Chapter 4

Face to face with death

 

Instead of being met with nightmares, the void shielded my brain with a fog that made my head swim. Somehow, I was still here; probably being sizzled on the hot tar of the road I had passed out on.

My hearing was the first to come back, unfortunately.

A sobbing, distorted at first, got clearer as I struggled to piece together what had happened.

I had been in a car crash, I knew that; but what occurred afterwards was a mystery.

The last thing I remembered was lying on the hard road with glass skewering me. Was I still there? Was I still free?

“He’s breathing” someone noted, but I was too disorientated to tell if it was a male or female “he’s not reacting to touch though.”

Touch. Well, it wasn’t Cosmo.

“Keep pulling the glass out until he comes around, then we’ll fill him in” another interrupted.

Fill me in? What had happened? Where was everyone? How come the crying wouldn’t stop?

The black void started to lighten and reveal distorted shapes, but the feeling of my bones being slowly pulled from my skin was the next thing to hit me. When the bone was pulled free, a high-pitched clinking pulsated my eardrums before the process was repeated.

Had my bones shattered and turned to glass?

The shapes started to come together slowly, and I tried to focus on a face with no features that bobbed into view briefly.

“His eyes are focusing” a voice called out as soon as a jolt tossed me upwards. A set of heavy hands pushed me back onto the hard ground and held me there for a while.

“Can you try driving a little smoother, huh?!”

The other voice retorted back something I couldn’t quite understand, and the hands were released.

“Hey, can you hear me? Are you there?”

Light taps patted against my face but became increasingly harder until it felt like I was being punched.

“Ouch, jeez!” I spluttered and tried to find the face responsible “have…. have I gone blind?”

“No, not quite. You took a lot of glass to the face and around the eyes, so we had to remove it. You should be able to see us soon.”

A woman’s voice.

“Fox?” I guessed, only to have a laugh respond.

“How did you get that one? It’s Dax” it retorted, then slapped me across the face, which made it sting harshly “I’m the only one here with the croaky voice.”

“Sorry” I mumbled and hung my head, so I wouldn’t be able to see his expression if my sight suddenly decided to return completely “I’m still a bit confused.”

“Give it some time” another voice soothed across from me, but I didn’t try to guess who it was.

A few moments passed, and my eyes strengthened until I could see the fuzzy grain in the wood below me sharpen and come into focus.

The rocking told me I was back in the truck, but when I looked, around it looked more like a hospital than a form of transport.

Dax was crouched beside me, with a pile of bloodied glass slivers at his feet. Fox was behind me, sitting on the wooden bench beside Assassin, who was looking miserably at his feet.

Over on the other bench to my left laid Cosmo, who had a thin bandage covering his eyes that was drenched with blood. Both his hands were in his bucket balanced on his stomach which was dangerously close to overflowing.

“Is he up yet?” Cosmo asked, but still remained motionless.

What had happened to him?

“Yes” Fox said and went to retrieve his bucket which made him flinch until she reassured him, emptied it, and replaced it quickly with a pat on his shoulder.

“Are you ok, Newbie?” Cosmo smiled.

“I’m… I’m still here” I breathed and joined his side “you should worry more about yourself, not me.”

Cosmo snorted and tilted his head to look in my direction with a wide grin.

“Already done that. That crash was something, huh?”

A cry pulled my attention up to the bench at the front divider of the truck where a small bandaged boy sat with his back to everyone.

“Stripes?”

“Aw, come on Stripes, I’m sorry. I’d hug you, but…” Cosmo let his words trail off as he couldn’t find the right ones to form a sentence.

Stripes glanced at us with his heavily bandaged face and hands. His bandage dominated almost all his face, except his eyes, that he kept hidden from me. The bandage twisted around one shoulder then travelled to his chest where an arm was bound, droplets of blood splattered on it. Whether or not it was his own was a whole different question.

His feet were caked with dried blood and dirt, with his shirt and jacket crumpled beside them.

Stripes turned away from us with another sob and huddled against the corner to avoid facing responsibility.

“Stripes” I started and heaved myself towards him “I know you’re upset, but it’s not the end of the world.”

“It is” he whined “you’re injured, Cosmo is hurt too, and I have broken bones but… but…” he choked and pointed a shaky finger to his left where a wrapped package was lying against the wall.

I looked over to it and felt my heart skip a beat immediately.

