Chapter 12b
Title: …Get up and knock the bastard down.
One robed figure turned away from the others and entered a small antechamber. Hidden away in the shadows Max pushed the button on her microphone twice, sending two crackling sounds to the other team leaders. He's mine. Separated by the light of numerous candles and walls or bedrock was Alec, answering her with one telling her to move out.
Using her abilities to their fullest she crept forward, never taking her eyes of her prey. Naming them prey as opposed to enemy they could be hunted and to hunt them was what she wanted. With a single jump she traversed a pool of light and followed the shadowy figure ahead of her, slowly leading her further into the shadows. Max smiled her feral smile, shadows were good, he would never hear or see her coming. Now she was holding the advantage creeping along in the shadows. Hearing the quiet calls in her ear that signalled the progress of the others, she tuned them out to the back of her mind.
Finally the figure stopped in a round cavern with a large table carved out of the same bedrock as the walls. From her vantage point she could see arms going up to push back the hood, revealing the identity of this figure. It was an old man who seemed eerily familiar; she had seen this man before. She wrecked her brain trying to remember. She would need to report it to the others, the others would know whether this was one of the scientists they needed alive. Alive and their captives, to fix the few mistakes Manticore had left in the coding, like the serotonin deficiency. Suddenly the light of a candle played with a jewel set on his right hand.
Max zoomed in to see it more clearly and suddenly she knew, this was Sandeman. This was the made who created them, who knew everything about them. He would be able to save them surely. But this was also the man who had held her captive for over a year, while experimenting on her. Her mind was telling her to keep him alive but her heart sought revenge.
Before she could tell her inner animal to back down she was on top of him tearing at the robe. A red haze came over her as she tore at his clothes. Once those were shredded around them she continued into flesh and watched in satisfaction as blood sprayed everywhere all the while crying out her rage at him. She could feel hands puling at the trying to drag her away from her prey. She shrugged them away growling at them to stay away from her prey. She wasn't done with him yet. Seeing the body convulse beneath her as the flow of blood slowed to a trickle Max renewed her assault on the body until it no longer resembled anything human. It was only a mess of bones and shredded flesh. Realizing that she purred from satisfaction and her animal went to rest.
The trance she was in receded to the back of her mind.
Her conscience awakened.
Blood
She was covered in blood.
Beneath her was something.
Prey
Her prey?
No, he wasn't prey he was the enemy, just the enemy.
The red haze receded and Max sat back on her haunches. She didn't dare to look down, didn't want to see a lifeless body at her feet, killed by her own hands. Tearing from the hands that were trying to comfort her she jumped to her feet and ran.
Ran. Anywhere but there, where the smell of blood and gore hung in the air.
She couldn't breathe, the air was stifling her. She was clawing at the shirt, tearing the fabric at her throat to increase her airflow.
It wasn't working, she needed to get out.
To breathe fresh air. She needed….
There.
Light.
Max headed for it, without seeing anything else. All she could see was a small dab of light and the raced for it, like her life depended on it.
Once outside she took a few staggering steps then sank to her knees and cried for the death of her humanity. She was finally the animal Lydecker and society had proclaimed her to be.
What was she to do now?
The end.