I was always an outcast...forsaken by the rest of the ones called Humans. I stood in shadows, longing to be a part of which I could only overlook. My entire childhood revolved around watching, observing, listening to others playing, laughing and involving themselves in activities which I could not do.
I was born upon a dawn when the days were fairly peaceful. War had raged upon the lands, but they were rebuilt, the peoples reunited with their armies and the wives and children learned what it was to be happy once again. The homes were nothing more than small straw huts, roughly assembled with twigs and brackish from the forest and plastered together with animal droppings and mud. They offered nothing more than a slight shelter from the brazen winds and the harsh weather during the winter, but made for a good summer home. The village I was born to seemed centered around nothing more than their forest, their plantations of grains and small fruits, and a large lake. Every action and goings-on further than the span of the small village was left ignored. The people lived a sheltered, quiet life and were quite content with the way it was. But something happened that changed everything...Something was borne within the thin mortar barricades of this village that threatened to shake them to the very core, cause a great discord and throw everything they knew into a massive upheaval.
That something was me...
A young woman, twenty-three by the looks of it, with already silver strands in her long blonde hair, lie tossing upon her straw mat. Alonna and her husband had been trying for a child, and every night she'd awaken with her skin as pale as snow and as cold as ice. Visions of mass-destruction and horrific scenes played through her mind and all she could do was whimper and hold tight to her husband. One night, her horrific dream was only the beginning of the pain...
The night was cold and dark, and the only visible thing in the area was a flickering lantern held by one small boy. She could tell the boy was not frightened, but something was wrong with him...his whole persona wreaked of darkness. His black hair tousled and flipping wildly in the wind, but never uncovering his face. His eyes seemed as black as the night around him, and a smile of insanity smeared his face. The boy turned, and within a split second, his eyes flickered as the flame within the casing of the lantern. His lips parted slowly, turning the small slit into a wide grin, revealing glimmering white teeth. Alonna�s spirit recoiled in fear that the small boy instilled upon her. A cold shiver ran down her spine. All he had to do was stare with those cold black orbs...stare until she felt she'd lose her mind.
Suddenly, the timid boy raised his arm to one side, revealing his hand beneath a black cloak. His fingertips curled and his palm was cupped and facing upwards. Within his grasp was a small flame. Nothing dangerous...then the boy tossed the flame like it was a mere tiny bouncy ball...hurtled it towards the astral manifestation of the woman. Moments later, the entire vicinity was aflame. Bright crimson and orange flames licked the forest's beautiful perimeter. Soon the entire area was enveloped in nothing but a blazing inferno. Alonna stared in disbelief as the area she�d grown up in turn dark and smolder.
And the boy just stood, turned and walked casually away, blowing the wick of the lantern�s light into a smoldering abyss. His body was swallowed, consumed in the darkness of twilight. As his thick black cloak whipped in the wind, he gauntly walked and laughed, watching the destruction that his small flame had caused. He watched the bodies explode in sheer heat. Observed as the tiny ant-like bodies scurried across the village trying to load buckets of water from the lake to put out the fire.
Unfortunately, the lake was miles from the village and not accessible... And just to make sure the village could not exterminate his fury, he cast a second spell. He appeared next to the lake. Someone jumped madly into the lake to extinguish the flames upon his back, but came upon one most unfortunate disaster. The boy stood with his hand extended once more, only this time, he pressed gently his lips upon the flattened palm in a mock kiss. As he curled his hand away from his lips, he blew gently. A brisk freezing wind brewed up out of nowhere. Ice crystals settled upon his breath, sending forth a massive chill upon the lake's shore and expanding forth in a crackling doom. The man treading water paddled desperately in an attempt to escape the now freezing lake. But to no avail, the water around his torso froze solid as a rock. It began constricting his body until he couldn't breathe. The man started shivering, and with every shallow breath he was pleading, begging the boy to have mercy, but still the boy laughed beneath his ebony locks. Finally, the man lost all feeling below his waist and started grabbing for any traction on the ice. His face was filled with horror, but he didn't give up. The ice cut off the circulation from his chest and below, and his arms began to turn a deathly hue of purple. The man groped the ice until finally his hands failed to function and he dropped his head to the ice and lie dying. The boy cackled insanely, whilst the other men bolted for the edge of the forest, dropping their buckets in their wake. Their horrified expressions only gave way to more terror as the twenty-feet and growing flames surrounding them within the smoldering forest. Soon, all the men that had gone to fetch water had failed and their charred corpses scattered the land. The surviving few that made it partially through the inferno had to listen to their comrade's bodies inflating and bursting, and as the heat consumed them, the sound of flesh crackling and their own hair sizzling and the searing heat tearing at their nostrils and ears. Their eyelashes and lids catching ablaze as they could no longer withstand the heat. The smell of dead bodies charring the air so heavily that they could taste the very stench of death. Their lungs filling with smoke until their airways were constricted and they dropped to the ground. The sound of their blood boiling so hard the veins and arteries burst. And finally, their eyeballs exploding in the sockets due to the high temperature.
