She looked up at the scientist who appeared to be checking down things on her chart and reading over her vital signs. Another scientist in the corner seemed to be documenting something into the computer. Melia huffed out carbon dioxide, replacing it with oxygen. What was she doing here? Her mind easily answered that question. Letting your life tick away while that place isn't far away.

"Is that true?" The white-coat looked down to her with curiosity. "What is it that you ask?" Melia turned her gaze on the female but clamped her jaw shut. She knew that the girl wouldn't know about 'that place' where flowers bloomed endlessly and others like her roamed. However they looked happier there than she felt here. At the thought, Melia began to sit up but a needle briskly pierced her arm making her grumble under her breath in protest. "Melia, you can't get up yet. You need to have your physical and then you will be returned to your room." She lightly shook her head to tell the white-coat 'No' but her body melted into numbness and sleep began to take over. They act like I can't walk on my own two feet... That was the last thought she had before she clocked out.

Melia awoke with a start and leaned up earning a heavy dose of whiplash which made her hands come up to cradle her skull. Platinum hair came over her shoulders and covered her nakedness. Something clicked on in the corner of the room and the slight static made her ears ring. "Good morning, Melia. Seems your awake now and doing just fine. Would you like to go for your evening walk now? The other pro-" The nurse stopped mid-sentence and quickly refrained from calling Melia that special word. Sometimes the white coats did that, and sometimes they didn't act like they cared if she knew what she was. However if she probed them about it they would certainly become tightlipped. "The other beast is awake too. So both of you may convene and play together." Melia nodded, knowing they would see her do so. They had cameras everywhere and they rarely quit watching.

Melia felt the shift melt over her bones and soon enough she stood as the beast with gleaming white fur and emerald gem eyes, fluffy tail streaming out behind her. The shift was quick and painless; it felt like coming home into something that she was supposed to be. It simply felt so right! She glanced to the door as the nurse opened it and held it open. When this pattern first began the nurse would always take a few minutes to admire her form but nowadays the nurse had become used to seeing Melia in that form. Also, Melia didn't flinch every time the door opened nowadays too. She obediently padded out and headed down the hall to where the playroom existed. It had animated walls that depicted sunsets and the starry sky. Sometimes the nurse would explain things to her and teach her about words, language, and the things that she could know but never the things that told her about the outside world. The world with the garden, she was sure that was what they were hiding. The nurse trailed behind her languidly and eventually they reached the large expanse of the playroom. The nurse opened the door and smiled. "I'll be leaving you here with Kesame. I have some paperwork to do." Melia nodded, bobbing her wolfish head up and down in a pattern she learned that meant she understood. The nurse closed the door behind her and Melia plodded over to the small rubber ball that weighed quite a bit to a human but nothing to a beast. She picked it up in her jaws, feeling her teeth sink into the rubber and sat down on her haunches to wait for the other beast.

The notice had been tacked to the door for a while, the corners beginning to curl a little at the edged as the typed letters beginning to run and bleed a little. The room itself sat in a little-used corner of the complex, not frequented by the scientists, and certainly not by the current generation of prototypes, the 'Beasts' as the were called. They were occasionally mentioned in the muffled conversations of passing staff, but generally that meant little.

Behind the thick door an old, halogen bar light buzzed somewhere overhead, its light failing to bring a healthy illumination in the room, bathing it in more of a sickly grey, metallic sort of glow. The room was quite small and unadorned, the linoleum floor starting to come away slightly from the concrete beneath, and small chips of paint beginning to pull away from the plaster. It was far from squalid, but had a sort of under-tended quality to it.

Marks covered of wall. The place was rectangular, with two wide walls, and two narrow. It was one of the smaller ones that was covered in small marks, scratched on in some sort of black marker. The lines had gotten weaker with time, as the pen had begun to run dry, but still continued as best as possible. It seemed to be a tally. It was, in fact, a mark of passed time. Since the new ones had come and life had ground to a halt.

A figure lay on a bed pressed up against one wall. One hand was lifted aloft and held up to the light, casting a shadow across their face. It moved its fingers, watching the light filter through the fingers and give a dull outline of the bones beneath the skin and tendons.

The fgure resembled a young woman, possibly in her early twenties, dressed in some shapeless grey clothing. She was abnormally pale, blood vessels visible in places on her skin, a result of having not seen the sun in a very long time. More immediately noticable was a large, jagged scar, cutting across the bridge of her nose from ear to ear.

Spread around one the bed were a large collection of notes of differing ages, written in scratchy biro. Closer inspection revealed that they contained numerous small bits of writing, writing of things that seemed to be entirely pointless to most people.

"Nail loose on bed. Left side. Don't reach down."

"Food comes twice in a day. I don't like broccoli."

The most important note was also the oldest. One of the edges was torn and the pen marks seem to have been touched up in the past to keep them from fading. It was, in fact, the cheat sheet of the room's one inhabitant, and the guide she'd learned to live her life by.



Several other contained various details on her life, accompanied by a few snatched report cuttings or photographs she'd managed to get hold of that allowed her to build up a rough approximation of her life every morning.

You see Myr, the old project, the predecessor to The Beasts, had been condemned to this sort of limbo due to her defects. Inability to retain situational memory for more than twenty-four hours. Regardless of what they tried, everything disappeared after the sun went down. It made any lengthy missions almost impossible, and meant that she'd pretty quickly gone down as deficient.

So she'd ended up there, in a small, featureless room, trying to pass the time and awaiting something...anything to come along. She had lttle idea of what was going on in the place. She had little idea of what the two Beasts were like, or whether she had ever met them, but Myr was already quite comfortable in thier contempt for them. Did they know what they'd done to her? If so, did it ever bother them? What made them worthy of all this attention and her only worthy of spending the rest of her days rattling around a forgotten room, like a toy that they'd grown out of.

Myr emitted a snarl and slammed her hand sideways, her fist connecting with the wall with a surprising force that send spidery cracks erupting across the plaster. Who were they to write her off like that?

Beast Prototype

Kesame:

Report 66890

The prototype has been improving from day one. It has a lot of intellect and has developed new techniques. Strength and fighting skills has also made a good improvement. Prototype is very healthy and all five senses have been doing excellent. But, has become more aware of it's surroundings, and is resisting some of the tests that were giving to it. If this happens to become a problem, the prototype would be brought in for more experimenting.

The purple and blacked haired beast, lied his head down on the palm of his hand. Breathing slowly as he looked up at the scientists that were checking on how much he has been improving. Of course he knew he was smarter than the first day, when he was put in this shell of a body that his soul was put into. Plus these things on his head, arms, legs, and hands were hurting him by shocking him a little, it felt like someone was twisting his muscles from the inside but he said nothing. The beast prototype wasn't really fond of this place like he used to, because he wanted freedom not wanting to be trapped inside this place anymore, not wanting to go through these experiments, but he wanted to feel like he was loved. He didn't feel loved here he felt like he was being manipulated. "I don't want to be here any longer, I want to feel free, I want to... Be free..."

Red slit eyes looked at every single one of them as he sat up not waiting to be told to stand up anymore, the prototype felt a hand stop him from getting up. "Kesame, you can't just get up and walk off, we have to test you on other things to make sure you are physically fit later, then we have to put you back in your room." There was no way he was going back in that room no way, but the drug had already took affect on him. Red slit eyes began to close slowly before closing completely, the last thing he saw was the beaming light of the room before he closed them completely.

