Chapter Two
Struggling could be heard across the entire camp, even with the thick bag muffling it. The burlap sack encased the struggler's entire world in black, which did NOT help in calming him down one bit. His captors' grunts and growls had no effect in intimidating him; they only seemed to increase his struggle against the chains bound around his neck, wrists, and shins. Barely able to hear his own voice, he spoke over the sounds of his own stubborn grunts, their alien clackings, and the chains rattling around.
"God damn... motherfuckers," Nameless' growl sounded like someone had thrown ten pillows over his face, which was a testament to just how loud he could make himself if he so wanted, considering the aliens dragging him along heard him clear as day. Breathing got harder the more he resisted and pulled back, and since he had been beaten within an inch of his life before this, it took all he had to just stay upright, let alone awake. But regardless of how his body felt and how he just wanted to slip back into the void of unconsciousness, he simply gritted his teeth to keep himself from yelling. "Where in the world are you taking me?"
Hearing startled gasps through the fabric, Nameless knew that he was going somewhere and somewhere FAST. For each gasp promptly disappeared behind heavy thuds that sent dust right up into his nose, nearly making him sneeze. It was followed by doors opening before him and closing behind him. They had been mostly walking around in a cold, harsh environment before this, but no longer did he feel the wind stabbing his bareback.
Now, for the first time, Nameless felt only the faint heat of passing body standing aside and heard only the subtle din of useless lights above. But even then, he kept on shivering despite his change of environment and considering how he could still hear the naked slaps of his feet against the hard ground, he could tell his shivering would not be ending soon. Apart from the thick red shawl adorning his back and front that he picked up on his travels, his captors were thorough. At least they let me keep THAT!
And so it was that he went practically nude, feeling as exposed and vulnerable as ever. Yet despite that, the fire inside of him had not even come close to being extinguished. If these dicks think I'm just gonna go limp..! They got a whole 'nother thing comin'!
"Well," Nameless thrashed about at his captors' disdain, their shocked, slightly afraid, gasps only urging him more. "You guys gonna say anythin'!?" He grunted when his hips collided with something hard that began to wobble precariously. "God, damn!" High-pitch sounds came behind, followed by a flurry of talons clicking against the cold, stone-like floor he walked on. Nameless tried to look behind him, his curiosity getting the better of him. But he should've known, with how just absolutely livid the chitters behind him sounded, that it was a bad idea.
Whoever they were, they pushed him aside like their lives depended on getting around the thing he bumped before it could fall over. "Woah! Woah woah, hey hey hey," He wobbled and swayed, and if it weren't for his captors ahead tugging at his ankles and knees, he for sure would've fallen on the small shape that just shoved him. "Now, who the hell was that? Just where are the hell am I!?"
He didn't get to hear if the seemingly precious thing he bumped into fell over or not when they pulled him through another set of doors before slamming it behind him. "Tch..." Ah, I won't be able to sleep... if I'll be able to sleep at all... Stuck in the stifling void that the bag made for him, Nameless began to realize just how fast it had begun to lose its meaning. With no environment to perceive his surroundings and thus himself, it felt like every hallway and exposed rampart he struggled on was all the same.
But that all changed after one last door slammed behind him. Had he been walking through that building and its courtyards for minutes? Or had it been hours? Nameless growled underneath his breath, feeling a wave of energy explode in him as he was still without answers. To make matters worse-- for the guards corralling him, that is-- Nameless nearly tripped onto his face when he felt the chains pull UP now as they were apparently going up a set of stairs.
They couldn't see it thanks to the thick burlap-like sack over his head, but with the arrival of a devious, mischievous idea, a devilish grin stretched across his face. "Fuckin' stairs..?" Nameless let himself go up a few flights, letting them become comfy before he enacted his plan while they were caught off-guard. They must've thought he had finally given in as the excruciating chains had dug into his skin less harshly now. "Poor decision, ASSHOLES! HRRRN!"
With a great heave, the commotion that had begun echoed throughout whatever tower they were ascending. With as much trouble as the captors were having before just pulling Nameless along, it was amazing how they managed to apparently stay on their feet when he stood up to his full height. He got his feet stuck between the riser and the treading above it, and quickly, his toes dug into the brick-like material. "Yeah," not only did Nameless begin to push back with his legs, but now he used their stumbling to his advantage when he pulled back his cuffed hands over his head. "Let's see you shove me around like THIS!"
