Beastiary – Ghouls (aka. Walking Corpse disposal)

Meta type: Humanoid MAV Infected; Woe

Point of Origin: Source Unknown, Investigation into “The Lady of Woe” pending

Typical Hosts: Any non-awakened Humanoid

“You got the food? We love people food… even if it no longer satisfies. But we can’t get normal food any more! People scream, people freak, people die… then we have food but not the food we wanted! Aaaaaaand then we have to run… again. Hmmm… we smell cheese, and onions and sauce and roasted MEAT! Now we eat, after that you talk to girlfriend and us!” - Svetlana Anastasia Komarov, upon being offered a whole family meal

As a foreword I want you to know that while demons are so chaotic and diverse that you can go into the matter at basically any point, those changed by MAV not only are predictable in their change but have a special hierarchy distinct to their particular strain. Therefore it makes only sense to start out with the lowest caste of them, in this case Ghouls and Higher Ghouls, also known as Al-ghouls.

Appearance:

Like most infected by the Woe there is little physical distinction between a male Ghoul and a female Ghoula. The only difference being that seemingly only women can become Higher Ghouls. Hereby it is not known if this is simply because of a quirk in DNA or if all Al-Ghouls become female upon their transformation no matter what sex they had before.

This strange sexual dimorphism has also lead to Ghoul-Packs usually being lead by single Al-Ghouls. They are not only stronger but also smarter and more resilient than their lesser cousins. While all Ghouls share the same basic features: increased durability and regeneration, bodies with red to brown skin, fanged mouths and clawed limbs; the physical discrepancies between normal Ghouls and a Higher Ghoula are rather severe.

While normal Ghouls are humanoid in shape with the usual set up of two legs and two arms, they have lost the ability for a continued upright gate. They can stand up to grab things or attack with their claws but when running or relaxing they are quadrupedal in nature.

This stands directly opposed to Al-Ghouls, which tend to be closer to the physiology of humans and elves. With their retained biped gate and enhanced bone structure they can reach higher speeds exert more strength than their more disfigured base variant. Not only that but they are, as far as Ghouls are concerned, a lot more intelligent as well as physically appealing. So much so that Vampires sometimes choose to associate with or even court them.

Behaviour:

Of course them being the same species, this should means that they suffer from the same issues. This is not entirely the case though. Lacking lips and a human tongue it should logically be impossible for them to recreate most of the syllables needed for proper speech. A problem that either nature or the creator of the Woe has solved by giving an intricate and unique voice box. This organ is capable of perfectly recreating any sound they have heard before. Be it their own human voice, background noises or even the voices of other people. Autopsies found it to reside not in their throat but their chest cavity and connected to an airway separate from the oesophagus, allowing for unhindered swallowing of their prey while breathing and vocalizing.

This adaption is not found in lesser Ghouls leading to them regularly choking and suffocating on their prey. It has been suggested that this, together with their lacking intelligence keeps the populations of Ghouls low enough to not pose a serious threat to humanity nor society.

Because of their ravenous appetite for human flesh though it is standard fare in most countries to eradicate and cleanse any Ghoul-Nest through the use of high calibre weapons and incendiary devices. A more modern and humane way of dealing with them is the discharge of silver nitrate into the subterranean tunnel systems, effectively shutting down a Ghoul's cell-division and causing severe organ failure after several minutes of exposure.

Logically I as the author advocate for neither option as I find the use of violence and extermination against inadvertently infected cruel and heartless. Several activist groups are calling for the live capture and perhaps rehabilitation or in lost cases humane euthanisation of infected individuals.

Another problem with Ghouls is their longevity. Like all Woe victims they do not age once transformed and can theoretically survive until they run out of humanoid flesh to consume. Additionally Ghouls can enter a state of hibernation if there is not enough available prey. This can lead to attacks after some times years of silence and renewed MAV outbreaks.

 

 

The Price of Freedom

For a long time in my life eating had always been one of my biggest concerns. Not the taste or quality of the food, mind you, but the simple act of eating itself was what troubled my mind on a daily basis. It had always been other people that told me what to eat, when to eat, and even how much to eat. It had never truly been my own decision.

No, instead it had at first been the decision of my mother, then my teacher’s and chorographer's, and finally it was my agent that had decided what was needed to keep my body in shape. In a way, the fact that they had always controlled this part of my life, shackled me to them, formed me into their vision of me... they had owned me and shaped me to please their desires. Even now as a supposedly successful model, there was nothing self-gratifying about my job. I was no artist, no creator... I was simply a product. My whole being was centered around pleasing people but never had I pleased myself.

