… did not want to experience huh?

I was standing, had both arms and felt great.

“Holey shit!” I exclaimed thrilled from the bottom of my heart. It felt like my thoughts flew unencumbered for the first time in what seemed like weeks. Not having migraine was such a treat!

“Good job, Snotty, I really didn’t think I’d see the other end of this tunnel. I wouldn’t have even been mad,” I spoke and looked around for the slithering monstrosity. It was above me, the feelers all danced energetically.

“Hell yea!” I attempted to mimic its enthusiasm with a full body motion, arms up and all. It was such an understated pleasure to be able to just move. Cracked my neck. How long did I spend lying listless in the corner? I didn’t begrudge the alien for the fix-up. Wasn’t the worst thing that had happened to me recently – and I really would have missed the arm.

Ground shook and I staggered backwards. Oh. I suppose little critter wasn’t full of shit – even before it ate me. Something was really attacking the base. It wasn’t a gentle trembling either, more like relentless pounding.

“Is that him… You think?”

Snail did not offer up a tentacle for a chat, so I could only guess. Chances were high or I probably wouldn’t be standing here. I was suddenly feeling wary and apprehensive. Whatever that was outside it truly felt colossally immense. It caused earthquakes, for fuck’s sake. Did I really want to see? What the fuck could a literal mountain even want with me? Perhaps it was not too late to ask the snail to bash my head in and dispose of the remains? We can all blame it on the mad scientists who were already planning it anyway.

There was a window observing this cell too, and a couple of panicking jailers too. Different ones to my personal watchers. What these two nerds could have been doing to the ever so helpful serene snail? The unreasonably overgrown mollusc with its myriad writhing hands and insidious sense of home décor probably did not appear that way to other humans, but it was nothing but nice to my humble person at my lowest.

“Tsk tsk tsk,” I interceded their mute shouting and gesturing. “You’re so fucked, aren’t you?” Me too probably, but I needed this hot second of superiority over their entitled asses.

“You! What did you do?” the fatter of the two shouted through the microphone. Oh my, situation was dire enough for these two geniuses to break protocol as well.

“Me? I was locked up here all along. What did you do?”

“Call it off!”

Ground shook dreadfully yet again.

“I heard you - you know who it is. Call it off, mouth!”

“That’s not how it works?” I stated but had no idea either. It didn’t seem like it?

“I’ll make you do it!” On those exact words electricity trickled down the metal walls and both me and the alien invertebrate were twitching on the floor. It’s good it didn’t have bones or plopping off the ceiling might have done some damage. Having skeleton seemed more and more of a disadvantage these days.

Convulsing on the ground I felt the vibration with very particular tick tick ticking connotation to it. Very little doubt as to what was happening now. Shortly, there were shouts of confusion on the intercom and the pain ceased. Groaning, I looked up to see scientists cower away from the oozing walls and especially, the door. Poor trapped souls, my heart bled for them.

The room outside started crinkling in on itself like a plastic bottle underwater. I suspected it was beseeched by great weight, especially when some more of the biomass poured in through the cracks. The shutter to the cage tried to fall in place and lock us out, but it stuck halfway on the rumpled armature. Just enough for me to see the trapped scientists die in white fog, no doubt another failsafe to prevent demonic creatures from escaping.

Amidst the billowing fluffiness of death another figure emerged off the blackened wall even though there was no passage on it previously. The shaking stopped a while ago, probably about the same time primordial ooze got into the premises.

He really came for me. What a sobering thought. Thus far only one person ever did. As apprehensive as I was, I was also excited about this development.

“Should you really be standing in that smoke? Didn’t end so well last time,” I chided, propping my chin up on the fist.

“… inor nuis… new mat… e… time… djust,” crackling growl informed me. The wiring had not escaped the mayhem. “Where… u?”

Ah. That’s right! I was so used to him not looking at me whilst speaking that it didn’t even register - but he could not see me. Not whilst I was in this hermetic trap. Monster was here purely for the disembodied voice in otherwise empty room. Dead people didn’t count, obviously.

“Oh, you took too long. They fed me to the dogs and I am now but a ghost in the machine. It’s peaceful exi…” I teased and felt the ground tilt. This nervous tick was on whole another level. “Whoah, careful. Don’t bust up my last microprocessor.”

That did not work. Something somewhere roiled and I felt entire structure shift sideways. Then the gigantic grip relaxed and underground building settled once more, ceiling bending on observational room but no dust fell because of the monster skin holding it all up.

“Where… … the remains?”

