 
PLANET CHIMERA

BOOK 1

By Brian Nyaude

All rights Reserved. The characters, events, and settings of the story are all a work of fiction and a product of the writer's imagination. Any resemblance to actual person, living or dead is entirely coincidental. This book is for your personal use only. No part of this book may be reproduced, introduced or stored into retrieval system, without proper permission from the author.

Copyright © 2016 by Bryan Nyaude

ISBN-13: 978-1523601424

ISBN-10: 1523601426

Image Design by breakermaximus

Table of Contents

Author's Summary

Chapters

Acknowledgements

Other Books by Author

To the Reader:

I never intended to write this book in the first place, but I realized how vital his role was in the final saga. This book is not for the faint hearted, or for those with a weak stomach. If you are, I urge you to put the book down and find another, but if are ready to read something new, then prepare for the ride of a lifetime. You are about to embark into an alternate reality, where the lines between reality and fiction do not exist, through the eyes of the most wanted super-villain, Rave. Witness chaos and mayhem on an epic level, and watch how this monster's path brings him into the hands of Justice.

Chapters

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

1

A young night it was, a dreary wind wailing through the dark forest. I stood in the snow, my whole body cold, only wearing my boxers, and in my left hand, a long sword. The blazing fire behind me was the result of my flag-ship crashing onto this savage planet; the reason why I was almost naked was complicated. Well, basically, my clothes had burned in the crash, but I wasn't hurt because I was immortal.

"I should get going, I guess," I muttered, brushing my hair back, my eyes fixed on the forest in front of me.

I heard a howling noise, the sound rather close, coming from the west. Looking back, I observed my burning ship for a second before looking away, trudging in the opposite direction. The snow on the ground was about five inches tall, covering the grass completely, and all I could see was the white color of the snow being reflected through the moonlight. Tightening my grip on my sword, I felt the presence of something malicious stalking me, its presence lingering somewhere behind me. It followed me slowly, masking its steps with the sound of my own, as it drew closer. I think it was a chimera beast, a creature that had human genes combined with animal genes. And the fact that I had stumbled on this planet was my misfortune indeed, since this was their colony planet, and there was nothing they hated more than trespassers. Unable to take the pressure any longer, I pivoted back, my sword extended outwards, as I waited for my pursuer to come out of hiding.

"Show yourself already," I roared, turning my head left and right, my left foot placed in front of me. "I will kill you if you attack me."

As expected, nothing stirred in the darkness; it was too quiet, even for my taste. Snow flurries kept falling onto the ground. The wind picked up speed. A blizzard was coming, and in my condition, I wasn't ready to fight off any adversary. I turned around, taking off with haste, and headed for any signs of civilization in the area. I stepped on a sharp twig hidden beneath the snow and winced in pain, but I didn't stop moving. The trees, tall and short, were scattered in every direction, the whole terrain completed uneven. I came to the edge of the forest, a great depression separating the forest from the other side, which had numerous hills and valleys. To get to the other side, I had to somehow jump over the depression, a fit requiring a lot of physical power—although, it wasn't that deep, so it was possible I could go through it. Suddenly, another twig snapped, causing me to look back. I gripped my sword with both of my hands. I found myself looking directly at these great, gray eyes, the face of the beast hidden in the shadow of darkness. It let off a faint growl; its front claws dug deep in the snow. I faced off against the creature, the tip of my blade pointing at it, as I curled my back a little. It would have been nice if I was wearing some sort of garment, but unfortunately, that wasn't my choice to make.

"I just couldn't go a week without killing, could I?" I chuckled, my bloodlust taking over. I moved in closer. "This is a very bad day for you, vicious beast."

Roaring, it leaped into the air, darting on all four legs towards me, its jaw wide open. The creature appeared to be a big, white bear, with some sort of silver armor embedded into it. This was no ordinary chimera, that's for sure. Swinging from the left, in a horizontal motion, I struck the creature in the stomach with my sword, but without any success. My blade was repelled back with an equal force, almost knocked out of my hand. The bear chimera shoved me to the side, proceeding to stand up on its hind legs, its claws extended out. There were incision markings all over the creature, as if someone had done some sort of surgical procedure on it. What sort of madness was this? I rolled out of the way, taking refuge behind a tall tree, waiting for the creature to lose interest. It shrieked with rage, its eyes glowing red, as it swung against the bark of the tree, felling it against me. I moved out of the way, the tree landing a few inches from my feet with a loud thud.

"So my sword is no match against you, huh," I concluded, grazing away a few drops of blood from my chest. "In that case, I should run."

I shifted away, spinning my whole body as I ran into the depression, planning on losing the disturbed creature. It was my belief that bears were terrible at running downhill, so I had the advantage; plus, I could hide in the thick snow beneath until it was gone. Perks of being immortal!

"Darn it," I cursed beneath my breath; the creature was following, and gaining speed on me. "I should kill whoever lied to me about bears."

Jumping down, I landed in the thick snow, my legs sinking into the hailstone, the feeling in my body gone. I looked up, observing the creature do the same thing, as it landed in the snow on its hind legs. It was about ten feet in height, when standing on two legs, and it acted like it could actually understand me.

"What are you doing here?" it roared, plodding towards me, its claws extended outwards. "This planet is for chimeras only. No one else is allowed here."

"You can speak?" I replied, attempting to dig out my legs from the snow. "My ship crash-landed here, and if you don't believe me, look over there."

"Oh, I believe you all right." It sniffed, its claws a few inches from me. "I believe you are a spy, sent here to destroy us."

"If that was true, don't you think I would have killed you by now?" I asked it, laughing after. "On second thought, I should kill you."

"Puny human," it boomed, taking a swipe at my head with its right claw. "I will end your life right now."

My blade clashed with its claws, the weight of its paw pressing down against me. My legs sank further into the snow. It pulled back its arm, attacking again with its other hand from the opposite direction. I cocked my head down, tracking the creature's arm, hoping to find some weakness in its defense. I was so cold, so numb, that I could barely think straight. Wait—I still had my magic abilities. But in my current dilemma, I doubt I could focus enough to conjure up something powerful.

"Ow," I yelled, my chest bleeding from a deep wound the bear chimera had inflicted upon me. "That actually hurt, you know."

"Must kill you," it hissed, pressing on with its vicious attacks, not letting me even recover.

"Sheruven," I muttered, throwing a telekinetic incantation upon myself.

My body was shot into the air like a bullet, and I landed on the other side of the depression. Were it not for my immortality, the fall could have killed me. There was blood on the back of my head, and my left leg felt sprained. I stood up, noticing that I had lost my last weapon, and walked towards the hole to look down.

"Oh, come on," I screamed with rage, my left hand clenching into a fist. "What sort of beast are you?"

My attempt to elude the creature had failed—it was darting up towards me without any discomfort at all. Seconds later, we were facing each other again, fists against claws, surrounded by rocks and trees. The winds ravaged everything in their wake, the snow falling more heavily than before. Spreading my feet, grinning, I took a defensive position, waiting for the monstrous abomination to attack first. I had always bested my foes in single combat because they didn't know about my immortality; however, against this chimera, I wasn't sure of what to do. And I could only use one magic spell per day, meaning I was in trouble.

"Do you want to die that badly?" I asked, laughing in an evil way, my whole body shivering. "I would be happy to accommodate your request."

"The only one to die here is you," it roared, swinging its powerful claws at me, its jaw spread apart, displaying its powerful, sharp teeth.

I rolled to the left, picking up a large rock, and hurled it at the monster. The rock hit the chimera's snout, only agitating the creature. I threw another rock, hitting its left knee, before turning around and climbing up a massive boulder. To my left, a few miles beneath the mountain, I saw what looked like lights. It was a village of some sort, big enough to hold a hundred people or so. It would take me at least half an hour to reach it, assuming I could best this beast. As I stood on top of the large rock, I looked down, making taunts at the chimera that was lingering beneath the rock. Anger flashed in its eyes. It attacked the rock, and to my delight, its claws could not penetrate through it. The bear chimera swiped at the rock for a few more minutes, before giving up, turning around, and plodding towards the forest.

"I will not fall for that," I yelled, staying on top of the rock, as I looked down at the small town.

The chimera bear might have retreated back into the forest, or it could have pretended to leave—either way, I wasn't taking any chances. I sat on the rock, my arms wrapped around my chest, scouting the area for the chimera. Sighing, I closed my eyes, my mind in a daze of discomforting thoughts. A few hours ago, I had been on my way to the Felten Galaxy on an assassination mission; it was what I would call a vacation trip for me. I remembered passing by the side of this planet when my ship's scanners started to blink rapidly. Seconds later, I was shot down by some unknown projectile. Now here I am—trapped on this savage planet, being stalked by who knows what.

After a good half hour, I jumped down from the rock, my feet landing roughly against the smaller rocks. I stormed off into the blizzard, trying to make it to the town. I could barely see anything around me; it was so windy and dark. The snow in the ground made my journey difficult. I stumbled against the trees, coughing, and I fell to one knee. The shadow of the town was within my eyesight, and yet it was so far away. My strength was failing me. The only thing keeping me alive was my curse—my immortality. I stood back up again, determined, hoping to make it to the town before my whole body froze into a block of ice.

"Come on, Rave, you can make it," I encouraged myself, trudging slowly through the snow.

Thanks to the horrible blizzard, the bear chimera never appeared before me again, but what awaited me was a task far worse than facing off against it. I descended down the hill, the trees growing fewer in numbers, the snow thick as ever. I could no longer feel anything beneath my thighs; my hands had also grown numb. Darkness camouflaged everything, the wind whirling uncontrollably in every direction. At last, I managed to reach the small town, but it was not how I imagined it to be. Small houses, with second-story floors above, were lined perfectly on one side. On the other side, the shopping center, the pub, and local precinct were stacked side by side in the same manner. A double paved road awaited me, with ancient auto-mobile crafts parked on the side. I had heard that chimeras preferred this sort of steam-punk-like environment, but I had never guessed it to be true. This was definitely going to throw a tinge into my plans. Wiping the snow off my right shoulder, I strolled towards the pub, hoping to warm myself with some good ale. The fact that the streets were missing pedestrians crossed my mind, but I didn't think too much of it.

"Here goes nothing," I muttered, opening the wooden door, my eyes tracking the light coming from beneath the door.

I was greeted by curious eyes, the smell of fine wine and food making my stomach hurt. The pub was very small, with a window on each corner, a dozen marble tables, and a large shelf with different bottles of wine and spirits, all stacked neatly behind the bartender's large table.

"Goodness, young master, are you all right?" a man approached me, a look of concern on his face.

He placed his right hand on my scarred chest as he took a handkerchief, placed some alcohol upon it, and rubbed it against my chest. The man, in his early fifties, wore a fine hat of leather, a brown suit, a black bowtie to match his black vest, and black, leather shoes. He had a sporty mustache, a solid jaw, and a monocle glass on his right eye.

"Where are your robes?" he asked, examining my body for any more fatal injuries. "Someone fetch this young man a fine, hot beverage, and some clean clothes."

"Thank you, my good sir," I replied, taking a seat by the fire, my fingers still numb but shaking. "It was not my intention to intrude on this beautiful planet of yours, but I was shot down by some unknown projectile, and I ended up crash-landing in the forest."

"Oh, you poor child," he commented, handing me what looked like tea as he took a seat next to me. "It's a miracle that you survived the crash, and even more so that you were not harmed by the beasts that lurk within those dangerous woods."

I nodded, placing the cup on the floor, so I could pick up the clothes someone had placed on the floor next to me. "I am grateful for your hospitality. If it's not any trouble, I would like a ship to continue on my journey."

"It would be our pleasure to offer you a lift home, but I'm afraid we're all stranded in this fearsome weather, cut off from the world. Our troubles lie in the dark plague that haunts us when the sun goes down."

Man, talking to these idiots in such a manner was irritating me to the core. The way they dressed, the way they smiled, and the way they spoke to me, as if I were some sort of child, irritated me greatly. Beating and robbing them would have been far much easier of a choice for me, but I was under orders to practice restraint.

"What sort of darkness haunts your great town?" I asked, putting on the trousers and shirt, my back a few feet from the fire. "If I catch this monster for you, would you let me borrow one of your ships? I have an important task, and I would like to get back to it as soon as possible."

"Are you mad?" the bartender, a middle-aged woman, spat, her hair wrapped inside a red crochet hat. "What can you do against such creatures? Even our greatest warriors dare not. You are better off staying here until winter ends; it's easier that way."

"No, I have to leave within the next three days," I growled, my right hand forming into a fist, my gaze on the squeaky floor. "I have a very important mission I must partake, and time is of the essence."

"And what exactly is so important about this mission of yours?" a girl asked. She sat next to the far left window. "Why are you so determined to go?"

The girl, roughly my age if I was mortal, had long, red hair, dark, curious eyes, high cheekbones, thin pink lips, and a very slender physique. She wore a bright, white blouse, with a golden scarf around her neck, and a black dress with stripes on the edges. Some sort of mechanical contraption with gears was belted on her waist, and a small gun was strapped behind her left boot. She reached for her cup, took a small gulp, and placed it down, her eyes still fixated on me.

"My mission is not of your concern, my dear lady," I replied, taking a bow as I stood up. "But it is important that I make a hasty return to it as soon as possible."

"Listen here, buddy," she interrupted, standing up, her arms on her waist. "I don't know what your mission is, nor do I care to know, but you can't leave this planet without a ship—and in this blizzard, no one would dare risk their life to aid you in your quest. You don't even have any money."

"I can repay you with my skills," I added, walking towards the bartender. I ordered their finest and strongest beverage. "I have skills that might help you fight off whatever is troubling you."

"Listen, you, I don't..." she rattled, pacing towards me, her left index finger pointed at my head.

"Oh, come now, Salyanna." The man with the monocle glass stopped her, his right hand in her path. "There is no need for name-calling. I am sure it was just a coincidence that this man has shown up on our doorstep. If he says he can help, I say we should give him a chance. Perhaps, there is something he can do, even if it's a little."

"Yes, I shall not fail you," I replied, my anger swirling out of control. "I will destroy what plagues this town, and then I shall take my leave."

"Well, now that's settled, we should find you a place to sleep," the man continued, his hand reaching out for his pocket watch. "I think Baron Smith shall be able to offer you a place to lodge for the night. And tomorrow, you can have a chat with the constable about your departure plans, though not all of us take kindly to outsiders."

"I understand." I bowed, putting on a jacket, my mind drawn somewhere else.

"Good." He grinned, walking towards the door. "Follow me, stranger."

Saying goodbye to all of the remaining people, I took my leave, following after the strange man, whose name I had forgotten to ask. All of them were chimeras, but unlike the other savages in the forest, they were well-mannered and could control their human sides with ease. I wasn't sure why they were acting like they belonged in a different century, but I didn't bother asking; it seemed rude to do so.

"So, what's your name, young one?" the man asked, gesturing me to enter his road vehicle, a smile on his face.

"I am Rave Fireheart, sir," I replied, entering the passenger side, sitting on the comfortable leather seat. "And who might you be, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Oh, where are my manners?" he replied, cranking the dial-up engine by winding it with a lever. "You may call me Mr. Dupon. I am the mayor of this lovely, little town."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, sir. I am just a simple space traveler," I lied, my whole body vibrating from the rumbling engine of the road locomotive.

"Likewise, son." He nodded, shifting gears, exhaling slowly.

We left the side of the snow-riddled road, the weather taking a toll for the worst, moving east towards the outskirt houses. I shifted my gaze, breathing softly, my hands placed upon my lap. I felt rather uncomfortable. Something powerful and evil lurked around here, and it was watching me. It seemed my goal not to kill anyone for a week was going to get postponed.

"So, what ails you, my good sir? What seems to be troubling your great town, if I may ask?"

"Oh, rubbish! It is nothing to concern yourself with, young traveler. Just get some good night's rest and we can continue tomorrow."

As he finished speaking, he turned the vehicle left, and drove to the last house in the outskirts of town. It was a mansion of grand manner, about four stories tall, with two separate towers on the sides. There was a barn a few yards from the house, the whole manor covering a vast area in size. Since it was covered in snow, it was hard to make a clear, vivid description of the color of the house and what was around the yard. The mayor stopped his vehicle by the golden, barred gate, and a guard walked over to us, leaning over to take a peek. He wore a green suit with black stripes on the cuffs, a pair of golden buttons on his blazer, and a black hat. What caught my attention were his pointy fingers, like that of a lion. He also had an awful lot of facial hair for a human; plus his eyes looked like those of an eagle.

"Always a pleasure to see you, Mayor," he commented, leaning over the open window, hot air coming out of his mouth. "And who might you be, sir?"

"This is our guest for the time being, Nelson. I trust you will keep him safe?" the mayor added, his mustache shifting slightly, a shady look on his face. "He'll be staying at the manor until this bad weather ceases."

"Of course, Mayor. Anything you say." He nodded, his eyes upon me, a smirk on his face. "I hope you have informed him about the rules as well."

"Oh, I intend to, Nelson. I intend to," he replied, closing the window, as the gate opened up wide.

We passed through it, the vehicle shaking from the snow trapped on the tire groves. The engine roared in a deafening sound. After the mayor stopped the vehicle by the stairs closest to the main entrance, we both exited the vehicle, scurrying quickly out of the snow. The mayor, shivering in the snow, knocked against the door using the hard end of this cane. He glanced back to smile at me. His nose had turned blue, and a few specks of snow were trapped on the strands of his mustache. I heard the door unlock, and a man dressed in a butler's costume came to greet us. He was a polite fellow, dressed in black attire, a white bowtie, and white gloves on his hands. With a graceful bow, he waved us inside, an annoying smile on his face, too. The mayor glided inside with haste, and I followed after, but before the door closed, I took a quick look back at the snow-covered ground. What a day this was turning out to be.

"Before we go any further, I would like to explain a few ground rules, my dear boy." The mayor holstered his pocket watch, a timid look on his aging face. "You will get your own room, just like everyone else residing here, but at night, no one must wander the corridors at any cost. There are things around here that cannot be explained by the naked eyes, things best left avoided. If you hear any screams, you better stay in your room and keep your door locked."

"I see," I replied, glancing at the stairs. "I understand, sir. I'll obey all the rules."

"Good, good." He quivered, then turned around to lead me through the mansion. "All the accommodations have been arranged for you."

Looking left, I spotted a small boy, roughly eight years old, peeking at me from the corner of the door. He had black, shabby hair, thin cheekbones, a pointy, thin nose, and tanned skin. Not exactly sure if he was a chimera or not, but there were small holes around his lips, like someone had tried to sew them shut. His fingers were also scarred horribly. If this wasn't a red flag, I didn't know what was. What was I walking into? It would have been easier to beat up half the town with my bare hands, kill them if necessary; however, these new developments were peaking my disturbed mind with curiosity. I want to see what horrors await me, I thought.

"So, will I be able to take my leave tomorrow?" I asked, watching the butler, walking next to me, his arms in front of him. He looked and acted like a mannequin.

"In this blizzard, you will be lucky if you can even walk to the gate," he replied, his feet stomping through the red carpet, as he lifted up his cane.

"This is an exquisite mansion, if I may say so," I commented, admiring the chandelier above me. The lighting made the whole living room look absolutely perfect. "Who owns this fine house? I have to congratulate them for their fine taste."

"That would be me," a gentleman, holding a gold cane in his right hand, walked out of a hidden room on the left. "It's not every day I get to talk to people who see share my taste."

"Well, it is a splendid work of art, sir. I am honored to be staying here for the night," I added, extending my right hand out to shake his hand.

"Ah! Mayor, it is always a pleasure to see you." He shifted away from me, shaking the mayor's hand, the tip of his golden cane inches from the ground.

He wore fine robes made of red silk and a white shirt with a golden collar; his loose pajama pants draped over his black slippers. The owner of the mansion was also a man in his early forties or so, and he looked like the scholar type because of the books on his many shelves. Like the mayor, he bore a rather awful-looking brown mustache, with a small goatee on his square jaw, and he had devious eyes. A sinister energy surrounded him, the kind of presence I knew to be wary of, but I didn't show the suspicions I was harboring. My foolhardy decision to waltz into this town was definitely noted.

Taking a few steps in front me, my hands out of my pockets, I took notice of the amazing library inside the mansion. Thousands of thick, ancient books were shelved neatly in the next compartment of the large mansion, the carpet on the floor ending at the edge of the library.

"Oh, so you like books, too?" the owner asked, turning his attention towards me, something moving behind his robes. "Who is your favorite author?"

"I like Neal Collener. Not sure if you've heard of him, but he was a fine author back in the day," I responded, taking notice of everything around me in case a situation I didn't like arose. "He was the inspiration for the advancements of the chimera and cyborg revolution."

"Of course, he was." He laughed, patting me on the right shoulder as he led us through the library. "He is one of my favorite authors as well, but I have always been a fan of Morbide Fancy, a splendid fellow indeed."

Suddenly, a long, bushy tail sprouted from underneath his robes. It reached out and grabbed a book that was shelved on the wall. When it curled down, it handed the book to the owner, and he took it with his hands. He turned around, acting as if nothing had happened, and opened the book to the first chapter.

"I have the first book Neal ever published and it's autographed, isn't that amazing?" he boasted, his eyes a bit teary.

"Why, yes, sir, I can only imagine the excitement you have for such a rare find," I lied, growing weary of this small talk.

"If it pleases you, Baron Smith, I will be taking my leave now," the mayor interrupted, shaking the owner's hand, before turning around to shake my hand. "I leave this young man in your capable hands, and hopefully, we can all meet tomorrow to chat over a cup of almond tea."

"Tomorrow then, old friend," Baron Smith said, nodding with respect as he watched the mayor dawdle away, his cane tucked underneath his right armpit.

Turning my head around, sniffing something pleasant, I noticed that the butler had disappeared without notice, leaving me alone with the egotistical baron. Soft winds howled outside, the window on the left wall covered halfway with snow. For such a big house, it was awfully quiet.

"You must be tired from your long journey, child," he continued, placing the book on the large, wooden table, next to a contraption with moving gears. "You can go and leave your belongings in your quarters and I will send my butler to your room with some tasty pastries, if you like."

"Thank you, Baron." I smiled, taking another bow in respect, before turning around to walk away. "I am very tired from my long journey, and I haven't slept for a while. I bid thee good night, and I will see you at the crack of dawn."

"Tomorrow then," he added, proceeding to sit down, as he took a smoking pipe and placed on his lips.

2

I left the library, sighing in a lazy manner, and walked back to the living room towards the stairs leading up to the second floor. An eerie echo lingered in the corners of the mansion. The feeling as if I was being watched increased, and then butler emerged from thin air next to me. If I had a faint heart, I would have shrieked like a little girl, but I didn't. Was he a ghost or some other sort of apparition?

"This way, sir," he muttered in a cold voice, walking in front of me like a wind-up soldier. I noticed the hidden knife in his left pocket bulging out. "I shall show you to your quarters."

"Tell me something, butler. Am I the only guest residing in this manor, aside from the owner, the child, and yourself?"

"No, sir," he replied, walking up the stairs, his movements a bit stiff. "The other guests have already eaten their dinner, and are now tucked in their rooms, probably sleeping."

"Good to know," I finished. Unsatisfied with his plain responses, my mind riled up with anger.

Too much time had been wasted talking to these buffoons; if I had just gone along with my first plan, I could have stolen one of their ships and have been safely on my way towards my rendezvous point. But I still had a few days to get there, so I was okay for the moment.

"There is no leaving, once you are inside the town. There is no leaving," a small voice chanted through a small door opening on the right side of the second-story floor. "Once you are here, they will come for you."

"Enough with your nonsense. Away with you," the butler shouted, closing the door from the outside. "Can't you see that we have guest, you foolish child?"

"What did he mean by that?" I asked impatiently, growing tired of being yo-yoed around by townsfolk.

"Oh, don't mind him, sir. It's just child nonsense, nothing more than that," he replied, not looking me in the eye.

My irascibility with his inexcusable actions was thankfully masked by an unexpected scream from another room a few yards away from me. The butler, to my amazement, ignored this noise of distress, continuing towards my room. He stopped by the last room on the right, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a silver key, and then he opened it for me. He gestured for me to enter, his eyes cold and lifeless. Despite his intolerable manner, he was very courteous and respectful; I think I was going to spare his life, after all.

"Anything else you want, sir?" he asked, his gloved hand placed on the golden knob, a stern look on his clean-shaven face.

"That will be all, butler," I responded, removing my brown fur coat, and placing it on the bed. "I shall rest now."

He nodded, blinking, a faint smile on his face, and then he closed the door and left me in the peace of my quarters. The room was small, one-quarter the size of the living room and an oil lamp was mounted on each dark gray wall. My word, these people really were living a few centuries in the past, a thing that annoyed me deeply. I was so used to technology that I found it a bit difficult to adjust to these new developments. Sighing, I scratched my head, facing a wooden table on my left: three old books on top of it, a feathery pen with a jar of ink beside it, and a few scrolls mounted on a shelf above the table. A king-size bed with a flowery duvet lay next to the wall with the window. It had five fluffy pillows, and a copper bed warmer was placed on top of the covers. The floor wasn't carpeted. Instead, it was made of a marble-like substance, and it absorbed every noise I made with my feet. I walked over to the window, peering through the part of the glass that was not covered in snow, hoping to catch a glimpse of anything that could incite concern.

The moon shined greatly, the snow piling heavily onto the ground. The powerful blizzard was progressing in an unnatural way. Nothing about any of this made any sense to me. What sort of madness was causing this anomaly? I expected, by the time dawn approached, the whole terrain would be buried in ten or more inches of snow, forcing everyone to stay inside for several weeks to come. No, I can't comply with that, I thought, I have a mission to complete.

Sitting on the bed, my hands placed on the duvet covers, I forced my boots off my feet, my mind filled with anxiety. I was definitely stuck on this planet, meaning my primary mission had to be aborted. I heard another scream from the room next to me, causing me to shift up on my feet. Something suspicious was happening inside this manor. I prowled silently to the wall, placing my left ear against it, and tried to hear what was happening on the other side. Two voices were whispering something to each other; there was also a scratching noise.

"What's the point?" I shrugged stoically, falling onto the bed.

It was about ten p.m. in the evening, two hours before midnight, according to the old clock on top of the door. I unveiled the duvet and shoved my body inside it, trying to get some sleep before this night took a very dark turn. I closed my eyes, but I never was able to sleep peacefully. All of my dreams were nothing short of horrific nightmares since the moment I acquired my immortality. At first, sleeping disturbed me greatly, but l learned to cope with the madness swirling inside my head, and was able to faintly sleep through them.

"I hope I survive this treacherous night," I whispered, closing my eyes, breathing softly.

3

At midnight, the clock tinged with a faint bell sound, the room dark and cold. I opened my eyes, the eerie echo looming as I dressed back into my borrowed clothes. By now, everyone should've been asleep—the corridors should be empty. I prowled to the door, attempting to open it from the inside, but as I expected, it was locked from the outside. They were specifically clear about not letting anyone wander around the corridors at night. And without my tools of the trade, there was no way I was going to pick the lock and open the door.

I turned around and strolled over to the window, testing the metal hinges for weakness, hoping to use it as a point of exit. I placed my weight against the window, putting pressure against the hinges, and I forced it ajar. Strong winds blew into the room, a heavy shower of snowflakes falling over my bed, the cold air numbing my face. Covering my head with a hood, I hopped through the window, shutting it behind me. Balancing my weight over the ledge, I tip-toed over to the window of the next room and peeked over to see what was inside. It was dark, and the bed next to the window had been ruffled. The covers lay on the floor, the pillows over by the door. Adding to my astonishment, the window was cracked open. I opened the window the rest of the way and entered through it. I landed on the bed, my knees bending inwards.

"What in blazes?" I exclaimed when I almost fell to the ground, due to some slippery liquid on floor.

It was red and thick in nature. This looked like blood. A great struggle had taken place inside this small suite. The scrolls had been torn asunder, the shelf leaning crooked to the right, and what looked like claw marks dug deep into the wooden table. This was getting too creepy for my explicit taste. I heard movements coming from the corridor outside, and I turned around, heading for the window. But before I could exit, I caught a glimpse of what looked like an index finger by the edge of the bed, dried blood around it. If this wasn't a sign of force mutilation or murder, I truly didn't know what was. I exited through the window, convinced that I needed to investigate further. The blizzard storm, the missing people, my appearance here—they were somehow connected, like a jigsaw puzzle.

I skipped over the tile, my body tensing, as I made my way to another room to have a look. If there were anymore disappearances, any more body parts or messes on the floor, then I would be thoroughly convinced that something mischievous was happening in this compound. The next room was a few yards away from me, with barred panel windows and a small porch for the guest to sit and look over the horizon. It must belong to some important resident, I thought. Leaping over the roof, I landed on the porch, making a slight noise with my feet, but in this weather, my sound would remain concealed. I peered from the corner into the room. One lamp was lit by the left side of the door, and the boy from before was sitting by the desk, his head buried in a set of books. The porch door next to the window was heavily secured, so the only way in was to have him open the door for me from the inside. My better judgment advised me against this direct approach. After all, I was supposed to be sleeping in my bed, locked inside my quarters, until the crack of dawn. I would have heeded this warning, if this was a different circumstance, but it was not an ordinary situation. Looking left and then right, I advanced towards the door, revealing my face before knocking on the door. The boy turned around, our eyes meeting each other. For a second, he froze with terror. Then he jumped out of his seat, and he walked to the door, a look of fearful-excitement clouding his small, freckled face. Opening the door, he took a few steps back, so I could enter his room.

"I mean you no harm, child," I whispered, my hands anchored above my head, taking slow steps into the room. "I just need a few questions answered, if you don't mind."

"You're the new guest, right?" he asked, the fear that once clutched him gone. He returned to his desk.

"I'm just a man passing by," I replied, closing the porch door behind me. "Do you mind if I sit down?"

"Do as you like. It's a free planet, mister."

"I would like to know what you meant by those words you were chanting. When you said no one can leave this town? And who will come for you?"

"It is exactly as I said, mister. I am impressed you caught that and managed to sneak out of your room, without rousing any suspicions from the outside guards."

"Your words are kind, child, but if you don't mind, please reveal the message behind those lyrics. I fear I am being hunted by something dark and powerful."

"Please don't make me divulge secrets that could put the both of us in any further danger, for they are always watching, always waiting to prey on the guests."

"I shall not tell another soul, you have my word, so please tell me something. I promise to protect you with my life."

"Take heed, stranger, not everything in this town is what it seems. The creatures of the night will come for you, just like they came for me and other guests, and when they do—do not struggle."

"I shall take arms and fend for myself; they have no idea who they are truly dealing with," I responded, laughing after, a feeling of sheer excitement consuming me.

It would certainly be nice to have something to take out my frustrations on, especially with this unwanted delay costing me my mission. But just like that, something broke through the window, sending glass, wind, and snow surging through it. I turned my head around, squinting, covering my chest and face with my arms. The powerful wind howled, the cold air making it hard to breathe. Something was standing on the porch. It was about seven feet tall, with big, glowing eyes, and it wore a dark, tattered robes. On the robe's cuffs, I saw what looked like a twin set of hook blades of black and gray coloring, the hilts concealed beneath the ragged clothing.

"The monsters have come for me," the boy cried, reaching for the door, but it was also locked. "Please, mister, help me."

"I may not be a nice man, young one, but my word is my bond," I spoke, standing between the child and the horrendous monster, both of my fists clenched.

