"Slow down, damn it!" I yell at the tout, who runs heedlessly into the inky darkness, "That emergency lantern isn't going to drive off Rift Bioforms!"

Despite my own misgivings, I doggedly keep pace with the tout. Without his lantern guiding me, I would quickly become lost in the wasteland. The feeble illumination provided by the lantern is barely enough to keep both of us oriented, with our only other waypoint being Debra's incessant hollering in the distance. The pounding of my heart increases in tempo, indicating the obvious.

Danger lurks in the darkness.

"We're getting closer!" the tout urges, "Just a bit more and we'll have caught up with Debra!"

"Yeah." I agree. Debra's shouts have grown louder, but accompanied by the huffing and growls of animals. Straining my eyes, I can make out Bioforms loping about under the cover of night.

"DEBRA! HOLD ON!" the tout yells at the top of his voice.

"You're drawing their attention!" I snap in irritation as the Bioforms immediately turn their attention to us.

Part of the pack breaks off and begins a headlong charge straight toward the two of us. Wrapped around my wrist is the casting focus, crackling with lambent energy as I begin to cast Soul Fire. Throwing my arm out, the spell blossoms into existence and the bolt of purple flame is hurled into the darkness.

The Soul Fire bolt strikes home, sending a Bioform erupting into flames. The burning carcass becomes a torch, revealing the sheer number of Bioforms intent on rushing us. The tout instinctively rears backward in panic, the sight of so many slavering jaws and thrashing tendrils a bit too much for him. Opening fire with Love, I liberally hose down the charging pack with lead. Agonized howls fill the air as the mass of Bioforms thins out.

"If only it was always so easy." I grumble as the remaining Bioforms start retreating. Love spits out the exhausted magazine and I take advantage of the lull to reload.

"We should be able to do this." the tout says hopefully, "Fight our way through to Debra and rescue her."

"I don't have infinite ammo." I flatly point out as both of us take up the chase again, "You better have a plan once we reach Debra."

"One step at a time Adam." the tout replies to my disbelief.

"Are you for real?" I mutter in consternation, sending another cast of Soul Fire arcing through the air. Turning those Bioforms into impromptu torches was certainly handy.

"They've stopped!" the Tout exclaims, as the Soul Fire reveals the pack circling on the spot with frantic energy. Debra remains bound by tendrils, but she's in good condition, all things considered.

"I'm going to clear those Bioforms out," I announce, "You get ready to grab Debra."

A terse nod from the tout is the only response I get. In turn, I let Love do the talking for me, taking care to target the Bioforms that have Debra tied up. Love belches death, and blood flows on the ground. A casting of Soul Fire causes a chain reaction, settling alight its target and several adjacent corpses. The tendrils binding Debra begin to loosen and she begins to struggle, trying to free herself completely. Woman's still got plenty of fight in her.

The Bioform pack begins to melt away like water, fleeing from my onslaught. But one animal remains standing over Debra. A red fox that's giving me the evil eye. The fox doesn't look very healthy either. Its fur is matted and there's clear signs of exhaustion in its gait. Drool drips from the fox's jaws, more evidence that the animal is barely holding back its hunger.

"Go!" I order the tout, who rushes forward without hesitation. I level Love at the red fox, eager to finish this fight before the Bioforms regain their nerve.

But Debra has ideas of her own. She tears free from the lifeless tendrils, holding a cheap Saturday night special in one of her hands. One of those zinc plated automatics that you get for self defense if you're too cheap to splash out on a proper weapon. The fox, too focused on me, doesn't notice Debra planting the barrel of her automatic on its chest. There's a pop as Debra pulls the trigger. A splash of crimson.

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And the red fox goes completely crazy.

The fox's jaws plunge into Debra's neck with psychotic strength. The woman screams as the tout grabs her legs, trying to drag Debra to safety. At this provocation, the red fox redoubles its grip on Debra, yanking hard to the side. There's a spray of blood as the fox's teeth saw through the neck and Debra's entire head is ripped off.

"Crap!" the tout hollers in fright and begins running back toward me.

"We gotta go." I say, transfixed by the sight of a halo rising from Debra's corpse and swiftly being absorbed by the red fox. But something's off. The red fox is actually rejecting the halo, trying to expel it out from its body.

"No arguments here." the tout affirms as he runs as fast as he can past me.

