[REND] B3. 1.2 - Four Bs Assemble

“What’s the difference between an apartment and a condominium?” I asked Deen as we entered the apartment building where Myra lived and headed to the stairs. Her room was on the third floor. “They’re practically the same, right? I suppose that condominiums are usually taller and apartments are shorter.”

“I’m a condominium building,” Deen said, her voice shaking from restrained laughter. “And you’re an apartment—”

“Deen, I’m going to push you down the stairs.” I considered finding a different best friend.

“No, you’re not. Gabe isn’t telling me anything.”

“Ugh… So, I’m just going to be the butt of your jokes because I can’t fight back? I’ll focus on my apartment versus condominium problem instead of getting bullied.”

Deen tossed her hair. “You can’t bully me because I’m perfect.”

“Whatever. I’m just going to ignore that. So, what do you think? Condos and apartments both have units where people live, organized into a building format, floor by floor.”

“You’re right,” Deen said, patting my head to emphasize my shortness. “The difference is the ownership structure.”

I swatted her arm away. “Yeah, yeah. There’s the condominium association made up of all the owners, compared to an apartment building owned by one landlord. Since I’m just renting my condo from the owner, I’m similarly situated to Myra. Too expensive to buy a unit, even though my condo building is on the older side and outside the business district.”

“Property prices are inflated in La Esperanza,” Deen said straight, not mentioning the fact that she could buy several condo units and not bat an eye. Then again, it’d be her parents’ money.

“Also, I’m staying there only for a few years, just to finish law school… If I get to graduate.”

Deen didn’t immediately respond. She must be mulling how to comfort me without saying empty words. “You will graduate. We’ll both be on that stage to get our diplomas. You’ll accept your diploma with human hands. When you shake the hands of our dean, there won’t be any crystals on your palm. I promise you that.”

She still ended up spouting empty words.

I kept silent to make Deen think that I was depressed about my situation. The reality was that I didn’t care much about graduating. What if I continued my life in the criminal underworld? Just go all in, instead of playing around. Right now, the gangsters call me boss, but I wasn’t really one. I didn’t know anything about their operations, and they followed me because I could eat them. I was more of an enforcer, the muscle of the gangs.

But I could probably learn the ropes of being an actual mob boss from Overdrive. It would be a more exciting career than being a lawyer.

Movies often glamorize the life of a lawyer—high-stakes courtroom showdowns, luxurious lifestyles, and rubbing shoulders with important people. But only very few lawyers could achieve that, and those very same lawyers still spend most of their time on boring stuff like drafting contracts.

Before attending law school, I had interned at a large law firm; my mom had connections, so she secured a brief stint there for my resume, although I didn't actually do any work. I witnessed the slave-driven junior associates work twelve hours a day, sometimes even fifteen hours, sleeping at the office. Endless paperwork. They also had to keep track of their hours. Jot down time spent on each specific task, be it minutes or hours. If I chose that path, it’d be like my bosses had control of my every waking hour. I had to literally itemize my day into billable hours to charge the client.

Leaving a ‘normal’ life was becoming more and more attractive.

And… the power. It was fun to be super strong, destroying everyone who dared oppose me. Wow, that was villain vibes right there.

The Adumbrae’s usual shtick was to give people a taste of power and immortality, enticing them to give up their bodies to gain more. It worked best on the terminally ill, those desperate to live; many wouldn’t say no to regenerating from almost any injuries or illnesses, even if offered by a demon. But the healthy could also get easily hooked on power, especially the superstrength part.

Heck, it was working on me. I’d say I was more than fifty percent on the side of keeping my powers.

Don’t forget Spooky Erind’s taking over my body, I reminded myself. What use was power if I couldn’t use it because I was a prisoner in my own mind?

“No word from Gabe,” Deen said, breaking the silence that followed her unattainable promise. She was changing the topic to distract me from thinking about my future, which she assumed I was depressed about. How considerate. “How many times have I uttered that phrase or some variant? I feel like a parrot. Anyway, this confirms what I told you earlier—there’s no danger with meeting Myra.”

“I guess so…”

“Even if she’s angry about what you did to Kelsey, she won’t fight you and risk drawing the BID here. Myra’s priority is Kelsey’s safety.”

