Chapter 4: Hostile interference

Snippy produced a small medic kit from his backpack and set it down on the ground, while Pilot carefully observed his every move.

"So glad I always take one of these with me," the sniper commented as he opened it and took a pair of small scissors from it.

As he brought them to Pilot's leg, the man flinched back and made a futile attempt to move away from it.

"What are you doing?!" the screwball yelled and cowered in fear.

Ignoring his antics, Snippy moved closer to him, underestimated his patient's fear and almost received a kick in the face.

"Are you completely out of your mind!? Stop it!" he shouted at the idiot.

Sighing audibly, the sniper tried to calm his temper.

"I just need to cut through the cloth so I can treat your leg. Just hold still for a moment, okay? I don't want to accidentally hurt you with these scissors because you couldn't contain yourself."

Pilot gave no response, but he also stopped trying to fight his helper off and allowed him to do what ever he must.

This time Snippy double checked that his patient was calm before he dared to begin anew. With the small scissors he easily cut through the fabric and instantly got a better look at the severe wounds. As Pilot looked down at the torn flesh, Charles saw him cringe at the sight and a short time later he started to cry in blank despair.

"My leg... it's destroyed! I will never be able to walk again..." he whimpered with a trembling voice.

"Don't worry... It's really not as bad as it looks. It will heal, and soon you will jump around like a deer again," Charles ensured him.

After hearing that, the aviator fell silent. Either he was in shock, or Snippy's soothing attempts were effective for once. But that was less likely the case, he thought, and sighed.

"I'll have to clean and sterilize these first," the sniper explained shortly, and grabbed the bottle of water. "You're going to need stitches. Maybe I can-"

A distorted cry came from the depths of the forest, followed by another one coming from somewhere much closer to where the two survivors sat. Pilot winced at the disturbing sounds, and his breathing quickened.

"Goddamn it... If those beasts are coming our way, we won't have enough time. Keep an eye on the forest, Pilot," Snippy told his fellow survivor in a hushed tone. "I'll clean your wounds like I said, but then we will have to move. They will probably be here soon... If you see something coming our way, warn me as soon as possible."

Nervously the ex tour-guide glanced around. Amongst a bunch of metal and bolts not far from him, he spotted a sharp steel bar stuck in the ground. In his mind he pictured himself moving over to pick it up and ward off anything that would try to attack them.

"What are you waiting for, Snippy?" Pilot urged him, waking him from his thoughts.

"Nothing. Get ready, I'm going to start now," he spluttered while he opened the lid of the bottle and took his gloves off.

Then he moderately began pouring water on the injured tissue, carefully washing away the blood and dirt from the skin with his hand. All his fellow survivor gave out was a moan of pain every now and then, and the sniper hurried to get the job done as soon as possible.

The smell of blood and the lights from the spreading fire must have allured these hungry creatures, and he most certainly didn't want to wait for them to come, as he had no weapons to defend himself and Pilot. Snippy knew that it would be the best to Pilot away from here and find a safer place, the sooner the better.

After he was done thoroughly cleaning the wounds, he stored the water away, grabbed the antiseptic from the kit and thoughtfully sprayed the injured leg. The other survivor whimpered from pain, but Snippy didn't let compassion distract him now.

Then the loan medic started wrapping a provisional bandage around the leg, which should mostly serve for keeping the wounds clean. His patient seemed to grow more silent the longer Snippy worked. For a while he didn't utter any sound at all.

"Done... for now," the blue-eyed sniper finally announced.

Neatly he applied a hook to keep the bandage in place, before he looked up and felt his heart jump upon noticing that Pilot was completely still.

"Pilot?" Snippy asked and shook him by the shoulder, but the man gave no response. "Shit... Wake up, man! We need to mo-"

He was cut off as something heavy rammed him from the side. Snippy hit the ground face first, and something pinned him down with its weight. He had to cough as his lungs were painfully compressed by its weight.

With a jolt the sniper rolled over and the creature fell off him, but the thing didn't leave him enough time to escape. Promptly it reached for Snippy's leg and gave it a jerk to make him fall over again. Before the human could even think about getting up, the beast jumped right back onto his chest and snarled, revealing a mouth full of sharp teeth centimeters away from the sniper's face. Only grabbing it by its neck with both hands prevented him from having his throat ripped open by the heavy creature that vaguely reminded him of an oversized wolf.

The blue-eyed man looked for something he could grab and use as a weapon, but the steel bar he'd seen earlier lay far out of range. From the same direction he saw more of the beast's pack arriving at the scene, slowly trotting towards him. It didn't take long before they spotted Pilot, and curiously started sniffing on his leg.

"NO!" Snippy screamed from the bottom of his lungs, and the pack instantly looked his way.

In that moment Pilot woke up and flinched at the sight of the snarling creatures surrounding him. At the split of a second the sniper didn't pay attention and almost let the beast on top of his chest gain the upper hand. Furiously it snapped at his face, but he promptly pushed it away from himself with all he'd got. Charles felt the muscles in his arms burn from exertion, and he knew that he couldn't keep this up for much longer. Saliva was dripping from the edges of the beast's jaws onto him as he kept up his vain struggle, driven by the sole will to survive.

