Chapter 5

The monsters within

 

Hot breath floated in the darkness beside me; bittersweet from the lumpy, pink fruit being shoved into the bleeding mouth hungrily.

A fresh scratch ran over a flushed cheekbone, the exposed wound being smothered with the juices of the fruit that dripped along the path underneath our feet.

Sparkling eyes locked onto mine; so full of life and the ugliness of the world they had witnessed.

How on earth did they belong to someone dead?

“Pay attention, Moon” Royce gasped between mouthfuls of fruit, shining the torch he held over the area before us “this is no time to be dawdling.”

I focused on the light to try and distract myself from the rising panic bubbling within my stomach and the prickling of my fur on the back of my neck.

Royce had wasted no time in tearing me from the warmth of the bed to join him in stalking the cold, deserted levels of the Base as soon as he had returned. The torch he held was the only thing we had to defend ourselves against the terrors that lurked in the shadows it casted.

My claws clicked away on the cold floor while Royce’s dirty shoes crunched beside me. He almost looked bored as he slurped the juice from the fruit noisily and waved his beacon over the walls lazily. He was doing nothing to avoid attracting attention to ourselves, while I was trying to steady my jolting nerves and hammering heart.

“I thought you said we were going to get a good meal?” I grumbled as he stopped before a door and scratched at the paper plastered to it.

“The meal is inside” he chuckled then abandoned the door “I’m trying to find you your own room, so you can have somewhere safe to stay. Rolf isn’t too keen on the idea of having a No Name staying with us. It makes us a target as well.”

Rolf? That must have been his demon-eyed brother. What was he so afraid of me luring to their location?

“Besides, you aren’t just going to be given your own place to stay the moment you walk through those doors” Royce spoke from a few metres down “you have to work for it. Usually that means killing whoever it is inside for it or waiting until someone dies. These names kind of give you an idea of who you are messing with.”

I looked up at the name he was scratching at before he abandoned it and moved to the next.

“Is that how you died?” I breathed “you tried to take a room?”

Royce let out a sharp laugh but then scowled at the paper he faced. He kept moving to avoid answering the question immediately.

“I was stillborn” he said when he decided to pick at another name “Rolf was the only one of us who survived but he died when we were buried.”

“We?”

Royce shifted uncomfortably and slowly nodded. The edge of the name peeled from the door as he plucked at it, but he seemed to be stalling to avoid facing me.

“We were given a second chance when we died” Royce shrugged “the monsters inside us are the only thing keeping up the illusion that we are alive. I may breathe and bleed like a normal person, but it’s all a lie to keep it from being targeted.”

I moved to Royce’s side and noticed he had stopped trying to peel the paper from the door. He looked to me then turned around, so he could slide down the door to sit against it.

“Look, the real reason I came to find you wasn’t because I thought you needed friends or a room” Royce muttered, resting his arms across his drawn knees “I came to find you because you are like us.”

“Like…you?” I frowned, sitting beside him to look over the dark Base.

“The monsters, these demons, they can be created in many ways; but there are two main ones. You can die and become the shell for one, like me, or you can be born as one, like you. You must have been implanted into a human to come out looking like that. That would do some twisted things to someone; losing their baby like that.”

My heart pulsed at the mention of my creation. The back of my head prickled with electricity, and my hands grew slick.

I slowly looked up at Royce who locked his eyes with mine, waiting for the question to confirm it all.

Did I even want to know about the twisted theory he had?

I didn’t want to be held responsible for my mother’s madness. If he had some sort of sound reasoning as to why I was born like this, then my mother trying to kill me would have just been her using common sense in the situation she was faced with. Her ramblings about me not being her baby might actually have some truth behind them.

Was I ready for that?

“Tell….me….abou….”

Royce didn’t acknowledge my forced words and instead got to his feet as he turned his head to look back at the way we had come. He directed the torch at the ground, listening intently.

“What is i….?”

“Shut up!” Royce hissed back to me.

I held my breath, so I could focus on the cause for his concern, until I found it. Hushed conversation from below caught our attention and made Royce glance over the edge of the level, shining the torch down at it.

I heard his gasp before he dropped the torch and stumbled back, almost falling over his own feet. He tried running before he could stand, flailing about as he tried to escape.

