The calming sounds of the forest were interrupted by a noise: not birdsong, not cicadas, not even the gurgling of the stream or the breeze in the trees. Those sounds were normal, expected. What was not expected, was the noise: the sounds of terror as panicked footsteps crashed through the autumn leaves and shrubbery in a desperate attempt to gain distance, to hide, to flee.
The attempt was in vain: as a second pair of footsteps calmly followed behind, as if merely enjoying the sights of the misty forest, bathed in the late-afternoon sun. To an observer, the sight of the stranger in the woods would be more than enough to put anyone native to the area on edge: dressed in a long-sleeved cloak of black and glowing red with six silver buttons snug in the cuffs and two in the coattails. Long, black pants of the same, thick, leather-like material with black leather gloves and matching tactical boots: would've convinced anyone who didn't know better that they had stumbled upon a reenactment of a colonial soldier marching towards a battlement.
Or it would have: if not for the striped, beaked hood that covered all but the lower half of the face from view, mantis-claw-like wings of the same make as the rest of the attire resting on the backs of the shoulders, and the long, whip-like, fabric tail hanging from the belt beneath the jacket's triangular coattails and brushing the backs of the calves as the figure moved. If one were to look long enough, they'd see the jacket and pants were also dusted in a patchwork of a lighter-grey patterning that was clearly meant to mimic a perverse design similar to old scars. Accompanying the design was the thin, translucent fabric laying between the gaps in the figure's 'wings', which possessed their own mars and snags, or at least: the left one did.
The one on the right barely even remained: with only the bottom half and the bare-minimum amount of 'webbing' remained crudely attached alongside its twin: as if it had been grabbed and forcibly shredded with a desperate, deliberate savagery. And if one looked closer still: they'd be able to make out the grey patterning resembling a sideways, oval-shaped 'scar' in the form of a bite mark circling the right shoulder. Why the figure chose such a grotesque, intimidating appearance: they would be left to wonder, and wonder, they would: not like I gave a shit. They could have gathered the masses and enjoyed the spectacle and I wouldn't have cared: no, all I cared about, was following after the one I was leisurely hunting at a snail's pace: the last of a great many, and the fucker knew it.
It was hilariously dull: running, we both knew he wasn't going to escape: my sense of smell would find him long before he would even find anywhere remotely decent to hide: if he didn't bleed out from the little…'papercut' I gave him, first. Nothing lethal: of course not, I was going to take my time and make sure he knew exactly why he was about to meet his end the way he was. It hadn't been much: just a little snag to the side with a Claw and let him go, panicked as a rabbit in the crosshairs, it probably didn't even register that he was leaving a trail straight to him: exhausting himself in the process. In the end, it didn't matter: all that mattered to me, was that this shit-bucket was about to experience the closest thing to the torment that had been my life since I was a child that he could possibly receive.
It wouldn't be enough: never enough to compare, but it was what he deserved and more, everyone that had met their ends before him did: they wanted a monster? They got one. And now…now its time to allow Karma to pay a visit to the last of a very long list and add his agonized, tortured screams to the volume of the never-ending 'shrieking' that's been cursed to reside between my ears in a near-deafening opera like an unwanted trophy. Shaking off the bitter memories with a soft 'snort', I glanced through the muted glow of the underside of my hood at the dead, brown, red and yellow leaves and calmly followed after the splattering of fresh, bright-red blood and its thick, coppery scent through the brush: unbothered by the 'crunching' of the leaves beneath my boots, we both knew he wouldn't escape, and judging by the amount of blood that made up the trail: he wouldn't be able to flee for much longer. Continuing my hike, I glanced around as the trail led me into a yawning cave that opened up in the side of the granite that made up the mountains of Romania, making my way inside and down the tunnel without much of a hurry.