"Who be ye?" it asked, stretching its arms out, its talon-like feet sticking out from underneath the robes. "Stand aside, I only need one of you."

"Who be I?" I responded, laughing. "Well, I be the one to take your jaw off."

"You talk too much for such a small fry," it roared, bolting towards me, its blades pointed for my head.

The creature swung for my head, but I ducked down, watching for an opening. Playing dirty was definitely one thing I was good at. Based on what I could perceive, it wasn't going to be easy to get close and kill the creature with a quick jab to the heart. The creature had a beak, like that of a eagle, and metallic chest armor shone from beneath the robes. A set of gears shifted components behind its back, which moved like mechanical wings. I had only seen something like this once, but...No, perhaps I was mistaken; after all, he was dead.

"Run, mister," the child cried, watching the blade pierce through my left shoulder, his face filled with terror.

Swerving left, I parried away the two other blades on its right hand, moving back to recuperate. The creature holstered the red-stained blades into the air, next to its face, and licked the blood off with its long tongue. Its eyes widened, its whole body shaking, and it removed the tattered clothing to reveal what it was hiding underneath. My word, I was repulsed. Who would do such a thing? I mean, I was a villain too, but not this bad. So many scars, so many incisions. It was as if someone had ripped the poor creature apart and just sewed it back up with different parts to make it more menacing.

"Your blood is wonderful, it is pure bliss," it hissed, tilting its back down, the tips inches from the floor. "I must have more. I need moooooreee!"

With that said, the abomination darted for me, striking with its clawed swords. I dodged left and right, bending down whenever it swung in a horizontal motion. Even though I was being pressured, the challenge was exciting me. It would certainly bring me sheer joy to kill this beast. Break its beak, I thought, or break its neck. I had so many ways I wanted to kill it, but I decided to take my time and enjoy the carnage and mayhem while I still could.

"You are fast, I will grant you that," I commented, blinking, clapping in appraisal a few seconds after. "Not a lot of people can push me back like this, but then again, I haven't even been trying to fight back."

"You talk too much," it bellowed, using its beak to attack.

I stepped back, my shoulders hitting the door, and rolled out of the way, grabbing a metal scroll that had fallen beneath the table. I bashed the creature in the head three times, felling it to the ground, before picking up the wooden table and smashing it against its spine. Whirling in pain, it spread its metallic wings, the gears spinning in every direction, and it took for the air. Winds raged through the room, the snow starting to pile up an inch over the floor. The creature turned around, smiling. Opening its mouth, fire roared, spreading through every inch of the room. I ran towards the child, shielding him from harm. I didn't flinch even as my flesh was being melted off.

"Impossible! What are you?" the creature asked, landing on the wet floor, its wings flapping against the powerful wind. "You should have burned to death."

"Perhaps, foul creature, but I am under no obligation to explain myself to you," I roared, sprinting forward, my left arm curled back. "This is where you shall perish."

Pulling back, the creature roared another blaze of intense fire, but I plodded through it, shoving my left hand into its mouth. I grabbed the bottom part of the beak and thrashed the beast to the ground, just as my flesh was starting to return to my burnt body. Perks of being immortal!

"Now, what shall your punishment be?" I asked, stepping on its left leg, and breaking its femur. "How do you want to perish? By my hands or in this blizzard?"

"Mercy," it pleaded, trying to stand up. "I was only following orders."

"Mercy is for the weak," I replied, crushing its foot with my leg. "And you, my friend, are not weak. How many others were there before me? How many others did you take before you came for us?"

"Only ninety," it replied, using its arms to try to escape. "Please, have mercy."

"Like I told you before, mercy is for the weak," I roared, jumping into the air, my left knee angled. I dealt it a lethal blow to the spine.

The creature shrieked, its tongue sticking out, before it went numb and silent. Grabbing the unconscious creature, I raised it above my head and threw it as hard as I could against the door. Its body crashed through the wooden door, landing in the corridor. Blood splattered everywhere.

"I suggest we move." I patted the boy, who looked more scared of me than of the creature.

"Are you human?" he asked, shivering, his arms wrapped around his chest.

"I don't know anymore," I said, an unsettling thought in my mind, and I turned around, walking towards the corridor. "Perhaps, one day, I will tell you of how I came to be."

The boy marched through the broken door, following me, as a familiar voice shouted from the first floor. I heard footsteps and what sounded like two people arguing before Baron Smith and his butler appeared before us. The baron bore an angry look on his face. He had changed into silver, silk pajamas and wore a yellow sleeping cap on his head, his golden cane in his right hand. Stopping in front of us, breathing hard, he looked at the boy before turning his gaze towards me.

"Do you have any idea what you have done?" he screamed at me, his face inches from mine, as his eyes turned bloody red. "He will come for all of us now. You have killed his minion and he never forgives."

Grabbing his shoulder, I pulled him towards me, giving him two mean slaps to both cheeks. "Who is this person you are talking about? If you don't answer me, I will do worse things to you."

"Unhand him, you piece of scum," the butler hissed, pulling off his white gloves. He revealed hairy, clawed hands. "Do it this instance, or I shall have your head."

"Goodness, butler, do you cook with those hands? How many germs do those things you call hands carry?" I asked in a joking manner whilst keeping a good grip on Baron Smith's collar. "It's a good thing I ate before I came to this manor."

"You hit my master, insulted my integrity as a Scotchman butler, and for that, I will have your head," he hissed, removing his black jacket and placing it gently onto the table stand next to the stairs leading to the third floor. "I shall show you no mercy, stranger. Prepare for battle."

He walked up to a fourteenth century knight's armor, which I had not noticed until now, and drew the sword that was sheathed from its scabbard. He swung it in the air, revealing his fine swordsmanship, and he turned around to face me.

"This should be fun," I mumbled, throwing the blue-skinned Baron onto the ground. I took a few steps forward.

Skeptical of my true strength, the butler kept his distance, his sword extended in front of him as he watched me with unblinking eyes. There was something about him that was unnatural, something I had sensed the moment I met him. Even when he was in a fighting stance, he barely moved a muscle, like he was some sort of android. Baron Smith and the child moved back, letting us face off against each other without any further disturbances.

"Here I come," I yelled with confidence, a foolish trait that I developed after I became immortal.

Raising my leg up, I threw a powerful right kick, aiming for his chest, but at the last second, he deflected it with the hilt of the blade. He swerved down, his eyes cold and deadly, and dealt me a fine blow to the thigh with his sword. I would have lost my fine leg, had I not relaxed it upon feeling the sharp steel pressed against my flesh. I moved back, blood oozing out of my leg, the confidence inside me gone. This was no ordinary house butler—he had excellent fighting instincts, and he was doing all of that without shifting into his chimera form. Silly shenanigans were not going to work against such a foe, meaning I had to become a little serious against him. I reckon twenty percent of my true physical power would suffice.

Once the blood had stopped falling to floor, I bent my knees, inhaling a large dose of cold air. The butler shifted his stance, raising the sword above his chest, the pointy end of weapon facing the ceiling. As long as he had the weapon, it would be hard to fight him with my bare hands. And as he kept his gaze at me, I noticed that the position in his feet had changed. A maddening feeling was pouring out of him. He threw a hidden kitchen knife at me first, before dashing as quickly as possible behind it, his sword facing the ground. He intended to strike and finish me off as I dodged the knife, a smart move on his part. But I intentionally let the knife hit me in the chest, my eyes adjusting to his speed, and I pulled out the kitchen knife, using it to parry off his perfect attack. His eyes widened, a surprise look forming on his once stiff face, the strength and speed in his attack nullified.

"You should have stayed in the kitchen." I grinned, spraying some of my blood onto his face. "Because you are mine now!"

With elegance, he maneuvered back, deflecting all of my rampage attacks without even looking at me, my blood still stuck on his face. He pulled out the finest, white handkerchief from his left pocket, unveiled it with ease, and wiped his face. Our blades clashed, our strengths evenly matched —he was doing that without even looking at me.

"I commend you for your strength, butler. I can see why you were chosen."

"Appraisal from one who is not my master or of noble birth is hardly worth noticing."

"You are such an uptight stuck-up, aren't you?"

"Your childish mockery does not work on me, stranger."

Pressing more weight, the length of his sword playing to his advantage, he pushed me back against the wall. I landed against the silver armor, causing it to fall to the floor, creating a ruckus of clanking pieces of metal. Armor pieces went everywhere. I coughed a bit, my hands growing rather numb due to the winds and snow blowing through the opening in the corridor. The skilled butler took advantage of the opportunity, plunging his sword into my chest. As he withdrew, his left arm snaked into a hidden pocket beneath his suit, and he pulled out a secret device. He turned his gaze towards me, an evil smile on his face, and the device in his hands began spinning. It looked like a golden cube; it had several tiny holes on the sides, from which air was blowing out.

"Master, please, I suggest we leave this area at once before the device blows up," he said, his voice calm and steady. "I believe this will be the last time we see our guest alive."

"Good heavens," Baron Smith exclaimed, picking up his cane. His sleeping cap slipped off his head, landing on top of a few flakes of snow. "This house is priceless, Ronald, so please try to be careful."

"Very well, master." He bowed his head, turning towards me as he took three steps closer and dropped the cube. "Goodbye, stranger."

Upon seeing the bizarre object fall into my lap, my shoulder pinned against the wall by the blade, I moved my leg outwards, wrapping them around the butler. He exhaled quickly, attempting to pry my legs from his, but it was too late for the both of us. The device exploded in a powerful bang, the floor and the wall quaking from the surge of energy it released. My whole body felt hot, and I barely saw anything but a white light, before it all went quiet.

The wind raged through the openings, the floor on the second floor slightly depressed. I coughed up black blood, my whole body completely charcoal, and the burns on my body oozed with liquid. Standing up was so painful. Despite my amazing ability to heal, the pain was intolerable.

"Cannot compute," a robotic voice spoke. Loud thuds from something heavy echoed through the ashy floor. "What are you?"

"So this is what you are, eh, butler?" I smiled, surprised by my own stupidity for not recognizing this sooner. "It explains a lot."

In front of me, next to several fragments of metallic armor, the butler stood, and in his metallic hands, his sword. He was neither human nor chimera; he was actually an artificial human, created through some sick and twisted work of science. The skin on his face had peeled off, revealing a metallic nose. Silver coated his fake teeth, his smooth cheeks, and outlined a pair of bright, blue eyes. But how was this possible? I wouldn't have noticed his true identity if I hadn't trapped him in the explosion with me. Standing up, most of my skin healed, my ribs still popping. I raised my hands up, taking a defensive stance. It had been certainly a mistake to underestimate this butler robot. He trudged towards me, the cold weather not affecting him, and he holstered the sword above his head, his jaw opening up wide. Several gears were moving inside his mouth, the length between his upper and lower jaw widening beyond any physical limit; he was up to something. But before he could proceed with his plan, something rattled through the house, the noise coming from the third floor. The robot butler, with smoke oozing from his ragged clothes, turned around and dropped the sword. He made a hasty retreat.

"Must protect my master," he kept muttering, as he climbed up the wooden stairs, his attention drawn away from me.

"This is getting too weird," I sighed, but my curiosity took control. I ran after him.

The mansion was hit again from below, the noise of shattering walls, windows, and doors too hard to ignore. Something was causing this, and it was something that might have been caused by my interference. Surges of snowy winds blew through the house, causing the small fire in the oil lamps to die out. The warm temperature in the house plummeted. I saw what looked like small children, dressed in similar sleeping gowns, descend with haste from the third floor, a set of unfamiliar adults guiding them from behind. Judging from the look of terror on their faces, it was safe to conclude that they were running away from something.

"This way, children. Come now," a man, with wavy black hair and large glasses, hollered as he guided them to the first floor. Then he saw me. "Sir, please turn around and come with us. I fear the mansion is no longer safe."

"Where is the baron?" I asked, my heart rate slow and steady. "I wish to have words with him."

"Oh dear," he gasped, his eyes avoiding mine, "I fear that our good host has been taken hostage by the monsters that have begun to plunder his house. I saw it happen, with my own two eyes, but fear stopped me from giving the noble man my assistance."

"And what of the butler? Does Ronald still live?"

"Yes, he does; however, when he arrived, it was too late. He was not his usual self—I mean, his appearance. He went after the monster that took the baron."

I heard a strange growl, the powerful noise making the children scream, and then I saw the shadow of a creature on the wall. It prowled through the burning floor, its claws tearing though the handrails on the third floor.

"I suggest you run," I yelled, shoving the man towards the second floor, my eyes fixated on the incoming danger. "Go, now, and don't look back."

To my left, I saw a sharp chunk of the metal debris beneath the table, and I picked it up, raising it above my chest like a weapon. I had not yet recovered from the explosion, so I was in a tight jam. The monster's eyes came into my view, the long, sharp claws oozing with fresh blood, its white teeth clenched shut. The monster jumped down, landing on the stairs with a loud roar. The unstable floor shook with each step the creature took, a few cracks starting to emerge on the set of steps in front of me. To my horror, another monster jumped down from the third floor, covered from head to toe in blood; this one was even more horrifying to look at than the one I had knocked out in the boy's quarters. It had two long fangs, large, snail-like eyes, two tentacles behind its back, and metallic chest armor. In fact, all the monsters had armor. Each piece had the same symbol of a house, or something strikingly close to a house, with a moon on the back. I knew that symbol from somewhere.

"Get him," the tentacle beast roared to its partner, snapping its jaw shut in a ferocious way.

The second beast, a combination of canine-related animals, sprung into action, leaping at me from the air. I swerved back, barely avoiding a swipe from its claws by the threads on my coat. The canine creature cornered me, a smile on its face, and rammed me against the wall. It did this two more times before moving back, its claws below its waist, to see if I was still alive.

"This is nothing—I have taken a lot more painful blows than this, you ferocious monster," I yelled, spitting my blood at it. "Come on, give me your best shot."

"With pleasure," it replied, biting my left arm with its powerful teeth. "I will rip you to shreds."

"Idiot, you fell for it," I added, plunging the metallic object into the creature's head as deep as I could with my right hand.

Pivoting back, I grabbed the furred beast with both of my hands, twisted its head, and slammed it into the wall four times. What was this feeling? The feeling of pure euphoria, the feeling as if I could do anything I want. I tilted my head back, looking at the remaining monster with a face filled with excitement. My hands were not bloody enough; I needed to feel more blood. No, no, control yourself, I thought. Killing these mutilated creatures was not the reason why I had come to this desolate town; I had to acquire a ship and leave, as soon as possible.

"If you leave now, I will spare you," I yelled to it, my right hand pressed against my forehead as I fought my insatiable urges for mayhem. "Do it, now!"

"Never," it roared, throwing its tentacles at me, a look of rage on its unsightly face. "You will die, right now."

I curled my arm above my head, cutting one of the tentacles on the tip, before jumping out of the way. I shivered from the cold, as I sprung forward, attempting to create some more distance between the creature and myself.

Screams from the children below forced me to change my direction, my attention drawn on the creature blocking their path. I jumped above the rail, my head angled down like a bullet, and I plunged the scrape of metal into its head, as my legs wrapped around its shoulders. Blood oozed everywhere. The sheer delight of seeing more blood on my hands giving me amazing joy.

"I need more, I need more," I drooled, standing over the fallen creature, my hands raised up. "I need more challengers, send me more."

"Are you mad, boy?" a lady asked, her face blue with terror. "What have you done? If you kill them, he will keep sending more."

"Good, good, I will keep slaughtering them all." I laughed, grabbing one of the broken table legs and raising it up above me, before slashing it to the side. "I believe its time I met this mad man. If he were to present himself to me, I could end this madness once and for all."

"Be careful of what you ask for," the boy I had met in his room whispered, poking his head out to look up at me.

"So, we meet again, young one." I nodded, wiping blood from my face. I felt nothing but numbness in all of my fingers.

Suddenly, the last monster that I presumed was standing on the stairs crashed down onto the first floor, its tentacles flying wildly in the air. It grabbed the man leading the children by his waist and slammed him into ceiling, breaking most of his bones, before slamming him into the ground. The children screamed, panicking.

"Lady, lead them to safety. Take the front door. It should be safe for you all," I commanded, pointing towards the door I had used to first enter the manor, my eyes locked upon the beast.

"What about Thomas? We can't just leave him," she argued, moving towards me, her eyes upon the bloody man, dangling from the creature's tentacle. "He's still alive, so please save him."

"Listen, lady, I don't care for whatever feelings you harbor for this man, and if you want live, I suggest you pick up your feet and leave immediately."

"No, we are to be married this coming summer," she pleaded, traipsing closer to the foul beast, every shroud of common sense eluding her.

"You stupid fool," I yelled, pulling her back before the other tentacle reached out for her too. "The next time you do something as foolish as that, I will allow the creature to have its way with you."

"But I love him," she cried, her hand reaching out for him. "I can't go without him. I won't leave without Thomas."

"Woman, your stupidity amazes me, but fine," I sighed, walking towards the creature, my first bold mistake in a while. "I will help your fiancé."

4

I dawdled forward, the broken table leg in my right arm, and stopped within a meter from the beast, taking a defensive stance. A gust of cold wind forced me to shiver and my eyes to squint; the strength in my hands weakened drastically. Several shards of broken glass were scattered throughout the carpet, creating a haphazard environment, definitely a terrible place for the children to linger. Stomping on my left foot, I dashed with every bit of strength I had, slamming the table leg into the creature's head, and felling it with a good, follow-up blow to the stomach. It released Thomas, the lady's fiancé, and I grabbed the broken man with my free hand, throwing him back like a ragdoll at the lady's feet.

"You monster," she whirled, bending down towards him, her teary eyes upon me. "Why would you throw him like that? Have you no heart?"

"Just be glad I didn't kill him for being such a nuisance," I snarled, turning around to face the creature. The battle wasn't over. "Now leave, and don't let me see you again."

From the corner of my right eye, I caught a glimpse of the children helping her carry the wounded man. They walked slowly out of the dining room, exiting through the door, and into the cold blizzard.

"You will pay for that," the mutant chimera boomed, standing up, revealing a pair of hidden flintlocks from its chest armor.

It shot me in the abdomen twice, knocking me to the ground. The pain I felt alerted me that these were no ordinary bullet wounds. A tentacle came out of nowhere, wrapping around my right leg, pulling me closer to the menacing creature. I looked up, blinking, before being shot three times in the right cheek. I fell to the ground again in pain. Why did I not get invulnerable skin when I acquired my immortality?

"Why won't you die?" it asked, shooting me again in the head with the ancient gun, attempting to end my life.

When it ran out of bullets, it emptied out the blank cartridge, its attention drawn away from me. That was the opportunity I had been waiting for. I somersaulted up, plunging both of my arms in its jaw, before breaking it off. The creature's eyes widened, and it fell to the ground, dead. The deed was done, and the house was safe, but deep down, I could no longer deny that I felt empty, like something was missing. What was this maddening feeling inside of me? Oh, well!

I reached down, retrieving guns and other things of value from the creature's pockets, and then I started walking towards the main door. So many things were wrong with this place; the residents were hiding a dark secret, I could feel it in my bones. I walked through the library, most of the books damaged by the powerful wind, the chandelier on the floor, tiny, spiky shards of glass sticking out of the carpet. On my left, besides the main door, I saw a closet. One of its doors was still open. It had been raided, mostly likely by the fleeing children, and the only remaining piece of cloth was this cloak made of sheep's hair. I picked it up, traded it for the one I was wearing, and strolled through the front door. As I took the first step out of the mansion, the power of the blizzard overwhelmed me. It tried to throw me off to the side. Taking into consideration the icy, wet stairs and the frozen guard rails, I would have fallen, but this was not my first walk in a blizzard.

The moon shined brightly, a group of gray clouds making their way towards it, the snowy winds deadly. I coughed, skipping over the stairs, and landed on the paved ground, looking for any signs of the children. A few tire marks were engraved into the snow-covered ground, leading all the way to the gate. To my disappointment, they had taken all of the vehicles when they vacated, meaning I had to hike back to the town. To be certain, I scouted around the whole manor, looking for another vehicle to borrow, but my search was in vain. As I was about to leave, I spotted the barn, covered completely in thick snow—the only place I had not searched. I trudged towards it, my feet covered in snow, both of my arms wrapped inside my coat, and stopped at the double doors. It was locked by some electronic pad requiring a specific key to be jammed inside it for it to open. These people are really living in the past, I thought. Leaning back, I slammed my shoulder against the door using all of my strength. I did it forty times, until the left side of the door gave in. My right shoulder bones were broken because of this, but at least it was open. Crawling through the small opening, looking in all directions, I walked around, attempting to find anything to aid me in my brave quest. Weapons, food, money, it didn't matter to me, as long as I could leave this pathetic rubble of a planet.

"Jackpot," I yelled at the first signs of useful weapons; there were stacked on the furthest wall in front of me. "It's about time something finally went my way."

Shelves amongst shelves of artillery were lined up against the wall; there had to be at least four hundred rifles inside, a few handguns, and three wind-up grenades. Upon closer inspection, I realized that all of these weapons were all wind-up weapons, requiring a certain amount of air pressure to be forced in before they could fire. No wonder they were having such a hard time dealing with these mutant chimeras. Note to self: kick the whole town in the rear, except for the children, when this is over.

Abruptly, I heard what sounded like a powerful gun go off, the sound very close, and I rushed outside to see what was causing the commotion. Up above me, the same projectile that had crashed me into this planet was coursing into the atmosphere, making its way to an unsuspecting victim. I scanned my surroundings cautiously. From what I could make out, the projectile had been fired from a location masked behind the hills overlooking the small town. I spun back into the barn, picked up two rifles, three bandoliers, a silver dagger, and all of the grenades. I wished I could have taken all of the weapons; however, I couldn't carry that kind of weight for a long distance.

"Here we go," I exhaled, placing a hood on my face, and a cloth over my nose and mouth.

Exiting the barn, I hiked through the snow at a steady pace, plodding through the gate with no signs of the guards at the entrance. I saw the trail of blood and broken glass by the guard post and it didn't take me long to figure out what had transpired.

The forest in front of me was covered with white snow, and the blizzard was making it hard to see anything. Turning my head down, I started to follow the road, hoping it would lead me back to the town. I needed answers from them, and if anyone tried to stop me, I would lay claim to their lives with my own bare hands if I had to.

5

The sky boomed, a gigantic flying object making its way to the surface. It was covered in a blaze of fire, a few pieces of the hull breaking off from it. I squinted, my right hand shielding away the snow, as I tried to make out a solid description of the ship. It appeared to be a passenger ship, an S-class model, used to transport space travelers to a distant galaxy. I could not make out the color, but it was heading for the hills a few miles from town. And from the way it was nose-diving, I knew that there were going to be casualties.

"It looks like they caught another one," I sighed, covering my face underneath the hood, walking along the side of the road.

I watched the ship crash against the side of the hill, sparks of electricity and fire reigning from above. The noise from falling debris was deafening. Upon seeing that light-show, I highly doubted anyone survived, not that it mattered to me. Descending further, I finally saw the outline of the town; the last house on the left had a smoking chimney. A few road vehicles had been parked next to it. I think I also saw a child peering through the window. The excess snow on the porch had been shoveled off, as well as away from the sides of the house. It was a small house, about three bedrooms, probably with a dining room, two bathrooms, and a kitchen. It ran on electric power, to my surprise, by converting mechanic energy into electricity using some means unknown to me. Creeping up closer, my hand trained on my flintlock, I peeped through the window, trying to see what was going on inside. I heard a ruckus and saw a few children sitting by the fireplace, warming themselves up. On the cotton sofas, there were a few adults sitting next to each other, eating warm biscuits with some tea, their backs turned towards me. I saw the mayor—he came from the other room, a basket of bread in his hands. Turning around, I approached the door, knocking on it with haste, my hands completely numb.

There was silence after my knocks, the wind still whirling through the night, the trees completely camouflaged by the snow. Nothing stirred in the woods behind me. I looked around, making sure that nothing was following me, before knocking on the wooden door again. I heard footsteps by the door, a faint whisper, the door opening slowly.

"Ah, young one, it is a pleasure to see you," the mayor said, opening the door for me, a faint smile of his weary face.

"Likewise, Mayor," I replied, pushing him out of the way and entering the house without asking for permission. "I believe you know the reason for my visit."

"No, please elaborate as to why you are here," he snorted, closing the door behind me, twisting the lock on the knob.

He wore light blue pajamas, with a flap on the back, a sleeping cap, and socks above his slippers. Gazing down, he scratched his left knee, exhaling deeply, the cotton ball attached to his sleeping cap falling over his face. As he straightened up, his eyes upon me, I grabbed his collar and slammed his body into the wall, knocking over a loose canvas.

"You know exactly why I am here, and if need be, I will smite you in front of these children," I yelled, my hands moving towards his neck, my anger soaring out of control. "Who are those monsters and why did they attack us?"

"Please, mister, leave him be," the child, whose name I still did not know, cried, pulling me away from the frightened mayor. "It is not his fault, so please let him go."

"I demand an explanation, otherwise I will throw a tantrum, and none of you will like me when I am angry."

Countless eyes stared in my direction, the whole house growing silent; it was not my intention to threaten their lives, but these dark times required drastic measures.

"Sit down, please," the mayor sighed, standing up on his feet, fixing his collar slowly. "This will take a lot of time to explain, and I fear you might not like what you will hear."

Looking around, I sat down by a rocking chair, placing the rifle by my side. The lady, whose fiancé had been maimed by the foul chimera, approached with a look of terror on her face. She offered me some tea and a plate of biscuits. Shaking my head, I brushed her away. She turned around, walking away to sit by the side of an older lady, a bit of tears on her face. She wiped them off with a blue handkerchief, avoiding my gaze, as a few kids approached her. The mayor tinkered with the wooden logs using a metal rod, glancing at me for a second, and then proceeded to sit down next to an older lady wearing a white scarf. She seemed to be his wife.

"Start talking already," I yelled, placing my right hand by the arm rest, tapping my right leg frequently. "I grow tiresome of these charades."

"All right, Rave, I will tell you everything," the mayor said, his wife resting her head on his shoulder, a look of sadness on her face. "It all started fifteen years ago, with the appearance of a stranger, a man who we all grew up to fear. He first appeared out of nowhere, saying that his ship had crashed onto our planet, and we offered him food and shelter. He was wounded. He had incision scars on his arms and legs, and only wore a tattered red shirt and black pants. A week after his appearance, a few of the townspeople, specifically adolescents, began to disappear without a trace, to never be seen again. We panicked, searching the woods for them, but our search was in vain. And the disappearances kept increasing, the age range changing, and before we knew it, half of the people in our small town had vanished. We kept thinking they had been claimed by some unknown invincible foe, but no one ever suspected the stranger dwelling amongst us to be the one responsible. We kept going about our daily business, searching for the missing people on our days off, until one night—one very strange night. It was the first night a cloaked chimera appeared in our midst; it had been tortured, mutilated, and experimented on. It had a lot of mechanical gears on its back. The creature assaulted an older gentleman, who was on his way home and beat him half to death before it took off with him. A young man saw this disturbing scene, reported it to the local police, and led them towards the direction of the creature's whereabouts. What I tell you, Rave, is no lie, but it is the untainted truth of the darkness that haunts this small town of ours."

"So, what did you find when you tracked the creature down?" I asked, shifting my weight around. My curiosity was peaked. "What was it?"

"It was the stranger, the man who we had all grown to love, cutting off the flesh from one of his victims, a legion of his creatures behind him. He spotted us and hollered at us to approach him, his face relaxed and emotionless. I gasped at the sight of blood on his hands, and I almost fainted when I looked down, recognizing the man he had killed. It was our previous constable, a dear friend of mine. He told us that he was building a powerful army, a chimera army to be exact, and that he wanted us to assist him with his goal, or we would all meet the same fate. At first, we tried to resist, but his forces were too powerful—and every attempt we made to take back our town failed. So, eventually, we gave in to his demands, doing everything he told us to do, our hearts waiving with guilt and shame. Thousands of victims were shot out of space, a few of them dying from the crash, and we helped him capture the survivors for his horrific experiments. It was madness, I tell you, pure horrific madness. For the last fifteen years, we have kept this secret to ourselves, unable to contact anyone from other regions of the planet for help, and things have only gotten worse."

"I see," I hummed, picking up my rifle, pressing my right fingers against the long, smooth barrel. "So that's how it is."

"Yes, Rave, and now that you have killed his henchmen, he will surely come for all of us," the mayor added, picking up his cup of tea, his right hand shaking. "We should all prepare for the next days to be dreadful and filled with terror."

"Who is this person you are all afraid of?" I asked, winding some air pressure into the gun, the muzzle facing the ceiling. "I would really like to meet him, if you don't mind. And if I take care of this problem, will you lend me one of your ships?"

"And what makes you think you have what it takes to face him?" a voice asked, causing me to shift my head left. A lady walked into the living room from the kitchen. "Why should we trust you after everything we heard the children say you did?"

I had met her in the pub when I first arrived in this small town; she was the lady sitting by the window. Tonight, she held a basket of warm biscuits, her cheeks pink and wet with sweat, and her hair was wrapped inside a black cap. She wore a light green dress, with white polka dots on the edges, a metallic bandolier around her waist, and black boots that were high enough to cover her knees. As she sat down next to the mayor, she placed the basket by the table and poured a cup of fresh tea. Sipping slightly, she raised her head, looking at me, a serious look on her face.

"Milady, you only have to believe that I mean well," I said, reassuring her of my true intentions, the gun on my lap. "I care not what you do after. All I ask for is a ship to leave this planet in return for my expert services. I have something important I need to do, and I am afraid time is not on my side."

"But, young lad, this is a dangerous issue, and you might.." The mayor extended his hand out towards me.

Before he could irritate me any further, the door was kicked open, and in came a man dressed in a black uniform. He was a tall, dark-skinned man, in his late fifties, with mutton chops on his face, a bit of gray hair on his chin. He held a strange rifle, like a late-century musket but with a black-and-gold barrel, a circular muzzle, and a magazine clip placed next to the trigger. Brushing off the snow on his uniform, he placed the gun by the door and patted some snow from his boots, before looking up. In a fine nod, he smiled at everyone, not ushering a word of greeting, and then took a cautious glance through the window.

"Constable, what news do you bring at such an hour?" the mayor asked, his face blue; the cup in his hands shook from his trembling. "Has something happened?"

"Yes, Mayor, I bring grave news," the constable, in a deep voice, replied, trudging towards an empty seat. "The east outpost has been overrun, I am afraid, by a legion of mutant chimeras. The reason behind these atrocities eludes dearly, which is why I am here."

"Oh, dear," the mayor exclaimed, placing the cup down, sweat pouring down his face as his eyes avoided mine. "This is bad news indeed."

"What has happened, Mayor?" the constable continued, his hands pressed together. "Has that madman finally decided to break the treaty he signed with us?"

"It is more complicated than that," the mayor responded, standing up and walking towards the window. "We might not want to admit this to ourselves, but we had always known that this day would arrive; there was no avoiding it on our part."

"You want us to take arms against our kind?" the constable roared, whisking up to his feet, both of his hands on his waist. "I mean, yes, they have been tortured and brainwashed beyond any reasonable belief, but some of them are still our brethren, our children, siblings, and relatives. We have to make amends with that madman or the blood he spills next will be on your hands."

"I am well aware of that, Constable, but what will you have me do?" He spun back, his gaze fixated on the constable, all of his previous trembling gone. "Do you suggest that we keep shooting innocent travelers from space, capture them as before, and keep adding them to that man's torture collection? What if it was your wife, your children, we were sending towards him?"

