Adam…my name is Adam.

That was him. No one else. Adam something, something he couldn’t recall. What was it? It was just there, at the back of his mind. Adam…Evelyn, Mitchell, Boady, Ishaan, Adriel, Cassandra…a bunch of other names came up.

“Groarggh!” he roared, lashing out, destroying whatever was around him. I’m not any of you! he screamed, but only guttural grunts came out.

No…no…he could talk. Adam could talk like a human.

I am human!

It was the darkness and cramped space messing with his mind. It was stifling. If he got out, he'd be fine. He should dig to escape. And then he’d probably remember his full name.

Hands with extremely long clawed fingers moved away the smoldering rocks blocking his way.

Their faint glow showed him things he didn’t want to see.

These aren't my hands! No claws; humans didn’t have any claws. Humans only had two hands. Not many. These were not his feet. Not his tentacles. A human didn’t have those. No pincers either.

He closed his eyes. But he could still see! He forced himself to close his eyes again, and they did close, but they were also open.

I have many eyes, he realized in horror. All of his eyes unceasingly opened and closed, not only seeing the space he was trapped in, but showing him more and more of his body.

No! No! No…no…no…this didn’t make any sense.

This is all a dream. Yes, that was it. A dream!

That made sense. Adam, the human, was dreaming he was a monster.

Once he got out of here, he was going to wake up. He might get yelled at because he was sleeping on the job. It would be the first time he slept—

A job! He recalled something about who he was. Yes, he had a job. He couldn’t recall what it was, but it was probably tiring that he fell asleep and was having these weird dreams. All the people in his head might be his co-workers.

Satisfied with this explanation, he happily continued to dig.

Digging with his many hands. Crushing slabs with his pincers. Pushing away rocks with his tentacles. Chomping the dirt with his mouths lined with sharp teeth that ground stones to dust. His body was inexplicably large, but it was able to slither through the hole he made, compressing itself and squeezing through like an octopus.

Light!

Finally, the way out!

He sensed the bright red and blue lights shining through the gaps in the rocks should be a problem, but he couldn’t recall why. There were also a lot of noises. Many sirens. Annoyingly loud and grating.

But none of that didn’t matter.

“Graaoorgh!” he yelled in celebration as breached the surface. I’m ready to wake up now!

There was a lot of smoke around him. Everything was hazy. Flashing red and blue lights all around. Just like a dream. He was right after all. Bright lights pierced the walls of smoke and centered on him.

“RAWWGHH!” he bellowed in agony. Sharp pain everywhere! Blue beams lanced off chunks of his bulbous body, burning away huge patches of his skin. He held up his many limbs to shield himself. His arms and tentacles were blown away. “GRAWWGGHH!” Don’t hurt me! Please stop!

More and more blue beams fell from the sky.

He looked up, continuing to plead for them to stop, but all that came out of his mouth were wails of a beast. There they were, humans in black armor floating above him. They stared back at him with glowing golden eyes. Why wouldn’t they listen to him?

I’m dying, he roared at them. Stop killing me! I’m not a monster!

Then a thought popped in his head. He had dreamt a few times of falling from tall heights; he always woke up when he hit the ground. Could this be the same situation? Was he going to wake up when he died?

They should kill him faster! He was going to attack them. He roared and stretched his tentacles to the sky, swatting at them. They evaded and retaliated by shooting him with more powerful beams. Explosions blanketed his body.

Kill me faster, he roared. I want to wake up…

On the ground, strange machines with guns and cannons shot at him. Unbelievable pain. But it wasn’t real, he told himself. Endure it, this was going to be over soon. He could feel it.

Adam Pavell! That was his name. He remembered it just before he was about to wake up from this very weird dream.

Adam Pavell, the security guard.

I hope I don't get fired for sleeping on the job.

There was no more pain.

All of his many eyes closed.

 

---

 

Detective Jacobin Castan tried to make sense of the radio chatter. “What the hell’s going on in this city?” he mumbled to himself, gingerly cranking up the volume with his stiff fingers.