The black and purple beast prototype opened his red slit eyes, everything was blurry and hard to tell out but he knew he was back in this room he did not want to be in. Looking around the room he had seen the scientist walk through the door and close it,"Hello Kesame, how did you sleep? Melia the other beast is already present at the play area, so you can play with her and have a nice chat." Kesame nodded,"I slept good, thank you." As he said that, he stood up slowly not wanting to get up to fast and fall as he did.

When he stood up he felt his blood and bones shift, as he transformed to his beast form, Black fur showing on his back and purple fur showing on his stomach, with black and purple tail followed from behind, and a pair of sharp black claws sticking out of his paw. The scientist opened the door for him and led him to the play area. He walked in and watch as the doors closed, turning around he walked around the play room looking at the walls. Walking towards Melia and laying down in front of her.

Mr. Velfrid.

Dreams slipped from him like cold water down his marred chin; he was greeted that morning by a bag of feathers embraced by clean linen and the inability to breathe. Grunting, exhaling, squinting, he propped himself up with his head sandwiched between his fingers... in defeat setting himself back down mere moments later, mutters filling the once snore-filled room. Piercing through what little quiet remained came the Godforsaken jingle, chosen specifically because its repetition would drive him out of his skin and mind if he refused to get out of bed. Reluctantly, rolled himself into a blanket cocoon and swung his arm up to reach for the source of the sound; smacking his elbow against the bedside table's edge. Immediately following that was a hissed symphony of profanities, a mindless seizing of the wounded region as his nerves shrieked at him, an arching forward so far he felt every curvature of his spine.

It was a routine morning spent in an hotel room for Mr. Velfrid.

"Hi sweetie! Awake yet?" said the phone he retrieved from the floor.

"Now I am," he thought he said. What actually stepped off his heavy tongue was "Nahwumm," which she mimicked in a far groggier, caveman-sounding voice, followed by an "Of course you are." She'd gotten the idea from a rooster that hung out in their neighbor's yard. Always the morning person, Elena decided to do away with all forms of morning alarms but the natural--the sunrise for her, and a personal awakening for him. Because sometimes it involved sex, he never argued against the notion.

"Get my texts last night? I thought I'd tell you first that..."

Now he weighed the pros and cons as he, shivering when his bare feet left the warm security of bedsheets, lumbered into the bathroom to get a look at that semi-functioning fuck behind the mirror. Squeezing sand out of his eyes, he barely could concentrate on what Elena was jabbering about, and wasn't sure he wanted to right that moment. His pale reflection stared at him with distant criticism, from a land of ghostly misty glass... Who the hell was using his shower?

"...and papa wants us over for Christmas, but I don't know what you'd--"

No signs of intrusion. Must have been himself, before bed, in which case he can't have gained more than two hours of rest. "--Elena? Elena." He dragged a face towel from its perch on the toilet to rub away the blurry spots. "It's five in the morning..." With disgust, he remembered he'd dropped the furry cloth in the bath, but only after his entire hand and wrist were soaked. "What gives?"

"Oh, are you on the train yet?" With a great wet slap, "Can't wait for you to get home," the towel found itself kissing the tiled cerulean floor. "missed you."

"... Ah. Shit. About that, babe..."

Kesame watched as Melia off to the wall with the stars painted on them. The purple black prototype beast liked those glowing likes in the black sky. They always gave him the sign of happiness and freedom. Oh how he would love to see those bright lights and feel save and free. Getting knocked out of his own little world that he was in at the moment, by Melia talking about this garden. That was weird because part of his memories had this image of this beautiful garden, which was filled with happiness and security. But, he also heard her say something about fighting the 4 white coats and escaping this isolating place. This plan seemed to be well thought out and it was fully thought out as well. He had dreams of his own, but he knew they were not a dream they were reality his, but merely his precious memories.

Kesame sighed knowing how she felt, but he didn't want to only go see the garden, he wanted to go see the men in his dreams. The person who made him feel like he was actually needed for something that he felt comfortable with, not harsh test and cold metal plates of tools. Not the feeling of being used but being loved and cared for, he wanted to feel warm in his masters arms not cold and alone. Then he heard her ask him to come with, and she wouldn't leave with out him. To tell you the truth he wouldn't leave without he too. Walking over there to Melia, stopping beside her,"I will go with you, I do not want to stay in this horrifying place anymore, I want to be free. Free like I bird flying in the sky, free like the stars shinning so bright in the midnight sky. I want to feel the warmth and blissful happiness he give to me."

His goal was set then, getting out of this horrible place and finding the man who made his life full of love, joy and happiness. "But when will it be again." His black furry head lifted up and stared at the stars on the wall.

Blood sprayed from a now-broken lip, like Breeze Spray's cranberry juice. While similar, it certainly didn't taste very good. Metal accents assailed the young man's taste buds and his fingers scrapped against pavement. His knuckles weren't bloody. He didn't even have a chance to swing. Really, it'd just been a pathetic attempt to flail his hands out, flinching away like he was facing a wall of flames—as if he'd swat away those incredibly effectual fists. The first few seconds when Juniper felt the man's fists connect solidly against his face sent a whirl of explosions and sickening fireworks through his jangling skull, shaking down all efforts of flight-or-fight responses. A wheezing breath heaved out of his mouth, transforming into a rattling gasp that felt as if his lungs had deflated forcefully, painfully. He could feel something running down his mouth. Another boot caught him between the ribs, heaving the wind out of him in ragged coughs. He felt fingers yank a handful of his hair, dragging his head up, then casually letting it bounce back against the pavement.

“Stay outta' our business, hippy-faggot.”

The second man seemed more or less indifferent by the ordeal. Hairy arms crossed over his chest. Mean-looking eyes cowled over a large Neanderthal forehead, clearly unimpressed. Impatience had etched fine, wrinkled lines at the corners of his dark eyes. “Let's go, boys. He won't be strapping himself to any trees any time soon.” When his two workers lagged behind, toeing Juniper's chin with their dirty boots and spitting against his plaid shirt, the gorilla snapped his fingers and like good dogs, they hurried along after him. If he didn't think beyond simple patterns he could block out the pain. He could keep the tears at bay, because tears were signs of weakness. Signs of how vulnerable he really was. It's better if he didn't think at all. Picketing always came with a price. Sometimes, the hulking worker's didn't take kindly to being interrupted while working—not when it wasted time and money. If their jobs weren't finished, they weren't paid. Simple as that. Juniper's fickle heart always drove him to protect what he believed needed protection. They didn't have voices, so he lent his own. Sometimes, this was the price.

With a huff that blew dust and scraps of paper fluttering near his mouth, Juniper's hands dragged against the ground until he could prop himself up on his elbows. Slowly, so slowly, Juniper drew his aching knees against his chest and slumped forward, wrapping his wiry arms around them. Jesus, it felt like he'd been beaten with a bat. H hawked the blood swilling in his mouth a few feet ahead of him, shaking his head feebly. Too many people didn't value nature, didn't even care if anything was preserved. And if you did, you'd get your ass handed to you in nearby alleyways while you're innocently looking for the nearest Starbucks. What bullshit. He would've had a chance if there hadn't been three Lumberjacks swinging tree trunk arms at him. They didn't even wait to explain themselves (though, he should've known better)—just punched him when he was looking at their boss.

