Chapter 47

As the blade was retracted, the scrawny man’s body fell limp, creating an audible thump as it hit the ground. Briefly after, his body began to convulse violently as his limbs twisted themselves in unnatural positions. The eerie dance ended as quickly as it came, and once complete, the newborn crawler oriented itself upright.

EEEEIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIlll-

“Shhh!” hushed the child. “Stop it, you’ll alert everyone!” Carefully, Anya tiptoed her way to the door and pressed her ear against its wooden surface.

“...” She anxiously listened, waiting for any signs that someone may be approaching. Only after the girl was confident that the coast was clear, did she relax with a sigh.

“Okay, okay… I can do this…” She reassured herself. Her focus switched to the crawler that occupied the room with her. Its appearance did not change much from before the transformation. In fact, its prior twitchiness remained. The creature seemed to be unable to hold still, its body jittered nonstop as its head swayed from side to side clattering its teeth. What unsettled Anya the most was the fluttering of its eyes. The lids opened and closed rapidly as if there was sand. However, the movements were more violent as fluids leaked with every blink. The girl was not sure whether she found the creature more disturbing before or after the alteration.

Regardless of her discomfort, Anya leaned against the wall and considered her options. The creature did provide some relief, as now she would not have to fight alone. Yet, she was still not very confident. Out of the three, she obtained the one that was the most physically frail. The crawler’s arms were nearly barebones and the same applied to the rest of its body. Her certainty was further worsened by the fact that the creature had just transformed, seemingly unable to even keep its own body still.

“You.” she directed to the crawler, still baring hatred and disgust. “Take care of the first one you see.” The cell they were in contained no windows, and if her memory served her correctly, the next room did not either. She knew that there was a high chance that both of the remaining men were in the main room from where she was captured. It was a straight shot from her cell to the exit, so confrontation was unavoidable. The child’s primary goal was to retrieve her weapon, after that, she would ensure that no more victims will be brought to this place.

“Alright, when I open the door, you charge.” She held up three fingers and readied herself.

“On three… two… one...” The girl attempted to turn the doorknob but it would not budge.

“...” She turned to the crawler and whispered. “You locked the door behind you?!”

The creature remained swaying and unresponsive.

Anya pressed her hand against her face in frustration. “Do you have the key…?”

“...” Still nothing.

Anya searched the creature’s pockets and luckily enough, the crawler did have a key. Quickly, she ran to the door were another issue was discovered.

“There’s no…” There was no keyhole from her side of the door. Her plan of catching her captors off guard was rapidly falling apart. Frantically, Anya searched around and attempted to formulate an alternative plan. She could attempt to break through by brute force. If done quickly enough, she could still catch her opponents off guard. However, the more she thought about it, the less optimistic she became. Anya had no idea how structurally sound the door was, considering that she was in a cell, it could be assumed that it held at least a certain degree of integrity. If the door did not immediately break, she would have just notified her captors that something was wrong.

“What if…” she mumbled to herself. “What if they came to me…”

Considering how the crawler’s transformation occurred a while back and no one had come to check, her captors must not know what had transpired. If only one of her opponents came to check up on her, then, hopefully, the crawler could take care of it. If two came, the creature might be able to provide enough distraction for her to obtain her weapon.

“Hey,” she pointed at the creature. “Jump on the first person you see. And if both of them come, distract them.” The crawler did not give any meaningful response which put her heart into more doubt. “Are you listening?!”

The creature remained as before. Anya had never experienced extensive interactions with a newly infected creature before, so she did not know whether this was normal. Nevertheless, there was not much else she could work with. The child prepared herself and hid next to the door. She then took in a deep breath, releasing the loudest scream her vocal cords could afford her.

“AHHHH, PLEASE STOP!” The girl lowered herself closer to the ground, hoping that would make her harder to spot. It was all quiet for a brief moment, but then, the loud thumps of steps briskly approached.

Bang-Bang-Bang!

A series of hard impacts struck the door, followed by harsh turnings of the knob.

Bang-Bang-BANG-BANG!

“Shakie, da hell ya doin’ ya bastard!?” It was the bulky man’s voice. “I said no touchin’ da girl! Dat means ya too!”

BANG-BANG-BANG!

“We gotta sell 'er later! Ya break ‘er I’ma beat ya ass dead!” The man had no more patience to give and began to trample the door. He repeatedly stomped it with all his might, cracking the doorframe until it finally gave in.