Now all of that was about to change... a single night out, a drunk decision made in the hazy glow of a nightclub had turned my whole life – my whole being – around. For the first time, there was nobody to tell me how to deal with the situation. Nobody knew what I had done and so they couldn’t control me. They couldn’t change what had happened and they wouldn’t be able to stop the things to come. It was both terrifying and exhilarating. If I wanted to take my own life in hands, my own decisions, the option were just there before me.

Slowly, almost gently my hands closed around the heavy gold ornament in front of me. My fingers caressed the grooves of the award. I had won it for my agent but he would place it next to all the others of similar make and similar insignificance. To him the prices were only a nice bonus, an additional confirmation of his exquisite use of my and other women’s bodies. But that was the problem, no? It was my body, mine and not his... why was it that he denied me my decisions? Why did I allow for him and others to tell me what I could eat and when? Shouldn’t I be allowed to gorge myself with everything I desired and then run my body ragged in the streets and parks of the city?

It was mY BoDY... I barely even registered the moment of myself moving. My contemplative, rational mind blanked as something primal – something undeniably me – guided my hand. The feeling was quite unlike anything I had experienced before; there was – I had to notice – a surprising understanding accompanying the first blow. A single very clear thought crystallized in my mind: From here on out I had chosen a darker path. There was no way back to the life I had been living; for I was currently committing one of the oldest and darkest of sins.

He didn’t die after the first blow. When his skull cracked and his knees went weak he used all his remaining strength to turn around towards his assailant. Right there in his eyes, I could see it, he was surprised, maybe even a little confused? In his mind the idea that I had hit him was impossible; it simply did not fit into his view of me and the world around me; only when I raised my hand again his eyes widened in realisation.

I, the girl that had always done as told, was going to kill him. My mind was still and silent as a lake when I brought the heavy statuette down again. He tried to scream, tried to call for help, but his garbled sentence was cut short when his teeth shattered and his jaw broke. Again and again and again I brought down the golden weight until it was just as red as the bloody mess beneath me.

And still, I didn’t feel satisfied, I wanted more. I wanted to rip apart the body and... darker things. Ever since that night a week ago my body had been aching. Every day my hunger grew, and yet, this man had forced me to starve. I had felt myself waste away and he only watched with his always smiling face; his eyes always on the next goal and never on my well-being.

Now it had come back to haunt him... he had ignored my desires, had allowed me to be given around to anyone that he could gain something from. Never again would he be able to do so, his still twitching corpse was right here before me. Pieces of bone and bits of brain were strewn all around the carpet... this... My mind slowly came back to me; this wasn’t good! Just what in the hells had I done?! I had to get rid of the body, the blood... the pieces... the flesh... the fresh meat...

‘Oh... oh no. What are these thoughts!? What did they make me do? I- I killed Jeremy! I killed him, I should feel remorse but all I can think about is food... I’m starving...’ My guts clenched up from both stress and the gaping emptiness of my stomach. Suddenly a thought crossed my mind. ‘Wait! Food! He must have had food around! Maybe... maybe in his room, it is right next door... I just have to... No! I’m covered in blood, I need to fix myself, I need to- The door!!!’

Like a woman possessed I rushed towards the door; if anyone had come in, if they had seen me... no, I didn’t dare to think about it. As quickly as I could, I clicked both lock and deadbolt into place... only to – not even a second later – jam a chair underneath the latch. I had thought feeling a measure of safety would have been enough to calm my racing heart but it wasn’t to be. Neither the pain in my guts nor the one in my chest seemed liable to stop anytime soon.

Blood had begun to pool around me; wet and warm trickles of the red liquid ran down my cheeks to finally drop to the hardwood floor. A shaky look showed me blackened nails, the flesh beneath necrotic and repulsive. ‘Why now? Was the act I committed so horrible that I get punished by the gods? I only wanted my own life back... the sirens call in my blood, the beckoning to join her... was my choice truly this monstrous?’

The pain only got worse with time. Each breath I took send another wave of agony coursing through my body. Painful spasms shook my very core with every movement. I wanted to scream and trash in fear and anger but minute by minute I was losing my strength. Only now it dawned on me that my body seemed to be devouring itself; over the course of half an hour, of nothing but sobbing and silent screaming, my limbs had almost atrophied. Soon even my breathing was so shallow that I was certain that I would die here... next to the still warm and fresh corpse of a fat pig.

It was then in this unreal place between death and life that I found my salvation. Something... no, someone was scratching at the borders of my mind... not begging to be let in but politely asking. I knew it to be her, the one I shouldn’t have been able to know. A memory of a place I had never visited came back to me; the Woods of Bone, deep inside those woods was a cabin made from teeth, and inside that cabin lived a woman called the Lady of Woe. If was her that beckoned me now; she had seen my plight had tasted my suffering and now she wished to reward me.