I listened to his stumbling steps as they gained stability and echoed up the level, before peering over the edge at the beam of light at the bottom of the Base where two creatures stood on either side of it. The one on the right had two very long, thin ears that were pointed forwards curiously as it inspected the torch. Between the ears were two small horns that sat above a thin black line smudged down between the illuminated creature's eyes. Long thorns protruded from around its neck, so it resembled a collar lost amongst the mass of white fur, and continued down the spine. The shoulders and thighs were armoured by thick, tear-shaped plates that had the same black marking in the middle of each one. Three black slashes laid under the plates at the top of each arm and leg that had thin fingers equipped with long, white nails. Its tail was the length of the whole creature, which curled at the top when it looked up at the other opposite it.

The creature on the left looked the same as the one beside it; covered in gleaming white fur over its slender frame, except for a few minor details.

Its slender head was lined with long, thin thorns protruding from the edges of its head; ending just above its jaw. It had the same long ears as the creature before it.

I noticed the rest of its body had the same pointed thorns circling around its wrists and ankles in the same way it circled the other creature's neck. The same thorns appeared on its long, bristled tail; first near the base, then protruding again a few more centimetres up, and again before the tail widened into its bristled top. All three layers of thorns were circling the tail the same way they did on its wrists and ankles.

Water glistened as it ran off both creatures and splattered onto the ground around them. The light dancing off the water made them look like they were made of the stars themselves. They were mesmerising to watch, even when both of their faces tilted upwards towards me.

“MOON!” Royce’s voice boomed from somewhere down the level “MOVE!”

The shouting in the darkness caused the creatures’ growling breaths to hone in on us as they thundered up the staircase.

“Are you fucking deaf?!” Royce spat into my ear before the darkness seized the back of my neck and dragged me from the railing “come on!”

This time I followed him in his terrified state. He was running so quickly up the stairs it was a wonder how he didn’t trip over his own legs. When we reached the higher level, he continued upwards; never stopping to offer me explanation for his outburst.

Why were we going upwards if he was so afraid of them? We would only trap ourselves if we kept going upwards.

Royce leapt over the side of the next flight of stairs, so he was already halfway up by the time I reached them. He was making it impossible to keep up with him. Everything in my body was screaming at me to stop as I pushed myself to my limit.

I knew I could have turned around at any moment, but something in me couldn’t stop chasing after him.

“R-oyce” I wheezed, collapsing onto the ground when I caught up to him on the twenty-fifth floor “s-st-op r-run-n-ning.”

“We are almost there” he begged from the other side “I know where we can hide.”

He didn’t even look like he had broken a sweat. Here I was, dying in the middle of the cold ground as my heart tried to escape through my chest, while he just stood there.

While I tried to rest my burning body, laughter rang out from below us. Immediately, Royce lost his breath and his eyes darted to the stairs behind him. He climbed up one and hid on it before I had a chance to move.

Why couldn’t I move? I felt like I had been paralysed. Was I really that out of shape?

The muffled voices from below became clearer as they ascended, until they died out completely.

I lifted my head to see the two creatures standing on the stairs behind me. They were just staring at me while frozen in place. The water dripping from their bodies was the only movement from either of us. The rain slithering down the illuminated window beside me cast bleeding shadows over them and the ground around us. The dripping moonlight basked over my body and the floor around me, leaving me completely exposed.

There was no use trying to escape now.

“Was it attacked by the Dripper?” the long-tailed one whispered to the other “it’s breathing really heavily.”

I tried to steady my panting but couldn’t. Trying to hold it only made me gasp for more, which made both the creatures look to each other. The cold floor was the only relief from my burning skin and thundering heart. I wasn’t even going to try and run; they would end me the moment I found my feet.

“His head would be missing” the other stated simply as it advanced toward me “are you coming or what?”

“We should go back” the long-tail cringed “we can get one another day.”

The brave creature paused before me and huffed. It stared straight into my eyes with its shining rainbow ones that hardened when they saw I was not dying.

“We can take him” it spoke to my face “you’ll just have to miss out.”

I let it walk around to my side and lower its head towards my neck. Once it was close enough, I could easily flip it over and cripple it. All I had to do was be patient.

“Ringo” the long-tail hissed when hot breath hovered above my nape “he’s here for a reason. Don’t you think it’s a little too obvious?”