The package was covered with clothing, mostly people's jackets, to hide the fact that there was a body underneath. I could see a hand hanging from under a jacket sleeve that looked like the flesh had been scrapped off and was covered in a thin layer of tar and dirt. Some of the fingernails were missing, the bloodied stumps embedded with fragments of glass.

I was right beside the body that reeked of blood and hot tar, but I wanted to see… just to be sure it was who I was thinking…

I dragged myself to it and stretched out my hand to slowly grasp the collar of a coat, sliding it away from the face.

Scorpio's eyes drilled into me as I stared at him, too shocked and frozen to move. His dark red eyes were wide and piercing, as if I was in a nightmare. His skin had been shaved clean off from where he must have landed on the hard tar road and was oozing pus. His blood had dried in black clumps around his cheeks and forehead, but most of it was still trickling down underneath the jacket.

I couldn’t stop looking at his frozen, dull eyes. It was like I was under some sort of spell.

What did people do in situations like this? Was it polite to close his eyes for him? Should I even be looking at him like this?

I went to replace the coat, but a force hit my side so hard that it felt like my ribs had shattered. The air was knocked straight out of me, and I was sent sprawling near the bench Fox was sitting on.

Stripes stood between Scorpio and me, with his blank eyes freezing me in place. His eyes were as black as the night’s sky that chased after us from above, glistening like the stars themselves.

What the hell had happened to him?!

“You weren’t meant to look!” he snapped at me and bent over to replace the makeshift cover “he needs to rest.”

“He’s dead!” I wheezed.

“He. Is. Not. Dead” Stripes hissed every word “He. Will. Be. Ok!”

“Stripes!” Fox spoke up “his heart stopped beating a long time ago. Let him be and calm down.”

“His heart's ok. He’s ok. He’ll be fine!” he insisted, with tears in his eyes as he grasped the coat “the idiot can’t die! I’ll never be forgiven.”

“I’m sure Torch will understand. Just calm down” Fox soothed but didn’t dare move from her position.

“Why did I have to take my eyes off…? For a split second… just like Mum...” he choked out and wiped his eyes and nose on the jacket sleeve “I’ll be killed... no, not unless I kill him first…”

“Stripes” I butted in through his muttering “we’re still here. Scorpio may be gone, but you saved me and Cosmo. You’re still alive too; doesn’t that count for anything?”

“No” Stripes muttered into the jacket as he returned to his position on the seat and faced the wall “absolutely nothing.”

 

The rest of the trip was in utter silence, which couldn’t have been more blissful.

Cosmo's change in breathing had told me he had gone to sleep while clutching the bucket that looked like it was going to fall over at any second. Fox sat with Dax and watched the scenery pass with him, while Assassin sharpened his weapons out of boredom. Stripes still clutched the jacket, and I let him be; backing away to be near Assassin.

The truck slowed and shuddered to a halt when the familiar mountainous landscape had crept back into view. It wasn’t long before we were swamped with people wanting to greet their friends.

I heard the driver’s door open and slam shut, but Slasher did not come to greet us. I could hear her boots crunching against the gravel before it disappeared completely.

Assassin was up in a flash and jumped down into the crowd to chase after her with no thought to anything else.

Eagle pushed to the front of the crowd and pulled himself up into the truck quickly, peering around at everyone.

“Slasher said Scorpio died” he huffed, folding his arms “who killed him?”

Everyone turned to Stripes, who glared up at Eagle.

“Don’t let Torch see” he growled, before smoothing the jacket back over his face.

“I’ll do my best” Eagle sighed and scooped Scorpio up into his arms before jumping down into the crowd that parted from the truck.

Fox woke Cosmo, so she could guide him from the truck while he shuffled away, turning to face us briefly.

“You should report to Hemlock as soon as possible” Dax grumbled “he’ll want to know what happened from you, seeing as you were there.”

My stomach lurched at the sound of his name and my legs grew weak. I followed Dax from the truck, leaving Stripes to brood in the dark corner, as I started the ascent to Hemlock’s office.

I was so tense when I arrived at the top of the Base that my legs were refusing to move. I shuffled into position before the cold, bare wall opposite Hemlock's desk, but his steely gaze trained on me seemed even colder still.

“I heard you got into some sort of crash” Hemlock started, then twined his fingers together and leant forwards “you distracted Stripes and Scorpio died.”

I nodded slowly, trying to keep quiet so I wouldn’t say anything to anger him.

