Chapter 6

Fresh meat

 

Eagle was on my mind after that discussion with Torch; quite literally.

When his voice invaded my mind, I thought I was imagining it; growing frightened that I was going insane.

Apparently, that's what most people assumed when Eagle had first invaded their mind; as he told me.

It was helpful having the extra voice beside me through the night and into the next morning, but I could tell it was making the other Soul Stealers avoid me when I began muttering back to Eagle and arguing with him around the Base.

To them, I was probably at sanity’s edge.

He kept his distance, so people wouldn't too suspicious of our plans, but placed himself right beside me at training where he wanted to meet two days later.

He said nothing until other Soul Stealers started leaving and we were mostly alone. The others still here were too far away to be of any concern to us.

"I thought we should meet up before the next part of our plan. I sent out a guy yesterday to steal a baby Kalfar from the nearby field. We are going to cut it and have a trail leading to inside the Base so that the others follow, hopefully” Eagle spoke as he beat the body in front of him mercilessly “it should be enough of a diversion to let us slip out undetected. I’ve already geed things up with Scaphism and Sarin to keep themselves busy while it happens. The last thing we need is to let it all get out of hand.”

I agreed and watched Eagle in awe as he smashed the body in the wrapped stomach before giving up as more people entered onto the field. He gestured for me to follow him back inside the Base, people moving out of his way when he approached them.

As soon as I set foot on the cold concrete under me, Eagle marched off ahead to Cosmo, who was just arriving down the staircase. Eagle babbled something to him then directed him to my side, with two of his Creations behind him.

"You've met Cosmo, Moon?" Eagle introduced "he'll be taking you to Stripes' room. I can't really go there after our recent argument and I have other things I urgently need to do. It should go well!""But, I...." Cosmo tried to speak, but Eagle went rushing to two other people calling to him from the front Base doors. Another man stood there with a large potato sack that squirmed in his grasp. I only got a glimpse of his torn eye socket before Cosmo nudged me with his shoulder to move out of the doorway.

"I don't even like Stripes" Cosmo sighed to me "he freaks me out."

"I don't know what to make of him either" I admitted "but then again, I don't even know what to make of anyone around here. Will you be ok trying to find his room? I have no idea where it is."

“I’m not useless” Cosmo snickered and waved over two of his Creations standing nearby “I may not have eyes, but I still have senses.”

“Ok, ok” I laughed nervously "What exactly happened to you in the crash?"

"Glass straight through both eyes" he commented "you were lucky it missed yours. Won't be able to see until I get replacements; which means waiting for someone around here to die that is a match for me."

I nodded, and Cosmo held out his hand to let me walk beside him.

The Creations led the way, so I had to dodge around the black ooze splattering onto the concrete as well as the new pile Cosmo created after emptying his bucket inches from me on the staircase.

"So, what's with you and Eagle? You guys seem close all of the sudden" Cosmo said as he returned to me "I've heard people saying you've been talking to yourself. Are you feeling ok? It's not because of the crash, is it?"

If I told him the truth, I was sure Cosmo would talk to others; and they would find out I was on Eagle's side to put the Base in danger when I bought a woman and her kids to be our prisoners. If I lied about it being because of the crash, he would definitely assume I was on the verge of mental collapse. If Hemlock heard, he'd certainly kill me for being so weak. He could replace me easily.

“It was about a Mission” I hinted “it doesn’t have to concern everyone.”

Cosmo stayed silent, like he didn’t believe me. All I could hear were our footsteps. It was daunting.

“It’s a Suicide Mission” I added helpfully.

He gasped, then stopped dead in his tracks, just at the edge of another staircase.

“I thought you were going so well though!” he blabbered “why does Hemlock want to pick you off then?”

“Look at me” I sighed “I’m skinny with no muscles. I have no abilities except that I was born as a demon thing, and I’m friends with the second most powerful person in the Base.”

“Perhaps you should stay away from him then?” Cosmo suggested hopefully and continued onwards “I do, and my life is so much easier.”

I was about to retort when Cosmo stopped outside a door just across from us. I could hear two voices inside, followed by laughter.

"This is it, I think" Cosmo looked in the wrong direction, but then seemed distracted by something "I have to come in with you, apparently."

"Eagle?" I hinted, and he nodded.

When I entered the room, I was immediately greeted with a staircase which had each step lined with pink hopping rabbit silhouettes. The sink next to the stairs had a rubber duck placed beside it that served as a toothbrush holder.

I could even see Stripes' toilet had a bright yellow duckling cover on it.

I tried to hold back my laughter when I climbed the bunny stairs to find a huge blue shaggy rug dominating the wooden floor. It was the only normal thing in Stripes' room. Even the bed sheets were lined with clouds and cartoon ducklings around the hem.

A kid sat on the duckling bed with sheets of paper spread around him. His hair was spiked and red, which was neatly trimmed above his maroon eyes that were scanning over the papers. He had on a small black jacket made of leather that had three large belt buckles across the front, partially hiding his plain white shirt. His pants were a pair of dark-grey shorts that stopped at his knees. His black, lace-up boots were lying beside his bed on the floor.

He looked up briefly to see my gaze, only to return to his work immediately.

“You’re getting slop all over the carpet, idiot” he aimed at Cosmo without looking “Stripes just cleaned.”

“It's alright” Stripes' voice came from the kitchen, which was decorated with a fragrant bouquet of cinnamon quills in a glass "sit down."

Cosmo hesitated, but collapsed on the carpet anyway with his Creations.

“How’s your hearing?” I asked as I leant against the bed “you don’t sound like you are shouting anymore.”

“It’s fine” he smiled at me “nothing a few days rest and tonnes of painkillers didn’t fix. I’ll know not to backchat Hemlock anymore, that’s for sure.”

I watched him focus his attention on pulling out two elaborately decorated bowls full of soup from the mini fridge under the sink, handing them around. He passed another to the kid, who just nodded; and set two aside for himself.

“You have one extra” I spoke up, pointing to it.

“Torch is coming” he said, to make the kid groan "that's who I originally thought the soup was for."

Footsteps thundering up the stairs told me he had arrived.

Torch emerged into view and paused to look around in surprise.

“I wasn’t expecting this many” he mumbled, and accepted his bowl “why is Cosmo here?”

“No idea" he replied through a mouthful of soup he slurped from his bowl.