Whatever they were screaming in their bizarre, almost... bird-like language of small chitters and loud cawing vocalizations, it must've been of great urgency since it all sounded like they were saying the same thing. Should've just told me where we were going, ya dicks! PROBABLY wouldn't be as much as a bitch like I am now! It's time for YOU to feel these chains! It frustrated Nameless to no end how he couldn't understand them right now. But these rising nerves would not be the end of him. In fact, they gave him an advantage in this little game of tug-and-war he started, only pulling back harder with a determined grumble.
He felt how the chain was growing slacker the more he let his weight do the work for him. Indeed, Nameless had every intention of falling down the spiral staircase he had just spent the last few minutes climbing. If only to drag all of you with me! However, voices and alien screeches coming from below seemed adamant to end his plan as they came rushing up behind him without warning. Inside the sack, he turned his head as much as the cuff around his neck would allow before it began to chaff. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me!"
He turned back to the efforts in front of him, and now more desperate to tumble than ever before, was now letting both his weight do its work as well as engaging every muscle he had to pull. "Come on then!" Nameless heard their simultaneous exclamations, and both they and he jolted as he felt one of their feet slip. Unlike them, though, Nameless stood strong and still, only extending his legs further. He grinned darkly, simply content with being as much as a menace as he could.
Sadly, his little fun was coming to an end as a piercing whistle took him out of the zone. "Tch!" He didn't even bother looking behind him, knowing that it wouldn't be long before many of them would arrive behind him. But how they came sent a jolt down his spine as three smaller bodies collied with his. Their footsteps were quick, quicker than they had any right being, and before he knew it, he had the air pushed right out of him as three pairs of talons and palms struck him. He had already faced these aliens in a few past skirmishes before he was finally overwhelmed, so he had already had a rough introduction to just how intense they felt as they dug into his skin. But that doesn't change anything about this! Fuck!
Almost like they were simply slipping past his flesh, he could nearly feel their talons dig into his shoulder blades, scrapping against the very edge of them like chalk on a chalkboard. Stabbing pains shot into his whole body, and if it weren't for just how unbearably thirsty he was, tormented strings of drools would've been rolling over his quivering bottom lip. F-fuckers! Do you really think I'm just going to take this?!
He flexed and unflexed the hands that were still behind his head from his previous effort. They still worked perfectly fine, something Nameless was grateful for as he gave his tense hands a new objective. His eyes, bulging from the pressure of his jailors' tormenting claws slicing and drilling him, looked back in the darkness as if he could still somehow see behind him. I know for sure that there are only three of them and that they only have two hands. There's one right behind me! Right in my fucking reach! Which means that...
In a frightening display of flexibility unseen by most, Nameless gave a puff of stress as he felt his shoulders crack when he reached right down past his neck... where he felt two dangly, soft things flinch under his grip. "I can still do THIS!" His shoulders now like rubber, he heard their immediate squawks of fear, confusion, and disgust from the spectacle. But he didn't care about what they may have thought about him then, and he certainly wouldn't now. For in his grip were a pair of the alien's soft, large, and almost triangle-like ears, and he knew just how sensitive they were. Alright! Let's show YOU a good fucking time, then, huh?!
Knowing that fact only made what he did to the terrified alien all that more satisfying to him. "Hah ha HAAH! GOTCHA!" I'm gonna stretch your shit real good! There was no time to prevent what was about to occur. No time to intervene before it was too late for the petrified guard behind him to escape from his grasp. Wrapping his hands around the sensitive ears like he was wringing a wet towel, the sudden shrieks of pain coming from the male were enough to put a pause in the step of even the most hardened foreman walking outside. Much less the startled guards dragging Nameless up the stairs. Ooooooh hoh hoh, but I ain't done just yet assholes! "Hrrrrn!"
As if that wasn't enough, Nameless returned what they were doing to him tenfold to the unfortunate soul sadly in his grasp. Pulling up as if doing a tricep exercise, he gritted his teeth together hard enough to make them feel like they were being ground into dust. In a startling display of strength that those particular guards had only heard of before this, they got an extremely quick crash course of the power residing in the human when Nameless began lifting the guard right off the ground beneath them.
