=Varith=

The 'thing' inside of me retracts, leaving me to face the wreck it had created. New sensations and feelings flood me. Different 'scents' twist through the air, each with its own flavor and texture. Some, like a fine delicacy, stimulating and intoxicating, overshadow the rest.

The world took on new dimensions with this sudden shift, I question everything as a new level of perception embraces my reality. Each member of the crowd vaguely registers in my consciousness. I can taste them.

I catch movement out the corner of the eye. The Wraith, that was on top of the cage, was now lying on the ground looking my way, fascination in his eyes.

The Wraith’s expression shifts to one of terror as I lay eyes upon him.. The thick, intoxicating haze pours out of him.  Involuntarily my tongue flicks out, gliding across my lips.

[More]

I move closer, but he scrambles away, the scent cloud thickening. Heedless of his efforts to avoid me, I follow after him, savoring the scent that he continues to emit. Gibberish falls from his mouth as he's too scared to speak properly.

[More...]

-plink-

A thrown rock narrowly misses me and bounces past on the cobblestones, coming to rest in a crack.. Annoyed at the intrusion, but excited at the prospect of more of the scent, I whip my body around, ready to pounce. I'm stopped though by a small, chubby hand blocking my sight.

“Bad!” A little girl no more than three or four cycles stands in front of me.

“Bad! Bad!” Again and again she repeats it, beating my chest with her open palm as if drive the point into me.

Too young to sense the danger, as the adults do, she continues to stand there, a smile on her face. Proud that she 'punished' the big bad monster.

[Monster] The thought hits me like a bucket of cold water.

Surprised by a high pitched wailing, I drag my eyes off the girl and into the crowd. A woman sits collapsed on the ground being restrained by the crowd, reaching for the little girl.  The masses believe the child a lost cause. The rest of the crowd stands still, everyone's gaze focused on me, only me. I realize what the scent is.

[Fear]

Spurned on by the crying woman, the guards that had fled with the crowd come to their senses. The guards unsheathed their weapons, none of it carrying the previous incandescence.

"...R..un..." A distant whisper warns.

I burst into a sprint away from the recovering guards, readying myself for a leap over the crowd. Reinforcements burst through the crowd, fortunately none of them holding a piece of that glowing gear. At first, I ignore them, thinking that they wouldn’t be able to hinder my jump, but ‘it’ tugs again at me once more, directing my gaze towards the roofs behind the reinforcements.

[Archers]

Instead of jumping up, I pounce forward, hurtling feet first towards the lead guard. I pull my knees to my chest as if readying for a dropkick.  The guard pulls up his shield in a panic. As the soles of my boots are fully pressed against the shield, I push off with all the force in my body flinging myself in the direction I came from, over the guards who were pursuing me.  I was supposed to land within the crowd, but they snap out of their daze as I landed among them, stampeding away from me.

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I roll forward on impact and am up on my feet running within a breath of landing. The crowd parts around me as I make my way towards the nearest alley. Again I feel ‘it’ extending thin tendrils of control all over me, forcing me to bend forward mid-run. A sword flashes overhead. I pivot, throwing myself into the alley.

I pull myself through the stone wall and fall backwards against it. From my pursuers perspective, I’d disappeared into thin air.  

Left in sudden darkness, the thump of my heart resounds throughout the room. Weariness, bone deep, consumes me.  I relax, the weight of my body multiples, my back slides slowly down the wall. A wet warmth, drips down my neck.

[Too much… too much has happened.] My breathing becomes ragged.

The Revenant..

This ‘thing’ inside me.

My new senses.

This...... this hunger.

How I’d nearly been killed.

“Oh no....” I whisper, a sudden revelation making itself known in my mind.

[The Revenant… the Revenant… THE REVENANT]

[How many will die because it escaped?] A groan falls from my lips.

[How many?] A sob.

“How many? Dead, dieing...my fault, my fault…HOW MANY?” The thoughts swirl through my head, tightening into a tight ball of guilt in the pit of my stomach. Amidst my hysterics, I feel ‘it’ stir.

“What do you want!? Why are you even in me!?” I scream at it, hoping, praying that it will just go; that it will just leave me alone.

Its only response is another movement.  I feel ripples spread throughout the darkness around me. I begin clawing at my chest in a panic, leaving bloody scratches on my chest , desperate to get this thing out of me.

“Get out get out get out get outgetoutgetoutgetoutgetoutgetoutgetoutgetoutgetoutgetout!” I’m surprised when the feeling of ‘it’ within me disappears.

A rippling in the shadows, vaguely shaped, but unmistakably human in form. I scrambled backwards trying to escape, to get away from it In my pathetic state, it is much faster than me.   It lunges toward me and grabs me with an iron grip..

I scream at it. I beg, threaten, demand, -- anything for it to just let me go from its cold grasp.

Ignoring my cries, it brings me closer and holds me to its chest, hugging me similar to- no exactly like my mother would do when I was little. It even caressed me in the same way, from brow to nape, over and over again.

At this unexpected act of warmth I surrender to its embrace, losing my last bit of self control.

==

That's 5 out of 22 Chapter Revamps done Wooo!

On another note I've acquired and editor, Lecompte!

Don't forget about my PR Leon Das either!

Both of them are absolutely awesome guys who without I would never be able to reach this level of quality.