Without the hope of having water to extinguish the fire, the village was swallowed up in flames...and the boy stood on the outskirts with a pleasant Cheshire grin upon his face, cloak whipping in the wind that was feeding the flames. The flames of his desire and bloodlust...
As the woman woke up once again in a cold sweat, her husband lie half awake. She fell into her arms and wept, explaining the vision to him. He did not believe her visions were true until this last one. He was convinced that something very evil was about to be born...
A few months prior...
On the other side of the village, a woman shrieked out. Some awakened from their tents and huts, wondering what the commotion was about. The woman was being hurtled across the tent and bodily handled by two masked soldiers dressed in camouflage, an itchy burlap wrap upon their shoulders and a pair of muddy buckskin pants. They grabbed her wrists and carted her off, stabbing her with a needle. She soon hushed as the liquid within the syringe was a harsh sedative. Villagers rushed around her tent, hurrying along the path that many tread in the forest, trying to locate the woman, but she was never found.
Soon she stirred, attempting to move her arms, but some sort of electrical field held her down. She lie on her back with arms and legs outstretched, looking like a starfish flayed on the shore...helpless, naked, and vulnerable. "What..where...am I?" She tried to say, but her mouth was bound by the same force field as her limbs. Her eyes shot open wide when she saw a large machine with a clawed hand, holding surgical instruments of all shapes and sizes. The large plexiglass helmet that covered the faceplate of the machine made her realize that the machine was operated by a human. The rest of the area was pitch black, lest for the other cold steel operating tables holding other creatures that looked far less than human. Their mutilated bodies torn open with a Y-Incision in the chest, and blood covered innards lying in jars next to them. Tears began to well up in the woman's eyes, as she was far from home in a strange place with even stranger people and unknown instruments all around. She couldn't discern what sorts of magicks were being used, but she was certain that this must be a dream...or so she hoped.
"She's waking up, sir." A tinny voice was projected from the mechanized being in front of her. The metallic legs of the robot made a weee-urrr sound as the shiny joints bent and straightened. With each methodic step, the flat-footed machine stamped loudly and had little mobility. The plexiglass shield was the only thing covering the engineer's seat and the chamber where the pilot stood. It seemed to be nothing more than a body suit, simulating every move the pilot made. The claw-like apparatus extending from the arm of the mech possessed the ability to grasp anything. These mechanoid warriors were used solely for transportation of hazardous materials, but their higher purpose was yet to come.
The hiss of depressurization emitted from the mech as the plexiglass case swivelled upwards and the abdomen unfurled downwards, spitting the man out like a cracked egg. The pilot squirmed and unglued himself from the uncomfortable animal-skin seat. Another man dressed in burlap unsnapped the buckles and disengaged his arms from the tight-fitting arm guards and gauntlets that controlled the mech's movement. He followed the same procedure for the legs. The pilot stepped out, stretching his legs and arms. "Whew! Tight fit in there!" He exclaimed, breathing in deeply the less-stale air. He wiped the beaded sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief he pulled out of his pocket. His scruffy brown hair and dark dirty looked as if he'd been working in a sweatshop, but in one swipe of that handkerchief he revealed his true color.
The man wore a uniform with patches of green and black. Some sort of code was stitched on his left shoulder and various colors of stripes and medallions were beneath it. He plastered a black hat with a strange insignia upon his greasy hair.
"Well lieutenant, what have you brought us?" He asked the man standing next to him.
Tears began to stream down the woman's face once more. She trembled in fear. What was to become of her? And what did he mean by "Prototype A"? Was she going to die like the others on the operating tables? She prayed silently to God, wishing she could be released from this hellish prison of metal and strange technology. She just wanted to be home, with her family, with her husband, in her straw hut cooking stew over the fire. Or chanting and preparing the expectant mothers like the other midwives...She wished to be anywhere but here. Especially with that pig that just kissed her...She hadn't even the chance to fight back! The man in the white coat pushed a button. It elevated the cold metal surface she was lying upon until it was no longer lying vertical on the wall, but horizontal. She was now lying on a steel table like the rest of the experiments, but unfortunately she was still bound by the mystical chains that emitted a low hum.
