Remington and Lux entered the hiding spot quickly then made their way up the stairs and down the hall finding Vezaias in the living room sitting on the couch. Remington was quick to approach but halted when he saw how unhappy Vezaias looked.
“Zay?” Remington said cautiously. Vezaias didn't look up right away.
“Things are getting down to the wire Rem. I hope you are ready.” Vezaias said. Remington knew what he meant. This means things would get dangerous soon, another possible life threatening battle would happen.
“Of course I'm ready.” He said firmly. Vezaias smiled mildly then looked up.
“Where is Ava?” He asked quickly.
“We left without him.” Remington said, trying to sound as if it were the best choice to make.
“You left him there alone with all of our enemies?!” Vezaias snapped. Remington jolted.
“Uh! He was taking a very long time!” Remington pressed.
“Exactly, you don't think that's a bit suspicious?! What if they discovered him!” Vezaias snapped. He stood up now very threateningly. “You know they are suspicious that I'm still alive! Why the fuck would you just leave without him?!” Vezaias waved his hand in a huge circle that seemed to transform into a view inside of his delusion of the base in the office where Ava sat disguised as Skyler.
“I am going to watch and see what is happening. I shouldn't do this shit because it causes them to notice, but now I have no fucking choice. I need you to go and talk to Eph. He is scared of me and the talents he saw last night.” Vezaias snapped.
“Pff, I'm scared of you too.” Lux blurted out. Vezaias looked at him with venom then shot forward with a quick jerk and slammed him into the floor.
“THEN BE FUCKING SCARED OF ME AND SHUT THE FUCK UP!” Vezaias snapped. Remington jolted and froze. Lux gasped as the wind left his lungs for a moment then eventually wailed in pain. Vezaias stood overtop of him very threateningly.
“Now get up and go sit down before I start chopping body parts off for practice!” Vezaias spat. Lux scrambled to the couch holding his chest in agony but too afraid to make a sound.
“He is in my bedroom, Rem, now go.” Vezaias loomed at Remington. He nodded quickly and turned to go to the bedroom. As he approached the bedroom he noticed that someone was peeking out the crack of the door then immediately the door shut. Remington tapped on the door a few times then opened it slowly.
“Go away!” He heard Ephraim shout.
“It's Remington. I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to talk.” He said softly.
“I don't want to talk!” Ephraim said firmly. Remington ignored this and came into the room. Ephraim was huddled on the bed looking irritated and scared.
“Then just listen?” Remington said softly. Ephraim only stayed planted in his spot in the corner on the bed. “I know you are scared. I just wanted to explain a few things.” Remington said softly.
“Explain what, that I'm in a fucking nightmare right now?!” Ephraim snapped.
“Mm, yeah. All of that.” Remington said, looking sullen. He came closer to Ephraim who looked even more afraid. “All I really wanted was to be with Vezaias. He had done so much for me. He got me out of trouble when I was arrested, he waited a whole year for me. After I returned to him, all I ended up doing was hurting him. I decided then I would be loyal to him forever. It seems like I'm not very good at being loyal though.” Remington said sitting on the bed now looking as if he would cry. Ephraim was quiet. “A funny thing happened to me though. When I was locked up in my room for that year I started to wish someone would come to save me, because I couldn't save myself. Then one day, after the year anniversary of my family's death I had enough suffering and I decided I was going to make another very serious attempt to kill myself. So I gathered my medication and wrote a note, then I remember sitting on my bed and I started to swallow the pills. The next thing I realized I was surrounded by this white light. It was blinding and I thought I was dead. That was what I had set out to accomplish. Then I realized I wasn't dead, and I was running through the darkness until I ended up in this strange world. The people there were just like copies of everyone I knew from here, except they were powerful and perfect with unique superhuman talents. I thought I was crazy, but eventually I learned that it was definitely real. Meanwhile….” Remington paused as he knew the next part of the story would crush him. He began to stream with tears. “….someone from the world I found myself in, had taken my place here in our world. He lived my life for me and started to fix the things that were broken. He made everything better for me. He reconnected me with friends that I had ghosted, one of them being Vezaias. Eventually I got to meet him face to face so I could thank him for helping me. His name was Skyler.” Remington was quiet and began to cry harder.
“Our worlds would eventually connect enough so that we were able to jump back and forth between them. Skyler could come here and help me. I could go there and work on getting stronger. Meanwhile things with Vezaias still were not working out, not until the day on stage when he sang me those two songs. Then after the concert he was shot and killed.” Remington explained. Ephraim was speechless to the story.
“But the social media videos said he was in a coma!” Ephraim interrupted.
