《The Doll That Fell to Earth》 Intro: Wandering Child How long had it been since she¡¯s had a normal spring evening? Out of all 365 days in the calendar not a single one had been quiet enough for her to rest her weary bones. Her clothes were battered, torn, and her body was covered in cuts. Laying in the soft grass, one could mistake her for a corpse. Such was the exhaustion that seemed to shackle her to the spot. Through half closed lids, her amber eyes gazed fixedly at the sky, the blue-black night left a weight on her abdomen a feeling akin to someone had punching her in the stomach. Light gray clouds circled the small clearing she was laying in, like guard dogs diligently patrolling their territory. But she gazed past that. Past the clouds Past the sky All the way up to where the angels must be.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. She stared and stared as if to burn holes in the wings of every last one of them. The seconds began to drag their feet, protesting the fatigue that had begun pressing itself upon the young girl¡¯s body. Giving in to their indignation, she slowly and jerkily pulled herself up. Her body seemed to creak as she defied gravity and rose to her feet. She looked down at her coat. It was tattered, cut, and worn. There was even a sharp curved object caught in the side of one of her sleeves. Her skirt hadn¡¯t fared much better and her boots looked like they were on their last legs. Letting out a sigh of resignation, she tore the cracked and bloody claw from her sleeve and muttered to herself, ¡°Durable my ass¡­ didn¡¯t even last a week.¡± before tossing it behind her. She turned her back on the carnage that was in front of her and limped her way towards a road a few miles ahead. Behind her both human and inhuman things lay in pieces. Various fluids stained the ground. Red, blue, yellow, silver, and several colors that one could not describe. Wings and claws, eyes and ears, beauty and terror, all are ways with which to describe the pile of slaughter she left in her wake. Finally reaching a derelict road, the girl tore her burning gaze from the sky to glance into the inky horizon that lay before her. She confirmed her direction and began trudging at a steady pace towards the nearest city heaving a long sigh. Chapter 1: Vagrant Blues ¡°And just what happened to you Missy?¡± A man in a smart earthy green uniform had a young vagabond pulled to the side of the road away from the steady stream of cars and trucks. The two were walking towards a small building that served as a guard station. Entering the refreshingly air conditioned room, the man turned to look at the young woman. She was the very picture of shady. To start with her eyes were a deep amber color, that in of itself while not unheard of was very suspicious¡­ but even more so her clothes looked like she¡¯d crawled through several miles of barbed wire. As he looked her up and down he noted that she didn¡¯t seem injured despite the several ominous dark stains that caught his eye, particularly on her eviscerated sleeve. The girl herself was scowling with a frustrated yet resigned air about her. Thinking back, the moment he¡¯d come up and stopped her as she was making her way towards the city he could have sworn he¡¯d heard her make an annoyed ¡®tch¡¯ and swear under her breath. As they sat down in a cramped room for questioning she still hadn¡¯t said a thing. This certainly wasn¡¯t the first time he¡¯d dealt with disgruntled travelers, they all acted like he had done it personally to piss them off. Depending on how uncooperative they were sometimes he¡¯d be stuck in this coffin of a room for hours on end. Silently hoping that would not be the case this time he decided to break the stoney silence. ¡°Well? Can you tell me what happened to you?¡± ¡°Ran into some trouble on my way here.¡± He could feel the hairs on the back of his neck prick up, he¡¯d never seen someone show up in her condition and downplay the encounter as ¡®some trouble.¡¯ ¡°Are you alright? There¡¯s some blood on that sleeve of yours, if you need help I¡¯ve got a first aid kit in the other room.¡± Her ears seemed to twitch at the word ¡®help¡¯ and she glared at him warily before finally relaxing and going back to staring at the clock that was hung on the wall to her right. She seemed to be hoping he¡¯d move on from the topic, but after that kind of reaction there was no way in hell he was going to let it go now. Ten minutes passed like this before she finally heaved a sigh and turned her eyes back to him, waving her hand in a dismissive manner. ¡°I¡¯m fine, don¡¯t worry that blood isn¡¯t mine.