His heart was still racing like a rabbit's. Juniper squeezed his eyes shut, then slowly opened them. He'd definitely have a swollen lip and a black eye in the morning, but at least he'd snapped the small tape recorder on before he stepped into the alleyway. He knew the signs of trouble: more than three guys' with angry-looking scowls and construction vests always meant trouble. Juniper was smarter than that, though. The recordings would've caught death threats, unnecessary strings of profanities and the sounds of blows connecting against flesh. The sound of sneakers scraping against pavement. The sounds of wheezing gasps. They'd get sacked in the next few weeks, maybe even sooner. The whole project might be put on hold, or entirely forgotten. “Assholes.” He whispered, whistling low.

Juniper slowly pushed himself to his feet, steadying himself next to an empty trashcan. Thankfully they hadn't taken it upon themselves to throw him into one of the dumpsters. That would've been entirely too juvenile. But, it wouldn't have really surprised him. He hissed in pain, holding his ribs. Without thinking, he ran his tongue across his teeth--they were all there. Not even chipped. Thank God for calcium. They were still damn cowards for kicking him when he was down, for outnumbering him. Cowards amounted to nothing. Those thoughts still didn't make him feel any better. He limped away from the dreary scene, stepped out into the streets and weaved around bewildered civilians. A few even asked if he was okay. He was fine. He just needed a coffee.

Kesame listen to her talk and he smiled at the sentence she said, and he chuckled at it. Then his face expression change back to serious just at the same time as her voice did. "I agree with you, we must stick together on this mission, through thick and thin." He looked away from the wall to Melia, the elegant white beast behind him. The beast prototype nodded,"I'll take the first two you take the other two, then it might be more of a win, on win situation. Even though it saddens me we have to slay them, but think on the better side, at least we know it's for no reason." Nodding to him self he smiled a little when Melia touched her nose to his ruff. He wanted to do the same but something inside of him, held him back from doing so.

He followed her to the door but only stopping a few inches away, hearing a set of footsteps going towards the room. Nodding a little as he heard Melia mouth out the two words,"We begin." Hearing the nurse talking about giving them a bath, was it not to early, he thought it was. She saw as she waited for him to come to her, he did so and walked behind the nurse and Melia.

He looked into Melia's eyes and say a glitter in them, he smiled a little not for her to notice. Kesame couldn't wait to get out of this horrifying place, to another place that was only seen in his dreams.

Having the nurse let go of her ruff and begin her journey down the hall felt like freedom although she knew that she hadn't reached that part just yet. Melia ran her tongue over the fangs that were dripping with the urge to bite. Her tail stayed stock still as if to hide her emotions that were racing through her eyes, not that the nurse could tell anything about what her eyes look like. Anyways, the nurse seemed to be a new add-on to begin with. Just another pawn in the white-coats game. Right? She sped up the walk, forcing the nurse to move along a bit faster, hearing the protest in her left ear. Her patience was wearing thin although she knew that the entire operation was based on patience. What did they call it? Virtues? Melia let her fur stand to attention and then fall back into their natural positions, seeming to get rid of a nasty chill. Her gaze followed the nurses feet, willing them to walk just a bit faster. Was it really necessary to take all the time in the world? However...

The time would come when she would rip through these petty nurses without remorse. Although she did feel the ounce of sympathy for nurse because she probably had no clue that she was leading herself towards her own death. Melia's lip began to curl up in vehemence but she turned her head and ran her raspy tongue over hr shoulder to hide her expression and compose herself once more. How many times was that tonight; that she had the nerve to wish death upon another? She straightened up and slowed down, easing her walk into a long-strided lope. Her eyes darted to the clipboard in the nurses hand and then to the entirely white hallway that held no influence over her emotions. Didn't they say that if her walls were red she would become a violent person and vice versa? She silently agreed with herself. It was true, at least in the terms that the nurse in charge had spoken of.

The trio arrived at the door right as the other nurse appeared with her assistant trailing behind her. The nurses greeted each other and communed to go over the plans. A scolding could be viewed as the new nurse was antagonized for changing the schedule without previous notice. The assistant stood by quietly as if knowing her position in hierarchy. Of course she did, they could have killed her after all. It was a secret that the facility existed. So wouldn't they simply eliminate any threats? That's what Melia thought, since most nurses up and disappeared and her caretaker said that is was just a coincidence. They were of vacation. Madness! Surely, it was. The young beast dipped her head in greeting to the ladies and then pressed a paw to the door. The one who had been scolding turned and opened the door waving them in with a smile. "Sorry! Please excuse us Melia, Kesame. Go right in. We'll be there in a few seconds, okay?" Melia nodded for herself, paying no attention to Kesame and keeping her attention on her surroundings. The beast was carefully sketching a plan in her head, and she wanted it to be completely foolproof.

Melia walked inside the stainless steel shell of a room. The sterilization room. Completely clean and able to be operated from the inside out. It also was entirely safe to use on anybody, and everyone in the facility got a bath sooner or later. Melia scrutinized the room and she walked around before repeating the process and moving back around the room again, pacing the edges and checking for camera's. None. A slight smile graced her wolfish face, making her expression light up with mirth. This would be a piece of cake.

The nurses finished conversing over their subject matter and walked inside the sterilization room. Melia focused her attention on them, her entire being leaned towards them like a moth to a flame. Saliva, hot and wet, made her ache to engage the plan. When? When can I? She glanced to Kesame then to the door behind the nurses that was beginning to close, inch by inch. It was now or never! The beast set into motion, moving like a flame, dancing from paw to paw and wavering just slightly so that human vision couldn't follow. Kesame probably might have seen the streak of white but she was running and closing the distance within seconds. Nanoseconds for that matter if she thought about the actual distance since it wasn't more than a few paw steps for her size. However, time had slowed for her mind and had confused her senses making them simple pinpoints on the delicate humans. She felt her teeth close around the first female, clamping down to snap the womans neck. Blood, burning copper in her mouth made her throw the woman to the side in disgust. A low growl emitted from her throat as the other women dashed for the door. There were cameras viewing outside so there wasn't time to lose. Melia rushed for the woman closest to the door leaving the slower for Kesame. Right as the women began to pull it open, her hand was dashed away like a puppets. She was weightless in Melia's mouth and felt horribly disgusting with all the soft flesh and blood spewing like streams of red water. Melia knew her teeth had pierced and internal organ though, as blood dripped from her chin throughly wetting her white fur and dying it red. The woman was limp in her jaws as she held her by the midsection. Melia stepped back from the door that was renewed in time to close and let the woman drop to the steel floor with a sickening thud.

The beast licked the blood from her lips and turned to look to Kesame. Had he done as well as she had? "Kesame?"

It's a strange and amazing thing, how it can take so much effort not to suffocate oneself with an off-peach pillow.

Mr. Velfrid was not in the best of moods after his wife hung up on him. After he dialed back. Five times. He knew very well that she was not egregiously upset, that she needed time away from his gruffly pleading voice to get her thoughts together, so that she would not be angrier with him than she should. But that did not mean she got to hang up on him. Dammit, all he had to do was reschedule the ride back; it wasn't even a big deal! His phone found itself knocking once against the bed frame before resting in defeat between sheet folds.