"Don't worry, you won't feel a thing." He said, laughing. He held a thick syringe with several milligrams of liquid in it and tapped the tip of the bottle. She tried once again to squirm her way out of the binds but was unsuccessful. Her muscles were now weary and strained. But she had nowhere to turn...she was forced to succumb to whatever fate this doctor was giving her.
As he injected the fluid, her arm began to pulsate. She could feel the liquid rising in her veins. The tingling sensation it sent to her mind and body didn't stop. Every muscle now burned as if a thousand flames had lit within her body. She felt every pain receptor scream out, yet she could not do anything but retain the sound from exiting her mouth. Her wail was so high-pitched that it broke the bond upon her mouth. Her screams echoed throughout the facility as her mind now became feral, she was a beast that was only contained by the binds on her arms and legs. "LET ME OUT OF HERE YOU STUPID SON OF A BITCH!" She shrieked. The doctor was so taken aback that he stumbled and broke the needle off within her arm. He couldn't get her to shut up any other way than shoving his hand in her mouth...This was a horrid mistake because he soon found her teeth to be as sharp as needles. He nearly lost his fingertips to her mouth. She screamed again and spat out the blood. As the doctor recoiled in pain, an officer trotted his way to the woman and jammed another needle into her arm. Within seconds, she lie limp upon the table.
"Quite a startling reaction she had to the Belladonna Antigen, sergeant." The doctor replied as he was bandaging his wounded hand.
The woman's arms began to pale, soon followed by her neck and chest, until er entire body seemed to be drained of pigment. Even her eyes were white as snow. Soon her hair was a blinding blonde.
The doctor continued poking and prodding the woman. He hit the button activating the table elevation. This brought the table to an upright position once more.
He cut open the dorsal veins in the wrists, allowing the blood to drip slowly down the table into an intricate draining system. The drains were nothing more than gutters in the sides of the table, but the gutters absorbed the blood and syphoned the liquid into a large cravat.
"Doctor, what is the purpose of this bloodletting?" The sergeant asked.
"Commence hormonal stimulation." The sergeant said with a dark laugh and began to pace around the workstation, observing other experiments.
Three hundred clicks later, the woman lie completely unconscious and seemingly dead. But the doctor knew better. She was still alive...He attached probes to her temples, chest and abdomen to monitor all of her vitals. After being administered an Intravenous in her arm, she began to come to. Slowly, she regained consciousness, and she was not happy. Her mind was alive and aware. More sensitive than ever. Her body was on fire, she felt like she could lift one of the mechs with a finger. She felt more energized than ever...and the best part was that she was free! She looked up at the doctor in confusion. She was unsure of what to do or who to trust, but she was ready to listen. Her body was telling her to kill...but she'd wait for some answers first.
Within three clicks, she was nowhere to be seen. The sergeant flew down the hallways and screamed at the doctor, "WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE GOT LOOSE?!" He said, grabbing the doctor by the neckline. He dropped the doctor and shouted to the soldiers, "PROTOTYPE A IS A KILLING MACHINE! SHE WILL DESTROY OUR ENTIRE BASE IN A FEW CLICKS! NOW SECURE HER!" He shouted and the soldiers scattered, scampering after her. The alarm sounded and everyone went on the run for her.
Fifteen clicks and forty-five dead soldiers later, she was found and restrained. They used an injection that fed a virus into her body. She was rendered disabled until they could get her back to a proper holding cell. She was thrown into a cell with other creatures similar to her, administered the vaccine and dropped next to an ugly mutation that had the body of a human male with bat-like features for a head with webbed arms and clawed feet.
"So...how long you in for?" He said gently, swinging down from his perch on the ceiling.
In the morning, he awoke and she was gone. The bars of his cage were torn from the center then pulled back together in a way to conceal an escapee. "What? No...she can't be...gone..." He whimpered and screamed, grabbing the bars of his cage. "Noooooo!" He shouted one last time and then fell to the floor in tears. "I didn't even know her name..." He thought.
Illandra ran through the vicinity, passing millions upon millions of specimens. Anything from half-animals to torn bodies that seemed to be food. They all held their hands out to her wishing for help to be released...but she couldn't. She had to find a way out.
Illandra came upon the room where she had first been experimented upon. She saw the wells that drew her blood from her body. She felt a strange pain surge through her abdomen and wondered what it was...She took a few steps, cringed and then stumbled to the floor and was out cold.
