"How truly fascinating," Ashiala murmured from behind. Somehow, I could feel she was exactly four feet behind me. I paid it no heed though, and moved on to the chest, ripping at the meat with my bare hands and teeth. No matter how much I ate, there was no satisfaction, no satiation. It was like eating chocolate. You got ‘full’ eventually, but it made you feel sick to your stomach.
Before I knew it, I’d thrown everything up again all over the corpse. Disgusted by myself, I looked away and at the wall, but something had changed. Three of my wounds had closed up, and more were in the process of healing. The flashing red number had turned yellow and was now a nine.
"I don’t think that’s going to work, rookie," Ashiala said from behind. I snapped my head around and growled at her.
"Why isn’t the hunger going away? I’m dying from the inside!"
"The heart. And the brain. Yes! I think it was one of those two. Try them," she said excitedly. "Oh god, I’m witnessing history in the making here!"
"Oh lord, that’s disgusting," Heather said as she walked up to Gene who stood to my side, rifle still trained on me. "How can you be excited over cannibalism, Ashiala?"
"Well, not really, but still. Ugh, that’s disgusting," Gene commented.
"Gene," Ashiala said, "You can put that thing down. At this point, I don’t think it can kill him anymore anyway. If I’m correct, he’s awakening or at least mutating or something. And if he is, he can kill us with less effort than it took you to kill that Gebradim."
I stopped ripping at the creature’s chest and turned my bloody face to her.
"So, Lucifer was right? I’m a mutated version of Gremory?" I asked calmly as blood and gore dripped from my mouth and chin.
"It seems—so," the doc replied. "Mind wiping your mouth? I think there’s some bone marrow on your, umm, lower lip?"
I turned back to the task at hand instead and finished off the creature’s heart. The ravaging hunger was still there, but it had lessened. The number had gone up to thirty-two. Enraged, I grabbed its head and slammed it against the metal plating. A mass of pink delight lay there, inviting me to take a bite. Slowly, I picked up a piece and placed it in my mouth. A wave of ecstasy washed over me, flooding my senses and keeping me entranced for a few long seconds.
"This—this is what I live for. This feeling, this power!" Devil said and let out a deafening growl. All of my wounds closed rapidly as power returned to my body. The most important thing, however, was the wicked hunger. It was gone and the number at seventy-three, but now green.
I let out a satisfying burp and leaned against the corpse, finishing up the rest. Suddenly, a sense of urgency struck me like a mallet.
"Gene!" I snapped. The man twitched and almost released a salvo in my face.
"W-what? Don’t startle me!" he snapped.
"Where are Samson and Levi?"
He frowned.
"Who are they?" he asked. "Oh," he added as his eyebrows rose. "Wait, are they the two that were brought with you into the brig? The big guy and the petite woman?"
"Yes! Those two!"
Gene gulped and started sweating in a heartbeat. I knew it wasn’t his fault, or at least I hoped it wasn’t, so there was no need to be afraid. But how does a monster tell a Human not to be frightened of it?
"They’re still down in the brig from what I remember, and the big guy was in terrible shape. Not that she was off any better," he murmured.
"Take me there," I ordered. "If you haven’t hurt anyone, there’s no need to be afraid of me. Only those who enjoyed torture and the killing of us ordinary folks will have something to be afraid of, Captain."
"Y-yes, sure. Heather, lock the door behind you and turn on the manual override. Three taps, two, then four. Got it?"
The young nurse nodded her head hurriedly and replied after him.
"Yes. Three, two, and four. Got it!" She walked up to the command module and stood there, biting her lip.
"Go give your woman a hug and a kiss, for hell’s sake. Don’t you see she’s concerned for you?" I snapped at the Captain. He didn’t reply and instead did what I told him to. Well, it hadn’t really been an order, more a retort, but he got the gist of it.
"And you, be sure to stay safe and alive. I want to study you some more, rookie," Ashiala said excitedly.