I sighed at the creepy antics and the monster who casually played with life and death. “I’m fine. Your buddy here helped me. Which you’d see if you had eyes like a normal person.”

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

The horned hood turned and fixed on the window. The metal walls encasing me let out a tiniest grunt that meant monster intended to pry it open like a tin can. “I don’t think you should do that… I will very much mind inhaling the cloud of doom, and that’s probably least of what they’ve rigged up here.”

Giving my words careful consideration, one of the deceased humans rose and walked to the panel loaded with gadgets to offer his expertise. Poking at the keyboards worked and the seal behind me lifted. Some people were more of use dead than they were alive.

The transportation tunnel quickly started staining black as my monster oozed through the cracks. Another horned shape stepped out of the flat vertical surface. Calm growl filled the space.

I heard ambient noises for first time in… a week? Experiencing the world with my ears felt ecstatic, even blaring siren on some other floor sounded like music.

However, there were downsides too. The oppressive feeling which told me something was not quite right in the world grew much stronger with a wall gone. Claustrophobic sensation as though leviathan lied down on top the building, which was quite accurate in this case. My little brain couldn’t comprehend the miracle of not having been squished. Frankly, I felt like falling on my knees and praying. A lot. Mental apologies to Priest for thinking him weird. He was, but on this regard he truly knew what was up.

“So yeah, what took you so long? Your massive fatty brain needs to get in shape first to get moving?”

Raspy growl rolled off the walls, “I kept switching out the harmed tissue, so the chemical degraded more and more cells. Eventually, the organ which kept the connection to this world collapsed. Re-establishing that took some work.”

“Sounds like you were really in a pickle there for a little bit,” perhaps humans were actually capable of kicking some demon ass. I shouldn’t be that surprised, having grown up in a city safe from all imaginable creature attacks. But it was still astounding information to comprehend, especially considering the size of the monstrosity before me.

“Why are you surprised?” a rumble asked indignantly. He had told me repeatedly.

I shrugged, “Because you act like nothing can stop you?”

The growl slowed down and I thought that was the answer until he’d rasped, “My mistake.”

“So that’s the rest of you?” I gestured up with jerk of my head. Honestly, the roiling mass above and all around was far more unsettling than the lack of face – which was far too easy to get used to in comparison. I let go of my final scruples and ceased thinking about this creature as of human person. “Great Slumbering Plenitude of Nerve Tissue,” I tried out semblance of his true name.

“Some of it,” ticking growl informed me silently. Assessing. He was always so careful with exposing the tiniest bits of himself in most easily digestible increments – and this was an entire cow charging straight into my face.

There was more of him. I gaped but picked up my jaw off the floor and did not ask the obvious. I could finally understand the soldiers returning raving mad from their stints outside. I knew it happened, but now I understood.

I swallowed the apprehension and reached out towards monster’s hand. Nothing was different. This person meant me no harm.

Creature’s human fingers and the loose cloak lapels twitched. All slight bits roiled on his all too still figure. This was perhaps the most animate I have seen him. The leathery walls weren’t still, either. There was creaking and groaning in the distance. Was it just falling apart or was the creature still twisting and grinding the military base around the edges?

But something was definitely off. He was riled up. “What’s wrong?” I asked.

I couldn’t bear the ominous intensity anymore and I tried to step backwards, but his sleeve weaved around my wrist and up.

“I was too late,” drawn out growl shook the wide passageway. As pleasant as all the noisy ambiance was, this harsh sound was way too much for my atrophied ears. I grabbed for my head.

“What?” I stammered out with my teeth clenched. Being on the receiving end of this creature’s displeasure was paralysing.

“You’ve been consumed,” growl snarled aggressively. “By that.”

I looked behind me, remembering we weren’t alone. Instead of sprinting to colour the new area the usually lively snail was huddled where it plopped off before. The thin appendages curled rather than twitching every which way. One was extended all the way out of the cell for a talk.

“Oh. Didn’t I mention? I had help. The people here thought I was a monster and treated accordingly… Needless to say I wasn’t repairing my cells the fast way.”

Horned monster’s sleeve uncoiled further and slammed into snail’s protruded stalk. The appendage started turning black immediately and the brutal invasion spread further, throughout the boneless body. They might not have pain receptors but I could have sworn I saw signs of definite distress and no apparent resistance.

I slammed my untwined hand onto Nerve’s other grappler without thinking and yanked it back, “Wait! Stop! Don’t hurt it! I’m telling you, it helped me.”

