Chapter 3:  Hunting

I was jolted awake sometime next morning, not by any enemy presence or by any of particularly loud scream that have been frequent throughout the night.  What woke me up was the intense urge, rather need, to do something.  I didn't have any dreams last night; I was simply asleep one moment and jerked awake the next, so I didn't have any trouble getting my mind to function, even if it wasn't in control at the moment.  

My body grabbed my weapons but left the rest of my supplies, either I planned to come back here or my body just didn't view them as necessary.  Regardless I soon found my body climbing down from the roof of the school.  I absentmindedly noticed that my fingers, despite still being caked in blood, were completely healed already, even my nail had regrown.  Hell even my side was completely healed when I finally remembered it had been cut.  I knew that wasn't possible, even if I had healed a bit quicker than average this was simply inhuman, but I didn't have time to think about it anymore.

My mind had finally synchronized with my body and my rational thinking was slowly fading, replaced with just instinct, need and a scant handful of emotion.

Hunger, excitement, a desperate yearning, an urge to fill the void in my soul.

I ran.  I couldn't find what I needed nearby.  I had to find what I craved soon.

A flash of green, indistinct noises of surprise, the weight of steel in my hands.  the feeling of joy at having found what I desired.

Rushed movement, the spatter of something warm on my body, something warm replacing the void.

The sweet taste of a thick coppery liquid as I clean my weapons.

Arousal, the pure ecstasy of satisfying my need, my desire.

Finally clarity.

I was fairly disorientated when I finally came down from my high.  The bodies were the first thing I noticed when I took in my surroundings, or what was left of them at any rate.  I had apparently ripped the three goblin creatures to shreds.  Looking at the bodies I merely had a feeling of contentment so I dismissed them from my thoughts before taking in the rest of my situation.

Apparently I hadn't been very careful during my...hunt and had gotten a few good slash marks on my chest and arms.  They weren't particularly deep or numerous but they were there.  I was a bit annoyed as my leather jacket was now little more than strips of leather held together by a zipper.  Still what was done was done and I completed the process of its destruction by tearing the rest of it up into strips I used to put pressure on my wounds.  

My bow was apparently discarded in favor of more personal methods of killing and it lay abandoned on the ground a few meters behind me.  I quickly scanned the area as I walked over to collect it, taking note of the lack of other creatures and my current whereabouts.  The blood loss wasn't life threatening but it was starting to make me light headed so I decided I'd head back to my refuge for the day.

Luckily I was only ten minutes away by a quick walk so I get there fairly quickly and without incident.  The bleeding had slowed down considerably but the wounds throbbed in time to my movement.  By the time I made it up to the rooftop I was ravenous and quickly tore through a size able chunk of my food supplies.  I don't ever remember eating that much before; especially since I wasn't particularly fond of the flavor of the food I was eating.  The canned goods were just stuff I bought as a precaution for their ability to last a long time so I didn't pay attention to flavor.

By the time I finished gorging myself, my wounds had stopped bleeding and I had the pressing need to...relieve myself, which I did over the side of the roof.  I'm glad that I consider toilet paper an essential item but I only had two rolls as I had been running low when things changed.  Finished with my business I went back to my spot from last night and just lied down.

I was tired and wanted to take a nap but my thoughts plagued me.  I briefly thought about what happened this morning.  I can't say I didn't like what had happened as it was more emotion and sensation than I've felt in a long time.  The only thing I disliked was not being fully in control.  The thought was quickly pushed away however as I didn't consider it all that important, instead my mind turned towards the current situation and what had happened to me.

The whole situation was strange to me.  The sudden appearance of goblin like creatures everywhere trying to kill you gave that impression.  I figured it must be happening everywhere both from the lack of military response and from what the strange screens that had been the prelude to the entire situation had said.  It was strange but I didn't particularly dislike it, if anything I enjoyed it.  I had felt more in the last twenty four hours than I had in the last year of my life since...I can't remember but I have the faint impression that something had happened.

I shrugged the thought away as it wasn't important.  What was important was that I was free.  Free to lose myself in the joy of simply living in this new world.  Despite the desperate desire to reach that home, though I still can't remember why I did, the fights I had yesterday were enjoyable.  I had been able to kill and maim to my heart’s content without repercussions yesterday.  It had been the high point of my life since I was in high school when....I can't remember what had caused the emotions I remembered, but it had been a long time.  