"We've found her! And it appears we have no need to secure her! She is unconscious!" The doctor shouted. He felt for her pulse, which was a foolish notion. He grabbed her seemingly frail body and propped her up onto a table. Her abdomen was strangely swollen. Could the virus have affected her in some way?...no...The doctor realized his mistake. In the Hormonal Replacement Therapy, he'd upped the Estrogen and Progesterone levels so high that she had a horrible craving for....sex.....She would give herself to anyone and anything. If she didn't have her gratification, she'd suffer. He held the woman's hand and said gently "I never meant for this...I..." and suddenly she stirred. She opened her eyes and screamed.
"What...the....fuck..." One of the soldiers said quietly. He saw the child drink thirstily and the woman seem to gain pure pleasure from it. "What is that thing..." He said, pointing at it and pulling off his Hazmat mask. "That....is not human!" He shouted, grabbing an Exacto knife from a nearby table and running towards the creature. The child, who had now grown from the size of a newborn to one more like a year old, shrieked and hurled itself upon the man, tearing at his throat and making him drop the weapon. "You will not hurt my mother!" It howled, followed by a deafening screech that disabled all the members in the area.
The woman stood up and grabbed her child by the hand, leading her out the door. "One day, they'll see just how powerful we are...Good job, my child." The child grinned, now standing, walking and talking like a toddler. "I know I'm gonna be just like my mommy..." She said with a childish laugh.
Once the rest of the crew could stand and think properly, they had a meeting. "We've got to control these creatures. She's going to get into the wilderness and repopulate...First one, then one hundred, soon a thousand...until we have nothing left to fight with! We're going to have to find something to destroy these...abominations...or they will destroy the human race!" the Commander-in-chief shouted.
"Agreed." Everyone said in unison.
A few clicks later...
"Wait....there's.....more....." He whispered, stumbling upon his own words.
"She....She went that way.." He said, pointing towards the exit to Cellblock B.
"Thank you. I am sure your actions will be rewarded finely." The officer said, placing a hand on the bat's shoulder. "Take care, I am sure I can find a way to help you out of here." And with that, he left the heartbroken bat.
"There's been another outbreak." The soldier cried. He pointed on the electronic map toward a small section of the forest, on the southeast part of the village.
They passed the numerous cages filled with exotic animals that were used for DNA insertion, including lions, tigers, panthers, cobras, spider monkeys, giant spiders, and all sorts of insects. Each row of cages contained their own genus. In fact, the entirety of Cellblock F were animals. They were all in good health, but they seemed unhappy with their surroundings. Most felt like they were simply prisoners with no hope of escaping. But unlike these animals, the BatBoy would be able to see the real world again...to breathe actual non-synthetic air...He sighed and continued marching with the rest of the group.
"I assume you are prepared to fight as it is. Your skin is tough enough to withstand any vamp or halfling's teeth. But you still have to watch your weak points." one soldier said in a monotone voice. "These creatures are vicious. They're far more dangerous and heartless than the one you met. Keep your eyes peeled...or however that works." He said with a quirky chuckle.
-----------------
In the meantime, in the overworld...
"It is time to find you a mate, my child." Illandra told her child, grabbing her hand. She took the child to the village and allowed her to ravage a couple's tent in their sleep, leaving the man without a portion of his genetic makeup and drained entirely of blood. The villagers were frightened of the goings-on, but never quite came to grips with the threat of the vampiric race. They only sought to keep to themselves and not report a death or make a big fuss over the loss of a loved one. They tried to stay out of the forest at night as a preventative measure.
"Yes, love...your child will develop quickly within your womb. Be not afraid, I went through the same with you." She said, soothing the young woman.
The process continued until Illandra brought forth a handsome young man, her own grandson. "Beautiful! Now feed your child. Make him one with the Night!" She said, gently ushering her grandchild into her daughter's arms. The cycle continued until the militia showed up.
----------------
"All right men! Move out!" Lajak shouted to his team. Everyone scattered around the forest and soon it was nothing but a huge melee fight between the vampire abominations and the humans.
"NOOO!!!!!" She shouted. "My daughter!! My beautiful Daughter!! And my grandson!! How could you?!" She wailed as she threw herself atop the dying family.
She hurtled herself at the bat, clawing fiercely at his eyes, tearing into the soft flesh and hitting his most vulnerable spot--his wings. She tore holes three inches long in his webbed flesh, hoping that he would be rendered flightless for the rest of his days. In the meantime, a few soldiers thrust themselves upon the rabid vampire, forcing her to the ground and sedating her once more. They bound her with chains and made sure her binds were stronger than steel. Her face soon relaxed and was less insane, so soon all she could feel were the sedatives within her system. Her body was as limp as a noodle...However her mate was rendered helpless and the guilt was eating him alive.