“Congratulations.”

“What?”

I had blurted it before I had thought, which made Hemlock snicker as he propped his feet up on his desk and leant back.

“Are you deaf? I’m congratulating you on the success. I never liked that arsehole, so I’m glad someone finally caused his death. In fact, I have a Mission for you since you proved you are loyal; a real one.”

“A Mission? I didn’t even earn my name on that last one. Why me?”

“Cosmo is useless at the moment” Hemlock replied with dissatisfaction “and Eagle already has other Mission's to fulfil for me, instead of doing this one. I was going to use Hunter, but he will be out of action too, so I decided you might be of use. Besides, if you die, it won’t be a heavy loss.”

“What is the Mission?” I could only choke out.

“It’s petty, but this person could be of use to us. Have you heard the story of the White Wolf?”

“No.”

Hemlock groaned and shook his head at me. I felt like I shouldn’t have said anything while he looked at me like I was stupid.

“The White Wolf is a bitch called Sylvia, who looks like a dog; just like you. Her fur is pure white, so you can’t miss her, but she is very fast. We tried to capture her in the past a few years back with another Soul Stealer, but she found out our plan and ripped his head off. She has two children, Ringo and Orlando; you can try to get to her through them if you can. Her brother, Xaivier, is always around; killing him first before making a move would be wise.”

“Sir….” I began, and tried to place my words carefully “why do you need her exactly? Does she have special abilities or something? I’m sure you have lots of others here that are more valuable than a white dog.”

“Prying into things that don’t concern you will get you killed around here” Hemlock almost hissed “be grateful I even decided to give you a Mission after the fuckup you dragged yourself out of just now.”

I lowered my head and dropped my eyes to the ground. Hemlock snorted at my submissiveness and dismissed me.

I quickly took my chance to leave his office, where I found Eagle looking sheepishly back at me before he closed the door for me.

“Suicide Mission. Sounds fun” he added, much to my shock, “what did you expect? This is his way of saying he hates you in a nice way. You should be happy at the opportunity to be doing more Missions after what happened.”

“I’m grateful” I spat back, to make Eagle snicker and push me gently.

“Cheer up!” he giggled “Hemlock has sent me on heaps before when I was starting out! The White Wolf Mission is the most popular one since they just keep shredding every person we send their way.”

Eagle fell silent as he realised he had said too much and tried to cover it up with a smile.

"Be sure to do a good job, that's all I'm trying to say.”

“How many has she killed? I insisted “there would have been someone who would have survived if he's been sending out so many. There’s something else to this woman, isn’t there? Hemlock was acting all vague about it earlier.”

“Hemlock has his reasons” Eagle’s face grew serious “just don’t think into it too much, alright?”

I watched him head down the stairs quickly, but I was lost in thought as I dawdled along.

Everything about this was suspicious but I had no choice except to do the Mission. If I did bring back this White Wolf, whoever she was, I could finally be recognised as someone important in the Base and use my status as an actual Soul Stealer to hunt down Tin’s killers. If I didn’t succeed in the Mission, I could be killed at any time by anyone in here; and that was something I definitely didn’t want to happen.

But where would I find her in all of Transamagei? Was there someone that would know?

I was focusing so much on my thoughts, that when a snarling tore throughout the Base, I was taken back.

What the hell was that?

The repeated snarling, accompanied by whimpering cries, made me anxious that it could be someone I knew that was in such misery; but it made me more afraid to what I’d see.

My feet lead me onwards, while my ears followed the sound, until I found myself climbing down to the halfway point in the Base and pausing at the bottom of the stairs.

Two figures sat on a bench in front of the gigantic windows, papers spread between them that they poured over. Both figures were basked in the glow of an electric lantern between them, their black and green hoodies shielding most of their faces.

Wind rattled the windows beside the pair while sheets of rain hammered against the frosted glass. Doodles had been drawn into it to give a glimpse of the empty night sky outside. They didn’t seem bothered by the violent winds just on the other side of the glass or the group of monsters lingering around them on the level.

The monsters were covered in thick, black skin with dripping hands, just like Cosmo's. Their head dished in at the front, where the eyes and nose should have been, which stopped just above a huge mouth lined with thick, pointed teeth dripping in saliva.

Each monster was hunched over and had the individual bones of its spine jutting out. Their ribs were exposed as well.

The monsters had long, spindly arms with hooked fingers and toes. They were almost human if it weren't for the freakish heads and oozing arms.