"Heh, sure thing, Doc. Prepare two vats for my friends. Oh, and speaking of which, where did that pig Edwald go?"
"I will, and I don’t know. Private security took the commander’s son away. They’re probably on the bridge. Or the command bunker. I have no idea."
"Thanks for the help," I said and walked past her to the door. "Oh, and the name is Cain, not rookie."
Chapter Eight
"How many Gebradim have entered the ship? Any idea?" I asked as we rounded the first corner. The walls were riddled with scratches, burn marks and holes. Splatters of blood decorated the corridors in vast amounts, too much for my taste.
"I have no idea. Earlier when command chatter was active, the officers mentioned something like two battalions and a company. The group with the least soldiers entered near us, and they’d most likely split to cover more ground. We shouldn’t face too big of a resistance," he whispered. "But there isn’t enough shooting or screaming for my taste," he added, passing me with his rifle aimed straight down the next passage.
"Same. Something feels off, as if the enemy is playing cat and mouse, or even trying to stall us. And from the numbers you just mentioned, Gremory should be able to deal with them easily, no?"
"Yeah, but she can’t use her full armament indoors, or she might blow up the ship."
I sighed. It was only natural that we’d be on the receiving end without a real way to defend ourselves.
"How far do we have to go?"
"Three corridors, and then the elevator, two corridors below and we’re at the brig."
"Alright. Lead the way," I said, falling in line with my rifle trained ahead and ears perked up.
Gene nodded, pressing his back to the wall, he took out a pocket mirror and stuck it out the side. I followed him like a lost puppy after he made the bend. At the next split, he held his hand up in a balled fist to stop moving and showed three fingers. I nodded slightly and inched up to him.
"I take the left, and you take the right?" I whispered. He nodded, but quickly pulled his hand back as a torrent of bullets struck the far wall.
"I forgot to say they can hear chatter from fifty feet ahead," he explained and released a storm of projectiles at the enemy. I knelt beside him and released a stream of bullets down the hallway. A dull screech reverberated in the enclosed space, followed by the thud of something heavy.
A high-pitched noise drew our attention. It was unlike anything I’d ever heard and could be best described as an ultrasonic chirping of birds, followed by the clang of metal. My eyes widened as I noticed a round object ricocheting off the wall and coming our way. All of my being screamed to run, so I pulled Gene after me and jumped into the room closest to us. Not a second too soon, I thought, as a loud explosion shook the corridor and the walls.
"Stay quiet," I whispered and got up with my rifle already trained toward the door. Gene stayed down and aimed at the doorway but from a different angle. I hoped it would confuse the enemy long enough for us to get in the first shots.
Two pairs of boots thudded along as they made their way toward our room, resounding clearly in the silent hall. The disturbing part were the clicking and smacking sounds accompanied each step. Was that how they communicated? Whatever it was, though, they were far too loud.
The footsteps stopped only a couple of feet from the door. I intentionally closed it only partially so that we’d hear them better.
With one of their four arms, a Gebradim trooper slowly pushed the door further open so they could peek inside, but the darkness was almost absolute and combined with our positions, there was no way he could see us. If it were me outside, I’d activate a second grenade and throw it in. But they were aliens, so who k
new how they thought.
More smacking and clicking noises followed before the braver of the two Gebradim dove inside. Devil took over for a second, pressing the trigger down. My left hand came up as the trooper started shuddering, and released a javelin right from the palm. It struck the trooper, embedding him against the wall. Gene used the moment as the second one bent over his comrade and rolled to the side, releasing a burst of fire and drove three rounds in his opponent’s head, blowing its brains out against the door.
"Nice shooting, rookie," Gene said as he got up. That—thing there sure was overkill," he added, pointing at the javelin. Fuck yes, it was a good one. But then the pain hit home when my palm was trying to heal up. I guessed doing superhuman things in a human body wasn’t very smart. Not that I had any choice in the matter earlier, I still liked it.