“By making you its mouth?” the growl was still cavernous and painful. My struggle against monster’s hold on either of myself or snail – not fruitful. It meant nothing to him. Demon didn’t even bother crushing my forearms like the time I took a hold of his horns. I was afraid to go for that again, so just pointlessly kept tugging the crumpled skin.

Shouted back at him, “It knew who you were and that you were coming, but I wouldn’t have survived that long. It asked me and I agreed.”

“So even you can agree it knowingly ate a part of me.” Faux pas of monster world – do not nibble on thine neighbours. Ugh. Well, understandable, but still – ugh.

“You said I wasn’t a mouth,” I protested vehemently. “So whoever eats me or doesn’t was my choice.”

“You weren’t,” growl shook the walls.

“Well, I’m still not a mouth! I don’t feel any different.”

“How would you know?”

“Well… I don’t, but you do, right?”

He had abandoned the argument he deemed pointless.

There was no longer any trace of friendly snail that happily smeared bloody excrement on the walls. I felt disgusted, threw the retractable sleeve away from me and proceeded to wrestle my own arm free from the grip. Cruel monster held on, seemingly unaware of my effort at all. Let’s face it, the mountain of flesh wasn’t.

“What, I’m next?” I spat out.

The skin snakes slowly unwrapped themselves.

“No. You may leave,” growl passively ticked out and another shape took form by the wall. One with way paler skin than blacks of his dress. Another me solidified and looked as confused as I felt. Perhaps more so.

“The church had such modern catacombs? Cool,” the guy asked in my voice and then his eyes locked with mine. We shared identical expressions of horror. “I’m not loving the interactive mirror,” he muttered nervously and glanced back at the monster, hoping to be told this was a joke.

Silence hung thick and heavy and the new me broke, “What the fuck is going on here?!”

My throat was surprisingly dry but I managed to croak out, “You’ made another one? And discarding me?”

“That’s what you wanted, isn’t it?” creature growled indifferently.

The clone raised his arm, “Excusm, that’s what I wanted too?”

My lips quivered and stomach roiled with apprehension. Dear fucking god, this colossal abomination of a foreign deity fully recreated another me and that one will be stuck to him like skin. Forever and ever. I did not want to be dumped like week old diaper, but that fate was worse.

“You can’t do this,” I argued the injustice on my other me’s behalf. I knew it was pointless to even try. Irrational. The powerful always did what they wanted and rest of us were swept along for the ride like dust.

“You can’t. Please,” I begged. Being on the very bottom of the social ladder I did that a lot, but this one slipped out from my aching chest without me meaning to. There was no manipulation in the works, no plan behind it. I knew nothing could or would be changed. There was no hope.

“What happened?” the other me also pleaded desperately.

Monster turned away from me and extended his arm towards… his new mouth? “I’ll tell you, but we must go find someone on the other side.”

The clone crossed his arms and laughed like this was some drunken client, “Well, good luck then. I won’t be of any help anyway.”

“Yeah, and water completely ruins our looks,” I added and outstretched my arm for the replica to take instead. I wasn’t giving any part of me away. He sidled nervously to grip it with all his might. I saw it in how tense he was, how hard he breathed despite the carefree words. He mouthed water and crooked an eyebrow as though he had no idea what I meant. Did he not have full batch of my memories? Or did I have too many manufactured for me?

A black strip of leather wrapped around my clone’s waist and tugged backwards. Two steps and they both disappeared in the wall. The squirming mass started retreating briskly. The building started sagging and groaning as though losing the supporting construction.

The nauseating oppressiveness eased, but I was still terrified of breathing in case that collapsed the building over my head. Touched my forehead and wiped sweat. This wholesome reunification took a sudden turn for tense walk on the blade’s edge.

He just created a copy and left.

He killed snail. It’s dead because the mollusc helped me.

All of this was fucked up. Much, much more than before my saviour has descended upon this mortal realm.

Fuck. I caused this! Again. I keep making things worse. If only I had the decency to keel over and stay that way.

Shoved that breakdown into a box where I’ve kept all my guilt and regrets.

I can just enjoy my circumstances. Things weren’t terrible for me for once. I was free of the monsters. Free from humans, too. I can even loot this place and return home a rich man. Truly rich. There must be so many unattended wallets just hanging out, waiting for my attention. Not to mention weapons or other trinkets which would sell remarkably well to right people. I’d have to be picky, though. Can’t carry all that much on my own and this place was bound to be swarming with investigative personnel any moment now.