¡± He wasn¡¯t getting anywhere with her, it was like whenever she opened her mouth the amount of paperwork he¡¯d have to fill out later grew exponentially. Slowly, he slid his hand to a black holster on his hip. This girl didn¡¯t seem entirely human, worst come to worst he¡¯d have to draw his weapon in order to keep up with whatever she might be capable of. He mentally went through the few imbue spells he was authorized to use in self defense, most were very destructive so using them in an enclosed space wasn¡¯t wise. Although he¡¯d attempted to hide his alarm behind a mask of professional calm she seemed to sense the change in him, glancing casually up and down him she spoke again keeping her nonchalant manner. ¡°Animals, I was attacked in a clearing near one the forest down the road.¡± It didn¡¯t help his suspicion of her in the slightest, but he took solace in that at least this answer was somewhat plausible. ¡°The government has given plenty of notices about how dangerous traveling the roads by foot is, you¡¯re lucky you came away with just some torn clothes.¡± Relaxing a little he nevertheless kept her square in his sights. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you drive? Or at the very least take a bus?¡± ¡°Do I look rich? Between food and now clothes I¡¯ll barely be getting by. On top of that you want me shilling top dollar to ride in one of those tanks the government calls ¡®intra-urban transportation¡¯? No thank you.¡± She gave him a look like he¡¯d insulted her intelligence before going back to looking at the clock and watching the minute hand slowly shift to the 3. The man had to bite his lip to keep from shouting ¡®what¡¯s wrong with you young lady!?¡¯ He didn¡¯t have any kids of his own but he couldn¡¯t help but think to himself ¡®ah so this is what it¡¯s like to raise a rebellious teenager.¡¯ ¡°I understand they¡¯re not the cheapest way to get around, but nothing is too cheap if it¡¯s to ensure your safety. I know you¡¯re young but life is precious, take better care of the life your parents gave you.¡± ¡°Yea, yea. Keep your sermons to yourself Mr. Preacher.¡± She replied with a derisive tone sneaking its way into her words. The apathetic manner of speaking was noticeably gone. Her reaction struck him as more than a little aggressive, but given what she was, he figured he had more than likely touched a sensitive topic. ¡°I¡¯d like to confirm, are you an Unshaped?¡± The man leaned forward as he spoke, his tone letting her know that pleasantries were over and it was time to get down to business. ¡°I am.¡± She said relaxing back in her chair, rocking it back on its hind legs as she reclined until she¡¯d began a delicate balancing act. She¡¯d admitted it, he was silently thankful she¡¯d done that at the very least. He had seen plenty of other Unshaped desperately lie when asked that question. No matter the deformity they tried to hide it and pass themselves off as a normal person. It made him sad, but regardless of their intention if they did so he¡¯d be forced to detain them till they were investigated or possibly even just send them away right there. It didn¡¯t mean much as there wasn¡¯t exactly any walls but it did mean if they were found inside the city they¡¯d be arrested on sight.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°I¡¯m sure you know the drill, show me your abhuman translocation permit.¡± She fished around in the inside of her coat before producing a small rectangular piece of laminated paper and tossing it his way. It was bent and worn, most Unshaped he¡¯d met seemed to go out of their way to take good care of the permits. He wasn¡¯t sure if it was youthful recklessness or just apathy but she didn¡¯t seem to share their sentiment. Picking it up, he used his hand to try and press it against the cool surface of the table the two were sharing, however not only did she seem to pay his courtesy no mind but his efforts at straightening were ultimately in vain. Sighing, he finally started inspecting it: Name: Edea (no last name given.) Aged: 20 Birth date: Not given Card ID: 99627542 ¨C 5 Mutation: Somatic/Goetic Danger Assessment Rank: C Travel Permission: B rank alert and below As he scanned the card and confirmed the serial number he couldn¡¯t help but notice the five tacked on at the end of the eight digit code. ¡°You¡¯ve had your card reissued four times?¡± ¡°Yep yep.