Weeeee!

One, two, three, I counted quickly in my head, stomp!

I kicked my legs down, hitting the ground with the hard soles of my boots with as much force as I could muster. Baaam!

I knelt, absorbing the impact, feeling the wonderful strain go up my lower body like an electric shock. I leaned forward as my knees bent to stop my body from bouncing back up. The sparkling white floor tiles cracked satisfyingly, my boots sinking about half an inch into the ground. With my light weight, and given I jumped from only the second floor, I most likely wouldn’t be able to break the tiles upon landing if I didn’t intentionally stomp on them.

Of course, there was no need for any of this. But I wanted to make a cool entrance.

Because that’s the most important thing when you have powers.

Would’ve been a lot cooler if a crater formed when I landed, kicking up dust to envelope me before the dramatic reveal. Broken tiles were enough for now.

This was the second time I jumped down from a high place; the first was when I threw myself into the arena of the Eve club. I'd never get tired of this exhilarating feeling. Maybe I should try jumping from a way higher place next time.

The mutant twisted its body in my direction, quickly turning back around to flee when it saw me. Did it remember who I was? But it only met my giant werewolf form in the arena.

My mutant pal was gravely injured, its insides a mess. It couldn’t slither properly. Instead, it dragged its long body, its numerous human-like hands with inhuman strength digging into the floor to pull its heavy weight forward, with the tip of its tail kicking back. It left a trail of its sickly-colored blood and bits of its entrails, moving more like a centipede now than a snake.

I howled, pointing my snout to the ceiling. Holding the single, piercing note, I exhausted the air in my lungs. The howl echoed throughout the nearly empty building.

A howl to start the hunt.

Actually, I wasn’t sure if wolves howled before hunting their prey. Maybe to signal each other? But there was no one here for me to signal. Wait! I knew wolves also howled to warn enemies in their territory to stay away. That was close enough for me.

Bottom line, I just enjoyed howling. Feeling my powerful vocal cords vibrating, the air rushing through my throat.

I got down to all fours and charged after the mutant. It entered ‘Cotton Pals’, a store at one corner of the garden selling stuffed toys, seeking a place to hide. It broke part of the display window to get inside.

After gathering speed, I leaped in after the mutant, making sure to smash through the other unbroken window instead of entering through the opening it made. Broken glass couldn’t scratch my skin. It was so much fun being this powerful!

My body banged into a shelf, knocking it down and scattering cute rainbow corgis everywhere. With my momentum, I continued rolling into the arms of a giant bear plush bigger than me. Another shelf fell as I tried to stand, drowning me in a flood of chubby stuffed seals.

I snarled in irritation, snapping at everything, ripping the toy animals with my teeth. I swung my claws madly, tearing apart the huge bear, the shelves, and all the other plushies. Wood, cotton, wool, whatever crap they stuffed these toys with, all of that flew in the air as I tried to destroy everything I could reach with reckless glee.

This was way better than being a kid in a ball pit! I assumed everyone pretended to be a wild animal at least once when they were kids, imagining they had long fangs and sharp claws.

I giggled while shredding the fruit and vegetable plushies. Did anyone ever buy one of these stuffed tomato toys?

Why am I here again?

A tail as thick as a tree trunk parted the clouds of fluff and caught my mid-section. It knocked the wind out of me and hurled me to the wall. The drywall easily gave way. I tumbled into the store next door.

I coughed blood, scrambling to my feet. This time, display cases of sneakers fell on me.

After getting hit by the mutant came the sensation I was waiting for. Not the pain that radiated from my bruised abdomen. Not the possible broken rib or two.

Bloodthirst!

Feral rage bubbling beneath my consciousness, waiting for me to give in to its temptation. I gnashed my growing fangs as my jaws itched to clamp down on flesh. My claws extended.

Power…more power…

Power to rip apart those that hurt me. Power to hunt my prey and tear it to pieces!