I nod distractedly, watching the fox drop into a fetal position, yiffing impotently as the halo inexorably gets absorbed by its body. No matter how much the fox tries, its only delaying the inevitable. Its own body is soaking up Debra's halo like a sponge. And as the fox devours the halo, its body begins to shift, growing in size.

Like hell I'm going to let that creature get its power up. Love barks at my command, but instead of getting baptized in lead, the fox performs a lightning fast somersault over my volley of shots. It looks silly, but I can easily recognize that move from my time in the Academy.

Dodge shot.

No doubt about it. That fox just executed a Gunslinger class skill. This is way more than what I bargained for. And if that fox was as fast as a Gunslinger that means -

"You have no chance of escaping!" a familiar voice gargles out of those bloody jaws as the fox cuts off my escape route with a graceful leap. The tout and his lantern had disappeared, probably run off to safety by now.

"Can't be." I grunt, spraying away with Love and praying that my suspicions are wrong. The Soul Fire blaze continues to spread, consuming the other carcasses and turning into a right proper bonfire. The rapidly growing fox darts about, easily weaving through my gunfire and all too soon, Love's magazine runs dry again.

I reload as quickly as possible, but that gives the fox a chance to steady itself. With a mighty exertion of effort, the fox manages to eject the halo by a few inches. Its not enough to stop the changes ravaging the fox's body. Rearing up on its hindlegs, the fox yiffs in elemental agony, its skin and fur tearing apart as limbs lengthen and muscle bulks up.

"No! No!" the fox warbles in a human voice, its shoulders all the while expanding outward, "I don't want this!"

"Carol." I mutter in dismay, finally managing to recognize the voice, as badly distorted as it is.

The fox's paws split into individual digits, each mounted with a razor sharp claw. Now fully anthropomorphic, the fox swings its forelegs like a pair of human arms, lesions forming through the brutal transformation. Clumps of fur fall from the animal's underside and a pair of human breasts sprout out like hillocks.

"You finally recognize me, Adam?" the fox growls, gasping for breath as the transformation stabilizes.

"Shit, you're ugly Carol." I comment, "Being Awake doesn't suit you."

Call me petty, but its a fact. Carol looks utterly grotesque. But there's no doubt that absorbing Debra's halo had made her stronger.

"And you're still ugly on the inside." Carol slashes the ground with one of her claws in a vicious motion, "I regret not seeing through you when we first met."

"What are you complaining about now?" I roll my eyes as Love's fresh magazine clicks into place.

"You hurt me." Carol snarls, "You wanted to kill me. While pretending to be my friend. Its time for justice."

"I told you before." I shoot back, "I couldn't help it. Its my nature. A nature that you share now."

"I am nothing like you." Carol narrows her eyes, her tongue flicking about restlessly, "I resist the urge to feed. I resist everyday! While you happily give in to it."

"And did it matter in the end?" I chuckle, "You still consumed Debra's potential."

"I was shot," Carol disputes hotly, "my concentration slipped!"

"We're the same Carol," I sigh, "whether you like it or not."

Carol makes a constipated grunt as she tries to expel Debra's halo again. A few wisps drift out of her body, nothing more.

"You can't fight it, Carol." I continue, "And there's no need for us to fight."

"Your lies won't save you Adam!" Carol bares her teeth at me.

"I'm not lying." I shake my head, "We're really the same now. Outsiders in this world. We should be helping each other, not fighting."

"YOU TURNED ME INTO A MONSTER!" Carol blares, her voice echoing in the night.

"You wanted to live. Just like me when I first died." I explain, "That's how you survived in Buddy's body didn't you?"

"Live. Yes. I want to live." Carol paws the ground restlessly, "But not at someone else's expense. I'll make things right. And the first step to doing that, is dealing with you!"

Carol yiffs, rallying the fleeing Bioforms. The creatures cease their flight and form a loose circle around both of us. A fighting arena.

"Attacking a bus," I scoff, "you call that making things right?"

"No one has been hurt." Carol lopes about, her enhanced muscles squirming like worms from the motion, "I made that very clear to the pack. It was all to draw you out to where I was waiting."

"Other than Debra." I snort.

"Yes. Debra." Carol agrees, "That's on me. I lost control. I never intended to hurt her though."

"And that makes it better?" I snort, raising Love and the casting focus, ready for battle.

"Compared to you?" Carol laughs bitterly, "I'm miles ahead. You wanted to kill me Adam. Remember that."

Carol stops, her entire body tensing in readiness, eyes glaring venomously at me.

"But don't worry. For this showdown, I fully do intend to return the favor."