Exiting the other side, I had to pause as the tunnel opened up into a wide, circular courtyard with four massive, identical statues in dire need of a pedicure sitting in thrones of stone parallel to each other. Raising my eyebrow at how out of place they appeared to be, I stepped closer and took in the large, circular design on the ground in the center of them: the embellishing intricate and unique in design, I couldn't help but appreciate the work that had to have gone into it during its creation, who knows how long ago. Taking a closer look, however: I couldn't help the nasty glare that made its presence known on the upper half of my face as I took in the insignia etched into a stone pedestal in the middle: a black and white umbrella made from polished marble, the insignia of the rivals that made me how I was.
'Well, it was a beautiful sight: until I saw that god-damn thing, fuckers have to have their claws in everything, don't they? Now, where was I?' I thought, pulling my thoughts away from going into places that would make my current task even more of a pain in the ass: couldn't get distracted by trivial shit. Not that it mattered: a quick inhale told me that my target was directly to my left, as well as an odd scent that combined a human and an animal: a bird, a crow, to be more specific. Furrowing my eyebrows, I flexed my gloved hands and rounded the bend, where a sight that made the virus that made me, actually quiver in anticipation, something that does not happen often.
Groveling on his knees on the dirt trail was the sniveling scientist, standing before him in a regal stance, however: was a woman around my height dressed in a black dress and a golden, halo-like headdress and a golden, masquerade mask that had been shaped like the beak of a crow. Coming to a stop a few paces away, I ignored my target's pitiful cries and begs for mercy as he sobbed at the other woman's feet in a steadily-growing puddle of his own blood: unaware of the standoff happening a mere few feet away from him. Feeling her eyes on me, I met her yellow, judgmental gaze with my own hidden one as I took in her finer details: finally understanding why I had smelled bird entwined in her odd, nearly inhuman scent. Folded finely in several places throughout, and actually making up her attire: were five large pairs of crows' wings, their shiny black feathers shimmering with green and purple iridescence as she stood in the sunbeam that struggled to filter between the trees growing along the path. 'So…that's why. She's like me, then.' I noted, not taking my eyes off her as she finally turned her attention to the sad excuse for a man as he tugged desperately at her dress: only to squeal in terror like the pig he was as he finally caught sight of me.
Kicking his hands away with a sneer of disgust, he cried out in pain as he was thrown backwards and onto his ass: making a frown twitch at my lip, as it became very clear that even though she was obviously infected with something different: she was a threat and not something to ignore. Filing that notion away to the back of my noisy mind for now, I took a step forward and narrowed my hidden eyes at the suddenly-very-pale scientist that froze in the dirt at her feet like a deer in the headlights. "I believe that sniveling coward is mine." I announced, causing the man in question to panic even further and make even more of a mess of himself as I flicked my gaze back up and caught the quirked eyebrow and mildly curious look in her devious, yellow eyes.
"Oh? And what, my dear: has this man done to provoke your ire?" she questioned in a surprisingly young voice, one that hid the undertones of amusement: as if she found either my appearance, or how terrified the man was of me: amusing. "Only taken everything from me, something I plan to repay in kind: if you don't mind." I replied, voice even, yet tightening with my dwindling patience as I broke eye contact with her, to lock eyes with the coward in the dirt. "By all means, child. What kind of 'Mother' would I be, to deny the rewards of hard-earned suffering?" she answered, stepping back and away from the man: giving me her full approval to advance, not that I needed it. Brushing off my confusion at her choice of words for now, I took full advantage of the man's pathological terror and split my lips in a wide, bloodthirsty grin: exposing my fang-like canine teeth to the other woman as she quietly observed the scene playing out in front of her.
With barely-contained delight: I slowly advanced on my target and came to a stop directly in front of him: barely able to contain the tremors in my body suit as the virus howled and demanded I do what I was made to: and do it, I would. "Reggy. Reggy. Reggy. Look what you've done, made me chase you all the way to Romania: just so we could have this chat, that's not very polite, is it?" I questioned, idly pacing in front of him as I took great pleasure in the reek of his fear and blood in the crispy, autumn air: as if he'd hadn't been a stoic, egotistical, 'better-than-you', pain in my ass just a few measly months before. Granted, I could have ended him just as quickly as everyone else: but then the thrill of the hunt would be gone, with tons of vengeance leftover and nowhere for it to go.
