Chapter 146 - Infiltration (Patreon)

Talia’s hands tightened into fists, and the already pale skin of her knuckles whitened even further, the faint green tint from her blood disappearing as she stared out into the distance. The desert landscape looked peaceful, almost like a lifeless alien planet. However, she knew that beyond every dune, and in every rocky nook and cranny, danger lurked. Even below the surface, there were monsters waiting to pounce.

Monsters like her.

Before the encounter with Carlos, Talia had thought that she was making progress, that she was on the verge of self-acceptance. She wasn’t human anymore. That was a fact that she would never escape. And if she was ever going to do more than simply put one foot in front of another, if she was going to actually live her life, she had to accept that she would never regain her humanity. But the weak foundation of her self-acceptance had crumbled the moment she saw the way Carlos looked at her. It wasn’t just fear. Nor was it only revulsion. There was pity there, too. Aggression, deep below the surface. A desire to kill the monster in their midst. If she could only barely accept herself, then how could anyone else embrace the monster she had become?

“Stop looking at me,” she said, her hated voice scraping out from between her green-tinged lips.

Abby stepped out of the tower’s imposing doorway and descended the steps to stand at Talia’s shoulder. “I’m worried about you,” the older woman said.

“Don’t.”

She reached out to grip Talia’s shoulder – a gesture meant to be comforting. However, Talia could feel the slight tremble that came with Abby’s fear. More, she couldn’t argue with it, either. After all, Talia was a monster, and an unpredictable one at that. No one would see her consume a still-beating heart and not feel at least a little caution.

“Real monsters are easy to predict,” she said. “They are single-minded. It is why we do not keep them as pets.”

“Some do,” Abby said.

“Is that what I am, then?” Talia asked, glancing at Abby. “A pet monster.”

“I didn’t say that,” was Abby’s response.

“Everyone thinks it, though,” Talia said. Indeed, the only one who didn’t treat her like she was only a hair’s breadth from turning on them was Zeke. And that was almost assuredly because, based on their sparring sessions, he could deal with her if it came down to a fight. It wouldn’t be easy; she could push him into using everything he had, but if that came to pass, she didn’t stand a chance. It was strangely comforting, knowing that if she ever did lose control, there was someone there to stand between her and the others. But it wasn’t acceptance.

“Listen, Talia – you’re one of us,” Abby said. “We’ve all got problems, and –”

“Do you know that I can hear your heartrate spike every time I move quickly?” Talia asked. “I can also sense it when those little hairs on the back of your neck stand up when you’re around me. I can practically smell your fear. You can not hide that from me.”

“Talia, I –”

Talia pulled away. “I accept that you are all afraid,” she said, the words scraping her throat raw. “I wish it were otherwise, but…”

“Fear is not a bad thing,” Abby said. “That’s what a friend of mine used to tell me. It’s an involuntary response. It’s how we react to that fear that defines who we are.”

“Irrelevant,” was Talia’s response. “You do not look at Tucker and feel fear. Nor do you see Pudge that way. They are friends. Allies. You trust that they would never hurt you.”

“I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but I don’t trust Tucker further than I can throw him,” Abby said with a shake of her head. “At best, he’s amoral. A means-justify-the-ends kind of guy. At worst? He’s a genocidal maniac who will murder an entire race rather than deal with them on a –”

“And yet your heartrate does not change when he enters a room,” Talia said. “You do not like him, but you do not fear him, either. You should. He is a dangerous man. And Pudge is an actual monster. Yet, you treat him like a beloved pet.”

“That’s not fair,” Abby said. “I’ve known Pudge since he was a baby…”

“None of this is fair,” Talia stated. Indeed, she hadn’t asked for a mother who loved her so little that she was willing to sacrifice her for the mere chance at resurrecting her deceased husband. Nor had she done anything to deserve the transformation that had been thrust upon her. She had been a good person who had tried to help others as much as possible. So, why was she fated to become a monster? Fairness didn’t come into it.

Talia felt a hand on her upper arm as Abby said, “Talia, please…”

She asked, “Do you know why I stay?”

“We’re your friends,” was Abby’s response.

“No,” Talia stated. She turned to face the other woman, her eyes boring into Abby’s as she said, “You are my keepers. You are right to fear me. Every day, I struggle not to give in. Not to let myself become the monster I already am. You, Zeke, Tucker – even Pudge – you are all my counter. If I give in…you are here to stop me from hurting anyone who doesn’t deserve it.”