“SHAKIE!” The door swung open, flinging the lock and knob deep into the dark room. “Ya betta be dead if ya…” The man paused when his eyes met the convulsing creature that stood on all fours. “What the…”

“GO!” Anya shouted. She speedily crawled through between the bulky man’s legs before he had a chance to react.

“Oi, da bitch! Ya-”

EEEEEEIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!

With a bone-chilling screech, the crawler leaped onto the large man. It caught the man off guard but was not able to knock him down.

EEEEIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!

“‘AVE YA LOST YA FUCKING MIND?!” he continuously slammed his calloused fists directly into the creature’s face, but the crawler did not release it ever-tightening grip. “GET OFF ’A ME YA FUCK!” He swung left and right, attempting to loosen the latching monstrosity. However, the creature held firm as they both slipped and crashed into the rotting wood.

EEEEEEIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!

Anya did not stop running, she could hear the fierce brawl that transpired behind her. To her relief, the creature did as it was told and kept the large man busy. Now all she had to do was retrieve her weapon and finish the job. Without hesitation, she turned the doorknob to the main lounge as she prepared to charge to her rifle. But just after a few steps, she found herself unable to continue.

“Oi, tis da little pretty… did Shakie let ya out…?” The fat man rolled himself up from the floor, tossing Anya’s rifle aside in the process. “Da boney man ain’t ta ya likin’? Like a little meat on da bones? Well… ya gonna get” Hurh-huh! “what ya askin’ for!”

With each step the bald man took, Anya’s trembling legs took one step back. Her feet were like cinder blocks, rigid and heavy, barely lifting from the ground. The girl’s whole body became stiff as shivers spread throughout her.

“Stay… stay a-away!” The child screamed as unwanted thoughts filled her mind. Soon, her back collided against the wall, not allowing her to further distance herself. She knew that she needed to move, but her body refused to follow her pleas. “STAY AWAY FROM ME!” She desperately cried out. Unfortunately, that only excited the fat man more.

“Aww, is da little pretty scared?” He swirled his tongue over his lips. “I like da little pretty scared…”

Anya’s stomach turned and her knees threatened to give in. Even just witnessing the repulsive man made her legs go numb.

“Come on… be a good little pretty…” The man undid his pants with one hand while his other reached for her. “Afta dis Hurh-huh ya gonna want” Hurh-huh! “even more ‘ove from me!”

“NO! DON’T TOUCH ME!” Anya slid to the side, barely dodging the man’s grasp. Tears formed from her eyes as horrifying memories of the man’s touch consumed her. She did not understand what the man was doing, yet, she knew how wrong it felt. It was something she never wanted to feel again.

“Where ya goin’ little pretty…? Ya makin’ me sweaty now…”

The girl hastily crawled away, grabbing whatever she could find and lobbed it at the man. Despite that, the man did not slow down in his pursuit.

“Dat hurt! Now ya makin’ me angry…” He started running, his rolls of fat swayed and jiggled as his foot crushed the flooring beneath. Though sluggish, the man was quickly gaining ground.

“S-STAY AWAY!” The child clutched onto a nearby stool and swung it at the man’s leg, causing him to scream in pain as he fell forward.

“OWW...! You gonna pay for dat!”

Within that moment, Anya saw an opportunity. The man was down and defenseless, if she could just slice his throat with her tail, then this would all be over. Gathering what resolve she had, the girl maneuvered her blade from underneath her dress and flung it toward the man. But, before it could reach his neck, his stubby hand intercepted it, holding her tail by the stem just below the sharp blades.

“Oi, whas dis?” Than man tugged at her tail, knocking her off balance onto the ground. “Dis stuck to ya? Oiii, I got meself a good catch, ain’t I?” He pulled on it some more, rapidly reeling her in. “Now ya can’t run, can't ya?”

Anya tried to fight it, she tried to claw away from him. But the floor did not provide a surface for her to achieve a firm grip.

“Lookie ‘ere, little pretty…” He clamped onto the child’s shoulder and flipped her on her back. The fat man then used one of his legs to pin down her tail while his other weighted on her knees. He pressed his fat swelled arms onto her wrists, bounding her solidly to the floor. Hurh-huh! “Now ya ain’t moving, ain’t ya…” The man lifted his leg from her knee and continuously slammed it onto her stomach, causing her to gag with each jab.

Anya gasped for air, her face covered with a mixture of her own saliva and vomit.