Saying everything was a mess could barely encapsulate the crisis they faced. It was about half-past four in the morning, most of the force, especially the higher-ups, were just waking up to the bad news. Officers and emergency rescue personnel were mostly deployed at the site of last Saturday’s explosion, continuing rescue operations. And now, they were getting diverted to yet another tragedy. Not to mention the explosion a few days ago also claimed the lives of many of their ranks, injuring dozens more, further hampering their current response time to any disaster.

Disaster. That’s a good way to put this.

The police manual did have an extensive section on what to do in case of a Titan Adumbrae strolling in the city—they even had yearly drills for it, massive evacuations and all of that. But it was very different when the actual thing happened. This was the first time an Adumbrae of this scale appeared in La Esperanza.

“You’re not listening to me,” said Linette, a fellow detective in the same precinct. She tutted in annoyance, turning down the volume of the radio.

“What did they say? Is the Titan dead or not? Are the Corebrings here?”

“I don’t know why I let you talk me into bringing you along.” She ignored his questions, ruffling her already wild and frizzy hair in frustration. “You should’ve stayed at the hospital with LT.” She was talking about Lt. Hall who was in a comatose state after yesterday’s Adumbrae attack.

“We can’t do anything except wait for him to wake up. The doctor said—”

“No, I don’t mean stay and watch over him. I was doing that, and Ramello’s going to spend the night there. What I meant was you should’ve stayed at the hospital because you’re a friggin’ patient.”

“I’m fine—”

“Cut the crap.” She knocked on the cast on his arm. “Both arms broken, at least the cast on your right arm is only up to your elbow.” Then on his leg. “And your injured leg was injured again by that Adumbrae. I don’t even know how you’re moving around.”

“I took painkillers—”

“Now that I think about it, are you sure the doctor said it’s okay for you to leave? Shouldn’t you be monitored because you came in contact with an Adumbrae?”

“If we’re going into specifics…I can say that…there is a doctor…who did not say it was not okay for me to leave.”

“Huh? Did you even talk to any doctor before you left your room?” She stared at him with furrowed brows, her lips pressed tightly together. He could see in her eyes she was thinking of throwing him out of the car.

“Eyes on the road,” Castan said before he was chewed out.

“That’s a no then.”

“There was no time to talk with a doctor. They’re busy with all the injured people from the explosion, uh, and I…uhm…they’re also expecting more casualties because—”

“Enough of that crap. What do you even plan to do when we get to the scene? I’m using the term ‘scene’ loosely here because I have a feeling, just hear me out, I have a feeling it’s going to be a scene of destruction. Now…what the friggin’ heck are you going to do there with all your injuries?”

“I don’t know.” Castan truly didn’t. Something just clicked in his head and he escaped his room to chase after Linette. He was lucky he caught her at the elevator going down to the parking area. He wasn’t even sure how he moved that fast given the state of his body. “But we have to help. If LT’s awake, he would’ve wanted us to help out in any way we can.”

“What the friggin’ nonsense you spouting? LT would lock you up at the hospital if he’s awake. Actually, that sounds like a swell idea. I’m turning this car around.”

“Wait, we’re nearly there. Okay, we’re not actually going near the Titan Adumbrae, but, you know, uh…like we can help out the evacuations. Yes! Exactly, that's supposed to be our job in this scenario anyway.”

“They’d probably evacuate you instead.”

“How about this,” he hastily said, “since you’re bringing me back to the hospital anyway, we can bring some of the casualties with us.”

Linette frowned as she drove, glaring angrily at the road.

“The ambulances will be full,” he insisted. “You know that. The city’s ability to respond will be stretched to its limit. We help bring a couple of people to the hospital. Even something that small is already a huge help. I promise I’ll stay at the hospital afterwards.”

She thumped on the wheel as she thought about his proposition. “Fine,” she relented. “You're so adamant with helping people.” She turned on the red and blue lights on her dashboard and sped to the blaze on the horizon.

“Yeah…” he driftingly agreed. Why was that?