Each one had no visible eyes in their dished-in heads.

One of the monsters flanked the figure in the green hoodie, who reached up to run its hand along its jaw bone.

I saw the figure also had dripping hands, and eyes covered in a thick layer of bandaging that he turned back to the papers.

Beside the breathing from the monsters and Cosmo’s hushed chatter with his friend, the Base was deathly quiet.

Why was he even out here so late at night?

I left the protection of the stairs to move closer. The tapping of my nails on the ground rang out as I approached, causing the monsters to focus on me now.

The other figure turned to face me now. His golden eyes widened in fear as they locked on me before he scrambled to his feet and cowered behind Cosmo.

Cosmo faced me but turned off the lantern so that his monsters were cloaked by the darkness. I saw his silhouette get up while the other scooped up the papers in panic.

“Protect me” Cosmo ordered the monsters.

The creature beside him turned its dished-in head towards me silently, then dropped to all fours and sprinted towards me until it was right in front of my face, where the saliva from its mouth dripped just at my feet. It let out a low growl but didn’t move from its position.

I was frozen on the spot. My breath caught in my throat, stifling the words I was trying to form.

“I-it’s m-m-me” I gurgled out “C-C-os-mo.”

“No Name?” he breathed.

I didn’t try to answer him. The monster clicked as it ran its slimy tongue over the front of my throat as I tried to hold my face away from it. It snarled as it snapped open its mouth, ready to pierce its hundreds of sharp teeth through my airways.

“Come to me” Cosmo demanded the monster, rummaging through his hoodie pocket for something. The monster screamed at him but returned obediently, to be rewarded with a severed hand.

The others squabbled over it while Cosmo approached me. His friend collected everything and quickly made himself scarce.

“What the hell are you doing out at night?” Cosmo hissed “my Creations could have killed you! This is when I let them out to hunt, you idiot!”

Snarling and screaming rose as the Creations fought over the scraps they had been given. One abandoned the group to sprint to Cosmo, snapping at the air when it faced me.

“Go hunt” he told it before pushing it away. I watched it race back to the others to growl at them before they all split up to race across to the upper and lower levels.

“Just go back to bed” Cosmo shook his head at me “wash the saliva off you too; they’ll use it to track you down later if you don’t.”

My blood ran cold and shivered up the back of my neck as I glanced at Cosmo.

A bed. I didn’t even have that right now. Where would I sleep that would be safe from those monsters anyway?

I heard Cosmo sigh before he walked back over to the window to collect the lantern and turn it back on.

“The Base keeps their trucks in the forest” he spoke, jerking his thumb to the wall behind him “they are covered in a leafy tarp by the mossy tree. It’s easy to miss, trust me.”

I saw him smirk at a resurfacing memory before turning from me. I watched the glow of the lantern illuminate the stairs as Cosmo ascended before flickering along the walls above me.

My protection was gone. Overwhelming fear loomed as the light disappeared, leaving me running blindly through the unseen dangers that lurked around me.

My breath tightened in my dry throat to try and choke back my whimpers. My frozen blood seeped from my skin, slithering down my trembling arms.

With every level I cleared, another wave of panic stabbed into my ribs and hammering heart as I was met with another hall of darkness.

When my hands slid across the cold concrete of the final floor, I guided them onto the piercing rocks blanketing the ground outside the front doors of the Base.

The frozen air rolled down my back and plastered my sweat to my already numb skin. The moon offered no guidance to my aimless search for safety. Instead, it swarmed my brain with every danger that could be concealed within the shadows it cast over the trees around me.

Branches became claws that raked along my sides or swiped at my cheeks. Brambles turned into ropes that tried to wrap around my arms as I fought through them. The ground itself was hundreds of scattered needles that stabbed my throbbing hands and feet.

My buzzing mind stole any rational thought from me. I was so concerned with trying to outrun the dangers swarming around me that i ran straight into the side of another.

Scratchy, peeling skin tangled me in its grip and tore at my fur. Screams echoed around me as they shot from my throbbing body. I jumped around like a startled animal to try and release the monster from me, clutching at the protruding layers of skin to tear them from the beast’s body.

The layers of skin I tore away became crisp leaves in my fist. Others spiralled to the ground from the mountainous monster wrapped around me.

I reached for the monster again, only to have coarse netting scratch underneath my nails and dry leaves rub along my hand.