The shrieking only got worse and worse as Nameless continued to only tighten his grip, pulling up, despite the fairly hefty weight of the alien behind him. "Hrrrk!" The thunder in his chest silenced the guards, and Nameless almost felt electric as his arms gave all they had until they trembled. The others must've still been far too stunned by the horrific display of strength to do anything as Nameless carried on unhindered. It didn't feel long to Nameless, this whole ordeal, but to the guard dangling in the air as his hands went around the base of his ears just TRYING to keep his most delicate part of his body attached to him... it must've felt like an eternity.
Inside of Nameless was a part of him that felt pity for the guard just doing his job. But after what he saw this particular race do to the village that had so kindly accepted him, he found it hard to sympathize with the screaming guard, knowing full well what barbarity they could commit on anyone that wasn't them. Seeing those small, homely huts and towns being left barren and quiet after the flames had engulfed all there was... Hearing their cries..!
It had left such a distasteful impression on Nameless' soul that he had only one thought to spare the guard in his hands. "Hmph..." Nameless smirked as he extended his arms fully, but his face was blank with grim harshness. The guard went silent from his anguish, tearing his vocal cords in his torment. Good.
Their talons no longer touching the ground, the jailor in Nameless' grasp could only thrash helplessly in the air until...
The sudden falling of the guard behind him made Nameless nearly bash his face onto the stairs. "Fwwooop! Wha-?!" With the weight that had caused Nameless to activate his entire body to make sure he didn't fall backwards gone, Nameless collapsed forward onto his knees and hands. At first, he was unsure and completely tense by the rapid change of events and circumstances. That was... until he felt streams of something... warm dripping around his fingers. H-holy shit, wait. Did..?
Almost like he had shocked himself with his cruel display of brutality that just happened, Nameless remained just as silent and confused as the rest of the guards. The sound of plip-plops of thick liquid staining his knees was only rivalled by the heavy heartbeats of everyone in that stairwell. Everyone could only listen to how the silently writhing guard bumped and grunted against the stairs he was rolling down. Even the very air seemed shocked, now suddenly stifling and hard to breathe in. Nameless fell back, not bothering to anything more than maintaining his kneeling position. I... I didn't think...
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A worried curfuffle was begun when after a few crows to the rest of their ilk, Nameless heard the rapid footsteps of one guard going after the rolling, unconscious body screeching like a madman. The others stood in place, nearly tempted to abandon their posts right then and there; Nameless felt them still giggle the chains nervously in their hands, though almost as if... they were more scared of what would happen if they DID leave, which must've made their situation even worse.
And maybe it was that tension caused by the guard's 'accidental' mutilation that prompted the only guard behind him to chitter something underneath his breath, quiet enough that Nameless didn't even think twice about what was going on behind him. All he could concentrate on was that awful feeling in his stomach. P-pull yourself together... You've... done worse to these guys, you bastard! S-so you RIPPED a dude's ear off; you've done worse, you LITTLE SHIT! So get back to MOVING!
He did not. Or, more specifically, only one part of his body moved: his teething grinding in frustration and anger... directed at himself. MOVE! And yet, his body still did not. It was as if he was frozen in place. Yet, the hushed world around him was not so lethargic. The faint din of muffled caws of horror and curses became more and more clear with every passing moment. Ah, these guys are dicks who would've done worse to those villagers back there! Fuck 'em! You gotta-!
Behind him, Nameless could hear something dropping to the ground, something hefty and apparently carrying bits and baubles from the way he heard it unevenly rolling down the stairs. Remembering what the other aliens he killed back during the raid he went through not so long ago, he surmised it to be only one thing. What the hell is he doing dropping his belt like that?
Nameless would have an answer to that not a moment after. If he had to describe the abrasive shriek echoing all in the staircase, the description of it being amongst the most raged, offended... and scared sound he heard in all of his short life would not do it justice. And if he had to put his own spin onto it, it almost sounded like the alien was casting a whole curse onto him for what he had just done to their comrade. But it wasn't that which sent the chilling wave of fright responsible for all his hairs standing up.
