REND

It was quite a common scene in heroic stories, be it about superheroes or perhaps a fantasy setting, that the protagonist finds himself in a difficult situation wherein he needed to choose who to save, or if he should act at all. Disheartened companions would tell him he couldn’t save everyone no matter how strong he was. Yet, against all odds, the hero would find a way to do the impossible and save the day.

Clap clap clap.

But that only happened in stories.

Even with her Guardian Angel, I highly doubted Deen could find a way to save the humans in the pit below us. Her face was stone-cold, hiding any emotion. Her eyes betrayed her. She wanted to turn away but she forced herself to look.

Was this some delusional concept of heroism? A sort of apology to the humans she couldn’t save. Etching the memories of the dying in her mind as tribute. Or was it to motivate herself to continue with her mission, and take revenge on the big bad someday?

The mutant in the arena was likely a young woman before she met her cruel fate. Its physique appeared extremely malnourished. Pale skin draped over a skeleton with barely any flesh in between, the ribs awfully pronounced. However, its belly was bloated with vile green liquid, the skin stretched to become almost transparent. It wasn’t encumbered by the jiggling, heavy baggage, chasing after the fleeing humans with ease. Using its long, spindly limbs, it crept over the rocks and the jagged surface of the enclosure like a spider scurrying after its prey.

The humans didn’t dare fight back like the ones before even if they were provided with crude weapons scattered around. Standing your ground was not an option when this mutant could spit out an acidic liquid that quickly chewed through clothes and flesh. Sinking into bones, wearing them away, almost severing the part of the body that was hit.

One human gathered an ounce of bravery and speared the mutant’s lower back when it was focused on turning someone else into sludge. The same acidic substance spurted out from its wound, eating away the rusty bladed tip and pole. Some of it splashed on the brave prey’s face. He screamed in agony, trying to get it off with his hands and shirt. Yet, as he wiped, chunks of flesh detached from his skull.

I paused, realizing I’ve been referring to the people below as humans…as if they were different from me. Which was true. I wasn’t one of them anymore. And it was improbable—my assessment of my present situation—that I could turn back into a human.

Or if I even wanted to.

But still.

Most of my faces—scratch that—actually, all of my faces were for interacting with humans…people rather. It would make it difficult for me to get into the persona I wanted if I considered humans lower-class creatures. A wolf would already have a hard time fitting in a pack not its own. It would be way harder for a wolf to fit in a herd of sheep. Better not to complicate things.

Deen continued her silent vigil of watching the people die one by one. Bianca, on the other hand, was busy mingling with the other patrons watching.

“I'm grateful for the opportunity to be here,” I overheard her saying. “This has opened my mind to all sorts of possibilities.”

“We are all for the continuous development of humanity,” one of them answered.

“Very true. We can’t let laws and all such nonsense hold us back,” another said. “Humanity marches forward.”

Interesting that they considered themselves humans. Anyway, the people in the pit were thinning. Time for the next phase of my plan.

I tapped Deen’s shoulder, snapping her out of her concentrated wrath at the ongoing massacre. She looked up at me, confused, a bit afraid I was finally going to kill her. But she didn’t pull away or run, possibly counseled by her Guardian Angel.

“You’re not going to help them?” Deen asked me softly. Her shaking fists clenched by her side.

What did her Guardian Angel tell her that she decided to reveal herself to me? She didn’t even know if I knew about her. I raised a brow at her question.

“I've heard of you. I’m not sure who or what you are…or what you want. My friend, um, you've met her. The lady you saved at Sanders mall? I don’t know why you did that, but I thank you on her behalf.”

I shrugged.

“Are you with all these awful people? Killing for fun?”

I just stared at her, letting her make her own assumptions.

“Even if you are,” she hissed through clenched teeth, “there might be some good in you if you helped my friend.” She met my eyes with unyielding resolve. “I can’t do anything here. Maybe you can. You saved my friend. Can you save these people too?”

Okay. Unexpected development. But it did tie neatly into my plans. I paused as if I was considering her request and patted her head. It was a nice feeling to be taller than Deen for once.

“You will?” She turned left and right, checking if someone was eavesdropping on us. “What can I do to help?”

I pointed at myself then at the pit.

“You’re going in later?”

I took out the pocketknife and placed it in her hands with the empty water bottle. She received them with a puzzled face. I gestured to the pit then mimed choking and getting hurt, walking around like I was maimed. At first, she didn’t understand.

