[REND] B2. 9.1 - Who Eats Who?

I sat in the middle of a room surrounded by hooded figures. Hundreds of flickering candles. They chanted gibberish in deep voices. I was afraid. Very afraid. But someone was telling me not to be. Someone inside my head? No. She was sitting beside me—a shadow that couldn’t be extinguished by the candlelight.

After I blinked, I was inside a cage, my tiny hands grabbing the bars. Outside, I could see a monstrous bull with mouths and horns all over its body. It spoke words that didn’t quite reach my ears. Rather, I refused to listen to them. I was really scared, more than the last time. The bull ate a man. My friend sitting beside me told me not to look. She covered my eyes and hugged me.

Today, I was in a cage again. A smaller one. And I was very hungry. A man set food on the table, telling me it was my punishment that I couldn’t eat it. I could smell the bread. I could see the bright colors of the fruits. My friend told me to reach out. But the table was so far away. I reached out anyway, and a piece of bread was in my hand.

I was in a different room. Faceless people were telling me that they were my mom and dad, and that we should listen to them. We. My sister was there too. She shielded me from the faceless people. They weren’t Mom and Dad. My shadowy friend whispered into my ear to crush them. I didn’t.

We were inside a car—me, my sister, and the faceless people claiming to be my parents. And also, my friend. She told me to crush the faceless people. I should do it this time. I reached out and squeezed. Screams. I was also screaming. Our car went over the cliff.

Were we going to die? My friend wouldn’t let us—

Enough! I pushed away the annoying intruder from my mind.

I opened my eyes and found myself down on one knee. I was back in Overdrive’s basement with its gaudy blue lighting and blood everywhere. Adumbrae Kelsey held her head with both hands as she staggered back.

Did our minds just connect? Were those Kelsey’s memories? How was that possible? Even the Adumbrae didn’t know the answer.

“What did you do, you disgusting anomaly?” she demanded with a snarl, her eyes and scales flickering purple and red. “A mere reflection…”

“You’re the one who did something.” I was a little woozy, but I forced myself to concentrate. Time for a fight since all my dialogue options failed.

I threw my shotgun in the air, then pulled down my face mask as I bowed my head. I put on my Blanchette mask, and it became my face. A tide of sensory information washed over me as soon as I transformed, from the various odors in the room, the sounds of movement, and much more. I caught the shotgun with my hand as it dropped, and I pointed it at Kelsey. A bit difficult to hook my claw in the trigger.

“I’ll consume you first!” she screeched.

I fired the shotgun.

A small explosion midair dissipated into nothing. I hit an invisible barrier.

And then, the invisible barrier hit me, the knocking the gun out of my hand. I got slammed against the doors and sent out of the room, colliding with the wall. The pain was negligible, but it was still a hit.

You’ll pay for that! I raged in my head. I began to hunger for Adumbrae Kelsey. Saliva filled my mouth as my fangs lengthened. The tips of my fingers itched as my claws pushed out. Coils of muscles were ready to strike and kill my prey. This stupid bitch made the mistake of hitting me—she was making me stronger.

“Rhaaor!” I threw my head back and snapped my powerful jaws at the air. My skull shook as my fangs crashed into each other. This was the best feeling!

“You can shed your frail form and still turn back?” Adumbrae Kelsey muttered to herself from inside the room. But with my enhanced senses, I could hear her as if she were right next to me. “All the more reason to eat you.”

That should be my line! I was about to roar when another invisible barrier slapped my entire body, flattening me against the wall of the corridor. Or hallway. Hallway or corridor?

My mind going off tangent was proof that I wasn’t worried about losing, even as I got repeatedly slammed by Kelsey’s power. It was like getting rammed by a big rig every half a second. It was unrelenting!

The force of the invisible barriers became stronger. I got smashed so hard against the wall that it started to crack. Half of an inch. And an inch. Gradually, my body was getting embedded in concrete. Another me-shaped hole. This reminded me of Illusory Eye pounding me into the ground earlier this day. Fucking déjà vu.

Adumbrae Kelsey kept me at a distance; she didn’t know what my powers were. After she had incapacitated me, she’d deem it safe enough to eat me. Was that her goal all along?

Joke's on her; this barrage of attacks only made me stronger. But that didn’t mean it wasn’t painful.