It was the fact that something sounded like nothing short of a freak storm of lightning behind him. It was condensed, precise: a single point on the end of whatever device the enraged alien had pulled out. Nameless heard it swing towards the back of his head, faster than it had any right going. It crackled violently, zapping and scorching the air around its trajectory. It was so intense that Nameless could hear the very dust motes in its way being reduced to near atoms. Oh, sh-!
Nameless' lamenting for what he just did was quickly put to an end as his body instinctively moved on its own... but it was far too late. Paralyzed by the mutilation he had no plan of doing, any opportunity to dodge the powerful blow about to strike had long since passed. Which meant that he could do nothing more than take the hit like a man. "AAAAAAHHHH," even if his high-pitch cry of agony was anything but. "J-JESUS FU-!"
His entire body tensed up when the tip of the 'stun' baton-- Nameless could only loosely describe it as such as he could've sworn that if felt like it would have easily killed an ELEPHANT back on Earth-- stuck itself right inside his flensed skin. And from there, it only got worse. The blood leaking from his back nearly boiled in an instant at the contact, and he could feel his back become short of a smoking bonfire of burning skin and charred muscle.
"GGGGRK!" He fell forward straight onto his face, and even worse off, feeling the sharp edge of a stair punching his nose hard enough that it felt like it entered his skull. Nameless' body was in shock; he couldn't even manage to think even a single thought now as he was in complete fight-or-flight mode now. His hackles rose alongside a terrifying growl in his chest. But unlike how he hoped, that did nothing to hinder and stop them in their tracks. If anything, his little primal bout of resistance only made the approaching war cries make the dread worse.
Neck turning at a record speed, his brain went into overdrive, thinking of what the cause behind the sound of his chains holding him clattering to the floor was. For the first time since he awoke, Nameless felt the chains slacken and droop to the floor. If this had happened less than a few minutes ago, Nameless would be doing backflips of jubilation. Now, he could only let the blood in his face leave as he heard all six of their feet stomping towards him. It was only then that he realized the situation he had gotten himself into: surrounded on both sides, about to be beaten within an inch of his life by unmerciful beings as scared for their lives as he was his.
He found himself scrambling up against a wall, his body nearly on the verge of a heart attack considering the fear he felt, not even being able to see WHEN the strikes would land. "N-NOOO!" He swung his two enclosed fists around like the feral thrashing animal he had become. Even though he knew that it was only delaying the inevitable, he could still hear four guards getting closer.
So that's why, when after one last swing of his fists pushing away the four guards trapping him, screaming at him, he heard the baton swinging right towards his gut... he did nothing. "GGGAAAAAAH!" It stung. It overwhelmed his body to the point of his head swinging back as he let out a cry to the heavens hidden from him. He winced when he felt a concussion already coming on from how hard he just hit the back of his head against the hard wall. That combined with how he let his head fall forward right into the brutal punch he didn't see coming his way, paired with how he felt his abs convulsing from the electrical overdose...
Fuck, this sucks.
The pain varied, each in equally awful ways. On one part of his body, he felt his teeth becoming unhinged from his gums. Up higher, little stars appeared in the darkness as he started to fall unconscious with every blow to his nose and jaw. His body begged to scream out with every blow to his sensitive stomach, but his lungs could not do that for him. Every bit of air that was in his body had been punched out of him.
But what was the worst part about all of this to Nameless? Was it that he couldn't understand what they were screaming at him, leaving him to only wonder why in fearful confusion just why it was such a big deal what he did? Or was it that he was afraid that when he passed out from his body being burnt and abused as it was... that he wouldn't wake up?
No... It's fucking none of those...
His world grew dull once more, and what once felt like his skull and bones cracking and his flesh being burned and bruised raw turned to little pinpricks and distant thuds on an empty vessel. The sounds of their fiery caws and alien curses became less than distant murmurs as he lost control over his body's senses. It wouldn't be long before he slipped back into that darkness that got him here in the first place.
But that mattered not to him. He was most concerned about if he wouldn't be able to say what was on his bleeding tongue.
I just wanted to make them stop. I-it hurt so much... and I didn't... mean to...
I just want... want them to... understand...
I didn't want this.
