Member
Sep
BCTheEntity
LiverisGood
Heat
Fetzen
PapaOso
Forsythe
dragonpiece
Lucid Dreaming
Noctis
A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
Location: Lost Haven, from Jai’s garage to the sewers
Time: July- Noon
Racheli’s anger seeth silently. Her fingers dug deeply into her palms. Red filtered her vision, but she bit her tongue hard enough she could taste the vile, black liquid filling up her mouth. Every tendon tensed within her system as she fought her temper’s rising degrees. Kayla’s words pounded into her head’s core leaving Racheli bitter and inadequate. Memories from when she was first infected flooded her attention. All the sights, scents and sensations became vivid causing her to fight back hot tears.
Her mouth coughed up blood, the wet sticky substance washed down the drain by water. Weakness weighed down her body as she crawled across the wooden floor, her strength vanished thanks to the heat. Bones and flesh alike burned with the crackling pain that brought her down.
Despite Kayla’s painful display, the woman simply ejected the virus’ effects like it was nothing.
NOTHING!
The word penetrated her consciousness like a bullet into the head. It left her stunned then ashamed at her will’s failure to fight back and remain human. That sorrow turned into pissed energy, fueling her emotional conflict. A rage under the skin. Subtle signs began to show as nearby metal gravitated toward her, some melted then stuck to her surface.
Knowing she would say something or do irreversible, Rach twisted on her heel. When she reached the door, her hand jerked it open and slammed it shut behind her. The handle retained the dentations of her fingers on its shape. Abruptly, nearby tools fell off the rack at the small wall tremor.
For a moment before Rach drifted out of range, the virus’ eyes lingered on Kayla. Venom and suspicion twisted up his calm demeanor, his damaged pride showed through. His words echoed in Kayla’s with a tone of disapproval.
‘It was kind of you to prove who was stronger,’ he vanished when his words finished.
The July heat hit her head on. The full effect caused her to flinch while she exhaled, and pushed onward. Too stubborn to retreat back into the cool air condition, Racheli pushed into the thinning crowds and blended in. Her path mostly kept her nearest the shade to block out the sun as she shoved her hands into her jeans. Instinctively, her eyes shifted from shady spot to the next before deciding to find somewhere underground.
Nowadays, summertime fell short of the past pleasure it gave her. Her body preferred the cold rather than the heat so any abrupt and notable change in temperature brought anxiety she couldn’t explain.
Another left turn brought Rach into a nearby alleyway where she suddenly stopped. Her head tilted upward and observed the two-story high brick walls, mentally calculating their height. Even she knew how stupid it was to be on the rooftops at this time of day. There would be little shade from the sun overhead unless there were taller buildings around. Shrugging off her brief brilliant idea, Racheli’s eyes turned back to the ground. A slight difference in metal hue caught her attention causing her to close in and crouch down.
A manhole, she realized.
Her fingers touched the bolts only to find them secured in place. She ground her teeth in frustration then twisted one harder. It squeaked in protest before finally loosening under her strength, coming off in her palm and drawing a smirk from her lips. She repeated the step with the other three until all four were removed. Then she threw the lid to the side where it clunked against the wall and dented it.
Not caring about the damage, Rach twisted around and slid down the metal ladder. She bent her knees when she hit the bottom. Her nose scrunched up at the mixture of feces, piss, rot, and stagnant water drifting through the narrow tunnel. It nearly made her vomit as she shut off her smell receptors immediately.
Her mind ironed out the reaction before she drifted into the darkness. The irises gave off an illumination indicating her vision had shifted into night, the surroundings tinted in green and black. Soundlessly she drifted along the concrete walls and floor.
Soundlessly, she drifted down the dark tunnel in search for somewhere peaceful. The chill down here relaxed her since there was no sunlight to warm her, but she disliked the dampness and smell from earlier. Her boots splashed puddles underneath sending the water to scatter.
‘You know, I never expected you would stoop so low as to walk in the filth of a whole city,’ an unwelcome voice whispered in her ear.
Racheli’s head turned to the side but saw nothing. Her lip curled upward, baring a set of teeth and fell back down. She ignored the company that refused to materialize. Gradually a small, square room came into view. From the right was a tunnel streaming forth a waterfall from a pipe into a small pit below. Along the edges were barely enough room to crouch down, let alone walk on. She still managed to find a small corner to fold her jacket and sit, letting her mind reflect on the reasons she felt so much rage.
Minutes passed into an hour before Racheli decided to leave. Her figure pushed up onto her feet as she snatched up her jacket. Abruptly, her skin rose up into goosebumps and her hair at attention. The sensation of being watched washed over her. Cautiously her eyes panned the small room, her vision sought out the source and found nothing. The dull roar of water drowned out any other sounds.
A few seconds passed into moments before she decided she was being paranoid. Racheli wrapped her jacket about her arms and inhaled. She then walked toward the exit.
She nearly made it.
Through the water, a large-scaled and rash-ridden reptile burst through the water’s tunnel. For the most part, it resembled an alligator with a compacted body. Its thick tail propelled it into the small room. The body was about the size of a motorcycle in height with bulky muscles. It had no eyes while its neck appeared to be deformed into jaws from another head. The second head devoured the first, a narrower and more canine-like mouth. It stopped at the skull and neck base.
At catching Rach’s scent, it dragged itself out over the pit. The water streamed down over the underbelly then vanished into the bottomless pit. It wasted no time as it launched itself at Rach’s exposed back.
Her mind ripped into pain when the dagger-like teeth sank into her shoulder.
“FUCK!” Rach screamed out, her voice carried through the suffocating pipelines.
She felt it penetrated through her skin and muscle, crushing the bone underneath in its powerful grip. If she had been able to smell, its breath would remind her of putrid meat and aged water. The weight from the impact tossed her down onto her stomach. Taking full advantage of her downed position, its jaw clamped down tighter. It shifted its muzzle from right to left viciously. Bone continued to crack while it began to loosen from its tendons, the creature intended to rip off a chunk. Her black blood began to eat away at the tissue around the monster’s stained teeth. Smoke started to billow followed by pain causing the creature to drop her, aggressively hissing in frustration.
Racheli smiled as she slowly pulled back upright then bolted for the exit.
Another jab of agony ripped through her ankle, her body tripped forward when one foot fell short. It didn’t move forward. Her head shot over her shoulder to see the monster grip it. A wicked alligator smirk crept across its maw as it jerked its head over its back, bring her with it. Racheli’s body promptly left the floor then sailed into the far wall. She hit hard, her skull made a loud crack.
She hit the ledge before she fell into the wide pit’s gaping mouth and became swallowed by darkness.
The mutant jeered in a victory. A fresh sound of bones cracked and shifted, its understructure quivered beneath the leather hid. Forelegs shortened then the spine straightened upright. The tail disappeared into the shrinking rear, the figure now bipedal. The first head melted back into the first like a lump of candle wax. Gradually it took a human shape while the features sharpened into a feminine shape. In less than an hour, Rach stood where the alligator beast once was.
She casually glanced down the pit’s entrance and waited. Seeing no one crawling back out, she spoke to it.
“I’ll see you later, baby girl.”
With a wicked smirk, ‘Rach’ walked back the way she came.