Guilt that he survived the explosion while others didn’t? That Lt. Hall was in a coma and was probably going to be paralyzed while he, although also injured, was still awake?

He didn’t know.

What he did know was that these Adumbrae needed to be stopped. And although he obviously couldn’t face them head-on, he was going to try and help with everything he could.

This area of the city was part residential, part commercial; mostly people living on top of their shops. Plenty of apartments rented by those working at the bustling business district of La Esperanza downtown. It wasn’t particularly known for having an active night life, but the streets were emptier than usual—in fact, it was only them on the road; even the sidewalks were devoid of any bystanders.

The people now knew to follow the city’s advisory to stay indoors.

Further ahead, a few blocks away, the orange haze of the spreading fire peeked through the buildings. Columns of smoke swirled upwards and eventually merged with the dark sky. The sirens were incessant, layering on top of each other. Multiple searchlights from helicopters above turned the streets into a disco club.

“See any Adumbrae walking around?” Linette asked Castan as he rolled down the window and stuck his head outside to get a better view.

“No Adumbrae in sight, big or small. Seems like the Corebrings really did take care of the Titan.”

“Guess so,” she said. “This is going to be messy.”

“Why?”

“The Titan was taken down quite swiftly, don’t you think?”

“Isn’t that good?”

“Of course, it is. But what I mean is…it wasn’t like the BID agents from the Palomar Node were having a hard time and asked for help from the Corebrings. The Corebrings just showed up and poof, the Titan is down. Or that’s what I understood from the reports.”

“You think they came here without following the Protocol?”

“Uh-huh. That’s like a big no-no, especially since the President is big on the Protocol. Always that, ‘US can do just fine without the Corebings’ nonsense,” she said, imitating President Goodwin’s tone.

“Politics,” Castan said, shaking his head.

Linette’s phone beeped. “Seriously? At a time like this?” she said, scrolling through her messages.

“What is it? And eyes on the road please. I don’t want to get more injuries.”

“Mulberry’s sending tons of texts…quotes and prayers from his Corebring-worshipping church. The religious nuts are gonna go insane with Corebrings visiting our city.”

“Mulberry? I never knew he’s the religious type.”

“Just a nominal church-goer for the most part. But he goes zealous-mode if there are Corebrings around. He mentioned he went on a pilgrimage to—”

“Watch out!” Castan yelled. He tried to grab the wheel, but cramps made his muscles seize up as he tried to stretch his arm. Linette was fortunately able to react just in time. She swerved sharply to the right, avoiding a large rock on middle of the road.

“Ah, crap. Are you okay? Sorry, Jacob."

“I told you, ‘eyes on the road’.”

“I know, sorry again. What’s that rock doing there?”

“Rubble’s strewn all over the street. Some buildings around here are damaged but rescue isn’t here yet.” Castan peeled his eyes for anyone who might need help while Linette reported the situation at their location. “Going to take them awhile to get here?”

“There are other priorities right now.”

“I was right that everyone of us should help out. How about those two?” he said, nodding his head ahead. Half a block down the road, a couple of people were by the collapsed façade of an old brick building. “They might need our help.”

“Is she digging?”

“Someone might be trapped.” As their headlights shined on the two, Castan shouted, “He’s an Adumbrae!”, spotting a huge blade growing out of the man’s arm. He ignored the dozens of pins pricking his muscles, his body trembling from the pain of his injuries, and scrambled to draw his gun. A spasm ran up his side. “Fucking hell!” He dropped the gun between his legs, his hands shaking, his head spinning. The painkillers weren’t doing the trick anymore.

“I got it!” Linette exited the car with her gun out and immediately fired before the Adumbrae could come closer to the girl. Her bullets pinged off the side of the Adumbrae; it had some sort of exoskeleton. It turned to look at them, revealing a monstrous face peering from under a hood. “Crap! I think we have to—huh?” She was half-way back inside the car when the Adumbrae climbed the rubble then jumped to the other building and disappeared.

“Ugh…whe-where did it go?”

“Jacob! Are you okay?”

“I…I’m fine. Che-check on the girl. Just go!”