There were a few moments silence as we ate our soup and the kid continued to write. It still held some warmth and tasted like tender, peppered meat with a hint of mint as it went down my throat.

It was the first real meal I had eaten since I had been bought here, so I happily ate as much as I could.

There was another pair of feet on the stairs, but more urgent this time. Eagle emerged into view with a packet that he pinched a lump of brown powder from and tossed in everyone’s soup without a word. When he reached Stripes, he opened his mouth so that Eagle could sprinkle it inside.

“Eat, eat, eat” Eagle urged “get as much as you can in your mouth.”

“What is it?” I turned my nose up at the gunk in my soup “drugs?”

“Cinnamon” Eagle snapped back “there’s another attack on the Base.”

The kid on the bed groaned and slumped back on the bed.

“Another one?” he grumbled “don’t they have anything else to do?”

"Apparently not. Some idiot must have led them back here. It's happened before. You all know what to do."

Seemed too much of a coincidence to me. I had seen Eagle leaving the Base with his friends before we arrived here; where everyone was told to meet. Eagle had led the people here. He was the reason we were being attacked.

He glanced at me briefly then went over to shove spoonful’s of soup into the kid's mouth who became angry, pushing Eagle away.

"Eat as much as you can so Stripes doesn't kill you all" he smiled, which made Cosmo drop his bowl abruptly. I was close to choking on it myself.

“Fine” Torch said and swiped the bag off him to shake a huge portion of the cinnamon into his mouth “happy?”

"No need to be a smartarse" Eagle rolled his eyes "you will need to hide out, since your hands aren't ready to be used yet. Moon will come with me, so I can find a place to hide him as well, since he's useless to us."

The kid on the bed snickered.

"Red can go deal with the people since he thinks this is a laughing matter" Eagle directed to the kid on the bed, who flipped his middle finger up at him.

"Stripes can do what he does best and just massacre everyone. Since you all ate the cinnamon, Stripes should ignore you and attack the others.”

"Should" Cosmo grumbled "what can I do?” he added as he stood with his Creations that had finished the last of the meat.

“The creatures are hungry, aren’t they? I’m sure they’d like some meat.”

“That does sound good” Cosmo noted then promptly left, with them close behind.

We wasted no time and all marched down the stairs. Eagle opened the door to Soul Stealers running around; with fully armed people swarming inside. They all wore matching bright white armour with full-faced helmets. I could only see their eyes as they scanned the area around them. They all had shotguns strapped to their backs and strange guns hooked to their left arms, a tangle of wires embedded through the armour.

"Remove the guns on their hands first" Eagle ordered us "they'll be forced to use their Other Side guns, which aren't as effective. They can't blend in since there are too many colours around them at the moment; that's why their uniforms are white. Only kill the people wearing white."

"And what the fuck is that?" Red pointed upwards to the level across from us where a giant black creature leapt from a wall to attack someone.

The creature had a humanistic body; covered entirely in pitch black skin and decorated with little black thorns. The ears on top of its head swivelled around as it peered up from the person it had launched at; its spiked, neck-length tail curling around in interest at the people rushing towards it. Its pitch-black eyes seemed to glint mischievously before it leapt onto someone and used them to propel themselves upwards onto the edge of the next level.

"Forgot to mention, there are Kalfar as well" Eagle grinned, to make Stripes gasp excitedly and Red shout out in frustration "must have been curious about the Raiders being here."

"Fuckwits" Red glared at them, before turning the same stare on Eagle "you owe me big time!"

He took off running down the level until his skin melted to match the surroundings perfectly. It happened so fast that if I had blinked, I would have missed it all.

"Torch, you go to the usual spot" Eagle pointed to out left, where he ran off "Stripes, I'll explain again in a few seconds."

"Oh, ha ha" he poked his tongue out, but I could see the blacks of his pupils begin to spread outwards, consuming his irises and branching out into the whites.

What the fuck was happening to him?!

I backed away, just to be safe, which made Eagle shake his head at me.

Stripes looked around in confusion when his eyes were overtaken by darkness, then focused on Eagle with a sigh.

"What the fuck am I doing here? I was in a truck just a moment ago!"

"We're being invaded, Stripes" Eagle explained "you can only kill the people wearing white."

Stripes peered over the level, but then stepped back to think.

"Can't guarantee anything, but I'll give it a go" he smirked "I don't like being limited."

"Just go rip some throats out and try not to get killed" Eagle shook his head, to which Stripes saluted cheekily before leaping over the edge; landing on someone to break their neck and mangle their face.

It was gruesome to watch the skin being ripped away and the blood spurting upwards, which Stripes gladly feasted on with his teeth.

What kind of creature did that?

"I SAID ‘PEOPLE IN WHITE!’" Eagle roared down at him. Stripes pulled up the man's white shirt by the collar cheekily, then ran off to tackle another Soul Stealer in white who shrieked before being silenced.

“My god, this is bad!” Eagle panicked and paced along the wall “I only wanted a distraction!”

“Stripes would be killing more of us then those guys” I pointed out.

Secretly, I was overjoyed. It only saved me from doing it when I became their target later.

People across from us had been flattened when the bounding Kalfar had landed on someone they couldn’t see. The Stealers retaliated by attacking the Kalfar, who struck back. The armoured people were shooting at anything that moved. Kalfar were shot, which made them turn on the armoured people as well as the Stealers.

It was a mess of who struck who first or who even cared to stop. It was getting out of hand, and fast.

Kalfar began tearing into a Soul Stealer across the level, which made Eagle raise a fist to his mouth in worry.

“What are they doing?!” he fretted “that wasn’t meant to happen!”

Stealers were milling at the scene to aid their fallen friend whose guts were being ripped from it as it spasmed.

“Kalfar don’t eat meat!” Eagle cried out “they’re eating it!”

"There’s another one" I pointed to the level above us on the other side, where another Stealer was writhing in pain over the edge. The Kalfar ripped into his arm then left, to merge with the crowd again.

This was excellent. The Base was being slaughtered!

“You’re smiling” Eagle glanced at me and shook his head "we can't stop to help. We need to leave before the opportunity is gone."

Eagle roughly grasped a handful of fur from the top of my head. Before I could ask what he was doing, the scene of screaming, falling bodies before me swirled and distorted to be replaced with the gentle breeze of wind on grass. We were on the road, so Eagle backed us up until we were on the pathway beside a train station.