“That’s not –”

“That is why I stay,” Talia lied. In truth, she stayed because she had nowhere else to go. But in her self-pitying state, she wasn’t about to admit that aloud.

“We want you here because you are our friend,” Abby said, putting a hand on either one of Talia’s shoulders. “That’s it. We like having you here. We don’t need any other reason.”

Abby was lying just as much as Talia had been, she knew. The group kept Talia around out of a mixture of pity, guilt, and practicality. Perhaps there was something else there, in the back of everyone’s mind, a feeling that they couldn’t just let her run free. Either way, friendship never came into it, at least as far as Talia could see.

Or maybe that was just her self-pity asserting itself. It was difficult to tell, sometimes. And in any case, she wasn’t in the mood to argue. After all, they had an infiltration to execute, people to save, and a mystery to solve. Perhaps that would prove the distraction she needed from the horror of her own existence.

After a few more minutes, during which Abby kept reassuring her that she wasn’t a monster, Zeke and the others joined them outside the tower. Zeke wore his half-melted armor and carried his mace and shield, Tucker had a pair of glass-globed grenades in his hands, and Carlos…well, Carlos was just about the most beautiful man Talia had ever seen, which only made the way he had looked at her all the worse. Pudge brought up the rear, shuffling out of the tower and casting the occasional growl at the newcomer. Talia could only wish that she could commit so fully to monsterhood.

“So, is everyone ready?” asked Zeke, looking as heroic as ever. He didn’t have the shining armor of her mother’s Radiant Guard, but he didn’t need it, either. He was the real thing, not some glorified guard in expensive armor.

“Still think we should just blow the place up,” Tucker answered. “But yeah. Sure. Let’s go dive into a situation against an unknowable threat. Should be fun.”

“You don’t have to go,” said Abby. “You can hang back. You could be the lookout.”

“Funny,” the giant alchemist said.

“Stop it,” Zeke said, cutting off the bickering before it could really start. “We’re all going in. That was what we agreed to do, so we’re doing it. Get on board.”

“Fine,” said Tucker. Abby just smiled condescendingly. Those two really rubbed one another the wrong way, Talia thought.

Zeke glanced in Carlos’s direction. “You still think you can get us in there without anyone noticing? If you can’t, now’s the time to say so,” he said.

Carlos stated. “We’ll be fine,” he said, massaging his wrists. “Now that I can use my skills, I can take care of any guards they have. They’ll be dead before they know what’s going on. The real issue’s going to be when we get into the caverns beneath the keep. I still don’t know how deep they go.”

“We’ll figure it out,” Zeke said. “And I’m not letting you out of my sight.”

That comment drew a cutting glance from Carlos, but he didn’t look at Zeke. Nor did he look at Abby or Tucker. Instead, his eyes found their way to Talia. He was terrified of her.

“Our boy has a lot of experience in caves,” Tucker said, clapping Zeke on the back. “He once spent two years –”

“Not the time, man,” Zeke said. The tower rumbled behind him, then started folding in on itself. By the time he spoke again, it had disappeared into nothingness. Talia had seen it dozens of times, but she was still awestruck when it came to anything related to the tower. “Let’s just go. Talia, you’re on point. Abby and Pudge, flanks. Tucker, make sure nobody sneaks up from behind.”

Talia didn’t verbalize her consent. Instead, as soon as she felt [Avatar of the Beast] and [Mark of Companionship] settle on her, she activated [Alacrity of Undeath] and darted forward, her feet hardly touching the sand. When she was a few hundred yards ahead of the group, she crouched down, casting her senses in every direction. Vaguely, she could feel something ahead, but she didn’t see the shimmer Zeke had insisted was there.

No hidden dangers presented themselves, so she soon found herself moving forward once again, though this time, she did so at a snail’s pace, crouching low to the ground so she didn’t present a noticeable target. Thankfully, night had already fallen, so the combination of her dark clothing and the uneven terrain hid her well.

A few minutes later, she gasped as she crossed a threshold, and suddenly, the sight of an imposing keep bloomed before her. Made of sandstone, with torches scattered along the crenellations, it loomed above the desert floor. Talia could see figures moving along the tops of the walls and periodically casting their gazes out into the desert. She was certain she wouldn’t be seen, but if she’d have had a heartbeat, she was just as certain that its pace would have increased with every passing second. Luckily, she was undead, and as such, the anxiety she felt was not reflected in her bodily reactions.