Linette swept her flashlight around with her gun drawn as she approached the girl. Castan heard her calling for back-up, putting up an alert for an Adumbrae. He groaned in pain, trying to stay conscious despite his vision beginning to darken. He bent down to pick up his gun; that Adumbrae might return. “Damn it,” he spat out as another wave of pain came. He couldn’t hold on…his mind fading to black.

His last thought was…at least we saved one girl.

 

---

 

Ramon debated with himself whether leaving Julie by the ruins of the bar was the right choice. He had the strength to stop her from vainly digging for the corpse of her brother, to forcefully carry her away as the cops came. But what was the point? She’d struggle to escape and would just endanger all of them. It was probably for the best she wasn’t with them.

If the worst happened and they got caught, Julie got a lot of explaining to do why she was with two monsters—if she could even explain herself properly given her mental state.

Yes, I made the right choice with her, he finally concluded.

She was safe with the police.

Now, he was once again faced with a difficult question: should he leave Lizzie?

“You’ll be safe here, no one comes here,” he said. They were inside the small shed behind the pizza restaurant he worked at. It was sort of a storage for random trash like their old oven. Absolutely no one bothered to come here; the thick layer of dust on the floor was undisturbed when they entered. “We’re going to separate so I can move easier,” he slowly explained.

Lizzie just stared at the floor, not making any sound.

“That was Slinky chasing us. You haven’t met him before, but he’s one of the bad guys.” As if hiding from the cops wasn’t bad enough, remnants of Stella’s men were looking for them too. For revenge? To tie up loose ends? To experiment on them? He didn’t know. What he did know was that they shouldn’t get captured. “I’m going to lead them far away from this place. Do you understand?”

She gave him a slight nod.

“Just stay here, okay?” he said. “And keep this on.” He covered her with a musty old parka he stole from the bar.

She brushed away the frayed fur collar of the coat and peeked up at him with her snake-like emerald eyes. She hadn’t talked much after he explained to her that Doms died and she was turned into a monster. Afterwards, she just sort of blanked out and repeatedly mumbled she couldn’t cry. He still wasn’t sure if he made the right call on telling her the truth; he didn’t know what else to say.

“You understand me, right?” He was beginning to doubt if he could really leave her alone. “Wait for me here. Don’t go out.”

“Okay.”

He hoped she was starting to feel better now that she answered him. “I’ll return when they’re gone.”

She sat down beside the oven, laying her head on her knees. At a glance, with the old coat covering her, she was unnoticeable from the rest of the junk around.

“I’ll be back,” he assured her. “Lizzie, no matter how long it takes, I’ll be back for you.” He closed the door and jumped over the back wall, praying that Slinky didn’t see him go this way.

Ramon was familiar with these streets, he knew how to weave through them. He wasn’t exactly trying to hide; he wanted Slinky to spot him again so he could draw them away from Lizzie’s hiding place. But he also didn’t want to expose himself so much the cops or the BID could catch him.

His plan was to shake off these Adumbrae and then double back to Lizzie. Both of them would hide in the shed until he figured out how to contact Erind and those other people with powers. They were their best bet at surviving.

Yes, when everything calmed down, I’m going to call Erind. He had memorized her number.

He didn’t know how long it would take, a few days probably, but they had a place to sleep and he knew how to steal food and water from the restaurant without getting noticed.

A few minutes passed when he began to wonder if Slinky was really following him. He slowed down and looked around. He was in a narrow side road between an old pawnshop and the tall fence of an empty lot. If they were following, this was the perfect place to attack him.

But where are they?

Did they notice he wasn’t carrying Lizzie and tried to find where he might’ve hidden her instead?

Dammit! He retraced his way to the pizza restaurant, his heart beating faster in anxiety. He shouldn’t have left her alone! Please let Lizzie be safe.

“What’s the hurry?” A person appeared out of the corner and blocked his path.

“Finlay!” Ramon turned around and another person with the exact same appearance showed up behind him. “Calder!” The last time they met, these two abandoned Stella, just like they promised. But now they showed up again. He was right they couldn’t be trusted. He didn’t know whose side they were on, but they certainly weren’t on his. His blade arm raised, he considered his chances fighting them.