The station itself was run-down outside but had a modern appearance when we walked through it. On the other side was the stained concrete platform riddled with graffiti and old gum stains. Eagle led me to a flaking blue seat where he sat, pulling me up beside him.

No-one else was at the station. Despite it being peaceful, I could still hear the gurgling screams of people being murdered in my ears.

"What are we doing here anyway?" I looked up the tracks "are we waiting for a train?"

"That's what it looks like" Eagle replied sarcastically "I can't take us to a place I haven't been before. I need to have a memory of physically being there, or it won't work. I haven't been here in so long that I accidentally Jumped us onto the road. If a car had been coming, we would have been hit."

"Must be useful though to go wherever you want" I admired.

“Has its moments” he shrugged, looking up the track.

"Where are we going anyway?" I asked, as the train appeared in the distance around a corner "the White Wolf wouldn’t be this far away if her kids were at the Base."

"She's moved" Eagle said simply "she was only there for a week, which is quite long for her. She moves around a lot, but she is easy to track because of the big mouths of the public who take her photo or spread stories about where they are the first chance they get. Her brother is the one who turns up in towns mostly, so you can imagine he causes quite a stir wherever he goes. Wherever he is, she is nearby.”

The train sounded its horn to cut the conversation short, then screeched as its brakes were applied. We walked up to a door a few metres up from us to board.

Eagle stepped up onto the train and held out his hands to be shackled by blue glowing tubes; neither connected to the other. The same was done for me, and we were ushered into an empty carriage that was guarded on both sides from the outside.

Each set of velvet seats faced a small white table between them. This was repeated throughout the cart, with windows beside each seat.

Eagle made his way to the middle of the cart and sat down so he was facing me with a sly smile. I sat opposite him, which left me open to his piercing silver eyes which quickly closed when he leant back to stretch his shackled arms above his head. I hadn’t realised how exhausted Eagle looked until I was right opposite him.

“You going to stare at me the whole trip?” he yawned hugely, resting his head against the window.

“How do we get out of these?” I held up my shackled hands “I’d rather not walk around with these hanging off me.”

“You aren’t going to be walking around anytime soon” Eagle rolled his eyes “these cut your abilities, so I can’t do anything. You just have to put up with them.”

“So…. that’s it?”

Eagle sighed in annoyance as I disturbed his attempt at sleep again and glared at me.

“Well, Moon, since I have no abilities, that usually means that’s it. The only option we have is to wait until we reach the guards at the next stop and try to fight them until I can find something to cut these loose."

I watched him close his eyes again and slowly slump back against the chair. I glanced around to make sure no-one was about to take advantage of his defenceless state, only to find most of the people of the carriage in front of us leaning over to get a better look at him. Even one of the guards positioned at our door was peering in, disgruntled at our casual behaviour to being locked up.

Was Eagle really that important that even everyone outside the Base knew who he was? The way the guards didn’t try to intervene seemed very odd. They could easily overpower us now that he couldn’t escape, but they weren’t even going to bother. Was there more to Eagle than some flashy disappearing tricks?

I rode out the rest of the trip with curious eyes analysing my every move. I could feel the tension squeezing the back of my shoulders, growing tighter when the air above me crackled to life with an announcement of our arrival to the next stop, followed by a warning for all passengers to follow all directions as they exited.

Puzzled to the strange message, I turned around to watch everyone rushing around to grab their belongings as the train screeched along the tracks. When we lurched to a stop at the station, everyone bustled to be the first out of the door. I pressed my face to the cold window to see uniformed police at every door, ushering everyone off from within as quickly as possible. Their checkered blue and black stripe down the side of their black uniforms sent dread cursing down my spine which stole my breath away when I faced the station beside us.

The edge of the station was lined with a sea of police who were hiding behind see-through shields. The others behind them directed the families of the passengers away from the station and down into the parking lot behind them, where black and blue police cars were parked, and a team of officers lined a designated safe zone.

I rocked Eagle’s shoulder as the guards were ordered from their position and were funnelled through the line of officers.

Eagle groaned then stretched as he slowly woke, looking outside at the line of shielded officers facing him.

“That’s… more than I… was expecting” he yawned before waving at them “you ready to meet them?”“Not really” I squeaked when everyone was safely evacuated, and all police turned to face us on either side of the carriage. They swarmed around every door and filed inside with their guns drawn.

“Get under the table” Eagle commanded “I’m going to try something.”

I sank to my knees and slid down the seat to kneel beside the pole holding the table up. Eagle’s legs moved from my view as many more marched in and formed a barrier on either side of him.

“You are under arrest! Put your hands up!” one man barked. He had blazing white eyes with slit-like black pupils. His skin was dark green, with orange lines running from the sides of his neck to underneath his clothing. His hair was clean shaven; as were the rest of the men’s. The two women who were here only had theirs a centimetre long.

"I'm going, I'm going" Eagle grumbled, as he followed the instructions "shall I kneel for you too?"

The white eyed man scowled at Eagle's taunt and threw him from the table so that he sprawled in the aisle of the carriage. Another man with dark brown skin and orange eyes spotted me, aiming his pistol at my face.

“Get out from under there!” the other ordered to me, but Eagle crawled over to block his path.

"I'm doing what you want already" Eagle growled "or do you want more of a show?"

The white eyed man said nothing for a while; then I saw Eagle kneel, with his hands behind his head. This formed a human shield between the man and I. Eagle didn't budge, even when the gun was now pointed at his chest.

"Have mercy! You win! You win! I was wrong to ever doubt you!" Eagle wailed sarcastically "please don't hurt me!"

"Shut up, arsehole" the orange eyed man grunted as he swung the pistol into the side of Eagle's head, which caused him to fall. He began to laugh, which surprised not only me but the man. With him caught off-guard, Eagle yanked the pistol from his hand; but I saw him hesitate for a split second before pressing it to the tube around his wrist and pulling the trigger.

Eagle screamed out as everyone fired at him without hesitation. His body shook from the force of the bullets piercing him, but his knees remained bent in their kneeling position while his torso hung back limply. His upside-down face was staring at me, blood streaming from his partially open mouth. His silver eyes bored through mine, all life drained from them.

"Fucking arseholes" I heard him mutter before lifting his torso upright. Eagle's wrists were pouring so much blood that it had formed a puddle around him. The bullet wounds that riddled him streamed down his clothes to run into the blood seamlessly. The blue glowing bands were now broken beside him, the bright blue liquid blending with the edge of the blood puddle.

