Chapter 3: Black Ridge Crater
“Well..Well..” the voice boomed within my ears, chest and eyes; waking from the dark I found myself surrounded by negative cosmos; “Looks like the lamb finally woke up..” Its all knowing exclamation flashed through my consciousness, “Where am I? What the hell happened? Why can’t I-?; Stop struggling, it’s already been taken care of–you don’t have to worry about a thing..” I looked to see an incomprehensible and titanus screen which flared in front of me and Standing in front of that screen was another person. “You can continue, he only woke up; you don’t have to worry about him taking your place.” The person controlling my movements on screen nodded, his long hair was familiar, his face recognizably unfamiliar. Finding myself in a spectoring form I watched myself falling onto the grains of the sand in an almost slow-motion simplicity, the sands’ greedy grips–latches onto my feet as my head hangs loose. With a massive black ooze gushing from the front of my skull–I was limply dead. “Well..ladies and gentlemen here we have it..a quick and somewhat disappointing battle…” The speaker paused for a moment before saying, “I’m very sorry everyone but it seems that this particular event and the rumors surrounding it weren’t true; it would seem we only have a regular-'' but before he even finished his sentence–a small but clear laughter could be heard; his voice soon became clearer and clearer, it was my mine. I laughed, and laughed and laughed; only smiling and squinting my eyes in joy as the blackened blood kept flowing from my disfiguring head. My left eye was covered to the point of a hatred red but I didn’t even flinch an inch of attention towards the pain; stretching and deforming the space between the ground to my face–my monstrous figure soon stood upon my cuffs, Creeaakk~CLUNK! The sheer force of my joints broke the tightened braces with ease. Granting my hands freedom to..disembowel, with the weight of a non-hesitated choice, I lunged forward at the man, “Haha!”. His face was pale and full of glee; yet his eyes were wide–I was going to experience a hearty time seeing his figure twist; I gripped the palm of my hands and rushed, oh–how I was smiling unstoppably. “Ahahaha!” He rushed at me with his shining bronze shield along with the spiked mace he fractured my skull with; without saying a word we both swung. An overhead shot with his mace and a stomach shot with my hardened laetrile arm; PWANG! Was the sound the shield made before becoming a useless piece of sheet metal. The man held his breath–stilling with a front, as the man tried to cover his pain with a laughing jest I emotionlessly smiled and lunged again; putting up his broken defense—I stopped just short of him and swiped the core of his forearm clean off. With the flow of rich iron; the air was sweet of napalm blood—his screams were endearing. “AAA UUUGGGHHH!” he loudly chirped with an indignant cry, with his defense utterly against the feeding sands; the man kept swinging his mace in desperation but before his reach hit me—my blood riched hands tightened his chest; from there I bore a hole right through his torso, SPLAT! Wetting the arena’s walls with the blood of the critter; his heart spreaded thin and his lungs burst from pressure; the aroma of iron was addicting. With the weight and sheer size of his mass faltering onto the sands; it wasn’t long before I began to stuff my mouth with his refreshments. “S-Shit, everyone lets get the fuck out of here!” an unknown voice gathered my attention—and before I realized there were other people around me, my bloody smile widened with glee. Thinking I could kill as many as I wanted and eat them as I pleased, I was about to lunge at the people from above; though before I was about to launch myself into the sky, sounds of feet and voices surrounded me. I looked to see metal scraps over the faces of people with sharp weaponry; “Time to gut this monster; Let's just kill the bastard!” I can only grin with delight.
Coming back into my being as if I’ve woken from a long dream–I soon realized the base of my foot rested against the head of a man, his voice pleaded for mercy, but unable to control my body I tried my hardest to find a reason to not flatten the man's head, “MMHHPP!” His lasting words shook me to the core, “M-MY..FAM-ILY..!” SPLAT! The evidence of his brain matter scattered across the wall, his body had gone limp. I stood in silence for sometime before realizing how much blood and gore I was bathed in. I looked at the base of my palms and there layed layers of coated blood which smelled of vile stomach and intestinal bacteria. The core of my mind grew dark and the pit of my stomach swirled with–things, “What..did...I..? How..can…I?” it was only then the noticing voice of reason skimmed my ears from afar, “Linden! Linden! Where are you!? Are you okay!?-” turning my head without realizing it; my faded expression could only react irresponsibly to my unnoticeable tired state and soon I fell onto the hungering sands. Cleansing the light from my eyes, darkness was falling; but before I could fully find myself in darkness–a slim figure rushed towards my position, I was now in safer hands; with that single thought, I finally fell into the abyss.
Sleeping, I opened my eyes to the warm light of the sun; my window agape to feel the beginning of an autumn breeze. Tap, Tap–the knocking of my door alerted my attention. “Linden! Breakfast is ready!; Y-Yes mom!” I innocently replied, opening my door to my mother standing in the doorway–I looked up at her with my hefty head, clicking her lips she said, “Did you know what happened in the garden?” I hesitated, knowing that I might gain a troubling stare if I lied, “S-Sorry mom, our neighbor came over a-and we..kind of wanted to..surprise you..”. My mother huffed a sigh and then said, “Okay-alright, but the next time you and Natalie play together; ask Mrs. Bellia first before doing anything, okay?”. I nodded with naivete, “Y-Yes mother, I will” she looked at me with kind eyes, “Alright now go on and eat your breakfast, we have to get ready later to go buy some school supplies for next week”. Nodding my head I headed down the stairs towards the first floor and began sitting at the table; it was only moments after I heard the screams of my mother; I quickly got up and called out, “M-Mom!?” running back up the stairs, my legs soon sank into the filth that was once a clean and stable wooden floor. Now in the bowels of human remains–I watched as my hands rain liquids of bright blighted blood, my palms stained and my reflection stares back at me with cynicism. As a burning toxin flares within my chest; I rush to strangle my reflection within the filth–grabbing the base of his neck and choking whatever air he had, I gritted my teeth tensely; “YOU COWARD! YOU COULDN'T EVEN HELP MOM WHEN YOU DID YOUR VERY BEST! HOW COULD YOU EVEN LIVE WITH YOURSELF!?” I struggled to breath but his strength was reckoning, thunderous and loud; his tears of blood splashed into the filth. “Who’re..you…to..blame..!?” I gaspingly worded, he only pressed harder. My throat caved and I was unable to breath, willinglessley unable to breath; splashing to my side–his face, not one moment ago–was filled with anger and hate but now it’s full of death. Closing my eyes without effort I can finally rest.