Upon those specific set of questions, words escaped the poor constable; he bit his lip, dropping his clenched hands below his waist, the strength in his resolved weakened.

"They are coming here, Mayor, whether you like it or not," the constable pointed out, turning around and walking towards the door. "You have less than an hour to make up your mind, or he will make it for you. As for me, I will be taking my leave now—I want to spend my next moments of life with my wife and dear children."

He picked up his musket, placed it behind his back, and opened the door, twisting his head around to look at everyone in the room, before shutting it from the outside. A powerful silence lingered through the small house; everyone was haunted by the constable's last words, except for me, and they all took refuge in the depths of their frightened minds.

"He is right," the lady in the light green dress spoke up. "His chimera army will soon be on our door step and we are not prepared for a confrontation with them."

"Physically, you can take them on," I said, placing the gun against the wall, my eyes upon her. "The real reason for your doubt is because they are your kinsmen, your fellow neighbors, and citizens of this sick and twisted place you call a town. Wake up, you idiots, or you will all die. And, children, please forgive my tone. I would prefer that you leave this discussion for the grownups and vacate the quarters for bedtime but I am afraid that is not an offer on the table."

"So what would you have us do?" she asked, a look of fascination and intense curiosity on her face. "We have no weapons, no army, to defend ourselves with."

"But you are chimeras for crying out loud," I yelled, hoping my words would lift up their spirits. "You have the power to take arms against these abominations of nature. Besides, I saw a barn full of weapons at Baron Smith's manor. There is enough artillery for everyone here."

"Oh, that pompous hypocrite," the mayor spat, veins popping on his neck. He smashed his frail fist against the wall. "All this time, all these years—he was encouraging us to aid that madman, telling us that there was no way to win against such a foe, and yet he was harboring contraband on his residence? He and I will have words when this situation dissolves itself."

6

"Summon Edrick and the others," the mayor commanded, his eyebrows furrowing, his feet spaced apart. "Those rabid chimeras are no longer our kin, and as much as it pains me to admit, they will be better off dead than alive. Tell them to raid the baron's mansion and retrieve any weapon they can find. I leave this task to you, Salyanna."

"Right, sir," the pretty lady said, bouncing off the seat, smiling, and darting off for the door. "You can count on me."

"Very well, lad. If you assist us with these beasts, we shall give you one of our ships, free of charge," the mayor said, extending his hand out to seal our verbal contract: "I trust we have an agreement."

Standing up, I took his hand and shook it, keeping solid eye contact with him the whole time. When it was done, the agreement sealed, we let each other go, and I walked away towards the window. The real fight was about to begin. I could barely keep the excitement inside me concealed. I wanted blood─fresh blood underneath my hands. My whole body felt hot, the darkness inside my heart stirred, and the image of blood flashed through my eyes. Holding my right hand over my left eye, I walked over to my previous seat, picked up my rifle, and tramped over to the door. My killing instincts were spiraling out of control, so I decided to take my leave before I accidentally took a life. I opened the door, forcing it shut behind me, and marched with haste into the frozen woods. I coughed deeply, my head dizzy and heavy, and knelt down a good distance from the house. The dark power inside of me was awakening, and that was not good. For close to half an hour, I exhaled deeply, suppressing all of my murderous instincts.

Suddenly, I heard screams, coming from the furthest side of town, followed by gun-fire. I stood up, checking my gun one last time, and darted towards the source of the chaos. A group of people emerged from the burning houses, all bloodied up, running away from hooded creatures. On the roofs, the creatures stalked them, jumping below and mowing down on the nearest victims they could clutch onto. I sprinted past the people, shooting the first chimera that was coming out of the house, with blood on its snout and claws, between the eyes. Looking left, I pumped up the next cartridge, and then shot another creature in the leg. It limped down, whimpering, and I jumped behind its back, planting the whole magazine into its head. I picked up the dead creature by its leg, hurling it at the oncoming creature, felling it to the ground. As the surprised creature stood up, shaking its head, I kicked it to the ground again, grabbing its jaw and yanking it off. More and more of the creatures, about six dozen at least, were coming out of the woods, attacking anyone at random. They were not planning on capturing anyone alive—they were planning on massacring everyone, and intended to lay waste to this town after.

"Everyone, get out of the town," Salyanna screamed, a horde of armed men and women behind her. "Do it now!"

A chimera charged at me, felling me to the ground, both of its hands clamped on my chest. Jaw open, drool falling onto my face, it took a deep, mortal bite into my chest, gushing my black blood into the snowy road. I screamed out, the pain unbearable, and as I opened my eyes, I held the chimera's head, trying to fend it off. On its chest, there was something with gears moving, attached to what looked like its sternum. I shifted slightly to the left, reaching for the metal gear, and pulled it out. The creature struggled, its teeth sinking into my right hand, and its claws pressed against my shoulder. The eyes of the creature glowed, the scars on its body hideously grotesque, and its physical strength was impressive. I curled my left hand, taking several swipes at its right hand, slicing off its arm from its body. And before the arm fell into the white snow, I grabbed it and shoved the severed limb into the creature's mouth. The chimera growled, its arm halfway down its throat, and it let go of me.

"What's the matter?" I asked, sitting halfway up and picking up my rifle. "Something got your tongue?"

The chimera stood on its hind legs, pulling out its arm from its mouth, blood spewing from its jaw. Throwing away the arm, it turned its eyes towards me, claws extended outwards. It growled in a fierce manner. It burst into a short sprint, jumping into the air, jaw wide open and claws pointed towards me. I raised both of my legs, stopping the creature by placing them against its chest, as I shot the creature in the head six times. It shrieked, for what felt like a long second, before seizing its movement, dead. I twisted my feet, pushing the creature off me, scanning the area for any other chimera that could be prowling the area. Salyanna and her friends, I noticed, were pushing the mutant chimera forces away; however, the tide of this battle was still uncertain for anyone to be making any successful predictions. I stood up, looked left and right, and spotted the legion of hooded chimeras engaging in mortal battle with the remaining able-bodied townsfolk. Half of the town─the side with the pub, precinct, shopping and center lay in ruins, engulfed by a blaze of fire. But thanks to the powerful blizzard, the fire wasn't powerful enough to spread to the other side of the town. I blitzed forward, shooting three chimeras that were cornering Salyanna and three other men, my lungs filled with cold air. I pulled out a dagger and threw it at a white furred chimera that had taken for the air, its eyes on Salyanna. It fell in front of her feet, its tongue sticking out of its open mouth, twitching uncontrollably. Upon joining her small platoon, we began to fight off the remaining chimera battalion, stopping them from advancing towards the remaining side of the town, which was behind us. A good number of people had been slaughtered by the chimeras. The only remaining people, who had been maimed by the creatures, were left with horrid, bloody injuries all over their bodies. Most of the mutant chimeras had retreated into the forest to stalk us from the shadows, waiting for the perfect opportunity to ambush us again.

"Goodness, are you okay, Rave?" Salyanna asked, reloading a new magazine into her gun, her eyes fixated on my bloody chest. "Do you need to see a doctor? That wound looks rather serious; you better let someone see you before it's infected."

"I am grateful for your concern, milady, but it is not that bad," I lied, a fake smile on my face. "Most of this blood belongs to the chimeras I killed."

"Are they coming back?" an older man with a large caliber rifle, asked, his eyes upon her. "I don't know how long we can hold them back for."

"Darren, no, why?" a man screamed, kneeling by a dead chimera, both of his hands wrapped around its head. "This was my best friend—why was he killed? Why did you do it?"

He laid the cloaked chimera down, looked up at me with ferocious eyes, and began to plod towards me with his fist clenched. Before he could slug me, his comrades intervened, stopping him from making a terrible mistake. Had they not stopped him, I really think I would have taken his life.

"Why are you protecting this monster?" he exploded, wrestling two of his comrades, while looking at me with murderous eyes. "We all know that this is his fault, that if he hadn't shown up, then none of this would have happened. I say we capture him and take him to the madman—he might be willing to forgive us if he hand him over."

"If any of you attempt to restrain me, I will claim your life," I warned, the nozzle of my gun facing the ground, my index finger on the trigger. "I am a very good shot with this rifle, and if you feel the need to test my skills, I will be more than willing to oblige you."

"Shut up, Jutcer," Salyanna roared, stopping the irrational man from spouting more nonsense. "What's done is done; there is nothing anyone can do to reverse this misfortune that has befallen us. All any of us can do now is make sure that none of our brothers and sisters spewed their blood in vain. We must stop the madman from doing any more harm to anyone else."

"Great speech, Salyanna, but how do you suppose we do that? I mean, look at us—we have barely less than a dozen men left, not including the children and the wounded, and this is not even enough to take the outer post."

"If you say one more thing, I will have your head, Jutcer," I yelled, walking over to him, my arm twisted to imitate the shape of a talon. "Want to see how I take off my opponents' jaws?"

"That's enough, Rave. Scaring him will do you no good," she sighed, turning her head to the right, her gun holstered above her chest. "To all of you who are having doubts about this action, I will assure you that the mayor, using his own voice, proclaimed that we should all take arms against these chimeras. We might have known them in the past, but this is war—we must win it for the sake of the next generations."

"Yeah," they all chanted, raising their weapons, their spirits lifted.

How did I get myself stuck in this? I thought.

"I have been meaning to ask, but why haven't any of you morphed into your other chimera forms?" I asked, my eyes tracking a dark creature moving through the trees, camouflaged by the darkness. "It would certainly be to your advantage if you were to confront him as true chimeras."

"Yes, it would be; however, we can no longer take those forms," Salyanna said, shooting into the forest, a look of frustration on her fair face. "The madman did something to us, and because of that, we can no longer assume those forms. We are stuck with these limited physical bodies until we can somehow reverse what was done to us."

"This is annoying," I roared when I missed my perfect shot. "We have to go after them, otherwise this will go on forever."

"You jest, right?" an older man with a long beard asked. "As long as they don't attack us, we can take this time to recuperate, and perhaps, move the elderly to a secure location."

"No, it won't work," I snarled, my patience growing weary. The cold weather was starting to get to my brain. "In these conditions, I am afraid we won't make it till dawn. And even if we did, assuming we could, their numbers will keep growing."

"He's right," Salyanna added, supporting me, her gun extended in front of her face, her mind in a state of focus. "We have to take the offensive position before it's too late."

Nodding, I took the first steps, cutting across two burning buildings, headed for the forest. The mutant chimeras howled, communicating in a language unknown to me, as they began to scurry through the trees, using the branches to mask their approach. Salyanna and her six men followed after me, bullets firing in every direction. Unexpectedly, a big chimera without a dark cloak, jumped down, landing on one of her men. It sunk its feet into his skull, pressing all of its weight on him, as it killed him. The remaining men, terrified, turned around and unloaded all of their ammunition into the creature. It had a face of an eagle, the body of a polar bear, and long, talon-like hands. Reaching down, it grabbed the dead man's mushy head and flung it at an elderly man, felling him to the ground in an instant. Perplexed, the elder man sat up, screaming at the sight of his friend's head, which was lying on his lap. He stood up, dropping his gun, and darted off away from us. He didn't make it more than a few yards, when three mutant chimeras, which had been hiding behind the trees, lunged at him and tore him to pieces.

"Stay together, all of you," Salyanna screamed, delivering the final blow to the eagle-faced chimera. "They will pick us apart if we split up."

"Right," Jutcer added, wiping off sweat, his gun shaking in his hands. "Maybe we should go back."

"No, we press on," Salyanna boomed, with her gun above her head. "We must push them back before it's too late."

Digging into my pocket, I retrieved a grenade, tossing it at a pack of feeding chimera. The grenade landed behind one of them, and as they turned around, blood dripping from their mouths, the grenade exploded and killed all three of them. The snow on the ground became red, stained with the blood of the fallen, and the strong winds blew away the scent of death from the air. Unable to hold back my bloodlust, I darted forward, leaving the others behind, hoping to draw the beasts towards me. As expected, they took the bait, coming at me from all directions. I rolled away, picking up a wooden log, and whammed an elephant-faced chimera in the trunk. I grabbed its left leg with all of my might and tossed in the air, before riddling it with a dozen bullets in the stomach. I pulled out my dagger, tracking an agile chimera, and flung the blade when the mutant beast came out of hiding. The blade hit its throat, its eyes bulging, and the creature dropped into the snow. I took out three more creatures before rushing back to regroup with the others. They had lost one more man to a pair of speedy chimeras, leaving four people in their group.

"We need bigger weapons," I yelled, holding a mutant chimera's head in my right hand. "What do they have at the outpost?"

"I don't know." Salyanna shook her head, looking at the head in my hand. "I mean, it's possible that you might find something big enough, but there is no way to get in there. The place is overrun by the monsters."

"Just point me towards its location. I'll do the rest," I said, dropping the head down, my heart stirring with excitement. "You are more than welcome to follow me."

"It's that way, about two miles from here," one of the remaining man said, pointing towards the east. "It's over that hill, and if we can take it, we will gain a vantage point against the mutant chimeras."

I marched, upright and square, leading the group through the forest, our sights on the outpost. The mutant chimera growled, watching us from the trees, and lucky for us, they were not armed with guns and blades like the ones from before.

The wind whirled, the snowflakes making visibility low, and the full moon shining brightly above us. The sky was clear and dark. Looking around, all I could see were markings of something solid; it was somewhere above the hill we were hiking. Salyanna, with her gun strapped on the back, coughed out loudly and rubbed her gloved hands together to create warmth. The remaining men pacing behind her looked petrified with fear as they raised their guns in the air, glancing in every direction for the cunning beasts.

"Everyone, desist," I ordered, my hand lifting above my head. My eyes fixated upon a dark object that was standing at the peak of the hill. "Wait here—I will go alone, and if I am not back in the next ten minutes, you are safe to come after me."

"What will you do?" Salyanna asked, taking a few steps towards me, retrieving her gun from her back. "You cannot win against them."

"Don't worry about me, I know what has to be done," I replied.

Upon saying that, I turned around, holding my gun tightly, and hiked up the rest of the hill by myself. A few of the mutant chimeras snarled, their eyes glowing from the reflection of the moon. They hid their bodies behind the barks of trees. Every time I looked their way, they would retreat back a few yards, communicating with hand signals. I staggered forward when something sharp struck my back, a burning sensation following after. Pulling out my gun, I swung around on my right foot, pointing the muzzle at a chimera that had set its eyes on me. I fired the gun, but at that moment, the chimera swerved to the left, taking refuge behind the bark of a tall tree. My bullet missed, hitting the bark of the tree and causing the snow that was piled up against the tree to fall to the ground. The effect of the bullet and the falling snow caused the branches of the trees to fall to the ground, which in turn made the chimeras scurry around. I tracked three of the chimeras to my left and shot them in cold blood, my heart pounding heavily.

Up above, the gigantic shadow that had been standing at the peak of the hill turned its head towards my direction, its eyes glowing red. It held a giant axe with a three-meter long grip and a wide double-edged cutlass. It saw me and begun to move towards me, spinning its axe in the air, some of the snow falling downhill with each step it took. It bent forward, displaying its massive shoulder muscles, roaring in a violent manner. It's that stupid bear again, I thought.

I recognized the white furred skin, the scarred snout, the metal armor on its chest, and the sharp claws that had maimed me once before. I squinted, the annoying wind irritating my eyes, and forced my way to the top of the hill. There was a small building on furthest side of hill, with three windows on the left side, a wooden door, and three cannons mounted on the top of the building. A bright light illuminated in my direction, drawing their attention towards me. One of the cannons on top began to rotate towards me. The bear chimera threw the large axe at me, missing my head by a few inches, a powerful war cry echoing throughout the outpost. A horde of mutant chimeras jumped out of the outpost, flintlocks in their claws, landing on the ground with force in their feet. They crunched their feet through the snow, separating into two groups—one group coming from the right, the other from the left. My heart calm, I took my gun, inhaling deeply, and shot three chimeras in the head. Rolling left, I dodged the claws of two chimeras, keeping out of range from the bear's axe. My dagger found its way into a chimera's heart, and the hilt of my gun connected with the snout of another chimera. The mutant chimeras moved back, drawing out their flintlocks from their holsters, firing at me at the same time, in a desperate attempt to slow me down. More than three dozen bullets were lodged into my body, the force of the projectile bullets hurling me down the unsteady slope. I rolled down the hill, snow covering my whole body, a stain of my dark blood trailing in my wake. I hit the back of a tree with my back and screamed out loud, my backbones snapping viciously. Snow fell above me, completely covering my body, the gun in my hands wrested from me. I moistened my cold lips, shivering from the pain; the sheer agony of being shot multiple times was brutal as usual. Here they come, I thought. They just won't give up, will they?

I shook off the snow, standing up slowly, my whole body sore and numb, the dark blood still oozing from my wounds. The legion of chimeras were upon me again, guns drawn and extended outwards, menacing grins plastered upon their faces. Their leader, the white bear chimera, stood behind them, his axe anchored in the snow. Fighting them was certainly proving to be quite difficult and, as much as I enjoyed a good challenge, I could no longer afford to let this bout go on forever. Eventually, I would tire out, and they would use that chance to rip my body apart. I reckon it would be painful.

"We meet again, bear," I yelled, patting the snow on my coat, whilst looking the white bear in the eye. "How about we finish this charade once and for all?"

"Kill him," the bear roared, pointing its axe at me, snarling, its teeth out in the open. "Tear all of his limbs."

The mutant chimeras placed their guns back, bending their backs, planting their front legs into the snow. They all roared, attempting to intimidate me; however, I stood my ground, picking up my rifle from the ground. My chest hurt. I could feel three bullets moving around whenever I took a breath. I leaned back against the tree, my hand on chest, blood coming out of my mouth, biding my time. Despite my immortality, despite my ability to heal rapidly, I was still vulnerable to the sensation of pain. Looking up, I saw the whole horde of beasts sprint into action, jaws wide open, leaping at me. I raised my gun, ignoring the pain, and began my final assault─ perhaps, my last assault. I shot three chimeras down, before one of them lunged at my foot. It sunk its teeth into my knee, shaking its head from side to side in a vicious attempt to tear off my leg. I pulled my mind away from the pain, and plunged my blade behind its neck. I stabbed the creature ten more times, forcing away its jaws from my leg, my blood spewing out. Two more mutant beasts jumped me, taking hold of both my arms and pulling me in opposite directions. If this continued, I knew, I would surely lose my head and limbs.

"I don't have a choice, I guess," I groaned, realizing my own folly. "You have all forced me to take arms against your kind, so don't complain when I send you to the abyss."

Pulling my arms back, the tendons in my body strained. I managed to free myself, and planted a vicious kick into a chimera's stomach. It spewed blood, its head facing the ground, trembling. I picked up the beast by the head and flung it against the tree, bashing its brain out. Twisting back, blood in my hands, I lunged for the other chimera, tearing off its ears with all my might. The creature howled when I grabbed its tail, struggling with all its might to get free, and then, it fell to the ground the moment my dagger sunk into its back.

"I want more blood," I screamed, throwing the blade down, looking at the full moon. "Come at me, all of you, and I will show you pain."

7

The bloodlust, the darkness, the insatiable appetite for destruction—it was all too much. This place, this stinking planet, was stirring me further into the darkness. The power of my immortality, I knew, was this raging madness, but I chose to overlook it, only choosing to embrace the idea of a long, youthful life. I have to control my impulses, I thought, I need to get myself under control.

"Hold your ground," the bear hissed, plodding forward, the axe held firmly in both of its hands. "He's mine, so I will finish him off."

I straightened up, my right hand over my face, my head throbbing, and exhaled deeply. The cold weather, the strong winds blowing in every direction, only made my inexplicable condition worse. Holding my rifle firmly, I propelled my body forward, the pain in my leg killing me. The bear and I stood in the middle, facing each other, both of our weapons in front of us, ready to strike. The wind whirled, the snowflakes falling coldly against my face, and the ground snow wrapped around my boots.

"Die," the chimera roared, swinging down its axe in a vertical motion, aiming to cut me in half.

Unable to react quickly, I raised my dagger and rifle up, placing them in front of me, parrying away most of the axe's power. The barrel of my gun broke in two, the blade bending inwards as the axe broke through my defense. It barely grazed my right shoulder. Pulling back the axe, it raised its right leg, planting a hard kick into my chest, and felled me to the ground. I gasped, spitting out blood, and stood halfway up, my whole body wearing out.

"This is the end, human," it roared, charging at me, the axe angled above its head.

This is it, I thought, I can't move my body anymore. I watched the axe coming down at me in slow motion, like time was moving in a gradual manner. I held my breath. Within a meter from me, something exploded in the ground, killing four chimeras on the spot. Another explosion occurred, taking the lives of six more mutant chimeras. The source of the noise was coming from the outpost building. It was the cannons. Someone was operation them. The bear, distracted and angry, stopped its attack, turning its large head towards the outpost.

"Who is doing that?" it boomed, pointing at the building, the back of its head towards me. "Stop them now!"

Realizing the open opportunity, I took my dagger, straightened the crooked spine a little, and made a hasty run for the bear chimera. I took a giant leap, stomping my foot on its back, and planted the knife deep into the back of its neck. It growled in pain, moving around, attempting to throw me off its back, but I wrapped my hands around its neck like my life depended on it. For the next ten seconds, he swung the axe around, growling, attacking its own allies in the process. A cannon shell to its chest finally brought the creature to its knees. Once I felt the creature's power leave its body, I released myself from its neck, landing on the ground beside it. The bloody axe laid next to it, covered in thick, black blood—my blood. Sauntering forward, I bent down and picked up the heavy axe, raising it above my head.

"Weren't you saying it was over?" I asked the creature, walking behind it, the axe in my hands. "Please, say those sweet words again."

"You don't have it within you," it laughed, tracking me with its eyes, both of its hands supporting the creature from falling. "You are tough, I admit, but you are not a killer."

"We shall see, won't we?" I grinned, swinging the heavy axe down. I cut off its right wrist. "I want you to tell me how you feel after."

"Ahhhh, you stupid human," it screamed, bending upwards, facing the sky as it began to laugh. "Cutting someone's hand does not constitute for being a killer, you idiot."

"Enough of this," I snorted, swinging in a horizontal fashion and taking its head off. "I grow tiresome of your foul mouth."

Even as the head rolled to the side, I could still see his menacing grin, his cold, dead eyes taunting me. I paced back a few meters and ran a little before kicking his head over the hill, watching it fly down the snowy slope. The remaining mutant chimeras shifted back, a look of terror on their faces, and soon they stormed away into the blizzard. For now, the easy part was over; after all, retaking the outpost was a strategy designed to offer us the vantage point from the remaining beasts that were lurking around the madman's lair. On second thought, my reason for aiding these people was not really necessary at all. I mean, I could have just avoided them, and stormed directly to the madman's base. Killing him and all of his followers before stealing a ship was an easy plan indeed. That would have been far less complicated, I realized, than aiding these fools.

"Are you okay, Rave?" Salyanna shouted, plodding towards me, one of the men guarding her back. "Come with us to the outpost. This area is not safe."

"Yes, milady," I murmured, coughing up blood as my whole body felt cold and heavy. "Just give me a minute."

Dropping the heavy axe into the snow, I limped forward towards her, keeping my left hand pressed against my injured leg. My wounds were severe, and for some reason, I wasn't healing as quickly as before. I had always healed from fatal wounds, the whole process taking less than a few minutes, but that wasn't the case today.

"Come on," she whispered, placing her hands around me, the other man taking my other arm. "We have to go before they come back."

"How did you manage to retake the outpost?" I asked, looking at the brick building; half of the roof had caved in.

"When you left us at the edge of the hill, the chimeras followed you, and upon seeing the opening, we stormed for the outpost and killed a few of them that remained inside. Thanks to your efforts, we have retaken the outpost, and we can now hatch a plan to lay siege to his compound."

"You make it sound like it's that easy." I smirked, looking at my leg. The bleeding had finally stopped.

A man, barely in his late thirties, with a dark goatee, bushy eyebrows, and tanned skin, opened the wooden door for us. He moved out of our way, his gun anchored in front of him, a long machete hanging from his holster. It was a little bit gloomy inside, and a long shaft awaited us, leading to a different section of the complex. Salyanna and the other man assisted me into the building, moving things out of the way to help me pass easily through. On the walls, there were mounted cylindrical lamps. A gray shelf with staked rifles sat on the opposite end. The wind howled through the small cracks in the structure, half of the ceiling tiles missing, and the temperature in the building was very cold.

"Have you contacted the mayor, Siron?" Salyanna asked, facing a green-haired lad, who was poking his head from an open door on the right. "What news do you bring?"

"Negative! We lost contact with them five minutes ago, I'm afraid," he whispered, his eyes avoiding hers, his gun on his back. "But I do hope they are okay; that is all we can do for them."

"I see," Salyanna replied, lowering her head, her body tensing. "How many weapons do we have?"

"We have enough weapons, but we lack the manpower to hold a siege against the madman's army," Jutcer commented, carrying three rifles in both hands, a look of frustration upon his droopy eyes. "Not to mention, we haven't had a good night's rest at all."

Salyanna helped me sit down against the left wall, and she left with Jutcer, trudging towards the stairs that led to the second floor. Raising my rifle, I checked my last magazine, unclipping it from gun and checking the remaining bullets in it. Only one-third of the full magazine remained, and the ejection pot appeared to be jammed from the inside. In my pockets, I had two grenades, a silver dagger, a handgun with two extra magazines, and two flintlocks. Not my ideal weapons for stealth combat, but considering the circumstances, I couldn't bring myself to complain. Tilting up, I rocked back to my feet, using the wall behind to stop myself from falling. My wounds were healing slower than usual, I realized, and that was not good.

"You shouldn't force yourself up," Siron muttered, leaning against the wall, munching on a green apple. "I am rather surprised that you are even alive, let alone moving."

"Do not concern yourself on my behalf," I groaned, wiping sweat off my forehead. "Your concern should be focused on what lurks in those woods."

"I know, I know that." He shrugged, taking a larger bite of the apple, a look of distress on his face. "I was just concerned for your safety. There is no need for you to be so hostile and defensive."

"I will take my rest now, so please show me to an empty quarter," I said, blinking, my eyes staring at the dusty floor.

"Sure, take that room over there," he replied, turning his head around, pointing at a blue door with a rusty, golden knob. "I fear our stay here will be brief, so please take a short nap and be prepared for war."

"Your advise is duly noted, Siron." I bowed, limping towards the room. "I shall see you in a few hours."

I turned my head down, reaching for the doorknob with my right hand, and twisted the knob back. The door squeaked open, a gust of cold wind brushing past me. The small room was rather dark, a bit of dust on the concrete floor, and in front of me stood a small, wooden bed, a table, and a stool. On the table, there was a strange metal cloak with several running gears. The table was facing windowless frames; only a cloth glued on the frames stopped the snow from coming in. I placed my weapons by the side of the bed, falling on top of the dirty covers, and closed my eyes. Lying on this dirty bed, smelling the molten vinegar on the covers, eased most of my pain and fatigue. And before I knew it, I had dozed off, forgetting all of my troubles of the day.

8

"Hey, wake up," a voice rattled, my whole body being shook roughly. "The time to depart is upon us."

"What time is it?" I whined, my eyes still closed, my hands pressed against my chest. "Has the monsters returned?"

"It is five o'clock in the morning—the light of dawn will soon be upon us," the voice said, and instead of shaking me up, I was hit in the head by something heavy.

"Ow," I yelped, opening my eyes, sitting halfway up, looking at my attacker. "Why did you do that?"

"Because you wouldn't wake up, Rave," Salyanna responded, her eyes locked on mine, holding the hilt of her gun towards me. "We have been struggling to wake you up for the last hour. Perhaps, your wounds were deeper than you might have imagined."

"Are you all ready to move out?" I asked, picking up my weapons, yawning. "Are you all rested enough?"

"I fear rest is the one thing we cannot afford to have," she sighed, brushing her red hair back, the muzzle of her gun facing the floor. "We will not rest until we have taken the madman's head."

"Your words might have power and determination, but this task will not be easy to accomplish, I assure you," I added, looking at her in the eyes. I was back on my feet. "I will aid you with all of my strength, but I fear that a few of you might not make it. In fact, it is a possibility that none of us will make it out of the horrible place alive, so I will ask you one more time. Are you prepared for war, for the terrors to come?"

"Remember, Rave, you brought this war upon us; however, I always knew that this day would come, and I am prepared to give up my life for our freedom."

"And have you recruited many more men to aid us in the conquest?"

"No, I fear that the men we have are all our town can spare at the moment. The rest of the men are in hiding, protecting their family and friends, and they will not risk their life to venture into the madman's haven."

"I see," I responded, flexing my hands, testing the limits of my physical power. "I suppose it is a reasonable reaction for such a dangerous situation."

"I saw a light," Siron cried, rushing in through the door, panting heavily. "I think I know where the base is."

"Show us, Siron," Salyanna screamed, pacing towards him as her gun rocked in her hand. "Are you sure of this?"

"Yes, come on." Siron nodded, his hands pointing outside. "Hurry up, Salyanna."

Leaving behind my rifle, I stomped behind them, turning left through the long corridor and heading up the stairs. The second floor offered no comfort in terms of warmth; the walls had many cracks, letting in air and a few flakes of snow; several rubbles of tiles eroded on the floor, and there were blood-stains on the left side of the walls. The stains looked thick and fresh, about a day or so old. The chimeras must have moved the corpses of the victims, I thought. Siron stopped by the side of the cannon, looking at us, his hand pointing towards something outside. Salyanna and I moved in closer, following the angle of his hand, peering through the spherical opening in the wall. About ten miles west, I saw a tiny glimpse of light below the mountain. Siron, reaching into his gray coat, handed me a pair of magnifying binoculars, a faint smile on his face. I peered through the binoculars, adjusting the strange lenses around, focusing on the area around the light. I noticed a solid concrete structure, the stumps of cut trees, and a few mutant chimeras lurking about. That is his base, I was certain.

"Take a look," I whispered, handing Salyanna the binoculars. "Siron is right."

"Yeah, that is the madman's base," she replied, exhaling slowly, the binoculars glued on her eyes. "I say we strike immediately."

"But we don't have the manpower to make such a bold tactic," Siron cried, gripping his gun anxiously. "Do you even have a plan at all?"

"What do you suggest we do, Siron? What is your plan of action, if you even have any? The best defense in battle is a good offense. If we don't seize this opportunity now, there will surely never be another opportunity like this."

"Well said, Salyanna, well said." I nodded, patting her back, a smile on my face. "The only way to end this madness is to take the fight to them."

Turning around, moistening my chapped lips, I spotted a black rifle wedged behind one of the cannons. It was a different type of gun, far more modern than the one I was using, with an extended magazine slot and a broader muzzle. The muzzle was pinned against the side of the cannon, with the butt of the rifle sticking out. It was within my arm's reach. Bending down, placing both hands against its grip, I began to pull back the rifle, attempting to force out the gun with sheer brute force. I coughed deeply, my hands numb and cold, and the feelings in my toes disappeared. I angled my leg and pressed it against the side of the cannon, planning to use my weight to push off the cannon slightly.

"What are you doing?" Salyanna asked, both of her arms on her waist, gliding towards me.

"I am trying to pull out this rifle, of course," I snarled, putting all of my strength into my legs. "I want this gun."