His hand served as a vice for his pulsing temples, and he exhaled gingerly, coolly against the blue and spidery network beneath his wrist. It wouldn't do him any good to stay cooped up in here. Velfrid reached for his dark coat--still moist with camouflaged blood at the sleeves, and reeking of the musky scent of an overgrown alligator's fluids. Unusual, because he ripped the beast apart a good two months ago. Perhaps it was a means of haunting from a vengeful spirit? No matter. The cleaning lady had left a bottle of Glade in the bathroom, and that would suffice enough for a decent public appearance. Not so much for the actual snobs and filthy-pawed brats that padded at their legs, but for the goodies he received when he forked over crumpled bills. He checked his weary and cross reflection once more before leaving, and discovered a new wound on his neck that he had not noticed from the night before. It stung when touched, like a small electrocution, so he would leave it be for now.

The outside was warm, as welcoming as the clerk who bid him a good day at the front desk. (Velfrid had growled "You do the same" in what had to be his friendliest grumpy-growl in response, but no one would really know about the second part). He was still flicking and digging out dried tears--from sleeping--from his coarse, jagged nails when he lumbered across the street at the cue of an crimson light, and he realized his focus was not at its ideal. More touching of his face in rumination ensued, but the answer to his hesitations manifested in a very physical logo of a green, two-tailed mermaid. He never understood the point of two tails, and dared not venture into that train of thought; nothing is to be questioned when it came to coffee. It has been a long time since the jingle of a business's bell sounded sweeter than a siren; he did not even take the time to judge the various post-it notes declaring various names to be in support of various things, and his pale fingers left the glass door as soon as they introduced themselves to it.

Kesame looked around the white hallways as they turned and kept walking. Looking up at the nurse who looked down at him and smiled sweetly at him, not knowing that she was going to be brought down in the darkness he called death soon. Looking away he felt kind of sorry that he needed to kill this women just to escape this horrifying place ,but he had to it. No matter how he felt he had to do it, so he calmed himself and erased every emotion out of his heart. His mission was about to start and he didn't want to mess it up, he knew that sounded cold but, he didn't want any foolish emotions to get in the way of his goal to escape from this hell. He looked up when Melia started walking a little faster and he started to copy the actions a few minutes after her. Knowing that Melia wanted to get rid of the nurse already, he did to. Then he turned his head to see another nurse joining them in the walking, not really paying any attention to their conversation or arguments right about now. Kesame continued to walk until they got to the room that they were walking to the room they were suppose to be in. Nodding as the one of the nurses told the to wait for them when they were done with their conversation. As the door closed he glanced at Melia for a second then at the door.

What seemed like a few minutes of them talking, they finally walked in, and as soon as they closed the door Melia went into action. He saw a white streak as she went for the one almost closet to them he heard her gasp in surprised as she was attacked and saw the other run for the door. Taking a step forward he saw it was too late for him to attack as she also attacked the other nurse.

Feeling that she left the slower nurse that was about to get up and walk towards the desk and went of the phone. Concentrating his energy he closed his eyes and they shot back open his pupils turning into a black dot. Growling as he jumped towards the other nurse and attacked her without hesitation. Biting on her arm that was trying to grab the phone and yanked her an the other side of the room. Watching as she slide and hit the wall, he ran to he and put his paw on her shoulder. He opened his mouth and bit down on her throat and putting his head own and up and yanked her head till he hear a crack. Letting go of the now lifeless nurses neck he looked over at Melia nodding.

"Good" The She-Beast paused as if forgetting her original intention as she gazed about the bodies strewn across the floor. In the rare few times that she had seen so much blood it had been during the times when the white-coats had drawn her own blood for sample testing. Her tongue swiped across her lips before a grimace followed. The taste of human blood wasn't as good as she would have expected.

Remembering that the door closed on itself, she scampered over to the door and pushed it open again before backing out of the doorway. This time her powers would come in handy to get rid of any electrical interference. It might trip the alarms but they would go undetected for several minutes which was just enough time to head down the corridor and get into the offices. Melia focused silently and closed her eyes as black, metallic liquid oozed from her skin and dripped from her fur but moved in a strange humanly pattern towards the outside hallway and crawled up the walls to wear the camera was watching the door intently. She held her breath as her muscles tightened with effort to make the liquid move into the camera and follow the cable lines, severing and doing what damage could be done to the central unit. Once she felt the sense of an electrical pulse disappear she let the ooze retreat back into her body, or at least the liquid that would have been in the pathway and glanced to Kesame. "We have a cover until they find a way to get the cameras running again. Let's go." She waved him forward into the hall whilst shouldering the door aside to allow herself room to follow.

Melia raced down the hall and anytime to saw a white-coats, they were immediately eliminated. Blood rained on the tiled floors and the walls were dotted red. Women and men moaned because sometimes she hadn't the need to even kill them but rather just to break a few bones and get them out of the way. They would have bled out soon enough. Sometimes though, there were groups of security or white-coats and she had no choice but to let Kesame handle them. She didn't wish to make him kill any more than he had too. Hers, and his sins would be her own to shoulder because she desired nothing more than to give a peaceful life to her loved ones. To Kesame, and perhaps to herself. Even so, if they did have a master waiting outside for at least one of them then they would have an eternity of love to hold. She struck out towards a nurse who emerged from a side door, sinking her fangs into her shoulder and tossing her to the side. Melia had no problem shouldering all the burdens. It was her sins to bear after all. Plus, who better to take to burden than someone who had no true hope of finding a master. Someone who just had the hope to hide in the eternal garden and live peacefully until life met an end.

She paused at the end of the hall as the door to the offices loomed ahead. "Kesame, we're here. This is our escape route." She ticked her ears back and forth checking for sounds of the alarm. So far, none had the chance of setting it off and the surveillance system was still down but this door required an retinal scan plus an I.D. She didn't want to go through that so it was taking the hard route. "Kesame, we have to break this door down and after, well, we have to run like our lives depend on it. Security will swarm us if we wait to long and we need to ambush them before they ambush us." She tilted her head in thought. "Most likely if we get to the back of the office we can wait for them to come to us then strike. Once they are down we are free." She let the word hold the silence before she spoke again. "Indeed, free." She gestured towards the door. "You wanna break this bad boy down?" It was reinforced titanium and would be a tough nut but she believed in Kesame. They had two advantages, they weren't human and so were much stronger, and they had powers on their side. Melia stepped aside to give him room to work.

Blood dripping out of his mouth not wanting to taste the metalic liquid in his mouth at the moment. Spitting out the blood he looked back at Melia. Wondering what to do next he walked towards Melia and stopped beside her as she, what it looked like thinking about something. Almost forgetting that there was a camera outside the door, but he didn't have the ability to attack something from far away. Kesame then looked back at Melia watching as a metallic liquid was flowing out of her skin. Following it's movements and waited for the liquids to mess up the cameras so that they could have a better chance at escaping. "We have a cover until they find a way to get the cameras running again. Let's go." He nodded at what she said, saying nothing as they were on the move.

Kesame thought escaping this place would be easy. But after a couple minutes of running, they had some problems during their escape. Security and white coats try to stop them from escaping, but he wouldn't let that happened not now. Jumping to dodge one of the white coats attacks, his claws stretched out and he clawed at his neck and kept on going not worrying about killing him. Understanding that Melia couldn't fight all of them he had to stop sometimes to fight them off and kept on running. Kesame stopped again at a group of white coats surrounding him, coming closer as he blinked, he wasn't going to give up now. Attacking the one closet to him he bit the white coats neck and heard a bone pop and attacked the rest off them and leaped to catch up to Melia.