My breath stopped at the mention of the name and my heart seemed to find its rhythm again.

Ringo? Wasn’t that the name of the child of the White Wolf? The same White Wolf I had been assigned to bring back here? Did that mean that the other one over there was Orlando?

Ringo’s breath disappeared from my skin, but her body still remained beside me. Orlando pointed his head to where Royce was hiding and held his long tail above him proudly.

“It’s a trap.”

With Ringo distracted, I shot upwards to snap my teeth around her wrist. Ringo yelped out and tore her paw from me, showering me with her warm blood that caressed my nose; the sweet metallic scent filling my lungs.

Only when the crimson liquid touched my lips did I realise how hungry I had been.

When was the last time I had eaten? Would her flesh be as sweet as her blood? Hemlock only wanted the White Wolf, not her children. I could devour her children. I could strip their beautiful skin from their tiny bodies.

Ringo limped back to her brother, who tried to bristle his fur to appear bigger. I crouched down low and advanced on him while baring my bloody teeth. The sight of his sister’s blood on me must have shocked Orlando because he seized up.

“Run away” I growled, shivering from the excitement of the hunt “make it interesting for me.”

Ringo used this opportunity to flee down the stairs behind them. I went to strike her exposed back, but Orlando barred the way and copied my stance.

“Get through me” he snarled. His neck began to bleed, and his rainbow eyes snapped to a piercing red. They began to drip blood onto his glistening white fur, smothering it as it leaked from his skin.

What was happening to him? I hadn’t touched him yet, so why was he bleeding so much?

“Moon” Royce begged at the other side of the room “leave him. Let’s just go before she shows up.”

“Leave” Orlando echoed, blood pouring from his mouth to splatter on the ground between us “before I hurt you.”

There was no way I was going to back down to him. I would be humiliated to be beaten by someone barely bigger than me. He had to die. I would kill his sister afterwards.

I let out a snarl as I lunged at Orlando’s front paw that he yanked out of the way swiftly. He dodged my snapping teeth and backed away from the stairs I almost fell down. I launched myself at his soaked throat, but he leapt back and used his long, bloodied tail to strike me across the face.

I recoiled, my skin stinging and dripping from his anger. It felt like it had been ripped away. I couldn’t even tell if I was bleeding from the amount of his blood that smothered me.

Orlando used my shock to latch his teeth around my neck and shake his head furiously. He was trying to tear my skin off, tightening his grip to ensure I couldn’t escape.

His growling turned into a cry of pain when I tore into his exposed side and wriggled free from his jaws. I snapped my teeth around his soft throat and slammed Orlando into the ground to pin him underneath me.

I felt his whimpers running along my lips as he flailed around uselessly. He tried to push me from him with his back legs, but I only applied more pressure; causing him to gurgle and wheeze.

The fresh blood flowing from him tantalised me and bristled my fur from the electricity snapping through me. He was mine now. I was not going to let him escape.

As I felt my teeth gouge underneath his skin, my own airways were restricted. The longer I held Orlando, the more it closed. After a few seconds, all the air around me disappeared. I tried to draw it back into my burning lungs but only managed to inhale the blood soaking Orlando that threatened to choke me.

How was he doing this to me? Was it voodoo? Did it have to do with the way he was bleeding earlier?

Black spots danced in my vision, and my head began to spin violently. I felt my jaws grow slack before I released Orlando. Something uncoiled from my throat, so I could wheeze in deep lungful’s of cold air that pounded on my battered lungs and caused me to choke. Orlando was gasping and choking as life rushed into him and blood spurted out of him.

I saw his long tail recoiling to his side and chuckled at how stupid I had been.

Of course, he had used it to choke me. It was not dark magic; it was his last attempt at stealing his life back from me.

“A-arsehole” Orlando wheezed from under me and coughed “t-this is g-g-going to ta-ke me ages t-to get off.”

“You a-are m-m-more worried…” I paused to gasp in air “…a-about that than m-me?”

His dull red eye met mine, then focused on Royce who had emerged from the staircase.

“So much for protecting me” I growled to him “the little bastard was choking me!”

“S-still here” Orlando wheezed, dragging himself from under me. I didn’t even try to stop him. I loved life too much to have it throttled from me again.

“What should we do with him?” Royce almost whispered in awe “we won’t get an opportunity like this again.”

