“W-who are you…?” Calypso backed away, despite being the inhuman monster, and it was the young blonde woman that was casting a shadow. “What do you want—why are you even here?”

“Was literally going to ask you the same thing~!” the fangs seemed to get bigger, sharper in the pale girl’s mouth. Along with the grin that stretched, illustrating clear bloodlust.

“You said it yourself… I’m a lowly… C-consumed, was it? I don’t know anything—I just wanted to hunt and eat and live in the forest from now on.”

The woman in the black coat tilted her head, with an overexaggerated pout.

“Maaaaaaaan. Kinda sucks that we scary things shitless with our presence alone, sucks the fun outta things—”

“SHUT UP!” Calypso roared, her head shaking along with her voice. “SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP! SKIP TO THE POINT, GET ON WITH IT!”

The monster was meant with a firm grasp over her fanged maw. The young woman leaned forward, her grin somehow getting wider.

“Since you’re so eager to learn and die, we’ll give ya’ a quick crash course~”

Being so face-to-face, Calypso’s now trembling, dark eyes were forced to look into how utterly dead the blue ones that bored into her.

“And juuuuust to keep you quiet… And give us a quick pick me up.”

She easily pierced into Calypso’s lower maw, and she couldn’t even scream. But that wasn’t the end of the horror of the experience.

Something—a series of things—wormed their way, under her hot pink skin and dug themselves into the middle of her flesh. Warm, lively—but had such a… Wet, lifeless texture that felt like horrible, hard to get rid of ick.

And yet, that wasn’t the worst part.

Calypso proceeded to feel each tendril began to violently tug, all at once. As if this woman was yanking on her nerve-endings from the inside… Until Calypso eerily recognize what the oppressive feeling turned into.

Draining. The same level of discomfort, greatly magnified, of a blood test procedure.

“Not gonna tell you the complete story, but hi! I’m Cassie Morgan—or was. It’s all kinds of weird. Since you don’t even know the difference between a Consumed and a Subsumed are—just think of me as the big daddy of Subsumed. The one that tried to kill you and you thought you were hot shit by killing it? All these fuckers around you watching this and doing jackshit? They all wanna be us. And just to be clear but make you piss yourself more—not ‘us’ with you and me. ‘Us’ with me and what I’ve become.”

Suddenly, the woman began bleeding from the ears. Then eyes, the corners of her smile…As if cranking the knobs of a faucet, the leakage starting weak before gradually getting potent.

And the disturbing detail being the liquid changing from red to black and red again. Endlessly.

“I admit… The reassssson we’re not offing you is becausssse of the promise…” Casey slurred, being cut off by the blood. “We saw what you did—with one of my guysss you didn’t even eat… And we’re interessssted. At leassst to help us out for ssssomething we’re putting together~”

Cassie Morgan’s ears began to explode in a shower of blood. Revealing twitching, black Bat ears sprouting in the wake. But they were different, as Calypso noted, because she can only look on with horror.

The ears… They looked bat-like, but on closer inspection, they were strewn together veins. Twitching, variously dark-colored yet still flesh-accented veins. The phenomenon was more noticeable at the base of the ear, but considering how impossibly smooth the ear was... Even a fool could notice something wasn’t right.

The girl that once thought she was a monster simply started to tear up again. She felt her death imminently.

“Hey-hey, shuuush…” Cassie cooed. “Didn’t you pay attention? We’re not gonna kill ya…”

The bleeding monster pointed at the crowd, still surrounding them and still motionless. “They will. Well, if you don’t fight back and all. Consumed have shit life expectancies—you’d think they’d play sports or something.”

Cassie proceeded to let Calypso go, causing the pitiful girl to gasp and gag uncontrollably on the ground. And without a hitch in her step, Cassie proceeded to just walk away. Simply leave.

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

“Have fun!” she waved, showcasing her whipping, fleshy veins that writhed out of her fingers, before snapping back. “That means you, boys~!”

Calypso clambered back onto her bare feet, panting, looking around... Realizing how truly outmatched she was.

One by one, they took a step forward. No pushing, no rushing. It would’ve been rhythmically, unified, had they been side to side. Leering over the monster girl, looming over as if they lost the ability to stand anymore. Beginning and ultimately forming a march that caused the darkness to grow around them. The light of the moon dimming as each took a step. Getting too dark that Calypso’s eyes can process a deep shade, when she could’ve seen crystal clear before.

“F-fine!” Calypso started swinging her arms wildly. “Underestimate me! You won’t live long enough to regret it!”