“We couldn't just tell people that he was dead when the people in Skyler's world were in the process of recreating him with their advanced technology. So we announced he was in a coma and then when the recreation was finished he woke up alive again, like he had never been dead, but until then in my dreams I had seen a monster feeding on his soul because he didn't have a body to return to yet. I think that monster is still inside of him now that he is alive again because from the moment he woke up he hasn't been the same. He is violent, and abusive, and he has an insane amount of super powers that I cannot even fathom anymore. All I know for sure is he has a plan that he won't explain to us, and I will do whatever I can to help him achieve whatever his goal is.” Remington fell silent and pulled out the fidget toy and began to look at the reflective surface. “He has told me you are part of his plan. So I helped bring you here. I am sorry, but I had to. Now that you are here he will not let you leave. Not even if I tried to help you.” Remington said softly. He continued to look at the toy.
“What is that?” Ephraim asked curiously. He really needed a distraction so he could process this story.
“Oh, it's a fidget toy I got from someone at the base in Skyler's world. He said it would help to ground me.” Remington said. Ephraim was quiet and considered this for a long moment.
“I heard Vezaias yell at you. He said everyone there at that base was his enemy. They are suspicious he is alive.” Ephraim said seriously.
“Yeah. If they figure out he is alive, they will most likely try and kill him. I have to stop that from happening. I've been sort of undercover there, but they are very suspicious of me now.” Remington said, rubbing his thumb over the crackling surface. Ephraim paused for one more moment before snatching the toy and jumping out of the bed and charging out of the room. He ran up on Vezaias and halted. Vezaias was startled at first and opened his mouth to speak but then Ephraim shushed him.
“Don't talk! Just find me a small Phillips screwdriver. It's dangerously important.” Ephraim said seriously. Remington was now behind him worried about what was happening. Vezaias was quiet but went to the hallway and found the tool in a toolbag and handed it to Ephraim. Ephraim dropped to the floor and began to take apart the toy. When he got it apart he found a small microchip and microphone tucked inside. He held it up. Vezaias looked at it closely. Ephraim pulled the microphone away from the chip to disable it.
“Someone gave this to Remington and tried to listen in on things with this microphone.” Ephraim highlighted. Vezaias looked angry then he glanced at Remington who looked suddenly afraid.
“Where did you get this?” Vezaias asked firmly.
“I got it from Zex. He said it would help to ground me.” Remington said quickly, soaking in fear. Vezaias shut his eyes as if trying to control his temper.
“Remington why in the FUCK would you take this from him and bring it here?!” Vezaias snapped angrily.
“I'm sorry! I didn't….!” He began quickly.
“GO TO THE FUCKING SAFE ROOM RIGHT NOW!!!” Vezaias screamed at him. Remington jolted and quickly turned to go to the safe room. Vezaias turned to go to the living room where the window to the base was and where Lux sat nervously on the couch.
“Why didn't you stop his dumbass from taking that bugged toy Lux?!” Vezaias snapped.
“Probably because I was so damn overwhelmed by the voices last night that I couldn't comprehend the fucking world around me!” Lux rebuttaled in fear.
“Oh for fuck sake! Go to the fucking safe room!” Vezaias ordered. Lux got up looking irritated and walked cautiously past Vezaias then Ephraim.
“Pff, sure, the safe room. I think we should rename it the fucking torture room.” Lux said sourly.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“OR THE LET ME CHOP BOTH YOUR FUCKING LEGS OFF ROOM!!!” Vezaias screamed back at him. Lux hurried now to escape to the safe room. Vezaias put his face in his hands and sank to the ground. Ephraim stood there watching him as he sat looking overwhelmed. He carefully tip-toed around until he was in front of Vezaias and sat down near him.
“Zay?” He said softly.
“They just don't seem to understand how important this shit is. We don't have room for any fucking mistakes. Now my brother is at the base alone and they are investigating him. If they figure out who he is then they could kill him. Not only that but the shit I am trying to achieve is far more important than any of our lives.” Vezaias said with a cringe. He was crying.
“Zay, they don't understand because you haven't explained it to them. They are following you blindly towards an unknown goal. Remington has already said he will die for you and your unknown goal. Maybe if you could show them more they would understand better. Plus I think scaring the shit out of them is counter productive.” Ephraim said mildly. Vezaias wiped his tears in frustration.
“If I show them, they will be even more afraid.” Vezaias said. Ephraim sighed deeply.
“Well at least they would take it more seriously then.” He said softly. Vezaias considered this for a moment.
“Fine.” Vezaias got up and turned to go to the safe room. Ephraim followed him. He swung the door open making both Lux and Remington jump. They looked frightened as he approached.
“I want to show you something serious, but if I show you it will change things. I just hope when you see this you will understand.” Vezaias said seriously. Remington and Lux only looked fearful.