Feeling the touch of dampening sheets, my reality came to be; the moment my faded eyes lit with a disdain for living again, the memories of gore and chaos unfolded right into my consciousness. Finally–feeling the rough outer rims of my actions; I only sat coldly–still unable to digest the chaos I’ve unfolded–still unable to accept the fact that I’ve killed not just multiple men, but women as well. I looked at my hands still denying that I’ve gutted them to hell, “Click” a familiar sound distracted me from my broken record of a mind. The all too familiar door swung open, with its rusted hinges–it jolted me to stand guard, fortunately it didn’t hold for long. “Hey just coming to check in on you–” with a slightly surprised expression, Alaine quickly notices my awakened presence. “Ah..! So..you’re awake..” Her surprise soon grew into indecision, closing the weighted wooden door behind her–she soon said, “We…need to talk..” I only stared with dead eyes. Backing against the door–she wound up her hesitant but curious question, “What..happened?” I didn’t reply; “I…I..don’t know…” she looked with a shortening doubtfulness, “If…If it’s too much for you, I..understand…” We both stood in silence, unable to really read each other’s expressions. “If there really is something on your mind, just..ask..okay?” with that she left–and the room quickly faded into a dull silence. With a hefty breath coming and going from the tips of my nose and corners of my mouth; the sharpening air penetrated my lungs before I laid back onto the cold hard sandstone. For a while I didn’t dream of anything; a void of no possibilities, a skip in time. It was then the sound of a cry ripped me awake from my somber slumbering. “W-What the hell is that..!?” muffled panic and screams came from the other side of the burly door; I sat for only moments before finally opening the wooden door to the sanded cellar. “S-Shit!” the panic echoed down the hallway–I followed the noise to only find myself between Alaine, Dax and a monster; the barking and snickering of vicious cries mellowed into the thickness of my bones. The growls of saliva foamed its glistening teeth; “Some sort of hairless dog!?; N-No it’s bigger than that..!” Dax replied, “Way bigger than the ones we killed at the site..” It was then I realized there was a group of people behind the beast; six–six of them cowering in the corner. Three young women, a boy, a girl and the young man who battled the athlete from before. “S-Stand back! It might have some sort of disease..!” Dax exclaimed “B-But we have to help those people!” Alaine shouted; I only stood and watched as the panic unfolded. “P-Please, help us..!” a young woman yelped; “Please..help..us..”, my mind set into concentration–time slowed to the point where my thoughts were faster than a second and yet my body moved first. Thush..! the action of my legs lunged into a pounce; I stood in between the beast and my comrades, “L-Linden!?” Dax called my name but I was too focused on the beast, “Hurry and figure out a plan, I’ll distract this thing”. With a calm and collected pause Dax nodded and hinted towards Alaine; spreading thin, I was front and center–Dax was to my left and Alaine–to my right. The beast weighed its head round–looking at each of us; that was until it looked directly at Dax–who was getting closer to the people huddled in the corner. It coiled its legs and lowered its body into a pounce, Fwoosh! Jumping with the forces of a torpedo–the beast lunged at Dax with its pounding legs. CRUNCH! The twisting of flesh would be its catalyst; the twisting of my flesh–would be its catalyst. “Araugh..!” groaning with bouts of pain I squinted my eyes and gritted my teeth. Pushing me against the nearby wall–the beast snarled its fangs which sunk deep into my flesh; its pound per pound build of pure muscle fibers crushes my bones into the wall harder and harder. I splat blood–an almost black blood which came from the interior of my ruptured insides; the flattening of my back pains the core of my spine until, Crackle; Crumble! POOM! The wall from behind me burst forth and I found myself within another room. I stumbled back up and clutched my left arm as well as my chest. The beast stood tall and prideful–its eyes flared with an anger of bolted fury. The beast crunched its muzzle and showed its teeth once more; its gums–a blackish pink which complemented its bare skin of a reddish brown. Its claws clung onto the floor and its tight knitted tail perched up, never laying down for space to take a breath. I strained my face as to know what position I was in; but before I realized it–the arm where my apparent flesh was pierced–reverted back into its original form; the stinging of my flattened back and ruptured inside stood still–recovered to the point where I’ve forgotten I had any serious injuries. Being almost distracted by my lack of pain I looked down for only a moment before the beast attacked me again. With a wet and grueling bark–saliva flinched the air; teeth blurred with speed and claws jumped with desperation. Barely clasping the jaws of the beast; the strength of my fingers held its all against the jagged teeth of the monster. The stench of its breath knew death and the puffing of its nose knew desperation; I strained all my strength and mustered all I could into the breaking of my joints; from my wrist to my fingers–the tearing of tendons stretched as I claimed my breaking point. “AAAAUUGGHH!” I screamed to let out my desperate plea to gain extra strength–but all of it failed as I felt the teeth of the beast brush around the sides of my neck. Losing whatever strength I had, the beast found the opportunity to chomped down; and chomp down it did.
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