At last, the gun broke free, the force within my own body felling me to the filthy floor. I stood up, shaking my head, and reached for the gun, taking a closer look at the weapon. It was slightly heavy, the grip of the rifle rough and broad, and had numerous scratches all over the barrel. I exhaled, cocking the gun back, and pointed it at the wall, my hand pressed slightly on the trigger. This will serve me well, I thought.

"I think we should leave now," Salyanna whispered, her back against the wall, her gun holstered above her chest. She tracked something outside. "The mutant beasts are on the move again."

"Show me," I said, moving towards her, shifting around one of the mounted cannons, "How many are there?"

"About a dozen or so," she replied, pointing her index through the spherical hole. "They appeared two hours ago, and they have done nothing but watch us from the shadows."

"The first thing you need is a distraction," I added, placing my right hand on the cannon's breach, my eyes locked on the box of shells beneath it. "One of you will have to stay as bait, operating these cannons, while the rest of us advance towards the madman's stronghold."

"But that will be suicide, Rave. The person who stays will most likely be ripped apart," Siron exclaimed, shifting nervously around, both of his hands on his rifle. "But then again, running through that forest will be also suicide."

"If we stay here, we will all be killed," Salyanna screamed at him with a look of anger on her face. "The chimeras will eventually find a way to get inside, like they did with the first group of guards, and they will slaughter us all, so we cannot afford to stay here."

"I trust you have made your decision?" I interrupted, taking a few steps to the stairs leading downstairs. "I really don't care if you come with me or not, or whether you all survive this mission or not—the oath I made with the mayor was to kill the madman and destroy his chimera army. So your lives mean nothing to me, if I can be honest."

"You truly are a monster, as the rumors said," Siron hissed, blinking, a look of anger on his face. "You might not care about your life, but I care for my life. I have family and friends, and I want to go back to them when all of this is over."

"Like I said, the only reason I am aiding your rebellion is for a ship," I snarled, my head facing the staircase below, the gun in my left hand. "I truly don't care what happens to everyone when this is over."

"Why you conniving bastard," Siron roared, trudging towards me with his right, gloved hand clenched into a fist. "You caused all of this, and this is all that you have to say to us?"

"Enough already," Salyanna boomed, standing in his path, both of her hands extended outwards in an attempt to stop him from advancing. "You have made your motives clear to us, Rave, and to be honest with you, I respect you for it. At least, we now know where you stand in all of this."

"I will leave it to the four of you to decide who will accompany me to the base and who will stay behind as a distraction."

"Where are you going, if I may ask?" Salyanna asked.

"Don't worry, I am going out to thin the herd a little—in other words, I will be outside killing more mutant chimeras. I really want to see how this gun handles against larger foes."

I descended down the flight of stairs, listening to them bicker in a low tone, the wooden tread squeaking whenever I pressed my feet against it. Jutcer passed by me, nodding without ushering a word, ascending up to the second floor. I turned left, plodding through the gloomy corridor, glancing at the objects around me. Most of the mounted lamps were not functioning at all. I could hear the echoing wind from the cracks in the structures, and the temperature inside had dropped significantly from what it had been a few hours ago. By the door, they had placed a metal bed frame against it, an empty gun shelf beneath it, and a few blocks of granite rocks in the back to stop anyone from entering without permission. Halting, I glanced down, bending my knees as I picked up two magazines clips. I anchored the gun sideways, releasing the current magazine from its slot, and jammed one of the full ones inside. I cocked the gun back, releasing the safety mechanism, a smile on my face. My wounds had finally healed, the pain in my leg gone, and for some unknown reason, I felt so refreshed and clearheaded. Although, on several occasions, I pondered on where the bullets inside my body went or what would happened if my head was cut off—the answers to these questions eluded me, but I never let it bother me. I mean, why complain when you are immortal, right?

"Where are you going, lad?" the last man asked. He was an older gentleman in his late sixties, with a thick gray mustache, and wore a pair of focal goggles above his head. "I have barricaded this whole forte, and if you want to leave, please let me know first."

"What is that noise?" I asked, ignoring his annoying rant. "Is that coming from your arm?"

"Why yes, lad, it certainly is." He smiled, pulling back his arm with pride. "I lost my real arm ages ago and had to replace it with a mechanical one."

For a simple town, this is rather amazing, I thought. The whole arm was made from a copper-like metal, with gears and bolts lodged into it. Tiny wires circulated through the arm, a large oil filtering device placed behind the elbow. The wrist and fingers were made from several fragments of a thick plastic coating, a glowing bulb on the index finger, and whenever he moved the arm around, clear steam shot through a shoulder pore. It was amazing. I mean, it wasn't as advanced as Cyborg City technology on Earth, but nonetheless, it was fascinating. And the thing that I truly liked about his arm was the secret gun anchored next to his shoulder, with two magazine slots next to his scapula.

"Impressive, right?" he boasted, raising the hand in the air, a load of hot steam blowing out of the arm. "With this hand, I killed six mutant chimeras and carried four hundred pounds of goods, singlehandedly."

"It is impressive, and I hope you put that arm to good use, sir, when the chimeras attack us again," I added, placing my gun on my back, inhaling slowly.

"Oh, I intend to—I can assure you of that," he roared, proceeding to laugh in an egomaniacal manner. "With this arm, I am invincible. Hahahahahah!"

What a obnoxious jerk, I thought. He is so full of himself—I hope a mutant chimera whacks him.

I heard a howling sound, the noise rather close, and then a vicious bang hit the main door. The door was slammed again, dust rising into the air, and the triple hinges rattled inwards. The monster on the other side of the door roared menacingly as it poured all of its strengths into smashing down the wooden door.

"Stand back," I warned the man, raising my gun in the air, holding my breath.

A chunk of the door was knocked loose and it hit the metal bed frame; the wind flew in through the hole in the door, and suddenly, a pair of bright orange eyes presented themselves. I angled forward, pressing my right foot against the frame, the gun steady in my hands. Firing twice, the bullets maimed the beast in the face, making it writhe in pain. It snarled softly, some of its blood splashing on the door as it fell against the entry in a loud thump.

"What is going on?" Salyanna cried, rushing through the corridor, her rifle raised above her stomach. "Have they attacked us?"

"I am afraid so," the elder man with the steam arm sniffed, dropping his head down. "It was my fault; I didn't secure the door enough."

"This is no one's fault, I can assure you." Salyanna smirked, patting the man on the shoulder. "It was bound to happen sooner or later, and at any rate, we must make preparations to leave immediately."

"Cleiver, we have decided that it would be for the best if you stayed here and guarded this outpost," Siron said, moving past Salyanna. "You are the strongest of us all, and you are invulnerable, right?"

"Well, if the shoe fits," the man joked, his steam arm raised straight into the air, before laughing like a raging lunatic. "Despite hearing those words of praise, despite knowing them to be true for myself, I cannot help but feel you have another agenda and motive, and I want to know what it is."

"One of us must stay here and man the cannons, creating a breakthrough for the rest of us, while we blitz towards the madman's lair," Siron responded, his hands on his waist, trudging towards the main door. "But for it happen as I have explained, we will need a strong man, a man with an unbreakable will, to stay here and operate the cannons, whilst guarding the remaining outpost from the mutant chimeras. So will you do it, old friend?"

"Your words have convinced me so." the elder man, known as Cleiver by his comrades, nodded with a big grin on his face. "My stomach churned when you explained your reason, Siron. I know that this is a suicide mission and I will probably die. Isn't that right, Salyanna?"

"You can refuse if you don't want to," she replied, shifting her weight around, avoiding his solid gaze. "In my heart, I know you are the only one who can do it and the only one with a high chance to survive against the chimera horde."

"Is that so?" Cleiver said, turning his head around, facing the opposite end of the corridor, his steam arm clenched into a fist. "If any of you survive, tell my wife and children that I am sorry."

"No, you will survive and tell them yourself. Promise me that, Cleiver," Salyanna said, her right hand reaching out to him. "You cannot─ and you won't die, okay?"

"Don't waste your time lying to him," I interrupted in a stoic manner, playing with my fingers. "If he stays here while we make a break for it, he will surely be killed, and I believe that lying to him would be immoral."

"Shut up, Rave," Jutcer screamed, his fists clenched. "From the moment you arrived on this planet, you have been nothing but a pain in the rear. Do you feel any remorse and empathy for the horrors you have unleashed?"

"Mind your tongue, Jutcer," I hissed, popping my wrist in a threatening manner. "Otherwise, I will cut it off and shove it down your throat. If you recall correctly, your people shot at me first, causing me to wreck into this stupid, stinking planet you call a home."

"Why are we even listening to you? Why are you even accompanying us if you don't even care about us?" Siron added, folding his arms, looking at me with a face of disgust.

"Fine, I will go alone," I muttered, walking forward to the door and bending down to one knee. "Whether you all come with me or not, it doesn't really matter. Like I said, as long as I get what I want, your lives don't really matter to me."

"Enough, all of you," Salyanna yelled, causing me to turn my head around. "I know that you are all frustrated and angry, I understand that. But if we fight amongst ourselves like this, the mutant chimeras will slaughter us. The quest will fail. Please, Rave, just this once, will you stay and help us retake this region from the madman?"

"Only if you don't get in my way," I replied and twisted my body around to face them again. "I mean it this time—I will not tolerate any comments and insults from any of you."

Just as I finished my last sentence, something slammed against the door, causing the hinges to come loose. It snarled quietly, shaking the ground whenever it took a step. Flabbergasted, we looked at each other, rifles firmly gripped, before turning to the door. We took a few steps back. Long claws, belonging to the massive beast, appeared through the hole in the door, and it started to pry the door apart. I took it upon myself to make the first move, firing at the creature with every bullet in the magazine. Everyone else joined in after, and together, we managed to push back the creature, maiming it beyond any reasonable doubt.

"We have to go now," I yelled, pushing away the bed frame and kicking the shelf next to it down. "Time is the one thing we don't have."

"Good luck, Cleiver," Siron said, taking the elderly man's hand—his other real arm—and giving it a solid shake. "I will see you on the other side, brother."

"Travel well, Siron," he replied, turning around and giving Jutcer a light hug. "Take care of Salyanna and the others, Jutcer."

"I will." Jutcer nodded, avoiding his gaze.

"And you, Salyanna, take.." Cleiver turned around to hug her.

"Enough with this crap," I spat, interrupting him, holding the half open door with my right hand. "I am going ahead, and if you want to come with me, I suggest you come, right now."

"Sheesh! Okay, Rave, just calm down." Siron shrugged, pacing towards me as he anchored his rifle in front of him.

Opening the door wide, we all exited the outpost except for Cleiver. We jumped over two dead mutants as Cleiver rigged some mines and explosives against the door, before sealing it shut again. Strong winds whirled to the south, the snow still falling to the ground as before. It was so bad that we sunk into the snow, knee deep, whenever we walked through it. It was still so dark. The moon was still shining brightly above, and the cold winds blew hard against us. Some of the trees to the east had been felled to the ground and lay against the sides of the hill, like some unknown assailant had placed them there. I heard twigs snapping, branches torn from trees, and the sound of unfamiliar footsteps crunching against the thick snow. Obviously, we were being watched.

"Now, Cleiver," Salynanna shouted, holding a portable radio transmitter in her hand. "Fire all cannons."

"Roger," he replied, with a tone of fear and regret. "I bid you all farewell. May we meet again when this is all over."

The first cannon on the left wall fired first, knocking three trees below the hill to the ground. The second and third cannon were fired as well, which caused the lurking mutant chimeras to scurry away in every direction. We opened fire, shooting down all of the chimeras within range, making our way down the snowy slope. Jutcer lost his balance and slid down a few yards, hitting a tree with his back. He screamed in pain, his voice drawing out a few mutant chimeras that had been following us from the distance. Salyanna and Siron hastened their pace, guns blazing hot, trying to get to the injured Jutcer before the monsters got to him. I swung my gun around, shooting three mutant chimeras in the head before they could attack the unsuspecting Salyanna and Siron. Abruptly, a cannon shell hit the tree a few meters from Jutcer, causing it to tilt in a dangerous way to the left. The same location where Jutcer lay wounded. The cannon shell had destroyed the tree's thick bark, which in turn caused a massive amount of piled up snow to fall to the ground. What is that Cleiver doing? I thought.

"Jutcer," Salyanna cried, plodding through the snow with great difficulty. "Get up right now and run for it. That tree is falling towards you."

Disoriented, he looked up, his gun next to him, and he struggled to stand up. His teeth were red with blood, his lower lip busted, and he had a small cut above his head. I would be surprised if he could actually stand up and make a run for it considering his wounds and current state of mind. If I wanted to, I could have saved him from this predicament, but I didn't feel the urge to do anything except watch him out of curiosity.

"I won't let you die," Salyanna screamed, her red hair swerving wildly. Her fingernails turned into claws.

She leapt into the air with ease, dropping her gun into the snow, making a quick dash for Jutcer. Just as the tree began to plunge down, she landed beneath it, grabbing him with one hand and making an unnatural death-defying leap for the other side. Squinting, I blinked, questioning myself on whether what I saw really happened, or if it was some sort of snow mirage. Chimeras were strong and fast, I knew, but that was when they were fully transformed into the beast forms. And she had also mentioned that the madman had done something to them, to stop them from transforming—a response I was beginning to doubt very much. How many lies had they told me? For all I knew, this could be a trap, a ruse to get me to follow them into the madman's hands. Crap!

"I can kill all of them any time I want," I whispered to myself, loading a new magazine into the rifle, exhaling slightly. "After all, they have no idea who I am and what my true abilities are."

"Come on, Rave, come help us," Siron yelled, waving at me, leaning next to Salyanna and Jutcer.

Looking left and right, I made a slow descent, hopping over the fallen tree while listening to the sound of cannon fire. The cloaked chimeras rushed past us, making no effort at all to hide from us. They were headed for some other refuge. Several more trees were felled to the ground by a single cannon shell, a result most likely caused by having too much snow piled on them.

"Can he move?" I asked, bending down to my left knee, the muzzle of my gun facing the ground. "We cannot stay here, it is not safe for any of us at all. Cleiver has no idea where we are, and if he stops firing, the beasts will return to attack us."

"I know," Salyanna added, swallowing a lump down her throat, her lips dry and cracked. "We can rest here, give him more time to recover, I suppose."

"Enough with this crap," I answered back, angry, standing back up to feet. "You all know we can't do that, and I will not stop you if that is what you truly desire. If you decide to stay here, I will leave you and continue on my own."

"That's not what I meant," she argued, standing up, making hand gestures at me. "I know what is at stake—I was just throwing out an idea, just in case everyone agrees with me."

"Go, Rave, if you want," Jutcer intervened, a mean look on his bloody face. "Why are you even here with us in the first place? You only care for yourself, your ship, and your stupid mission."

"Please, boys, stop fighting," Salyanna said, standing between us, her index finger pressed against the trigger of her rifle. "This is not the time for any of us to be fighting amongst ourselves."

"Everyone, shut up for a second," Siron roared, looking down to focus. "I think I heard screams, like someone was in trouble."

"From where?" Salyanna asked, her gun following every direction her head turned. "Is it from the outpost? Is it Cleiver?"

"No, that's the weird part," he replied, blinking. "It's actually coming from the direction we are headed—about two miles from here."

9

Lifting up Jutcer, Siron and I carried the injured man by placing his arms around our necks. At first, I was reluctant to the stupid idea, but Salyanna, against my protest, somehow talked me down into aiding him. I had no idea how she did it; usually, I was not one to be easily influenced by the pleas and ideas of others. I suppose it was the reason I had only five friends in the five hundred years I had roamed the earth. Moving slowly, the wind brushing behind us, we climbed down the slope of the hill, trudging carefully through the dangerous blizzard.

"I have been meaning to ask you a few questions, Salyanna," I began, grabbing Jutcer's hand a little tighter, facing her. "When is the sun going to come out?"

"Oh, yeah, you are new to this planet," she replied, walking in front of us, not looking back at me. "There is a possibility that it might not even come at all and another possibility that this blizzard will not stop for the next few months."

"Explain your answers, please. Your words seem to defy any understanding I try to muster."

"A feeling we are all too familiar with, Rave. You see, fifteen years ago, when the madman first appeared before us, all sorts of strange things began to happen. It wasn't just people disappearing; the climate was changing, too. I was young, about your age, when it happened, and I didn't understand what was going on. My brother went missing a year after that. I never saw him again."

"I'm older than you, just so you know," I muttered, chuckling to myself.

"Did you say something?" she asked, turning her head around. "I am sorry—I didn't catch it."

"Nothing at all," I replied, inhaling slowly.

"Lies, he said he is older than you," Jutcer added, looking at me. "I heard him say it with my own two ears."

"I am tempted to throw you down, just for saying that, Jutcer," I spat, giving him a good nudge to the back.

"Hey, he hit me," he cried, pretending to be deeply hurt, falling face first into the snow. "Why did you do that?"

"You are joking, right?" I asked, looking at Siron and Salyanna before turning my gaze to the fallen Jutcer. "I just gave you a soft nudge to the back."

"No, you hit me in the back knowing that I was injured there," he screamed, his acting rather convincing. "Why did you do it?"

"Are you okay?" Salyanna turned around, walking to him, and bending down to her right knee, her arm pressed against his chest. "I know you didn't mean it, Rave, so please apologize to him for hurting him."

"What," I rattled, tramping closer to him, both of my hands on my rifle. "I shall not apologize for something I didn't do. He is lying—ask Siron; he would know if I did anything to Jutcer, since we were both holding him at the same time."

"I am not getting myself caught in this," Siron murmured, flexing his arms around, his gaze drawn somewhere else. "I didn't see anything, and I don't want to be involved in this."

"For you to say that means that Rave is telling the truth," Salyanna concluded, standing up. "Are you even hurt at all, Jutcer?"

"What are you saying?" he cried, his voice tense and grim. "What kind of question is that?"

"Sorry for asking this, but we all saw you fall, but your wounds were not that bad," she responded, wiping snow from her face. "I just want to know."

"I am hurt. I mean, look at me." he shrugged back at her, pointing at his back. "How can I be faking this? How can you even ask me that?"

"There is only one way to know," I added, turning my head around and pointing my gun at him. "This will tell if you are lying or not."

His eyes widened, his lips spacing apart when he saw the muzzle of my gun pointing at his legs. Pulling the trigger, I fired two rounds, aiming for his thighs, and at that moment, his survival instincts took over, forcing him to his feet. Jutcer dodged the bullets, rolling out of the way as he spun around and pointed his gun at me. His legs, his back, and his chest, looked and functioned perfectly for someone who demanded to be carried. Jutcer stared at me, exhaling heavily, his eyes glowing with a red color.

"What's the meaning of this?" Siron asked, glancing at Jutcer with an expression of anger. "Were you faking it this whole time?"

"Hey, hey, people," Jutcer spat, releasing the pressure in his gun. "This man tried to kill me—I believe that is a more pressing matter at hand."

"Yes, we will come to that," Siron continued, examining Jutcer from head to toe with his eyes. "Were you even hurt at all?"

"Sort of," he replied back, closing one eye, his other eye focused on the gun's scope he was pointing at me. "Rave is a monster, far worse than the mutant chimeras, and I think we should not take him so lightly."

"This coming from the man who was faking an injury," Salyanna added, a look of disgust on her face. "How could you do that to us, Jutcer? Do you know how much time and energy we wasted carrying you?"

Up above us, a rogue cannon shell exploded into the tree in front of us, the snow on its branches falling to the ground, causing it to sway to the right side. We finally broke into silence, finally realizing how dangerous the situation around us was. Turning, I scrutinized the area, looking for the best passage below. The tree, in front of us, would fall to the ground; an avalanche was possible as a result of this.

"Let's go, now," I ordered, moving five yards to the left before descending down the hill. "You don't want to be here if an avalanche starts."

They looked each other, alarmed, and did as I instructed, following behind me in a careless manner. The tree caught fire just as it began to fall towards the bottom. Fortunately for us, we didn't experience an avalanche, otherwise the situation would have been most unpleasant.

We finally made it to the edge of the hill, a place with a few trees, a small canyon of granite rocks, and a humongous lake filled with ice. Basically, it had a thick layer of solid ice on top and cold water beneath. To get to the other side, we had to cross over this ice lake, a difficult task for some.
"Are you sure about this?" Jutcer asked the moment we came to the shore of the frozen lake. "This doesn't look safe; for all we know, there might be mutant chimeras lurking below the frozen ice, waiting for anyone to make a bold mistake of crossing over it."

"You might be right," Salyanna said, bending down and picking up a pebble from the ground. She chucked it across the frozen lake. "Monsters or not, we must cross the lake to get to the other side."

"I smell blood," Siron yelled, sniffing the air, turning his head around. "Look over there—I see something."

In the direction he was pointing, I saw what looked like shadowy figures standing stiffly on the frozen water. Their dark cloaks flapped in the wind and their feet appeared to be hovering from the air. Siron made the first move, testing the frozen lake with his left foot before walking on it. We all followed behind him, our guns loaded and raised, fighting our way against the strong blizzard. I looked down at the frozen ice, the feeling in my legs gone, and I felt uncomfortable to go on. I mean, walking on ice water without falling was downright madness.

"What the heck is this?" Jutcer exclaimed, lowering his weapon, looking up. "Who did this?"

"I don't know, but whoever it is, I don't think we want to stay here and find out," Siron muttered, removing his hat, exhaling slowly.

In front of us, a dozen or so mutant chimeras lay dead, hung on metal spears—an ancient form of execution called impalement. The spears had been impaled through their lower abdomen, and the spike came out through their right shoulder. Based on the blood that was still dripping on the long spears, it looked they had been killed ten or twenty minutes ago.

But who could have done this and why? To describe this horrific scene in full detail would surely mortify anyone of a faint heart. Removing her hood, Salyanna strolled forward, her gun on her back, and she looked up, placing her goggles on.

"I know that the mutant chimeras are beyond saving, but we can't leave them like this," she whispered, shifting her body around, looking at each of us individually. "Do you all agree?"

"Yes, I agree," Siron nodded.

"Same here," Jutcer muttered, trudging towards her. He placed his gun on his back. "It would be dishonorable to leave them in this state; after all, they were once our kin."

"I don't think that is a good idea," I added, moving away from them, tracking the footprints on the ground. "Whoever did this is close, and I don't think they want you meddling with their prey."

"What do you mean by prey, Rave? These were once our people," Siron cried, placing his hands on the body of a dead chimera. He gently removed it off the spear. "I wouldn't rest well knowing that I left them here."

"Don't touch them," I roared, waving my hand back as I sensed something ominous in the air. "You really don't want to do that."

"Please explain why?" Salyanna asked, continuing her task without heeding my warning. "If you know something important, then please share with the group."

"Too late for that now," I sighed, pointing further ahead. "The one who did is coming."

"Where is he?" Jutcer asked, being stupid and annoying as usual. "Oh wait, I see him."

A man trudged towards us. He wore a red jump suit, long, black boots, and a yellow, frowny-face mask. The long chains on his arms and legs rattled with each step he took. Despite seeing our guns pointed at him, despite knowing that he was outnumbered, he acted casually, pretending like he was strolling through a park. But deep down, I knew how dangerous this man was. From the way he acted, it was almost like he was confident he could kill all of us.

"Halt, stranger," Siron yelled, taking two steps forward, his gun raised at the odd man. "If you move, I will shoot you."

"Siron, you idiot," I muttered, shaking my head. "He will kill you if you approach carelessly."

"Heheheheh," the strange man shrieked, scratching his shabby hair roughly while looking up at the night sky. "What are you all doing? Those are mine."

"Listen here, lad. I don't know who you are, but you are not welcome on this planet," Siron added, raising his deep voice, his feet planted firmly into the thick ice. "I will ask you one more time to halt, or I will be forced to shoot you."

"I told you not touch my treasures," he screamed, pulling out his dark hair from his skull, before dashing forward. "I will kill you all for that."

The others opened fire, shooting the deranged man in the chest, and felling him to the ground. Blood gushed from his chest, his body hitting the ground of ice in a loud thud, his hands falling on his sides. Like an idiot, Siron walked up to the man, reloading his rifle, hoping to have a closer look at the fallen lunatic.

"I think we got him," he chuckled, shaking the man's body with his right foot. "He's dead."

No, something is wrong here, I thought. He is still alive, somehow.

"Ahhh!" Siron screamed, staggering back, missing his left arm.

The stranger, adjusting his yellow mask, stood up to his feet and brushed off snow from his shoulder, acting like the bullets to the chest were not affecting him at all. He twisted his neck slightly, stretching his arms and legs, inhaling and exhaling deeply. Upon finishing his bizarre routine, he stood up straight, reaching into his right pocket and pulling out a spear. It was impossible; he had to be using some sort of trick, or he was some sort of magician. Pulling back, he chucked the spear at Salyanna, attempting to kill her in one strike. Gasping, her chimera instincts took over, and she rolled to the left, dodging the spear before it struck her. She jumped back to her feet, her hair lashing behind her, and began to fire back at the lunatic.

"I guess I will play with all of you." He shrugged, pulling out another spear from his pocket and hurling it at her. "I really like games."

"Enough of this," I intervened, grabbing the spear in mid air, spinning around, and chucking it back at him.

Before it could maim him, it disappeared into thin air, like it was some sort of illusion. He raised his index finger, shaking it left and right, laughing in a low tone. Moving back, I squinted, coughing slightly as I noticed that the weather was getting worse. The snow kept falling against my face, making it hard for me to see the man clearly. I saw a flash of silver, and in that instant, I was stabbed in the chest by a knife of some sort. The lunatic drew close to me, his face inches from mine, laughing out loud and acting as if he had defeated me. He twisted the blade around, planning on causing me great pain; however, I grabbed his hand firmly and drew him closer, before shooting him in the head with my gun. Like the spear, he disappeared into nothing, leaving his blade stuck in my chest.

"So, that's how your abilities work," I said, laughing, my gun still raised above me. "Everyone, come towards me."

"Are you hurt, Rave?" Salyanna asked, rushing towards me, her eyes fixated upon the wound on my chest. "Goodness, how are you even standing?"

"It's complicated." I shrugged, removing the blade slowly from my chest, the pain excruciating. "Now, if you don't do exactly as I say, he is going to kill all of you."

"We have to go back to town and find a doctor for Siron," Jutcer cried, placing Siron down next to us, his hands pressed against Siron's left shoulder to stop the bleeding. "He isn't going to make it if he stays here."

"Listen carefully to what I have to say," I began, turning my head in every direction as I surveyed the area for the yellow mask bastard. "What we are facing right now is nothing more than an astral projection of the killer. He is some sort of conjurer, a mage of illusions with the ability to create a clone at will. His real body is hiding somewhere close, and the spears he is throwing are real. It is not the astral clone throwing them, but his real body."

"And how do you know all of this?" Salyanna asked, puzzled, looking at me with suspicion "You seem to have a lot of knowledge on him—it is almost as if you know him."

"I don't, so let me finish," I replied rudely, covering my nose and mouth with my hands. "I am not sure if any of you took special notice to the specific set of clothes he was wearing. Particularly, the number embedded on his back, a prison number to be exact. Several hours ago, I saw a transport ship falling from the sky, and it landed somewhere close to here. I was under the impressions that it was a galaxy transport ship, but after seeing this man, I highly doubt it is."

"So, wait," Jutcer interrupted, glancing at me. "What are you trying to say exactly?"

"Shut up, you idiot, and let me finish," I rattled, my left fist clenched, giving him a mean look. "I am saying that the ship that crashed onto this planet was transporting death row criminals to the next galaxy, the home of the Vandrel Guards. I am almost eighty percent sure that there is at least twenty of his kind running amok in these woods, each with their own specific set of skills and abilities."

"Surely you jest, right?" Siron asked, panting heavily as he struggled to stay awake. "The mayor must be warned if it is true."

"The masked man is coming. Get ready," I turned around, taking a defensive. "He is a probably an illusion, but don't forget the weapons are real."

The crazy lunatic, laughing out loudly, jumped four feet into the air, spinning three times before coming down in a vertical slash. I grabbed Siron's leg and tossed him to the side, as I clashed my rifle with the lunatic's blade. From the resistance he was giving me, it was hard to tell if it was an illusion or if it was his real body. He shrieked out loud, taking a small leap back, his whole body disappearing into the blizzard. I heard gunshots, followed by the clashing of steel blades, and then a scream. Turning back, I caught a glimpse of a shadowy presence moving through the snowy thicket, resembling the masked man in a way. That is his real body, I thought.

"Keep an eye out for the weapons," I yelled, pressing the rifle against my cheek. I closed one eye, holding my breath. "The real one is mine."

I tracked the presence until it stopped behind a tree, stalking us with one eye, its fingers sticking out. I grabbed my gun tightly, relaxed my body, and pulled the trigger the moment he stuck his whole head out. The bullets pierced through his mask and sent him plunging to the ground. His clone, which had been terrorizing Salyanna and the others, disappeared into thin air, signifying our victory and triumphant.

"Stay here with the others," I yelled, marching over the ice, my eyes fixated on the fallen man.

Ignoring the dreary cold, the annoying snowflakes, and my uneasiness over the icy ground, I trudged forward while keeping my rifle trained on my fallen foe. He rocked back and forth, his mask bloody. His body laid flat over the thin, white grove. Shifting his head, glancing at me, he tried to muster enough strength to stand up, but he was seriously hurt for such a fit. Walking over to him, I bent down, grabbed one of his hands, and pulled him away from sight. I had my own plans for him, which I doubted any of my current colleagues would approve of.

"I have questions for you, and I want you to reply honestly," I whispered, sitting on his stomach, my gun lying on my left knee. "Please don't force me to do anything that you might find discomforting."

"I dealt you a mortal blow," he began, panting heavily, shifting his gaze to the left. "How do you hold breath?"

"That's not the answer I am seeking," I yelled, pulling back his ridiculous mask, trying to see what his face looked like. "Oh my, this is unusual."

Beneath his mask, there was nothing but a swirling void of nothingness, a pure abyss that expanded into what looked like infinity. He had no eyes, nose, cheeks, or mouth—just a plain void of darkness. It made me dizzy just to stare into his face. Almost like looking into my own heart, a thing I truly feared above all.

"On second thought, you should keep the mask: it gives you character," I replied, smashing it back onto his face, not minding the blood on my hands. "Now, I want you to tell me how many of your kind are roaming these woods, and who amongst you is the strongest and most fearsome. If you can, I would like you to also tell me of their speed, strength, and any special abilities they might possess."

"And why would I tell you that?" he laughed, spitting blood onto my coat. "Why would I turn against my own brethren?"

"Because I am ordering you to," I snickered, patting his yellow mask, taunting the man in agony. "Did you know that you could torture a man without causing any mortal harm to him? It is all about choosing a specific part of the body, one that is elastic enough to withstand a great deal amount of pain. I like the ears, because no matter how much you pull and stretch them, they will retain elasticity and size. I will show you what I mean since you don't believe me."

Grabbing his ears, I pulled back as hard as I could, and then twisted them in opposite directions before releasing them from my grasp. He screamed, his body trembling from the combination of the pain and the cold, and his mask almost fell off. This was simply amazing. I could really do this for days.

"Are you ready to talk?" I asked again, placing my hands on his ears again, ready to have another go at it. "I will let you go as soon as I have learned what I need to know."

"Never," he shrieked, panting heavily, his ears red and hot. "I will never rat on my pals."

"I'm glad you said that," I added, pulling his ears roughly with a lot more force. "I can do this for hours, you know."

