My normal HUD flickered off and immediately my sight was tinted red, then streams of strange semi-transparent alien letters flooded my vision. Suddenly, an unbelievable rush like I had just chugged half a dozen energy drinks and they all hit me at once.
An overwhelming and unfamiliar sensation surged deep within me—an insatiable urge for destruction. Feeling every fiber of my being swell with energy, my body thrummed with absolute power.
I heard ANNA's broken warnings fading away to nothing, but I didn't care. I just wanted more of whatever this sensation was.
Glancing down at my trembling hands, a sense of unease washes over me. My once familiar skin had transformed into something sinister and unnatural—pitch black as if it were hungrily devouring any trace of light.
Menacing claws had replaced my fingers, while razor-sharp blades protruded from my forearms and shins. In the dim light, a faint, eerie glow emanates from beneath my hoodie, tracing an enigmatic pattern that sent shivers and excitement down my spine.
A sinister smile crept upon my lips within the darkness of the tunnel.
Standing up, I notice I’m a bit taller than before. Confusion mingles with a sense of shock as I try to make heads or tails of my transformation.
‘ANNA, what is happening to me?’ I asked, my voice shaking from the overload of energy.
Silence followed, leaving me alone with my rising mania.
My sudden height change caused me to stumble a few steps, finding myself standing near the basement door that led upstairs. Delirious from the torrent of foreign emotions, I kick it with a force that resonates through the house.
*BOOOOM!!*
A twisted satisfaction filled me as I felt a momentary release. Moving forward, I enter the decimated stairwell, cracks now running up the cement walls. The sound of yelling and screaming reaches my enhanced ears, hinting at the presence of people awakening above ground.
"Reckon I should say hello," I chuckle, readying myself for the encounter.
Looking up, I spot the door to the first floor. Without hesitation, I jump and smash through it.
*CraSh!*
Standing in the pantry area, I scan the surroundings with spectral vision and identify two people armed with firearms outside the home, taking shelter in a small shack. "Must be the guards. Let's have some fun with them first," I say with a wicked grin.
Stepping out the front door, I walk in the guard's direction. Approaching them, I saw their startled expressions. "HEY BRO... BRO, WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?!" one of them exclaims.
"Oh hell.”
“It's just a moron in a Halloween costume.”
"Sir, you can't be in here. This is private prop... *eeurk* the first guard attempted to say something to me before I swiftly wrap my clawed hand around his throat, lifting him effortlessly and then slamming his body down into the hard concrete. *sqUelCH*
"HAHAHA! Yessss!” I exclaim, receiving what felt like more power from within me. “This is what I want! Moooar!"
My attention turns to the other guard, who was fumbling with his holster to draw his handgun, “Oh shit, shit... fuck this." He turned and ran.
But he didn't get far. In an instant, I appear in front of him, seizing his skull and throwing him with tremendous force into a nearby house.
*Woosh... CrAshh*
Again, I feel a surge of energy pump through my body. I turn my gaze back toward the largest house, undoubtedly the residence of those I seek to punish.
Hopeful they became aware of the chaos outside, I couldn't help but express my excitement that they might present me with a real challenge.
"HehehehahHAHA! Let's GO!" I call out, my voice dripping with sadistic glee.
Amidst the commotion, I hear what sounds like someone racking a shell into a shotgun from upstairs. Undeterred, I bound back toward the front of the large house.
A voice responds, filled with fear and determination, "Who..who's out there? I'm gonna call the cops!"
Looking up, through the curtains of the second-floor window, I see a large man standing in his pajamas, holding a sawed-off shotgun. Mocking his threat, I reply, "OoOOHhh, the police? I'm so scared! hehe!" With a burst of power, I leap, crashing straight through.
*Shatter... Crash!*
*BANG!*
An impact struck my chest, nearly knocking me back out of the window. My eyes peer down at a shallow hole through my clothes, glowing tendrils start sewing my chest back together from the small amount of damage. Looking back up at the man, I smirk. "Is that it?" I taunted, slightly disappointed.
"What the fuck are you?!" he exclaims, his voice trembling.
His fear only exhilarates me more. I rush before the man, grab his head and force him backward. Sliding his body up along the cracking drywall, tightly grabbing his hand that still clutched the shotgun, crushing it with a sickening *CruncH*
"AHHHHH! My hand! No! Please!" his voice filled with agony.
"Now tell me," I sneered, my grip on his head tightening, "who is in charge here?!"
"It's uh... um, Mr. Patterson! Mr. Patterson! But he isn't here right now! I swear!! Please just let me go. I'll give you anything you want!" he pleaded.
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*Sniffle*
My attention was drawn to a sound behind me. Turning to look, I saw something small in my spectral vision—a young girl, perhaps seven years old, peeking out from beneath the covers, tears streaming down her face as she shivers in fear.
Conflicting emotions rolled within me, momentarily dulling my rage and allowing a slightly more rational decision to surface. Turning back to the man, I ask a loaded question, "How much for the girl?"
"She's free! Totally free! I have others too, you can have all of them!" he blurted out in desperation.
"Oh, so you're Mr. Patterson? You mean the kids down in that vault?" I asked, a sinister grin spreading across my face.
"How the fuck—" he began, but before he could finish, I hurl his body through the window I had just come through.
Turning toward the girl, my voice softens although still somewhat guttural, "Stay here. Someone will come rescue you in a little bit." Wide-eyed and terrified, the girl nodded quickly, still trembling.