“Well, I did save Kelsey—that should erase any animosity between us. But you just can’t tell with Myra.”

Since I had promised Deen that there’d be no secrets between us, I told her about my… first encounter with Kelsey. I admitted that I bit off parts of Kelsey during our fight. Deen was angry at me. At first, I didn’t really understand her reaction; it was a fight, and the Adumbrae was in control. Then it clicked that Deen probably thought it was fucked up that I ate someone I knew—Kelsey was Myra’s sister and a fellow law student. She wasn’t a faceless movie extra that nobody cared about.

Of course, I didn’t include the part where I ate Kelsey’s limbs and nailed her to the wall. That was too extreme. Deen would assume that the Adumbrae inside me had taken over and was just masquerading as me. No way I’d come out of the closet and reveal to Deen about my… real self.

That was how the expression ‘coming out of the closet’ was used, right?

So, yeah. I still had my secrets. It felt good to have more lies after telling a bunch of truths.

Problem was if Kelsey told Myra about it.

“You shouldn’t worry about Myra’s reaction,” Deen said. “If she harbors irrational anger toward—she’ll be understandably protective of Kelsey—I trust that she’s mature enough to keep it in check. It’s going to be fine.”

“I trust you.” Actually, I trusted Gabe.

Hopefully, Kelsey had the presence of mind not to reveal the torture part of our interaction. She should know that it’d rile up Myra, right? It wasn’t a fight that I was worried about—I could eat everyone in this building. I didn’t want to be confronted with it, and also have Deen around. No to drama if I were the target.

“Myra won’t reject you for being… a you-know what,” Deen said. “I know you’re also worried about that.”     

“This is Myra’s room, right?” I compared the number on the door with Myra’s message. “Should we call her to be sure?”

“Just knock,” Deen said. “Are you afraid that it might be the wrong room? Don’t let your introversion hold you back. Want me to do it?”

“It’s not about introversion,” I said, rolling my eyes, even though it totally was. “I just don’t want to bother other people.” I knocked on the door. “Gabe’s not telling you anything? Last chance.”

“Nothing to worry about. It seems that Kelsey is—Hi, Myra!”

A woman with unkempt blue hair opened the door. Myra Fletcher, an Eloyce student taking up medicine, though she probably didn’t care much about her course at this point. I had expected Myra to look haggard, stressed at hiding her Adumbrae sister in her apartment. But Myra actually looked pretty chill, as if she had rolled on her bed the entire day—this was probably what she had been doing.

Her angular features, combined with an intense stare, gave her tough girl vibes, like how some actresses just had to be typecast into action roles by looks alone. Her loose shirt, hanging off one shoulder, couldn’t hide her well-built physique. She even had a slight tan.

Tanning is damage to the skin, isn’t it? Curious how Myra’s body didn’t regenerate it. Probably the same way that my nails, which I had to cut by biting them, didn’t just grow back. I really need to find a super heavy-duty nail cutter.  

“Hey, Deen. Erind.” Myra nodded at us, pausing to stare at me a second longer than necessary. Expectedly, Kelsey told her sister that I was an Adumbrae. “Thanks for coming, guys.”

“Your place looks, uh, good,” I said, looking around. An Adumbrae being polite.

The unit was slightly smaller than mine, with a cool blue paint job. There was a quaint kitchen, a short dining table with four chairs around it, and a couch. No TV. I expected the place to be barren since Myra didn’t seem to be one for decorating a place, but it was actually quite homey, with picture frames and various knick-knacks all over.  

“Kelsey decorated this, if you’re wondering,” said Myra, grimacing. “If it were me, I’d just need a microwave to survive and nothing else.”

“Is Kelsey here?” Deen asked in a whisper after Myra closed the door.

“Kelsey!” Myra called. “It’s Deen and Erind.”

The bedroom’s door opened, and out poked a purple head with horns. Kelsey Fletcher sort of looked like Myra, but more innocent and friendly. That was… before she had fully transformed into a monster.

Now, she towered over all of us, and me, especially, at around seven feet, not including her horns. Still, this was around a foot shorter than when I first met her. Her features were sharper, as if her cheeks, nose, and jaw could really cut stuff. And purple scales covered most of her body, except for some tiny patches where her human skin had returned, courtesy of yours truly.