¡± He had to bite his tongue to keep from lecturing her again, he¡¯d only heard of a few Unshaped who¡¯d had their card reissued once¡­ and that took days of paperwork and processing. But she¡¯d had it reissued four times? He had trouble wrapping his head around the idea of all the bureaucracy one would need to navigate just to have it reissued a second time let alone the two more after. ¡°I know I¡¯ve said it before, but you need to take better care of your things.¡± ¡°Duly noted.¡± She was giving clear signs that none of his words were reaching her. Swallowing his indignation he went to return the poor card to its careless owner when something caught his eye, a yellow star in the lower right hand corner. ¡°You¡¯ve aided the government in abhuman related matters quite a lot in the past it seems...¡± It wasn¡¯t rare for Unshaped to court favor with the government by aiding in matters regarding dangerous individuals. It goes without saying that that it wasn¡¯t uncommon for the helper to lose their lives in the process. He couldn¡¯t help but feel a mote of sympathy for her, the idea of someone so young being thrust into such dangerous situations just to prove themselves as a citizen of this country didn¡¯t sit right with him. ¡°It¡¯s the fastest way to get one of those permits to travel around. Plus it just kinda happened to coincide with some business I had in the area.¡± He couldn¡¯t begin to fathom the kind of life she¡¯d led till now. She seemed to liken aiding the government in apprehending dangerous individuals with stopping by the grocery store on your way home from work. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind me asking, how long have you been an Unshaped?¡± His tone was lighter than before, he was relatively familiar with the concept of Unshaped and from firsthand experience he knew there was a high chance of there being a story behind becoming one. It wasn¡¯t something you were born into like race or sexual orientation, but rather something akin to radiation poisoning. ¡°Not sure, for as long as I can remember I guess.¡± She¡¯d taken her attention away from apathetically staring at the clock and was looking at him with the intensity of someone trying to discern the difference between two almost identical shades of red. ¡°I see, it¡¯s a terrible thing to happen to someone so young. I can¡¯t really do much from my position, I understand there¡¯s a lot of tension in the cities but please try to hang in there. I¡¯m sure you can make something great of yourself given your accomplishments so far.¡± She let out a soft sigh before meeting his gaze, ¡°Listen here old man, you¡¯re too soft. There¡¯s a reason why Unshaped are so widely monitored and restricted by the government. Unshaped can pose a threat regardless of age or gender. I know you¡¯re not with the military but try to at least try to keep your wits about you.¡± An awkward silence filled the room. He wasn¡¯t quite sure how the conversation had turned in this direction but while she looked annoyed she didn¡¯t seem hostile. Before he could come up with a reply there was a loud beeping noise from the scanner in his hand and an image identical to the card he¡¯d scanned popped up on the screen. Double checking it, he returned the abused card to its owner and placed the scanner back at his hip. ¡°Alright, it seems you¡¯re clear to enter. The city alert has been raised to B and immigration and emigration have been restricted accordingly.¡± ¡°Raised to B?¡± She asked putting her full attention to the matter for the first time, her chair groaned and made a loud clack as she ended her balancing act and sat up straight again. ¡°Yes, please be careful during your time here¡­¡± She may have rejected his sympathies, but he wasn¡¯t about to let her enter the city without understanding what has been going on the past few weeks. This was neither pity nor sympathy, the man was just tired of seeing corpses. ¡°What¡¯s been going on? It¡¯s pretty uncommon for a city alert to be raised like this.¡± ¡°Well Miss¡­ there¡¯s been a string of mass murders lately.¡± ¡°Mass murders? Shouldn¡¯t the military responders have dealt with the things by now if something as flashy as mass murders are going on?¡± ¡°It happens too fast, by the time responders arrive the bodies are all that¡¯s left. It takes place in broad daylight even in crowded places¡­ yet either eye witnesses were too busy running or their descriptions don¡¯t match up.¡± ¡°So we¡¯re probably dealing with an Unshaped then.¡± ¡°Oh, that was apparent from the start.¡± ¡°What do you mean¡­?¡± A sliver of tension had found its way into her voice. ¡°It was the same MO, all crime scenes were found drenched in blood¡­ not just that, the victims all were bloodless¡­ it was like someone had tore it all straight from their veins.