"Okay! Enough please," he screamed out loud. "I will tell you everything you need to know—just stop pulling on my ears, okay?"

"Good, I guess you are much smarter than you look. Now, tell me what I asked you before."

"There were nine of us being transported to Dead Planet, the prison land for all those condemned to die by the Vandrel Guards. We were passing over when we were hit by something, and we crash-landed here. Three of my inmates and four guards did not make it out of the wreckage in one piece; however, those that survived fled in different directions, hiding from the guards and the monsters that prey in these woods. The strongest, in my opinion, is Derrick Lucy, the pyromaniac arsonist from the Jupiter colony and the second most wanted man in the galaxy. If I am not mistaken I saw him team up with Katherine, the leg hunter, and Tommy, the spree killer."

"Are they really that strong?"

"Oh, yes, they are the most dangerous prisoners in my group, and are far much worse than me."

"How many guards are there?"

"About a dozen or so, highly trained and skilled in combat, and they have been instructed to kill us if we try to escape."

"Are these guards also strong?"

"Yes. Mrs. Craft, the head guard and a Tarizard alien, is the strongest of them all. She is incredibly ruthless, punishing anyone who looks in her direction without mercy, and you will know her by the long, black bow she carries on her back—and a broad blade on her holster. I have told you everything you need to know, so I trust you will keep your oath about letting me go free."

"Oh sure, my good lad, I am a man of my word, and I will give you two choices since I am being generous. Would you like to go by a bullet in the head or a spear in the heart? The choice is obviously yours to take."

"But you said you would let me go?" he pleaded, his voice weak and low.

"I never specified how I would let you go. Besides, I can't just allow you to run amok impaling everyone you come across. I will give you thirty seconds to decide." I smiled, standing up slowly and walking over to pick up a long spear he had dropped against the bark of the tree.

"Give me the bullet to the head," he sighed, tracking me with his head, making another attempt to rise but failing again. "I would rather you take my life than to let Mrs. Craft have her sadistic way with me."

"I will make it quick," I replied, dropping the long spear and retrieving my rifle. "Sorry, lad, but this isn't personal at all. You are just simply standing in the way of my future plans, and I cannot have that."

Smiling, I took three steps towards him, pumping one round into the bullet chamber and pointing the muzzle at his head. Considering that his face was missing, or it was an illusionary trick my brain was playing on me, I had no way of knowing if that shot would kill him or not. But I could always impale him when I was done, just to be certain. Hunching down, my breath held, I pressed on the trigger lightly, ready to deliver that final shot, but before I had the chance to shoot him, my gun was yanked away from my hands by some unknown force. Wide-eyed, I looked at my hands, confused, and turned around in every direction, unable to explain what had just occurred. The gun was not longer in my possession, I knew, but things don't just disappear without any reason.

"That man is not yours to kill," a cold voice echoed into the wind but without revealing the direction it was coming from. "He belongs to Dead Planet, a fate worse than death, so his life is not yours to take, you hear?"

"Show yourself, please, so I may speak with you on pleasant terms," I replied, bowing my head and lowering my other rifle. "On my planet, we consider it to be rude to speak to people whilst hiding in the shadows."

"Please forgive us for our bad manners," the voice said in a softer and gentler tone. "Allow us to introduce ourselves to you. We are the Vandrel Guards, the keepers of Dead Planet, and defenders of Justice and Law."

Like ghosts, they manifested out of thin air, all eleven of them, wearing silver-coated armor and titanium reinforced headgears. Long, silk capes hung from their shoulders and magazine bandoliers were attached around their waist. They wore long boots that reached their knees and carried powerful guns that made my rifle look like a joke. They were right in front of me this whole time, watching me torture this man, and that was bad. How did I not sense their presence? What will they do to me?

"What is your name, sir?" a feminine voice asked as one of them in a brighter armor stepped forward. "I am Cornelia Craft, the captain of the Vandrel Guards, but everyone calls me Mrs. Craft for short."

"Charmed to meet you, Mrs. Craft," I replied, taking back my other gun from her and holstering it on my back. "I am Rave Fireheart, a simple traveler passing by from Earth."

"What is an earthling like you doing on this planet?" Mrs. Craft asked, folding her hands above her chest, looking down at the fallen prisoner. "This planet is restricted to chimeras; it is a place where normal humans must not enter, under any circumstance."

"It is as you have explained," I added, tweaking my neck. My feet felt cold. "But much like yourself, I am also stranded on this planet, because my ship was shot down by the inhabitants of this planet."

"It was a neutron plasma round," a soldier whispered bluntly into her ear, whilst keeping his gun trained on my legs. "Should we call base for reinforcements? Perhaps, we could ask them if they could lend us another ship."

"That would not work," she replied, pulling out her pistol and shooting the prisoner in the head. "As long as they have that weapon, any attempts we make to send for help will be voided. If they were confident enough to shoot down a galactic government vessel, despite knowing the consequences, they must have something powerful enough to block transmission signals, something powerful enough to capture or kill us. Tell me, Rave, what do you know of the inhabitants' intentions for shooting us down?"

"Terrible things, I suspect," I began, biting my lip, as I turned my head around. "I have a few of them travelling with me; we were headed to the lair of the madman, the beast responsible for this entire calamity, when we came across this foul prisoner."

"We know," Mrs. Craft said, bending down, checking the dead prisoner's pulse with a scanner. "We watched you engage in a duel with this animal from the shadows."

"That's cruel, even for a galactic official." I smirked, shaking my head. "If you were defenders of Justice, then why didn't you aid us in our battle against him?"

"We are under orders to capture and kill the prisoners," she replied, standing back up, turning her body around, and gazing towards the mountains. "We will not risk our lives to save a few people."

"Rave, are you okay?" Salyanna cried, appearing abruptly without warning, her gun raised in the air. "Who are you people?"

The guards turned their attention to her, marching around to form a perfect defense formation around Mrs. Craft, all of their guns aimed at Salyanna. To my surprise, Salyanna moved in closer, looking at them without faltering in terror. A twig snapped, forcing half of the guards to revert their guns towards the opposite direction. Nothing but the wind stirred in the air, the snowflakes falling heavily to the ground, the sky still dark and gloomy. I doubted the sun was going to come out any time soon.

"Relax, Salyanna, they are not our enemies," I responded, gesturing with my right hand to lower her rifle. "They are prison guards from the Dead Planet, roaming these frozen woods in search of their missing prisoners."

"A pleasure to meet you all." She nodded, placing her gun on her back. Her claws reverted back to fingernails. "I would welcome you with open arms if the situation was not so dire, but I am afraid our troubles render us unable to accommodate you all."

"Oh, you are so generous," Mrs. Craft said, walking up to Salyanna and placing her right hand on her shoulder. "And here I thought that chimeras were a vicious and murderous bunch, who only capture and kill anyone invading their territory."

"Not all chimeras are like that," she replied, a faint, nervous smile on her face.

"I see," Mrs. Craft concluded, her voice cold and heavy. "I am beginning to understand the situation a bit."

Grabbing Salyanna's shoulder, she shoved her roughly to the left, felling her into the deep snow. Salyanna, blinking, sat up, looking at her gun first before gazing at Mrs. Craft. She rolled up to feet, making a break for her rifle, but Mrs. Craft shifted into her way, both of her arms folding, taunting the chimera girl. Salyanna panted, gazing at me, unable to understand what was happening in front of her.

"What's the meaning of this?" she asked, wiping the snow from her face, her hair swerving from her back. "Why are you attacking me?"

"You are a resident of this wretched planet and I want to release my pent-up frustrations on someone," she shrieked, plodding on the snow, drawing her short blade out. "Do you know how much time we lost with this interruption? Do you even have any idea of the dangers you have unleashed upon this miserable planet? We were transporting some of the most dangerous criminals away from civilization, where they could do no harm to the innocent."

Salyanna, reaching for her left boot, drew her dagger and deflected Mrs. Craft's blade. She stumbled against the bark of the tree, a bit of snow landing on her hair and shoulders, her dagger still extended outwards. She stood up straight and walked back towards us, brushing some snow from her head with a serious look on her face. Spinning, Mrs. Craft swung her short sword down at her, hoping to maim Salyanna in her leg, but the chimera girl jumped back, dodging all of her lethal blows. This is really stupid, I thought.

I was wasting time with these idiots—time that I could have spent looking for the madman. Ignoring everyone else, I glanced down at my numb fingers, inhaling in cold air, as I flexed my fingers around. For quite some time now, I had been losing feeling of all the limbs on my body. It was this foul air, this bad weather, and this unending night that were causing me this misery. The true enemy on this planet was this blizzard, and if we continued to venture through this weather, we would all perish long before we reached the lunatic's hideout.

"Enough of this," I screamed, moving between them, stopping their blades with my bare hands. "Please stop this, Mrs. Craft, or I will be forced to intervene on her behalf. You have wasted most of our time, so if you don't mind, we will be taking our leave. You are more than welcome to come with us if you want, but do not get in our way. I beg of you."

"You are brave," Mrs. Craft pointed out, drawing her blade out of my bleeding hand as she looked at me with fascination. "I have seen a lot of men cower away from the sheer might of my blade, but not you, Rave. When this situation is straightened out, would you be interested in joining our ranks? To become a member of the Vandrel Guards is a great honor indeed, so what do you say?"

"Thanks for the offer; however, I already have a job," I replied, releasing my other hand from Salyanna's blade, the pain intolerable. "She is not your enemy; your true enemies are the creatures lurking in these woods and this cold, unending weather."

For the next twenty minutes, I told them everything that had happened to me since arriving on this planet, skipping the part about the whole town helping the madman in attempt to get a bit of leniency for them. I didn't really care for them, but for some reason, I felt a tiny bit of compassion for the children trapped on this miserable rubble of rock. After I was done, Mrs. Craft and her soldiers shifted out of hearing range to go over all of the facts I had explained.

"The cannon fire stopped several minutes ago," Salyanna murmured, turning towards the direction of the outpost. "They must have gotten Cleiver."

"Yeah, he is probably dead," I replied, reaching into my pocket and pulling out a cloth. I wrapped it around my bleeding wrist. "His fate was inevitable."

"Why do you always do that?" she screamed at me. "Why do you always say such cold words all of the time? Don't you feel any compassion, love, or remorse?"

"No, I don't." I turned away from her, unfazed by any of her questions. "There are just some people without hearts in this universe—people like me, Salyanna."

At the moment, Mrs. Craft and her ten soldiers returned to us, gun holstered. Mrs. Craft, squeaking her boots in the snow, tramped towards us and halted within inches from Salyanna. Her visor reflected the chimera girl's face, and it unnerved Salyanna deeply. She held her breath, placing the tip of her fingers on the butt of her rifle, taking one step back. There was a lot tension between them, I noticed, and it was boiling up to epic proportions.

"Very well, we shall assist you in this mission of yours," Mrs. Craft said, before turning around, her cape dancing in the blizzard wind, as she returned to her men.

10

The strong gusts of winds rippled over us without mercy, the cold slowly creeping on us from the feet up. The snow on the ground had increased greatly by another few inches, making our journey even more difficult. Together with the Vandrel Guards, we hiked through the snowy terrain, cutting across trees, rocks, and a few annoying depressions in the ground. Siron, along with three guards, returned back to the town to alert the mayor and the remaining residents of the new developments. Mrs. Craft was concerned that her escaped prisoners would reach the town first, plundering whatever they could get their hands on, before slaughtering the defenseless men, women, and children.

But the weirdest part in all of this, I noticed, was that we hadn't encountered a single mutant chimera for more than two hours. It was rather strange—almost nerve-wracking, considering how close we were getting to their hideout. Were they baiting us to approach? It was simply too easy. An animal howled into the wind, a shadowy figure standing over the peak of the mountain in front of us, the moon behind it making it more ferocious. It stood on its hind legs, resembling a wolf in nature, howling into the moon again, before a dozen or so joined it. The monsters looked our way, barking in a threatening manner, before storming swiftly in our direction.

"Wolf mutant chimeras are the worst," Salyanna commented, nudging me from the side, her rifle drawn out. "They are strong, fast, and very agile, a truly lethal combination."

"Alpha formation," Mrs. Craft boomed, drawing out her bow and placing an arrow on it. "Do not let them break our ranks, okay?"

"Yes, Mrs. Craft," they all replied, saluting her.

The moment she passed by them, they broke stance, darting off in pairs, their guns anchored above their waists. Two of them took the position in the back, the other two taking the western direction, as they hid themselves beneath the bark of trees, using the branches to conceal their presence. I could no longer see the other three guards because they had turned on their advanced cloaking devices, making themselves invisible to the naked eyes. The mutant wolves howled, the sound closer than before, their noisy approach easily detectable even in this accursed blizzard. And thanks to the direction of the wind, we had the advantage in terms of stealth and power. Our only problem at hand was the unavoidable hypothermia.

"Are you ready?" Salyanna shook me, looking at my trembling hands and a look of worry on her face.

"Don't worry about me," I replied, turning away from her. I picked up my fallen dagger before it was completely buried in snow. "I am much stronger than I look."

Two shots, coming from the right, took out a heavily, furred mutant chimera, instantly killing it. The beast was almost as big as an elephant, with long white fur and two long teeth like a saber tooth tiger. Its sharp claws also looked deadly. Like the bear chimera, it also possessed some sort of armor on its abdomen, nullifying any attacks to its heart or stomach. A tree fell to the ground, snow exploding into the air as two massive, mutant wolves charged towards us. Grabbing Salyanna, I threw her to the side, rolling out of the way before one of the beasts could trample us to the ground. Mrs. Craft stomped forward and she shot one wolf in front of her in the snout. It growled in pain, taking a swipe at her legs, but she twisted her body up, avoiding the lethal attack. She straightened up and reached into her pocket, retrieving some sort of blinking device. She loaded it onto the tip of an arrow and fired, striking a mortal blow beneath the mutant wolf's chin with a remarkable precision. The wolf roared in pain, its white fur turning green—and slimy bubbles oozed from its mouth. She shot it with some sort of parasitic acid, I thought. The wolf ceased moving; several second later, it was dead.

"What are you doing?" Mrs. Craft screamed, watching two of her men fending a black wolf that had appeared out of nowhere. "Do not attack without caution."

The dangerous creature stood on its hind legs, towering over them, making a great effort to intimidate them. It dropped its right paw on the unlucky man on the right, swashing him down like a bug with ease. It ended his life in the cruelest way possible.

"Altigun, no," his partner screamed, his judgment consumed by his grief. "I will kill you, you vicious beast."

Moving left, taking advantage of the trees, he opened fire on the powerful creature, hoping to avenge his fallen comrade, but his bullets could not penetrate the creature's tough armor. Unaware, another creature suddenly appeared behind him like a phantom. He literally walked into its jaws, the poor fool, his life ending when it sunk its teeth into him and chewed him down. These mutant chimeras were unlike the others we had faced up till now; they were powerful, cunning, and massive. It was going to take everything we had to bring these creatures down. I welcomed the challenge with open arms; however, considering this terrible environment, it was not a wise decision to engage them on equal terms.

"Formation B, everyone," Mrs. Craft yelled, waving everyone towards her. "They will tear us apart if we don't stay together."

Four of her remaining men heeded her advice and regrouped back, but the remaining soldier, aching to prove himself, fell victim to the savage beasts. He removed the cape from his back, drawing out a backup sword, making his final stand against the creatures. Four mutant wolves circled around him, snarling at him, torturing him by taking light jabs at his back when his gaze was drawn elsewhere. His comrades, angry and grieving, were forced to watch from the other side, unable to offer him aid. The black-furred mutant stood in our path, plodding through the snow on its hind legs, exhaling warm air deeply. It was shortly joined by two other wolves, which came from opposite directions, and they also stood on their hind legs. Just great, I thought, rabid mutants that want to act like humans.

"Petros," a soldier cried, reaching his hand out to the lone soldier. "Look out behind you."

The poor soldier was struck in the back by one of the beasts and was hurled into the tree, the snow falling on top of him. The mutant wolves acted as if they were enjoying what they were doing. One of them paced towards the fallen man, pulled him out of the snow, and chucked him back into the middle. The lone soldier struggled to get up, and from the way his left leg was twisted, he was highly unlikely to be unable to stand, let alone fight them off.

"Stick together, you fools," Mrs. Craft commanded, placing an arrow on her bow, facing the chimera. "Don't let his actions be in vain—stand together as the Vandrel Guards, the most powerful guards in this galaxy."

"Yes, ma'am," they muttered, the strength and power in their voices gone. "We shall do as you command."

Petros, the lone soldier, stuck his broad sword into the ground, using it to support himself, as he turned his gaze towards us. He stood still, amidst the foul beasts, proceeding to salute with his right hand—his final salute.

"No, Petros, don't use it," a soldier screamed, attempting to run to him, but was stopped by his companions.

Upon turning my head, I saw a bright white light, and then a massive explosion engulfed a forty-meter radius in a fierce blaze of blue fire. The explosion took out more than six mutant wolves, but left the black wolf and two others unscathed. Several trees were laid to waste, the fierce fire burning through the blizzard like a small storm, before dying out a minute after. This unexpected situation was spiraling out of control. If things progressed at this pace, we were all going to meet a similar fate. Salyanna, leaning closer to me, raised her rifle above her chest, halting her breath to steady her aim. She stopped herself from making any unnecessary movement, a thing that would be impossible for most seasoned, veteran hunters. Waiting until the creature was close, she fired three shots at its head. She maimed the creature on its forehead; however, it was not enough to kill it for good. While she reloaded a new magazine, the creature swung down, forcing us to jump in different directions.

"You were a good fellow, Petros," Mrs. Craft hissed, pulling her cape off her shoulders, the bow on her back. "You gave up your life fighting like a true honorary Vandrel Guard without using your true power. I shall not let your sacrifice go to waste."

The black mutant wolf rushed towards her, jaws wide open, displaying its massive, sharp teeth. Mrs. Craft ignored the dangerous beast as she began to take her helmet off with ease, acting like the monster was a harmless pet. From my perspective, her actions seemed rather stupid and bold. It was a daring display of power for the foolish─but she dodged the creature, leaping into the air, and vanishing at an astounding speed. I looked left and right, up and down, but I could not even sense her presence.

"Members of the Vandrel Guards, I have given you permission to use fifty percent of your restricted power," she screamed, standing on top of the creature with her sword raised in the air. "You are allowed to use any means to kill the creatures that stand before us."

"Yes, Mrs. Craft," they cheerfully replied, removing their helmets and tossing them to the ground.

One by one, the four guards took off their caps and threw them to the ground. They also removed the bandoliers around their waist, placing them against the caps to stop them from being blown into the wind. I watched in my amazement, admiring their newfound courage and strength, as I paid close attention to every movement they made. Learning everything I could about this powerful group was necessary, especially when I considered my affiliation to the underground world of mayhem and assassinations. I had suspected, deep down, that a situation like this could emerge, which is why I saw it best to keep my special abilities a secret from all of them.

"This is for my colleagues," Mrs. Craft spat, burying her right hand in the wolf's forehead, then pulling out a chunk of its innards. "We shall have our revenge for our fallen brother and sisters."

The monster cried out, reaching out to swipe her off its head, but she grabbed the claws with ease, a smile on her green face. She broke its wrist bones apart. She instantly knelt down, planting something into the fresh wound of the beast, before leaping down to the ground. The black-furred beast shook its head for few seconds, growling with rage, and glanced down at her. It trudged forward on its back legs, attempting to bite her head off, but as it got close, it exploded apart. Chunks of flesh flew in every direction, the fresh blood sinking deep into the snow. I blinked once, turning around just in time to see another mutant wolf fall to the ground, split in half by a very sharp weapon. The remaining wolf was set on fire and burned alive by one of her soldiers, whose body seemed to be ablaze. I could honestly conclude one thing—they were incredibly strong, as I had predicted. If it came to a serious fight, with me using my true power, they would have me on the ropes, assuming they were attacking me at the same time.

"Let us continue," Mrs. Craft yelled, picking up her cape and putting it on. She walked over to also pick up her headgear.

She had bright, yellow eyes with really large pupils, thin purple lips, high cheekbones, and really long, braided hair of a blue color. She was also of a slender physique, standing over six feet, with unusually long, thin arms. She placed her headgear onto her head, fastening on the safety clips on the back of the helmet, and glanced at the remaining chunks of flesh from the mutant wolf she had killed. Her soldiers rejoined her, the capes already donned and flapping on their backs, the helmets held tightly in their hands. Stopping a few meters from their captain, they lined up, placing their helmets on, and armed themselves once more with their rifles and blades.

"We broke our code of battle, and I will take sole responsibility," Mrs. Craft muttered, passing by me, her hands on her waist. "It was unavoidable, and from now onwards, I will give you permission to use half of your strength to battle anything that might do you harm. You have been given permission to kill any prisoner you come across, so prepare to move out."

"Yes, Captain," they yelled back in a synchronized manner, saluting her with an unyielding amount of discipline and respect.

"And are you three ready as well?" Mrs. Craft asked, walking towards us, both of her hands holding onto her long bow. "We are moving out right now whether you are come with us or not."

"We are coming with you," I replied her, turning my head to Salyanna and giving her a quick nod.

"Good, let us go," Mrs. Craft yelled, turning around and trekking forward, her soldiers pacing behind her.

What is this day turning into? How much more of this distraction and madness must I endure?

I rubbed my hands together, attempting to bring back some feeling into my numb fingers, as I began to plod through the snow, following behind Jutcer and Salyanna.

11

Trees fell in front of us, the culprits behind the cuttings remaining out of sight and the wind masking the sound of their feet. The snow on the ground had accumulated over three feet in height, and the temperature had dropped significantly. All I could see for miles, in every direction I looked, was snow and wind. This blizzard, to my own astonishment, had not lost its power and speed. Jutcer, coughing out loud, wrapped his long coat tightly over his neck, his rifle straps dangling below his waist. We hiked the last hill, my nerves rattled by the feeling of someone stalking me. Despite being immortal, I was still vulnerable to pain, especially hypothermia; the only difference between everyone and me was that it wouldn't kill me. Salyanna, I noticed, had started to slow down, as the strength in her body was being drained out of her by this horrifying cold.

"Look over there," one of the Vandrel Guards yelled, pointing over the hill, his head turned towards us. "I see an entrance of some sort, and there is something guarding it—something big."

Looking at each other, we prowled closer towards him, dropping to our knees and crawling closer through the thick snow. The element of surprise, on our part, had been lost, but to dash directly into enemy territory would be lunacy. I scanned the area, following the direction of the soldier's hand, and saw a small opening into a cave placed beneath a rock mountain. There was some sort of gorilla-looking chimera guarding the entrance, holding a big, black club in its right hand. I couldn't exactly make out a true, vivid description of the mutant chimera because the wind and snowflakes kept falling onto my face. On the sides, there were walls of stone about thirty feet high, offering a great vantage point for a surprise ambush. And in front of us, I noticed that the trees had been cut down; it was a plain field of snow from here to the small entrance.

"Take him out, Overon," Mrs. Craft commanded, pointing to the white gorilla chimera. "Don't let him sound that alarm, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am," a man, buried deeply in the snow, replied, placing a high power scope on his rifle. "Consider it done."

He moved in closer, resting his rifle on its portable stands as he adjusted his aim a bit. He cocked the rifle back, a green light blinking on its barrel, before firing one noiseless shot. Turning around, holding my breath, I saw the massive beast stagger, groaning loudly, and then it fell backwards, dead. Nothing else stirred in the dark night, save for the relentless wind and snowflakes. To be absolutely sure, we waited another five minutes, scouting the surrounding area, making sure that the area was not booby trapped, before Mrs. Craft sent one of her soldiers to scout the entrance. The man, cloaked in his armor, stomped through the plain field, invincible to the naked eye. I saw a green light, a signal for us to follow, meaning there were no traps hidden beneath the snow. If they want us to come inside, it's a trap, I thought.

"Come on, Rave," Salyanna whispered, nudging my arm with her elbow, her lips turning blue, her skin very pale.

We joined the Vandrel Guards, moving behind them with our guns raised in every direction above the walls of rock. Nearing the entrance, I saw something flashing above us, moving towards the sky. It was the same projectile that had shot me out of space, crashing me onto this planet.

"Come on—let us make haste," Mrs. Craft whispered, waving everyone in, standing inches from the entrance. "I wish to end this madness as soon as possible, so I can get off this planet and return home."

"One problem with that," I cut her off, walking down the stone stairs without looking at her. "You will need a ship, and no offense, but I will not share the ship promised to me. I have urgent business, far more important, that I need to attend to. I will duel all of you if I have to."

"Interesting, Rave," Mrs. Craft added, a hint of curiosity in her tone. "What sort of business is it? Is a girl waiting for you? Or is it something of criminal nature?"

"I am not obliged to tell you anything," I spat, the feeling in my fingers returning.

"The more you deny me your secret, the more interested I become," she whispered, pacing even closer to me. "Now, what sort of secret business can you be hiding that you would fight us, the Vandrel Guards, to get to?"

"Listen, ma'am." I halted, turning around to face her, feeling aggravated. "The only reason I am allying with any of you is because our goals are aligned. We share the same enemy. I don't care who you are or what you stand for—I just want to leave this planet and return to my current assignment."

"Just who are you, Rave?" she asked, edging even closer, without a sign of fear or weakness. "When I saw you torturing the prisoner, when I watched you give those two options of death to him, I felt something dark and dreadful inside of you. And as I walk besides you, I can't help but feel this uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. You are hiding something, aren't you?"

"And if I am, what will you do about it?" I asked, clenching my right hand and placing my left on the butt of my rifle. "I have done nothing wrong, so you have no need to question me for anything."

"All right, all right." Salyanna jumped in, walking up towards us and pushing me away. "We are all frustrated, I know, but this is not the time to fight amongst ourselves. Please, everyone, just calm down, okay?"

"I will if she stops pestering me with her annoying questions," I hissed, gazing at the torch light that was mounted on the wall.

For the last minute or so, we had descended smooth, stone stairs that seemed to stretch for miles, guided by the light of mounted torch sticks. It was an old-fashioned setup, a medieval-century cave layout, which was something that annoyed me. The air inside was foul, the temperature a bit pleasant, and the walls on both sides were stained with small traces of blood.

"Have you ever been here?" I asked Salyanna, shifting the weight on my shoulders, glancing below. "This cave seems to have been made a few centuries back, and it is not something that can be easily concealed."

"No, no one has ever dared to venture here since the arrival of the madman," she responded, tucking her cold hands inside her cuffs, exhaling deeply. "No one is stupid enough to wander around this part of the forest."

"How do you all even survive? Where do you get your food from, and where does your source of power come from?" I continued, my curiosity peaked by these new turn of events.

"Well, it is complicated," she replied, shivering, a faint smile on her face. "I believe we all have our own secrets, and I don't think I am also obliged to tell you anything more than you need to know."

"Finally, something we both agree on," I replied, gazing away, an uneasy feeling settling in my stomach.

The stairs finally came to an end, the floor on the bottom separating into three different tunnels, all leading towards different sections of the building. We had to separate to cover more ground in a short time, otherwise we would wander around this cave labyrinth for days.

"You three, go that way," Mrs. Craft ordered, pointing at Salyanna, Jutcer, and myself, then at the corridor on the far left. "I will take the corridor in the middle with one of my guards, and the remainder will take the far right corridor. Are we all in agreement?"

"That sounds fair," Salyanna said.

"I don't object," I also replied.

"Yes, ma'am," Jutcer said, a bit of fear in his voice, shivering slightly.

Her men did not respond; instead, they saluted her in a quick manner, and three of them took off swiftly into the far right corridor. Mrs. Craft, retrieving an arrow, raised her bow up, turning her gaze towards the central tunnel, and ambled in, the last soldier following behind her. A wind howled through the last remaining tunnel, a bad sign for the weak hearted. Jutcer looked mortified; his knees were shaking hard, and he was exhaling air in an abnormal way, like he was having a panic attack. I walked over and gave him a good pat on the back, bringing him to his senses.

"There is a good reason why no one ventures into this madman's hideout," he whispered, aghast, the gun in his hands shaking uncontrollably. "I don't think it was a good idea for us to separate."

"Man up," I yelled at him, shaking him in a vicious manner. "Do you want to be scared for the rest of your life? Think of all the bad things the madman has done to your family, your friends, your neighbors. How many more will fall before you decide to take a stand for what is rightfully yours? If you don't have the stomach to continue, I suggest you pick up your weapon and return back to your residency, okay?"

"Fine, all right," he roared, his strength and courage returning. "I understand what needs to be done."

"Let us make haste, then," Salyanna muttered, standing by the mouth of the corridor, the muzzle of her gun pointing inside. "Time is the one thing that is not on our side."

Turning around, I scurried forward, Jutcer pacing behind me and we made our way through the dimly lit corridor, heading towards an unknown direction. The eerie echo of the wind sipping through the cracks in the structure made the feeling in my stomach nerve-wracking.

"How big is this place?" I asked, growing weary of the running and the anticipation. "We have been running for more than a minute, and we don't seem to be getting anywhere."

"It must connect with the mountains and caves nearby," Salyanna replied, her hair flying in the air, picking up more speed. "Don't lose focus—our enemies might be hiding in the corners, waiting to ambush us at a moment's notice."

Up ahead, I noticed a small faint light as the tunnel was coming to an end. We all slowed down, gun holstered, and proceeded with caution, planning to attack any enemy that popped up. Small drops of water dropped to the ground floor, and light currents of air rippled above us. The new compartment was very spacious, about three houses wide, with one torch stick on the far opposite wall. A small stream of flowing liquid substance coursed through a white pipe located below the left wall. Jutcer suddenly gasped, dropping his gun and falling to his knees. He looked at us, his right hand pointing to the center towards a suspicious object.

"Oh no! Cleiver," Salyanna screamed, placing her hands above her mouth, tears flowing through her eyes. "This is horrible. How could they do such a thing?"

Mounted on a long spear, soaked in blood, was Cleiver's severed head. I tried to look away, but I kept glancing at it, unable to make sense of anything anymore. This planet held something truly dark, something far more sinister and deadly than me. This was obviously a message to all of us, to be wary and frightened. Moving closer, I observed his head with a little more scrutiny, trying to uncover anything out of the ordinary.

"We have to leave this place," Jutcer exclaimed, shaking uncontrollably, glancing in every direction. "If we stay here, they will do the same to all of us."

"You are right," I added, walking towards the pipe on the left wall and drawing out my dagger. "If you stay here, you will all die."

I swung the blade down at the pipe, creating a small hole through it and moved back cautiously. A red substance gushed out of the pipe, the pressure inside it making the hole a lot bigger. I covered my nose, glancing down at the liquid spreading across the ground. My heart almost skipped a beat. Who is this madman? This is madness far beyond my wildest imagination.

"What is that?" Salyanna asked, wiping tears from her eyes, standing up slowly.

"That is fresh blood," I replied, turning my head around, inhaling slowly. "I don't think it is a wise idea for any of you to continue any further. I will go alone from this point on."

12

"What do you mean, Rave?" Salyanna cried, pacing towards me, her gun in both of her hands. "We cannot go back, not when we've come this far."

"You will die if you continue," I warned, sighing, feeling a bit agitated. "This enemy, the one you call the madman, is way too dangerous for any of you to engage."

"And what will you do by yourself, Rave? How do you plan on defeating such a man and his whole army? You need us. We are your─"

"Enough, Salyanna, go home." I moved slightly away from the puddle of blood, not looking at her. "I can't do my job while I am watching your back. If losing Cleiver made you this emotional, then you will be nothing more than a nuisance to me later."