Sooo good…

I heard a crash. Through the me-shaped hole on the wall, I saw a portion of the mutant’s tail disappear from view going to the right. It went to the other neighbor of the plushie store. Rage welled up more and more.

My prey!

I was enthralled by this sensation. Addicted to it. It wasn’t the power that I wanted to feel the most. It was the rage. I couldn’t feel this level of fury when I was pretty little Erind even when I tried my best to get angry. Catharsis through animalistic rage resulted in a different kind of happiness. I craved this level of emotion just for the sake of feeling something…exotic.

And I needed to control this craving. Now!

I balled up my fist, my claws digging into my palm. Get ahold of yourself! I punched the side of my face. The world turned hazy for a second, and I tasted my blood. I shook my head to get back into focus. Okay, that wasn't the brightest of my ideas, but it knocked some sanity back into me.

I didn’t go back into the plushie store. My plan was to go right and break through the wall at the back of the sneakers store. Next, I’d go left and smash into the store where snake mutant buddy should be. That was if it hadn’t already gone away. This was way slower, but I hoped destroying walls and shelves would calm me down.

I broke into a run, coiled my powerful legs muscles, and dove at the wall. Please don’t be a concrete wall, I fervently prayed as I soared across the air. Please just be weak plasterboard.

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Craashh!

I got through to the other side. Cymbals clanged, strings twanged, my left foot got stuck inside a snare drum. I narrowly avoided a bunch of ukuleles hanging from the ceiling dropping on me. I extracted myself from the musical instruments and faced left. I found that I didn’t need to break through another wall. The music store was big, taking up the space usually meant for two stores; both sides of the store opened to the corridors on the left and right side. I spotted the snake mutant out on the left corridor, the sunlight pouring through the transparent roof high above bathed its body making its green scales glint like emerald.

It raised its body with its arms flailing, trying to make itself look bigger. It yelled a challenge, “Skkkreeekkk.” Was it saying it was going to take me on?

A piano was beside me. Very tempting.

Should I?

I promise this is the last time for shenanigans. I squatted deep and buried my claws into the bottom wood panels of the piano. Can I lift this?

Never say never! It was heavy, but not as heavy as I thought. Keep your core tight, I reminded myself. Don’t slouch. Lift with the knees and not the back. A broken back was the last thing I wanted even if I could regenerate it.

Heave! I roared as I lifted upwards.

And it didn’t go up above me like I expected.

It fucking toppled over.

Idiot.

So that was why it didn’t feel as heavy as I expected. I wasn’t lifting it correctly.

Fuck this shit.

Well, I was a stubborn bitch so I wasn’t going to walk away from this failure. I crouched low behind the fallen piano to get more leverage and leaned my shoulder against it. Firmly planting the balls of my feet on the ground, I began to push the piano to the mutant, making it a makeshift battering ram. I cleared all the other musical instruments from my path like a snowplow…plowing snow.

I gathered more speed. Baaam! I collided with the mutant.

Or rather, it caught the piano.

“Grrrrrr.” I couldn’t move another inch forward. There was no way I could budge the mutant. It was heavier than me and we had about the same strength. If it wasn’t injured, it would surely be stronger. I gritted my teeth as it started to push back. My soles squeaked on the tiles. I couldn’t get traction. Wood creaked. Then splintered. The piano was breaking between the two of us sandwiching it.

Fine! I lost the pushing match. I don’t care about it anyway, I thought pettily.

I rolled to the side as it pushed the broken piano away. I stabbed its flank with my claws. Monster blood burst out like I was popping a gigantic zit. It wasn’t as durable as the late Mr. Ogre. I reached deep into its body, scrambling everything I could as if my claws were a kitchen mixer. If that mysterious spear user thought this was the way to kill it, then I was going to try it too.

The mutant cried in pain. It punched me. It scratched me. It tried to pull me away.

With each of its attacks, I grew angrier. Red clouded my vision. I shivered with rage. I snapped at everything, ripping its hands and arms that my jaws could catch. Blood from the stumps of its limbs showered my face and chest. I didn’t care. I kept on chewing its flesh while my claws remain buried inside it.