Orlando smirked to me but gagged as he coughed up more blood onto the soaked floor. We just stood opposite each other, dripping from our wounds and the gore that soaked us both. I could barely see Orlando’s white fur from underneath the carnage I had caused.

“I’m leaving either way” Orlando spoke. He looked like he had already regained enough strength to stand without wobbling. His red eyes had melted into the rainbow ones that captivated me. They were the only feature about him that was visible.

What was I going to do? Should I try to drag him to Hemlock’s office at the top of the Base?

It sounded like such a pathetic plan, and he knew it. The way he smirked at me told me that he was going to escape no matter what I did.

Orlando took his chance to limp away, his rattling breath eventually dying out moments later.

I had just let my one chance at becoming a Soul Stealer walk away. I would be the laughing stock of the Base.

I went to follow after him but felt my bones become jelly as my claws wrapped around the top of the stairs, my battered, bleeding body crumpling down the cold concrete while my skull was slammed into the sharp edges until all feeling and thoughts left me.

 

I had no idea how I found myself in a bed when I awoke. The whole place looked like I had been massacred; everything stained with the blood that had dried all over my body. My neck was still dripping from where Orlando had snapped into it and my temples pulsated waves of pain down my head, but It only filled me with excitement.

I had actually wounded two of the White Wolf’s family and survived! Sure, I had let Orlando escape; but having him so close to death in my jaws invigorated me.

I was worth something. I was something!

Even though everyone would be laughing at me, they would still be talking about me. Me.

“We have to stop meeting like this” a voice chuckled before Torch’s head came into view “did you get into a fight with one of the others?”

“I almost had him” I smiled at the image of a bird skeleton bursting from its body on Torch’s black t-shirt “I could have had both of them.”

“Both of them?” he chuckled as I sat up “no wonder you are always being ripped apart. I’m surprised your friend didn’t completely ruin you.”

“Royce?” I frowned at Torch, then laughed “no, I fought Orlando!”“Well, aren’t you an idiot?” he shook his head at me before he got up, to come back with a glass of water “was it part of your introduction into the gang?”

I almost choked on the water as I laughed at him. Torch took it from me to set it on the floor as he sat on the edge of the bed; his silver ripped denims a breath away from soaking through with my blood.

“I’m not in a gang” I scoffed “don’t be an idiot.”

Torch raised an eyebrow at me then flashed a smug smile.

“Did he use words like ‘Initiation’, ‘Hunt’, ‘Bonding’, or ‘Blood Oath?’”

“A…few….” I mumbled back.

“And did you have to kill something with them or do anything involving blood?”

I grumbled a response and looked away.

“Well done. You got yourself initiated into a gang, Dipshit” Torch snorted at me.

Holy fuck! How the hell did I not realise I had joined a gang?

What the hell was I going to do? How was I going to get myself out of this?!

“You got yourself into this mess” Torch picked up the glass and took it to the sink “you can’t exactly weasel your way out of it.”

“Shiiit.”

Torch turned to face me and smirked at my defeat while wiping the glass. I let out a laugh and he let out his supressed chuckles until we both were giggling like old friends.

Was I really this attached to the kid? I had wanted to murder him only days earlier but yet here he was in my time of vulnerability yet again. It was going to be hard to kill someone I was growing attached to; a convenient nuisance.

I watched him turn back to the sink and noticed a framed photograph propped up in the corner. A picture of Torch with Scorpio was smiling back at him, the both of their drenched faces dominating the photo while someone in the watery background pulled a strange face.

The photo rested beside a stack of yellow folders that were filled with papers and scrawling’s. I saw the edge of a photograph paperclipped to one as it poked out from the organised mess.

I saw Torch grow nervous as I approached the stack and lifted the photo to pry open the top one and flip through its contents. He abandoned his washing to place the photo back on its pedestal, holding it down firmly.

“You don’t need to be looking at those” he scowled, trying to divert my attention from them “they aren’t your problem.”

I kept my eyes glued to the stack to avoid his cold stare, focusing on the thick, black circle around the photo of a girl walking down the street with her friends.

Had I been one of these? Did I used to be a profile filled with my life and locations, shoved in the corner to be looked at when the time was convenient? Was I just another face in the pile before I was just another face in the crowd?

