Outside her den, a creepy, pale, and blind creature with a long tail was slinking around. It used to have eight wiggly arms, but Ren had ripped one off earlier. The place where the arm used to be was slowly regrowing, like how a starfish grows back its arm.
He perked up when he heard Kestrel stepping out, his nose twitching. His eyes held a mix of alertness and confusion.
Kestrel seed totally new to him. Yet, buried under her unfamiliar vibe was a faint whiff of sothing he recognized. This left him scratching his head, wondering why she’d be in the den of the deity of this world.
His spine curved, teeth bared, as he cautiously backed up. Only after a few monts did he figure out who she was.
"You... You’re different. I an, your sll’s changed. I almost didn’t know it was you."
Kestrel didn’t miss a beat. "I need clothes for a male alpha. Fetch them," she ordered, holding her ground.
The mutant seed unsure for a second but then, like it was second nature, listened to Kestrel’s command. Climbing with hands and feet, he vanished into the pitch-black above.
He was back before she knew it, each arm hauling a bag or two. He plopped down around twelve bags of all sizes in front of her.
"Taja’s a bit of a hoarder," he explained. "Has a whole room just for bags. That’s where I snagged these."
Kestrel rooted through the bags and yanked out an outfit for an alpha. Then, crouching at the cave’s entrance, she passed it to Ren using a tendril, careful to keep her distance.
The tendrils behaved this ti, not getting all grabby like before. That boldness they once had? Gone.
Inside the cave, Ren quietly accepted the clothes, turning away to get dressed.
"You’re acting different," Ren pointed out, sharp as ever. "Rember sothing? Know who I am?"
"Sort of," Kestrel replied, making vague gestures. "I rember enough to know we’re on the sa side."
Light was scarce, but she caught a shadowy view of Ren’s back. It was strong and well-defined, like that of a seasoned fighter. But it was a roadmap of scars.
The guy was covered in them, like he’d had more than his fair share of run-ins with mutants. Yet, he’d always gotten back up, each scar telling a tale of resilience.
And on top of those old scars were fresh ones, no doubt left behind by her tendrils. They made his skin look even more raw and sensitive.
"I need to find him so ointnt or sothing," Kestrel silently chided herself. "Why did I let him get hurt?"
By the ti Ren reappeared, all dressed, Kestrel had vanished.
All he saw were those bags left behind and the mutant – missing an arm – clambering high above. It caught sight of Ren, let out a low growl, but stayed put.
A mory hit Ren. He’d bumped into this creature earlier when coming down from the upper levels. It had been a tough one to shake off. Back then, he’d used explosives to blow its arm off.
Later, because of Kestrel’s say-so, the monster, even with its strong dislike for him, wouldn’t dare to straight-up attack Ren. Even if it got a whiff of him or heard him move about, the most it would do was throw out a few nacing growls from afar.
Ren knelt and got the fading red campfire going again. Once the fire was steady, he hauled in so water to clean up the cave, making sure to erase all signs of recent activity on the floor.
He lugged out a bigger pot and began sorting the food he’d found in the backpacks. After taking out a few things, he began cooking them.
Ren kept himself busy without saying anything. This flurry of activity was like a welco distraction. For a while, he could forget the weirdness of the previous night and not think about the weird positions he had been put in.
Only when he truly had nothing left to do did he allow himself to just sit by the fire, his eyes glued to the pot of food that was now bubbling away. The firelight gave his face a soft reddish glow.
Alphas needed loads of energy, so their backpacks often had canned ats. Ren grabbed a few and dumped them into his pot. The sll of the at stewing away in its rich sauce filled the dark, quiet space below, making stomachs grumble.
But even with such yummy food in front of him, Ren didn’t dig in. Instead, he just sat, lost in his own world, poking at the fire with a stick every now and then, deep in thought.