“Hello, guys,” Kelsey said, leaving her hiding spot. She wore an oversized Eloyce sweater with holes where some of her sharp scales had poked through. For her lower body, she still wore the heavy-duty cargo shorts that I had bought her. “I’m glad that you two got out of the forest in one piece.”

“Deen’s Guardian Angel is a sure ticket to escape,” Myra said. “It’s a miracle that we got home. This neighborhood is well-lit, so it was a pain in the ass navigating here. Just the craziest—”

“Before that,” Kelsey cut in, “I have to express my gratitude for helping me save my sister. Thanks so, so, so much!”

Kelsey lightly hugged Deen and me, taking care not to snag our clothes with her scales. A bit weird feeling the cold scales against my skin, though the inhuman sensation didn’t trigger my hatred for physical contact. I was also irked by how much Kelsey had to bend down to hug me. If I were in my Blanchette form, I could grow to be bigger than everyone in this room combined.

“And Myra is also thankful for your help,” Kelsey said, gesturing at her sister. “Right, Myra?”

“Most definitely,” Myra said with an awkward smile. “Just don’t expect to bawl my eyes out, getting emotional and shit. I got plenty of that going on over the weekend. But thanks, guys. Really.”

I focused on the funny mental image of Myra crying, so I wouldn’t accidentally punch her as she hugged me. Not sure why I hated the touch of other people. Something about body warmth. Or was it the closeness, as if someone might realize I was wearing a face if they hugged me for long?

Deen was game for some emotional time, tearing up as she blabbered about sisters reuniting. Even Myra was taken aback at Deen’s reaction. Then, it was my turn. Myra prolonged our hug for around five seconds, which was five seconds too long. I awkwardly patted her back in return. Not sure what to do in this situation.

After ending the horrendous hug, Myra stepped back. She looked me over and slowly said, “So… Um, Kelsey told me everything. I didn’t know that you were an Adumbrae all along. I mean, not all along. Only a few weeks.”

“Good thing that you and the others didn’t find out when we first met,” I said, adding an uncertain chuckle that I think I pulled off well. “Dario probably would’ve ordered all of you to kill me.”

“What? No! I wouldn’t have done that! I’m not too sure about how Dario would’ve reacted, but he won’t pull the trigger like that. He was fine with Kelsey.”

Kelsey snorted. “Define ‘fine’. He was only fine with me because you became a test subject. He might’ve attacked Erind.”

“I will protect Erind,” Deen muttered. “I don’t care if Dario would kill me, too.”

“Well, I’m glad it didn’t get to that,” I said, wondering if Deen truly meant it.

“Everything worked out,” Myra said. “Ah, I didn’t mean it that way. You’re still an Adumbrae—that’s not things working out. I-I just… Sorry for being so incoherent. It was a fucking huge shock when Kelsey told me everything.”

Doesn’t seem to be everything, I thought, glancing at Kelsey. How should Myra react if she knew that I tortured Kelsey? She should be angry despite my ‘good deeds’, right? Or Kelsey did tell Myra, but Myra thought that I did what was necessary. Maybe the sisters even agreed to be nice to me because it was their fault that I became an Adumbrae.

I’d have to continue observing Myra. My concern was that Keke, the Adumbrae inside Kelsey, would use it to turn Myra against me.

“Nah, you’re right,” I said. “Everything worked out. If I didn’t turn into an Adumbrae, I wouldn’t have found Kelsey before the PCM did and restored her human mind.”

“I’m really sorry that you got included in our problems,” Myra said. “The 2Ms kidnapped you and—”

I held up my hand. “Kelsey and I have already talked about it. That’s settled. We have other things to discuss, don’t we?”

“Let’s take a seat first.” Kelsey pulled one of the chairs at the table and nodded down at it. “It’s awkward to stand while we’re having a meeting.”

(Author's Notes: Some space for Erind’s signature random tangents since this is the start of Book 3. We're including descriptions of the characters for the same reason, and it's been ages since they were described. We'll also get a refresher of the Rules. For now, we have the Four Bs assembled, and we have Myra’s reaction. They're going to have a meeting and then test the Pino mask. Thanks so much for your support!)