-------------------
Experiments continued, using Prototype A as an example, but she was contained in a special unit where she could not escape. Neurotoxins were pumped into the air in the cell any time she misbehaved. "This is not the way to live!" She shouted, but her pleas were left unheard. She was fed dead blood from other experiments, but she always turned it down. What was the use if she couldn't feed from the source? Besides.....cold and congealed blood is disgusting...
A few weeks later, the doctors devised a brilliant clone of Prototype A. They nicknamed her Prototype B and her sister Prototype C. They both listened wonderfully, completely programmed to do the military's bidding no matter what. They both were successful at killing on a whim, but not taking out military personnel. B and C slept together in the same cell, but were allowed special privileges like live blood, for behaving or doing well in an obstacle course. After a while, the prototypes were finally given names. B was named "Celia Snow" and C was named "Pearl Snow"...both seemingly harmless names, but they were truly genuine killing machines. Other failures occurred when more bat DNA was transferred to the clones. They turned into living, breathing bats the size of a human body. More failures included the disfigured human bodies, ones that had no success in accepting DNA...they'd gain markings of the animal but nothing more. Soon their bodies rejected the DNA and formed a monster of such a caliber that they had no comprehension of human language. Those were later disposed of.
Pearl and Celia hunted together when allowed to visit the upperworld. They trained together and comprehended more than normal adults even if they were only four-year-olds. However, in an unfortunate experience, Celia died. Her booster shot was mistaken and she was injected with a fatal strain of smallpox. Pearl turned to the wall and was angered for a while, refusing to eat or train. At the age of seven, she finally broke free of the plastic prisons and using her newfound abilities, finding she was tired of the military's arguments on what she was to destroy next. She managed to hide within the village, pretending to be a normal child, but it was soon discovered that she was not "normal."
Present Day
"Wanna play with us?" One of the girls asked Pearl. She just stared back at them, wondering what the hell the point of playing with a doll was.
--------------------
Alonna awoke with cold sweat dripping down her forehead. Her eyes were as round and white as saucers. She was scared...scared more than she'd ever been. As she brushed the sweat aside, she glanced down at her hand and realized that the liquid was discolored. "What the..." She whispered breathlessly. As her weary sleep-deprived and puffy tear-stricken eyes tried to focus, the liquid continued to drip from her brow. She glanced down at her hand, her mind registering now the color of crimson. A quick gasp escaped her lips and she curled her body closer, clutching her knees to her chest. Her mind was clouded by visions of the upcoming future...but she didn't know what to do about it. She reached for her husband, desperately seeking the comfort of his arms, but didn't find it. A few seconds later, she felt the drip--not upon her brow--but from above.
She was confused, wondering where this blood was coming from...until she finally looked up. Something was hanging from its feet from a tree branch at top of the hut. It was unclear what it was until Alonna brought the torch closer to it. A carcass lie slit from groin to chin, innards completely removed, and blood dripping from one end to another.
She found her husband, unfortunately....She let out a blood-curdling scream that would wake the dead. Within a few seconds, she felt something thrown at her head. She looked down, and the middle finger from a body stare back up at her. Now her gullet could not produce another scream to match the first, so she just stared at it in shock.
"Do you mind? I'm eating supper..." The voice said calmly but with a twinge of malevolence. The woman squinted to see where the voice was coming from, but soon all she saw were two glowing red eyes and a glint of ivory fangs, buried deep within the carcass' dorsal veins. Within moments, the woman was devoured by the creature.
Once again, Alonna awoke from her nightmare. She was having more and more prophecies come true, and she was afraid that her life would soon come to an end after her son was born...She just clutched her husband tightly, crying away her pains and burying her face in his chest.
"This young woman would make a fine genotype." He said proudly, with a grin on his face. "She is strong, fast, very agile and has the attitude to match any tongue we have." He said with a snicker.
"Perfect." The sergeant said. "Doctor!"
"Yes, sergeant?" A man in a long white lab coat and black glasses said anxiously.
"Are you ready to carry out experiment five-two-six A?" He asked with a stern tone, crossing his arms behind his back.
"Yes, sir. We can start as early as three clicks from now." The doctor said with increasing excitement.
"Begin the procedure then." He said, waving to the troops on the sidelines.
"Yes sir!" They called to him, appearing in formation with arms to their sides.
"I want you to all keep watch over this young woman. Make damn sure she doesn't escape." He snarled.