Eagle stood up slowly as the windows in the cart around us began to rattle. They began to shake so violently that they buckled inwards to form huge splinters of glass, which came propelling from both sides to spear into the police. The men and women fell limply on the ground as the glass pierced them all over; but miraculously didn’t harm Eagle. The glass that shot into the carriage missed Eagle by inches; none of them coming into contact with him.

All of it was over in a matter of moments.

Once he was sure no-one was alive, Eagle grabbed my arm harshly and dragged me out from the table, then picked me up to put me on my feet. He turned to make sure none were still alive; which caused him to kneel over and vomit loudly, all over the face of one of the bodies. The vomit was mostly blood, which came in waves each time he wretched.

I peered over the table to see that the other officers weren’t moving. They were still watching us from behind their shields, glancing to each other in confusion.

I turned back to Eagle to see him wiping his mouth on his torn shirt while searching the bodies for their guns and ammo.

He was struggling not to vomit again, even when he was searching the jacket of a woman nearby.

Was Eagle that sensitive to gore?

It could have been because he had just shot himself through his wrists, which were healing dramatically into scabbed wounds; but I would have to keep an eye on Eagle's behaviour if we came across something like this again.

It would be something useful to use against him if I ever needed to.

"We need to move quickly because of this…" he gestured to the blood under our feet "…they will figure out something is wrong and come inside soon. I've got enough weapons; we can try to walk it from here."

"I still have my cuffs on though" I held them out to him, but he ignored me.

"You have no abilities. Just focus on getting out of here, and I'll take them off you when we are safe."I reluctantly agreed before he propped up one of the dead officers against a table and wrapped his shackles around its wrists. He picked up a gun with two fingers, holding it out at arm-length, as it splattered blood onto the hand he forced to wrap around it. I saw him gag at the body when it’s face began to warp into his own. He pulled me from it and hobbled through the automatic sliding door, peeking his head out to look at the police beginning to move towards us. I watched Eagle casually step onto the podium and weave through the station, stumbling down the road.

He wasn't even going to wait for me.

I hurled myself out of the doorway just as more police rushed into it. As I raced over the hot concrete, I heard a chorus of gasping, before swearing and agonising cries drowned them out. The whole front of the carriage we were in was dripping with blood over the shattered windows. The police that had stormed the carriage stood there, at a loss of what to do or say to the carnage they must have been witnessing. I forced my feet to move again as the heat began to bake the blood onto them. I followed the trail of splatter out of the station and around the cars towards Eagle who was inside one, panting heavily.

"You....think that four legs...would be quicker than two" he gasped to me, his hands gripped around the wheel "this is...becoming harder than...I thought."

"How....much further...do we have to go?" I gasped back, as I climbed inside and tried to wipe the blood from my hands onto the fabric seat. Eagle shook his head as he took another breath, which caused him to choke and cough out blood over his hands.

We both managed to catch our breath before he spoke again.

"Too far. I need time to heal up from those damn bullets. I’ll have to change our appearances, so we are harder to find. They should be seeing through the illusion about now and finding the dead me” Eagle smiled to me cheekily.

I was about to ask how that would be possible before his cheeks began to melt downwards, which caused me to scurry back from him in panic. His forehead tightened, and his neck hung down; the skin squeezing together to form long wrinkles that disappeared under his torn shirt.

I watched his skin hang limply around his face until he was now an old man, aged by wrinkles and clasping his spotted hands together. His veins were so prominent that they protruded from under his skin. His eyes had sunk back into his head but were still sparkling; which was the only life about him. Even his black hair had shrivelled into wiry grey strands that were tangled around his balding head.

Eagle was really putting everything into his disguise. His head wobbled from side to side and his hands creaked, as if his bones were stiff from his old age. The only thing wrong with the disguise were his old clothes, still stained with his blood from where he had been shot. It was only noticeable until they turned into a crisp, blue shirt and long, black trousers. Even his caked sneakers darkened into a pair of nice brown dress-shoes.

“People are so gullible. They believe what they see so easily” Eagle murmured in his aged voice when he started the car and pulled it out towards the road where more police lined. He slowly drove to them, but they continued to scan the area ahead, looking straight through us.

“If they see nothing, they do nothing” he grinned at me then flipped his middle finger at the men while he inched past.

It was comical to see someone so elderly resorting to childish taunts. He only lowered his finger when he passed them and sped down the road to turn onto the one leading out of town. I heard the police siren before I saw the car speed past us, back towards the station. Eagle let out a laugh before I did, throwing his hands up and shouting with glee at the top of his failing voice.

I laughed at his attempt and yelled out at the top of my lungs, startling him, to make me laugh more.

"That's what I like to hear" Eagle whispered, turning his attention back to the road in satisfaction “no harm in being happy about murdering a few fuckers.”

I giggled at his twinkling eyes and felt the exhilaration of the escape finally pounding through my veins. All doubts and fears were gone when I looked at Eagle. He was what I wanted to be. I wanted to be powerful.

 

We rode in gleeful silence as the refreshing wind whipped through the open windows and the contagious beat on the radio lifted our spirits. The warmth of the sunlight and the beauty of the clear blue sky only made our escape sweeter. Eagle only regained his youthful state when we were out of town and away from the eyes of the public. When he stopped trembling, he regained the life that had been lost within his ailing mind and body. I could hear his stiff joints cracking as he stretched them out of their frozen state, his beaming face glancing at me when it could move from its confines.

His smart clothing only disappeared back into his bullet riddled ones drenched with blood when we pulled from the road onto a gravel trail. We were thrown about in our seats as the car struggled over the mountainous trail. The endless sound of snapping sticks underneath our crunching tyres couldn’t even drown out the shrill, droning ring of the cicadas. I listened to it rise to a deafening scream then gradually fall into a supressed bell-ringing the further we drove. When the road split into a fork, Eagle slowed to a crawl and pulled into a bank of twigs before several mould- spotted logs, linked together with rusted chains. I could see a whole field of untamed green grass stretching out before us, which was edged by a halo of the trees. The field itself would have been as long as a football field. It was mesmerising to see such beauty surrounded by the peeling, dead trees.

“This used to be a picnic area, before people stopped coming out here" Eagle explained as he climbed from the car and slammed the door shut "the family should be near the other side" he gestured to the tree line opposite us "you think you’ll be fine?”