The sight of the girl slightly broke my trance-like state, undoubtedly scared of my appearance, but I was still surging with caged rage unable to be released fully. I felt like I was vibrating and all the while ANNA still remained silent.
Scanning the area again, looking for any signs of life. noticing a few men running toward some vehicles on the other side of the compound.
Walking back to the window sill, I prepare myself. With a leap, vault over the other buildings in their direction, *Wuump*
Flying through the air, I spot the car in the distance, orienting myself for impact.
*CRASH*
The force of my landing crushes the engine bay of the already-running car, the rear tires bouncing slightly off the concrete, causing panic and shock on the men's faces.
“AHH! Fuck, kill it!!”
One of the men pulls out a handgun and points it directly at me through the front window.
*Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang!*
Swiftly dodging, I move to the side of the vehicle. Grabbing the bottom edge, I exert almost all my strength and flip the car onto its side.
"AHHH what the hell!" "What is that thing!" the men shouted from inside the overturned car.
Looking around I approach the other vehicles parked there. Steadily walking towards them, I run my clawed hands across the tires, popping all of them to prevent anyone else from escaping.
Scanning the area once more, noticing a few other small figures in some of the nearby houses—children, it seems.
Walking back to the overturned vehicle, I punch through the glass and rip one of the men out of his seat.
“P..Please don’t kill me. I have children and a wife!”
Looking him up and down, I reach into his pocket and pull out a cell phone, “Heh, not anymore you dont.”
*Whoosh..Crash*
Throwing him into one of the trucks that I had slashed the tires of, I turn around with the cell in my hand, tapping the screen carefully with the corner of my palm, then pressing the emergency button to override the lock and automatically call 911
A woman's voice comes through the speaker, “This is 911 what is your emergency?”
Squeezing my throat to sound a little raspier, “Please help! There are men with guns and children in danger, help help! I'm at the Patterson's farm!”
‘Should be good enough.’ I hang up quickly.
‘I need to leave. I think that's all I can do right now.’ I think to myself, my mind partially returning to a more rational state.
Surveying my surroundings, I spot what I'm looking for, a small cluster of dense trees in the distance. Double-checking for anything I forgot.
'...Ah, I really did almost forget something,' a subtle glint of mischief in my eyes.
Looking back at the few houses, I focus my eyes, looking for a particular item.
'Hahaha, there it is.'
I enter back into a smaller home to the side, where in my eyes I can make out a box embedded into a wall.
‘Idiots, really? behind a painting?’
Taking down the painting reveals a normal looking safe, unfortunately, I didn't have time to try and pry it open. Ramming my hands into the sides of the 2 by 2 box through the wall I grab the sides and, *RiiiIIPP....cLAnk*
'ooof, heavier than I thought.'
Walking back outside with my luggage, I face the cluster of trees in the distance and jump.
*Wuump!*
Landing carefully amidst the seclusion of the thick foliage, I set down the safe I had just "tactically acquired" and make an effort to calm my racing mind.
Seeking a sense of normalcy, I attempt to calm myself down by thinking of simpler, more peaceful times before my whole life changed. After a while, I start to wonder what happened to ANNA.
‘ANNA, are you there?’
...
Still no response. I choose to wait in the cover of the woods, overlooking the compound where my rampage unfolded.
Time eludes me, but I estimate no more than 30 minutes have passed since I first came here. It was still the dead of night.
Before long, the piercing wail of sirens shatters the silent air.
Using my enhanced eyesight, I zoom in to witness a fleet of almost a dozen emergency vehicles hurtling down the road.
‘That's practically the entire police force, fire department, and ambulance fleet of Heckelsville.’ I think to myself, hopeful that this will bring resolution to the children's problems and Derek’s and my legal troubles.
I sit and observe, gradually finding peace among the sound of crickets and frogs in this secluded little forest.
A few men are arrested, while others are carefully loaded onto stretchers.
I've done and said strange things and I dont regret any of it, but there's an odd satisfaction in it all. I'm bewildered by the blurred lines between my own identity and this new me I felt tonight.
^!!BOOTING!!^
"Ah!...Damn it! Have those aliens never heard of volume control?” I mutter to myself as my HUD becomes normal again.
^Hello Alex.^
‘ANNA! You're back!’ I respond, watching my body transform back to its original state.
^Yes, my apologies. It seems there are some problems and debugging that need to be addressed before future missions.^
‘Well, ya think?! I went berserk, wanting to annihilate everything! What happened?’
^That is most unfortunate. May I access your memories?^
‘Yeah, go ahead.’
^Interesting. It appears your temporary form was a deviation of your Combat Mode configuration, likely due to conflicting directives within my system that need resolution.^
‘So, does this mean it will happen frequently?’
^Negative. I believe the malfunction was triggered by extreme duress.^
‘But why did it feel so good? I have this strange desire to do it again, yet it's like..kinda disturbing.’
^I'm uncertain about the intricacies of human psychology and the compatibility of the system. But judging from your memories, something in my backend was causing the nanites to artificially produce large quantities of dopamine causing the effect you describe, however, there may be other effects yet to be discovered. High levels of dopamine are still being filtered out of your brain.^
‘Well, great. So I was drugged…sorta. Do you think I might randomly attack someone?’
^It is highly unlikely... but not entirely impossible, considering there is much still unknown about the system as a whole, the nanites, and your compatibility with everything.^
‘....well, that's just unsettling.’
^I do have some unfortunate news, Alex.^
‘What is it? Is something wrong?’
^You have depleted approximately a year's worth of Universal Energy from your lifespan.^
"...fuck!"