"YES SIR!" They said.
"As for you...my beautiful one." The sergeant said quietly, looking up and down the woman's body. "You just have to wait and see what's going to happen. We have a lot in store for you...Prototype A." He snickered, grabbing the girl's jaw and forcing her to purse her lips. He kissed her crudely, then released her jaw and walked away.
"I'll be in my office, doctor. I expect to have the lab papers prepared within four hundred clicks."
"Yes...yessir." He said nervously.
"Yes...that is to be expected. Next time, have better restraints around the mouth." He replied in a flat tone.
"Is this a side effect of the Belladonna?" The sergeant asked.
"Yessir. The Belladonna is a flower only opens at night, thus relieving anything of its pigment. This young mistress is going to be prone for her beauty."
"It's a ritual that will drain the woman completely of her life-force and then allow her to run on next to none. This will stimulate all of her sensory perceptors into believing she is dead. Once she has too little blood to survive, the Synthesized cell production is injected. She will awaken and then undergo the most tedious task..."
"Which is?" Sergeant asked.
"Hormonal stimulation. She will systematically be re-programmed to have higher Epinephrine and Norepinephrine levels which will allow her to have energy constantly. She will also have simulated Androgens: Progesterone and Estrogen that will increase her sexual pleasure and appetite...We'll re-program her to get off on destruction and killing..." The doctor got a grin upon his face that was of pure satisfaction. And by the looks of it, the sergeant did as well.
"Yes sir.."The doctor said greedily.
The doctor administered an injection with Lasionycteris noctivagans DNA so she could have the hearing and senses of a bat. Amongst other animal's DNA included: cheetah for speed and sharp teeth and mosquito for bloodlust. He also rubbed a memory inhibitor named Dystelia across her forehead, and the mixture seeped into her brain. He planned to break down everything she remembered and reprogram her to be the perfect soldier...if not that then the perfect child bearer.
"Your name is Illandra. You are within the grounds of Teryn Base. We will help you get along your way...but as for now, how do you feel?"
"Illandra..."Her voice muttered. "I like it..." She snarled and sniffed a bit, where the aura of danger suddenly pervaded her senses. "I feel.....hungry....." She laughed and bounded fifteen feet in the air, hurtling herself across tables and falling to all fours like an animal on the prowl. She attacked one of the nearer doctors and threw him to the ground, feeling her teeth sink into the man with no remorse. Her body filled with sexual gratification upon feeding. She felt empowered somehow. Wild. Feral. Dangerous...And deadly. She wiped her crimson lips and pedaled quickly through the vicinity looking for no specific person...
"In for? I don't even know why I was not allowed to leave?" She retorted. "I think I killed one too many of their friends..." She said with a laugh.
"Well at least you got the better of the treatments..." He said, pointing to his features. "I'm ashamed to even look at anyone with this face."
"What do you mean? I think you are...attractive." She said with a laugh, pressing herself upon the half-bat. "I mean....you have everything I want...." She said darkly, cornering the bat boy.
"Whoa lady..umm.." He said, getting nervous and maybe a tad bit aroused. "I think you've got the wrong impression..."
She forced her nude body upon the half-bat. "Do you mean to say my body isn't attractive?" She said in a seductive tone.
"Oh no...not at all." He said, melting. "In fact...you're...irresistible." His voice trailed off as she kissed him upon his awkward jaw. His webbed hands traveled down her spine and curled around her waist. She kissed him again and slipped herself atop his hard body. Her senses went wild as he made love to her, with wings enfolding her. The feeling lingered as she finally climaxed and sunk her pinpoint fangs into the bat boy but not drinking of him. "Mmmph." Was all she uttered, but her face revealed more pleasure than anything. He held her close as they fell asleep. His mind was still reeling, and he didn't know what to think. He was confused but blissed at this beauty making love to him..of all people..him THE FREAK OF NATURE! But his thoughts finally ceased and he fell asleep again.
"What is wrong with her? Is Prototype A not successful? Shall we throw her in the dungeons like the rest?" The sergeant shouted.
"N--No sir. It appears..she..She.." he stuttered.
"SHE WHAT?!" He yelled.
"Well...she's with child..." He said nervously.
"That's..impossible..." The sergeant whispered. "I was supposed to get her first.." He mumbled.
"No it's entirely possible...but the rapid rate the child is growing at is not!" He said with a shocked expression.
They watched as the swollen belly began to take form as a maternal one, and as her breasts began to enlarge and darken around the nipple.