“I'll be ok” I smiled back at him “thanks.”

“Just make sure you don’t fuck up!” he warned me fiercely “I’m counting on you to make this work. You are on your own now, but I’ll be back for you in two days to make sure you haven’t been killed. Try to look… normal” he wrinkled his nose as he looked me up and down “I have to sort shit out back at the Base.”

At the end of the sentence, Eagle only waved to me then disappeared on the spot. I stared stupidly at the ground where he had just been, trying to process the sudden abandonment, before turning my attention to the ringing trees in the distance and the family that would be on the other side.

 

This was actually quite nice being out here alone without the stresses of the Base gnawing at my mind. The sun was shining, although it did make my skin burn as the itchy grass ran over it; and the ringing cicadas were a lovely noise to fill my head with, despite them making it hard to think.

It was a wonderful day with no drawbacks. I wanted to never reach the trees, so I didn’t have to focus on the issue I was trying to forget.

When I stepped onto the curling paperbark smothering the ground, the cicadas quietened to a babble. The grass that had grown over my head still continued to blind me as I crept to the trunk of a tree ahead, using it to guide me towards the end of the barrier.

I flattened myself to the bark and peeked through the blades that disguised me. The area ahead had been cut short, so I could see the family ahead.

Two gigantic monsters dominated the area behind Orlando and Ringo. The first looked like an absolute nightmare. It had the body of a dog but had glorious white fur that was bristled like echidna's spikes. The canine teeth were so long that they hung over the sides of its mouth; with the others gradually disappearing under the gums as they got smaller. Daggered bones protruded up along the spine and along the back of its arms and legs. Just looking at them made me feel insignificant compared to it.

I noticed that the front hands were humanoid, like mine, but sharper in the long fingers. The claws were also white, but every second one was black; which was the only other colour on it. It was the only one of the family that had mismatched blue and green eyes.

Was that the White Wolf?!

The other it loomed over was dull in comparison. It had normal white fur and the same body shape as the other; but no distinguishing features like the thorns on Ringo, or Orlando’s armour. It’s dazzling rainbow eyes were the only thing that made it stand out from the sea of oddities. It was just like a giant, boring, white….

Oh.

That was what Hemlock wanted? I was not going to earn my name with something so basic. I wanted to be known as the guy who took down something as impressive as the creature behind her, not the one that dragged some common dog through the doors.

A teenage girl leant against White’s side while she ripped up daisies around them and chattered away. Her face had a maroon birthmark covering the right half of it, both of her golden eyes focusing intently on piercing the long daisy stems to link them together. Her long white hair fell over her bare shoulders and tickled the ruffles of the sleeveless light pink top she wore. Her tiny grey shorts ended just under her buttocks and left her pale legs exposed to the sun’s rays.

She was beautiful. It was such a shame she was out of the question.

I saw a young child dancing around the spiked beast, too concealed to notice any features I would have to be wary of.

How on earth was I going to reach any of them without being seen? Even if I used the long grass as cover, the closest position to them was still way out of reach. I wasn’t going to be dumb enough to just waltz up to them either. The flimsy barrier brushing against my face was the only thing stopping them from spotting me right now.

Perhaps…. I could use some of this rotting bark as a distraction and draw one of the larger ones away? If I couldn’t get Orlando again then one of the smaller two would be easy to drag away…

Excitement pounded through me when I dragged myself back amongst the trees and guided my way around to the right of the group. The thick layer of bark was so soft that when it crumpled underneath my feet it didn’t make a noise.

This was going to be perfect!

I crouched into position behind a tree and gathered up a pile of the bark around me. I threw it across from me then looked to the family as it crashed to the ground.

They didn’t even turn to see what the noise was. Instead, they were too busy watching the older child showing off her daisy chain while the younger one went to the trees further from me to hunt for cicadas.

A growl rumbled through my lips at the lack of success, which turned into a muffled yelp as the sound of bark crashing to the ground echoed from behind me, then again at the other side of the growth.

No wonder my plan didn’t work. I would have to go with taking the smaller child at the trees first.

I kept my eyes on her glistening orange hair hanging over her light shoulders as I slinked closer. Her eyes were a delicate green, similar to the shade of the sweet grass around me; totally focused on lifting the bark before her. I slowed my stalking to a snail’s pace when I was only two trees from her position. I could see the embroidered outlines of the flowers on her knee-high white dress, and smell the disgusting daisies wrapped around her wrists.

My mouth began to water as I focused on her crisping skin. I was only on the other side of the tree now. Her playful humming tugged at my ears, while her obliviousness made me stomach growl.

I hadn’t felt like this since that day. I had lost my mind at the sight at his blood back then; what would stop me from doing it again?

Nothing.I could tear this child apart. Hemlock did say he wanted the White Wolf and her children. As far as I knew, this was a spare. I could finally fulfil the ache in my stomach that couldn’t be sated with fish or soup.

I could taste the rotten stench of the daisies as I moved around the trunk to face her. The girl was too busy looking under a flap of bark she lifted, her eyes widening in terror when she dropped it back down and caught sight of me.

“Don’t. scream” I growled at her slowly.

She looked like she had been petrified into stone. Her wide eyes never left mine and her hands glued to her sides.

“D-daddy” she whimpered to herself.

“Walk to me” I ordered, glancing at the family “don’t make a sound.”

Her whimpers only fuelled my hunger. Once she was safely amongst the trees, I could kill her without anyone interfering. They wouldn’t even know she was gone.

“Keep coming” I jittered, watching her shuffle towards me as I backed away. She was almost there….

“Did you find any yet, sweetie?” the spiked beast chuckled as he turned his head towards me “do you ne….”

We both froze as his eyes met mine. I saw them dart to the child, who was sobbing quietly, then snap back to mine as they lost all colour and became a haunting white.

Oh, shit.

The child wailed when the beast charged towards us; turning to scurry back towards him. I lashed out and managed to snag my claw onto the edge of her dress to bring her to the ground.

The sound of the squealing child made the rest of the family bolt for the trees away from me. The teenager dropped her flowers and leapt onto Ringo in one fluid motion. Ringo held one leg above the ground gingerly when she ran, while Orlando slowed down to protect her back. The gaping flesh on his throat turned him into the obvious target, rather than his sister.