"P-Please-" "And yet, you still thought you could get away: not fun being on the receiving end of your sick, little games, huh?" I continued, keeping my predator's pacing and completely ignored the fact that he was trying to beg for his sad excuse for a life now: I did not, however: ignore the strange woman, keeping her in my sight at all times, no matter how docile she was pretending to be. "So! Let's play another game, shall we? I call it 'Let's go to the Dog Show!', where I put a collar on you and make you my bitch." I suddenly snarled, stomping my boots in the dirt directly in front of him and made him flinch so badly: that my sensitive ears caught the sound of skin tearing as he ripped open his wounded side even further.
"P-Please! If you could j-just-" "You don't get a fucking say!" I snapped, lunging forward and snatched the scientist's face in a near bone-shattering grip: effortlessly lifting the portly, balding man up off the ground and slammed his back into a nearby tree: not giving a damn as I heard several ribs 'snap' with the force, nor did I care that his pathetic whining took on a new pitch as a result. "A child. I was a fucking child. And instead of learning my ABCs or how to count numbers: you and your friends taught me what drowning feels like, what a beating with a sledgehammer feels like, shit: what being torn apart and being put back together feels like! There's no punishment on this Earth that's good enough for what you deserve. So, instead…let's see just how close we can get." I spat, flashing my fangs in his face with a low, resonating 'hiss': glaring at the pitiful excuse for a human through glowing orange eyes: something that seemed to catch the woman's attention as she observed the situation intently: as if mentally taking notes and was anxious to witness more of what I had in store for the man next.
With my free hand, I gave his wound a harsh, experimental 'poke': enjoying his moaning and crying for a second, before roughly shoving him away: smirking as he bounced off the tree and landed in the dirt in a heap. "There. That should be adequate enough, what do you think, Reggy dear?" I cooed, stepping back and crossed my arms over my chest as I regarded the man as he trembled on his hands and knees in the dirt. "What sort of insignificant punishment is a simple touch to one whom dares bring harm to a child? My dear, certainly he deserves much much more if he has done what you described? You've done nothing even remotely close to what he is owed." the woman speaks up, making my smile grow into something borderline sadistic as 'Reggy' staggered to his feet with a wounded whimper and heavy panting: the exertion slowly becoming too much for his exhausted form to handle.
"Haven't I?" I questioned, watching her yellow gaze flick back to the man as his whimpers suddenly evolved into shrill, bloodcurdling screams: the tortured 'shrieks' of his agony bringing me a great amount of joy as the tiny sample of Biomass I had gifted to his open wound: no bigger than a worm, savagely took to the flesh of the wounded man's body: shredding, ripping, tearing, multiplying, growing and melting him from the inside out like a swarm of starving, carnivorous scarabs. Ignoring the surprised look that crossed the woman's face as the poor excuse for a scientist's screams grew hoarse and hollow as the virus ate through his vocal cords: appearing and disappearing through the holes they 'chewed' through his flesh like mutated maggots to a carcass. Feasting in a frenzy, they vigorously devoured every last organic morsel they could reach: causing the man to stagger around blindly as they ate through his eyes and left nothing but wide, bloody sockets: before deciding his other organs and meat were way more appealing: causing his very form to eventually melt into sludge, before becoming little more than a discolored mass of bloodied clothing and inorganic items sprawled in a heap on the bloodied dirt.