"This...is....unreal!" He shouted. "She's......She's about to bear this child in five clicks or less at this rate!"
The doctor signaled for one of the soldiers to grab the preparations for birth. Warm water, towels....they had the makings but not the knowledge of being a matron.
"HELP ME!!!!!!" The changed woman screamed. "KILL MEEEEE!" She wailed, breathing deep and tearfully as the contractions got closer. Her body leaned forward and she pushed with all her might. Her eyes squeezed tightly shut and she breathed one last heavy breath...The men were prepared in Hazmat suits and gloves, holding towels. Within a few clicks, the baby was delivered. They held the baby up to the mother. The woman said "No...allow me!" She grabbed the child, held it close and bit off the umbilical cord, lapping up what was left of the blood off the child's body. The child uttered a proverbial screech that knocked the rest of the staff to the ground holding their ears. She clutched the child to her bosom and allowed the child to latch on her neck, but the child was not suckling for milk....she was suckling for blood...
"Now we need some sort of information on how this thing was created. And what happened to make it develop so rapidly. Rasten, take your men and search the vicinity. Question all that saw Prototype A. If you don't find answers, force them out. Lajek, take your men and search the surface for any traces of the Prototype. Kama, you get cellblock C. Question the prisoner she was staying with in the holding cell. Now I expect a debriefing by four hundred clicks. Dismissed." The commander ordered.
"All right, BatBoy! Give me your answers. You're the one who stayed with her. What happened last night?" Kama asked with a stun gun pointed to his questioner's head. "Answer me or suffer consequences."
The bat stayed silent. He was too busy shaking, curled up in a ball and crying.
"ANSWER ME DAMMIT!" He shouted.
The bat perked up his ears as he was now in pain from the harsh tone he heard.
"I'd appreciate it if you just left me alone.." He answered feebly.
"A prisoner has escaped. I need answers NOW or I will be forced to hurt you." Kama said, coming closer to the bat, and speaking in a more gentle tone.
"Fuck you." He said, grabbing the man by the collar.
Kama shook, startled by the action this bat was taking towards him...but he pretended not to be afraid. He knew the bat could crush him easily.
"I...She....Loved me......We both were.......attracted........" His words were broken off by a crack in his voice. Tears began to stream down his face.
Kama shouted to the men behind him. "They had a liaison! That child is half bat! That explains the noise we were disabled by!" Kama quickly pulled away from the bat.
Months later
After months of experimentation, the military finally came to the conclusion that the virus Prototype A was given to make the body rigid and unmoveable had mutated, allowing the girl to move freely and faster than before. This also made her immune system stronger than anything, so she healed quickly. The soldiers were baffled as to how they were going to defeat a creature as dark and deadly as Prototype A.
"We'll take care of it." Lajak said, pulling his party of five aside and suiting up in heavy armor. He had vests laced with explosive materials, such as Molotov cocktails and primitive dynamite sticks. He also held numerous rounds of ammunition for the first automatic projectile weapon...stakes. Small thick marker-sized chunks of wood filed to a point. The weapon itself was fashioned by a crude wooden apparatus with a bowed cross-guard. It had a leather band that would snap back after holding the stake for a few clicks, allowing the projectile to be released. It was no larger than the length of a forearm and no wider than a chickadee's wingspan. The apparatus was strapped to the forearm and the ammunition was held in a pouch on the underside of the forearm. His other means of armor consisted of a thick metal helm than spread across his neck and shoulders. The precursor to full Medieval armor.
"Suit up boys....we've got us a vamp to capture." He said as if he were going to launch into full-scale combat.
Since Prototype A had escaped, the military had assembled capture squads, attempting to capture any live creatures they found. They had the advantage now, because they knew the Belladonna Antigen caused the creatures to sleep during the day and prowl at night.
They'd successfully captured twelve out of fifty creatures, but the downside was that the creatures multiplied too rapidly. They could hardly keep up with the infestation.
"Lajak?" A voice called from one of the cages as the team clomped down the hallways, preparing to enter the Assault Vehicles.
"Who called my name?" Lajak answered, startled that the man didn't call him by Sergeant.
"I did.." the voice continued.
Lajak found where the voice called from.
"Be careful when you capture the one....She's.....Special to me." He said gently, catching a bit of a sympathetic chord in his voice.
"I will." He replied.
It came to everyone's knowledge that not all the creatures in the vicinity were bad. Not to mention, not all of them held regrets to being turned into creatures. Some of them actually preferred to be halflings. This certain bat had come to terms with his new appearance and now wished to find the one he had a one night stand with...
"Lajak?" He called again.
