Tried to reach for a phone in my pocket, but my moves were far too restricted. The claw was the only part capable of offering any resistance. Left arm’s braided muscles were as tense as those squeezing the life out of me. It held on for its dear life as if not wanting to return to embrace of its own kind just yet. Points for solidarity, but if it acted sooner we wouldn’t be in this situation to begin with!

“He took your limited form to foster cohesion and you immediate take advantage of it,” spiteful monster blamed.

“N. Nn-no-ht m-mhe!”

Forcing these simple words out took so much willpower that my whole body was in on the effort. When the task was finally complete, all my muscles relaxed and let the crushing pressure break the bones. It didn’t even matter. I was just content to have finally spoken. There wasn’t much I could do either way. My throat was just as likely to lock up if I screamed for a highly unlikely help. Even then, all I’d get would be coup de grace. Oncoming train had that well covered.  

Far-off shrill squeak of deceleration was still coming. Must be the very last arrival for the day. They were cutting it real close today. Night time was peak activity for these organisms.

I huffed in bemused irritation. Ways to perish were always so abundant. Even if I somehow avoid this one, there would be others. Escaping just the one was an impossible task. And I’d need to spend the whole night outdoors. After all, it was an unfamiliar place. I was not yet aware of alternative ways in.

The weight was there, but my bones remained mostly intact. Even the loaner arm didn’t feel like it was about to be repossessed. I got a distinct feeling that the creature was listening. Waiting for more.

Will lose nothing revealing the obvious. Perhaps I’ll even succeed setting this restless vengeance upon the right culprit.

“T-t-theyh. T-t-toohk m-mhy. Ahrm. P-puht t-this on inh-s-stead,” I mumbled out through clenched teeth. “I’ll make him p-pay,” I wheezed out in a whisper and it came surprisingly easily.

“Where is he?” monstrous boa relentlessly asked about the only thing it cared about. Apparently human drama was of little interest to it. Perhaps my hiss had been incomprehensible.

“L-l-leht. M-m-me. M-mo-hve,” I demanded irksomely whilst struggling to pull out my able hand from the clasp. I was not about to hold a full-fledged conversation in this manner. This just wasn’t sustainable, even if I was in my most cooperative mood. Which wasn’t the case. I was still considering whether to let the train plough straight through us or warn the animal.

I was permitted to squirm a little more freely, but it still felt like I was being thrown around on a disgustingly tense tongue. The train was so close now, even the talking beast couldn’t not be aware of it.

Hastily typed out, “I saw three other limbs in Safe Zone Two. I doubt they stayed there. Someone from around here is at fault.”

Talking animal didn’t appear interested in my attempts to recruit a suicidal martyr. Its invisible body unfurled, becoming a little more visible. New tails began digging into the foundation. Getting a firm grip of the ground won’t work against a god damn train, even a slow one! I wanted to scream.

My thumb done the reasonable thing, “Move. It won’t work. Move. Move.”

Electronic voice lacked any sort of urgency in it, so I started punching bumpy body of the creature to hurry it up. Or at least for it to release me. I did not want to die. Not like this. Not now!

The screeching thunder heading straight towards my head did unspeakable things to me.

I was back on the operating table, trapped by things way out of my league again. Forced to accept my inherent weakness. This situation was descending to the pits of hell far too rapidly for me to do much else besides revert to a small child and cower. I hated feeling this way. I was better than this! And yet! Everyone kept trampling me. 

My bewildered eyes have finally noticed we’ve been sinking. Invisible beast somehow dug. Construction beneath turned to dust and stone pebbles fell in after us. I quit flailing. Temporarily.

Constant motion of the incomprehensible beast was burying me along with it. I’d have rather been hit by the fucking train. The latter rolled on by without as much as touching.

The locomotive driver must have witnessed the ground open up right before him for a violent whistle went out in an alarm.