My eyes widened in shock when I realised what the Lady saw as a reward. I had wailed and cried through pain, I had used and let myself be used by the people around me, and in the end, I didn’t even have the courage to feast on my first kill. The Lady wasn’t happy, her dissatisfaction was the worst thing I had ever felt. I had known what I had infected myself with, yet instead of revelling in it or fighting the transformation with all my might, I had just ignored it. I had ignored the signs and warnings until the very end. Apathy and lack of a will to live had ultimately doomed me. I would die here but unlike so many others infected with her disease, I would die an agonizing if mercifully quick death. Except... there was another option...

The freedom and exhilaration I had felt upon killing Jeremy... I wanted more of that. I didn’t want to die, not if I could change it! What did it matter if I committed another sin if I already had to bear the worst of them? My Christian mother would be mortified if she had known my current thoughts. But things like religion, humanity, and common decency quickly fell out of sight when there was but one thing that could possibly still keep you alive.

I was weak now, as weak as a child. My muscles were atrophying and my bones were aching but if I didn’t manage to get some nourishment... any nourishment into my body, I would completely waste away. I wasn’t going to let that happen. No matter what anybody thought about me, even the Lady of Woe herself, I was going to survive. I was going to live and I was going to take that life from anybody or anything I had to. My eyes fell onto the fresh corpse before me...

Sure, before today I would have never considered doing what I was about to, but there was a first time for everything; apparently even devouring corpses.

The fact that I was about to eat human flesh should have disgusted me, it alone should have already stopped me, but somehow it excited me. What little fluid was left in my body pooled in my mouth as my eyes twitched across the body of my former manager. I... I didn’t know where to start! I had never before eaten something that hadn’t been... prepared for me. The worst thing was that he was still dressed... well, at least somewhat. He was only wearing his unzipped pants and an open button-down shirt.

Hesitantly I reached out for an arm only to realise I was never going to be able to bite through his clothes. Instead my gaze fell onto his neck. It was bulging and fatty with no tough muscles to chew through. I just had to take the first bite. My lips touched the bloody mess before me and my mind faded into the background. Something else was taking over...

Like a silent observer, I watched in both horror and awe as my body ravenously tore into the still-warm corpse. It must have hurt with how weak I was but this other me – this feral monstrous version of myself – didn’t seem to care. Our gums ripped and our teeth shattered but she or rather I kept going. We both knew what was at stake there was only one way to survive this… as one of the Lady’s chosen, and we would give everything to achieve that goal, even our sanity if we had to!

I could feel the flesh getting torn apart in my mouth, the sickly metallic taste of it sliding down my throat, and the slight sizzling of my stomach acid. Never had I been so aware of my own body and mind and so I wasn’t surprised when the rational, intelligent part of me, that what I had long thought to be myself, split off. I didn’t need it anymore; for what was now in charge was a being of hunger and teeth. I wasn’t a mind, I was a body, a nervous bundle of gluttony and greed and I acted on it.

With renewed vigour I dug into the fat creature’s carcass. Head-girl told me to slow down and take it easy, but I could feel her reservations about what we were doing. It didn’t matter, it was okay if she wanted to keep a bit of humanity alive as long as she didn’t try to stop me. The meat of the body’s shoulders and neck was almost completely gone now; I didn’t know who the man thing before me was, head-girl knew though. She didn’t like him, so neither did I. Head girl also said that I should be Svetlana and she would be Anastasia, I wasn’t sure why that was important but I couldn’t care less as long as it made things easier.

I kept feeding well into the night... my prey had been large and our body yet feeble. I needed the flesh to grow and transform. Anastasia said we made the Lady proud, that made me happy. I would have smiled but our cheeks had been sliced and ripped open when feeding, it was painful but the pain in our body overshadowed it. Our skin and flesh burned now every time I moved.

With a belly so full that it almost burst I dragged our bloated self onto the nearest soft thing. Anastasia said it is called a bed. Looked more like a soft thing to me though. A low moan escaped me, somewhere between pleasure and pain, as I laid down between the pillows – I remembered what those were!

Slowly but surely I could feel a first contraction rock our body. Beneath this feeble human skin, we were changing, reforming, becoming something new and beautiful.

‘By the gods!’ Head-girl screamed. ‘Fuck this is painful!’

I only grunted in response. “Pain... Good. Pain... change!” The words came out warbled and distorted.

Despite my demeanor the pain was getting to me too; with a feral scream, I dug my fingers into the bedding. Claws, long and vicious, tore through my bleeding skin, ripping apart the softness like teeth through fat! I could feel it! I could feel my body being remade in my Lady’s image. But still, this feeble skin was trapping me, holding me back!

Ignoring the panicked cries of the other-me, I dug my claws into this awful shell. Anastasia screamed at me to think it over, to wait but I wasn’t a person; I was a body, a weapon made of flesh, a bundle of hunger and instinct. There was no need for me to think, only to act. And my sister in mind would soon learn to wield me... once I had become whole.