¡± The man couldn¡¯t help but feel a shiver go up his spine¡­ he¡¯d never had to enter combat with an Unshaped and he prayed he never did¡­ ¡°Should you really be telling some random person all this?¡± She glanced at him incredulously. ¡°Well, you¡¯re cleared for B alert and below. Which means you¡¯ve aided military responders enough that after the background check the government has deemed you trustworthy. Plus as much as they try and hide it, it¡¯s common knowledge around here these days anyway¡­ all you¡¯d have to do is read the paper.¡± ¡°Fair enough I guess, ¡®s a good way to scare off tourists though.¡± She gave a noncommittal gesture and stood up from her seat, jamming her card into her pocket she turned on her heels and began making her way to the door. At that moment, he didn¡¯t know why but a part of him wanted to stop her. To tell her it¡¯s safer just to go back the way she¡¯d come. Maybe it was the air conditioning, but he could feel himself breaking out in a cold sweat. But as he found himself reaching out for her, he remembered her piercing golden eyes. She was one of them and she¡¯d made it more than clear enough. Hadn¡¯t she told him as much? That his sympathy was more than misplaced, if that was how she was drawing the line then what more could he do? Biting his lip, he found himself contemplating whether to send her away or not¡­ after all he had the final say for who enters the city. However, he took a deep breath and recomposed himself. The murders had been getting to him, it had been a good while since he had slept soundly through the night in fact. This must have been a byproduct of that. With those half-hearted sentiments in his eyes he let her leave the small building and continue on her wayward journey. It is small actions like those that tend to affect the greater world in which they take place. The act of letting a single individual in or keeping them out, the act of reaching out to a young lady who may be in need. These small things can make the biggest differences. After all, how could he have known of the chaos and destruction that would result from that one simple choice. Chapter 2: Head Over Heels Letting the door close itself behind her, Edea paused a moment to readjust her eyes to the bright May sun. The heat seemed to physically weigh down on her as the bright sunlight pressed itself upon her cheek. She couldn¡¯t help but give a small frown at the unpleasantness of the outside world compared to the small air conditioned building she¡¯d just left. The dead grass underneath her worn boots protested each step she took, bending only under extreme duress and the only smells that met her nose were those of the metal and rubber of the cars that lazily made their way past her. Mentally cursing whatever sadistic city planner had decided to place an immigration checkpoint one mile outside the entrance to the city she continued plodding along. Unlike a few miles back there was little chance of being attacked out of the blue now. She could afford to let her mind wander, and wander it did. She let herself reflect upon her interaction with the under paid immigration officer while the rhythmic crunching of the dried husks of grass under her boots lulled her into a trance-like state. It wasn¡¯t like she disliked him per say, he seemed like a hard worker and empathy is always a good trait to have when you¡¯re dealing with people. However he was the type she just couldn¡¯t handle. The kind of smooth talking man who tries to worm his way around people¡¯s guards like a slimy writhing insect. She was a firm believer that a certain professional distance should be kept at most, if not all times. All interactions had a purpose, and usually it was better to get to it as soon as you could¡­ at least that¡¯s what she told herself. The less she had to listen to some person talk about unneeded things the less chances she had of being strung along into trouble. She¡¯d decided to champion that misanthropic view as her ¡°No Bullshit Policy.¡± That combined with her ¡°A wall between¡± and ¡°If I don¡¯t make eye contact they¡¯ll fuck off¡± policies formed the pillars of her ¡°Peaceful Everyday Life Construction Plan.