“You should get going” Torch almost growled at me as he picked up the folders and moved them to the other side of the sink “I don’t need you to be tracking blood everywhere.”

“Torch…”

“You have to report to Hemlock” he shoved me when I didn’t move “if you did fight Orlando, he will want to know about it; preferably from yourself.”

I dropped to the floor in agreement and wandered towards the stairs in defeat.

“Moon.”

I turned around to see Torch leaning against the sink, struggling to say something. When his eyes met mine, he grumbled and grew cold.

“Your fake name is coming off” he pointed “don’t be such a fucking idiot.”

His words seemed to stab my feelings as I clambered down the stairs without another word. Anger bubbled up as I opened the door and went to head out into the Base, only to be met by a group of people crowding around my door.

What the hell was happening here?

“There he is!” Royce exclaimed from my right; his twin, Rolf, standing beside him “I told you he fought Orlando!”

“You look like shit!” a voice breathed behind him before a man stepped forwards. He had short silver hair with orange eyes that scanned over me. His skin was dark, which made him stand out against the surroundings. The fact that he was wearing a black long-sleeved shirt with dark grey longs only made him easier to spot. His feet were bare and covered in dirt.

“I’m Valerio” the man smiled and held out his Banded hand that I shook “or you can call me Fracture. Royce has been talking non-stop about what you did. We are in the same gang you just joined.”

Royce blushed a little and let himself be pushed back as others tried to get a glimpse at me.

“This is him?” a girl with yellow slitted eyes scoffed “from what I heard, he just let him walk away without doing anything.”

“And yet you didn’t do anything either, Mania. Take your friends and fuck off” I heard Rolf snap to the girl from the back of the group.

With a roll of her eyes, Mania and two others quickly left to head down the Base where others were staring from afar.

“Are you just not going to shower at all now?” Royce chuckled at me when he pushed to the front “I seriously thought you were dead.”

“And yet you dumped me here” I retorted.

“I panicked” he shrugged “I got told your Captor was that kid, so I left you with him. I only found out that you tried to kill him when you arrived, so I thought I should check in on you; you know, in case you did murder him.”

“The arsehole is still alive” I muttered back “just.”“Shame” Valerio added with a cheeky smile to Royce.

“The only shame here is you, Fracture.”

Eagle appeared at the back of the group, who cleared the way for him. All the others up the front who I hadn’t been introduced to yet quickly disappeared.

The only people left that I knew were the twins and Valerio.

Valerio looked like he wanted nothing more than to leave, as Eagle stared him down with his cold silver eyes.

“It was a joke” Valerio muttered, as his eyes darted upwards to meet Eagle’s briefly “I didn’t mean anything by it.”

Eagle huffed then turned to me with a huge, fake smile. He looked like he wanted to murder me as well; but couldn’t act out since he was surrounded.

What had I done that was so wrong?

“Hemlock wants to see you” Eagle spoke slowly “about your little endeavour last night.”

Instantly, my heart seized. My mouth grew dry, and the pain in my neck seemed to drill deeper underneath my flesh.

Was Hemlock going to punish me for wanting to murder one of the family he had assigned to me to capture? Did Orlando and Ringo escape? Was I going to be killed for letting them escape?

I only watched as Eagle latched onto my clumped fur and yanked me from the doorway. He seemed disgusted by my appearance but didn’t let go, even when everyone before me started to melt together. I panicked and tried to escape them, but Eagle grasped tighter so that his nails were stabbing into my skin.

When everyone had melted together, they began to smooth out into a square shape. The Base behind them became flat, then curved backwards to form a wall.

A table grew from the ground before me, and Hemlock melted into place behind it. When the rest of his room formed, I scrambled backwards until I hit the wall opposite him.

What the hell was that?! What had happened to the others? They literally melted before me! What had happened to the rest of the Base? Had it melted as well?!

“First time?” Hemlock snickered at me clutching the wall.

“I forgot” Eagle replied sheepishly “the others are so used to it.”

“Moon” Torch whispered and pried my claws from the wall “calm down. It’s normal to panic on your first Jump. Try to breathe; you sound like you are hyperventilating.”

I was too petrified to try and understand how Torch was here instead of in his room I had just left.

Had he been melted like everything around me? Was he talking to me while his brains melted out of his head? Was any of this real?