Tarp. This was tarp. This was not a murderous beast; it was a truck.

I used the tarp as a guide to the back of the concealed truck. The cold handle sent irrational fear jolting through my mind before I forced it down and slowly opened one of the back doors.

The squeal of the hinges revealed the dark cavern it was protecting. Cold air filled the darkness and stripped away any comforting thought I had of my newfound shelter.

What if something lived in there? Was I about to offer myself as a meal to whatever lived in there? Was this all a trap?

My hands found the frozen metal beam suspended below the doors, then the splintered wooden beams bolted to the floor of the truck.

“I’m coming in” I almost whispered when I faced the unknown “I’ll k-kill you.”

Nothing.

Hesitantly, I turned my back to the void behind me and sealed myself inside. The thundering of the door closing rattled off the empty space around me and shook the wooden boards.

I was here alone. I was finally safe.

I found the back of the truck and curled up in the corner, facing my only exit.

The cold metal of the truck burning into my side was nothing compared to the cold, emptiness I was feeling inside.

Tonight would be my first night I would actually sleep alone; not passed out with no idea where I would find myself next.

I wouldn’t hear a soothing heartbeat against my ear or the steady, rhythmic breathing of anyone beside me. My stolen name would never be spoken with love again. My twisted, burnt skin would be a constant reminder of the family I had lost and the one I had been forced into.

With my aching heart pressed to the neglected wooden planks and my head tucked to the wall, I listened to the rattling heartbeat of the metal and the howling breath of the wind as exhaustion pulled me further from the harsh substitution of the life I longed for.

 

I felt like I had only just closed my eyes when reality came thundering down upon me. The banging metal wall beside me jolted me to my feet, but grogginess threatened to drag me back down as it continued to the back doors.

My mind could barely comprehend what was happening before my shelter was invaded by a dripping figure who threw open the doors to blind me with sunlight.

“Oh! You are alive!” it chuckled, then pounded a fist into the wall to make the air thunder around me and vibrate my eardrums.

It didn’t stop until I was reduced to screaming. With the fog beaten from my mind, I rounded in on the dripping intruder who jumped down from the back of the truck.

The stranger, a teen, ignored the anger directed towards him as he faced me. His tanned, muscly skin glistened under the bright sunlight from the water dripping off him. His loose blue singlet was mostly dry, though his black shorts were soaking and dripped onto his black thongs.

His messed blonde hair looked like it had been ruffled dry moments before meeting me. The teen’s sparkling silver eyes seemed to dance as they focused on me; accompanied by a bright, fanged smile.

I sat on the edge of the wooden boards as the teen walked to one of the trees to retrieve a ragged, old towel hanging from one of the branches. His Banded arm had a bracelet of red nuts wrapped around it.

“Is there a fucking beach around here I’m missing?” I jeered at him “come to invite me to it?”

“Well, I need someone to throw sticks to as they fetch them from the water” the teen replied sarcastically, sitting on the metal bench below me.

“Why are you even here?” I huffed “how did you even find me?”

“It’s not hard to track down Fresh Meat when you overhear the right people. Plenty of people have been reduced to sleeping in the trucks over the years, myself included. I came to find you because I know how tough it is for someone to find themselves in a place they don’t know with no friends to turn to. Everyone here wants to kill what doesn’t belong.”

“You’re telling me” I muttered back “I can’t seem to catch a break.”

“I want to give you that break” the teen smiled up at me “I want to Initiate you. People tend to avoid someone if they are protected by something they fear.”

I looked the kid up and down before snorting. People feared him? I didn’t need protection from someone who barely looked my age. I might as well kill myself if he thought he was my only chance of survival around here.

“Look, do you want me to Initiate you or not?” the teen grumbled back “If you are just going to laugh about it, I won’t even bother.”

“No, no, go ahead” I chuckled, spreading my arms wide “Initiate me, wise one.”

The teen rolled his eyes at me before slapping both of my arms down. He moved up, so he was sitting on the wood opposite me and glared at me to silence me.

“Usually with this, we would join a group for a Hunt and do a whole heap of Pact shit” the teen shrugged “but seeing as you are new here, we have to skip that. You are still getting used to the basic creatures up here, without advancing to the nightmare stuff just yet.”

“Says you” I muttered back.

“I’m going to do a very basic Bonding to make sure you are protected. We can skip the Hunt until the Base has scarred you a bit more, yeah?”