¡± She made a mental note to come up with a catchier name for that last one. She¡¯d been wandering this huge bizarre world for around seven years now, thinking back to when she¡¯d first found herself on her back staring up at the brightly lit night sky she¡¯d been overwhelmed by a profound feeling of freedom. That however, lasted all of two days. About when she¡¯d made her way to a small town was when she started feeling like maybe she should just go live in the wilderness for the rest of her natural life. However given the state of things, that was easier said than done¡­ It wasn¡¯t like she hated people per say. Rather they were all bundles of trouble waiting to be sprung on her¡­ like some kind of sadistic Schrodinger¡¯s box. Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud car careening by her honking its horn loudly and some ill shaven prick shouting something incomprehensible at her. She made an annoyed face that honestly took more energy than it was worth. ¡°Nice to know there are still people like that.¡± She muttered under her breath. Wiping the film of sweat that had started clinging to her hair line she continued on. There was a big sign ahead of her reading: ¡°Welcome to Sunny Rainy Ansonia.¡± A neat line of cars accompanied the faded sign as they awaited other, better paid, immigration inspectors to process them. The douche bag who had screamed at her like some kind of howler monkey was stuck near the end of the line jerking around in his car restlessly and grumbling to his radio. Wrapped up in his misfortune as he was, she easily made her way past him without being accosted again. ¡°I guess there¡¯s still some justice in the world.¡± She thought, a smug grin creeping it¡¯s way onto her face. A sudden refreshing wave broke across her and a noticeable spring entered her step as she almost doubled her initial pace. She¡¯d reached the Immigration checkpoint in what seemed like a matter of moments, glancing up from the minimalistic concrete structure she took in the buildings. It wasn¡¯t a big city per say, however it was one of the bigger ones she¡¯d ventured into. No sky scrapers, no buildings over five stories. It was a nice oasis of civilization in the hostile wilderness. The buildings right in front of her were surprisingly rustic. Cracked windows sealed with packaging tape, faded signs advertising everything from alcohol to lottery tickets, and the smell of dust hung in the air. The only thing that looked semi-presentable was a gas station about a block down. Then again given the trek visitors undertook to get here, it wasn¡¯t too surprising. Silently she began to plan out her peaceful new life. She didn¡¯t have much money¡­ so getting a hotel room was out¡­ and depending on the neighborhood slumming it at a public transport center might not be a good idea. But if she could make it through the first night, she could start applying for a job¡­ even if it was waiting tables as long as it was some source of income. After that she could afford some sort of shelter and tasty non vending machine food! However then the challenge would start¡­ but as soon as she found a nice rut to settle into it¡¯d be the easy life. She could feel a stupid grin cross her face but she honestly was in such a good mood it didn¡¯t matter. Her daydreams were popped by the sound of a voice crackling across a speaker. ¡°Edea Doe, aged 20, female. Correct?¡± The man in the immigration station had turned his attention to her, an exasperated expression on his face. It looked like she¡¯d kept him waiting. ¡°Doe?¡± She couldn¡¯t help but raising the question. ¡°There¡¯s no last name on file, if you¡¯d like to-¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah. Sounds good.¡± The less time she spent here the more time she had to find a place to sleep for the night. She wasn¡¯t about to spend an hour or two doing the paperwork just to make up a ¡°proper name¡± for herself. ¡°Alright, description matches. Welcome to Ansonia.¡± ¡°Oh, I was wondering about that. What¡¯s the deal with the welcome sign? Rainy Sunny?¡± She asked despite herself. Well¡­ if she was going to get a proper job people skills might be a tad necessary. Yes, that was the justification she was going with. ¡°Ah, the weather¡¯s a touch weird in this part. It¡¯s either sunny out or it¡¯s pouring down rain, no middle ground.¡± ¡°Huh, sounds like a weird thing to advertise to visitors.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t ask me, the city council said it makes the city sound exotic. Something romantic like two sides to the same coin.¡± She made an exasperated expression mirroring the man¡¯s own. ¡°These are the kinds of people I¡¯m going to live with?¡± She couldn¡¯t help but think. She hadn¡¯t even entered the city and an ominous premonition had shown itself. ¡°Is there anything else Ma¡¯am?