It flailed, trying to throw me away. I opened my mouth wide and chomped on its body to hang on. My teeth met its scales, breaking them like they were potato chips. Even as it rampaged from store to store, slamming me against various merchandise, the wall, the floor, even the ceiling, it couldn’t get rid of me. I was like the most determined leech in the world.

I only grew stronger as I devoured it while it kept on hurting me.

As it slowed down, I wondered if it was weakening or dying. It should only be a matter of time. Where the fuck was its brain anyway? Destroying it should put an end to this.

Time to see what’s really inside of you!

With my claws, I widened its wounds, then pulled back the scales, the skin, the flesh…

…and found heads inside its body.

Hairless human heads. Male, female, old, young, even a small child's head. All connected with thick veins that almost looked like intestines pumping the green liquid into and out of them.

Its body was packed with heads and tentacles!

The heads slid against each other in a mucus-like substance. They reminded me of tapioca pearls in syrup. The disgusting version of that—a hundred, no, a thousand times more disgusting than the most disgusting shit I'd ever seen. Besides the heads that had huge holes poked through them, the handiwork of Mr. Spear, and the heads I myself destroyed, there were plenty more that were unharmed. Those pulsated and twitched.

One of them turned to me and opened its eyes.

Feeling my hold weakening from the shock, the snake mutant grabbed me with its remaining arms and pulled me off. I was barely processing the revolting sight of its innards when I found myself up in the air. Its massive tail came to meet my face.

WHAMM!

CRASHH!

I was thrown into yet another store. I roared as I cleared the stuff that fell on me. The pain I felt was negligible like I was just thrown in my judo class back in college. After consuming a lot of my mutant pal’s flesh and bones, on top of getting hurt many times, my power was already kicking in. Hints of fur grew from the back of my hand. Claws pierced through my boots. My snout elongated. I was becoming more and more muscular.

This was the stage I had to be careful. I shouldn’t get pushed to fully transform into my giant wolf form.

Peace.

Calmness.

Control.

A thick book fell on my head. I growled. There goes my inner peace. I caught the title of the book in the corner of my eye and it made me stop. ‘How to Control the Adumbrae in You.’

Eh? Where the fuck was I? Leather-bound books, trinkets, weird statues, and symbols. Looks like an occult store dedicated to warding away Adumbrae.

A tiny sound made me turn my head.

A woman hid behind the cabinet full of jars of different colored liquids that survived my meteoric landing. ‘Anti-Adumbrae Aromatherapy’, said the label of the cabinet. I should remember to visit this store after this was all over, I thought sarcastically.

The woman had pale skin, even paler than mine. I didn’t think it was because she was afraid of me; she just naturally looked like a vampire. She had a defiant expression on her face peering through the strands of her jet-black hair. She had various piercings on her lips and ears with designs that looked like symbols related to Corebring cults.

“Don’t come close,” she bravely said, holding out a branding iron like those for cattle but with a mystic symbol as the brand. “Don’t make me use this on you.”

I have no idea what’s that supposed to be. A curious thought crossed my mind. What if I drew the mutant over here? I mean it wouldn’t be my fault if the mutant went after her. Right? Wink. Wink. Nudge. Nudge. Would be fun to see how she would try to survive—

Cut it out! I scolded myself. That was enough for today. I didn’t have time to waste on this. I didn’t even know how to kill my mutant pal with its many heads. Plus, this was already toeing the line of bothering people.

“Begone, Adumbrae!” she said, waving the piece of iron. “Begone from this realm!”

Whatever, weird lady. I went out of the store.

A buzzing sound. A white and black cylindrical object flew overhead. Reinforcing my assessment of the situation that I was running out of time, police drones had entered the building.

Flee? Or go after the mutant?

The answer was obvious.

My mother taught me to always finish my meal.

This one is for you, Mom!