“When I was dead, I was being fed upon, like my soul was a meal. I would have been wiped from existence but I found that I could communicate with it. I spoke to it. I found out as much as I could and then I made a deal with it. I would surrender myself to it. Let it fuse with me. Then when I knew I would be recreated I would bring it back with me. I have to sustain it with flesh and blood and it grows stronger with every meal. It was the only way I could ensure that I would live long enough to make it back. This is the price I paid.” Vezaias spoke wondrously. He paused and glanced at Lux who was suddenly afraid.
“Come here Lux.” He said mildly. Lux froze. Vezaias reached out a hand to beckon him. Remington nudged him. He jolted and shakily got up and came closer.
“Just a hand today Lux.” Vezaias said soothingly. Lux cringed and began to cry silent tears and held out his hand.
“I don't know if I can handle this Vezaias!” He pouted in fear.
“If you need too, just take some energy from Remington. I'm sure he won't mind.” Vezaias glanced at Remington.
“I don't mind! Lux take what you need from me!” He said quickly in compliance. Lux nodded. He lifted his arm more, barely able to keep himself still. With a quick swipe and a pop of the bones, the hand dropped to the floor. Lux dropped to his knees trying not to scream and clutching the bloody end of his arm.
“AHHHHHHHH!!!!” It was a delayed reaction. Ephraim had never seen an amputation before and cupped his hands over his mouth and watched in shock as Lux dropped to the ground and tried to control himself and regrow his hand but a moment later he was unconscious. Remington quickly scooted over and scooped him up by the shoulders.
“Lux!! Wake up!!” He began to shake and slap him to wake him. He woke quickly with several involuntary muscle jerks.
“Shit….fuck Remington! Uhhrahhh!” He grabbed Remington's arm and suddenly he was sucking energy from him and his hand regrew rapidly. He let go of Remington’s arm who fell back in pain. Lux clutched his hand against his chest now flexing it repetitively to help with the muscle pain. He then was checking on Remington.
“Are you alright?? I'm sorry Remington!” Lux nearly sobbed.
“It's okay Lux…” Remington cringed. “I'm fine.” He tried to sound better but he was not fooling anyone. Vezaias let all three of them settle. Ephraim was a combination of frightened but astonished by what happened. He had no idea Lux could do that. He glanced over at the severed hand just as Vezaias picked it up. Everyone watched in horror as he lifted the severed hand to his mouth then bit down ripping the flesh away from the bones and feasting upon it as if it were a turkey leg. Lux was the most terrified as it was his hand to begin with. After the meat was consumed Vezaias began to shift, darkness poured out of his skin and clung to him forming a thick leathery layer which Remington now realized was scaly skin, that was crawling up his neck and covering his whole body. His eyes shifted from gold to blood red, his teeth grew sharp and into menacing fangs, his ears coming to a longer point, two sharp bone like curved spikes protruding from high on his forehead slightly wider than his eyes, his fingernails black and longer like daggers, his body structure thicker with muscle, then suddenly he grew leathery blanket like flesh that draped like curtains from his shoulder blades. As the transformation was completed he opened to stretch out his new skin revealing the curtains from his back were wings spreading out like red sails on a sailboat. He folded them in tucking them against his body and they were nearly hidden against him now like an accordion that was folded up. He was quiet now looking at each of his three subordinates curiously. They all looked terrified.
“This is what I have become. I did not know if my body was strong enough to sustain the change yet. The more flesh I consume the longer I can stay in this form.” He said in a familiar but very unnatural voice. “I understand that it is extraordinary to witness for the very first time. Now that you know my new reality I have to ask each of you; will you remain loyal and trust me in this form? I will give you this one opportunity to decide what you will choose. If you want to relinquish your status in this relationship, I will let you go, without consequences, and we will forever part ways. If you choose to stay; I will keep you as part of my family, and I will give you the world, and care for you, cherish you as you are valuable to me. This will be your only opportunity to leave, I give you this chance because I know this change is substantial and if you stay here with me, I want it to be willingly.” Vezaias spoke very seriously. “Now…” He approached Remington first. Remington was frightened and froze in place against the wall. “Remington…..what do you choose?” Remington swallowed his fear back and tried to comprehend the question.
“Fff…..first…..I need to know.” Remington stammered. “Are you still Vezaias? Or human at all? And if not human then what are you?” Remington asked meekly.
“My humanity is near non-existent in this form, but I will never lose that aspect completely. I am still Vezaias in a way as we share this new body, his memories, his essence, his emotions, and everything that makes him who he is, is still here, though it is unnatural to me. In this form it is as if he has faded into the background to make room for me. But like his humanity I can never eliminate him completely. If I do not consume enough flesh and blood to sustain myself in this form, I will be forced to fade to the background again, and Vezaias will come forward to take my place. We are one in the same now. Fused together permanently. I am heavily influenced by everything that he is, and he is heavily influenced by everything that I am.” Vezaias explained his deep and velvety voice. “Is that enough explanation to make your choice?” Remington processed this information as fast as possible then as if by impulse he made his choice.