"Yeah, sorry. I guess it got the better of me. This thing sure packs a punch," I replied, replacing the empty mag for a fresh one. I looked down at the rifle and read the number. Seventy shots.
"I guess, if you know how to use it. Come on, we need to go. I don’t want the women to be alone any longer than necessary," Gene said as he got up. I nodded but stopped at the second enemy. His head was mostly blown apart, with a good part of the brain still edible.
"Give me a sec," I whispered and bent down to pry out what remained.
"Oh, god, no," Gene begged. "Not again, man!"
He raced past me and down the corridor, but I didn’t mind. I was sure new heights awaited me with every new brain I devoured. The blood and brain matter partially satiated me, filling my body even more than I needed. It made me feel bloated and as if something was stirring inside me. And there it was. Something moved inside me, choking the life out of me for a long moment. I couldn’t breathe as the pain turned to my chest and felt like someone was rearranging my ribcage over and over again.
"Devil, you here?" I whispered when it subsided. Nothing. No reply, no voice, no sound. "Whatever," I whispered and cracked open the second skull, eating the precious brain matter. A number in the top left appeared, showing me an eighty-seven along with the same bloated feeling, but this time, it was different yet again. My left arm’s number dropped to a measly one point, stiffened up and started changing under my skin. Strange growths appeared all along its length and looked like they wanted to get out.
"You coming?" Gene called to me.
"Yeah, give me a sec," I wheezed as the pain was almost too much to bear. Again, it subsided and left me hungry. Was I feeding my mutation? If so, I’d need a lot of brain matter to satiate it, especially now that my hunger meter was down to nineteen points. "Don’t shoot," I said, exiting the room as I wiped my mouth.
"The road to the elevator is clear. Come on, hurry up," he said and started jogging.
"I need a third brain. Wait a minute, please."
Again, the same feeling and movement crawled under my skin. I screamed in frustration and thrashed around, but Gene put his hand over my mouth to drown out most of the sound. When he noticed the writhing beneath my skin, he panicked and let go.
"What the hell is wrong with you? Are you turning into a fucking monster?" he asked, raising his rifle at me. I didn’t pay any attention to him as there were more pressing matters.
Bone ripped through my skin and turned black, then disintegrated. Something started writhing inside my gaping wound, something small. Millions of tiny—something, filled up space where my bones should have been. As soon as it was full, muscle and tissue grew together until the skin closed up and smoothed out.
"Was I finally turning into one? But damn did this shit hurt!" I cursed, gritting my teeth. At one point I thought they were going to shatter, but they luckily held. Once the skin was stitched up again, the pain subsided fully. I was spent, and the hunger was back. I felt like shit, maybe even worse than before.
"Hey, what’s wrong with you? Why are you laying around? Come on, move it!"
"I can’t! The hunger is back again," I groaned and laid down, trying to steady my breathing. "I think I need at least one more heart or brain to function properly."
"Fuck! Alright, good thing I brought a part with us. From the one you started earlier," he said and handed me about a quarter of the first brain I’d tried. "Yeah, thank Heather. She packed it in the bag and told me to keep it with me in case you turned all violent or something."
I grinned and shook my head. Women.
"I’ll be sure to thank her once we’re back," I said, almost choking on the brain matter.
Gene offered me his hand when I was done, and I took him up on his offer, then proceeded to dust myself off and grabbed my rifle. It was time to move on.
Everything seemed quiet at the elevator shaft. I’d listened in for a good two minutes before we made our way down the last narrow corridor. The blaring sirens were still going strong along with the red strobe lights overhead. How long would this last anyway? Wasn’t Gremory supposed to take care of such things with much greater ease than us?
Gene fumbled with the controls, forcing the elevator door wide open. What awaited us was pure horror. Both Gebradim and Human corpses were scattered on the too-large elevator floor. Body parts littered the ground over a thick pool of blood.
I quickly used my chance to feast on another brain and ate until I was full. I had no idea if the mutation would go on, but I didn’t know what would await me down there. I would rather be safe than sorry.