“Ai… I… Ah…” I struggled to relay the importance of oxygen to my person. The light from dim sky disappeared altogether as track began reforming above me. The sight was unbelievable. Was this really within the realm of possibilities? Did I pass out? Hallucinate?

Amidst my dazed panic I found out to be breathing just fine. Sand wasn’t up my crevices either. The restless whorl patiently waited for me to go on speaking, I presumed. Why else would I still be living?

Half-buried, I had to keep the incentive going.

“I, I c-ca…” I attempted speech again before remembering to be crushing a voice box in my hand. “I can find your friend,” I declared confidently. His dear buddy was long since dead. Chose to keep it a secret. In case of likely future disputes, I added, “If there’s anything left to find.”

I was on the run from great many things. Supernatural cement disintegrators better not become one of them.

Creature didn’t say anything. Was it thinking? Waiting? Was I to miraculously produce the lost soul right now?

“You need to let me go for that to happen,” I suggested. Almost immediately heard the tails burrow into cave’s ceiling. Worse, I heard voices somewhere up there. “Not here. They will kill us both.”

I heard multiple spines change direction.

It was unlikely, but I had to ask, “Can you get beyond the city wall?”

“Yes,” soft hiss replied and the scratching changed path again. Stone-eating creature apparently saw no issue digging beneath the state-of-art fortifications. Okay, then.

Within minutes the scratching turned upwards again. I tensed up, waiting to pop up in the middle of a busy road or within a cramped living room. Outskirts were usually the most crowded.

“Stop. Need to make sure nobody is there,” I insisted. Slithering grew languid. I heard no man-made sounds.

“Settlement is sparse,” deliberately accentuated lisp informed me as though the writhing thing has been constantly passing back and forth unimpeded. Perhaps it did. Deep scanner wasn’t something that could be ran constantly. It was an undisguised blessing for miscreants like myself. And, apparently, all the other unwelcome trespassers. Had the defensive efforts of humans really been so worthless? Were we allowed to exist within our delusional bubbles of concrete?

I certainly was. Light shone through the veil of dirt and I was deposited in a decrepit basement. Rubble, exposed brick and trash. Lots of trash. Everywhere.  

As I was distractedly looking around, undulating entity slithered back into the burrow. Dumfounding. I was simply let go. As far as it was concerned, its business here was done. The deal has been struck.

It just believed me? More likely it had ways of finding me again, even here. That’s the only explanation for this level of confidence.

“W-waih-t!” I called out after it. Roiling mass in the hole quieted and I hurriedly typed out, “Humans took your friend and you are trusting another one to locate him?”

Answer didn’t matter. It would simply help me figure out this new menace that’s about to haunt my life.

“You aren’t a part of an organism that took him,” the gaping hole stated.

Did it mean organisation? And however did it divine that? My words alone surely couldn’t have been enough – unless I was dealing with world’s most gullible creature. It was safe to assume such wasn’t the case.

It definitely had other ways of reading me. My very general education largely skipped over the anatomy and habits of the extrinsic. It probably wasn’t even intentional – each animal was far too unique to effectively bother, and we had countless people things to learn about. However, the importance of hiding scent had always been heavily underlined. It was said even the earth animals could smell fear. These outsiders could probably decipher entire poems from our nervous sweat.

“How can I contact you?” It was unlikely I’d haphazardly stumble upon the containers, but I would be snooping around Raktkalis anyway. Never know what I’d end up finding.

“Cut his arm,” I was told and the suspicion about secret scented messages intensified.

“Distance?”

“Somebody will notice.”

Of course they will. How many fucking creatures were walking around within the cities? How many of sanctioned mutants were spies? Was it a voluntary, or an unconscious betrayal? I looked down at my own constantly misbehaving limb. The damn thing essentially threw me off a train and got involved in some conspiracy.

I wasn’t about to take sides of anyone but my own. In fact, usually – the more players there were, the more lucrative was my pay-out.

“Alright. Do not undo the pathway. Please,” I asked as my down payment. Sale of loopholes in security was also a good business.