Over the next few minutes, Talia watched for the guards’ pattern, looking for an opportunity to infiltrate the keep. Out in the desert, protected by some sort of runic formation that camouflaged the entire keep, the guards were definitely not as attentive as they probably should have been, so it wasn’t long before Talia saw an opening. She sprinted forward, using every ounce of her enhanced agility to cover the distance in seconds. When she reached the wall, she leapt as high as she could, then dug her claws into the sandstone surface. Then, she vaulted herself up to the top of the wall.

Turning to make sure she hadn’t been seen, her unbound hair whipped back and forth. Satisfied that she was undetected, Talia crept toward her first victim. The guard was wearing leather armor, and his skin was dotted by some sort of patterned tattoo. He carried a bow and arrow, with a wicked-looking axe with a jagged, obsidian blade at his hip. He never had the chance to use either weapon, as Talia sprang at him, her claws raking across his neck and tearing out his throat.

With the enhanced endurance that came with climbing levels, people could withstand a lot of damage. However, Talia had found that, beneath the influence of her claws, she could rip through even the stoutest defenses. Even Zeke’s endurance hadn’t proved a match for her attacks, and without his [Life Leech], she would’ve fared far better in their sparring matches. So, what chance did a nameless, level fifteen guard have?

None.

Talia took a moment to tip the man over the outside wall before turning her attention to the rest of the guards. There were a ten more, and it would strain even her abilities to kill them without alerting the rest. Still, that was her goal.

With that in mind, she repeated the same attack on two more guards. Just when she was thinking that she might perfectly accomplish her mission, a shout rang across the walls. She looked up to see a pair of guards – neither of which were accounted for – taking aim with their bows. They loosed their arrows, which sped at her with unnatural precision and force. Archery skills, no doubt.

Talia slapped both projectiles aside, then pushed herself to full speed. Her agility was already high, and with [Alacrity of Undeath], it was effectively much, much higher. However, what truly pushed her to new heights was [Avatar of the Beast], which added to ever physical stat. She covered the ground in an instant, her claws lashing out to disembowel one guard and nearly decapitate another. But she wasn’t finished. There were more guards along the walls, and still more were pouring out of the keep’s main building. The alarm had gone up. Stealth was pointless, now.

So be it, she thought.

Prudence would’ve had her wait until her companions reached the keep. With Zeke, Tucker, and Abby, they could’ve made quick work of any resistance the keep had to offer. Add Pudge and Carlos to the mix, and it was unlikely that anything could’ve stood in their way.

But Talia wanted to let her inner monster loose.

Arrows rained down on her, but she barely had to think to dodge them. She was moving so quickly that the projectiles felt like they were moving in water. Their even slower originators seemed like statues. After clearing the outer wall, and in typically brutal fashion, Talia leapt down into the courtyard. Dozens of men and women, all spotted and wielding some variation of the same, obsidian edged weaponry, responded to her descent with impotent fury. Axes, obsidian edged maces, and spears came at Talia, and some even managed a hit. Against such a flurry of attacks, that was inevitable. Talia took the pain without complaint as she wove her way through the mass of enemies, ripping out throats and slashing her deadly claws across their torsos.

Aside from [Alacrity of Undeath], she didn’t even bother with skills. She wanted to feel her claws ripping through their flesh. She wanted to hear their screams of agony before they died. But most of all, she didn’t want it to be over before she had her fill of violence. After all, she was a monster, wasn’t she? Indulging her nature was the key to self-acceptance.

By the time she’d finished ripping her way through the guards, Talia bore a dozen shallow wounds. More pressing, a lucky mace strike had very nearly torn her left arm from her body. She was aware of the pain, but it felt like it was someone else’s agony.

Kneeling beside one of her victims, she put her hand on the woman’s chest. She was still breathing. Sobs escaped from between her parted lips, and tears mingled with the blood on her cheeks.

“W-what…what are you?” the woman asked, the words coming out in a wet whisper.

Talia cocked her head to the side, then reached back before plunging her lone functioning claw into the woman’s chest.  Her flesh parted with ease, and Talia soon found what she was looking for. Her fingers wrapped themselves around a still-beating heart, and she yanked it loose.

Looking at the bloody organ in her hand, Talia flicked her eyes toward the now-dead woman.  “A monster,” she said, her words an emotionless whisper. Then, she bit into the heart, activated [Forced Reformation], and let the ecstasy of stolen vitality wash over her.