"No, I have come this far," she roared, cocking her gun, a serious look on her face. "I cannot afford to go home now, not without a victory on my hands. Whether you come with me or not, I will not be dissuaded from this quest."

Why does no one ever listen to me? How can these fools be so naïve and stupid? It was clear she would follow me whether I liked it or not. She had obviously sealed her fate, although I wasn't sure about Jutcer; he would most likely turn back and head home.

"Jutcer, are you coming?" Salyanna asked, the power in her voice rekindled once more.

"I can't," he replied, looking at Cleiver's head whilst biting his fingernails in an aberrant way. "I just want to go home to be with my family, far from this nightmare he brought upon us."

"There is no going home, you idiot," she yelled, stomping towards him, forcing him up to his feet by his collar, and backhanding his right cheek. "We must stop the madman now or more of our people will be slaughtered. Besides, even if we let you return, you won't make it halfway home by yourself; the woods are filled mutant chimeras, all waiting to pounce on you."

Jutcer, wide-eyed, gasped, realizing how deep behind enemy territory he was. He pushed Salyanna back, turning his head towards his gun and making a swift dash for it. He skidded down, picking it up quickly as he wiped sweat from his brow, a look of desperation on his face.

"I am going ahead," I muttered, looking at Cleiver's head one last time, before trudging away towards another exit. "Since you won't heed my warnings, you are more than welcome to come with me if you want. And I will say it once more—following me will be at your own peril."

I anchored my gun up, taking the first step into the next square exit, the wind brushing against my face. The corridor was dark and humid, the strong smell of rotten flesh nauseous, the floor wet with blood. I splashed my boots in the fluid; the noise of my own feet squishing through thick liquid was very repugnant. Fortunately for us, this was a short corridor; we arrived at the next compartment in a matter of minutes.

"Stay out of sight," I ordered, leaning against the wall, peeking out.

It was amazing; this new chamber was grand, about five stories high, with walls made of concrete, marble brick; barred cells were on the left and right. There were people, aliens, and creatures I could not identify, all locked inside the cages. A horde of mutant chimeras, stationed at rails above the cages, guarded the place from intruders, stopping anyone from escaping. The beasts were armed with old flintlocks, thick, metallic chest armors, and some sort of flying contraption on their backs, powered by gears and steam. To take them on would require a lot of stealth, speed and agility—my area of expertise.

"Stay here," I whispered, gesturing with my right hand to Salyanna and Jutcer. "I will survey the area."

"You better not leave without us," Salyanna replied, bending to one knee. She rested her rifle on her right thigh.

"Just do as I say," I hissed, turning back around, scouting the area.

After surveying my surroundings, locating the safest passage, I placed my rifle on my back and begun to prowl behind the empty, wooden crates. The chains anchored on the roof were marred with small traces of old blood; they rattled back and forth, being swayed by soft gust of winds. I heard someone approaching and stopped moving, listening carefully to the sound, my silver dagger unsheathed. Screams from terrified captives echoed through the compartment, the sound of their horror and terror drowning my steps. A green chimera, with long goat horns, a dog's face, and long, thick fur, trudged past me, a silver flintlock in its right hand. I looked in every direction, standing up slowly, raising the blade, and plunged it into its throat from behind. The monster tried to scream, but I placed my right hand on its snout, silencing it before it could alarm the others. When I felt its body grow cold, I removed my hand from its mouth and began to push its body into an empty crate. I dropped the body down, pulling my knife out, my heart racing, and exhaled silently. To kill this many enemies with stealth required time and patience, both luxuries I didn't have. Time was of the essence.

"I will go in guns blazing, I guess" I sighed, shaking my head, a feeling of pure dark excitement flowing through me.

I placed my rifle into my right hand, a gold flintlock into my left hand, and spun out of the crate, ready for war. Coming from the left side, a mutant chimera sniffed me out, turned in my direction, and began to roar, its flintlock slowly turning towards me. I fired first, blasting the creature with four rifle bullets in the chest, felling it to the ground in a bloody mess. Dodging bullets, I rolled behind another crate, using it as a shield, before I stormed out for my next assault. Trying to kill these beasts while avoiding firing at the innocent prisoners was proving to be quite the challenge. On previous assassin missions, I caused a few civilian casualties, and it never bothered me that much, but I had been instructed to complete this mission without leaving a trail of dead bodies behind me. It was a bit too late for that.

"You idiots, get back," l roared, lashing at Salyanna and Jutcer, who had decided to join in without notice. "You are going to get yourself killed."

Ignoring me, like I was some kind of pest, they dashed into the bullet storm, returning fire in a careless manner. The caged civilians cried in terror, dropping their heads to the ground to avoid being hit by stray bullets. The sound of gun-shots was overwhelming, the amount of destruction increasing greatly. I felt an urge to look up, the hair on my neck standing, and suddenly, I saw these massive blue eyes gazing back at me. Up above the crate, a shadowy chimera, dressed in a black cloak with white polka-dots, stared at me with an unsettling silence. The creature had long, clawed hands, a tail with spiky bones protruding out, powerful, sharp fangs, and it was about eight feet in height. It knelt above the crate on one knee, a smile on its hideous face, both of its arms wedged by the corners of the crates. Its tail danced around in every direction. The tail stopped swerving around when I angled my rifle slightly up. The creature's hands moved slightly back, the smile on its face disappearing. Even though I had the advantage of immortality, even though I had two guns, I could not help but shake this uneasy feeling inside of me. This is no ordinary mutant chimera, I thought. I should tread carefully with this one. Making the first move, I raised my rifle up quickly, my flintlock turning in motion, but the creature leaned back, avoiding the bullets. The crate where I was hiding was destroyed a few seconds later, the chunks of woods flying back in my face, blinding me. I heard light footsteps, coming from behind me, followed by a pain in my back. I fell to the ground on my stomach, yelping, unaware of what had struck me. And before I could even stand up, I felt three bullets pierce through my chest, causing me to tumble to the ground again.

"You are tough," a voice hissed, my whole body being whisked up by something that coiled tightly around my chest. "I stabbed you in the gut, and you took three bullets in the back, and yet you still breathe. What are you?"

"The one who will claim your life," I answered, kicking the creature in the stomach and maiming it in the gut with a small dagger that had been concealed beneath my boot.

Shrieking loudly, wide-eyed, it released me from its grasp, and staggered back with its right hand pressed against its stomach. I flexed my fingers, walking towards it, a large grin on my face. It was going to give me great pleasure to send this abomination into the dark abyss.

"Any last words?" I asked, shooting it in the foot with my flintlock. "Come on, creature, say something witty and insightful."

"Well, your skills in battle are amazing," it commented, throwing its cloak at me and using the distraction to gain some distance.

Like an idiot, I tried to parry away the dark cloak with my bare hands, and instead of brushing it to the side, the cloak entangled around me. The dark cloak engulfed me like it was enchanted, the cotton substance wrapping around my hands and legs. It was almost clear to me now; the madman knew how to control and manipulate magic. I could hear the gun-fire ceasing, meaning that something was wrong. Sensing danger, I pulled my dagger out of from the holster and cut the cloak into tiny pieces.

"Help us, Rave," Jutcer cried, his voice coming from the opposite side of the compartment.

"Those fools," I sneered, reloading a new magazine into my rifle and pumping some air into it. "Perhaps I should let these mutants make do with them."

The two fools were trapped in a corner by the mutant chimeras, their only barricade being a wide, wooden table with one of its leg broken. Salyanna and Jutcer had turned it over and were using the thick drafting board to deflect the bullets away. All in all, I would say that this day sucked terribly.

"I am coming," I boomed, shooting a mutant in the leg, felling it the ground, and finishing it off with a blast to the face: "Just hold your horses."

The strange mutant, who had thrown its cloak at me, leaped into the air, unveiling its powerful wings as it came down towards them in a vertical dive. It held a large blade in its right hand and a whip in its other hand. Upon seeing the creature, I rushed in, planning to intercept the creature before it could wreak further mayhem. Spinning to the left, I dodged a series of bullets, rolling behind another crate, before standing up and making a fierce dash. I fired at the diving mutant, forcing it to stop halfway in its descent, its head turning towards my direction. The wide, metallic wings on its back flapped vigorously up and down, both of its feet spread apart for balance, its body turned slightly back. Opening its mouth wide, it puked out fire in my direction, forcing me to flee for cover. It was just as I had suspected: the monsters had their organs altered, too. Whoever this madman was, in my opinion, had a vast amount of knowledge in organic structures, mechanical properties, and magic. He or she was someone worthy of being a true challenge. To create such a creature, to be responsible for orchestrating all of this madness, was indeed impressive.

"Help us, Rave," Jutcer screamed, throwing his rifle to the ground, out of bullets.

"Be a man, you idiot," I muttered, ignoring his pleas for help, all of my focus on the fire-breathing mutant.

Every empty crate became fuel for the rampaging fire, the smoke rising into the air, only to be trapped within the ceiling of the confined compartment. I heard the prisoners banging against their barred cages, coughing from the smoke and screaming for help. The other mutant chimeras were still firing their guns at Jutcer and Salyanna, laughing like hyenas, enjoying the carnage and destruction. To think of them as former townspeople, or former simple space travelers, made my mind boggle.

"Die," a monster screamed, approaching from my blind spot, and shoving a blade through my chest.

I screamed, falling from the weight of the creature, as I puked my own blood. The pain was unbearable, the feeling of the blade being twisted inside my chest maddening, the sheer look of pleasure on the creature's face appalling. Blinking slightly, I felt my strength leaving my body; the blade seemed to possess some sort of paralyzing toxin. The creature, a combination of lion's head, the upper body of a bear, and eagle talons for hands, sat on top of my chest, restraining my movements. It opened its mouth, shooting a straight line of fire at my face, causing me to scream in agony.

"Let him go," a voice screamed. The creature stopped the fire as it turned around and got its head chopped off by a long sword. "Are you okay, Rave?"

"Yes, and you have my deep gratitude for that," I replied, shoving the creature's heavy body to the side, smelling my own burning flesh. "Is that you, Salyanna?"

"Yes, Rave, it is I," she whispered, helping me up, an expression of confusion on her face. "How are you even alive after all of that? How can you even stand up?"

"I am lucky, I guess," I lied, not planning on revealing my secret ace—my immortality—to anyone.

"No, most people get lucky and end up in a hospital for two or three days, depending on the severity of the wounds, but you are already standing up. You have taken an extreme amount of mortal wounds, not to mention your face was horribly burned by that chimera's fire. What are you, Rave? Are you even human?"

"Yes, I am human," I chuckled, standing back on my feet slowly, my strength shelved in half. "I am just a lucky person, I guess."

"Run," Jutcer bellowed, coming from the corner, his right shoulder oozing with smoke. "The monster is coming."

The flying mutant descended towards us, its blade angled in front, its body curled up like a bullet. Salyanna, morphing her eyes and fingers, pushed me back, planting her feet in the ground, her blade positioned into a defensive form. In an instant, their blades clashed, the tip of their swords sparking tiny flames as they both moved back with their blades raised. Salyanna looked hurt; she was panting heavily, her right hand, the one holding her sword, swollen and bleeding slightly. One more encounter with that monster and she would be killed, a thing I couldn't allow to happen. I owed her for saving me, and if there was one thing I hated above anything else, it was not repaying my debt.

"Run, Salyanna," I screamed, lifting myself up, and darting towards her.

I pushed her away, pulling out my small dagger in front of me in an attempt to deflect the creature from finishing her. As our weapons collided, I felt the raw power of the creature's strength and weight pressing down against me, and in the blink of an eye, my small blade was broken, my decapitated head sent flying back.

"Crap, I messed up, didn't I?" I smirked, watching my headless body falling to the ground.

Everything changed in an instant; I stopped breathing, stopped thinking, and the darkness took me.

13

It was quiet. A soft, cold wind blew against me, and the ground my right cheek was touching was unpleasantly cold. I exhaled, opening my eyes, and freaking out when I couldn't feel anything below my neck. Where is my body? Where am I?

"Are we throwing his body into the furnace too?" I heard a voice say, a sound of something being shoveled from the dirt ringing in my ears. "Did the master really say that?"

"Yes, it is shame that he would not be turned into a freak like us, or that we can't even eat him," another voice replied, as I heard something like footsteps approaching in my location.

Blinking, I looked slightly up and almost lost my nerves when I saw my headless body lying on the ground next to me. All around me, there were more dead bodies, all piled up around each other, and they reeked from decomposition. Upon seeing this, I was horrified, the unsteady composure inside of me almost brewing up into a wild panic. Then I saw a mutant chimera in a bright red cloak trudge up to the two bodies and pick them up roughly. It sniffed one of them, a smile on its face, and took a large bite off the body's toes.

"The more rotten they are, the better they taste," it commented, walking away without noticing me.

Okay, it was definitely time for full-blown panic. I mean, I was immortal and knew that my head was bound to get chopped off my body one day. In fact, I always imagined I would just die with that. But nope, I would not die from it. To calm my mind, I exhaled silently, ignoring all of my surroundings, using a technique I learned two hundred years ago. This situation was bad, I knew, and if I didn't do something soon, they were either going to eat me or throw me in the burning furnace. I would imagine both situations would be extremely agonizing.

"It's a pity we can't eat him," a voice said, plodding towards my location and picking up my headless body. "His black blood tastes so amazing—I just want to drink more of it."

"No, you stupid fool," the other voice boomed, causing the mutant to drop my body, a look of terror on its face. "Do you know what happens to those who defy our master? Do you want to end up like these fools, too?"

"No, Helberd, but what about a nibble of his head, just a small ear," he whined, reaching for my head. "I just want to taste that exquisite flavor one more time. I promise I won't ask you for anything else."

"Listen, Qean, if you take a bite, even one little nibble, I will tell the master," his partner growled, a few metallic things clanking on the ground. "Don't touch that head, or I will take yours next."

"Fine, fine." The mutant chimera frowned, not looking at me, withdrawing its hand slowly. "I don't get why the master wants him burned inside the furnace. It doesn't make any sense at all, since he told us to capture and detain the other two rebels."

"It is not our job to ask questions," the other voice responded, coughing faintly as it cleared its throat. "Our job is to burn these bodies and to keep the furnace running."

"I know, I know, but I just think it's strange, that's all," it finished, inhaling slowly as it walked away.

From the corner of my eyes, I noticed that I was in some kind of a room, far much smaller than the previous one, with smooth walls that connected to the ceiling in a semi-spherical way. A small window was placed far above the walls, roughly fifteen feet in the air, and the light of the moon shined brightly through it. The smell of rotting flesh was too repulsive, and thankfully for me, there were no flies and maggots around to digest the corpses. I felt so helpless, a feeling of dread bearing down on me, and something I had never felt before—pure fear.

Think, think, you idiot, otherwise you are done for. You can't let it end like this, not without taking the madman's head off.

The noise suddenly stopped, the sound of the mutants' movements dying down as a small faint of light appeared. A door, metallic from the sound, was opened up wide before being shut back in a loud bang. It became quiet again. I exhaled slowly, the anticipation building up dangerously inside of me, as I tried to roll over using my tongue. Tasting the tainted blood on the concrete floor, I retracted my tongue and almost gagged from the aftertaste. I was in serious danger, I knew. Stop panicking, Rave, think things through for once.

I glanced at my cold body, looking at the neck portion where the blade had cut cleanly through, a sensation of pain enveloping me. My body was still dressed as before, but they had stripped all of my weapons, leaving it here in this place to be destroyed. Considering that I was still alive in a messed up way, it would also stand to reason that my body was too. Okay, that made no sense at all.

Silence engulfed the whole room, nothing stirring inside, save for my head and the burning furnace. The mutant chimeras had left, meaning I was alone for the moment. I managed to rotate my head around, facing the other direction, and I almost yelped when I saw another dismembered head facing me. The head, belonging to an alien of unknown origin, was facing me; its eyes were open and lifeless, its thick lips slightly spaced apart, its orange skin chapped and wrinkly. It had no nose, just a smooth ridge between the mouth and the eyes, long pointy ears, and a few strands of dark hair sticking out on top of its head. I blinked, staring at it for a few seconds, fighting a discomforting feeling that was manifesting in my mind.

So, this whole time that bodiless head had been staring down the back of my head? That is just messed up and seriously disturbing, I thought.

"On second thought, I should face the other way," I thought out loud, unable to concentrate on anything with the alien's eyes staring back at me. "But if I do that, this head might come back to life and eat me or something."

"I am sorry, boss, but I might have to break my promise," I muttered, closing my eyes and awakening the dark power that had been slumbering inside of me. "I will try to keep the casualties below one hundred if I can."

I wasn't too sure if my plan would work, but considering the fact that I was still alive and breathing, the possibility of it working was greater than fifty percent. The air inside became thin, the light from the moon vanishing, as black vapors began to ooze from my headless body. The torso shifted slightly to the left, the abdomen collapsing in and out, and the fingers on my right hand made small movements. Wide-eyed, I watched my own body stand, the dark energy swirling all over it. This is what I was hoping for, but to see it actually happen was mind boggling. And despite not being attached to the body, I could, in a strange way, feel my body moving—an experience I could not understand. I thought of flexing my right hand and, without hesitation, the body did it, almost like I was controlling it with a remote controller.

"Come this way," I ordered the body, thinking of the direction I wanted it to go. "Come towards me, right now."

It plodded forward, falling over some corpses before standing back up. Arms spread, it moved slowly towards me, but accidentally stepped on my head, not intentionally, and took a few more steps past me. It turned around, controlled by my thoughts, and placed its left knee down, searching for my head with both of its dirty fingers. The thought of those dirty hands of mine touching my face was awful; however, I didn't have a choice.

"You are getting closer," I whispered, watching my body throw the dead alien's head to the side and reach for my head. "Not the face, not the face!"

It grabbed my head and stood up slowly, raising my head like it was some kind of trophy. Attaching my severed head to my body was the only dilemma that was standing in my way. And to think that I would face this problem, at a critical time as this, was clearly laughable.

The furnace to my left was grand, charcoal in color, rectangular in shape, attached to a straight pipe that ascended all the way to the top to let out the smoke. A fleshless, human skull was placed on top of it, a silver key lodged between the teeth and a small trace of blood on the frontal bone. This room, this whole complex—I would destroy it all, if it was the last thing I would do.

Unexpectedly, I heard the door open, voices belonging to the two mutant chimeras, and a distant scream from another captive. I willed my body to move to the side, aghast, as I smelt the scent of something disgusting on my own fingers. My body plowed through piles and piles of dead corpses, making haste for cover as it carried me beneath its left armpit. I smelled the thick fur on the coat, and the wetness of the blood on it. I hid myself behind the table, lowering my body to the floor while my head was placed next to it.

"That was a good meal, eh, Helberd?" the mutant chimera in a red cloak said. It had the face of a rat and horns of a bull. When it opened the furnace door, it threw something in. "I am so full that I don't want to work anymore."

"You are right about that, Qean, but we have to get rid of these bodies. The next batch of captives will arrive soon," the other replied, picking up a body and tossing it into the furnace.

Ignoring their chitchat, my body grabbed my head and tried to wedge it back in place only to fail in the attempt. It was going to require some sort of bonding agent, or...

A specific magic spell! That was it. I knew what I had to do. It was so simple, that if I could, I would slap myself silly on the cheek.

"Revro nei," I muttered, focusing my entire remaining ounce of magic into the task at hand.

My body took my head again, tried to reconnect it, and finally succeeded in attaching it back. Once it was done, I felt my head and body converge into one again, the power of the darkness surging greatly through me. The spell, a level-two incantation, allowed me to attach anything together almost like glue, but it required time before the effects were permanent. I restrained from moving my neck, until I was fully sure that the wound had healed; the nerves and ligaments had reattached and repaired. I slowly sat up, a stiff feeling in my arms and legs, and a sensation of thirst and hunger overwhelmed me. To my surprise, the mutant chimeras had not noticed me; they were so busy dumping bodies into the furnace that they never saw or heard me move. Aside from the dead bodies, the burning furnace, and the small table, I spotted a long, industrial chain anchored by a small chair. Next to it, there was a small shovel, a socket wrench, and some sort of mechanical contraption with a few parts missing from it. I crawled towards it, stopping whenever the noise died down and continuing when the mutants began to bicker whilst working. I retrieved the chain, wrapping it around my waist, and took the socket wrench, planning on using it to maim the chimeras.

"Here goes nothing," I sighed, standing back up and making a swift dash on the unsuspecting beasts.

"You should be dead," the mutant known as Qean boomed, moving back."Your head was decapitated, I saw it myself."

"Well, allow me to change your mind," I rattled, throwing the chain around his neck and pulling it back.

I spun my body sideways, chucking the socket wrench at the other chimera, before pulling the chain towards me. I planted my right knee into the chimera's face, breaking its nose, before felling him to the ground. His partner, angry and surprised, flung his cloak to the ground, picked up a shovel, and rushed towards me with the intent to kill. His massive jaw opened wide, displaying his sharp, razor teeth, and his eyes turned red. He flared his nostrils and swiped at me with his free hand. Dodging left, I shifted out of the way, bending my body down as the shovel passed over me. The monster roared, its mind taken over by frustration and rage, and it began to lash at me with its feet and tail. I ignored it for a second, a dark smile on my face, as I raised my foot and stomped the mutant chimera on the ground in the face. It shrieked in pain, struggling to remove the chain from its neck, both of its hands clamped onto it.

"Enough, you filthy beast," I hissed, raising the creature up into the air and throwing it against the right side of the furnace.

"You will pay for that," the monster known as Helberd growled with anger, pulling out a flintlock and firing three times.

The bullets struck me in the chest, the force of the rounds jerking me back, but it didn't stop me from advancing towards him. I had grown tired of these mutant beasts, grown tired of this planet, and I just wanted to slaughter them all, then depart the planet.

"So, mutant, tell me of this man you call master," I asked, extending my hand out, my left leg pressed lightly in the ground. "If you tell me what I need to know, then perhaps I may see it fit to grant you pardon and allow you to leave."

"You talk big for a puny earthling." It sniffed, circling around me, a sinister look on its face. "And even if I were to divulge my secrets about our master, it wouldn't do you any good; the man is heavily guarded and also powerful. He possesses knowledge beyond your tiny human understanding, a true gift the whole galaxy will soon learn to fear."

"So he plans a galactic conquest, I see." I nodded, my curiosity peaked. "That's interesting to know."

"I wasn't supposed to tell you that," he gasped, shocked, clenching its claws into fists. "I will have to kill you again for that."

Spreading its mechanical wings, it took flight, shrieking as loudly as it could, and ascended further into the air, before plunging down at an amazing speed towards me. I raised both my arms, bending my knees slightly, my whole mind in a state of mental focus, and blocked the creature's talons with my arms. The winds from its flapping wings brushed against my cheeks, and a bit of blood oozed from the wound the creature had inflicted upon me. I fended the creature off, bending down and picking up the chain from the ground, planning on ending it with one final move. Roaring fiercely, while flying above me, it drew out another flintlock and pointed the muzzle of the gun towards me; however, I threw the chain around it before it could fire. I pulled back, using all of my strength, and managed to bring the flying fiend to the ground.

"Tell me something, Helberd," I began, walking toward it and kicking the guns from its hands. "Have you ever been burned alive? Me, personally, I am more of a jaw-breaking guy, but on rare occasions such as this, I have been known to experiment."

"You lie," it laughed, showing no signs of fear. "You might be strong, but you are no killer."

"Why does everyone keep saying that?" I sighed, shaking my head, and plodding towards it. "Do I have a face that says otherwise? Tell me honestly. I wish to know."

"Yes, you do," it screamed as I squeezed its jaw tightly. "You have that kind of face."

"Oh, good to know," I replied, releasing my hands from it. I grabbed the chain and pulled the mutant chimera away. "It gives me a lot to think about—when I watch you burn inside the furnace."

I kicked its right cheek and thoroughly tied the chains around its arms and wings, making sure it wouldn't try to escape. And just to be certain, I maimed it in the left leg, stopping when I heard its right femur snap. A painful cry came from the beast.

"You see, Helberd, I am not a nice person, truth be told," I whispered, walking towards the furnace, opening the metallic door and squinting from a wave of heat that struck my face. "You monsters shot me down, hunted me, and had the nerve to cut my head from my body. Do you have any idea how much that hurt? It is an unpleasant experience, I tell you, and a thing I don't want to experience again. But on the bright side, I found out that it won't kill me, and for that, I owe you a debt of gratitude. With that being the case, I will give you one more chance to tell me about your master, the owner of whatever this place is."

"If I tell you that, he will kill me," he pleaded, panting heavily, only one of his eyes open. "He might look human, act like a gentleman, but he is a beast at heart, I warn you, a pure, evil being."

"That's not what I asked you," I boomed, picking up his unconscious partner. I tossed him inside the furnace and closed it.

To my delight, his partner screamed, his body burning quickly from the fierce fire residing inside the furnace. And upon hearing the cries of his partner, Helberd began to shiver with fear, his eyes widening, and the confident look on his face turned into pure terror. That was the exact reaction I was looking for. His fear, his terror—it was the exact tool I needed to pry the information from him, but time was the one thing I lacked.

"Are you ready to talk? I mean, I highly doubt you would like to experience what your partner is experiencing first-hand, would you?"

"Okay, I will tell you what you need to know; it's not like it will do you any good since you will never get to him. You will be dead before you even know it, I guarantee it."

"Enough small talk, vermin, just tell me who this man is and everything he is planning. Don't skip out on any details, if you know what's good for you."

"His name is Professor Roger Dozer, also known to everyone as the madman, and he wears a gray lab coat, a loose black shirt with suspenders, and high, leather boots. He sits on a golden throne on the third floor, a ten-minute walk from this place, and he usually spends his time in his laboratory doing experiments on his captives. The corpses you see here are the results of his failed experiments at turning ordinary people into chimeras and then into freaks like us."

"But why do you follow him? You all seem like intelligent animals, capable of making rational decisions for yourself, and your combat prowess is incredibly amazing."

"Yes, that may be so; however, he holds us prisoner in our minds, and we cannot go against his wishes or we will die. I know who I was before my mind was altered, my body modified with gears and magic, but I can't think of anything besides obeying my master's wishes and commands."

"I cannot say I understand your emotional pain, not that I am trying to, but I don't want you to stop speaking on the account of feeling emotional. I want to know what his true plans are, what his real objective is in shooting down these ships."

"From what I heard—this is a rumor, so I have no idea if it's true— he is using the captives to create his new army, a mutant army to be exact. And he plans on invading Earth, capturing Cyborg City, and enslaving its people."

"Is he mad or something? What sort of lunacy could drive a person to such a goal? Cyborg City is heavily guarded by cyborg soldiers, battle drones, and combat cannons, which makes his goals impossible. He wouldn't even be able to get past the electric barrier that guards the city, unless...His soldiers don't operate on electricity? Of course, it is completely messed up, but genius nonetheless. That's why he has been altering you all to run on steam power, in order to counter against the effects of the barrier. Simply incredible. Perhaps, he is not as crazy as you all make him appear to be. I believe its time I had a little chat with him."

Standing up, satisfied with his responses, I strolled towards the furnace, humming, and opened the door up widely. I pivoted back, grabbing his leg, and dragged him to the door, planning on tossing him inside, too.

"This is nothing personal, lad, but if I let you leave, you will more than likely come after me. And, yes, I did say I would let you go, so here you go."

I tossed him into the furnace, a stoic expression on my face, closing it behind me without even a hint of regret inside my cold heart. He screamed in pain, banging his hands against the door, hoping to change my mind. He had some nerve, considering the hundreds of corpses he and his partner had burned in this furnace. Suppose it wasn't their fault, they were simply following orders, but it was by their hands that these atrocious crimes had been committed.

"Crap, I should have asked him for the directions to get to the third floor," I snickered, glancing at the furnace. His cries of pain had stopped. "But the challenge of finding it by myself will prove to be amusing."

A few meters from me, I saw a flintlock of gold and silver, fully loaded and ready to fire. I trudged forward, bending my back and picked it up, before straightening. I examined the gun, placing my index finger on the trigger, pointing it in every direction with lightning reflex speed. It shall make a fine weapon for killing mutant chimeras, I thought.

The wind howled through the small cracks in the infrastructure, the light from the moon fading from sight, and the smell of the corpses was repulsive as before. The horrors that I had endured ever since I landed on this planet would not go unpunished. All those who hand wronged me would feel my wrath to its full extent, and it was a privilege only a few ever got to experience. I would not show any of them mercy; I would send them all into the eye of the abyss.

Turning around, the flintlock placed on my holster, and the chain in my left arm, I sauntered out of the compartment, headed for the madman's laboratory.

14

I arched my eyebrow, looking left and right, unsure of which way to go. To my right, a strong draft of wind blew past me, the cold air hurting my nose, and to my left, I heard screams and the sounds of whips cracking. Left seems like the place for fun, I thought. I whistled away, hands in my pocket, drawn towards the chaos. The walls were smooth like marble, a dark brown in color, with a few painted symbols of unknown origin. A door on my left forced me to stop and retrieve my borrowed flintlock. I heard no commotion inside. Everything was quiet, a truly maddening silence that unsettled me. Reaching for the silver knob, I turned it to the side, hoping to open it, but the door wouldn't budge. It was sealed up tightly to stop anyone from entering, or, perhaps, stop something from leaving.

What am I even thinking about? Why am I even bothering with this stupid door?

I sighed, placing the flintlock back on my holster, and walked away. It would have been nice to see what they were hiding inside; however, time was the one thing not on my side. The only thing I had was the element of surprise.

"Time to get to work," I exhaled, turning my skin black as the abyss, my fingernails sharp and long as razors.

I prowled through the halls, like a phantom stalking the area for prey. The corridor, to my disappointed, forked again into two different passages, forcing me to choose the path I wished to take. And again, I followed the direction of the screams and whips, planning to investigate the reason behind their cries. Footsteps, coming from something big, forced me to hide in the shadow of the wall, my breath held, as I waited for the threat to pass. All I saw was its faint shadow, its misshapen form, which served as a reminder of the dangers that awaited me. I exhaled slowly when I could no longer hear the creature. I advanced further into maze of a base. Stopping, I stood aghast in what appeared to be the factory, where they created the mutant chimeras. The place was big, far too big to be inside a mountain, and it housed mechanical contraptions of great magnitude. Several mutant chimeras roamed the area, some of them in the air, some of them stationed on the ground—all guarding the area from intruders. There were ships on the furthest side being serviced and repaired, and by my guess, they were the transport to Earth for the invasion. This was my ticket off this planet. The temptation to just blitz forward, ignoring all the dangers and commandeering one the ships, was overwhelming. The problem I would encounter with that direct plan was being shot down again by their special weapon, and forced to endure this madness all over again. First plan: destroy the special gun.

The mechanical contraptions ran on some sort of external power source, most likely a lot of water and coal in abundance; this whole terrain was full of it. Keeping out of sight, I crept further into the factory, hidden behind a metal drain pipe that connected to every machine inside the plant. Up above me, I saw people in cages being transported into one of the machines, and once they were inside, they screamed in agony for several seconds as horrible things were done to them. The ones who were too weak and fragile for the procedure were thrown out of the machine and into some sort of dumpster. To even imagine what was going on inside would haunt me for all eternity.

"Hey, you there," a voice cried out, causing me to turn my head to the left. "Please help us, stranger."