My entire front was becoming numb from the constant pain, each hit sending shockwaves through my bones. My body got compressed so hard that my flesh strained against my skin, which started ripping in places. Even my breasts got pancaked against my ribs. This was the disadvantage of big boobs. Some of my weaker bones fractured, and a couple of my fangs were knocked loose as half of my face was pushed into the wall.

But my mind endured the agony, fiery rage burning stronger. My regeneration fought back, repairing my injuries even as the next slam caused me to spurt blood everywhere like I was squeezed orange. The pain began to subside.

Kelsey wasn’t letting up in her attacks. The entire basement quaked with each blow, and dust rained from the cracks running up the ceiling. My left eye, which kept bursting and regenerating, could see her inside the room, waving her arms like a deranged chorister.

Endure. Endure until I can eat her. I repeatedly told myself while clenching my teeth and tensing my muscles. I had experienced much pain since I got skewered during the Adumbrae attacking the trains. I was getting used to this shit.

The smell of my own blood mixed with the dust infuriated me. I yearned to sink my teeth into Adumbrae Kelsey. I might even just kill her and move on. Myra could look for her missing sister forever. This weak Adumbrae didn’t deserve to live after her impertinent attacks. She even dared to think of eating me!

After a couple more minutes, my body had toughened to a point where Kelsey could no longer injure me. My bones held strong, and my flesh stayed intact despite Kelsey’s attempts to tenderize me. The mini-crater I was hammered into also helped reduce the force of the blows. Getting cramped in this hole as my body started to enlarge.

It took some more time until Kelsey finally stopped her attacks. She was making beyond sure that I was so badly beaten that it’d take me some time to regenerate and fight back.

Now that was prudence. Too bad it didn’t work out for her.

I didn’t move inside the hole, relaxing my body. It took every bit of self-control to stop myself from jumping out and crazily charging Kelsey. Everything should be covered by my own fucking blood and mashed flesh, so she wouldn’t notice that I had changed and was actually fine. She had to come close to—

Oh? I felt myself getting dug out of the hole. Were these giant invisible fingers?

It was as if I were flying while in the grasp of Kelsey’s projection. Its grip tightened. I pretended to twitch and groan from the pain. I was wondering if I should attempt to break free when the view that I could see through my barely opened eyes suddenly changed.

Blue light. I was back inside Overdrive’s room in an instant. This was Kelsey’s power to teleport stuff into her hand. But I didn’t end up in her actual hand. I was still held by an invisible force, keeping me afloat. Her powers had evolved from simple grabby-grabby stuff.

I knew that Kelsey stood less than a foot behind me because I could hear her breathing and rapid heartbeat. I could also smell her, a minerally odor combined with a weird gaminess. Just some hints of a human scent.

I hoped she had soft flesh under her scales to make eating her enjoyable. This was my petty and spiteful side entwining with Blanchette’s predator instincts. I’d just anonymously apologize to Myra later that I ate her sister. Hey, that rhymed!

“You still live,” Kelsey said, rotating me to face her. “I was certain that I had killed you. No matter. You’ll die just the same, and you’ll aid me in constructing my bridge. You should know about that.”

The fuck was she talking about? I had plenty to ask Spooky Erind the next time we’d meet.

Adumbrae Kelsey wouldn’t ramble on for long because I’d regenerate my injuries, so I pretended to be incapacitated to give her a false sense of security. I kept my eyes closed so she’d think I was drifting into unconsciousness. Otherwise, she wouldn’t bother monologuing. I pulled back my arms and legs in an attempt to hide that I’d grown taller. We should be nearly the same height by now, minus her horns.

“An odd creature you are.” Kelsey meant a different kind of odd, not my physical appearance. She didn’t have a good look when I had transformed, or else she’d know I was quite different now. She continued. “You have one of those… disgusting things inside you. The same as my sister, you melded with the reflection of the entity they call the Mother Core.”

She knows that I have the artificial Core. Mental note that Adumbrae could sense it. Real ones, not the fakes made by the 2Ms. Must be why Illusory Eye immediately put us in a mind prison the moment she awakened.

This would make it tough to make Adumbrae friends.