He knew they had a few left to fight and he wasn't tired yet. Attacking a couple more groups of hem until they finally reached their destination. Feeling like he was about to lose control and start to go berserk on Melia but he calmed himself as they walked. Sighing as he looked Melia and nodded at what she said about security would be coming and then looked at the titanium door,"It's like a piece of paper to me, I can break right through it." He nodded and back up focusing his energy his skin started to harden. If you were to touch him he would feel like rock, but he was strong as metal as of right now. Growling he ran towards the door and with all of his might he attacked it with his head. Feeling himself break through it he couldn't catch himself so he sucked up his breath as he got prepared for the horrible landing he was about to take.

Keasame landed on the ground he rolled and slide until his sharp claws stabbed the earth to make him stop rolling and sliding on the ground. Getting right back up and turning around to look at Melia.

Melia nodded and gave him an edgy smile. "Thanks." She walked over to Kesame and slowly pressed her muzzle to his side, checking for injury. She didn't expect any but it was better just to be careful. With an affectionate nip to his shoulder she passed and moved on into the dark offices. Further on inside she could see that some lights were on and people were busy working. Melia raised her nose to the air and opened her jaws, testing the air. There were at least thirteen humans and an extra two who carried the scent of gunpowder. She rose up a mental map and tried to arrange the rooms in accordance to scent, and visuals.

A break room past door one on the left where two females were chatting and gossiping. Door one had an angry male. Door two which was positioned just after the hall that led to the break room was on the right, and contained two males who were busily studying over documents. Door three was after that, containing two females and one male, and the last room which seemed to be a lobby, had four people including the security. Most likely, the exit was going to be where it was heavily guarded. However there was one thing she had to do before she left, which was to get rid of this facility once and for all. The control room was down the hall from the lobby and on the right. Once she killed the security and disposed of them she would allow herself to activate the self-destruct. The white-coats had installed it in order to avoid being found out since after all the experiments they were performing were illegal to begin with. She had found all this information in the gossip and story times of her own caretaker. She hated having to kill the person that had shared her love of freedom but she was sure that the woman would enjoy her special place in Heaven.

Melia shook her head, she didn’t understand the concept of religion but she knew that her caretaker had a deep love for it. Nonetheless her fate had been decided and there was no changing it. Changing her unstable attention back to the mission at hand, she lowered her body to the tiled floor and pulled her claws in as much as she could. This would require stealth but there was no avoiding the alarm this time.

Melia shifted forward, paw-by-paw to make her way to the first doorway. With a quick scoot around the doorsill she dashed for the man and snapped her jaws over his throat but the gurgled scream made a few scents change. By the way they changed, she could tell that other white-coats suspected something was going on. The fear and irritation in their scents seduced her into madness. The need to feel their life fade away from her fangs was stronger than before. The reasoning that she had previously been using to keep her sanity was being broken into minuscule pieces. Before, she could have ignored the scent because they were dead before they had a chance to think and use their adrenaline gland. Melia clenched her jaws, hearing the bones shift and crack as her grip on his neck tightened. However the man had already gone limp.

The she-beast whipped around, dragging the body with her to the door before dropping it in the hall. A quick glance to Kesame and a short gesture to move on was all she needed to prove to herself that she was craving violence. Craving destruction. Her eyes shuttered closed as she tried to clear her mind but it was no use. It was a heap of molten lava ready to explode and only the death of another would sooth the flow. Melia turned and loped down the hall ignoring the empty second room and brushed into the break room. The two females, obviously not scientists but assistants, stared incredulously at the beast. Melia was taller than any wolf or fox and had a length of a rather large alligator. Of course they were shocked. Kesame was bigger than even herself. This pulled a chuckle from her mind, making her lips raise to reveal her fangs. The female on the right emitted a sharp shriek and leap for a blue button on the wall. However once her amusement ended Melia quickly tore into the female, ripping entrails from the body and tossing it aside. A savage growl tore from her throat as the female tapped the button having taken the distraction to press the alarm.

The Alarm was definitely on. The heavy buzz split the air and made her head throb in pain. Melia quickly disposed of the nurse and headed to find Kesame. She hadn’t thought to tell him where to go. She knew he could take care of himself but worried nevermore. Although footsteps rounded the corner and barricaded her in. The two security guards pointed their guns at her and she knew that she had miscalculated. The scent of gunpowder wasn’t all collected in front of her. There was one other and the rest were humans. Melia growled slowly and took a step back. What now? I can’t lose now…

Kesame nodded at Melia an smiled feeling a stinging pain on his side, he tried his best to ignore it and move on from it. He walked slowly towards the last door smelling the sent of 4 people and a lot of security,"Why is it so heavily guarded, is the control room in there." He thought as he slammed the door opened dodging a bullet from a startled police guard. He jumped on him and chuckled as he fell from him being huge and heavy. His claws stabbed and pierced through the guards body. The guard started to shake uncontrollably and waited for him to completely stop moving. When the guard stopped moving and became limp he started to attack two of them at a time. Watching as the blood splattered on the walls and his face. He only had a couple of them left to attack and put down, he had to keep moving and keep himself from getting hurt, when he was done here he would go check on Melia.

Starting to breath faster than he was before his eyes widened as he ran after the group of security. He slayed them one by one watching each of them fall in one hit, he was close to becoming insane and had the feeling of wanting to kill more and more. Almost forgetting about Kesame he walked out the lobby and saw that Melia was surrounded by security. He backed up and smelled the gunpowder and had to plan this out he had to get a way through the guards. Finally he figured out what he must do and he had to do it quickly.

Jumping for one guard he dodged another shot and clawed at his neck blood being splattered on his face. As he went and attacked the other guard attack his stomach watching as he went down and fell down to the ground screaming in pain, but screaming not for long. Kesame bit down on his neck yanked at it nearly ripping his head off, he kept on tugging at it hearing gagging sounds coming from the security guard. He liked the gagging sounds and kept yanking it.

Myr was lost in thought when suddenly something caught her attention. Even in human form she still possessed a sense of smell that most humans would envy, and still had enough instinct that she could tell exactly what the smell was. It was blood. Human blood.

Mothballed though she was, Myr had a built-in desire to protect the people of the facility, and there was clearly something very wrong. She st bolt upright, listening in. As the alarm began to blare she sprang to her feet. Protect the facility. Protect the scientists. Even if they didn't want her anymore she had to do it...and she had to change.

The experiment began to concentrate, and moments after, doubled over with a gasp as her spine bent forwards with a sudden, audible 'snap' and several bony spikes burst out from between her shoulder blades. Unlike for the newer creations, the transition was painful, extraordinary so. The heart and lungs had to cease their functions and expand, causing choking and breathlessness...until her trachea tore itself in two in order to extend. Her skull elongated and stretched, growing a new, much more vicious set of teeth, and two additional eyes bushed their way out of her cheeks. Nearly every change was like a first time for her, having no memory of the time before. It never seemed to get any easier, but it was at least mercifully brief. Soon enough she stood in her new form, a hunched, terrible, spiked thing, something that was well deserving of the name 'hellhound'.

