Carcass 1.7.2

Gods walked among mortals and it was evident in the way humans acted.

Jay was unsure how he felt about it. The hero and villain worship. He knew that those with powers were just humans with supernatural gifts. There was little rhyme or reason behind if someone was able to ‘Crack’ and trigger the awakening of their potential power or not. This event was usually traumatic, a response to a stressful environment or situation that caused the individual to reach for something deep inside to protect themselves. But not everyone Cracked, some just broke.

Most ‘Cracks’ were bloody and destructive affairs. Those with pyrokinetic abilities would burn through stone, often harming those around them. A certain case a few years ago led to the capes in Central implementing policies and procedures for newly awakened powers. Forceful enrollment in a specialized training program being the first.

Although everyone knew it was just a way for Central to get to the new powers and convert them to their side. Jay would have been among them if it wasn’t for a particular cape forcing him into joining The Drowned.

It sometimes felt like New Seattle was more of a splintered city than a unified front. Each faction ruled its slice of the kingdom while Central Pantheon acted as arbiters and peacemakers in times of invasion.

“They haven’t been doing too good a job at it.”

Central Patheon was comprised of fifty or so equally powerful capes with a host of lesser-ranked powers serving under them. Most of them had gotten complacent in their lives, content to be served on by their followers and supplicants.

Only a few were still seen in the public eye. Stardust, Moon, Landfill, Crag, and a couple others that Jay couldn’t remember off the top of his head. Each one was deadly in their own right. Most of the enforcement was done by junior teams that dealt with petty crimes. The team with Baggins that had apprehended him a couple days ago was one.

Jay’s inner reflections came to a close as his bare feet switched from the concrete sidewalk and landed upon the crunch of gravel. He looked forward and saw the ocean ahead, the morning sun crested over the horizon and was barely starting to warm up the area.

The teenager peeked around for a bit and saw no one nearby. He hiked up his sweatpants and waded into the freezing water.

It was clearer here, less murky and trash filled. The human residue was still prominent, shards of glass, litter, and plastic being the most common that he could see. The beast inside felt sickened, it whispered to him to exterminate those that polluted its land. Crush their bones under our heel and tear into their weak fragile flesh! THEY WILL-

He slapped the side of his face and the hissing went away. He wasn’t here to learn about his powers, no, he was here to talk to his father. Or the closest thing you could do to someone dead.

“Hey, Dad. Sorry, I didn’t come last week. I got busy with school. Did you know Gabby Cracked? Do you remember her? She used to come over on weekends occasionally, when her father, Tim, would bring her during your poker nights. Yeah, she awakened, stepped on a nail in the parking lot. Could hear her scream for miles. The cars that surrounded her were flattened, like crushed under a press. I only saw the aftermath and the capes that appeared to make sure she didn’t go on a rampage.

“She hates me, you know? Hates me for what you did. Blames me for her father’s death. It's stupid but I understand. I’d hate her if her dad was the one that dragged you off to sea to die like a fool.” Jay’s shoulders heaved as he took in a shuddering breath, struggling to hold on to his waning composure.

“Mom’s still crazy, but it got worse after Henry was hospitalized. I told you this last month but she stopped setting out a plate for you when we eat together. The rare time she’s sober enough to feed us. She stopped setting one out for Henry too. She’s treating him like he’s already dead!” He shouted so loud that he felt another roar coming. His hand shot to his mouth, constraining the noise.

He knew he was buying time. The metaphorical whale in the water was obvious for both him and his father to see.

The boy watched a few seagulls overhead and felt the words spill out from his throat like gushing blood.

“I’ve done something terrible, Dad. Something you wouldn’t be proud of me for.” Jay felt his eyes begin to water, his vision blurred as he blinked rapidly, trying to hold back the tears that threatened to flood out.

“I’m not the same person I was a week ago. It wasn’t obvious at first but I’m doing things that I never would have dreamed of doing. Remember how I was afraid to hurt the grasshopper that crawled into our house? How I screamed and yelled for you not to squash it. I wonder how vast the difference there is between that and making paste out of-,” he tried to continue but his throat felt constricted. He tried to speak but only a raspy whisper escaped his lips.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

“I’m changing, Dad. There’s this monster inside of me that’s telling me to do all these awful things. I tried to fight it at first but the longer I go on the more sense it makes. A devil is on my shoulder but my angel is missing. Maybe Mom is right about there being a God and a Devil. I should contact her church and see if I can use this money to hire an exorcist.” Jay mocked himself.

“Oh please, Father! My son has a demon inside of him! Cure him of his ailments!

“It didn’t work for Henry so I doubt it’d work for me. Then she’d just go back to the bottle,” Jay sneered and dipped his hand in the ocean. He brought it up with a swift cupping of his digits, sending a waterfall of drops into the air and back down.

“What would you do? Knowing you, you’d probably give some impassioned speech and get everyone to go along with your crazy idea. Wouldn’t that be a sight? Do you think if I tried hard enough I could have convinced Argo to leave? Made her see how stupid it was to try to carve out territory by taking it from the Drowned?” He plopped down in the salty water with a splash, his clothes were instantly soaked through with a piercing chill. Jay couldn’t feel the cold, his power keeping him warm enough to walk through an arctic blizzard and barely feel a gusty breeze.

“No, Argo brought it upon herself. The stupid shithead probably thought she was hot stuff with her powers. What did you use to say, Dad? ‘There's always a bigger fish!’” Jay scoffed. He couldn’t help as a memory of his past surfaced at the forefront of his mind. A reassuring voice echoed in his head.