The Captain didn’t speak much, instead murmured something to himself over and over again as we sank ever further into Devil’s bowels. Then it dawned on me that Lucifer set this all up. He told me I’d get the much-needed opening, and it happened. But at what cost?
"Get ready, we’re almost down," Gene said and drew me back to matters at hand. I’d have to ask Lucifer later about the ambush.
"Ready," I replied, putting up my rifle. The doors rolled open revealing a surprisingly clean guard entrance. The only body in the near vicinity was a single guard with half of his head missing, but that was about it. My heart throbbed in my throat. What if they already swept this area and killed Levi and Samson?
I touched Gene’s shoulder and motioned for him to move. He nodded and took the point, swiftly moving from room to room until we came to the guard barracks. Inside awaited an identical image of the elevator, but on a grander scale. A dozen of well-armed guards laid about with missing limbs or with holes punched through their bodies. However, seven of the nasty Gebradim littered the floor.
"The poor bastards probably never stood a chance," Gene whispered, shaking his head sadly. "You going to eat? Or can we do that later?"
"I’m already full, but I sure as hell wouldn’t mind having some for later if I’m in a jam again. Any containers here that could serve the purpose?"
"Sure, let me fetch one," he replied and moved toward a large cabinet. A moment later, he was back again, dropped me the container, and walked past me, moving quickly up to the corner, peeked around and motioned for me to follow him.
"Give me a moment," I replied before I took him up on the motion. There was no one there, neither Human nor Gebradim. I covered him as he opened the first door to the cells we’d been put away in days ago.
The first held one of the rookies that had survived the training session. Unfortunately, he was dead as a doornail and missing his head.
"I think they’re four doors down," Gene whispered as he exited the room. I followed him further down the hall, peeking into every room, but the same thing awaited us every time.
"Wait," I said, stopping him. "I think someone’s alive in there. Levi? Samson?" I hissed, focusing on the pile of corpses, but it was too dark. Then I heard it, the sound of a safety being flipped off.
"Who’s there?" A rough, weak voice asked.
"It’s me, Cain. That you Samson?"
"Yeah. Me and Levi. Come in. I promise I won’t shoot you, I think."
"You think?"
"You left us for dead!" Levi snapped from inside. "They tortured us for two mor
e days after they stopped torturing you!"
"Wait, you have no idea what they did to me. That nasty son of a bitch burned me alive with a flamethrower. Do you call that leaving you for dead? Goddamn stubborn woman!"
"Come in if you dare!" she snapped. "Idiot!"
I couldn’t help but smile. They survived all of this carnage, but how? Had they played dead?
"Don’t shoot me, okay?" I said, pushing the door wide open. First, I noticed Samson huddled up behind two Gebradim corpses, and behind him Levi. My blood froze when I saw the two. Samson’s face was carved up beyond recognition, and the man was missing half an arm. Levi wasn’t much better off as she lay there, barely able to move. Her body was mostly naked but for a pair of panties and a sports bra. A good part of her skin was flayed off.
"Bastard. You sure look good for someone who was burned alive," she hissed and threw a Gebradim hand at me.
"Only because they placed me in a vat with some strange liquid. It recovered most of the damage but changed me in the process. I’m—different than when we met a couple of days ago. And why are you even moving? Lay still, idiot!"
"And why do you think we’re still alive? The ship told us about you. It couldn’t do anything for us but dull our pain. To an extent anyway. The pain’s coming back, though. It’s worse with every passing hour. I don’t think we have much longer," Samson said.
"Gene, go find me two gurneys. We need to get these two up to the research bay."
"Already on it," the Captain replied.
"Wait, is that the guard Captain?" Samson asked through gritted teeth as he narrowed his rifle on me.
"Yeah. Why?"
"He let them do this to us! That’s why!" Samson growled.
"I’ll explain later. But for now, we need to save your sorry hides. Shut up and let us help you."
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