***

For the first time in a long time, Jackie slept in peace. It was within a room underground in a drippy, brown basement—but her mind was finally clear now.

She was sat on the floor, with her arms crossed and back against the moist wall. Her eyes were closed, her face neutral into deep slumber.

It was amazing how her Mindscape was so able to illustrate this so vividly. Especially when she tried this thing on a whim.

Before she ordered everyone to rest, she took everything in. The room, the texture—whatever that left a mental image. Drifting off, she thought about nothing but the room. Despite the darkness.

Then, she went into her head—into the weird… Nebulous space within her mind that siVis now made tangible.

A weird application of siVis… The Mindscape was that—one’s mind mapped out across a plane that exists nowhere. Thoughts. Dreams… Nightmares. She can actually see them and they feel all the more real.

It’s been terrorizing her this whole time, it was time for her to use it as an advantage.

It was like a chalk outline of her surroundings. Black, no colors, completely flat as an image. But it got across what she remembered.

She saw Aiko leaning against the open door frame, on the right side of it. Slumped posture, her massive bag in her lap, taking up her entire chest.

She turned her head, to see Tracy curled up in the corner, on her side. Shivering in her sleep, due to sleeping on her jacket.

Looking across, she saw River laying on her back, her arms draped on her stomach with her hands together.

And Maddie was at the back of the room, knees supporting her crossed arms, buried into her face into them.

It was a success—being able to use her Mindscape as a mental security system. At least around an area she’s in—her body sleeping but her mind active in a low level. It was fitting, because she managed to do this process before. When N’atural was hunting them down within the school.

She wished that she could think about other things. Think about the plan that was in the process of being strung. And especially, her glorious role in that plan.

Jackie felt her left hand clutch her arm, seeing it slowly illustrate in the vision. It was the sound of it, fingers scratch against her sleeve, and then the feeling—the senses acting as her eyes.

It was hard, trying to maintain this. The fact that there wasn’t practice to this and the lull to fall into complete slumber was tricky. If she wasn’t too careful, she’d tire herself out mentally and just immediately fall into deep sleep…

She just has to hold out. And she did, what felt like hours.

When she started to see the rumbling, the ceiling raining with dust, she knew it was time.

Jackie awoke, before the roar of the monster shook the others awake.

Jackie nodded to them as they each got up, all of them starting to run out of the door.

As they leave, Jackie took in a deep breath. Briefly closing her eyes again, rolling her head.

Rising up, she walked out of the door.

And turned to face where the rumbling got stronger.

She didn’t have trouble, focusing, looking forward.

The roaring got worse, the rumbling got deeper, and the environment took the tool.

She and the girls never faced her full monster form, the “final” stage. They only faced the “second” stage, and run like hell before they saw the “third” one.

The third stage alone—it took out hundreds of Extant Enforcers. People with armor, that can sink into the ground to retreat—and the force it unleashed managed to overcome a good number of them.

They barely escaped the second “form”, a part of Jackie had to remind herself.

But it didn’t matter. It was going to happen eventually.

Now, it was time.

A scaly, multi-crested head peered out of the corner, it’s tri-beck mouth flexing as it panted, it’s side-eye beaming at Jackie. A claw made of elongated, three pronged scythes slammed into this corner wall.

With a gesture it seemed like, it destroyed the corner to make way for it’s large form. Body like an engorged arrow, large legs like a hen’s with trailing spikes coming off the thigh. It’s back, covered in flexing platelets that moved in tandem with her heaving breathes.

Jackie stared that thing down. Underneath it all, it’s just some scared shitless girl.

The monster folded her small, dainty arms into itself. Getting into position, ready to charge forward.

Jackie turned around, and began to run.

The long corridor seemed longer, felt longer—but it didn’t daunt Jackie.

Especially, when she saw the cue.

As she bolted, she jumped over the placed exercise band, the sides taped on each wall.

If N’atural was so weak—even to the point that a full transformation might not be at full strength—to struggle with simple rubber…

Jackie looked over her shoulder, biting her lip.

N’atural charged right into the band—making it snap instantly, but slammed maw-first into the floor—skidding so hard that the stone floor’s rubble gathered until she stopped.

Jackie laughed in zeal, as she continued running, jumping over the other exercise band with ease.

The monster hoisted itself upright once more, shaking it’s dusty head. Once more, it darted to charge, gaining ground as if she was a car, only to rip though the band again and losing momentum in an instant.

Jackie kept looking back, knowing that she can not only keep pace but also remembers were the bands and the special surprises laid out. She needed to see what was going to happen to her.

N’atural tried to charge, and then stopped. Charge and then stopped. Each time, it lessened her speed—it became so one minded about trying to impale Jackie—to catch her—and each fail made her badly charge. There was no “mind” to speak of, or that’s what people believe. This belief claims that what drives the monster N’atural becomes is pure emotion. Emotion she abandoned.

It was gratifying, knowing that Jackie made her mad.

She climbed the stairs, on the second level now, and continued to run.

Once she got into the tunnel, she slowed down, getting on her knees as she heard roaring and felt the shaking.

She crawled fast, against the hard stone flooring as her knees got scratched and hands got scuffed, as she felt the trash bags lightly graze her head.

Nevertheless, she made it—crossing the trap, getting up, and continued to run down the rest of the way. Doing all of this while looking back.