Below my feet, there was some sort of compartment, which housed the captives, and it had small holes to let air in. The prison cell was buried on the floor below me, hidden from prying eyes by pipes and meter gauges, as if they were trying to hide something inside.

"I can't help you at the moment," I replied, walking towards them, kneeling down and scanning the area for enemies. "If I try to help you, I will lose my element of surprise."

"Wait," he pleaded with me, sticking his left hand halfway through the hole. "I can help you find what you are looking for."

"And how do you know what I am looking for?" I asked, blinking, my curiosity roused by his unexpected response.

"I know that you are looking for the special weapon that shot you out of space; you plan on killing the madman."

"Yes, you are right, but how do you know this?"

"I have the ability to read the minds of others, a dormant ability found in my species. I know where it is, and if you want to find it, you have to set us free."

"Tempting, but no thanks. I will enjoy the challenge of finding it by myself."

"But you are running out of time, Dark Assassin. Your mission target will leave in the next three days and your objective will fail."

"Bastard, just how much of my mind are you reading? I should cut your tongue out, just for knowing all of that."

"Oh, don't worry about your secrets—I will not tell anyone as long as you help us out."

"And what about the other captives who just heard you say those words to me?"

"Well, I didn't think that far ahead, but I am sure they will keep their beaks shut for freedom, isn't that right, guys?"

"Oh yeah, absolutely, definitely will keep our mouths shut," the men replied at the same time.

Crap, this was definitely the unexpected mess I was afraid of. There was nothing that irritated me more than blackmail. And under a different circumstance, I would have killed them all for knowing my secret, but this was no ordinary predicament. Besides, I needed a distraction—something to draw away the numerous guards in the factory and buy me enough time to find and eliminate the madman. Glancing down, I moved some of the stuff out of the way, locating the metal rail above the outer lock. The lock, a relic from the past, was made from thick, reinforced gold with circular striations in the middle, and it required some sort of special key to unlock it. I pulled out my flintlock, aimed it at the lock, and pressed my finger on the trigger, debating my plan of action. If I fired, they would surely hear me, and in a matter of seconds, this area would be swarming with mutant chimeras.

"Use your physical strength," the man said, his small finger pressing on the rail. "Breaking this lock, I am sure, is child's play for someone of your caliber, Rave."

"If you keep talking, I am going to just kill you all right now," I hissed, no longer amused with his ability to peak into the madness inside my brain. "I am sure you know how dangerous I really am."

"Yes, I clearly do," he whispered, removing his finger from the rail. The small compartment fell into utter silence.

Grabbing the lock, my breath held, I pulled the lock back with all my might—attempting to disengage the shackle from the rest of the lock. In a small clank, it tore off, the momentum and strength inside my own body felling me to the ground. Thankfully, the running machines and screams of mortified captives drowned the noise my body made when it smashed against the equipment in the back. I heard the door on the ground squeak open slowly, and I shifted my body up, observing what was happening. A dark, tanned man, looking cautiously around, pulled himself out of the compartment and landed on the floor on his belly. Sighing out loudly, he faintly smiled at me before turning his head around and extending his right hand into the door. He pulled out a small girl, roughly six years old. Based on her physical looks, she appeared to be his daughter. She had black hair wrapped into double buns, a green jumpsuit with white stripes on the side, and black, leather boots; in her right hand, she held a stuffed teddy bear. Another child, a boy this time, came out next, and he was trembling with fear. He had small incision holes around his eyes and mouth, shabby gray hair, and his hands looked wrinkly and old for his age. I stood up, holstering my flintlock, and plodded closer to see what was happening. More than ten people had been lodged into this stink-fest of a compartment, and were probably being subjected into some heinous experiment by the madman.

"Take this," I sighed, handing the man my flintlock, my mind distracted. "You will need it more than I do, and if you go unnoticed, you might be able to make it to the ships in one piece."

"Your compassion towards children is a redeeming quality, Rave." He smiled, grabbing the flintlock from my hands, his knee planted to the ground. "It is not a bad thing to care for others."

"I really think I am going to kill you," I hissed, shaking my head as I turned around and began to walk away. "The longer I stay here, the more I am tempted to snip out your life."

"Wait, Rave," he yelled, running towards me, only to stop inches from me. "The gun you are looking for is right above you, located above those machines. It is guarded by three powerful mutant chimeras, a special force chosen by the madman, and they are very ruthless."

"And what of the madman? Where will I find him?" I asked.

"If you try to destroy the gun, he will come to you; he is very protective of his special weapon."

"You have my gratitude, stranger, and I hope you make it off this planet in one piece. And if our paths do cross again, I will more than likely try to claim your life, so stay out of my way, and out of my sight."

"I understand. Thank you for helping us."

Turning around, I scurried forward behind the large, eroded pipe, staying out of sight. I stopped when I saw a mutant chimera standing above me, looking in the opposite direction. It had the head of a ram, thick, muscular arms, and was dressed in golden armor with a black cape. It must be a high-ranking officer, I thought.

"Get those machines loaded, you buffoons," it boomed, raising its right hand up and turning its head to the left. "The master wants the new batch of prisoners tested as soon as possible."

"What should we do about the intruders in the tunnels?" another voice asked, with a tone clutched by fear. "They have killed more than fifty of us, and they will be arriving here within the next five minutes or so."

"Oh, don't worry about them," it replied in a confident manner, placing its hand behind its back. "The master has other plans for them, just wait and see."

Feeling my insatiable killing urge, I exhaled deeply, looking at the chimera with bloodlust. I curled up the chain in my hand, looking in every direction first, before throwing it over the chimera's neck. I pulled the beast back, its cape blinding me from what was in front of me, as I felled the creature to the ground. My first plan to remain concealed had failed—it seemed—due to my awakened, murderous intent. The power inside of me was too strong for me to mentally control. The monster shrieked, its eyes bulging out, and its hands clutched the chain around its neck. But before it could break free, I whammed it three times in the snout with the socket wrench, draining all of the energy from its body. A final kick to the throat finished the monster off, seconds before it had the chance to stand up and unveil its mechanical wings.

"What have you done to our boss?" another mutant chimera growled, its large cannon pointed at me. "I will make you pay for this."

"This is not going to be easy," I commented, chuckling softly. "I should have known that."

15

To look at a bazooka from the opposite side was not a comforting feeling at all. The mutant chimera, angry and irrational, dropped off the pipe and landed on the ground, its weapon still pointing at me. And as it moved in closer, I took a few steps back, both of my hands raised in the air, my breath held. Confronting an enemy holding a rocket launcher, head-on, was suicidal and reckless, even if I was immortal. The last thing I wanted to do was lose my head again. The mutant chimera slowly bent over, placing one knee inches from the ground and placing one hand below the dead monster's neck to check for a pulse. Wide-eyed, he took a swift glance at the dead chimera, before standing up again with a look of hate.

"Hey, guys, the captain is dead," he muttered, holding a small device against his mouth, his eyes upon me. "He was taken down by this unknown assailant I have captured. We are next to the drain pipe on aisle thirty-seven, and I am requesting further assistance."

"Crap, that is bad," the voice on the other end boomed back. "If he moves, shoot him down; we are coming in the next five minutes, over and out."

A second after the radio transmission ended, the floor was rocked by some sort of explosion, causing most of the pipes to burst open with pressurized steam. The alarm sounded. The mutant chimera fell to the ground, the bazooka wrested from its hands, and when I saw this, I balanced myself from falling and began to move towards it. The heavy weapon bounced off the ground, the tremor beneath the ground moving it closer towards me. A bolt fell on top of my head, and I looked up only to find a thick chunk of metal falling towards me. It tore through a pipe, which was seven meters above me, making the whole area around me an unsafe place to be standing on. Run away or go for the bazooka, I thought, which should I choose?

Any sane man would flee for his life, if they had the chance, but I was an immortal man, a powerful gift that I misused greatly on several occasions. And as I beheld the falling debris, with my left hand rested against the drainage pipe, I struggled to reach for the bazooka with my free hand; however, the debris got to me first. All I felt was this stabbing feeling on my right shoulder, a painful smack on my forehead, and the weight of something heavy pressing against my body, felling me to the floor. A clutter of falling objects fell on top of me and pinned me to the ground.

"I should have run away," I sighed, catching a glimpse of the bazooka, a few inches from me.

"You won't get away from me," an annoying voice rattled from underneath the debris, before something burst through the clutter. "I won't let you get away with what you did to our captain."

A red-eyed hyena mutant, drooling black saliva, exploded through the wreckage, claws extended outwards. It tore through the metal hull, using its sharp claws, with ease and opened its massive jaw. So many sharp teeth; it was like looking into the mouth of a great white shark. Turning my head towards the bazooka, I extended my hands towards it, grabbing the grip and pulling it back, just as the rabid mutant was a few meters from me. I turned my body, my back muscles popping unnaturally, and faced the creature with the bazooka raised. Within inches from my body, I fired a missile into its open mouth, sending it flying in the opposite direction, and as it crashed into the wall, it exploded in a fiery blaze.

Machine parts began to fall to the ground, fire and steam spreading, several people screaming at the same time. I witnessed a mutant chimera fall face first into the ground, a metal pike following shortly behind it. It killed the beast by piercing through its back. The whole place was beginning to fall apart. If I was to guess, I would say it was the Vandrel Guards who were responsible for this, or it could be the other death row inmates who were still missing. Either way, I had to remove myself from the premises before things got too messy. The only problem I had was being unable to free myself from the debris that was pressing against my feet. I tried to push away some of the stuff, but to no avail.

"Wait, I am immortal." I sniffed, angling the bazooka against the debris in a reckless attempt to blow it off me. "This will probably not wound me badly, I think."

Pulling the trigger, my eyes closed, I felt a powerful tremor beneath my feet and this painful rush of scorching heat. I could not hear or feel anything below my waist, like there was nothing there anymore. Horrified, I opened my eyes, assuming the worst, and patted my legs. Both of my legs were covered in burns, a bit of smoke oozing from my left knee. A chunk of skin was missing from my right ankle. But at least the debris was gone, I thought.

"Stop that fire, and secure all the captives," a voice boomed, followed by numerous footsteps. "I want you all to contain this problem before it spreads to other departments. The master will not tolerate this, so find the people responsible and bring them to him."

"Yes, sir," a few voices replied in a synchronized manner.

Upon hearing that, my heart began to race, and I glanced down at my slowly recovering legs. To my left, there was a small place to hide, an opening where I could conceal my body until my wounds had closed and the bleeding stopped. The place was hidden slightly beneath two pipelines and four monitoring systems. A chunk of debris resting on top of it, and it was only accessible from one opening. I pulled myself toward it, tracking the incoming footsteps and the flapping wings in the air. My hands scraped against shards of glass and metal, the feeling in my legs returning, as I tilted slightly and entered it. It was dark and dry, a few bolts on the ground, but safe. I huddled in a corner, the rocket launcher in my lap, listening to the gunfire outside. I could hear screaming, terrible roars from the mutant chimeras, and a distinct screech of some sort of sound weapon. It was chaos on an epic proportion, and it pained me deeply that I could not see it with my own eyes. I waited, resting my body for ten long minutes, and finally felt the feeling of pain come back to my legs. I could move my feet again.

"I love being immortal," I commented, a smile on my face.

I finally crawled out of the hiding spot and looked in every direction with caution, hoping not to walk into an ambush. The area was clear; all of my enemies and all of the fighting had been moved to somewhere else. There was a lingering silence all around me, a bad omen for terrible things to come. I stood up and walked around, my sight limited by the smoke and hot steam. There were piles of mutant chimera corpses, as well as dead bodies of the innocent bystanders who had been caught in the crossfire. I hopped over the pipes, jumping over the outer portion of metal machines, as I made my way to the other side. Dirty water from one of the broken pipelines soaked through the ground, releasing a smell of wet dog fur. Most of the machines, which had been previously anchored above the ground, lay in ruins against each other—their gears scattered in every direction. And upon reaching the other side, I found myself looking onto these stairs: one staircase going up to the next floor, the other descending onto the sections beneath. On the right wall, there was a blue instructional map, diagramming the whole complex into different sections, and according to what I was reading, I was one the second floor. And they called this atrocity of factory, the Monster Maker. A name that was truly befitting of such a terrifying place. While debating which direction to go, I heard gunshots somewhere on the third floor, and I bolted for the stairs, clambering up to the third floor with haste. Stopping in my tracks, I gazed up at the mechanical bodies, which were hung on chains. Some of them had skin grafted halfway, below their waists, and others were just gears and bolts. Their feet dangled a few feet from the ground, their metallic heads facing the floor, their shoulders hunched over. By my estimate, they were at least fifty of them, all stacked in columns and rows. The arrangement almost resembled a rectangle shape. On the side, next to the monitors and visual machines, I caught a glimpse of a conveyor belt with something strange on it. It looked like real human skin. I felt a sudden temptation to pick at it, to unveil this immoral abomination, and carefully scrutinize it to my fullest extent. I was wicked, I knew, a truly, malevolent, deceitful liar of catastrophic levels, but I was nowhere near this evil. This was something else completely, something I had to fight with all of my full power. And, yes, the skin was real, and it had been taken off some poor soul's body, hopefully, after they had died.

"That explains the butler at Baron Smith's compound," I grumbled, biting my fingernail as I realized something important. "I knew there was something wrong with that chap. But what is he planning on doing with them?"

Reaching down, I pulled on the lever, located on the side of one of the monitoring machines, and broke it off. I turned around, exhaling deeply, and kicked apart another machine, a clicking noise erupting alongside a tiny mist of smoke. Whether I succeeded or not, I would make it my sole purpose, right now, to delay the madman's conquest of Earth. His plans affected my future goals, for the many centuries to come, and I could not have that. Earth, I believed, deserved to have one madman—me—running amok, not two. Once I was done destroying the controls, I plodded across the floor, carefully watching the mechanical men, and hoping they wouldn't spring to life without warning.

The next room was slightly gloomy, a place where all the mechanical construction was created. The madman's laboratory. It housed strange weapons, devices of complex mechanical function, strange blueprints on all the walls, and books of anatomy and magic. It was amazing. Definitely something you didn't see every day. And seeing all of these weapons of mass destruction, in a room with no guards stationed inside it, I would be wary of a trap, of a ruse, but I wasn't. So many things were out of place: the room full of immobile mechanical men, the room filled with weapons, and the lingering silence that had taken over the whole complex. I could feel the hair on my neck stand, my heart rate increasing, and a shift in the air around me. The anxiety was slowly killing me. Reaching for a gun, I saw a string pin below the butt of the gun and some gears turning in different directions. Something like methane gas oozed into the whole room, and behind me, a small fuse flickered into a small flame.

"Oh crap." I turned around and began to dash for the next door. I realized my blunder a little too late.

Violently, the whole room exploded—the force and pressure of the flames sending me crashing through the metal door, my whole back ablaze. I landed, chin first, against something cushy, and stood up to take off the coat. It felt like my back had been burned off, like there was no skin left. I pulled the fur coat off, throwing it on the ground, and sighed deeply, turning my head around. I saw twelve guns pointed at my head, small red dots dancing around my face, and heard the sounds of safeties being removed. The room, a luxury suite, with a king-size bed, a large, brown dressing table, a soft carpet, a fireplace, and three night lamps was housing a battalion of mutant chimeras. I also noticed a gigantic rocking chair covered in cushy cotton being rocked around by someone facing the fireplace. The madman, I thought.

"Professor Roger Dozer, I presume," I asked, placing my hands above my head, whilst facing the rocking seat. "We finally meet."

"Rave, enough with the formalities, old friend," he replied, his voice tense and grim without looking back at me. "How long has it been, three or four hundred years?"

"You seem to know me," I whispered, surprised, as I took two steps towards him. "Who are you, if I may be so bold? I believe people should face each other when they are speaking directly to each other."

"The immortal monster, Rave, the terror on Earth," he shrieked, throwing something into the fire. "You dare to talk to me that way, after what you did to me? I was your friend, your only ally, and the only man whose dreams aligned with yours. Think, Rave, use that tiny feeble mind of yours to uncover my true identity."

"Give me a clue or something." I smirked, the mystery behind his identity vexing me a bit. "Say something that might jolt my memory; after all, I took a lot of lives over the centuries."

"Fine, you brutish oaf," he sighed, raising his right hand, which was missing an index finger. "You took that from me after you betrayed me on the night of the Fang Moon."

The Fang Moon, a night where mediocre mages were given a chance to prove themselves and transcend into powerful wizards. It was a night where many things like murder, sacrifices, suicides, occurred, and it only took place every five hundred years. The memory of that night eluded me, but I remember taking a bounty against a specific target, a person who was close to me.

"This is impossible. I killed you," I gasped, realizing his true identity. "You can't be alive, you just can't be."

"I could say the same thing about you, but look at where we are," he laughed, standing up, his back facing me. "Can you believe it, Rave, that we would meet like this, over three hundred years later?"

"So, Zad, you are Roger Dozer?" I asked, placing my hands down, feeling my stomach tighten. "You are the madman—I cannot believe this, even though I am seeing it with my own eyes."

Turning around, he grinned at me, cross-eyed, forming a gun gesture with his right hand and placing it against his skull. Zad was a tall, thin man, with a face that would scare most children into wetting their pants. He had two sets of sharp teeth, one on the top and other on the bottom, a square jaw, a metal nose, blood-shot sclera, and pointy cheek-bones. The fool must have had several facial reconstruction surgeries, I thought. He was unlike the man I knew from before. I mean, yes, a few hundred years ago he was crazy and violent, but not enough to build a mountain base and kidnap people. He had ideas, plans for world domination by taking over Cyborg City, but it was all just games and illusions. And I did kill him, yes, and I did cut off his index finger as proof of my work, and it haunted me for a few years. But before that, he had become hostile and violent, and he would have become a full-blown threat had he achieved powers on the night of the Fang Moon.

"How are you alive, Zad? Did you also become immortal like me?"

"Nonsense, Rave, immortality is so overrated. You gained eternal life at a great cost, a price that no one should ever have to take, and that's not something I agree on."

"I killed you, Zad. I took your life with my own hands, so tell me the truth. How are you still moving around? How are you still amongst us three hundred years later if you are not immortal?" I took a few more steps towards him and stopped when a few mutant chimeras stepped into my path, guns aimed at my heart.

"Yes, you destroyed my flesh, but you did not destroy my mind, which was something you should have considered. In the event of an early demise, a thing that I had foreseen, I instructed another colleague of mine to transfer my mind into the body of another using a powerful machine I created. It is the reason why I have lived this long and the reason why you can't kill me."

"That is sick, Zad. You are truly a monster."

"Oh, Rave, you have some nerve to call me a monster, considering all of the lives you have ended upon this very night alone. Yes, I was watching and recording all of your movements, since the moment you arrived at the mouth of my lair. At first, I wasn't sure it was you, so I hatched a scheme to test out your skills and abilities, to see if you were the real Rave I knew and loathed. I could have ordered my men to burn your body in the flames, but I didn't because I was curious to see if you would revive back to life without a body. And I must say, I want that body of yours more than anything now. With your body, your power, and my mind, I will take over the whole galaxy."

"Zad, it's official, you have truly lost your marbles, old friend. All that time I spent with you, all that time I listened to your rants, I should have realized how seriously crazy you were. I truly regret not finishing the job, when I had the chance."

"Fret not, Rave, we all make mistakes. It's a part of life, but we also get chances to make amends of those regrets. Ah, the true wonders of life are amazing, aren't they? We have seen time progress, witnessed history in the making, and now we get a chance to rewrite what should have been history, and what should have been erased from it."

"That much we can agree on." I smiled, popping my knuckles, observing my surroundings for any openings. "Destiny has granted us this chance to meet again, face to face, and finally settle our score."

"Tonight, you will die, Rave," he whispered, turning around and posing in a ridiculous stance. "It was decided the moment you crashed onto this planet, and there is nothing you can do to prevent it."

"Are you stupid or something, Zad?" I laughed, the pain in my back gone. "In case you have forgotten, I am immortal, and even if you manage to maim me, you won't be able to kill me."

"Come here, Rave, sit with me." He waved me forward, gesturing for one of his bodyguards to get me a chair from the left corner. "Are you still a fan of rum tea?"

"I happen to drink it on special occasions," I replied, walking over and taking a seat next to him, crossing my legs. "Why do you ask?"

"I happen to have some in my room." He smiled, whispering something into a mutant chimera's ear. "I think we should have one last chat before we settle our vendetta, don't you agree?"

"Well, you do have all the guns, so I have no choice but to listen to your madness," I chuckled, my gaze fixated on a strange gun that I could see on the other side of wide glass I was facing. "I am impressed, honestly, by your level of ingenuity, Zad. That gun you created is extremely powerful, and considering you have the element of surprise, you might be able to take Cyborg City."

"What in the─" He spat out his drink, gazing at me with fury. "How did you know, Rave? Tell me?"

"One of your soldiers happened to tell me before he was cooked." I sniffed, glancing at the hot liquid on his white shirt, the hot steam still oozing from it. "You shouldn't open your mouth so carelessly, but then again, you were always the bragging type."

"This will not go unpunished," he roared, standing to his feet, pulling out a flintlock, and shooting one of his bodyguards in the head, killing it. "Next time he will think twice before telling others my plan."

"Zad, he wasn't the one who told me about your plans."

"Oh, crap, I always do that. I always end up shooting the wrong person. He should have said something if it wasn't him, but he kept his mouth shut. Is it that hard to say it wasn't me, huh, you stupid creatures?"

"I really don't regret my attempt on your life, Zad," I added, picking up a cup of hot tea from a servant mutant. "Thank you."

"What's that supposed to mean, Rave? Think before you speak ill of me; after all, I have the guns and they are all pointing at you."

"If I had left you alone that night, you might have taken a life, gained extraordinary powers, and have become a true threat to the world, like you are right now," I replied, sniffing the rich aroma and taking a sip. "There is no limit to your insanity, and anyone can see that."

"My insanity," he screamed, pulling a chunk of his gray hair out before shooting me in the left knee. "You dare come onto my planet, destroy my plans and goals, and then have the nerve to lecture me about my insanity? Tell me, Rave—since you're immortal, do you feel pain? Or is that feeling lost to you?"

"You psychotic madman," I laughed out loud, hoping to intimidate him by ignoring the brutal pain in my knee. "I am going to kill you before this night ends."

"Rave, this night will never end." He smiled, shooting my other knee, then exploding into a fiendish laughter. "I also control this weather; the blizzard will never end as long as my device is running, and as long as I hold breath."

"I am glad you told me that," I panted, placing my hands against my knees in order to stop my body from losing too much blood. "It makes my goals a whole lot easier knowing that."

"Hey, release your hands from your knees, so that I may shoot them once more," he snickered, tramping forward and bending down close to me, his gun pointed at my chest. "Come on, Rave, move your hands away—I love the sound of knee bones breaking against bullets; it's truly delightful."

"From one killer to another, back off," I snarled, moving my head closer to him. I fought off a temptation to reach out and break his jaw off. "You might not like what you see if you come closer."

"Fine, Rave, have it your way," he concluded, turning around and returning to his seat. "Oh, yeah, I also have red pastry cake, imported from a distant galaxy, a billion miles from here. You should try it while it's still fresh."

"You shoot me in the knees, laugh at my expense, and then offer me cake?" I asked, suppressing my anger as I burst into fake laughter. "You truly haven't changed one bit, Zad."

"Do you want to see something amazing, something cool?" He fidgeted, pressing something in his pocket, a big grin on his face. "I think you are going to love this as much as I do."

The room suddenly vibrated, the gears stationed above it turning as it began to move towards the left. I glanced down and noticed that the ground was actually made of glass, and I could see all the moving parts beneath it. The room moved for a few seconds and stopped above the gigantic gun, and it was overlooking some sort of blood-stained room.

"This is where I have my prize fights to determine which of my creations will advance in rank," he whispered, whilst munching on the cake, a truly unpleasant sight to behold. "I captured some of your new colleagues and I will pit them against the death row inmates who pledged their loyalty to me in return for freedom. This is going to be good."

Lights came on, a bell gonging, and the four doors on each side opened up wide. People were shoved inside the room, one after the other, forced into a dirty room to fight one another. Gasping slightly, I recognized Salyanna and Jutcer, and the other two were probably the remaining members of the Vandrel Guards. Where was Mrs. Craft and the other two soldiers? If Zad had taken them down, assuming he could, then I had severely underestimated his physical power and mental prowess.

"What of the others?" I asked, turning my head towards him, with both of my hands still pressed on my knees. "I refuse to believe that you of all the people in the world could take on the Vandrel Guards and walk out in victory. Did you acquire some otherworldly power in the last three hundred years?"

"It's all about strategy, Rave, a thing you lack," he mumbled, taking a gentle sip of his hot tea and chewing with his mouth open. "While you might be immortal, possessing powers others cannot even fathom, it all adds up to nothing if you don't have a brain in your head. That woman and her two men are dead, taken care of, and they won't be coming to your aid, Rave."

"That's all I need to know," I sighed, popping my neck, as I waited patiently for my body to heal and for my true dark power to awaken.

A strange door opened beneath the floor, and two men and a woman in blue jumpsuits crawled out of it, yelling words of profanity. Their binding chains had been removed, the shoes on their feet replaced, and their hands were wrapped in new gloves. All in all, they looked rather rested and well-fed, a bad thing for the others fighting against them. The one on the left, with the short hairdo and strange X tattoos across his face, seemed to be the most dangerous of them all. He was, without a doubt, my second in terms of being the most wanted criminal in our galaxy. He was a man of average build, with dark blonde hair that reached his neck, and had piercing, gold eyes and a bushy tail. He was either a chimera or some other alien life form from a different galaxy, I thought.

"We shall prove ourselves to you, Professor Roger Dozer, by taking their heads," the female inmate screamed, extending her hands out, her makeup all messed up. "Please sit right there and enjoy, okay?"

"Stand down, Katherine, or I will be forced to kill you," one of the Vandrel Guards yelled, taking a few steps forward with his pistol holstered. "I would rather take you alive to Dead Planet than to kill any of you in cold blood."

"What makes you think you can stop us, guard?" the man with the X tattoo muttered, gazing up at us without a hint of fear. "Without our shackles, we can use our strength and powers to the fullest extent, and there is nothing you can do to stop us."

With Jutcer's lackluster abilities and Salyanna's inability to fully transform into her true chimera form, I would say this fight was over for them. The death row inmates were the worst matchup for them, and that was bad. The other inmate, a muscular man with odd, big eyes and a long tongue like a snake, trudged forward with his back hunched slightly. Sniffing the air, he exhaled deeply, ogling Salyanna in a dangerous way.

"You there, I want you to be my wife," he yelled, pointing at her with his right hand, a big grin on his face. "If you marry me once this battle is over, I promise to spare your life for two weeks."

"No way, you creep," Salyanna laughed, taking a defensive stance, pointing her rifle at him. "I would rather die than become your bride."

"Suit yourself," he added, dashing towards them and jumping in for a flying kick.

Jutcer, surprised, placed his hands in front of his face, planning on blocking the dangerous kick, but was suddenly knocked back by an unknown force. The two Vandrel Guards leaped back, opening fire on Derick and Katherine, but for some reason, their bullets fell to the ground before they even made contact. It was like some sort of force field had been placed between the two inmates, an invisible barrier that blocked anything from harming them. One of the guards, removing his cape and helmet, burst into magnificent flames, taking for the air, firing a bolt of fire from his hands. And like before, his attack was deflected away by the unknown force and sent flying in different directions.

"I shall have your legs," Katherine boasted, running towards him, her fingers turning into sharp blades, her eyes glowing red. "You are mine, you capped puppet."

The two unnatural forces of nature clashed in the air, trading metal for fire, kick for kick, and landing on the ground to resume again. While fighting, with his back turned towards Derick, the guard did not see the bizarre gestures Derick made with his hands. To the untrained eye, they looked like ordinary gun gestures, but to me, there were something else. Flicking his thumbs, making bang noises with his mouth, I saw the Vandrel Guard fall to the gun, blood stains on his back from invisible bullets. And as he tried to stand up, coughing up blood, Katherine came at him from behind and plunged her sword into his head, killing him in an instant.

"Nothing goes better than eating cake while watching a death match," Zad commented, taking another piece of red cake, his eyes diverted to the fireplace. "Aren't you hungry, Rave? Take your arms off your knees and grab a piece. This cake is really good."

"If I do that, you will shoot my knees again, won't you, Zad?"

"Yes, perhaps, I might, but you won't find out unless you remove your hands from them."

"I am going to kill you; I just want you to know that, and this time, I will make sure to finish the job."

"The feeling is mutual, Rave, but let's enjoy this bout in the meantime and reminisce about old times."

"I have nothing I want to say to you," I replied, turning my attention back to the fight as I felt the pain in my body slowly recede. "I just want to see how this ends."

Turning his head, Derrick pointed his hands towards the remaining Vandrel Guard, who sensed the danger and leaped out of the way, whilst removing his helmet and cape. He was an alien, with a scaled, reptile face, sharp teeth, black spikes on his head, and dragon-like eyes. He jumped left, pulling out a long blade, and extended it out in front. Katherine, sneaking up from his blind spot, tried to maim him from behind, but her blades were blocked by the sword's cross-guard, and she was pushed off. The alien swiped his sword at her in a swift motion and placed it by his side, a bit of blood on its tip. Katherine gasped, suddenly noticing blood gushing from her chest, her eyes widening as she fell down, dead. I could not believe it, despite seeing what had transpired with both of my eyes—it just didn't make any sense. Considering the length of his blade, the distance between him and Katherine, that final attack should have been impossible to accomplish, unless there was some sort of deception or trickery to his blade. He pivoted back and dashed for the long tongued inmate, hoping to strike him with one swing, too.

"Tommy, you fool, look out," Derrick roared, his hands folded above his chest, not moving.

Tommy, who had his tongue wrapped around Salyanna's left arm, glanced to his left, his eyes widening, as the blade sliced his long tongue in half. He screamed, blood flowing from his mouth, his hands covering his face and chest, as he jumped out of the way.

"You will pay for that," he roared in a muffled voice, panting heavily. "I will make you pay for cutting my tongue."

The alien swung his blade down, wiping some of the blood off his blade, looking at Tommy with murderous intent. He lowered his legs, a frightening look on his face, and stormed off for the finishing blow. Tommy shifted out of the way, avoiding a fatal hit, spinning to the side in a desperate attempt to retreat to Derrick's side. But as he turned his back towards the alien guardsman, he was taken down in one hit when he a good few meters away. It looked like the length of the blade had extended, but perhaps, it was my eyes playing a trick on me. This alien was incredibly skilled. Tommy was cut cleanly into two equal pieces through the middle—his left side fell backwards and his right side fell to the right, in a grotesque, bloody mess.

"Surrender, Derrick, or I shall lay claim of your life," the alien boasted, raising his blade into the air. "You cannot escape from the strong arms of the Law, Derrick, and if you continue to defy me, I will cut you down as I did your companions."

"Take your best shot," Derrick yawned, an evil smile on his face, not moving. "Show me the power of Justice as you claim it, Vandrel Guardsman."

"So be it," the alien sighed, sniffing the air before roaring like a tyrannosaurus. "I will show you the true power of the Vandrel Guards."