"If you’re not gonna eat, I’ll take it." The seven-ard mutant creature crawled down. He kept his distance, but even without eyes, it was clear he was interested. Down in these dark tunnels, creatures had super sharp hearing and sll. The scent of the cooking at was like a siren song to its keen nose.
Ren scooped up a bit of the at and dumped it into an empty can, sliding it over to the eager creature.
On his eyeless face, a huge mouth appeared. A long, slithery tongue shot out and wrapped around the can. Without caring about the heat, he gobbled up the at and the can, crunching away for a bit, then spat out the mangled remains of the can.
"Yum," it said, making a lazy loop in the air around Ren. "More. And forgetting arm."
Its words were a bit garbled, but Ren got the gist—one more serving, and the beef about the missing arm would be water under the bridge.
Having ventured into the Polluted Zone more tis than he could count, Ren had a general sense of how these creepy creatures behaved, even if every Polluted Zone had its own unique batch of monsters.
Mostly, these creatures are a mix of viciousness and innocence. They exist in their own odd bubbles, seeing the world in a way that’s totally different from humans. So still have the smarts of humans, and a few even cling to mories from when they were people. But one thing’s for sure: they’re not the sa individuals they used to be. They’re basically entirely new entities now.
Ren got another big can, cleaned it, filled it up with the savory at stew, and slid it forward.
The seven-ard mutant edged closer, grabbing the can and sitting down not too far from Ren, near the fire. Holding the can like a prize, it gobbled up the food inside, little by little.
"This is so good," it drooled as it chowed down. "Did you use this yummy stuff to get on the good side of Her, and sneak into Her den?"
Ren just poked at the fire, choosing not to answer. There was a brief silence, broken only by the slurping sounds of the mutant enjoying its al.
"Just reheating so canned food. It’s simple stuff. I know how to make loads of other tasty things," Ren ntioned casually.
"Yum... Oh yeah? Then I want so every ti we et," the mutant replied, its words jumbled up. "I’ve never had warm, cooked food before. I only eat things raw."
"Been down here long? Rember anything from before?" Ren asked.
"? Oh, I’ve been around forever. Been in this place for ages. As for mories? Don’t really have any, and even if I did, who cares? I can’t stand humans, and I loathe alphas." The creature kept munching while talking, "I’ve seen a lot of alphas like you. It was your kind that barged in first, bringing scary weapons, ssing up our quiet lives."
"I can’t stand them. Whenever I see one, I grab them, rip them to bits, and feast."
Once he finished off the can, the creature looked like he was ready to leave. Ren quickly refilled the can.
The seven-ard dude settled back down, saying, "But you’re different. I don’t dislike you anymore."
"Next ti, I’ll get you so at, real fresh stuff. You can heat it up just like this." The mutant showed its teeth to Ren, and it was hard to tell if it was trying to grin. "There’s plenty of fresh at around. Which type do you prefer?"
Ren caught the creepy aning behind "at."
"We don’t eat our own," he stated calmly.
"Really? Why?" The creature looked super confused, like Ren was the weirdo here. "Isn’t it sad for your buddies who don’t make it? No one munches on them, so they just vanish, gone from this world."
"You eat your own kind too?" Ren asked.
"You silly, eating soone is like giving them the ultimate complint," the mutant said, looking up from the can seriously. "We’re not scared of dying. What really scares us is if no one worthy eats us, taking in our strength. That’s when we’re really gone."
Ren looked at the creature, illuminated by the fire’s glow, "Do you know how She—I an, Capital S—ca to be?"
"Ha! You’ve been here for quite a while, hung out in that den, and got real close with Her," the mutant joked. "Didn’t She explain the special way how the deity passes down?"
"Actually, She just ca into existence recently. She’s not even fully... you know, developed yet."
"You’re talking too much." Suddenly, a young girl’s voice cut in. "Why spill the beans to these humans?"
Taja, dressed in a white outfit, showed up from the shadows, flanked by so emotionless-looking alphas. She looked super serious.
Reviews
All reviews (0)