“It’s still me.”

“What?”

“I’m Finlay,” said the man in front of him.

“And I’m also Finlay,” said the other.

“I don’t—"

“Calder’s dead. He got flattened when the building collapsed. Turns out I’m the luckier twin.”

“Are you going to kill me because of that? I have nothing to do with—”

“I know it’s not your fault. It’s Stella’s.”

“What do you want with me then?”

Finlay theatrically exhaled. “I’m just getting it off my chest. I’ve just been so used to having him around that I made a puppet a stand-in for him. And that’s enough of my rant. Let’s go.” He beckoned him along.

“What do you mean ‘let’s go’?”

“Let’s go, you’re coming with us. What’s so hard to understand with that?”

“I’m not going anywhere.” If it was just Finlay and his clones, he could take them on. But he didn’t believe one bit Calder was dead. He could be surrounded by illusions and he wouldn’t know it.

“You don’t have a choice in that.” The first Finlay snapped his finger. A towering man stepped out and stood behind him. This was the same man who fought the charcoal giant along with Stella.

“Hey there, kid,” said a voice above him. “Nice to meet ya again.” Ramon looked up and saw Slinky dangling upside down with his tail attached to the emergency staircase above. Most of his bandages were burned or torn away, revealing his scales. “It’s been wild this night, huh?”

“Don’t…don’t mess with me,” Ramon said, trying to keep the fear away from his voice. “I’m an Adumbrae mercenary working for the…uh…group in Vegas—”

“Oh, don’t try to sell me that nonsense,” Finlay scoffed. “I know you’re just a normal guy who somehow survived the infection of the XR-series.”

“That’s not—”

“I watched the whole thing from the screens of the security room. A pizza delivery guy at the wrong place at the wrong time. You didn’t trick Stella with that stupid story, you’re not going to trick me either.”

“I…I…” Ramon squeezed his brain, thinking of a way out of this mess.

“That was a funny cover story the metal woman—what was her name again?”

“It’s Pino,” replied the clone Finlay, or the real one, or both of them might be clones.

“Thanks, substitute Calder. The story Pino told Stella was funny. Adumbrae mercenaries? I’m not saying they don’t exist, because they do, just not very common at all. But I find it very hard to believe the Vegas boys would be dumb enough to hire Adumbrae to do their work.”

“You see,” the Finlay clone continued, “true Adumbrae, unlike us,” he waved at the abnormally large man then at Slinky, “are controlled by…?” He twirled his hand, gesturing for Ramon to answer.

“Uh…by Adumbrae?” he replied, wondering where this was going.

“Ding, ding, ding! Such a bright young lad you are. That’s why they’re called Adumbrae, there’s no distinction with someone partially or fully controlled. If they’re not taken over yet, eventually they will be. It’s only a matter of time. And that’s the huge hole in Pino’s story.”

“You see now?” said the first Finlay. “Why the hell would anyone want to work with an actual Adumbrae?”

“You never know what they truly want.”

“I’m with the Supplier!” Ramon said in desperation.

“Ah, you mean the thing Stella said about the Supplier having true Adumbrae working for him? She was lying.”

The second Finlay said, “He doesn’t have any…not that I know of. Just fake ones like us, made in a controlled environment, pumped with drugs, undergoing intense psychoconditioning to keep any mental incursions at bay. The Supplier himself might be a true Adumbrae though.”

“And here’s the funny thing!” the first Finlay chimed in. “That Pino woman might be a true Adumbrae, and that’s the reason Stella didn’t just kill off all of you lying shits. She didn’t know what to think of the situation and was acting carefully. She wasn’t going to pick a fight with a true Adumbrae. Because of that blatantly fake story, Stella—and this is just my guess—assumed Pino is very strong and was just messing around with her.”

“But I know she’s not strong in combat because I saw her on the security cameras,” said the second Finlay. “I didn’t tell Stella about that.” Both the Finlays roared in laughter.