I watched the child trip through the field as she ran towards Orlando. I chased after her before I was forced to the ground to avoid the snarling beast launching himself at me. I felt the spit from his gaping jaws splatter onto my back when he sailed over me and skidded to a halt, focusing on me again.

I barely had time to find my feet when I threw myself forward to avoid his teeth shattering my back leg. I could only watch as Orlando darted to the child and let her clamber onto his back before he disappeared with my meal.

Fucking perfect. Now I was going to go hungry again for another bloody night!

I had to make sure I didn’t lose them for good. If I could get rid of this guy, then I could follow the others until they collapsed from exhaustion and strike again.

I was going to get what was stolen from me.

I heard the growling before I saw the monster rounding in on me again. Instead of throwing himself at me, he blocked the way the others had gone and walked towards me to force me backwards.

Trying to dart around him was going to be pointless. I couldn’t break eye contact with him. The moment I turned my back to him was going to be the moment my spine was ripped from my body.

I went to dig my feet into the dirt to prevent being forced back further but he lunged at me. I scurried to the side and went for the opening, but he was there in an instant. The pointed teeth that almost separated me from my face were glistening with saliva that steadily dripped from his patched gums. The dance with death stole my breath from me and left me sprawled on my back in the field.

Breathless, smothered in white flowers; was this my deathbed?

No, no, no. I didn’t want to be torn apart by another one of the White family so soon after the first attempt at my life.

I dragged myself from the comfort and planted my feet firmly into the hot earth. When he rounded in on me again, I drew myself up and bore right into his soul; fur bristled, and teeth bared.

It went against everything I had been taught, but I had to stand up for myself for once.

I gripped the grass to stop myself from running in terror when the monster charged at me. Instead of snapping my neck, it skidded to a halt and stopped inches short of me. I could feel his hot breath on me and smell the metallic scent of blood, but I did nothing; staring straight into his melting white eyes.

I refused to back down and give him the satisfaction. I was the strong one here.

“You must be new” he finally commented, as he looked me up and down with mismatched eyes “stubbornness will get you killed.”

“Just fucking kill me then” I rolled my eyes “you’ve been dancing around it since the girl ran off.”

The wolf lifted its head from mine as its fur bristled. Mentioning the kid touched a nerve but he did not try to punish me for it.

What was he waiting for? Wasn’t I still a threat?

“Are you suicidal?” he breathed, circling around me to check me over “you obviously are not in the better position here.”

“No shit” I snorted “I’m trying my best not to die. It’s not going well so far.”

“Trying to eat people’s daughters will do that” he growled when he stood before me again “just go back to your Base, Soul Stealer. Wash the filth from you while you are at it.”

The beast shook his head at me and began to walk away. The sight of his back turned only enraged me to chase after him and block his path.

“Don’t you dare walk away from me!” I growled up to him “aren’t you going to fight me? I tried to eat your daughter!”

He just stood there and did nothing. The way he just stared at me made all courage from within me disappear.

“Show me” he finally commanded, gesturing to my Band.

Once I held it out, he gazed at the blank screen and the flashing red bulb. When he decided that I was not a threat, he chuckled and shook his head at me.

“You are fresh” he commented “when was the last time you ate?”

The question caught me by surprise and left me standing there stupidly. Why was he asking questions like that? Why wasn’t he giving me the glorious fight I wanted? All I wanted to do was take him down and have my story told around the Base about how I had. I was not going to get that by just standing here talking to him.

The creature noticed my bitter silence and smiled at it. He went around me but stopped when he was amongst the trees. I saw him look over his shoulder at me before gesturing for me to follow him.

Was I imagining things? Was he going to take me back to his whole family? His succulent, tender, bloody, family?

Jeez, maybe I was hungrier than I thought. The drool dripping from my lips only made the pains in my stomach claw their way up to my chest.

“I know a place where you can eat” the creature spoke as it walked beside me “you aren’t the first starving thing the Base has sent out to us. Apparently starving you makes you work harder for the reward at the end; is that true?”

“I’m only starving because I didn’t eat before I came here” I hissed back, only to have shame tear at my knotting stomach.

Did I just admit that I was regretting not eating my own father before I was taken? Was the hunger putting delusions in my mind, or the truth?

His blood was delicious though. What I would give for another taste….

No!

“Took your time” I heard a voice from ahead before I saw the White Wolf lying beside a tree. She only got to her feet and walked towards us when she noticed I wasn’t dead. The little girl from before hid behind Ringo, who kept her teeth bared at me from her position further up.

The girl with the birthmark didn’t react to me; leaning against a tree for support while she tore at the bark in her hands. Her golden eyes were narrowed at me, but she remained silent.

Orlando was the only one who was happy to see me. He waited until the beast was following White to an area further from me before he approached me.

“Can I see my marks?” he breathed, flashing a cheeky grin

“can’t really see much from the state you are in.”

“Yeah, thanks for that” I muttered.

“No problem” he snorted “you really didn’t hold back with mine. Look, check this out.”

Orlando grasped a chunk of the skin on his neck and flapped it up and down with his claw. I could see the pink layers of skin underneath and see the fresh, crimson blood begin to pool in the disturbed wound.

The careless attitude to his injuries made me chuckle. The way he degraded himself to try and make me laugh was amusing in itself. He was treating our whole interaction as a joke; even our fight was a joke to him. He wasn’t intimidated by me at all, even when I was wiping the drool from my mouth.

“Is your Band blank?” he breathed “can I see it?”

I didn’t have time to respond before he placed a hand over it to feel its smooth surface and poke the pulsing bulb.

He was right there. I could grab him and complete some of my Mission already, but if I did I would be torn apart by the rest of the family and possibly choked to death by Orlando himself. He was going to be harder to drag in than I thought.

“They feel pretty cool” he marvelled but pulled him hand away as he came closer and lowered his voice even lower “is it true that it’ll shock you if you put it in water?”

“Orlando” White snapped from the trees beside the birthmark teen as she revealed herself again “get away from him.”

“Yes, Mum” he whimpered, and sulked back “sorry, Mum.”

She glared at him when he cowered over to the teen, who silently mocked him, while the others focused on me.

The void they had created between us made it obvious I was not welcome amongst them. White’s fierce eyes were now red; as if they had changed with her souring mood.

“You are dangerous” she growled at me “you proved that when attacked my children and preyed on Zahli. I am not as lenient to that as Xaivier is.”