Nameless heard three of them back away, and after coughing up some blood from his swollen mouth and getting some much-needed air into his lungs, he became aware enough to feel the bag being ripped from his face. He grunted in pain when talons dug into his head, intertwining themselves with his thick, long hair as he was pulled up into a sitting position against the wall behind him. Though his awareness of the world did not change from the fact that both of his eyes had become nothing more than black, swollen messes leaking fluids of all sorts.
Nameless could barely hear what the guard said when he felt the hot, menacing yet quivering breath whispering into his ear. Nor could he understand it. But the way he delivered it... it felt personal, genuine. The sincere hatred it seemed to hold for Nameless could be felt, even if the rest of was body was just a numb, aching mess.
It transcended whatever language barrier between them, and it was then Nameless knew damn well what he just went through was only just the beginning, thanks to what he did. Oh, God..! His raspy breath picked up as he heard the other three began to snicker dreadfully at the same as the electric baton became louder than ever.
Thankfully, whether it was the fear of going through worse treatment, or just his plain old body giving out, Nameless wouldn't have to worry about it. For just as the worst of all the blows so far destroyed his bottom jaw, and he felt his neck make a snapping sound that had no right being as loud as it was... he woke up.
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And it was right into an even worse predicament. Nameless' eyes, once dilated enough that even the sun reflecting off the few dry grains of sand still around was enough to blind him, snapped back to reality with startling efficiency. After all, where he was was not just any other place.
Down there lurked the cause of his very likely death, after all.
"Fuck!" His blood began to pump hard in his chest, and thus, it took Nameless not even a second for him to start turning in the air, angling himself as best as he could to the ground. And that was something he quickly found out he wasn't going to be able to do. "TSK!" His ribs felt like they were barely holding themselves together from the uppercut, so any manner of movement sent flares of anguish into his skull.
And it only got worse when all of his efforts were effectively for naught. Abruptly and without an ounce of care to spare him, the gravity of the dense planet threw him back down onto the ground. Despite being slightly heavier than the average male, he bounced off the wet ground, albeit painfully, before falling back into a small puddle face first. "GCK!"
Mud exploded fantastically around his body, sparing only his clothed legs and nothing more. And before he knew it, his pale yellow skin had turned dark brown and even black in some places. Something he was NOT pleased about. Ah, for fucks sake! The multi-coloured coat of grime was heavier than anything he felt before.
After pushing himself off the ground in a hurry to keep more muck from invading his gaping mouth, Nameless gagged at the grainy muck coating the inside of his cheeks. But not before he choked out a pained gurgle, splattering some mud and pale, red and blue blood onto the ground below him. "Oh hoh God!"
Getting onto his hands and knees, desperately trying to get back his breath after it was so brutally knocked out of him, Nameless hung his head, panting heavily. God, damn, this isn't good! I can barely... MOVE! To add to the growing mess below him, a wave of nausea flooded his senses, and he thought to move fast. "A-ah s-shit..!" One hand went to cover his mouth, but alas, a new flood of mixed blood and chewed-up junk proved to be too fast for him to anticipate and prevent. After that cough racked his body, and he was left emptier than ever, he groaned in abject misery.
The 'clear' puddle of mud that was there had been replaced with his mixed blood, with the grime sticking to his face and long, muscular body. And that had allowed the dull, dreary surface of the wet dirt to be replaced by his almost pristine lifeblood, reflecting the weariest image of a man right back at him thanks to the distant shine positioning itself perfectly.
Long, black hair graced with the occasional strand of bright white-- as if he had aged from immense stress in only a select few places-- was now dripping with the muck of the world and refuse brought about by the remains of alien contestants before. Whatever fluidity that may have had in the wind was long gone, for now, they bundled together in a cold, wet mass of disgusting knots and the few dry particles of sand in the arena around.
His small section of facial hair did not fare any better. His cheeks had small patches of the dark black follicles growing, but nothing really caught the eye. And it was because of that that he was able to clear a small portion of the leaking mud away to reveal the faint scars that adorned his pale, pale yellow skin. But the same could not be said for the scruffy goatee he had.
No matter how Nameless tried to wipe away the last of the mud running down from his hair and small forehead, it was never enough. The sharp facial features of his face all came down to the sharp point that was his chin, which meant that all the mud and wet sand running down simply kept leaking over his thin, almost dead lips. And right back into my fucking mouth! "Urgh..." Nameless groaned as his tongue felt only more splatters of dirt onto it, like the drops of an idle paintbrush onto the table below. Because, of course, it would do that...