The old door was torn off its hinges with an angry screech of metal as the hound slammed into it, throwing the door panel into the opposite wall, an act that left deep gouges in the plaster. The heavy form of the creature broke into a charge, its sharp talons scraping up bits of linoleum as it made a beeline for the scent of blood and animal.

Myr was fast, unnaturally fast, and it didn't take her long to cover the distance. She sped along at full charge, smashing equipment trolleys and old gurneys out of the way without flinching or altering course. It did not take her long to track them down. The old experiment thundered into the doorway and drew to a halt, emitting a low snarl as she tried to get her breath back. Even super soldiers got out of practice after such a long time without formal training.

The hours two sets of eyes narrowed and her lip curled, revealing her jagged teeth as she watched the beasts, their maws covered in the blood of the staff of the facility. Myr was not a sympathetic creature by nature, and death was not something that effected her, but this angered her more than anything. The ungrateful vermin! They had taken her place, taken the adoration and attention that should have belonged her, and had betrayed their creators! Not just betrayed them, but killed them so she could never reclaim her place as the favorite. How dare they?

Myr tensed and lowered her canine form, ready to strike, quite prepared to tear them both to shreds if she could.

Melia spotted the purple and black fur beyond the guns in her face and tensed slowly before letting out a wretched snarl to distract them but it was too late for them. Kesame had already attacked and killed them and was surely losing his consciousness but Melia was distracted by something else. Something far more dangerous. Something inhuman. Melia flicked her ears back and shouldered Kesame hoping to wake him from his rage. The shadows emerged a figure and she knew that this fight would take far too long. She pushed Kesame a bit harder before baring her fangs. She needed some way to get out of attacking range and down the hall to finish the mission with Kesame in tow. He had saved her life after all. Her fur raised and bristled with anger but her eyes stayed focused on the other creature. What had they done to it? It appeared so deformed. So cruelly made. She had to resist the urge to turn away from the sight, and if not for the imposing danger she felt the urge would have been overwhelmed. However she leapt to the side and yanked the sofa from the floor and flung it towards the beast before making a dash for the hall, yowling for Kesame to follow. She knew the small couch was just a small obstacle but Melia was determined to rid the facially of all it's nonexistent prospects.

She puffed as she turned on a dime and entered the Control Room. She hurriedly slammed into the panel of buttons and pressed as many as she could. Where? Where is it? Which Button? Melia glanced around before spotting the glass covering on the wall. She ran up to it to bash her shoulder into the glass. Slight pain arched in her nerves but she ignored it as adrenaline kept her on her feet. The button stare her in the face and gleeful grin split her face as she pressed it and felt the alarms go quiet rather hearing them. The buzz had disappeared but it wasn't long before a shriek began than made her mind swim. Melia rushed back out of the room and glanced down the hall where the exit waited. It was so far away yet not far at all. Yet she knew that she wouldn't escape without a fight. Melia turned and bared her fangs.

"Stop. That was the sound for the place to destruct. Why not save your puny humans? Or what's left of them? Surely there is someone you want to save more than anyone else here" The authoritative growl was but a cover for the tired weakness behind the cover. Her own blood crusted on her shoulder and she lowered her body in defensive posture. "You don't want to do this. You don't have time. Save yourself." Melia edged back towards the door hoping that Kesame had kept up with her. Her tunnel vision was becoming a real problem. She couldn’t sense anything else other than her own blood and as her adrenaline wavered the more she wanted to sleep somewhere warm. Nonetheless, what awaited her outside those doors was far greater than any sleep she could get.

His vision was blurry, so blurry that all he could see was a flashing red going in and out of his eyes. The rage was painful and he didn't know if he was still killing someone or if he was running out the building going berserk. He tried so hard to shake him self out of it but it would, clear it wouldn't go away. Was his rage state that strong, he was going to make a new goal if he ever get knocked out of his rage trance he would start training with Melia to control their rage state just in case they attack a big group of people they would be in control and ready to fight, without worrying about going into a shock full of rage.

Kesame almost didn't correspond to the little push Melia gave him to try and wake up from his rage state. He shook his head and was almost out of it but was still a little raged as they ran to the control room. They started pressing on buttons and Kesame looked around the room for a little while to see if there was any buttons on the wall and there was a blue button protected in glass. It wasn't going to be protected any longer as he started to walk over to it, barely noticing that Melia had already broke and pressed the button. Feeling that she was a little hurt he ignored it but not fully, right now he was paying attention to this other presence he wanted to look at it see what facial features it had on it, was it like them or was it different, it wouldn't have been one of them because it scent was different from theirs and he would have seen it before. He didn't get a chance to have a quick look since he was in a state of shock from rage.

He felt this kind of pressure, a pressure full of danger coming from this creature. "Why would you help them if you could escape with us." Saying that he got into position ready to strike if this creature did, he was going to be put down not now, not during his path to freedom. Plus, he wasn't going to die in a place that put his soul inside the human shell called the human body. He moved to the side, moving around the creature and stopping on the opposite side of Melia.

The flying piece of furniture slammed into the Hound, which sank its bare fangs into the padding with a snarl. Moments later it slung it sideways scraps smashing it to scraps of stuffing an matchwood against the wall before breaking into a quite lope towards the two beasts.

Myr slowly drew to a halt, spines bristling as she listened, baring her teeth as they spoke. She wanted to lunge at the nearest one and sink her fangs in, drag them both back inside like caught game and present them as a proud symbol of her superiority, her greatness...but there was a problem. As much as Myr was loathe to admit it...as much as it angered her to walk away and leave those horrible things to go...if there was no more laboratory then there was nothing left for her. She was bound by instinct to protect her creators, and that command, hardwired into her brain was stronger than her intense desire for revenge.

"Mark this, little brother, little sister. Mark this well. I will leave you now, but this will not be the last you see of me. You will pay for the crimes that you committed. I will find you. I will hunt you to the ends of the earth if I have to, but I will bring you back."

With that, the hellhound turned and broke into a sprint back into laboratory, talons skittering over the smooth floor as its two pairs of eyes flickered from side to side, trying to pick out any living researchers in amongst the carnage. If she could save just a few, then the project could continue.

Melia sighed a breath of relief as the hound broke away from her hunt to save those scientists that mattered nothing. Melia shook her head but nudged Kesame. They didn’t have much time before the facility decided to destroy itself and erase its existence as planned. The doors opened and revealed a new world to the two beasts. One that would have every hair on her body, every sense tingling with unbridled mirth.

Cold stars glittered far above and the town below looked like a landscape of energies. The static from the fire that began made her ears prickle and turned her around to squint at the haze of smoke that was slowly being engulfed by flame and explosives, that which was the facility. Her guilt was nowhere to be seen and the slow smirk alighted her expression. It was over. That drab life that held no happiness or joy was over and now she could begin anew with her brother, Kesame, and start on finding her master among the Garden of Eden. Melia turned back to the scene of a new world before her. “Kesame, look. Isn’t it pretty?” All of the flashing lights and glimmers made her heart soar. Surely Eden would be down there, past the forest, waiting for them. She felt tears blossom in her eyes and with a swift movement hid her face in Kesame’s shoulder. “I’m Sorry.”



When she raised her head again it was determined and had straightened her shoulder to prepare her for the journey to her home. She took a few steps forward and glanced back. “Let’s go. It’s over for us here and we can start a new life in Eden.” Melia strode forward, propelled by the excitement and sense of returning home. This would be her and her brothers’ new chapter of life.