“Hurry it up, will ya?” Slinky said from above. “I don’t want to stay out here with Corebrings around.”

The first Finlay held his stomach, trying control himself. “Okay, okay, this is enough. The Corebrings, forgot about them.”

“I already said I’m not going with you,” Ramon said. He concentrated energy on his blade. There was no way he was going to win, but he could try taking some of them with him. I’m sorry, Lizzie.

“I think you’re misunderstanding us.” The two Finlays held up their hands as a sign of peace. “You don’t have to be so hostile. We’re not going to forcefully take you.”

“What? I don’t—"

“You’re going to willingly come with us because we’re the only choice you have. Are you seriously thinking of surviving in this form?”

“I can manage,” he said, preoccupied with formulating a plan in his head. He was going straight for the second Finlay. Whether it was the real Finlay or just a clone, he could get past it then run—

“Is this about the little girl? Lizzie?” said the first Finlay with a shrewd expression, interrupting his thoughts.

Cold fear gripped his heart. Did they find her? Anger blazed within him. “Don’t you dare touch her!”

“Let me preface this by saying I don’t have any mind reading powers. But I can see it on your face. The answer is yes. We know where you hid her, and we have cops on our payroll who are going to take her.”

“You fucking—!”

“Calm down, we’re not your enemy. We’re not going to do anything bad to you or her. We’re your family.”

“What kind of bullshit is that? Are you going to use her as a hostage so I’ll come willingly?”

“As I’ve said awhile ago, you’ll come with us because we’re the only chance you…and the girl have. Mostly you.”

“What help are you talking about? You’re the ones who made me into this! I don’t need your help.”

Finlay disappointingly shook his head. “Ah, you still don’t get it, do you? All this talk about true Adumbrae and you still haven’t put two and two together. I’m taking back my praise that you’re a bright kid.”

“What are you—?”

“I saw on the security camera you tried to kill yourself when you got infected. But then, you turned out like this. Alive and not a mindless monster like the others. Not exactly mindless, if we’re being technical, since the slugs are taking over. Anyhow, do you have any idea why you’re not like them?”

Ramon shook his head. But deep down, he did have a suspicion. The voices when he was dying…his regeneration.

“Mister might be the better person to explain this to you, and this is just a hunch anyway, but I think you’re…dun, dun, dun. Drumroll please!” Finlay mimicked drumming in the air. “You are true Adumbrae.”

“Huh?” That didn’t surprise him as much as he expected it to.

“My guess is the XR-series parasite opened a connection to the higher dimensions before you killed it. In that small window, as you and the dumb slug were dying, I bet an Adumbrae noticed you through the opening and made you an offer—”

“I’m not an Adumbrae! I may be a monster, but I’m not an Adumbrae. I didn’t accept anything.”

“That’s the only explanation I got. Look inside yourself. You know it’s true. You know you accepted an Adumbrae’s offer.”

Ramon’s mind was reeling. “This can’t be…” He pushed all of it away. Lizzie! He had to focus on getting Lizzie and make sure she was safe. But would she be safe with an Adumbrae like him? And didn’t they say they already had her?

“Come with us,” both Finlays said in unison. “We can help you.”

“But Lizzie…”

“Both you and that little girl. You don’t have to be afraid. Stella’s dead, we’re not like her. We’re your family now. The only choice you have if don’t want to be taken over by an Adumbrae.” The first Finlay slowly approached him, offering his hand once again. “We have the means to help you.”

Ramon reached out with his own hand.

“Welcome to the family, kid,” Slinky said, joyfully clapping.

Adumbrae? No. I’m not an Adumbrae.

He was going to fight anything that tried to take over his mind. A monster body was one thing, but he was going to remain as a human in mind.

But he had to come with them to find Lizzie. After all that happened, he wasn’t able to save anyone from the building; even Paolo ended up dead. His only shot for redemption was with her. He wasn’t going to abandon her now. He repeated in his head his last words to her, his final promise:

Lizzie, no matter how long it takes, I’ll be back for you.