He stopped in his tracks.
"Yeah?"
"I think I can help here...If you let me come I promise I can be the utmost help."
"How's that?" He asked curiously.
"Well....you see......"He said sort of bashfully. "I....Still have her scent upon me....I can hear thousands of times better than you humans as well...."
"Really?" He put the troops on hold and considered this thought.
"I believe you are right. Let me OK it with the commander." He said as he called the commander upon a telepathic link.
"Yessir. Thank you sir." He said loudly, closing the link.
"Looks like we're ok for you to go...but on one condition." He said cautiously.
"What's that?"
"On any occasion if you join them, or betray us....you'll be shot on the spot. You hear me?"
"Yes sir!" He shouted joyfully, and jumped down from his perch.
The soldier signaled the gatekeeper to unlock the door, and soon the bat was alongside the rest of the military crew.
The woman known as Illandra had ravaged the village on a nightly basis looking for food and mates. She'd built up armies of her own kind, and her offspring looked a little less frightful than her first child since they were half human and half vampire.
Her child had asked so many questions about her origins and what happened when she was born, why the military men chased after them and such. She could only answer in a simple "You're not like the others around here. Your father was a wonderful man and perhaps someday you'll meet him." But the child was never satiated with one answer. She craved information as well as blood. Her body had matured fully to an adult, and looked almost older than her mother, bearing her maternal markings like her mother's jet black hair and silvery eyes. Her skin was pale, but her ears were elongated and enlarged, curved in the shape of a bat's, extending an inch or so above her head. She also bore her father's claws on hands and feet, but no webbing or other deformities like the BatBoy.
"We're getting closer to the Prime." the halfling shouted to the soldier next to him. "I can taste her blood nearby."
Within moments, they came face-to-face with Illandra, standing watch over her child and grandchild.
"I see you've found a way to spawn more children, Prototype A." The commander snarled.
"Yes.......yes I have.........." She replied.
One soldier pulled the trigger on the leather band and released a stake. It headed straight for her child's heart.
She hissed, hurtling herself between the weapons and her offspring to protect them. "You shall never take them!" She shouted.
Little did she realize, she was surrounded by the militia and was not able to get free.
"WAIT! STOP!" someone screamed from behind the Commander.
"Don't hurt her! She is supposed to be alive!" He shouted again, breaking his way through the circle of military men.
"What?" She said in curiosity, seeing that the opposition was the halfling she made love to in the facility. But just as her attention was turned, someone's leather cord came loose and fired a bolt at the woman. It missed and planted itself in her child's heart, impaling her newborn grandchild in the process.
Her eyes filled with tears, but not of those you would see in any human. They were the brightest crimson anyone set eyes upon--pure blood...Since her kind had only blood to survive on, she bled from her tear ducts. Suddenly, the bodies of her offspring disintegrated, dissolving into nothing but ash.
The BatBoy stood there in horror. He didn't know what to say. His only way of reuniting with the one he loved had been shot down.....it was his fault the leather cord came untethered.....He was to blame for the murder of his own child and grandchild......
"Noooooooooo!" He shrieked so high-pitched that made even the toughest soldier cry.
The woman's body was limp, weak from exhaustion and anger. She had no will to live, now that her only first child had been destroyed. Her hopes of living on were worthless
now. And the BatBoy was to blame.
"If you don't mind, sir..." He said gently to the commanding officer. "I'd like to be released so I can die in the out-of-doors like I was meant to be."
His one last request was granted, for his dead body was not worth a lot to the military. As he limped off to the edge of the forest, he hobbled into a tree, hung upside-down and closed his eyes one last time.
"I guess so." She answered.
"This is what you do, I'm the mom and I walk around the house cooking and cleaning. You can be the baby. The rest of them are pets."
Pearl nodded, taking the doll awkwardly by the midsection and walking it down toward the "mother".
"Now you have to think up a situation. Talk to me, the mom."
"Oh...ok." She said quietly. "Mommy...What's it feel like to die?" she asked using the most innocent sounding childish voice.
The children ran off screaming and dropped the dolls in the sand, leaving Pearl more confused than ever, just holding the doll in her hand with an expression of pain and anger.
"I wish I could just grow up." Pearl said, running into her forest hideaway, carrying the doll with her. She'd created a tree house out of stolen boards and brackish from the camps while they slept. It was enough to support her and a few items she enjoyed. Her eyes welled with blood, and she felt for the second time in her life, the trickle of blood running from her tear ducts. "I miss my sister." She whimpered. She cried until she fell asleep when the sun rose.