Shreds of skin ripped apart under my claws, shedding like the dried-up husk of a snake to reveal the new flesh beneath. And new flesh it certainly was… our old skin parted to reveal a form red as blood. Wiry muscles twisted and stretched beneath pliant supple skin, hairless as a human’s infant. Useless human teeth were pushed from our gums as layers upon layers of sharp terrible fangs replaced them. With a single decisive swipe from my claws, I ripped away the remaining facade of our humanity. Still hungry despite my earlier feast I extended my lengthy tongue, lapping the blood and skin from my claws. My former hair had come off with my old face but from the corner of my eyes I could see shiny metallic-red bangs, silkier than anything I had seen before.

Slowly I got up testing my new body and I couldn’t help but growl in satisfaction when I felt the strength hidden beneath the pretty package. I could see our form in the nearby mirror… we were taller now than before, more athletic too. But despite our transformation, there was still a certain allure to us. There was no denying the femininity of our form; distinct curves, silky smooth flowing hair, large almond-shaped eyes, and long dark eyelashes. We were pretty, beautiful even with a slender almost elven form… if one ignored our more monstrous assets; long vicious claws and dozens of teeth arranged more like a bear trap than a mouth. Our ears were long, bat-like, and made for finding prey even in the darkest of nights. Though most disturbing to any human would be our distinct lack of lips or even cheeks; if I so wanted I could open my jaws to easily over ninety degrees. My mental twin seemed just as appalled.

‘What… what happened to me… us?’ I could hear Anastasia wine in my mind. ‘This form is… terrible. Why? Why would I have allowed this!? I’m a monster!’

A deep rumbling growl formed in my throat upon realizing her disgust at our body. She had wanted to change, she had wanted to be free! It wasn’t me that had delighted at the idea of infecting herself. It had been a conscious willing choice… back then there had been no need for me but now that she was no longer in charge she balked at it! The arrogance!

‘You are one to talk!’ Her voice nagged. ‘Sex, drugs, and alcohol…. You had wanted it all! I was the one to keep us in line, to make us be desired and praised!’ Her reflection in the glass was mocking me!

“Rrrrraahhhhrrg!” Screaming in anger, I shred into the mirror. “No perfect dolly! No desired bauble! WE are in charge now!” I stomped on the shards around me. “Nobody to control us! Freedom… embrace it or be silent. I find someone to appreciate us, just see!”

I could already feel Anastasia coming up with another vicious retort but both she and I were cut short by something else invading our mind.

“Already trouble in that pretty little head of yours? My, my… I must say. Higher ghouls never disappoint. Such pretty shells, housing such troubled broken minds. Your lowly siblings are much easier to lead, they are also much more content, you know? Tell me, how does it feel to have your wish fulfilled my dear Anastasia Svetlana Komarov? From model… to monster…”

“Who there!?” I whipped around trying to find the speaker.

‘You…’ I stopped in confusion, the other me knew this person, or at least remembered? ‘I suppose it is funny joke to you, shattering my mind and leaving this feral thing in charge. I should have never had sex with that disgusting thing… what was I thinking.’

“Ah yes, the human mind, such a fascinating subject. Though I do wonder… which one of you is truly the real you?”

This woman was starting to annoy me! So many words and still she had nothing to say! Ugh! Just like the other me! Always talking, talking, talking… I wanted action! Running and climbing and hunting! I wanted to smell the fear of my prey on the wind! Hear their pathetic feeble screams of mercy! But no! Just talking! I had already drowned out the bickering between the two and went about collecting anything of interest in the room. Not the shiny thing, it was stupid and cursed. But the teeth I liked, thirty, forty… sixty-something teeth, all in one room! Pretty little things… if I had a string I could make a necklace out of ‘em.

Before I could even get to searching for one, a knocking on the door made me pause. Who could that be? What could that mean? Food delivered to the door how nice!

‘NO!’ Head-girl screamed at me. ‘Do not open that door!’

“Why not?” I snarled.

‘Because you will make a scene possibly kill another person and cause everyone to hunt us!’

“Hmmmm… I want to do the hunting!”

‘So, don’t open that door. This person is not a worthy prey.’

“I see…” There was truth to her words. I already had eaten so killing this person was a waste, especially if they had no chance to run. “What then?”

‘Okay listen here…’

A few minutes later we had left behind the building and with it, all that bound had us to our old life. No more prancing around, no more faked smiles, no more boring socializing; instead a world full of possibility and mayhem was laid out before us! I jumped from rooftop to rooftop, our legs catapulting us forward, our claws digging into stone and cement, our tongue tasting the air, and our ears listening to the sounds of the city…

We were free!