Once my ears quit ringing, I cast a look at the stranger as she regarded me with a thoughtful look that sent another tremor through my body suit: and I did not appreciate the feeling. At all. "Hrpmh. Good riddance, enjoy your suite in Hell." I growled, turning to leave and finally make the time to enjoy the end of my lifelong mission and just enjoy living my life for once, or I would have: if the woman behind me hadn't let out a dark chuckle, almost too low for even my sensitive ears to catch. "My my. What an…interesting turn of events, I must say: I did not expect such a conclusion from one such as you: you truly are special, my dear. What is it that they call you?" she questioned, tone giving way to none of her potential intentions: however, I was well-versed in this game: as if this and any further conversation with this creature was a convoluted game of chess, and I had no intentions of losing a single Pawn. "I've been called several things over the years: same as you, I imagine. But for conversation's sake: call me 'Shira'." I stated, not daring to hand over my actual name and give this stranger more to hold over me: there was a lot of power in a name, even more so for a coherent infected with a lot of extra time on their hands.
"Well…'Shira', you will refer to me as 'Mother Miranda' whilst in my presence: as I have transcended far beyond the mortal plane and have been given purpose anew. And with the glory of my power, my visions shall be brought to fruition. Come. I have great use for one such as you, you will do well to accept without a fuss: my offer is most generous and will only be made once. Accept, and you will be granted a place amongst my most beloved children: refuse, and you shall be reduced to nothing, much like the man that was once before you. Best decide quickly, my patience wears thin." she said, solidifying my suspicions that she, though infected: was no different than those that have hunted and have been hunted by me for my entire life.
However, because I hadn't a clue as to what her abilities were: fighting her outright would most definitely backfire just as it has once before, and I wasn't so naïve as to jump right into a repeat of it. Unfortunately, I also had no intentions of rolling over like a dog and doing the bidding of this creature like some trained pet. "Bold of you to assume that I'll be bending to your will, when its clear as day to me that the only reason you want me is because you liked what you saw. Been there, dealt with that: and I could tell you exactly where to shove that offer: but there aren't enough hours in the day. So no, I will not be joining you and your 'children' today, tomorrow, or ever: I've got shit to do and a life to live. I've gotten what I came for, and that is all I came for: you can try to convince me to stay all you like, but I am leaving: either around you, or through you. Either way, I'm not staying." I stated, turning on my heel with a nasty glare toward the woman and made to return to the tunnel and leave the frigid mountains: only to clench my jaws even tighter as my ears picked up the sound of the same, dark chuckle again.
"My dear girl, as if you have a choice." I heard her say, before suddenly appearing in front of me with a 'whoosh' and a whirlwind of shiny, black feathers. Before I could jump backwards and out of her reach to retaliate, my hidden indigo eyes made contact with her cold, yellow ones: only for those yellow eyes to shift into a dark-black and render me unable to move: as if I were the prey in the sights this time. Without so much as a sound, she lifted her right hand and lazily waved in my direction with that same, dark smirk on her face: forcing me to lose all form of awareness as I dropped into the leaves as if I were merely a marionette with its strings cut. The last things I registered were the shrieking 'caws' of a murder of crows, and the amused laughter of the woman that had bested me without even a second thought. Or they were, until my paralyzed form suddenly made harsh contact with a concrete floor: bringing with it the flare of pain as my bad shoulder took the full force of impact. Fighting against the instinct to fight, to snap, hell: to do anything, I decided to forgo everything the virus was shrieking at me to do and remained boneless for once.
Not something I usually do as an Apex predator, but because I was in the presence of an unknown infected with even lesser-known abilities: it wouldn't be smart to show all my cards this early in the game. Granted, I was fully aware of nearly everything that was going on around me: and such an advantage gave me the perfect opportunity to learn her mannerisms and maybe even figure out a weakness or two: if I was lucky. That being said, it took every last ounce of self-control that I had to hold still as the strange woman, 'Mother Miranda' started poking, prodding and touching me: with the occasional 'scrapping' sound of notes being taken at regular intervals. As much as I despised being touched and regarded as nothing more than an experiment in a petri dish, there was something about this infected that even my own virus was weary of: which spoke volumes about the situation I was in. It wasn't until she started roughly handling my body suit's damaged wing and right shoulder, did I react: not enough to alert her of being fully awake, but I couldn't help the horrid 'flinch' and slightly-bared fang that poked out from under my lip as I growled.