I shrugged as he held both of his palms out towards me. I copied his stance and gazed at him in confusion. We just sat there, fingertips touching, until the teen stared into my eyes seriously.

“My blood is your blood. I will protect you as long as you walk by my side. We are united by our kill, and united as one” he recited, bringing up his palm to bite into it then smear the blood across my forehead “true until death.”

I groaned in disgust as the blood snaked through my fur towards my nose. The teen bit into my palm before I could react, then forced my hand to smear his forehead before I could pull it back from him.

“It’s weird, I know” he grimaced “but it’s a Bonding. It means you are one of us until we sort something out. Maybe you will get your name at the same time as the Hunt?”

I noticed his eyes lingering on my Band before I turned it away from him.

“I’m already named” I sighed “Hemlock named me…Moon.”

“Moon?” the teen raised an eyebrow, then wiped away the blood with the back of his hand that he then held out to me “I’m Kuru.”

“Ku…ru?”

“A cannibal disease” he spoke bluntly “if you eat infected brains, you can get Kuru. It makes you shake and burst out laughing. It’ll all make sense later. You can call me Royce.”

What the fuck had I gotten myself into? I had just let some crazy dude wipe his blood over my forehead like some blessing, and now I was shaking his bleeding hand with mine.

Was I going to catch some sort of disease? Probably should have thought of that before I let him spout his bullshit and bite me.

“Now that that is over with, you should come with me. I need to sort out your Band before you even meet the others. Perhaps wash the blood off your face?”

I considered refusing his offer and returning to the confines of the truck but grumbled out an agreeance.

The opportunity to scrub the layers of grime and dead skin from my body was too good to pass up. I might even have a comfortable bed to sleep in and a meal to fill my stomach.

If I didn’t take up his offer now, I was going to be sleeping here again with Creation saliva still plastered to my throat and blood caked to my face. I didn’t need to be luring them to my location because I was too proud to accept help from a stranger.

I leapt to the ground and let Royce resecure the truck before he led the way back through the tangled undergrowth, towards the Base.

When we emerged into its shadow cast over us, I was filled with happiness. For the first time, I was grateful to see the place that had destroyed me. I was going to accepted into it and try to rebuild my life. It was never going to be the same again, but I had nowhere else to go and no-one to turn to. This was the only person who actually wanted to help me, instead of being forced to team up with me.

Perhaps this was the beginning of something better?

I was on Royce’s heels as he led the way up the first flight of stairs. People stared as he passed but kept to themselves or continued on their own paths. I saw Torch coming down from the level above and raise his hand to greet me but quickly lower it when he saw who I was with.

Royce smirked at Torch as he held a door open for me, ushering me inside. I glanced back to see him chuckling to himself as he closed the door behind us, forcing me to move forwards to give him enough room to squeeze in.

The coil rug underneath my feet tugged at my nails, to force me to acknowledge it covering the area around the staircase opposite me. Under the slope of the staircase was a big, shielded cubicle that I noticed was a tiny shower. The light mounted to the bottom of the stairs from its exposed cord with staples was the only offering of light for the cubicle. Next to the shower was a semicircular chipped mirror that was mounted onto a cabinet with a sink built into the top of it. The sink was splattered with fresh blood that steadily dripped down the drain. Flecks of crimson coated the glass, which Royce scowled at. He flicked the switch next to the mirror to have the light over the shower hum and buzz but never flicker to life. The cubicle against the far left acted as some sort of privacy for the toilet. The door had a massive dent bashed into the middle of it, the cracked wood snaking from the impact towards each corner.

It was the most beautiful, degenerate place I had ever seen.

“About fucking time!” someone shouted from upstairs “thought you drowned!”

“I ought to drown you with the way you left the sink!” Royce snarled at the roof as he slid back the shower curtain “and the goddamn shower! WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO?!”

I peered around him to see the white walls of the plastic cubicle smeared with bloody handprints. The bottom floor was covered in a centimetre of blood which stung my nostrils and tickled the back of my throat when I inhaled.

Royce forced hot water into the murder scene before marching upstairs, the steam created from the scalding cascade masking the gore I would have to clean myself with.

The squeaking of the knobs as I adjusted the temperature masked the muffled argument upstairs. The warm water ran over my aching body and offered comfort from the dripping blood streaming down around me.