A whistling wind blew through the air heading east. The fallen colored leafs were gently picked up and carried across her field of vision. Though she was not intensely watching them dance and tango with each other within the wind that twirled and teased the leafs, she could still see and hear them. She had perfect vision, but she could also notice other things that were going around her when her complete attention was on something else. She could hear, see and feel everything around her during sessions like these; sessions that consisted of great concentration and relaxation.

Her fiery hair danced within the wind like a wild fire. Her firm, curvaceous body laid on the hard, white cement. She was dressed in a black leather jumpsuit that revealed the shape of her womanly but strong figure. She gently placed her left hand on a trigger as she looked into a scope. Her hazel eyes showed excitement and arousal. Her tongue swiftly and smoothly licked across her full lips that turned into a small smile. Her world moved in slow motion at this moment in time. Those leaves almost stopped frozen in time. Her teeth slowly chewed the small piece of sugar-free mint gum that was in her mouth as she focused on her assignment.

“Easy now Alex.”

A smirk formed her lips, “Yeah. I know.” She replied back through her Bluetooth to her boss that watched her from the distance. A sigh left her lips as her smile disappeared. Her pupils became small as her she tightened her grip on her trigger. Her eyes marked the man that would die today. That poor man was unfortunately given to her as one of her missions. She watched and studied his every move; until now. Today was the given date. As he played with his children, he turned his back to her.

Click. She pushed her trigger and very small syringe like item exited out of her scope and into the back of the man’s neck. A shot that felt like a bug bite, one that would automatically have the victim slap it deeper into the skin. When that happens, the victim would only see a small amount of blood before the item itself dissolves within the blood, clog the opening and work its way to the heart in matter of minutes. Enough time for the man to leave his children and go to his bedroom.

Alex moved her hand away from the trigger, ”Code name Fred has been terminated.” She spoke into her Bluetooth as she watched him to exactly what she expected him to do. The moment he entered his room, he fell to the floor gripping his chest as pain quickly absorbed him. Death took his hand as he fell unconscious. Alex did not know exactly why he was assigned to die, all she knew was that he was her mission and it was her duty to complete it. Glancing over to the children’s bedroom, guilt pressed against her chest as she watched the two small little girls play together.

“Good job Alex.”

She turned off her Bluetooth, packed her belongs and left the scene as if she was never there to begin with. She headed back to the Hunters Alliance headquarters. She hopped onto her BMW S1000RR matte black motorcycle (property of the Hunters Alliance of course) and headed back to headquarters.

Soon, she was walking through the doors of her employers. Removing her helmet, she allowed her long fiery red locks fall down her shoulders, finally resting at the small of her back. She continued to chew on her mint flavored gum as she walked down the main lobby, up the escalator and to the office of her administrator to turn in her files over code name Fred. Without knocking at the door, she opened it and placed the file of her manager’s desk. “Mission complete.” She spoke with a monotone voice before turning away from the man in charge and walked out.

Her name is Alexandra Eric Raithera, but she goes by the name “Alex”. She has been a member of the Hunters Alliance since she was 17 years old. Her missions at first were very simple and easy, but as she became more accustom to the job, her work load has been promoted to different levels. Only once did she ask ‘why’ on one of her major missions and she was immediately shot down and ignored. She knew from then on to not ask ‘why’ on a mission again because they would never tell her.

As she walked out of the office, she glanced around, looking at the other hunters that watched her or was walking pass her. She knew a few, but she hasn’t work with any other them before. There were only two hunters that she was familiar with; Mr. Velfrid and Raven Hawthorne. Alex had known Mr. Velfrid for a much longer time than Raven considering Alex and Mr. Velfrid became acquainted in juvenile prison, but she has not been on a mission with either of them.

Entering the female’s locker room, she zipped out her jumpsuit, and placed it in her locker before putting on her black jeans, a white turtle neck sweater, a pair of red converse sneakers that matched the color of her hair. Lifting her hair from out of her shirt, she pulled it back into a ponytail with a band, but left a few locks out to frame her face. She was done for the day (at least to her knowledge). Heading out, she ignored the glances she was given from other people and only gave them a smirk if she locked eyes with them. She behaved very mature, but she hated when people stared at her like this. “What? Is there something on my face??!” She bluntly asked to one stranger that blocked the exit. The person shook its head and immediately walked away. A smile formed her lips, “Thought so.” She then stepped out and hopped right back on her bike with a headache and the jitters. The sensation she was feeling at the moment was withdraw from her coffee.

Her next location was the nearest Starbucks. Drinks that were loaded with calories, but she didn’t care. She would always burn it off later exercising. As she found a parking spot for motorcycles in the parking lot, she hopped off with her bag and headed inside. She gently pushed the glass door open with one hand as she smiled at the clerk. She came here often and most of the employees knew her by name. “Alex! Welcome back!” One female called to her which made her smile even more. The barista that greeted her was someone she found very attractive for a female. Her black hair was cut short but her sharp blue eyes could steal the attention from anyone. “Hey Samantha, I would like the same as always.” Alex spoke with a soft cool voice before looking around the shop. As she did this, she pulled out the exact amount of cash to pay for her bill. “Caramel Macchiato coming right up.” Sam announced as she took Alex’s cash and then began to make her drink.

“It’s been a long day…” Alex sighed as she watched Sam make her drink carefully. Her hazel eyes studied her movements for a moment before her eyes were distracted by someone she was familiar with, Mr. Velfrid. A smirk formed her lips and she gave a nod of acknowledgement to him. She was not so sure he was a friend of hers or not, but she has considered it since they have known each other for a long time. Her attention was removed from Mr. Velfrid and back to Samantha when she called for her attention. “Alex dear, here is your coffee. I made it just the way you like it.” Samantha spoke with a shy voice as she handed the coffee over to Alex.

“Thank you so much.” Alex looked into her eyes with a smile as she accepted the drink. She held her glaze for a few seconds more before moving away to sit down and enjoy her coffee. She sat near the window so she can see who was coming in and out of the shop. It also had a good view of the city from the window she sat by. With the straw that was in her drink, she placed the coffee down on the table and began to drink out of it by using the straw. The few locks that were free were tucked behind her ear as she did this. A sigh left her lips as the sweet milky texture touched her tongue. She closed her eyes in pleasure as she savored the taste of the sweet coffee. “Mmm…” It was so damn good.

Pulling away, she licked her lips and glanced out of the window for a moment. The moment she did, she saw a man approaching the shop that appeared to have been beaten by a gang of people (or hit by a truck). She tilted her head to the left in curiosity before eying him up and down. Damn, he got beaten pretty bad… Covering her lips for a moment, she watched at him before realizing that was in fact staring at him. Shaking her head, she returned her attention to her coffee. It wasn’t her business. Alex glanced back over to Mr. Velfrid when she heard him order his coffee. “Addicted too?” She asked Mr. Velfrid with a smirk before taking another sip from her coffee before looking over toward the man that looked like he was hit by a truck when he walked into the shop. Seeing him close up some more, he looked terrible…but he was a bit attractive surprisingly.

Myr staggered up onto a low rose, breathing heavily and sporting several large, patchy burns that she'd gained attempting to drag some of the people out of the complex. She had no idea if anyone was still alive, and at that point she had little chance of finding out. She struggled to get her breath back, wide mouth lolling open and displaying a thick green tongue.