“Moon” Stripes’ voice whispered from my right “what the hell happened to you?”

I gained the courage to glance at Stripes, who raised an eyebrow at me in confusion. His green and black pixelated hoodie made my panic rise before I realised it was not disappearing away into the background. He was not melted like the others had been.

I turned to Torch to find he was perfectly fine as well. Eagle and Hemlock seemed oblivious to the turmoil I was under as they chatted amongst themselves.

Only when Hemlock waved Eagle away, did he finally look at me. Hemlock did seem disgusted in my appearance but did not react the way Eagle had done earlier.

“Torch” Hemlock barked “Eagle was telling me of the very slow progress you have been making since your Mission. He has told me that you have been vomiting blood.”

“Only a few times, Sir” Torch responded, glancing at Eagle who stood to his left emotionlessly.

“We have decided it would be best to give you to Cosmo if things get worst” Hemlock laced his fingers together as he leaned forwards on his desk.

“WHAT?!” Torch yelped and turned on Eagle “how could you! I’m fine, really! I don’t need to be turned into one of those things!”

“Shut up” Hemlock growled back “stop your bitching and turn around!”

Torch mumbled something back angrily then returned to his place beside Eagle, who didn’t appear fazed by his outburst.

“It would be a shame to lose someone so valuable because of his own stupidity” Eagle spoke “but I should be able to fix the problem within a few days. If I can’t, I will let Cosmo know not to kill Torch after he is turned. As you know, he has a nasty habit of killing the spares.”

I could see that Torch was looking somewhat murderously towards Eagle, but Hemlock was deeply interested; even letting Eagle talk so casually with him.

So that is what it looked like to have all the power you wanted. He could do what he wanted, as long as Hemlock gave permission. No-one would stand in Eagle's way because he was strength itself; possibly stronger than Hemlock.

“This problem” Hemlock started, looking at Torch "how will you fix it?”

Eagle let a smirk creep up onto his face that slowly turned into a sinister grin as it focused on me.

“I’m going to use the No Name. You assigned him to the Suicide Mission but, as you can see, he is taking his time to kill himself.”

Eagle stepped forwards from the line then approached Hemlocks desk; leaning against the side of it and peering back at me.

“He attacked Orlando and Ringo” he gestured “and he’s still fine. I want to send him out there as an Outsider, so we can get what we need from him. He has a habit of sticking his nose where it shouldn’t be, so why not stick it out in the field?”

I had no idea what they were talking about, but the way Torch and Stripes looked at me in shocked surprise told me it was something bigger than they had expected.

“If we stick him out there, he has no choice but to do the Mission he has been avoiding” Eagle continued “he got lucky and almost killed Orlando; he could easily bring him back here while he is weak and use him to make us stronger.”

“What do you mean ‘bring him back here’?!” I cried out to make Hemlock's eyes harden as they locked on me “I almost died! Torch is going to be fine! We don’t need Orlando!”

Hemlock looked at Eagle with annoyance before opening a draw in the desk beside him. Eagle’s eyes darted downwards before he leant back and sighed loudly, throwing his arms up.

“He’s right!” he exclaimed, slamming his hands down on the desk to make Stripes jump “how could I have not seen it? Orlando is just one demon; we can kill all the ones we already have here to make Torch better and the Base stronger! You have opened my eyes, No Name!”

What? NO! That’s not what I was suggesting! How could he be twisting my words like that!? I only didn’t want to go after Orlando because I was sure he would win the next time we met. I was terrified of the damn kid!

“If No Name doesn’t feel like he’s up to it, we’ll have to put someone else in his position to do the job... perhaps Stripes?"

I saw Stripes peer pleadingly at me. His long blue pants were trembling as he clutched to the pockets in his hoodie but didn't dare object.

“No” I sighed, as Hemlock opened his mouth to speak “I can do it. You don’t need to use anyone here. I’ll bring back all of them.”

“Aren’t you brave” Eagle hissed to me as he wore a false smile “that bitch won’t stand a chance.”

Hemlock looked pleased at the new plan forming. He closed the drawer beside him, to make Eagle loosen up.

“In a few months, the White Wolf will have her baby” Hemlock looked at me as he spoke “she’ll be useless trying to defend two children and a newborn at the same time.”

What?!