The tangy scent filled my lungs with every steamy breath I took. The water burnt through my layers of skin on my toes and fingers but caressed my clumped fur over my back and head. The water splattered as it washed away the burnt fur and peeling skin from me, the blackened mess of my body gurgling down the drain with the layers of grime that only river water had cleansed until now.

My warm body instantly froze over as the splattering water continued to smother me. The steam crept into my throat to trickle down my airways in an attempt to choke me.

My heart seemed to leek through my skin and roll into the drain with every wave that shook from me as I coughed it up.

The air around me was stolen by the mist and taunted me from the condensation clinging to the roof.

The water battered my numb body as my gasps were the only thing rattling in my ears. I tried to reach the knobs to turn off the water, but all strength had left my arms and legs.

Water. It was everywhere. It was going to choke me. I was going to drown…

I forced my head down to let the torture roll over me as I focused on the red water running over my fingers. Each cough I spluttered only forced more blood into the mixture.

I couldn’t move. Every muscle in my body refused to let me reach out and pull apart the thin sheet of plastic draped over my exit.

“Moon?” my name called from above “you ok?”

I tried to choke out a reply but could only manage a whined grunt. My mouth had been sewn shut by the water running over it. If I opened it, I would die.

Cold air billowed around me moments later when my exit was opened. I felt Royce lean over to shut off the water before holding a towel out towards me. A few moments passed before he wrapped it around me and pulled me from the watery grave, holding me against his wet body.

His warmth did nothing to startle me from my daze. I didn’t even remember leaving the room before I found myself on a floor, facing the mattress of a lower bunk bed.

“What happened to him?” a voice almost whispered from above me “did warm water shock him that much?”

I heard sniggers that were quickly silenced. The towel massaged my soaking fur and the water from my lungs until the teeth of a comb plucking at the knotted mess sent pain up the back of my spine, snapping feeling back through my body.

Embarrassment burned me as I focused on the bed out of shame now. I could feel eyes from above and behind boring into me as I was nurtured.

“Listen, if you had a bad experience with water or blood, I’m not judging you” Royce’s voice soothed as he plucked at my fur “unlike someone.”

A bad experience. That was a tame way of describing almost being drowned by my mother after birth. Was I really afraid of water? Years of bathing in the shallows of a river had done nothing to spark this hidden fear within me; so why had it only surfaced now?

I turned so that I could face Royce but was left staring at an exact replica of the room I had first woke in. Royce was on the other side of the room, rummaging through the cupboard next to the sink, before pulling out a marker and sticky tape.

“Hand” he ordered, sitting opposite me.

I offered my Banded arm from him to press a length of tape against the screen before carefully scrawling onto it.

“This should fool the others for a bit until you get a name. Just try not to let anyone else look at it for too long otherwise they will figure it out.”

I heard a snort from above and went to peer up at it until a body leapt from the top bunk, its bare feet slamming onto the wooden floor beside us.

A replica of Royce stood there, dressed in torn black denim jeans and a plain dark blue t-shirt. He had the same tanned skin as his twin but was the musclier of the two. The only major difference between them both was their eyes. This twin had piercing blood-red eyes that bore into my soul, while Royce’s were gentle and sparkled with life.

How could two twins be so different from each other?

“Finish combing your pet so we can get out of here” the twin grumbled “I’m not going to wait for you this time.”

Royce got to his feet as his twin descended the stairs, yanking a tattered backpack from underneath the bottom bunk to throw it over his shoulders.

“You can rest here until we come back tonight” he babbled as he tossed food and water from the cupboard into the bag “I’ll show you where to get a good meal when I come back.”

“Wait!” I blurted as he sprinted past me and down the stairs.

My claws curled around the top stair as Royce halted in his tracks and turned back to me from his position in front of the door. I could see he was eager to leave, but my gut was twisting uncomfortably at the thought of the kid later rushing back through the Base at night with Cosmo’s monsters roaming the levels.

His reckless behaviour was going to get him killed. I couldn’t have that on my mind after he went to the trouble to bring me into his life and care for me. Someone so kind didn’t deserve to be shredded apart by a living nightmare.

“Just… be careful” I muttered to the stairs while I came to his side, peering up at him “don’t get killed over something stupid.”

Royce smiled warmly at me over his shoulder. He rested his hand on the door handle for a few moments before he ruffled up the fur on my head.

“Don’t worry about me” he spoke softly as he let the babbling of the Base fill the quiet room, tightening his bag as his personality hardened “you can’t kill what is already dead.”