"Fascinating. The 'attire' appears to be part of the Subject's body, and reacts similarly to nerve endings experiencing pain signals: with the red-colored 'accents' emitting a glow similar to bioluminescent worms found in deep, underground caverns. Body temperature shows a constant of 107.7 degrees Fahrenheit: which suggests an increased metabolism, yet brain function doesn't show any signs of any ill-effects due to the change in temperature. Physical attributes show quite the stunning appearance, but also seems to have been naturally altered purposefully: some form of lure or camouflage, perhaps? Dental structure suggests a primarily carnivorous diet, yet also possesses the molars needed for an omnivorous solution to potential food scarcity. Any attempt at taking blood samples failed due to needle breakage and the Subject's own accelerated healing: further testing needed. Shows promising reactions to my initial examinations, commencing the 'Cadou' experiment." she mumbled to herself, the words flowing from her mouth accompanied by the 'scratching' of an ink pen into a notebook: proving that she was in fact, no better than any other scientist that was lucky enough to get anywhere near me without being reduced to paste. Putting down her notebook, I heard her step away from the stone slab I was laying on and return a few seconds later, setting a large glass jar next to my head and unscrewed the lid.
Risking a peek, I fought against a grimace as she cradled a large, fetus-like creature that wiggled and squeaked: showing off several pale, whip-like tendrils as they thrashed around its slimy, bulbous body and a tiny mouthful of razor-sharp teeth. 'You are NOT getting anywhere near me with that fucking thing!' I mentally snarled, wanting nothing more than to take the parasite she carried and cradled like a newborn and burn it with all the gasoline I could get my hands on. When she tried to hand it off to me and allow it to do god-knows-what, the creature actually let out a high-pitched 'squeal' and tried to wiggle its way out of her grip like a crazed animal. Curious, she released her grip and allowed the parasite to do as it wished: taking notes again as the disgusting thing used its tendrils to pull itself closer, with a surprising amount of awareness as it stayed clear of my hands, legs and face.
Flaring my nostrils at it, I slightly bared my teeth at it as it urgently nudged at my middle with a boneless, bulbous 'head' with another 'squeak'. Apparently taking the hint, the creature seemed to shrink back and seemed to 'wilt' in disappointment that it couldn't find anything to sink its tiny, razor teeth into: that was, until it suddenly let out a disturbing 'screech' and lunged at my neck with a surprising burst of speed. Bracing myself for it to try and burrow its way in, I prepared to send it flying into the wall: only to pause at the last possible second as the parasite simply wrapped its many tendrils around my neck and allowed its body to follow, resting against the warm skin in a way that reminded me of a python: it was hardly adding any form of pressure, however. With a contented 'gurgle', it settled into its new spot without any discomfort on my end: which was both comforting and concerning, but for the moment I decided to let it be: I had bigger problems to worry about at the moment. Once the rapid 'scratching' stopped, Miranda approached and gently 'nudged' the parasite with the end of her pen: smirking to herself as the creature around my neck tightened its grip with a 'hiss', causing me to gag as it cut off my air supply in an obvious warning.
"Well, this certainly is an…unexpected outcome: but not an unwelcome one. It seems your Cadou is quite taken with you, my dear: and in such a precariously unorthodox way, I look forward to monitoring your progress in the future. Should the tests conclude in my favor, you just might be what 'Eva' needs to return to this world: well done…Shira. Now, its time for you to meet your siblings: and for me to share this most-promising news, try not to disappoint me: for I would hate to be burdened with another failure." she said, voice filling with an undertone of malice: making me want to shrink back from the unsaid threat, only to stall as I felt myself being lifted into the air again and carried somewhere new: but where that was, I could only guess, but in the meantime: I would sit and wait…and when the time came, I would take great pleasure in showing this psychotic infected just what happens when you try to play with the Blacklight virus. 'Because guess what, you demented birdbrain: my virus…plays back.' I thought, smirking as the ideas started playing like a home movie as I patiently waited for my chance: biding my time until it was my turn to make a move, and when that day came: nobody would see it coming.