Torch and Stripes looked over to me silently with looks of sympathy. The shock on my face made it clear I was not expecting the promotion from Hunter to Kidnapper so suddenly.

“The baby. It will be in the way” Hemlock huffed “it will get rather annoying.”

“Once we cut it from her, then you can do what you want to the baby” Eagle smiled “experiments, train it as a Soul Stealer, kill it…. completely up to you.”

“That’s wrong” Stripes objected but was silenced when Hemlock pulled open the drawer once more and whipped out a gun that he fired at the wall a few centimetres above his head. Stripes clutched at his ears and bent over in agony while the rest of us remained motionless.

“I will give you a time that is suitable to act” Hemlock nodded to Eagle “it had better work for your sake.”

Eagle nodded then walked back towards us, standing between Torch and me.

“You are all dismissed then.”

Eagle was the first to move; opening the door and waiting for the rest of us to file past him, before closing it tightly.

Stripes sobbed as he balled up the sleeves of his hoodie to try and pad around his ears.

“Neither of you should have spoken” Eagle directed at Torch then Stripes “he could have killed you both.”

“I should have killed you!” Torch snapped at Eagle “you used me! You’re using me just to suck up to Hemlock! You are such an arsehole!”

“If this plan works, you will be better” he hissed, just centimetres from Torch’s face “you will be the most valuable one here and you won’t have to worry about setting traps every night to stop people wanting to kill you; they will fear you! Isn’t that better?”

“Fuck you” Torch spat and stomped off down the level “you are the worst Captive ever! I hope you DIE!”

“Nice to see you too!” Eagle shouted back with a wave that enraged Torch into tossing a fireball at him that he easily dodged.

“WhY DidN’T YOu StoP It?” Stripes cried out to Eagle. His speech was warbled, and his gargling sobs were almost animalistic.

“I forgot” Eagle responded “I didn’t want all of us to be deaf. It was a dumb idea to shoot a gun in a room like that anyway.”

“I CaN’t hEAr yoU!” Stripes snorted as he grabbed onto Eagle’s arm “WhAT DiD YoU SaY?”

“I’ll be back soon” Eagle directed to me “just… don’t run off too far, ok?”

I just shrugged in return. Eagle held onto Stripes who buried his head into Eagle’s side before they both disappeared. One moment they were there, then they weren’t.

How the hell was he doing that?! What else could he do?

I slumped against the railing and faced Hemlock’s closed door as I waited. The chattering and laughter from below only made my dampened spirits sink further into the darkness gnawing at my stomach.

With everyone gone, I could let my mask slip as I drew my knees up and buried my face into them.

I was petrified of what I had to do and couldn’t reach out to anybody about it. Who would help me with a Mission that was meant to kill me? Who would even want to? The things that I had to do just to help the Base was sickening. Was this normal for everyone around here? Maybe I was just overreacting….

And what about Torch? The kid was vomiting blood for god’s sake. What did I even feel about that? Glad? Sad?

How had I gone from wanting to murder him to laughing with him? Was I that afraid of being alone that I had pathetically clung to the only thing that could help me transition me into this new life?

I wasn’t ready for this. I didn’t want to prey on an expecting mother in her time of vulnerability; I wasn’t that sort of monster. I just wanted to get a name, so I could live without fearing my shadows and whatever lurked in them.

A firm hand on my shoulder stirred me from my troubled thoughts but didn’t raise my head to see who was trying to disturb me.

“I don’t think I want to do this” I mumbled to my feet “I’m not a baby killer.”

“You have no choice” Eagle’s voice came before I felt him sit beside me “now you know how I feel doing some of the things I have to do.”

I didn’t care about Eagle's feelings. I was more worried about my own.

“I’m scared” I whimpered, tears running over my knees to spiral down my legs “how am I meant to do this when it’s wrong? I can’t do what everyone expects me to; I’m not one of you.”

My body trembled while Eagle rubbed a hand over my shoulders. He tried to get me to look up at him, but I buried back down into my knees and tried to choke back my shameful tears.

“It’ll be fine” Eagle soothed as he rubbed “I’ll be there to help you through it all. You have no choice but to do it.”

No choice…. I had to do it.

But I didn’t want to!