“What do you mean? Like you’ll get injured?” Deen said. I gave her a thumbs up. I acted what she should do next until she pointed out, “You could just type on my phone.”

A great idea that my dumb self didn’t think of. Clicking on the phone’s screen was a chore with my claws, and I also minded my strength, careful not to poke a hole through it. Eventually, I was able to type what I wanted.

She read it with a perplexed expression. “I don’t... You want me to do this? Why?” I pointed at the dead bodies. Her expression told me she didn’t understand but still nodded. “You’ll be able to stop them from killing more if I do this? Okay then, I'm in!”

The grumbling of the earth signaled that the last person was dead.

“We’re going back up?” Bianca said, detaching herself from her newfound monster acquaintances. She flicked her hair. “I prefer to relax for the rest of the night since I already accomplished what I wanted.”

Deen said, “No, we’ll stay here. Madam Blanchette will go up to press the button and come back down.”

“Oh, she’ll fight?” Bianca clapped with enthusiasm. “I’m interested to see that.”

I jogged up the stairs, skipping steps, and just as the red button emerged from the table, I slammed it. The drones went looking for me, but I was already going back down the stairs. With the cameras and spotlight trailing me, people turned to see who I was. Perhaps they noticed they haven’t seen me before.

I picked up momentum, crouched down at the last step of the stairs, swung my weight in one smooth motion, and pushed with my legs. I flew across the air, over the fence of the pit, down to its depths. Momentary elation filled me as I soared. After descending several feet, I landed gracefully, like a well-executed dismount after a cheerleading stunt. A small cloud of dust blew away.

That was awesome! If I didn’t have powers, my ankles would’ve given out, my legs broken in several places because of the impact.

The mutant crouched beside a couple of dead bodies, wallowing in the acid, blood, and liquified flesh and bones. It rocked back and forth, hiding its face behind its hands, shaking…as if it was crying.

The crunch of the stone beneath my heels alerted it. It shrieked like a banshee, its jaws opening a couple of times wider than a human could. I assumed it warned me to stay away. It didn’t immediately attack, perhaps recognizing I wasn’t like the weak bags of flesh it was killing.

I went into a full-on sprint as I aimed to close the gap between us. Left with no choice, it spat out acid at me. Digging my heels deep, I pivoted left, just as the ground I was standing on became a bubbling puddle of acid. I went out further to the side than I intended to, underestimating my own strength. I tutted as I stopped myself.

Hand-eye coordination-wise, I was slightly above-average in my honest assessment. I had a stint as a cheerleader back in high school, and I used to do yoga. Although now, my physical activities were limited to jogging and occasionally going to the gym. Nonetheless, I was confident I could evade the acid spits because of my speed.

The way the mutant moved gave me an idea. I dropped on all fours, digging my claws into the dirt. This way I had more control when turning. I ran like a wolf. My claws burrowed deep in the ground, pulling me forward. My powerful legs kicked back, pushing me on.

I switched direction to the left, and then right. Zigzagging was my chosen strategy. Try hitting me you stupid mutant bitch.

Jets of acid arced through the air, yet they were nowhere near connecting with me. Only a few more steps. I wanted to lunge at the mutant and sink my fangs into it, but I noticed its belly weirdly bubbling. I immediately dropped down even though I was already near it. It released a mist of the corrosive substance, forming a shield of deadly cloud around it. I hugged the ground. The green mist was above me. I moved away before it descended.

Where did the mutant go? I rolled back up and scanned the enclosure.

There! I ran after it, dropping back down to four limbs as I climbed over piles of rocks so I wouldn’t slow down.

Remember to watch out for the acid cloud. The mutant’s head face forward in the direction it was fleeing to. No way it could make another acid cloud.

Be alert if it turned back. It stayed its course and didn’t look back at me. This was my chance. I increased my speed and leaped towards it.

Huh? Where did it—?

I caught nothing but rocks and soil.

A shadow beneath me that wasn't my own.

It jumped at the last moment! I looked up just in time to see it spit down at me.

Fuck! I half-twisted my body, half-jumped out of the way, and ended up rolling down a slope in the pit. I picked myself up quickly. Burning pain on my forearm. I got hit. You fucking bitch. I growled at the mutant. No offense meant to who she was before she got turned, but the fucking acid seriously hurt.