Still there were a few oddities that I had to puzzle over.  The biggest being my new... superpower? Ability?  Gift?  Whatever its proper title it was strange.  I have never been able to do such a thing before and while it was interesting I'm not sure if I liked it.  Was it something I always had?  Was it part of the update?  For that matter why had I completely healed last night?  My current wounds were healing at what appeared to be a normal rate so why had yesterday's been special?

These thoughts circled my mind as fatigue slowly set in and I fell asleep.  When I woke up it was dark out and I was hungry once more.  I was thankful that the power was apparently still running as the street lamps were providing decent enough illumination for me to see what I was doing.  I didn't have the same all-consuming urge that I had when I woke up the first time today.  There was still an urge there but I could ignore if I so desired, which I did at the moment.

I didn't eat nearly as much as I had before I fell asleep, having a much more normal sized amount of food.  I noted with curiosity that once more my wounds had apparently healed fully.  I didn't quite know what to make of it but decided not to think about it too deeply for the moment.  

Finished with my meal I divested myself of my current attire, including my makeshift bandages, and changed into my one spare set of clothes.  I hadn't packed another jacket but it mattered little as it wasn't cold enough to actually need one and my previous one had gave was negligible at best.  My new attire consisted of a close fitting, pure black, long sleeved sport shirt, black cargo pants and the same boots as before (shoes are heaving and more than one pair was unnecessary).

I only wished I was able to take a bath, sure I could go to a nearby house but showering seemed not so safe at the moment.  Still the caked blood on my skin and hair was slightly annoying so I decided to use one of my water bottles to rinse it off as best I could.  It wasn't perfect but it got the majority off.

The same urge as before was still there, lingering in the background like a ghost, though it hadn't increased in intensity since I've woken up.  I mentally shrugged before deciding to just have some fun next time I ran into some goblins when I went down to look for some more supplies.  I wasn't currently in need of any but since I had seemingly found a safe location it was better to stock up now rather than later when I might not be as well off.

I took a good fifteen minutes to do a solid stretching routine.  I figured it was a good idea as I had been lucky that my early exploits hadn't damaged anything and since I had the time better to be safe than sorry.  As I finished up and worked my way down the building once more, this time with my backpack (thought bereft of supplies), I made a mental note to start working out before I want to sleep every day.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

I wasn't sure whether or not I'd heal the same way every time I slept but it was the best hypothesis I could come up with at the moment.  If that was indeed the case the damage from a workout should be treated the same way as cuts and bruises were right?  Even if I was wrong it was still a good idea to get into better shape.  Sure I was in decent shape now but I had been active for almost two months and it showed.  Plus if my theory was correct that meant I could push myself much harder and faster than before helping me to reach my physical peak that much sooner.

It would definitely give me an added edge when trying to survive.  I did regret that I didn't know how to actually use any weapons besides the bow, which I had spent years practicing through various camps and clubs.  I knew a little martial arts but that was mostly self-defense stuff and had little to do with weapons.  Anyways I had forgotten most of what I learned anyways as I found the lessons annoying, I was always berated when I did an exercise wrong by going for a more...permanent blow than what was taught.

These were my thoughts as I searched through the surrounding houses for supplies.  I had checked to see if the water was running, it was, so I just gathered all the plastic water bottles I found in one spot for future use and filled sealed contained from the tap for current consumption.  I also scavenged any food I could, I did the same thing with the canned food that I did with the bottles, taking away the much tastier though not as long lived choices.  I also remembered to snag some toilet paper and praised lady luck when I found an unopened jumbo pack in one of the houses.

I decided to drop of my supplies at my sanctuary before going back out to find me some entertainment.  I hadn't been fortunate enough to run into anyone, human or goblin, during my looting spree so I was a bit bored.  It took me thirty minutes of mindless wandering to finally run into some action, though it was worth the wait I felt.

There was a group of about six goblins chasing after an extremely abused looking woman.  She had no clothes on so I knew the situation she was likely in; though I was surprised she had managed to escape.  Unfortunately for her she was about to be recaptured, and from the looks and the goblins' faces her fate would not be kind.  It wasn't really surprising if you think about it, if anything the fact she was able to run at all was all but a miracle, she simply didn't have the strength to run for long and the goblins don't seem to tire very quickly as I've come to realize.