“It’s always scary at first, especially with the Suicide’s, but I think you’ll be perfect for it. You get to be an Outsider; most people here would kill for a job like that! As long as you are focusing on that family’s location, you can do whatever you want. You can run as far away as you like from here and no-one will be out there hunting you down. You can even go to the Other Side if you like. Essentially, you’ll be free.”

“I’m…. free?” I sniffled.

“As free as a bird” he smirked back “when Hemlock gives the word, you will be out of here. Just go get the family for me and Hemlock will give you a real name.”

He peeled the tape from my Band and flicked it over the side of the railing before getting to his feet.

“He might even push you up in ranks to be as important as me.”

I looked up at him and felt tears dripping over my smile.

That did sound good. I would have power, like Eagle, and I would be able to do what I wanted. Everyone would know me; they would remember my name.

Why would I let all of that slip through my fingers because I was crying over morality? One family was nothing compared to all the lives that would be lost here if I didn’t pursue this Mission. All they needed was a few itty-bitty lives and I would give it to them.

“I won’t let you down” I vowed as I wiped my face again and got to my feet “this Mission will be a piece of cake! The Base will be stronger!”

“Of course.”

“And Torch will be better!”

“Absolutely.”

“And I will be powerful.”

“To do what you want” Eagle nodded “as a Soul Stealer.”

“Well then, you have a deal” I smiled and shook Eagle's hand “tell me when it is time and I’ll be ready.”

Eagle had a huge grin plastered on his face as he straightened up and tried to find a place on me to pet that wasn’t covered in blood. When he couldn’t find one, he ran his hand through his black hair instead.

“You’ll be helping everyone by doing this! You’ll be a hero.”

“Let’s cure Torch first when I bring the wolf back” I babbled “if he isn’t a Creation by then.”

“Are you becoming attached?” Eagle smiled at me “there is no shame in having friends, you know.”

“I tolerate him” I mumbled back “we are not friends. You can turn him into a Creation; I don’t care.”

I saw Eagle’s smile grow warmer as he looked at my face. He began walking towards the staircase, deliberately taking his time as he stared at the roof.

“Seeing as you aren’t friends” he called back to me “I should just go and get Cosmo. I’m pretty sure he said something about his Creations being hungrier than usual…”

I rushed after Eagle to beg him for a different solution before I clamped my mouth shut and glared up at him. Eagle noticed my resistance and laughed down at it.

Fuck me! I actually cared for the waste of space. What an absolute moron I was!

“I’ll take you to your ‘not-friend’” Eagle came to a stop at the landing “but before I do, I want you to promise me something.”

“What is it?”

“Don’t tell anyone about what you agreed to just now.”

It sounded like a strange request, and I peered back at Eagle in confusion.

“They won’t see it the same way we do” he breathed “No-one else in the Base needs to know you are going after the White Wolf or that you’ll be an Outsider. If anyone asks, tell them you are on a Suicide Mission; nothing more. If the other two want to know details, tell them that you hated the idea and anything I had to say. Can you do that for me?”

I nodded to let him know I understood perfectly.

“That’s the man” Eagle beamed and grabbed onto some of my fur to make the landing melt away and be replaced by the front of Torch’s door.

“I’ll create a diversion when it is time, so we can sneak out without hassle. I’ll come around and tell you as it starts, so be prepared to leave quickly” Eagle whispered, then left me to climb Torch’s stairs alone.

I saw Torch lying on his bed blankly, staring up at the roof from the top bunk. I noticed Torch's eyes were swollen, which gave away the fact he had been crying.

“You’re back” he grunted to me, then went back to staring at the roof “did Eagle give you a hard time? He has a thing with being a cocksucking, lying, two-faced backstabber.”

“He was good” I replied, “he was pretty much quiet after you left.”

Torch didn’t seem pleased with my answer. He rolled onto his stomach and faced me while clutching his pillow.

“What am I supposed to do, Moon? One side wants to ‘help’ me with some great demon, and the other wants to feed me to those things. I’m going to die either way.”

You’ll be saved.

“And when you bring the White Wolf back, she’ll die.”

She is too valuable; she won’t die.

“Her baby will be ripped out.”

It’ll be happy and safe as one of us.

“You’ll doom the whole Base.”

I’ll make it stronger.

“And how does that make you feel, Moon; knowing that Eagle is forcing you to do this?”

“Horrible.”

Glad.