I assessed the damage. My beautiful, flawless skin was burned away, exposing bleeding flesh. Oozing blood mixed with the green slime into a disgusting soup that dripped down as my flesh melted. The white of my bones peeked through the rotting mess. It was too much! My regeneration couldn’t keep up with the corrosion.

Then…it kicked in.

Red enveloped my vision.

Kill it! Kill it! Eat it!

I’ll fucking eviscerate the trash that dared attack me! All I wanted in the world was to open my jaws wide and clamp the sides of the mutant’s head. Rows of my teeth easily piercing the skull like pencil poking through cardboard. Chomping it with my powerful jaw muscles until the soft brain burst out from the cracks of the skull like a squeezed grape, its juices dripping down the sides of my mouth—

CONTROL YOURSELF!

I chased away the mounting bloodlust from my thoughts.

Breathe slowly. I tensed my muscles so I wouldn’t go after the mutant with blinding rage. The urge to devour was still too great. I wouldn’t give in that easily. I went down on one knee and anchored myself to the ground with my claws deep into the soil.

Rule #4: I wouldn’t bother the world as long as it didn’t bother me.

This was the Rule that governed the powers of this face according to SpookyErind. Or more like her exaggerated interpretation of how Rule #4 should be applied with her twisted logic. Whenever I was attacked, I'd feel an insatiable desire to eat whatever attacked me, and my strength, speed, and healing increased until I downed the foolish prey that didn’t know its place.

Confirming my hypothesis, the severe injury on my forearm healed more rapidly than before. Flesh grew and stitched together to cover my crumbling bones. Remnants of the acid, however, still lingered. Only then did I notice my shallow breathing, inhaling and exhaling through my tightly clenched teeth. I could endure pain, but regenerating my flesh only for it to be dissolved was a torturous ordeal.

Fuck, this hurts so bad!

I brought my injured arm up to my face. Before I could have any second thoughts, I bit the diseased flesh away, acid and all. I spat it out immediately. I felt the burn in my mouth. I knew the moment I saw this mutant that I'd have a hard time with it. Not with killing, that was easy, but with eating it. However, I was certain my powers could fight back any damage I took so long as I could continue eating.

Wading through the warzone that was the docks was a walk in the park because I sustained myself by gorging on the 2M’s small army trying to kill me. I just needed to do it here once again.

Eat! Devour! Consume!

Barely repressed thoughts of the mutant as a sumptuous meal resurfaced.

The mutant was easy to find. It didn’t try to hide. Instead, it was sticking to the sides of the enclosure, not only putting a fair amount of distance between us but also trying to find a way out. Only now did I notice multiple steel doors along the walls.

Duh. How else did the monsters and humans enter the pit?

The doors remained shut to the mutant’s utter dismay.

Time to hunt.

Chasing prey gave me a sense of joy I had never experienced before. A deeper, more primal happiness of following my instincts, or to be more accurate, giving in to the feral nature of this face.

The mutant spewed several streams of acid to drive me away, but those were way off their mark. Desperate, it released the acid cloud once again, expecting itself to be safe inside it.

Faster! I closed my eyes and held my breath. Straight into the eroding haze!

I didn’t stop. I didn’t hesitate. My skin burned and started to peel. Arms, legs, abdomen, all my exposed skin. It felt like a carpet of pins slapped against me and dragged away every bit of skin they stabbed. For a second, I wondered why this body had such skimpy clothes.

I opened my mouth and bit at the place I last saw the mutant. I was able to bite something!

Cries of pain bombarded my ears as I continued running out of the acid cloud. I stopped as soon as I felt the prickling of my skin abate. Opening my eyes, I saw the mutant wailing with one of its arms missing. Between my jaws was the arm I ripped off, its hand dangling by the side of my mouth. I bit down, cutting the hand off which then fell to the ground. I swallowed the rest of the arm already inside my mouth.

Stabbing pain filled my mouth. Even the mutant’s flesh had corrosive properties. It was as if every inch of the inside of my mouth and throat was filled with the worst canker sores in the history of forever and then I gargled lemon juice. But the pain soon ebbed away.

I have fulfilled the condition of my power.

I was able to eat the one that bothered me.

Childish joy welled inside me as I watched my claws grow longer, curving like scythes. My gloves started to rip apart with blazing red fur peeking through the tears. The claws on my feet tore through my boots. Itchiness filled my mouth as my fangs extended, crowding each other inside my huge snout. I could feel myself getting taller. Clothes became tighter. My braids loosened, grew longer, wilder, reddish hue crept on its golden color. The blood covering my body from diving into the acidic mist evaporated into the air, leaving behind my gorgeous regenerated skin, smooth as a baby's.