She instantly clawed at the moving darkness. Easy target, obvious, and mass. Nowhere to run or hide.

Only for her claws to pass right through it. Her face along with her heart dropped.

A gangly arm that was more twig than limb yanked at her arm.

Then a massive head rose, and clamped onto her calf.

Calypso watched as the living shadows manifested the creatures she insulted moments ago. Their eyes gone, given way to gaping holes in their bodies that swirled with intensity.

“G-get away!” Calypso tried to desperately rip away in vain. Her formerly lowered eyes widened, her smile into a panicked frown. “GET AWAY!”

Not a moment too soon, she slashed at the arm and yanked her leg away to slice the head.

Turning on a dime, she rose her arms and formed an X with them, rushing into the darkness so she could escape.

Covering her head, thus her sight, while doing this—she only heard the sounds of the damned getting… Not sliced to bits, but receive a gash. But she felt, she knew, that she was doing more than that—but a loss of limb, being torn apart… It’s just a skinned knee or a black eye, to them.

Once she felt the night’s cool air against her body again, Calypso knew that she was home free. So of course, the monsters managed to band together to hold her back once she made it out.

In such a frenzy, in such a panic, she couldn’t even note what they were doing to her. She just wrestled, against their grapple, knowing that it would be a losing battle against a walking blade like herself—but that assurance quickly turned into hope. Begging.

She was in so much pain. She was so hungry. And this itch, this agonizing wanting, turned into knives culling her from the inside.

Taking her back to that night again.

Making her realize she’s still the same, despite everything.

“Pleeeease…!” Calypso cried out, hating that she’s saying that in her new voice. “PLEASE!”

Giving into the fear, it gave her the much-needed boost for her to rip away. Running away so fast that she more than enough gained a head start against them.

Darting around the trees. Kicking up the dried leaves into the air. Panting audibly that it wavered her vision along with her heart.

Away from the dark. Running from the monsters.

It was more her running out of her once-boundless energy versus her choosing to stop and hide. But she did, resting her back against the trunk of a tree, sliding down it while uprooting the bark in her wake. Trying desperately to catch her breath.

“W-well, thank go-goodness that I’m just enough human to remember our greatest asset: knowing when to run the fuck away…”

Placing a hand on her chest, her heartbeats like raging thunder now, as she peered from her vantage point.

She watched in confusion, as the things that forced her to run for her life… Are dancing.

Some marched on. Others pranced across the forest, and the smaller and odd ones of the bunch chose to dance forward. Taking the time to spin, and twirl, before leaping forward to catch up with their herd.

It was so unbelievably weird. It infuriated her, almost caused her to rush out to confront them.

She just closed her eyes, growling under her breath she was still trying to catch. Feeling up her lower maw.

Too scared, hungry, and in pain--to remotely understand what just happened to her. Or what any of it means.

Until she heard a loud slam, snapping her head towards the sight with her eyes like dinner plates.

A straggler. A small imp creature whose special trait was only it’s long devil tail. Otherwise a formless blob with dimples for horns.

Calypso sprung like a spring, laughing insanely as she sailed towards this thing, slamming her body onto it.

Smiling in delight as her knee immediately impaled it. A mouse caught by a trap, but fighting on despite the neck getting crushed.

“Predators are predators because they know when to use their strength!” Calypso slobbered in zeal. “Remaining in the face of adversity! Welcome to the circle of life, little one! You’ll understand once you’re being crunched by my fangs!”

Pressing her knee down, but grabbing the rest of its body with her claw, Calypso ripped the being apart, and slapped its remains onto her face.

Rearing back again, slathering what she could find into her gaping maw. Chewing noisily that was drowned out by her moans.

The “itch” finally being reached.

For what amounted to a minute or so.

Calypso looked at her claws. In concern and abject terror as they shook like her hands did.

“B-b-but--!” she stammered. “I did it! Surely, this is right?! This works?! It’s full circle!”

For some reason unknown to her, she grabbed at her wrist. Her entire claw started to shake, and then twitched, finally spasmed.

“No,” she sounded small again.

As she watched her claws morph slowly, but surely into her soft, dainty hand once more.

“No no no no no no, please!” Calypso pleaded with herself. “Not like this…! NOT AGAIN…!”

But as she pleaded… An arm suddenly transformed back, but overgrew. Only to revert again.

And soon, her entire body kept doing this process. Causing her to fall into the ground, causing her to spasm.

Her eyes darted around. Feeling the stares again.

Wasting no time, she ran into the night. Crying as she’s back to square one.

A terrible person. A terrible monster. Nothing to redeem.

***