The beast, Xaivier, grumbled back. He lowered himself down so that little Zahli could run over to him and climb up. She clung to his back and hid her face from mine when I looked up at her. This made Xaivier grow defensive when he saw me staring.

“You can tell he’s fresh” the birthmark teen commented, throwing the bark away “he doesn’t act all high and mighty like the others. I bet he doesn’t even know what the Band is for.”

“To keep a track of my body for when I die” I huffed, but this made her burst out laughing. Even Ringo snorted at me.

White still looked stern, but her eyes softened just a fraction. I could see she was milling over my words. She could see I was clueless in not knowing anything about this world which, frankly, I didn't.

I could even lie about trying to escape the Base until Eagle came back to get me. I could make it look like he was recapturing me; maybe even put up a fight. My blank Band certainly was of interest to them and could help strengthen my lie. All I had to do was try and not think about how delicious they would taste as I devoured them.

Surely, Hemlock wouldn’t mind if he was missing a few?

“You can follow us until we reach the field; then you're on your own” White muttered bitterly and led the way deeper into the forest.

Ringo and Orlando followed behind, with the teen walking behind them. Xaivier came up at the rear, that I quickly caught up to, to make Zahli cry out in fear.

Instantly, he turned on me, snarling, until he saw I wasn’t going to attack. Everyone else watched as I scuttled away from him in terror; placing distance between us, even when he tried to coax me back.

Perhaps a little distance is what I needed. I had been so focused on my Mission that I hadn’t taken the time to enjoy the beauty of everything around me. Everything at the Base was so lifeless and colourless; out here I had the soft, muddy earth between my toes and the warm air brushing against my caked fur. Even the peeling bark of the trees here had more character than the insides of the Base.

The mud squelching between my toes turned to hard, baked ground that was sprouting a few wisps of dry grass. The dry grass grew lusher as we walked, and the air became moist. When we had arrived at our destination, the grass was so green it looked straight out of a pristine painting. We left the sheltering trees to have the sky pour down on us with refreshingly cool rain.

It was such a wonderful sensation; feeling the dried blood tricking through my fur and down my feet. Orlando’s blood barrier washed from me when I lifted my face to the sky, taking all of my warmth that had been trapped underneath it.

As the rain began to burrow into my bones and freeze me, White’s family had huddled underneath a lavish glass and wooden house built on the top of a hill. The front half of the house was supported by wooden beams, which they watched me silently from.

I approached the mass to huddle amongst it, but White let out a snarl. When I froze, she tucked her head against her noticeably swollen middle, and watched me with her rainbow eyes.

“It’s cold” I whimpered.

The rain grew heavier and drowned out any sound between us. My skin was numb; my fingers prickling in pain from the cascade trying to stab through them.

I saw White’s smug smile and felt my insides boil. She thought she had got the better of me; but two could play that game.

With the cold eating at my back, I turned it on the family and scraped my hands into the muddy earth underneath me.

With every stroke, I showered muck over the family behind me. Even when they cried out, I kept digging deeper and deeper until I had discovered the dry layer underneath and tunnelled into it to form my burrow. It was nowhere as good as his, but it was better than being penetrated by the relentless rain.

I re-emerged to the whole family covered in mud and dusted in dirt; staring at me. Orlando was laughing loudly, while the others tried to clean themselves off. Xaivier smeared the mud all over Zahli’s face playfully, while the teen threw a ball of it at me with a smirk.

I left everyone to head back into my burrow. The dried dirt was warm and glued to my saturated fur to form a protective coat over me.

I tucked myself against the back of the burrow to keep the warmth surrounding me from escaping, and felt my eyelids growing heavier.

Perhaps things would be better tomorrow now that the tension between us was lifted? It was a welcome escape from worrying about the Base and everyone else in it; but I knew that after tomorrow I would be dragged back to it all.

If only I didn’t have to go.

When the morning sun baked the earth around me to wake me, I resurfaced, only to find myself alone.

The place under the house was abandoned, with no trace of the family ever being there.

As I turned around, I saw Orlando standing several metres away, waiting silently for me to follow him. He was the only thing here in the clear surroundings. In his mouth he held the leg of a small spotted, grey creature that dangled in the air.

Had he defied his family just to return for me?

“You slept in” he spoke after he dropped the creature when I sprinted over to him “are you sure you are a Soul Stealer?”

“A well-rested one at least” I joked, tearing into the fur and pulling up the skin “you didn’t have to wait for me.”

“I did” he looked away in disgust “it’s polite not to abandon the first person you see in months.”

I laughed at his absurd words and saw him smiling. Out of the whole family, Orlando was the most understanding and thoughtful. It was a shame his mother was such a hormonal bitch.

“You could have hunted something a bit bigger” I smirked when I gnawed on the gushing leg, feeling the hot blood tingling my lips when it trickled down my throat “something meatier.”

The tiny bones shattered between my teeth and fell from my mouth when my tongue found the crevices of the ribcage and sucked out the thin film covering them. The lumpy guts dangled from the body when I snapped the spine to toss aside the ravaged torso.

“That took me hours to find” Orlando groaned at my slurping “do you have to be so noisy?”

I twirled my tongue around a bone I snapped from the body then sucked it as loud as I could while moaning. Orlando cringed at the gore but giggled at my immaturity.

What a twisted friendship we were forming. He was the only enjoyable thing about taking this Mission so far.

“I’m actually glad Xaivier didn’t kill you” Orlando said, sitting on the other side of the carcass I dropped “you aren’t like the others they have sent out.”

“So I’ve been told” I muttered “why didn’t he kill me? I wanted a glorious fight, but I got… nothing. It was very disappointing.”

“He said it was because he could see how desperate you were. He was going to tear you apart until you stood up against him and tried to bait him into doing it. All the others that they send are just hack and slash; for honour and all that, but you, you are more worried about acting like something bigger than you are. You want power, I get it; most of the ones that come here want the same thing. Xaivier saw right through you.”

I looked at Orlando, stunned.

He had seen through me so quickly? Was I really that weak?

Maybe that’s why Eagle had convinced Hemlock to send me; because I was expendable. Someone who could be so easily- read was not worth keeping around the Base. The whole Outsider thing was bullshit. I was being used.

“Are you going to come with me?” Orlando asked when I abandoned the bony mass “or are you going to head back?”

The poor kid. I could tell he longed for the company of someone other than his overprotective family, but I was not the one he needed. I was nothing but an early grave for him.