More! More! I need to eat more!

I noticed a few more people came to the perimeter of the pit to watch. Not customers. They weren’t wearing masquerade masks. Guards with weapons.

Fun time was over.

I never had any fear that my plan was going to fail even if I was caught earlier. It was easier to go after the guards, have them shoot me, then eat them. When people with powers or augmented guards would come to stop me, I would've already powered up from eating low-level grunts just like a computer game.

But the best-case scenario for the fastest transformation would be to eat a mutant first, the closest to a person with powers I could find. Just like what happened at that time with my kidnapper who had powers, Rofirio was it? I knew that at a certain point when I was already in my full beast form, I could probably take on all of them here.

Which was my end goal.

I wasn’t just going to eat a mutant or two.

Mutants, humans, Adumbrae. All of them here were on the menu.

I came tonight for the all-you-can-eat buffet!

The mutant fled back to the walls of the pit, scratching along its length with one hand, trying to find a different exit. Its other arm dripped acid from its severed end. It reached one of the steel doors. This one was bigger than the rest.

A mournful wail came out of the mutant while it fruitlessly tried to open the door. Fear was an emotion it hadn't forgotten after it was turned into this abomination. Actually, I noticed that all the mutants had nuances to their behavior. Snippets of their memories most likely lingered in their minds.

It tried disgorging copious amounts of the fierce acid from its stomach in an attempt to burn a hole through the door. The door held firm. The mutant continued clawing the steel door with its remaining hand.

A pitiful sight.

Too bad I couldn’t feel actual pity. Only an approximation of it. And I wasn’t interested in approximating any shit tonight.

Was this the part of the story the hero would hesitate to finish off the monster that was once human? How would Deen deal with this situation?

Since Deen couldn’t do the heroic part of her story without risking her life, I’ll do it for her like the good friend I was.

I inhaled as deeply as I could and raised my snout to the ceiling. A ghostly howl filled the cavern. My powerful throat vibrated as air passed from my lungs. The hair on my neck and arms stood on end at my own call, I even felt the howl chill my bones. A single powerful note to freeze the hearts of everyone who heard it.

I sunk my claws into the shoulders of a torso missing its limbs, courtesy of Xazary, and heaved it over my back. Wasn’t this Barty? His was the only name I caught earlier. The head and clothes were familiar.

Come here Barty, I thought, and this other person. I bent down, grabbed the ankles of a headless woman’s body, and dragged her behind me. Let’s go, guys, you’re going to be my shield for the acid. I’ll just go straight for the mutant’s head. Put it out of its misery and bite off as much as I could with these two bodies minimizing the damage I was going to take.

The mutant whimpered in despair. It prepared to run in another direction as I closed in on it with two dead bodies in tow. Its feral state notwithstanding, it had just enough intelligence left to understand what I was going to do. As if in answer to its proverbial prayers, the huge steel door behind it slowly opened.

It tried to squeeze in the tiny opening but then, just as quickly, it jumped back out. Falling on the ground, it scampered across the floor away from the door. Was there something inside that scared it?

A meaty hand grabbed the door, denting it with its powerful grip. The steel groaned as the creature inside pushed it open.

A large foot stepped out of the shadows, followed by a thick leg, a heavy and bulky torso, and a misshapen head. The ugly-as-fuck, ogre-like mutant stood twice as tall as me. It was packed with so many muscles it looked like a mountain of buns, except that the buns were boulders of flesh wrapped in thick hide that was almost a coat of gravel rather than skin. I was far from an expert in anatomy, but I could tell it had muscles a normal human didn’t have.

Massive pieces of metal that looked like they came from a scrapyard were linked by thick iron rings into a hastily put together armor to protect its body. Not that it needed additional protection.

It only had one hand. The other one was replaced with a brutish metallic contraption that was a cross between a heavy machine gun or a cannon and a bludgeoning mace with dozens of spikes jutting out in odd directions. The colossal newcomer raised its gun-mace-whatever-fist above its head.

Fuck, I thought in resignation.

The giant pummeled the acid mutant into a pancake. Acid splashed across the front of its body, poking shallow holes in its armor. The acid that bathed its skin didn’t do anything, fizzling weakly before evaporating in the air.

My food…

And more importantly…the fuck is this giant bastard?!