Not far from him, Pilot releasing a horrible, agonized scream. For a second the monster pinning Snippy to the ground looked away, giving him the perfect chance to push it off. Awkwardly it stumbled away and seemed disoriented for a moment, while the human deftly rolled over and pushed himself off the ground.

Back on his feet again, he made a run for the steel bar, the beast already in hot pursuit of him. In the run he yanked the bar out of the ground and spun around just to see a glimpse of the dire wolf pouncing on him, pinning him down under its weight anew.

For a moment he wrestled with it, then he smacked the bar to its big head with a clang and the predator was dazed for a moment. With a final precise move, Charles stabbed it through the side of its throat and pushed the monster off him.

Adrenaline rushed through his veins and he could feel his heart racing. Ignoring his fatigue he got up and gasped for air, still trembling from the heat of battle. Curling up on the ground in a spasm, the beast was choking with gurgling sounds and Snippy watched as it died in a puddle of blood.

After a short pause he retrieved the bar and glanced around, hoping that it wasn't too late to still save his fellow. As soon as he spotted Pilot, he noticed that he'd been doing a pretty good job warding the mutated wolves off.

He had armed himself with his belt and kept one beast on safe distance, using the long belt like a whip. Another one lay on the ground clutching its eye – Pilot probably landed an effective hit there. The third one circled him, intimidated by the long range 'weapon' and probably waiting for a chance to attack without getting hurt.

Without hesitation Snippy grabbed his steel bar tighter and charged them, strategies already forming in his mind. With a swift kick he smacked the one closest to his fellow in the jaw and sent it tumbling over with a yelp, while the other two flinched back in fear.

"Stay away from him, you monsters!" Snippy yelled, brandishing his steel bar about to force them back.

However, his attempts to intimidate them seemed to leave the beasts rather unimpressed. Instead of feeling threatened, they regrouped and tentatively came closer, then they started circling him, waiting just for the right moment to tear him to shreds.

Come on Charles, think! There's got to be a way out of this, he thought while keeping a wary eye on the beasts. How did I beat the last one?

Putting his hand into his pocket, he got hold of the small gizmo he'd picked up earlier. Carefully he took it out and held it up in the air, happily noticing that he managed to pull the beast's attention to the red blinking device.

So far so good, he thought to himself, before he threw the bait in hopes to lure the monsters after it.

However, only one of the beasts fell for the trick and chased after it, while the other two started angrily snarling at the human. This didn't go as planned at all, but time was too short to forge a new plan. Snippy knew he would have to make his move now, because it seemed the beasts started to grow impatient. For a second he lost sight of one and warily glanced around. Fear packed him as he spotted the mutated wolf again, making a dash towards him.

Before it could pounce on him he dodged to the side and felt a moment of triumph, until the other beast deceitfully jumped out of the shadows a second later and pushed him over.

As he hit the ground his gas mask was torn down from his face, but that was the least of his concerns right now. Rolling over to face the monsters, Snippy rose his metal bar in defense as the beast went in for an attack and started gnawing at the bar in its way, while the other one got hold of his arm and opened its jaw wide. Charles cringed at the thought of what was about to happen and tried to roll over, but the weight on him was too heavy and for a moment he felt completely trapped, unable to even move a single limb; and then the inevitable happened.

Searing pain shot up from his left arm as the beast's teeth bore into his flesh and started tearing on it. His agonized screams of terror filled the air, drowning out every rational thought.

The helpless human could only catch a glimpse of his arm getting torn to shreds, before he closed his eyes. His head was a mess, and all he could think of was that he just wanted the pain to stop.

His body tingled, a cold chill running through his limbs.

A state of shock, he thought.

Then he noticed that everything was silent. What was happening?Did he pass out?

The snarling sounds of the beasts returned, and he saw the familiar colors of the burning environment.

He felt his chest slowly rising, breathing in the smoke filled air, and exhaled. The first things he noticed was a headache and a numb, tingling feeling thorough his whole body.

Cautiously Snippy opened his eyes and blinked. He lay on his back, the beast still on top of him; but something seemed off. Low, pained growls filled the air and only then he realized that his arm was connected with the beast's chest, going all the way through it and emerging from its back. In a timid flow, the wolf's dark blood ran down his arm, mixing up with his own.

By now the beast on top of him had stopped moving, and it looked like something had drained every drop of liquid from its body. Snippy pulled his arm back and wearily pushed the beast off him.

His arm...!

A second look at it left him stunned. Where his lower arm once had been, a glowing red pike now protruded from his elbow, reminding him of a fleshy prosthesis. The view made him feel nauseous, and in the moment he thought he would pass out again, a distant snarl startled him back awake. With new energies he pushed himself off the ground, and strangely he had no problems getting back to his feet.