“I got what I needed” I growled, heading towards the trees “the meal was absolute shit by the way.”

Orlando ran after me and watched me trying to ignore his existence. I focused on the dirt before me and changed direction each time he tried to strike conversation with me or walk beside me.

This was just a Mission. If I was going to be used for it, I was not going to be dumb enough to befriend the target. I had already done that once and look where it got me.

In my desperation to escape Orlando, I ended up walking straight into the path of the rest of the family. They all turned their attention to me as I continued through them and powered on.

I was over their shit. If they wanted to leave me behind, then I was going to pretend they didn’t exist either.

“Lost interest, Soul Stealer?” White called out “going back home?

“Something like that” I snarled back “fucking dense much?”

I heard snide laughter from White, which was cut short when I ran into the legs of a stranger. I glared up at it, only to find it was Eagle.

What was he doing here?

“I knew you couldn’t be trusted!” White snapped at the air.

“Oh, fuck off!” I hissed back as I turned to them “I didn’t know the arsehole was going to be here! Cut me some bloody slack!”

“Well, excu…” Eagle taunted.

“Shut the fuck up” I bared my teeth at him “I will murder you.”

Eagle was visibly irritated at my domineering attitude, scowling at me when I stood beside him. My whole body was shaking with anger towards everyone around me. I was ready to explode the moment someone tried to defuse the situation. I didn’t need to be calmed, I needed to tear some heads off. Fuck everything and everyone.

White looked like she was trying her best not to shred Eagle into pieces as he glared at her.

What was stopping her? Did she know that I wanted to rip his dumb face off first?

“You need to know who controls who around here” Eagle aimed murderously at me before looking to the others “all of you do. To give you an indication of who that obviously is, I'll only kill one of you.”

“Which will be you!” White roared and sprinted towards us. I moved back when she lunged at Eagle, who planted his feet down and grasped her snapping jaws with his bare hands. He wrapped his fingers around the fur in her face which started to writhe as a black mass crawled from her snout onto his hand.

When he noticed the moving sludge trying to twist its way up his arm, he shoved White from him and swung his boot into the side of her face to make her collapse to the ground.

I watched in shock as he peeled the mass from his skin and threw it onto her body, where it disappeared under her fur. He was smiling the whole time as he watched her sprawled underneath him. None of the others could get close enough to help her without becoming the next victim of his wrath.

What the hell had just happened? What was that thing that had come from her just now?

“You should have let me choose” Eagle shook his head at White who had recovered but didn’t move “I guess I’ll have to finish what he started.”

Eagle looked over to me then fixed his gaze on Zahli who hid behind her father. There was nothing for a few seconds until her breathing became laboured as she tried to draw in what air she could. Her hand curled around his leg and her small nails dug into his skin. Xaivier didn’t know what to do but tried to comfort her and beg Eagle to stop at the same time.

“Daddy” Zahli gasped another breath, then fell to her knees; curling onto her side and drawing her knees up. Her hands were clutching the grass tightly now as she wheezed in repeatedly. When she lay on her stomach, still gasping, Xaivier turned to Eagle.

“STOP!! STOP IT!!” he screamed at him, his fur prickling up “STOP HURTING HER!”

His bristling fur became red at the tips, like they were being heated, just as huge flames leapt up from his skin to dance on top. The flames became aggressive like him and were whipping back and forth in aggravation.

What the fuck? Was he on fire?! What else could this family do?!

White tried to attack Eagle again but fell back down the moment she found her feet. I couldn’t hear Zahli’s gasping anymore and saw her laying motionless at her father’s feet.

Was she dead?

Xaivier screamed out and launched himself towards Eagle. I watched him casually walk backwards towards me then latch onto a clump of my fur just as dripping teeth were about to rip into us. The giant fangs stretched outwards and the glistening tongue poured out of the gaping mouth as the grass and trees around me blended together to form the cold Base walls again.

“What the fuck just happened back there?” I panicked "I could have been killed!"

"Don't be so bloody dramatic" Eagle rolled his eyes, shoving me away from him “and don’t you dare try to think you are better than me.”

He glared down at me before yanking me towards him by the scruff of my neck, forcing me to look at him.

“Look into my eyes and tell me to shut the fuck up again. Go on, do it.”

I tried to maintain contact with his cold eyes but quickly averted mine downwards. His grip was so tight that it felt like he was going to scalp me. I didn’t have to provoke a fight with him right now; that could wait for later.

"Eagle" I whimpered "why the hell am I really out there?"

I heard him smirk at me before his grip loosened. I rubbed the tender skin, grimacing up at his smug face.

"For that virus” he pointed at where Xaivier had been “Why do you think we were so quiet about it earlier? If you knew that it could kill you on contact, you wouldn't have done the Mission. Doesn't it sound just a bit stupid to you that we didn’t send out more than one person at a time to bring them in? And to send Stripes out there instead of you? Really?"

I kept quiet. The last thing I wanted was to have Eagle mocking me. I didn't know if I trusted the arsehole anymore after he deceived me like that.

"The virus they have can protect us, since it shields whoever has it. We could make an invincible Base with it. You just need to keep your mouth shut and do as you are told. You do not want to disappoint Hemlock by trying to rebel against me now.”

"By why the tricks?"

"That's what I'm best at" Eagle boasted "you had to expect some sort of cover up with something this big. You're the only one to do the job. Just remember not to touch them otherwise the black stuff will infect you and possibly kill you. You have a fifty-fifty chance. I thought you knew that?"

I grunted a reply.

"If you want to be like that, get infected. If it works, then we can use you since it'll be easier. If not, well, you'll be dead. It doesn't seem like you care anyway."

Me, be the experiment? Who would willingly sign up for that? I would rather capture the White family than have myself tortured.

Once I did manage to get the family here, I would be isolated. I would be walking around the Base with my friends that I wouldn’t be able to be near since they would be infected. I wouldn’t be important enough to infect; even if it didn’t kill me first. I would just be the constant reminder that everyone was like that because of my actions. I would have to keep my distance from them which would become too much for me. I’d go insane.

Who would survive the infection? Who would die?

How many friends would I have left? Would I ever be something more than the weakling I was now?

Out of all the questions swimming in my mind, one kept niggling at the back of my mind. I didn’t want to acknowledge it as it only proved how insecure I really was; but it was the one I feared the most.

When would I be alone?