Page 4 of Born Savage

I moved through the large space that had been picked clean by various vultures. I’d learned of a room with limited access and hopefully, what I hoped to find still existed. While I had purpose in my step, for some reason I was caught in another even more sudden swell of emotions.

Perhaps because it was obvious there’d been many a battle in the one pristine space. Regardless, being frozen, incapable of moving or calculating through a plan wasn’t like me.

Breathe, Star. This will pass.

The ugly truth was that I’d experienced several of these episodes as of late. They’d started when the nights had grown interminably long, the limited daylight not nearly enough to thwart the terror.

They’d been nightmares at first, faces haunting me that never took full shape. Whispered words indicating danger, but with no context as to why. Yet I could feel something was coming, someone searching for me or intent on me remembering details I’d long since forgotten. Then I’d begun to experience them when fully awake, along with seeing images of a huge man.

Also faceless but very… very dangerous.

Shake it off.

I could feel the increasing pulse in my neck and placed my fingers against my throat. Shadows caught my eye, images my mind created to tear me asunder. They always came during the most intolerable periods, leaving a dull ache that took hours to dissipate.

Breathe, I told myself.

The visions were bolder than before, grotesque creatures writhing in impossible ways. The backdrop of crimson-splattered walls was nothing in comparison to the pools of coagulated blood from a recent kill staining the chipped tile floors.

Breathe.

My chest ached, every shadow becoming a demon. Only they weren’t real. At least in the way of captured normalcy. Yet they were my greatest fear.

That of losing my mind.

Sudden movement broke the horrific spell, the raspy growl like the edge of a dull serrated knife providing a clear indication of what I was facing.

I lifted my arms, bending my elbows and grasping the worn leather-clad hilt as I turned to face the monster. Noticing the mindless, repetitive twitching, I took a deep breath as it staggered forward. While there was a chance a colony of them had taken residence in the building, I doubted more existed or they would have surrounded me by now.

Killing one of the Night Dwellers wasn’t a challenge, merely a required chore to keep moving forward. For whatever reason, I looked the creature directly in the eyes. They weren’t nearly as milky as those affected long term. That meant the disease was still present, claiming new victims.

Always the weakest of our species.

No chances could be taken, the contained movements much like every other monstrous being created in the throes of nuclear waste. I could sense the thing’s bloodlust. I’d studied their behavior. This one was very hungry, the light streaming in through the holes in the brick and mortar enough to damage skin and organs.

Yet this one didn’t care, indicating desperation.

With a single long stride taken, I swept the blade across his neck, no real precision needed. Yet I’d used more force than normal, its head popping off, pitched against the very blood and gore-stained wall I’d fixated on moments before.

A second appeared in my periphery of vision. A cocky son of a bitch. While the grotesque gargoyle-like creature lumbered closer, I reached into my pocket retrieving one of two shuriken throwing stars, a perfect weapon for this very special occasion.

The throw was as accurate as usual, two-pronged points driving directly into the creature’s one good eyeball. If I was truly a demon as the Borgata liked to think of me, I’d claim the damaged orifice as a souvenir. But even I wasn’t that crass.

With the bastards hungrier than usual, I’d need to be extra cautious.

I waited just long enough for its carcass to hit the floor, yanking the star from the creature’s eye and wiping the gore on my pants. Killing them usually didn’t bother me. They were barely human if at all. Yet for some reason, doing so today gave me pause.

Maybe a moment of weakness, but I wondered what his life had been like before succumbing to the horrible disease. The fact so many had remained alive over a decade after their exposure had proven an odd miracle.

After shoving the shuriken into my pocket, I moved around the thing in a wide arc. The momentary spell had made me lose precious time.

While walking deeper into the building’s shadowed terrain, I returned the sword to my sheath and moved more quickly until I found the stairs. Fortunately, the debris was easily maneuverable, and I made it to the fourth floor within seconds. Noise was an enemy, silence providing momentary peace.

The office itself had been destroyed, but as I tossed items aside, desks and chairs that had once been a beacon of life, my hopes were high that I’d find what I’d come for. In many of the old buildings, there were hidden storage rooms thought to once house illegal substances, as many still hidden behind rubble had been discovered. I’d learned that from an old man who’d taught me many things about the past how medical professionals sought buildings with the spaces in mind.

Even prior to the destruction, crime and corruption were prevalent.

I’d read enough and had been taught history by my mentor to realize why the powerful country had fallen prey to others. Greed and the hunger for power. Was there any difference today?