanation. Someone was at the door to show the classmates where to go next. Probably some sort of housing, but Tye felt his egg shifting. Looking back down at his desk he now had two eggs. Marco nudged him from the side. Tye noticed he also had two eggs on his desk. The boys picked up their eggs, and joined the other classmates.

  The rooms here were small. Tye having always been well built for his age couldn’t help feeling cramped in his new living quarters. His room consisted of a bed and a desk. No TV, no decoration, and no space included. The lights were off, but his eyes saw the minimal details of his quarters with pinpoint accuracy. On the desk his eggs pulsed with a deep crimson light every several seconds. The pulsing was confusing in this silent room. Earlier as they walked from the classroom the baby named Teach explained that for the next week they were to care for these eggs like unhatched babies. By staying in proximity with the eggs they would form into weapons. Doing things like training would also increase their strength. Next each student was given an interactive map. The tablet displayed the labyrinth of ever changing halls in the compound. Tye had been exploring the compound with the tablet for nearly an hour. For the next week they basically had free reign to walk the facility, ask whoever they came across questions, and train if they wanted. Unable to get the feeling of the power frequency from his mind, Tye wanted to train. Having finally found a gym on the map he was ready to go. Picking up both eggs was more challenging than he imagined as the eggs already doubled in size since arriving to his room. They must have doubled in weight as well Tye thought as he strained to lift them. He spent nearly twenty minutes stumbling around his room, until he found balance enough to walk into the first hall. He had memorized the route being unable to hold the tablet and the eggs simultaneously. Outside his room the hall was quiet. He wondered if the living quarters were soundproof. Navigating the recesses and turns of the living quarters proved easy. He came across a few people, but he chose not to talk. He didn’t want to talk or make friends here. He wanted to train and fight and learn everything he needed to kill the beast responsible for Maris death. As he opened the door to exit the living quarters everything shifted. The light was near blinding to his senses as he stepped into the next area of his trip. Waves of heat rose to his face. He knew this heat. It reminded him of where he was from. The worlds drought had lasted longer than he’d been alive. The heat was too familiar to him. As his eyes adjusted to the light he saw the source of the heat in a massive dragon head centering the room. The steady stream of blue flames was heating a giant metal pot hanging from the ceiling. Along the walls thousands of weapons hung glowering red as they cooled. The space was busy with smith’s crafting ancient and traditional weapons. They moved as bees in a hive. Each person fulfilling their purpose in the weapon creation process. Tye took in the workshop, mouth wide, catching the attention of the smith’s closest to the door.