“I will follow you into hell if I must...” Remington said softly with passion and urgency. Vezaias smiled at him which made his fangs poke out menacingly, meanwhile Remington's heart skipped away like a child with a jump rope. Vezaias turned to look at Lux. “And you?” He prompted. Lux was frozen. He seemed to be very distracted now, near in a coma for a short while, then he shifted into coherence.
“Shit, this is doing a fucking number on my sanity Vezaias. I think I have completely lost touch with reality. Fuck. Okay. I have my own question.” He said seriously.
“By all means.” Vezaias prompted.
“You very purposely coached me into my talent to regrow my body parts. What am I? Your fucking meat factory?” Lux asked, looking destroyed over this question and in fear of the answer.
“I knew I would need a substantial amount of flesh to sustain myself. My other option is slaughtering humans to feed upon. The humanity that I cannot eliminate protested this option. He came up with a better option where I will not need to kill humans to survive. I know it is a horrible burden to bear, that is why I am giving you the opportunity to opt out of this now that you know the role you have been placed in. I will say that I owe you a great deal of gratitude for nourishing me, and I do not blame you at all for not wanting the responsibility. I say this because my humanity has demanded that I respect my food source, which is a new concept for me.” Vezaias said, sounding respectful. Lux seemed to be white a sheet of paper and struggling with this explanation. It was a long moment before he spoke.
“So I am a food source. I am cattle to you.” He asked for confirmation.
“That is not all that you are to me, but I must say you are rather delicious.” Vezaias said smoothly, barring his sharp canine teeth as he smiled. “Now what is your choice?” He asked more seriously. Lux rushed himself to consider everything before he spoke.
“I will stay, as long as you respect your food source.” Lux said firmly.
“Of course my succulent morsel.” Vezaias looked amused. Lux reddened by this remark, which was unnerving at best. Vezaias turned to Ephraim now.
“I know you have only just arrived, but this admission was your idea. So what do you choose to do?” Vezaias asked smoothly. Ephraim was considering his options.
“What do you require of me if I stay?” He asked.
“Your loyalty, your trust, and of course I would like you to work well with your new family, to take care of each other, but put me before each other as you all will belong to me.” He answered.
“But what of the concept of romance? Do you love me? Or Remington? Lux?” He asked quickly.
“For me that would be equivalent to a human loving livestock.” The answer felt like a punch in the chest for each of them. “….. however for my unyielding humanity it is what this relationship with each of you is based upon.” He continued. Ephraim considered this heavily.
“I will stay.” Ephraim said meekly. Vezaias smiled smoothly. He glanced at each of his team members now.
“We have to come up with a plan to rescue my brother.” He pressed. “Remington I need you to give Ephraim all the intelligence you have on our enemies. Tomorrow we are going to go on the offensive.” Vezaias continued. Remington nodded with determination then glanced at Ephraim who nodded back at him.
“I believe I cannot take more flesh from my provider yet, out of respect for his well-being, and the amount of pain and damage it causes him, I need to be conservative with the fuel that I use so I will let myself fade back for now.” Vezaias informed. Everyone waited anticipating the shift. His body soon began to transition back to it's human form. Vezaias seemed to jolt and he dropped to his knees holding himself painfully.
“UGGGRRRAAHHHHHH!!!” He screamed as the red leather skin that he was wrapped in fazed out completely, the wings wilted and dropped like a dry leaf in the fall, and his horns crumbled like a withered log. Remington was the first to jump forward to wrap his arms around him. Vezaias’s body seemed to fall limp in his arms and he was suddenly unconscious. Lux and Ephraim were now at his side in concern.
“Is he dead?!” Lux said in a panic.
“No, he is still breathing.” Ephraim said seriously as he checked for a pulse. “His heart is beating very fast though.” Ephraim said in worry.
“Zay? Hey! Wake up!” Remington said urgently, pushing his dark hair out of his face then pulling him into his arms more. “Please Zay wake up!” Remington was crying now he was so worried.
“Let's get him to a bed.” Ephraim suggested urgently. He moved to help lift him but Lux stopped him.
“Remington doesn't need any help.” Lux said seriously. Ephraim backed up seeing Remington stand and without carrying Vezaias began to lift him up and float him out of the safe room up the stairs and to the bedroom upstairs. He gently laid him down then adjusted him to make him as comfortable as possible. He then knelt next to the bed looking at him worriedly.