Like an idiot, he charged head-first towards Derrick—his powerful sword angled slightly behind him, and he skidded in his tracks to swing in a vertical motion. But for some reason, he glanced at the ground, halting his attack, and retreated back from something. The ground exploded beneath his feet, forming small crates in the floor, as dust and debris began to take refuge in the air. I watched closely, unable to figure out the mystery behind their abilities. It was rather aggravating. The alien moved with precise speed and agility, attacking with his magical sword from a distance, but he could not maim Derrick, who was still standing in the same spot. And on the ground, there appeared to be invisible mines buried beneath the floor, making close combat impossible. It made me so mad that I couldn't figure out their tricks, and I just wanted to jump down and challenge them both. On second the thought, why wasn't I doing that?

"Enough of this," the alien roared, turning on the invisible cloak on his armor, disappearing from view. "Two can play at that game, Derrick."

"Have it your way." Derrick smiled, looking bored, as he faced the ground. "You can do everything that you think will help you, but you will never be able to touch me."

"We shall see about that," a voice roared, a set of loud, heavy footsteps following after.

Something attacked the air behind Derrick, the invisible tremors making a thundering noise, the floor shaking a little. The more I watched the fight, the more I saw what looked like some sort of spherical glass shield all around Derrick, and it looked like it protected him from any physical attacks. His abilities were marvelous, worthy of being called the second, most wanted man in the galaxy. While blinking, I heard something smash against the invisible shield, and a second later I saw something being repelled back at an astonishing speed. When the dust cleared out, I saw the alien kneeling on his right knee, the tip of his sword buried in the ground, both of his hands around the cross-guard. He was bleeding from his forehead, a few of his sharp teeth missing, with only one eye open, and had a terribly twisted ankle. Panting heavily, he spat out a fatal amount of blue blood onto the ground, the sword clanking down as he pressed both of his hands into the floor. He was done for, I knew, and if he was lucky, Derrick would finish him up quickly. Looking up, completely exhausted, he gazed at me with eyes filled with contempt, before turning his eyes back at Derrick.

"Let's help him," Salyanna argued, trying to pry away Jutcer, who seemed to be making the rational choice of not engaging carelessly. "If we don't help him, he will die."

"No, Salyanna," he pleaded, holding her waist to stop her from moving. "That man is already dead and he will do the same to you if you rush in carelessly."

The alien guard struggled to stand back up, but he failed to even lift his right knee off the ground. He looked at his sword, a desperate look of courage on his face, and reached out for it; however, he was stopped by some unknown force. He screamed out loud when he saw his hand begin to burn away like it was dipped in a pool of magma fire. The burns spread up his arm, the tormenting cry of the alien truly devastating, but at the last minute, he made a daring move and cut off his own arm with a small dagger. Moving back, panting heavily, sweat pouring down like water, he stood back up to his feet and smiled. To be honest, I was impressed with his tenacious ability. Not a lot of people would think and act that quickly under that kind of pressure.

"I will face my end like a true, honorary member of the Vandrel Guards, the true watchers of Justice and Law," he shouted, bowing his head down, before dashing towards Derrick with his last remaining strength. "I will take you down with me, Derrick Lucy."

"You are more than welcome to try." Derrick grinned, raising his right hand up and glaring at the alien with intense focus. "But this is truly the end for you."

Outraged, the alien blitzed in, his jaw wide open, but was flung back in a great ball of fire. He screamed out loud, moving randomly in every direction, unable to put out the flames that were around him. Those flames are real, I thought, so what does that even mean? What sort of trickery is Derrick using?

"Are you going to try the cake?" Zad asked, extending the tray towards me. "I am about to devour the whole thing by myself and it would be rude to not leave you some."

"I appreciate the generous hospitality, Zad, but I am okay," I replied, swallowing whilst listening to the tormenting cries of the burning alien. "By the way, what happened to Baron Smith and his butler?"

"You know, that is one thing I really don't know," Zad replied, placing the tray on the side, his eyes looking at the brown ceiling. "He was supposed to be brought to me, to be punished for failing to detain you, but he never showed up. Oh well, I will send a party out to search for him once this is over."

"You truly are a sick and demented freak," I sighed, shaking my head with my eyes closed. "Shooting down ships from the sky, kidnapping the passengers, turning ordinary chimera into mutant freaks; a truly endless list of heinous crimes. Do you really think you will get away with this? Do you really think a group of death row inmates, along with the elite Vandrel Guards, can just simply be made to disappear without someone raising an alarm over it?"

"Rave, Rave, Rave," he chuckled, stuffing his face with the last piece of cake. "I have been doing this for fifty years, on other planets before this one, and I have never been caught, and I don't intend to be any time soon. No one will know because no one in your whole group will survive to tell about it, and that includes you."

"My dear fellow, you might be the smartest person I have ever had the pleasure of knowing, but you are not as bright as you might think," I responded, feeling my strength returning and the pain fading. "Not everything goes according to plan, Zad, something you should already know. It takes one small piece out of place to change everything."

"Surely you jest, right?" he laughed, making a mockery out of me, a thing he would live to regret. "Who will stop me? Who among you has the ability now? You failed to kill me before, a mistake that will not happen again, and you will never get another chance like that again, old friend."

"Perhaps." I nodded, looking down, watching the alien's burning body crumble to ash without feeling any pity for him.

Turning his head, scratching away an itch on his elbow, Derrick turned his attention to the two remaining people—Jutcer and Salyanna. Terrified, they both leapt out of the way, separating to the opposite ends of the room, their rifles raised. Silence engulfed us, the wind stopping as if commanded to do so, as a powerful amount of dark energy oozed into the air. It was an amazing feeling, a pure delicacy for the likes of me, but a terribly frightening aura for Salyanna and Jutcer. I fed on its essence, using it to quickly heal all of my previous wounds, as I felt my own power grow. The time for me to act was nearing. And soon, I would open the powerful eye of the abyss and use it to destroy all of my enemies. To kill Zad for the second time, to destroy everything he had created, was certainly going to give me euphoria beyond pure madness, something I hadn't felt in a long decade. Turning my gaze towards him, watching him stuff his mouth with pastries like a disgusting pig, I smiled, knowing that his end would come by my own two hands.

"Why are you smiling like that?" he asked, glancing at me curiously, putting his empty cup down. "Is there something you want to ask me?"

"No, I am just imagining ways to skewer you," I sneered, giving him a look of pure bloodlust. "Your dreams will end and die with you today."

"I would like to see that," he replied, drawing a small dagger from his left pocket and placing it on his lap, a cold smile on his face. "The time for us to finish this draws closer, isn't that right, old friend? For too long, your betrayal haunted me, infuriating me to a point of anguish, and at last, I finally have been granted one more chance to fight you in a battle to the death."

"Don't get so excited, it's just a fight," I exhaled, my heart pacing as I watched Derrick make his move.

Placing his hands in his pockets, looking relaxed, Derrick plodded through the floor, making his way to his cornered prey. He stopped in the center, looking left and then right, trying to decide who he would kill first. He smiled, withdrawing his right hand out of his pocket, raising it up and pointing it at Jutcer. And as he did, Jutcer screamed, opening fire on the death row inmate in a desperate struggle for survival. His bullets bounced off the invisible wall, ricocheting in different directions.

"Save me, please," Jutcer screamed, trembling with fear. His gun slipped out of hands. "Help me, Salyanna."

In the instant he muttered those words, all of the bones in his body were snapped out of his skin, his blood splattering in every direction, and his head twisted backwards. He fell backwards and did not move again. He died suffering in one of the most horrible ways possible. Salyanna, dropping to her knees, screamed out loud, her tears flowing like floodgates. Unable to control her emotions, she tried to reach out to him, but withdrew it at the last second. She wiped her tears away, standing up slowly, her claws extended out.

"You will pay for this, you monster," she shrieked in fury, her eyes glowing, and her fangs protruding out.

Before she could charge, I made my move and jumped up to my feet in a swift motion. I spun around, dashing for the window, and smashed through it, shards of glass following in my wake. I heard Zad shouting something, his voice dying out behind me—my focus tuned on the fight below me. Landing on top of the giant gun, the force of gravity on my side, I caused the muzzle of the gun to turn vaguely down. Derrick stopped his advance, his hands beside his waist, and looked up at me with a detached expression.

"Sorry, Derrick, but I will have to intervene," I yawned, dropping down to the ground, feeling fully revived. "I hope you won't mind if I take you on, will you?"

"Doesn't really matter," he groaned, looking away, his arms folded. "It doesn't matter who you are, what you can do, because no one can touch me."

"We shall see about that," I added, flexing my right arm up and down.

16

"No, Rave, he is mine," Salyanna growled, red fur starting to emerge on her smooth skin, her ears changing shape. "I will make him pay for everything he did to Jutcer."

Bending down on all fours, assuming an animalistic form, she roared like an enraged beast and charged forward. I watched her move out of my range, her speed increased threefold as her mind was wrapped in pure wrath. She leaped in the air, swiping her long claws at Derrick, but instead of hitting him, her claws came into contact with his invisible shield, the force of her own attack deflecting her back. Landing on her legs, roaring fiercely, she presumed to attack him again, not planning on giving him any time to rest. And like before, she was deflected back to the ground, her claws oozing with blood. She mastered her pain in a truly admirable way, and charged again for another attack. Instead of being deflected back, she came within inches of his head. For some reason, Derrick, confused, jumped back to avoid her lethal claws, which was something I could not understand. He looked agitated and impatient; his once expression of pure boredom had been replaced with fear and desperation. Salyanna sensed this and pressed on, rushing in to attack even though her own body was badly wounded.

"Enough of this, woman," he bellowed, raising his right hand, a look of focus glimmering from his cold eyes.

Sensing the malice, I rushed in and kicked the invisible shield with my right leg, drawing Derrick's attention towards me. He roared, swiping at me with his right hand and knocking me away with some sort of invisible wind. Little by little, I was beginning to understand how his power worked, and how his shield operated. The state of his disturbed mind determined the strength of his abilities. Based on what I had seen, he had the ability to conjure anything he wanted using the power of his imagination, despite it being invisible. It was a remarkable ability, far more dangerous than I was assuming, which was bad.

"You are mine," Salyanna boomed, appearing behind him, her right claws extended out.

She nipped his neck a little, before the invisible shield activated and pushed her back, sending her crashing into the wall. Touching the blood on his neck, exhaling heavily, he screamed in pain and turned his evil gaze towards her, planning to kill her in cold blood. Upon seeing this, I stomped forward, rolling on the ground and picking up the alien's sword. A terrible gust of wind suddenly rippled through the room, my fur coat billowing against it as I smashed the sword against his invisible shield. Derrick turned around, facing me with his right hand pointing at me.

"Now, burn," he screamed, looking agitate and hostile.

"I am really the worst matchup for you, Derrick," I replied, watching the fire consume my body.

After being shot at multiple times, having my head chopped off by a blade, this was nothing. From the fire, I emerged in a triumphant walk, glancing down at the sword in my hand, the fire still burning through me. Derrick, horrified, looked at me with fear and began to take a few steps back, trembling. He stumbled on the ashes of the alien he had killed, gasping heavily, turning his head down, before balancing himself again.

"I can feel your fear and taste your anguish," I giggled, walking towards him, the sword extended in front. "This is the weapon that will kill you, Derrick, and there is no shield that can protect you from it."

"You lie," he shrieked, his eyes turning red, gritting his teeth in a menacing way. "I will kill you."

Stopping, I felt all of my bones being twisted, my neck being moved out of line, as if something was trying to break me. Black blood gushed from several openings all over my body, the pain nerve-wracking and yet amazing. I fell to the ground in a trance of euphoria, his evil aura still seeping into me, and laughed hysterically. It was working—as long as Derrick was terrified of me, his powers were utterly useless. Sitting upright on the ground, in my own pool of blood, my legs spread apart, I inhaled deeply.

"You truly are a man worthy of being my second," I said, looking him in the eyes, my body regenerating at an alarming rate. "Haven't you been curious as to who I am, as to the identity of the top wanted criminal in the Milky Way galaxy?"

"Filthy lies," he replied, the confidence in his eyes disappearing, moving back a few feet. "Am I supposed to believe that you're the infamous, murderous assassin?"

"No, but it was supposed to distract you from that." I smiled, pointing at something behind him.

Shaking in his boots from fear, he tried to turn back, but was grabbed from behind by Salyanna, who sunk her fangs into his neck, before choking him from behind with something slimy. It was Tommy's tongue, the part that had been cut off by the alien, and it looked like her grief for Jutcer had consumed her. I watched from the ground, with no intention of stopping her, with a smile on my face. His face turned blue, sweat dropping from his forehead, his eyes turning red as he struggled for breath. He tried to pull her from his back, but he lost his strength, and dropped to his knees looking half-dead.

"Make him suffer, Salyanna," I whispered, taking pleasure in her carnage. "Make him pay for what he did to Jutcer and everyone else.

She tightened her grip, bending his back backwards, blood gushing out from the deep wound she had inflicted on him. Tears dropped from her eyes, her fur receding into her skin as she slowly let him go and let him fall to the ground. She moved away from him, wiping her eyes with her right hand, and trudged away from the unconscious man.

"What are you doing?" I asked, standing up with anger. "Why are walking away? Finish him, make him suffer for what he did to your friend."

"I can't, Rave. I am not a monster and I don't want his blood on my hands, too," she muttered, dropping her knees to the bloody floor and pulling something from Jutcer's corpse. "I only wished to stop the madman; I never wished for this violence, for this killing to befall any of us."

"You idiot," I spat, her soft attitude infuriating me, and I glanced up at Zad, who was making his glamorous descent to the ground. "Your weakness will get you killed."

Zad spun in the air three times, his new, black cape flapping behind him, and landed roughly in the ground. The mutant chimera squad, who had been protecting him, jumped down next to him, clapping at every ridiculous pose he made with his hands. I sensed something sinister around him, a powerful force that rivaled my own, and it was oozing into the air. Even his eyes had changed color, now a dark blue color, and his shoulders were broader, bigger, his feet twice as long. The heels and soles on both his boots had massive silver spikes embedded into them, increasing his height by a few inches, whilst making him look more intimidating. Derrick coughed, still lying on the ground, and opened one of his eyes.

"I don't like to be interrupted," Zad yelled, rushing towards him and smashing his head in with his right boot. "I hope you will learn that next time."

"He is dead, you buffoon," I snarled, disgusted by his intolerable actions.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot that I put on my spiky boots. But, anyways, let us begin our last match."

"About time," I added, oozing with smoke. My bones had reverted back to their normal positions, the bleeding stopped.

"Kill them both," Zad ordered, pointing at us.

Growling, his bodyguard mutants took arms, charging at us from different directions. In this confined space, offering little room to maneuver around or hide in, we were at a disadvantage. Suddenly, a bat-faced chimera, jaws wide open, lunged at me with its right claws, but missed me by a few inches. It turned its massive body around, rocketing at me with its right leg for a second attack. From behind, I sensed the presence of another mutant, lying in wait for me with its flintlocks drawn out. I pivoted to the left, taking a quick glance back, to see the beast behind me. I heard three shots, felt pain in my lower back, and I fell on one knee. Panting, I saw a shadow standing over me, before this massive, spiked boot was plunged into my right shoulder, sending me flying a few yards back. I really should stop playing around and put an end to this, I thought.

"What happened to all that spunk, Rave?" Zad asked, laughing alongside his minions, whilst moving towards me. "You said that you could kill me, so go ahead and do it."

Annoyed, I looked up, exhaling slowly, and saw all of the flintlocks pointed at me, the red lines from their scopes all over my body. Two mutants moved in closer, smiling menacingly, and unloading their modified weapons into my body. I lost count of how many bullets were drilled into me, the pain truly maddening. I coughed up my blood, laughing in a low voice, as I gazed up at them. The sword fell from my left hand, clanking onto the ground, a small glimmer of light being reflected from the metallic hilt. My heart wavered for some reason, a truly strange feeling that was unknown to me. Why was I hesitating? Why was I not opening the eye of the abyss and letting it destroy all of my enemies. Was it because Salyanna was here? What would it matter if she died along with them?

Sensing danger, I reached for my sword, picking it up and slashing at something that was nearing me. I stood up, a maddening sensation of pain coming from every inch of my body, and took one step forward, my sword angled in front of me. I heard their movements, their laughter, and taunts from every direction around me, and I waited patiently. My vision was a little hazy; however, I could make out their movements using my ears only. I shifted my body to the left when I felt something draw near and plunged the blade into its flesh with sheer joy. The monster yelped, going limp in my hands, and I holstered the monster up into the air before throwing it in front of me. Dashing forward, feeling my strength returning, I grabbed another mutant chimera's jaw and ripped the lower part off, before bashing it with its torn jaw in the head. The dark power was taking over—I could feel it eating away at my conscience, and I loved every second of it.

"Stop him, you idiots," Zad snapped, withdrawing his own personal flintlock, a weapon with a golden red barrel. He pointed it at me. "Don't let him frighten you."

"Yes, yes, come to me," I roared, raising my hands, gazing at each of them. "I want you to give me your best shot before I slaughter you all."

Behind me, a mutant chimera with long black fur and ribbed horns angled in the opposite directions darted towards me in a stealthy manner. I waited, relaxing my whole body, and swung when it had leaped in for the final kill. My blade clashed with its claws, the force and sharpness of the steel overpowering it. I cut a few inches through its wrist and pulled out, bending my back to avoid a surprise attack from behind. More and more of these mutant savages were pouring into the small room—their numbers playing to their advantage. But on the bright side, it looked like Salyanna was holding her own against the horrendous horde. I don't know why, but for some reason, I wanted her to survive this accursed nightmare, and return to her people. The feeling behind that logic was truly lost to me, but it was the reason why I had not opened the eye of the abyss.

"Dodge this, Rave," Zad shrieked, firing an unimaginable barrage of bullets towards him.

He mowed down his minions who were standing between us without hesitation as he attempted to kill me. Unable to dodge the nearly unlimited bullet storm, I planted my feet firmly into the ground, placing my hands in front of me, hoping that my body would endure the attack. It was like someone was placing multiple needles into my body at the same time, a pain I could not find words to describe taking over my mind. I dropped to one knee, my blood pouring like rain, panting heavily. After a long minute, which almost felt like an hour, the bullets stopped, and Zad reached into his pocket, pulling out another cartridge. Despite seeing it for myself, despite knowing him to be crafty, I could not believe that he had maimed me this badly with that small gun. The cartridge looked like an ordinary bullet magazine, but it was more than that. He had hexed it with some sort of magic, which was the reason why I could not let him reload.

"Salyanna, get out of here," I screamed out to her, turning my head to face her. "Something bad is about to happen, and if you stay here, you will die."

"What about you?" she replied, plunging her blade into a beast's' neck. "Will you come with me?"

"No," I boomed, struggling to stand up as I felt a loss of power in my legs. "I have to stay here and finish this."

I fought hard against the darkness inside of me, which was starting to gnash out of my mind in a painful way. I could feel the power coursing through my veins, feeding on my madness and hate. It healed my wounds, strengthening my bloodlust, and drew more power from the evil aura lingering in the air.

"I can't leave you here, not like this," she replied, reluctantly defying my wish and moving closer to my location, her eyes glowing dimly. "I could never live with myself if I leave you here, much less leave Jutcer's body in this place."

"Idiot, this is not the time to act like a saint," I hissed at her rudely, placing both of my hands on the ground to stop myself from falling. "They will kill you, Salyanna, because this is a fight to the death."

"He is right, you know," a mysterious voice joined in, the source of the voice coming from an opening door. "They are a truly revolting bunch."

"Mrs. Craft, you are alive?" I asked, feeling a little bit disappointed but glad at the same time.

"How is this possible?" Zad exclaimed, his lips spacing apart. "I saw you die, saw your bodies turned to ash by the fire-breather, my greatest creation."

"You saw what we wanted you to see," she replied, strolling further into the room, her two men behind her. "You underestimated the Vandrel Guards, a mistake that will cost you dearly, Roger Dozer."

Dumbfounded, Zad searched for the right words to say, looking angry, but he suddenly brushed his black hair back, calming his mind with a slow exhale. Ignoring the new guest, he focused his attention on reloading his gun, his eyes averted from everything except his trusty gun. The legion of mutant chimera, which stood behind him, weapons and claws drawn out, shifted nervously around as they awaited his orders. His control over them was absolute; they could not defy their master, even if their lives depended on it. I could not fathom what sort of horrors he had inflicted upon them to deserve this unwavering loyalty, but... Just thinking about it made me absolutely angry.

"Professor Roger Dozer, you have been found guilty for a series of heinous crimes, and I, Captain Craft of the Vandrel Guards, find you guilty and shall sentence you to death."

"Kill them, too," he mumbled, still looking at his flintlock, and snorting in a revolting way. "I have grown tired of seeing their faces."

Upon his command, the mutant monsters charged into action, a few staying behind to fire their flintlocks while the rest of the horde came at us with their claws and fangs. Fully recovered, I angled my body steadily to the right and threw a left hook, felling a lion-faced chimera who had decided to lunge at me with its bare fangs. Grabbing his hind paws with both hands, I spun three times around before releasing him into the direction of the oncoming horde. In that instant, Zad bolted in my direction—his gun fully loaded and he jumped into the air with elegance, his black cape flailing above him. He descended upon me with a well-coordinated aerial attack, forcing me to take a step back. My sword clashed with the muzzle of his gun, small flickers of flames flying in every direction, and a clanking sound erupted from the metal tips of our weapons. Pushing him away, I slashed down at another mutant, severing his left arm from the rest of his body, before slashing him through the chest. Zad, throwing a powerful kick, caught me by surprise and knocked me to the ground, the sharp spikes beneath his boots cutting deeply through my right bicep. I yelped in pain silently, curling my injured arm up, my eyes fixated on him. Then I stood up. He fired another storm of bullets; however, I was in motion so only a few of them were able to graze me. I flipped around, parrying some of the bullets away with my sword before dashing to the right, towards the giant gun. He followed right behind me as expected, firing through his own minions, trying to stop me from reaching his prized weapon.

"You lose, Zad," I yelled, plunging my sword into the gun's mechanical gears, sparks of electricity flying everywhere. Rattling noises came from the jammed gears.

Strange green energy shot out of metal pipes, unrestrained electric currents discharging violently around the huge, metallic barrel of the weapon. Everyone stopped fighting, turning their heads towards the weapon, as they could also sense the impending danger. I moved back, my feet sloshing on the bloody floor, my hands covering my eyes from the bright light.

"You idiot," Zad screamed, shoving me to the side, rushing towards his gun and pushing against the levers. "Do you have any idea the damage you have done? If I don't stop this machine now, this whole area will be engulfed in radioactive fire."

"That sounds more like your problem, not mine," I sniffed, massaging my arm as I looked at him. "Like I said before, this is the end for you, old friend."

***

Loud sirens whirled through the whole complex, massive amounts of steam shooting through the whole room, the floor shaking violently every ten seconds. I almost stumbled upon a dead body belonging to a mutant chimera, but I caught myself and balanced out. Zad, still working on shutting down the gun, did not see me approach him from behind. I was not about to let this opportunity slip out of my hands. Grabbing his head, I bashed it against the metal hull anchoring the weapon to the ground, pulling him towards me and felling him to the ground. A loose bolt, knocked off by the building steam, flew out and missed my head by a few inches. Zad kicked me in the shin with his right leg, the spikes on his boots sinking through my right leg, and I fell to the ground. He stood up quickly, panting heavily, blood trickling from his forehead, and he pointed his flintlock at me.

"I should kill you," he muttered, spitting out blood, his right fang missing from his mouth. "But right now, stopping this gun from exploding and taking us all out is my main priority."

"Not if I can help it," I hissed, standing back up, blood gushing out of my leg. "I will not let you do as you like, Zad. I promised the townspeople your head in exchange for a ship, and that's what I will give them."

"We have to get out of here," Mrs. Craft screamed, forcing me to shift my gaze left as she raised her right hand up. "If we stay here, we will all die."

Rolling up, I engaged Zad once more in a duel to the death, a hot gust of wind passing by us, the floor shaking tremendously beneath our feet. Torn ligaments of our fallen comrades and foes were picked up by the wind and thrown in every direction—small traces of blood staining the walls, ground, and ceiling. Sparks of electricity flickered around the weapon, a thick wave of noxious steam starting to make it difficult to see everything clearly.

I felt a strong punch connect with my back and a knee to my stomach. I gasped in pain, releasing my grip on Zad. His hands pressed upon the back of my head, and as I gained control of my senses, I felt my body being lifted off the ground and thrown to the side. Smashing against the side of gun, a surge of electricity jolted me strongly. I fell to the ground in agonizing pain and did not move for a few seconds.

"I grow tiresome of your futile efforts," Zad grumbled, pulling the trigger and shooting me twice in the head. "Perhaps, this ought to slow you down a little."

The pain was so intense that I blanked out for a second, but opened my eyes again, the bullets unable to kill me. The dark power swirled around my body, healing all of my wounds in a matter of seconds, as I flicked my fingers inwards. My heart beat slowly, my blood oozing from every part of my body, and my head ached. Raising my arms, I saw my skin turn even darker than before, my nails longer, and my palms rough and rigid. The darkness had truly awakened. I rolled over, standing up on my feet, looking in every direction as I searched for the others. Mrs. Craft, Salyanna, and two other members of the Vandrel Guards were fighting their way towards the eastern door, a group of mutant chimeras surrounding them. And to my left, Zad tinkered with the controls, muttering curses beneath his breath, as he pulled out some cords from the back. The temperature inside the whole room had risen—it almost felt like we were standing on the side of an active volcano, a truly frightening feeling. On the ground, I spotted a broad dagger with a curved spine, a wooden handle with finger grooves, and the blade ten inches long. I picked it up, swinging it in horizontal attack patterns, testing its handle, whilst my eyes were focused on Zad. I charged forward, screaming out my lungs, and slammed Zad into the controls. He looked back, surprised, and screamed when I plunged the dagger into his chest. He collapsed.

"Let's go, Rave," Salyanna screamed, standing by the door, waving towards me. "This whole place is about to go critical—hurry up and come with us."

"No, I have to stay and buy you time," I replied, grabbing Zad's kick with both of my hands, the spikes on his boot unable to penetrate my hardened skin. "Just go and don't turn back at any cost. I will catch up with you when I am done."

Zad threw his other foot at me, trying to maim me, but I ducked down and pinned him by placing my right foot between his legs. Desperate, he drew out his gun, a look of fear plastered on his wretched face, as he tried to pull the trigger; however, I managed to wrest it from his right hand with a swift, low kick. A powerful explosion erupted from the muzzle of the gigantic gun, frightening tremors cracking through the concrete floor. An enormous amount of steam spread thickly through the room. An unexpected shockwave pried me away from Zad, knocking me into the left wall.

"This isn't over," Zad screamed, his eyes glowing red as steam oozed from his body. "I will not let you best me twice, Rave. This time, you will be the one who will perish."

"Then, by all means, have at it, old friend," I snickered, twisting my sore neck before bolting forward, the dagger clutched in my left hand.

Shifting left, within range of close combat, I dodged an unknown projectile and pivoted to the left side. Zad charged in with a right kick, but I grabbed it and pulled him towards the big gun. He shot me in the chest, and as I ignored the pain, I pulled him even closer to his special weapon, planning on throwing him inside the muzzle. Sparks of electricity flashed around us, the currents electrocuting both of us, and dropping us to our knees. The floor sunk into a great depression, the steam making visibility impossible, as the muzzle of the gun, engorged in a never-ending bowl of fire, lowered to the ground. Twisting his head to the left, trembling, Zad threw a slow punch and I grabbed it, pulling him closer to the burning muzzle.

"Any words, Zad?" I smirked, dipping both of our hands into the fire, which burned as hot as a space ship's afterburners. "How does pain feel, or is that feeling lost to you?"

"Ironic, right?" he laughed out loud, sweat pouring from his forehead. The flesh from his arm was synched off, revealing the mechanical modifications beneath his arm. "I said the same thing to you a while ago, and now you are saying the same thing to me."

"You will die here," I proclaimed, standing over him, whilst pulling out our terribly scarred hands from the flames. "Any. Last. Words."

"Don't act so high and mighty," he roared, forcing himself up and swinging a wild punch. "This is not over, you dumb fool. I will not let you destroy my life's work, my great ambitions of galactic conquest."

"Yes, I will," I laughed, grabbing his punch, growling, and pushing him into the direct line of the flaming muzzle.

I moved back, the ground getting hot, the thick steam burning my eyes, and almost fell over a crack in the ground. Crumbled pieces of the ceiling were falling, and massive surges of electricity were shooting in every direction. I heard a howling sound, and when I traced the noise to its source, I saw red eyes all over the room, heard numerous growling noises from several vicious beasts. It was the mutant chimeras who had survived and could not escape because of the control Zad placed on them.

"I will not die," a voice boomed, a metallic body breaking through the scorching flames.

Looking back, my mouth open, I could not believe what I was seeing. Zad had turned his body into machine, his organs into gears, bolts, and wires. He had somehow transformed his brain into something of fiction. Even his skull was completely metal, which explained the reason behind his unnatural longevity. He was no longer human. Steam hissed from the gears churning inside of him, foul liquids gushing from his abdomen, and whenever he took a step, I heard an annoying squeak from loose chain rings on his thighs. In all honestly, I could say he was done for; this was the chance I was waiting for.

Facing him, ignoring his minions, I ambled towards him, the blade angled by my hip. He looked at me with his menacing, red eyes, sparks shooting out of his shoulder, and tried to say something, but I grabbed his head and pushed him back into the flames.

"How does it feel, Zad, to be the one being tortured?" I asked, pulling him out of the flames and bringing his face close to mine. "Does it feel good to be on the receiving side? Personally, I don't care about what you did—my agenda with you lies in the ship you cost me and the mission I failed to complete because of it."

"You can damage my body, but as long as my brain is encased in this diamond crystal, I will live on forever," he chuckled, his metallic hands dangling from his sides, the left side of his jaw crooked.

"That seems true," I replied, digging into his head and plucking out his brain. "But there are fates much worse than death, old friend. How about I show you the eye of the abyss?"

"Impossible. You of all people couldn't have mastered that dark, ancient magic," the brain spoke, a thing unheard of, glowing in a green color. "Wait a minute—this explains the source of your power and your immortality. You are truly an idiot, Rave, to have awakened the abyss and claim its power for your own. Sooner than you think, when you least expect it, it will consume and destroy you."

"Enough talk." I smiled, walking over and closing every door, the mutant chimeras watching me silently. "This is the part when the fun truly begins."

I raised my right hand, and the fire and lightning stopped, the darkness around my body spreading to every corner of the complex. Stillness grew inside the room, the tremors stopping, and the air became stiff. Massive winds roared out, clearing the steam within seconds, and sent a storm of black dust and debris into the air.

"I order you all to stop him right now," the brain cried, talking to the mutant chimeras.

Like robots, they became mobile again, growling and drawing out their weapons, corrosive saliva coming out of their mouths. "Kill him now."

"Too late, Zad. The eye has already opened." I smiled, glancing down, and watched this massive red eye open in the ground. "Now that the others are gone, I can finally reveal my true power and let you suffer for everything you have done. Now, let the carnage begin."

Acknowledgements

Thank you, reader, for reading this book and finishing. If you like it, please don't forget to write a review. Personally, I didn't like Rave when I created him, but his side of the story is very vital for my future books to come. There might be some mistakes in this book, and with time, they will be found and corrected.

Next Book in the series is Dark Boy and is available on amazon.com

My Other Books

End Boss Berserk Warfare Book 1

End Boss Berserk Warfare Book 2

Rogue Light Rage of Oblivion

If you like my work, follow me on twitter

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