One the other side of the complex she could see them through the smoke, the two beasts that had ruined everything. The hellhound emitted a deep, rumbling snarl, eyes glowing an eerie hue against the smog. She would catch them...but as much as she pained to admit it...it would not be today.

With the cracking of bones and snapping of muscles, the human got to her feet again, grasping one of the lab-coats from one of the clearly expired researchers she had dragged out and wrapping it around her as some sort of cover. She fished a pen from its pocket and took a notepad that had been sat there. Scrawling down a quick note, attempting to replace the ones that she'd lost.



With that done, the forgotten prototype let herself drop to the ground, too exhausted to pursue the endeavor any further.

Mr. Velfrid

He might have said something to the swish of long hair that decided to cut in line; considering his boiling mood, patience and tolerance were unusual gifts to be had. Yet lines soothed this beast. He spent his time watching the ticks and twitches and unnerved over-the-shoulder glances of the people in front of him. A good stare was all it took to remind himself that everyone was easily agitated, just as he was. Everyone harbored secret misgivings about their neighbor, the strangers sitting next to them. What if they held evil imaginings, these strangers, intending harm unlike one could ever dream? Or worse, exactly like one dreamt? Thoughts other than one's own were foreign, frighteningly so in their eternal intangibility. If the world were a hivemind, there would be nothing to suspect, nothing to check for under the bed. But it's not: a calming notion, he'd say.

Momentarily, he found himself recognizing the animated hair as it rotated and revealed a familiar nose, sitting atop familiar pink, fat lips so prone to puckering and pouting. Raithera. As with the beginnings of any badly written script: What a coincidence. He said nothing at first, settling for the pragmatic approach of attaining an overpriced, caffeinated breath (Elena hated Starbucks for this very reason; he can't lie that this visit was a subtle revenge for when she checked the monthly receipts); it was then that she chose to notice him with chastely fluttering lashes, then the squint of familiarity she'd likely given to the simpering cashier moments prior. Then the usual nod, the flitting about of colored eyeballs, and the smart comment. "Very cute," Velfrid replied, in that jaded way indicative of the fact that he found nothing even minorly cute in the world. "We're a sweetly attentive one for having had 'a long day.' Chocolate Crème Whoopie Pie and a Gingerbread Latte. Yes, whip cream."

At his order, he felt the college student (complete with an excessively buttoned backpack and notepad, last he checked) behind him craning her neck. Furious whisperings and titterings ensued.

Securing of goodies in exchange for monetary compensation accomplished, he sought the refuge of one of the germinated seat in the establishment. He didn't have to look far, for Alex Eric was sitting in one of those tall chairs. And he liked tall chairs. "Tell me if I'm blocking your view," was the next glib comment as he sidled across from her. How it was that most women scoured such personal entertainment from scoping out rooms and distributing "the eye," he would never know. Professionalism he'd expected from the Guild came to be overshadowed by the overabundance of coyly angled shoulders and raised brows. Girls will be girls.

Wandering within the confines of the sweaty (or maybe if was just sweaty because humiliation had the uncanny ability to change the temperature) coffee shop, Juniper lingered near the doorway and leaned heavily on his aching shoulder. He was mostly hidden behind an unlit freestanding fireplace in the middle of this fancy Starbuck's and they were sitting way in the back together on a bench. There was a laptop open on the small table in front of them, whose he didn't know or particularly care about, and they're hunkered over it, together like hungry velociraptors. If not for the wandering hands, the occasional fervid kisses and deep looks into each other's eyes, Juniper might've mistaken them for good friends; but, that wasn't likely because he recognized them the instant he'd stepped foot across the Starbuck's threshold. That lovely redhead had been his girlfriend and that bearded sonnuvabitch was one of his best mates. No longer—obviously. Juniper made no attempt to make himself known. Didn't offer any cowardly finger waves or nod like he'd found another girl to replace the vacant, reverse blackhole seeping through his heart like cigarette burns. Screw that, Juniper was a petty as they came.

Sifting irritated breaths between his bruised lips, Juniper sidled past the fireplace and joined the impatient line of coffee-drinkers. His mouth automatically sought out of those dangly things peeping out of his hood, chewing balefully as he contemplated hot beverages. A herd of bubbly, giggling girls swept their long hair back like snapping whips, barely missing their neighbours scowling faces. Thankfully, Juniper was a few people back so he was spared from the shaggy assault. Spared from snotty remarks, flailing hand gestures and livid glares that meant he wasn't their type of man-boy; they weren't look for sweetness. They were looking for sausage fingers wound around their necks, promising that they'd never do it again, but then they did, again and again. Sailing to Spain, under the bright blue skies with nothing but laughs slipping from the corners of your lips, with a guy who'd bend over backwards for you—it wasn't what they wanted. It never was. These were dangerous thoughts. A fatigued environmental soldier's no good to anyone and he needed to be prepared for anything. But it's hard to sleep when he's always so disturbed. Right—coffee, it's what he needed.

We're a sweetly attentive one for having had 'a long day.' Chocolate Crème Whoopie Pie and a Gingerbread Latte. Yes, whip cream. If it'd been anyone else, Juniper might've snorted. He didn't know the gentleman standing idly in front of counter, looking every bit like the skinheads he'd seen lurking around abandoned, musty buildings. If things were easy and he wasn't so damn impertinent, Juniper could ignore the prominent scars streaking across his face. If only things were easy. If they were easy, he could do things like avoid the staggering brute snuffling behind him like a cow whose being prodded with an electrical baton. If they were easy he could express things. But he can't. Because there's one little thing, a tiny little difference between the two that changes everything. Confrontations terrify him. It lodges his heart in his throat so he's reduced to rubble. He's a coward with the best intentions, bypassing circumstances and opportunities to remain comfortable.

He could almost feel the man's huffing breath against his neck, sending uncomfortable waves of anxiety down his spinal region. He scuffed his feet forward, inwardly groaning at the aches creaking through his lower back and knees. Ignoring the woman's fluttering eyelashes and silent enquiry at the bruises blossoming, swelling against his eyelids, Juniper leaned forward so that he couldn't hear anymore whiny intake of breaths. Whistling loudly through his throbbing skull. “Green tea. Two sugars, please.” He nodded, confirming his order without scrutinizing her disinterest. Once the warm drink was deposited into his waiting hands, Juniper quickly turned to his right and attempted to sidestep around the man who stood directly behind him. Instead of gracefully slinking away from Starbuck's—mission accomplished, coffee ingested—the gorillaesque man grunted incoherently, cussed loudly and elbowed him out of his destined path. The green tea fumbled from his fingers, sloshing against the ground in a hazardous puddle and he pinwheeled over a nearby chair, scrawny legs slipping wildly through it's contents. Said sweater straps flew from his mouth, chewed to oblivion. Everything lilted to a slow-motion standstill, and if he were a part of the Matrix, he could've saved himself the humiliation.

Life's got a cruel sense of humour.

Juniper's fingers caught something soft. Someone's shoulder. Something. He couldn't really tell. A second later and his head cracked against the inhabitant's table, sending it's contents flying across the coffee shop. His hearing buzzed. He crumpled against himself, ragdolling against the linoleum floors. Squares of different colours, all matching the Starbuck's green motif. He thought he bit his tongue—clean off. No, not a chance. Ambulances wouldn't even save him now.