¡± Shaking herself out of her thoughts she replied absent mindedly, ¡°Nope, thanks for your time.¡± ¡°Alright, have a safe visit.¡± The man said, not an ounce of emotion entering his voice. A loud click came as he cut the speaker and turned to the ever growing line of cars. ¡°A safe visit, huh?¡± she muttered, mulling over their parting words as she continued from pale green grass to hard sidewalk. It reminded her of the murders she¡¯d been told about. Could he have been trying to hint at that with the ¡®safe¡¯ part? She guessed he couldn¡¯t just come out and say ¡°try not to be murdered while you¡¯re here.¡± Then again it was innocuous enough to just be a generic parting phrase. Either way she had no intention of getting involved with them. She¡¯d risked her life enough, do the police a favor and they¡¯ll always be at your doorstep like dogs. In her sparkling brand new life that was the last thing she wanted. With that decision made she continued on her way. A few people gave her a some looks as she passed the outskirts and made her way towards the center of town. It seemed a young lady wandering around looking like a hobo wasn¡¯t exactly normal. Mentally she moved up ¡°buy new clothes¡± to the top of her priority list as she continued on. The closer she got to the center of town the more people seemed to crawl out of their holes and block the sidewalks and streets. Not only that the buildings were looking considerably more ritzy, lots of reflective glass and shimmering metal. There wasn¡¯t quite enough people to be a full on crowd but enough to make a tingling sensation creep down the back of her neck. She couldn¡¯t help but think about turning straight back around and heading to the outskirts again. Out of the corner of her eyes she caught sight of her reflection. She¡¯d known¡­ of course she¡¯d known she didn¡¯t really look¡­ presentable. But no wonder she¡¯d been immediately pulled aside at the first immigration station she¡¯d hit! Hell it was a miracle she wasn¡¯t pulled aside by the second one too. The look of apprehension that plastered itself across her face like a damp towel mirrored the dishevelment of her own appearance. ¡°Alright.¡± She said, sucking in a deep breath. ¡°Alright...¡± another deep breath. ¡°Now where¡¯s the nearest clothing store?¡± She didn¡¯t have time to pay attention to the couple that had decided to give the weird young lady who was muttering to herself a wide berth. She needed to fix herself up enough to blend in and fast. However all of that was not meant to be. Rather a more appropriate phrase would be¡­ ¡°life¡¯s a bitch.¡± She heard it, the words she¡¯d cursed and cursed. The shackles she¡¯d been brought into this world with and the proof that her plans for a sparkling peaceful life were nothing but idle fantasy. Even before it reached her ears an electric shock ran through her entire body. Straightening her back and snapping her head to look in its direction. Then the scream reached her. It was far enough for her not to be able to make out the specifics of it. Even so, she knew. She knew exactly what it was. A cry for help. Her body positioned itself then took off running in the direction of the chaos. She sped across lanes and sidewalks, less a jogger and more a blur, keeping pace and even passing some cars.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. This was the easy part, her body at the moment was on an auto pilot of sorts. Within seconds she arrived at a cross walk. The moment her foot touched ground time began to slow as her senses went into overdrive. She¡¯d half expected the roadto be awash with crimson with some hulking monstrous Unshaped in the center waving around tentacles, or something. However what lay before her was something a little more mundane. In frozen time she saw a little boy in the middle of the cross walk, reaching down to pick up a tiny sandal that had once been on his right foot. The crosswalk sign was shining white with a stick figure man indicating that now was the time for crossing. And yet a few feet away was a car still at full speed. A familiar car in fact, one that had honked and disturbed her ruminations earlier. The radio was blaring loud cacophonous sounds as a middle-aged woman in loose fitting jeans and an ugly pink turtleneck was starting to rush back into the road leaving a stroller on the other side of the sidewalk. Thus the situation presented itself. If she had any agency at the moment she¡¯d say ¡°fuck it¡± and turn a blind eye. The world was rife with tragedies like this, big and small. And yet¡­ it had met the criteria. Everything