He felt weird. There was a foreign sensation in his legs, and as he gazed down he saw that they had changed as well. Reformed to stilts, their new form extended his size, allowing him a better overview. This was all so bizarre, it was impossible for him to get a single straight thought anymore.

Just like his legs, his arms emitted a completely new sensation that had never been there before. Slowly he rose the fleshy pike, and as he spread his fingers, it split into five red flashing tentacles. His other hand was slowly taking a similar shape as well.

Snippy felt the intensity of this new power that ran through his veins, and for a second he was uncertain if he should welcome or despise it, but seconds later he already regretted even allowing himself such a thought. He should have never let it come to this.

Around him the dire wolves were closing in, and as he closed his eyes his sensitive ears perceived that one was already in the act of charging him.

In that moment Cancer partially took over his body, and Snippy felt his neurons tingle as if electricity was building up inside him, raring to break free.

With a start the wolf beast leaped off the ground, but before it could even get close enough to touch him, the human extended his arm and felt a spike shoot out of it, brutally goring the beast up and extending his veins through the creature's body, leeching the remaining life from it. Intense colors started to fill his vision, colors that he never thought even existed, giving him a sight much sharper than he could ever imagine.

The creature shriveled, and Snippy pulled his arm back, readying himself for his next attack. His nerves tingled from the power running through his new body, and the adrenaline rush made his fingers twitch. With his enhanced vision, he watched as the last remaining member of the pack carefully walked backwards, before the beast made a run for it and disappeared in the dead forest.

Reflecting the recent events, Charles felt it hard to believe what had just happened. Even though it seemed impossible for an unarmed human to get out of such a situation alive, he had just killed three giant wolves with his bare hands, and Pilot was still breathing.

The feeling of triumph however didn't last long, and with deep concern Snippy stared down at his hands, both deformed to terrible instruments. He knew that he was far from looking human anymore, and that thought disturbed him. It felt like he was trapped inside a horrible nightmare, with no chance of waking up.

"Why did you do this to me..." Charles muttered, frowning. "Turn me back... I want you to undo it."

"Are you sure?" the Biomass' voice reverberated inside his head. "This fusion made you a lot more powerful than you were before."

Snippy reflected about his new powers and stared into the distance. His field of vision had never been so extended before, and he didn't even want to know what the Biomass did to his face to achieve this so called upgrade.

As he turned his head to see Pilot and extended his arm towards him, the man on the ground yelped and scooted back from him in utter terror - at least as fast as his injuries allowed him to. This left Snippy with a terrible, empty feeling inside. How disfigured had his appearance become that Pilot was afraid of being near him?

"This is not who I am... I never asked for this!", he yelled at Cancer and felt his voice distort as he rose it. "You shouldn't have done this to my body."

"Your body got mauled. We had to take action before your heart would stop," the Biomatrix explained to the confused human. "Also, you were running short on material for first hand repairs."

The stolen blood pulsated through his veins, making his whole body feel like an electric circuit.

"I can't live like this... The throbbing... Make it stop... please!" Snippy pleaded, holding his aching head.

"I hope you contemplated very well about your decision. You could have been so powerful... Are you sure you really want to return to your former, fragile form? Please consider that you'll probably never get a chance like this again."

"Just turn me back!" Charles pleaded, and knelt down. "Please... I don't want to be a monster..."

"Well then, I guess you will be no use to me if you're an emotional wreck, no matter how powerful your body is. That makes undoing my modifications to our combined interest. However, I would like to inform you that the process of reconstructing your fragile structure isn't easy. Minor complications and the possibility of a permanent mental trauma should be taken into account. Do you conceive and accept?"

"Do whatever must be done," was the last thing this distorted voice uttered that came from his throat.

"Consider that these changes will take a while. We will induce a state of anesthetic sleep for the transformation process in five seconds. Get ready," the Biomass spoke.

Snippy took a deep breath and leaned his head back. As the constant rhythm of the pulsation in his body became faster and started to intensify, he closed his eyes, awaiting what ever was to come. Despite his attempts to calm down, he could hear and feel the beat of his rushing heart in his ears. Suddenly he started feeling light headed.

The electricity inside his body was flowing, fading and returning like ocean waves. A soft prickling manifested itself in his appendages, slowly making its way into his torso and back. Every time it circuited, it intensified and everything seemed alright, until the tingling slowly turned into pain. What was happening? For a while he could handle it, but as the pain extended thorough his body like poison, it started turning into unbearable agony. Short time later the Biomass gave through a rather unsettling, distorted message.

"ErroR 999038- WaRniNg! 11MalFuNcTioN DeTe-CtEd! 2ReStaRt-rEeeeqUir3D! R-R-ReSeTtiNg s-s-SYsTem- PLEaSe wAiT for-"

A buzz inside his head drowned out the rest of the message. What happened after, the distresed human was not certain about, but it felt like his body was pulled through a shredder. At the split of a second, all his senses went numb and shut down.