The several, hung up trash bags—still flat and never used—started to move as the roaring got louder.

Soon, bits and pieces of the materials floated down onto the floor—turning the bags into tatters.

Jackie chuckled. This was almost too easy.

This creature just runs on automation—even when it doesn’t benefit it. It couldn’t help but to slash things in it’s way—it’s all that it could do.

Can’t help but to chase, can’t help but to attack, to shred. That’s what N’atural wanted to do.

Now with Jackie’s plan, now it can choke on it.

She jogged up the stairs—getting on the floor, the final floor before getting out of the mall. Jackie only turned towards the growing sounds of N’atural getting closer.

She grabbed her fist, squeezing it with her other hand.

They can do this.

She can do this.

Jackie backed away more, getting into position.

N’atural exploded onto the scene, roaring in fury and spikes crumbling the walls she barely squeezed out of.

Jackie only backed away, continued to do so. N’atural’s head cocked, twitched, from side to side. Studying her prey--victim she’s tried so hard to catch. Even lurching forward, it managed to make ground and get so close to Jackie…

Before she could bring her claws out—

“NOW! GO, GO, GO, GO!”

Aiko jumped out, and hit the monster with a surprise attack—causing it to recoil.

Maddie jumped out and hit another unhanded attack. Scattering away just as quickly as Aiko.

Tracy managed to gain bravery and perform her part. River followed up not too long before.

The girls wailed on the monster, jumping out of the cravings and massive cracks that she herself made before. Using siVis on their limbs, unlocking and accessing their full human strength into their hands and fists—battering the blind spots and most importantly—the most even and non-spikey parts of her surface.

Hit and run, knocking the monster about as it stumbled in place, stunned in it’s movement—as if this was working. They didn’t have time to wait, have time to study or see the results. They had to keep moving, as their movement speeds began to decrease more and more by the hit.

INNATE DRIVE!

Jackie ran forward, with her charged blue fist in hand as her face was stretched in rage.

She landed the hit, as it exploded into the side of N’atural’s maw, under it’s eye.

The girls stopped their attack, exhausted—truly so.

Jackie’s hand greyed, as she breathed out raw heat. She rotated her hand via the wrist.

INNATE DRIVE!

Another fist into the maw, exploding with her energy.

This wasn’t strategy.

“THAT PUNCH WASN’T IN THE FINISH, JACKSON--!” Maddie yelled.

Jackie just punched again with her restored hand, digging her knuckles into the scales.

“YOU SAID TRACY WAS GOING TO FLIP HER BACK DOWN AGAIN--!” Aiko shouted in concerned.

The previous hand came online again. This time, she put her entire arm’s energy into it—this is the first time being able to localize.

“BACK AWAY YOU ALL--!” River warned. “THIS ISN’T A PLAN ANYMORE—IT’S REVENGE!”

Jackie just pummeled. Waited for an arm to regain strength, and just punched again.

She didn’t stop. She didn’t stop her when knuckles swelled. She didn’t stop when her hand broke in places. She didn’t stop—even when the energy within her body continued to dimmish with every hit.

She stopped until she felt like she did.

“Point proven, huh?!” Jackie roared. “Doesn’t feel right, yeah?!”

As Jackie’s eyes bore into the monster’s maw, she noticed that she only gave the creature a welt under one of it’s eye. Only caused her scales to smoke.

“How come?! How come you degenerates gain all this power—while we barely got something workable?! Why is it that you only get stronger—when us banded together can barely survive?! You benefit, when you have no idea what kind of shit I’ve went through! It’s fucked! It’s wrong! And we’re going to show—”

She just realized.

It was only her and the monster.

Anything she said and anything she was going to do, completely thrown away as Jackie could only stand still at the revelation.

Jackie could only back away, as the monster rose up.

It jumped forward, before Jackie could make it to the steps. There was a split second she was given, and she decided to use siVis throughout her body—feebly hardening it for whatever was going to happen to it.

The monster’s back hit the ceiling, causing rubble to rain down and collapse it in it’s wake.

As it landed, it’s clawed, massive foot slammed flat into Jackie, pushing her into the ground to the point she made indent.

Almost human in it’s action, N’atural just pressed down slowly—causing Jackie to scream out, muffled. Convinced that this is the end.

But it wasn’t, as the monster slowly lifted up it’s foot—leaving a ruined Jackie there in her mess.

She blacked out from the intense pain, as it stomped away.

                                                                                                                       ***

Jackie shot awake at the sounds of people losing their minds.

She struggled to get out of her hole, crawling and babbling as she felt things inside of her popping and snapping. She could only hoist herself together. Nothing else.

As she climbs out of the underground. She saw ruins. Vehicles eaten. People scattered across the ground. A Trend Alert being blared from everywhere and nowhere.

This was her fault.

This was completely and utterly her fault.

She could only crawl away, arms buckling, legs giving out. The only reason why she didn’t pass out again, was the fact that she was crying.

She crawled for miles, going to the place she only could go.

Barely making it into the sidewalk of her neighborhood, she heard the voice she needed to hear.

“BABY GIRL--!” her father ran to her, still in his evening robes. “WHAT HAPPENED—I—I was gonna start looking for you--!”

As soon as he picked her up, she fell into his arms. Crying.

Beaten. Battered. Broken.