They hadn't seen me yet so I had a few options.  Option one try and likely fail to rescue someone I didn't know or care about.  Option two was to just leave her to her fate and find easier prey.  Or my favorite and the one I was most leaning towards, kill them all.  The last option brought a malicious grin to my face.

I knew I couldn't save her even if I was so inclined as the goblins were just too close to kill them all before they reached her.  I was even less inclined towards the second option as while the thought of killing, or even torture, was exciting to me, the thought of rape brought up feelings of distaste.  That was likely her fate too if any of my, admittedly limited, insights into the creatures was correct.  It would not be a kind fate to be raped to death by angry midgets, let alone ones that were extremely sadistic and smelled like sewage.

So I decided to go with my favorite option.  Hell she might even be grateful that I killed her as it would spare her a worse fate, though I didn't care if she was or not as only my feelings really mattered.  Decision made I readied my bow and took aim.  She was just over twenty-five meters away, a tough shot for me in the dark (though luckily I had the streetlamps to help).  Bow ready I step out from my cover from behind the house I was hiding behind and drew back my arrow.  The girl seemed to somehow notice me in her panicked flight and she almost immediately adopted a pleading expression on her face.

I paid it no mind as I loosed the arrow and watched the faint black outline race towards my target.  The girl at first give a startled, surprised look as she took in the trajectory.  Then she seemed to resign herself to her fate closing her eyes before giving one last sad smile before the arrow hit her in the head killing her instantly.  There was a familiar rush of emotions when it happened, though not as strong and tempered a bit by my faint admiration of her composure in front of certain death.  

The moment quickly passed and I noticed the goblins had stopped and were staring at the body of the now dead woman with an arrow pushed through her skull, her momentum caused her to fall face first despite the impact.  I grinned savagely as I was presented some nice easy targets and quickly drew and loosed another arrow killing one of the creatures.  That seemed to shake them out of their surprise as they quickly zeroed in and began running at me.  

They were surprisingly fast creatures for being so small but I still managed to shoot two more down before having to drop my bow in favor of my melee weapons.  The fight was quick, brutal and lacked any kind of finesse.  I loved it.

By the time I was done the built up feelings from my kills almost caused me to drool and had I been normal I would have been embarrassed by the rather obvious bulge from my erection.  I had taken only a couple of hits this time, though neither amounted to more than a light bruise and scratch.  It took me a few moments to regain my composure before I went and collected my spent arrows.  I never bothered to check over corpses of the goblins I've killed as they generally don't have more than a knife and loincloth (if even that) on them.

However as I was fishing out one of my arrows from a goblin's throat I noticed a strange marble like thing next to its body.  Curious I picked it up and was immediately assaulted by a strong urge to eat it strangely enough.  I managed to restrain myself and put the thing in my pocket before finishing my collections.  No other corpse had a similar marble nearby and a quick search and even quicker dissection revealed nothing on them.  I didn't feel like spending any more time so I left, returning quickly to my sanctuary on the roof.

Once there I did a relatively light workout for about an hour before grabbing a quick bit of water before sitting down to take out my strange new marble.  My erection had calmed down a few minutes after I left the goblin corpses so the climb up and subsequent workout wasn't too uncomfortable which I was grateful for.  My random thought quickly left me as my stomach rumbled and hunger and I once more had the urge to consume the marble.

I tried using my new power on the thing but got nothing, both with and without my gloves, which was strange but I wasn't too bothered by it.  I was weighing my options before I decided to just say fuck it and popped the marble in my mouth, I wasn't afraid of dying and thought it could be a novel experience if anything went wrong.  I tried biting the thing but all that did was make my teeth ache so I just swallowed it whole.  

At first all I felt was a faint cold sensation as it went down my throat.  That left quickly however once it reached my stomach and I was quickly assaulted by pain like I've never felt before.  

It's strange.

I thought as my vision started fading to black.

On one hand the pain is indescribable, on the other the novel experience of the whole thing is faintly enjoyable.

That was the last thought I had before I passed out in a puddle of my own urine and saliva.