Still, it was not all bad. Despite being colder and more miserable than ever, Nameless could still be thankful for a few things. His thick neck led into a set of shoulders he couldn't help but admire, even as his death was most likely only a few feet ahead of him. He tilted his head knowingly, nodding at himself as he attempted to get back onto his feet.
But no matter how Nameless tried to ease the tension in himself... The facts still stand..! He finally looked away from himself and upwards-- only after giving one last look of appreciation to himself despite his current state-- and immediately, his lips peeled back to reveal a full set of healthy white teeth. That I'm most likely FUCKED! In the dust cloud that was finally dispersing: his unrelenting, bloodthirsty killer's rectangular blue eyes staring right at him like a feral wolf on the hunt. His breath hitched and got caught in his throat as a resounding thud against the ground only brought the pair of eyes closer to him.
Overall... the human was not having the best of times.
But he had at least one comfort to all of this: knowing that he was indeed not alone in this struggle of life-or-death. And his partner in crime was closer than he would've ever liked them to be. Despite feeling as lightheaded as it felt like he was, he was still able to spot the little blue dots of blood coagulating with the rest of HIS blood; that was cause enough to curse under his breath before he looked down between his broad, scarred chest with a look of immense worry on his face. "Hey," it may have seemed like to the rest of the confused crowd jeering at Nameless that he was talking to himself at first, but it wasn't long before he saw that damnable eerie squirming right above his heart. "You good in there!?"
What it was that had infected him was a complete mystery to him. Its shape was indiscernible within him, like how one could only imagine the shape of whatever it is that goes bump in the night, and that was only one of the many factors that had sent his instincts wild and violated. It was as silent as the wind freezing the mud to his long arms and legs and just as foreboding with where it had situated itself. When it had first revealed its tenantship within his ribcage, spreading across its thousands upon thousands of tendrils in and around his muscular body's veins, muscle, and bone, intertwining with the very tendons that allowed him to hold his sword tightly...
Nameless shuddered at the memory as he pushed himself onto one knee, using the cracking hilt of his once trusty sword as a prop in the cold, thick mud threatening to pull him in. It was nothing short of disgusting. But I suppose that in the end... He felt it throb weakly around his heart like it too was able to feel petrified for its life.
The activity pushing on his heart made him cringe slightly, but he couldn't help the sigh of relief he unleashed. And the ensuing breath he would take in would finally open up the gates to the nice refreshing breath of air that would power up his muscles enough to keep him upright. "That's good! Ya better be," His breath was finally starting to come back as he wobbled up into a sort of slouched crouch; the adrenaline in his body allowed him to push through and push down on the hilt to steady himself. "Because I don't know how the hell I'm going to be able to beat this fucker without ya!"
Swaying on two feet, a grimace appeared on Nameless' face, his ribs sore and about ready to crack under his own weight. But that immense discomfort, something that nearly made it impossible for him to even BREATHE... was all but forgotten when he felt the alien inside of him go deathly still. "HANKA NITU ITCHO KRAAAAAK! BANG FAL REN MAL ANG HAL GRAAAAAAA! His to-be-killer roared in that sickly warble of his, its normally low, drum-like speech being reverted into a ghastly sound that made his soul sick to its stomach.
How he could describe it without doing the otherwordly sound injustice, Nameless knew there was no chance. But the high pitch gargle sounded like someone trying to scream through the water stuck in their throat, and while that would've been numerous on any other occasion... he could not find a single way to make THAT sound bearable to listen to. Its bright blue pair of rectangle eyes expanded until they looked like they were simply two big blobs before it screamed out again, the dark black shape growing to its full nine-foot height behind the dust cloud. "HANKA NITU ITCHO KRAAAAAAK! HRAKA VI BUUTH GE! EST VRRRA TOMBBRO A KA VRI'MALIAAAAA!"
Menacing beyond belief, and as Nameless felt the alien inside go limp as if it just suffered through a heart attack, only two thoughts were Nameless able to process.
The first was the realization that he was about to battle this thing alone.
And the next was...
"HOW IN THE FUCK DO I BEAT THIS GUY?!