Before Perfection
by The Great Red Dragon


Chapter 7
From a patch of bushes, I observed the passer-byes on the road beside me. Large, unstable-looking vehicles plowed their way by, while the local species walked on a raised pavement (otherwise known as a sidewalk).
They were mixed in size, and also in color. Most of them seemed tall, almost three times my size. Others, which I guessed to be younger, varied between my own size, and...well, other heights. Some of them were a dark, tanned color while others were paler, and some even chocolate-brown.
I circled the sidewalks as much as I could for several hours, observing these strange creatures with interest. They seemed to be social, often spending minutes just jabbering away right there on the street. Some of their buildings were quite tall, but all were miniature in comparison to some cities I had seen before.
I was too cowardly to venture out into the city. I was un-armed, my weapons were trashed, and I had no idea of how these people would react to my presence.
But during that time, I starved. My mouth didn't even water when I would see people coming out of a fast-food joint, sucking the cheese off of a burrito. No, my mouth was too dry for that.
I don't fully remember the days I spent just watching in hunger. I had planned to move on before then, but I was too cowardly to. But I was so damn hungry...even my usual bowl at Jumba's seemed appealing to me now. I think the only way that I stayed alive then was because I drank as much water as I could. From puddles in the jungle and on the streets I would lap like a dog; desperately and pathetically.
The lack of food somehow increased the pain of my injuries. The cut on my shoulder had become even more infected, and it hurt so much that I cringed whenever I moved my upper arms. I would retract parts of my body (my arms and antennae) sometimes to ease the pain, but the strain it took to keep them retracted was often as fierce as the injuries themselves.

At night I would sleep in the crowns of trees, and more than once I would wake up on the ground, my back hurting from the fall I took. Then I would return to the sanctuary of the bushes, to watch the inhabitants of Earth go about their day. It distracted me a bit from my agony, but absolutely nothing could take away from my need of food. I knew that I would starve soon if I didn't get something in my stomach.
Here and there I would find a beetle or another dragonfly that I could devour, but that just wasn't enough to keep me going for long. I had been created to go for periods without food, but that period was dramatically shortened due to my injured state. I needed something that could fill me up and energize me. Something that would speed up my healing process (which was naturally pretty speedy), and give me back my spirit. Without my spirit and without my heart, nothing would matter anymore.

…Thankfully, I was given a treat on a cool, lit evening.
I was sitting in my usual lounge of bushes, getting weaker by the moment. A cool breeze slithered its way across my back, and for the fifth time of the day, I whimpered to myself. I was really getting depressed. I had actually thought of killing myself, but I know now that I wouldn't have been emotionally able to do so.
I was about to retreat atop a tree when I noticed a small girl coming down the street. She was pushing a toy-stroller, and I could just make out the meek design of a doll's hand protruding from a blanket. Well, there wasn't much chance of getting into a tree without this kid seeing me, so I stayed put. I kept my eyes on her…and then I noticed something.
The girl reached into the carriage and pulled out a small, plastic baby-bottle. This bottle wasn't empty with invisible orange-juice. No, I could clearly see a white liquid splashing around in there.
My eyes went wide. I had to have it. I didn't care what it was, I had to have something in mouth - I was that desperate. As long as it was something edible, with more filling-ness than water, I had to have it.

I searched around my feet, and found a small stone by my right foot. This small, isolated girl didn't scare me like others did. In the daytime, when other came down the street, I was in danger of being seen, and there was less chance of that with a little kid.

WHOOSH!

I threw the stone about fifteen feet in the opposite direction of myself.

"C'mon...c'mon...", I said to myself through clenched teeth.
"Go and look, please go and look..."

Yes! She took the bait!
The little girl left her baby-stroller and ran across the street to investigate the noise. As quick as a flash, I leapt forward and grabbed the bottle. Before the child could even turn back around, I had retreated into the forest, ready to enjoy my prize. Behind me, I could hear the kid ask her doll bewilderedly;

"Molly, where did your bottle go?"
Once I was back in my haven, I pried the top of the container and tilted it to my dry lips. Milk, although slightly sour, poured across my tongue, my gullet, and into my stomach.
Oh man, it felt so good! I felt life inside my body return, and it refueled my spirit and will to live. I was back. I was my old self again, and it felt good. Recovery was on its way.
I tossed the empty bottle over my shoulder and licked my lips. They were formed into an evil smile. For what reason, I'm not sure. Maybe it was simply realization...that I was Experiment 541.
My shoulder didn't seem to hurt anymore…oh Hell yeah, I was back.

For the following week, the small city of Mana was terrorized by an unknown and unseen force (A/N: I actually have no idea what Mana is like. It is an actual city on Kauai, and I'm going to pretend that it's like the one in 'Lilo & Stitch'). Fast-food stands and restaurants were raided down to the last burger, and people reported seeing a small, furry something dismantling backyards and turning over trash cans. I would laugh when they would stick their heads out of the window and call for the dad. The next second, a large mash of leftovers would hit them in the face. Then I would spend the rest of the night in my little haven in the jungle outside of town, chowing-down on my raids of the last night. The food had charged my soul and need for destruction. I completely forgot about my injuries and was able to focus on the chaos at hand; they dramatically healed during this time.
One time, I was caught in the middle of a midnight-robbery at a small cafe'. The guy who saw me was a seventeen-year-old kid. Just to have some fun, I charged at him. He covered his face with his arms and screamed like a wuss. Just to be evil, I jumped up and drop-kicked him to the floor, where he banged his head on a table and passed-out.
I was demonic.
...But the real 'Twist of Fate' of my life happened on a night of a full moon...
I had just finished my store-up stash of food, and I was still hungry. I jumped up and headed back into the city. Not too many people were on the streets, so I took a chance and ran along the sidewalk. My feet padded the pavement quietly as I raced the night. It was dark, but the moonlight gave me nice chance for vision. It was cool, running through the night.
After a short while of sprinting, I saw what appeared to be a long line of white-colored tourist-type people (I say that because the native Hawaiians have dark, tanned skin) heading away from a large building a couple hundred yards away. Each of them was carrying something edible.
I jumped onto the side of a convenience store and climbed to the roof to hide myself. The people were starting to spread apart and go their separate ways; nobody noticed the Devil on the roof.

Woo-hoo, it was my time! Obviously, there was some big event going on in the building, and it seemed that there were plenty of 'munchies' there.
I sprang from the roof over to the top of a second-story house, where I could easily read the large, illuminated letters on the side of the building, which shiningly proclaimed;
'EWF: Sunday Night Carnage'
(now that I can read English, I know that this was a pro wrestling event. I didn't know who or what wrestling was by then, but it was definitely a place to find french-fries)

"Watch out", I said to myself, and to the EWF building.
"541 is coming your way!"