“There’s always a bigger fish, Jay, but that doesn’t mean you let the fish do whatever it wants. Be humble, but also be proud of what you can do and who you are.” Lean and tanned arms held onto the dusty fishing pole, he and his father had spent half the day trying to find them in the garage. His father had spent another hour making sure they were in good enough condition to use.

“But what if the bigger fish tries to eat me?” Jay asked, his voice was high-pitched as he stared at the large fish swimming away. The hook at the end of his line held only the head of a small salmon.

“Then you fight, you fight with everything you’ve got. The same goes for your brother, he needs you to protect him no matter what. He isn’t as strong as the other boys so I need you to make sure he isn’t picked on.” Sturdy and familiar hands removed the head and tossed the remains upon the wooden dock. Seagulls dove onto the carcass, tearing and biting at each other for the scraps.

“Someday I won’t be here to do this for you so you should learn, no son of mine won’t be able to bait his own hook.” Moments later Jay swung the rod out into the ocean, and the red and white bobber floated on the seafoam. His father’s smile was wide and he patted him on the shoulder. The weight of his hand caused him to lean slightly.

“Yes! Ah, crap!” The reel on his rod started unraveling at a fast pace. His father tried desperately to hold on but the flimsy line snapped after a moment of intense struggle. The man with a distorted face scratched at the ragged beard across his chin.

“Let this be a second lesson for you. Sometimes it's best to let things go. There’s no use brooding or crying over what might have been. There is only what has happened and what you decide to do about it. Do what you must to protect your family, even if it means hurting yourself in the process. Donnellys don’t quit when the going gets tough. We buckle down harder until either it succeeds or it fails,” bloody and shredded palms turned upwards, “and if it fails then we sure as hell make sure we did our best.”

The ocean waves cracked against the rocky beach with magnified ferocity. The sea churned with restless energy, as if in anticipation of the upcoming storm. The salty air was heavy with the scent of dirt and mud, and the sound of thunder rumbled in the distance. The light drizzle of rain splattered against the shore, escalating from droplets to heavy hammers of gravity. They pounded against the earth like the drums of a marching army.

The sky above was dark, with flashes of lightning illuminating the cloud-covered sky with bursts of sinister bolts of energy.

So caught up with his brooding that Jay had barely noticed the arrival of the weather. He felt the strength of the water bash against his body, but he stood strong and unaffected. He returned to the shore briefly and stripped down to his bare skin. No fear of modesty on this abandoned stretch of beach. He tossed the clothes under a bush and hoped for the best. He saw the wad of cash which was soaked, but he barely paid it another glance. He felt caught up in the moment, a beast of instinct rather than rationality.

He paced into the ocean waves and tasted the salty water on his tongue. He ran slim fingers through his hair and looked back to the horizon.

“I think I understand, Dad.” He felt the tears flood down his face. The streams of liquid were undifferentiable from the rain that dropped down from the heavens.

Jay’s hand trembled and he raised them to his chest, for a brief second the slickness that covered his limbs wasn’t water, but blood. The entire ocean was a crimson hue, the waves raged with the anger of the slain.

“I won’t back down! I won't fucking quit!” Jay dove into the darkness below. His eyes opened up, revealing the crystal clear underside ecosystem under the waves. He kicked off and shot off further into the ocean, each sweep of his legs sent him propelling further out. He slowly began to shift.

Bit by bit his body began to contort and twist. First, the arms, snapping and shifting beneath his stretched skin. His skull and torso distorted and elongated, his nose and jaw stretching out into a sharp, reptilian snout. Scales replaced fleshy skin, emerging with a pale sickly green hue. The hide shimmered under the flashes of lightning, bathing the ocean floor with an irradiated glow.

A predatory amber gaze searched for prey, the gigantic body sliding through the currents with bloodcurdling ease. It moved faster through the water than it ever could on land. A beast meant for the sea.

The sinuous serpent glided forward, its lithe body undulating with fluid grace. It cut through the murky depths with barely a disturbance. Its eyes remained fixed ahead, unblinking and alert. The flicker of its tongue tasted the water, sensing the slightest disturbance even miles away.

Jay spent hours winding his way through the craggy bottom of the ocean, exploring the hidden depths that some hadn’t seen for years. He felt free within the blankets of water as if he had returned to his natural habitat.

Jay felt something shift. The surface of the side of the gulch was covered with stone, rocky outcroppings, and hiding fish.

The tentacle shoot forth and wrapped around the Leviathan. Hooks attempted to dig into seamless scales but bounced off ineffectively. Jay hissed in outrage before lunging toward the camouflaged creature. Dozens of appendages lunged forward with lightning-like speed and wrapped around the Leviathan’s midsection.

Jay retaliated, biting down hard on the squid’s soft flesh, forcing it to release its grip. The two monsters clashed against and again, their bodies twisting and turning in a frenzied dance of death. The squid unleashed a barrage of strikes, each one missed or was deflected. Jay moved through the water with absolute control. Like the very surroundings headed his command.

With a sudden burst of speed, Jay launched himself at the squid, sinking his razor-sharp fangs deep into the hardened skull. He felt the flesh pulverize under his might and his victim let out an agonized scream as its body writhed in sporadic bursts.

Not long after, Leviathan consumed the corpse, letting the remains of the unnaturally large sea monster float away. He could help but let out a victorious hiss underneath the raging waves of the storm.

He slithered further into the ocean, letting his defeated prey sink into the abyss.