Seeing this, the man smiled and let loose his tongue, allowing his saliva to coagulate and drip from its tip. He found great pleasure in seeing the girl squirm and struggle. “Good little pretty, a little fightin’ gets me heart pumpin’ ‘n me knob ‘ard… But ya gonna feel’it soon… ain’t ya…”

Anya wanted to hurl, cold beads of sweat dripped from her forehead as all strength left her body. No matter how hard she tried, nothing moved.

The man’s slobber drizzled all over her chest and neck, soaking her cloak in a foul and sticky sludge.

“Come on…” he whispered as his face approached hers. “Come on… scream…” The man huffed and puffed on the side of her face, slurping his lips in anticipation. “I’ma make ya little virgin body bleed… little pretty... den I’ma find ya ma and make ‘er bleed… Bet she’za big o’ slut, ain’t she…? Anna… was it…? Afta I’m don with ‘er, she goin’ forget all about ya pa…” Hurh-huh!

Having reached his limit, the man could wait no longer. He slid his tongue down her cheek and onto her neck as the child attempted to resist. “Hold still… I’ma taste those little lips of ya...” The man chortled and snorted through his nose. As he prepared to go in, a sudden high pitch noise caught his attention.

EEEEEEEEEEEEIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!

“Wha?!” He hastily turned his head to the origin of the noise. “Oi… da hell...?” There stood the crawler on all fours. Covered in blood, its jaw was dislocated as a rib poked out from its chest. “Shakie, wha happen’ to ya-”

In an instant, the creature leaped onto the fat man’s back and gnawed a chunk flesh off of his neck.

AHHH! "Da hell ya doin’ ya bastard! Get ofa me!” The man rolled on the ground, trying desperately to get rid of the creature. “Biggie! Biggie! ‘Elp me!” He tried to grab onto the creature, but his blubber restricted his movements. Meanwhile, the crawler continuously stripped away at the man’s back. “Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” He screamed and spun himself in circles, then he slammed his back against the metal wall. “DAT FUCKIN’ URTS!” Finally, the creature had released. “SHAKIE, YA FUCKIN’ SHIT JUNKIE!”

Chk-chk.

The man froze, for he recognized that sound.

“Oi… put dat down… ya don’t know what ya doin’...” He slowly backed off, his clothing soaked with freshly spewed blood.

Near the firepit was Anya, panting with the rifle in hand. The chamber was opened, and with the other hand, she pushed a fresh clip into the gun.

“Dat… dat ain’t no toy… ya best-”

ARRRHHHHHHHH! Before the man could finish, Anya roared as she released a volley of bullets straight into the man’s chest. With each shot, the man’s body jolted back violently. Her finger pulled the trigger over and over again, not even stopping when the empty clip automatically ejected itself with a ping. Once the constant clicks had registered within her mind, the girl ceased as her body shuddered.

Soon, the man fell limp, succumbing to the weight of his own demise. After a long moment of stillness, the girl walked closer, one step at a time.

Oogluh… The man was still breathing, though barely, he was still alive. The child chambered another clip and pressed the barrel of the rifle against his head. Each time the man opened his mouth, more blood gushed from his orifice. Each time he attempted to move, his limbs would fail him as his insides leaked from his wounds.

Anya waited, for she knew that if she pulled the trigger, that would mean the end to the man’s anguish. She wanted him to suffer every last second of his fleeting life, to feel every moment of the hopeless torment. The girl lingered and waited for the very last breath. She waited for that final choke, that final heave before she pulled the trigger one last time.

***

The chilled wind chiseled away at the remnants of flames littering the landscape. The cycle was at its darkest, thus what remained of the inhabitants emptied the streets and returned to their hollowed out shacks. One would doubt whether they were still within the famed city of light, as complete darkness swallowed even the dimmest of sights.

A door creaked open and from it, a lonely child exited with a scrawny deformity closely behind. Her clothes were tattered and drenched in red. Anya glanced at her fluid soaked hands with loathing, for her body, her body felt tainted. There was a stench, a contaminant that she wanted to be gone. An invisible stain she could not clean. The girl grasped her shoulders and shivered, not from the cold but from the vast hatred that swelled within.

“Find the boy…” she muttered. “Hunt him down… He’s… he’s one of them…”

Anya clenched her teeth, her fingers buried deep into her skin.

“Hunt them all down… every single last one of them...”