“Did your Core interfere with the PCM’s measures against Adumbrae?” Kelsey mused. Her heartbeat slowed. She no longer viewed me as a threat. “And it is the reason why your true self is suppressed. I see through your lies that the real you allowed you, the reflection, control of this body.”

I was telling the truth, you dumb bitch. One of the rare times that I chose not to lie, and Adumbrae Kelsey didn’t believe me. This meant that I should just lie all the time.

Though Kelsey made a good point about the PCM anti-Adumbrae machines. Maybe it was my Core that helped me endure their effects.

“But how is this possible?” Kelsey asked, moving me closer to her. I could feel her breath on my skin and fur. “Dario would not give that traitorous fragment to one of us. Unless… he didn’t know?” Kelsey chuckled. “Amusing and fascinating. What would happen to me if I ate it? Are you safe to eat… inexplicable anomaly?”

I really, really wanted to reveal that I was fully conscious. This scene needed some banter, and I had questions that itched to be asked. Then again, I couldn’t speak with my wolf mouth.

I had to settle with a dramatic reveal, waiting for the right moment to surprise this disrespectful prey. I continued pretending to be unconscious, breathing slowed, my mouth slightly parted, and my tongue drooping out.

Kelsey grabbed my head with her real hands, her scales rough against my skin. Warm air wafted a strong scent over.

She was much closer; I could even sense the blood pumping in her veins. Was that the smell of saliva?

With a slight peek, I confirmed that she had opened her mouth to bite me.

I’m bigger. I opened my mouth wide enough to bite the front half of Kelsey’s face. Surprised, she wasn’t able to hold my head in place as I craned my neck to reach her. At the last nanosecond, she was able to lean away a smidge. That saved her life.

I chomped on the lower half of her face, my fangs shattering her scales to tear into her cheeks. I also crunched her lower jawbone and crushed teeth. Everything was pulverized by my powerful bite.

Kelsey reeled back, bellowing like I imagined how a wounded elephant would sound. The lower half of her face was gone. The end of her shredded tongue spurted purple blood like a firehose. Her eyes were furious, but her racing heart betrayed her fear.

As I swallowed my first bite of Kelsey—flesh, teeth, bone, and all—I strained to break free of the invisible hand. I felt it give way. I spread my arms with a mighty roar, dispelling whatever shit that was, and dropping to the ground.

Kelsey waved her arms down.

My fur sensed the minute changes in the wind. I picked up the subtle sound of the invisible barrier rushing toward me. I buried the claws of my feet into the ground. Then I threw both hands forward, punching the barrier with reckless abandon.

The force and speed of my punch kicked up a mini-whirlwind. My knuckles found the barrier. A massive bang preceded the quake that shook the room.

And suddenly, there was nothing there. I almost toppled forward because of the momentum of my punch, if not for my anchored feet caws. I destroyed the stupid barrier with one punch!

Two, technically. I used both fists.  

Kelsey was running toward the exit. I rushed to head her off. She made weird gestures again. I felt something closing in from my sides. Was this the giant hand? I extended my arms to stop it from enclosing me.

“Ghraaor?” I was suddenly at the far end of the room, facing the wall. Why was I suddenly over here? How the fuck did her teleport thing work? Just getting touched by the giant hand? That was so unfair!

I turned around. Kelsey wasn’t in the middle of the room, by the sofa. I caught a glimpse of her flying hair as she rushed out the door.

I chased her, my nose honed in on her scent. Pretty fast at fleeing. Adumbrae weren’t worried about death, were they? We were supposed to be just reflections or whatever that was she mentioned. If I wasn’t afraid of dying, then neither would she.

But what about getting eaten by another Adumbrae?

(Author's Notes: Shoving in some backstory with Kelsey's memories? Sure, we'll do that. There are also hints that seeding could start way earlier without detection. And we have two Adumbrae fighting. Too bad for Adumbrae Kelsey; she didn't know how Blanchette's power worked. She did the logical tactic, but it was the wrong move. Probably better if she just contained Blanchette in a force field instead of battering her.

This is an advanced chapter. I'll try to squeeze in an advanced chapter every weekend. Some health issues and the parade of natural disasters in my country really hampered my writing this past couple of months, so I had to cancel Smite Happens. I'll focus now on increasing the advanced chapters of REND as my health recovers. Thank you for your support!)