had fit too perfectly and thus the curse that had been placed upon her reared its ugly head. In this case she literally had no choice in the matter, she was physically compelled to solve this situation. Like some kind of make-shift hero. This was why she tried to not to associate with people. This was why she had developed her three pillar policy¡­ all for the sake of her happy new life. Yet something stupidly ridiculous like this had to happen now of all times. Now was not the time for self pity, however. If she didn¡¯t think of a better course of action quick she¡¯d auto pilot straight into the car and things would start to get ugly. After taking in the situation and its surroundings two problems immediately became clear to her: 1.) If she were to just charge into the street and grab the child with her current momentum it¡¯d be the same as getting hit by that car. She¡¯d probably snap the kids neck if not splatter him on the sidewalk. 2.) If she forced herself to skid to a stop and shield the child from the oncoming vehicle, sure she¡¯d probably be fine¡­ but the vehicle itself had a large chance of getting totaled and the driver would more than likely sustain serious injuries. The problem here was she had no insurance¡­ worst came to worst she¡¯d fall into debt hell and be forced to skip out on town. In either case her life in this area would immediately become null and void and it¡¯d be another long journey to a new town on what little money and supplies she had. Not to mention she had serious doubts as to whether her clothes would survive the distance to the next town. However, time was not on her side. She needed to make a decision fast or problems one and two would become reality. That¡¯s when it hit her. If she stopped right when she got to the child and then, after grabbing him, threw herself onto the sidewalk there was a chance everything would turn out okay. She¡¯d be cutting it close, but given time constraints it was the best she could come up with. So like an arrow she kicked off the sidewalk, launching herself a lane across before landing and skidding to a stop on her well worn boots. The young boy who still had yet to realize what was going on was swept off his feet by her leg. Everything seemed to be going well. Stopping for the briefest moment she scooped the confused kid up in her arms, turned on the balls of her feet, and launched herself forward. Everything was going smoothly, everything was going to be fine. Or at least, it would have been nice if that had been the case. As she kicked off the ground with her back leg she felt a hard impact slam into her knee. The sound of screeching tires filled the air and everyone watching gave a collective gasp. The impact caused her to lose control of her momentum and trajectory. Instead of safely landing in a forward roll on the other side she was sent careening through the air. The young boy instinctively clung to her coat, in turn she wrapped her arms around him and curled her body to shield him. She¡¯d already come so far and she¡¯d be damned if she was going to let the little shit go and die after all the effort she had put in. The world was spinning, and then there was a strong impact on her back. The feeling sent reverberations throughout her bones, and there was a sickening scraping sound and a hot burning sensation on her spine. From there she tumbled over her head and into the air before landing on her shoulder. There was no doubt the sleeve of her coat was gone and this time the she felt needles of ice pricking and dragging themselves down her arm. Then all of a sudden her skid came to a stop as something cool and metallic slammed into the nape of her neck. It felt both cold and hot at the same time and the rest of her seemed to ache and then slowly become numb for a few seconds. The world was hazy, and a lot of the strength had left her body, however she could still perfectly make out the woman¡¯s shrill scream that pierced the warm spring air. Followed by the obnoxious wailing of a young child. There was movement under her arm and then the young boy shakily found his footing and stood up, still bawling his eyes out. The shock of it all had overwhelmed him and now all he could do was cry out for his mother and start to unsteadily wander the sidewalk. This outcome was less than ideal. Far from the worst but still a long shot compared to what she had hoped for. ¡°Well...¡± Edea managed to rasp out from where she lay sprawled a streetlight. ¡°Might as well roll with the punches.¡± She decided to start by taking stock of how her limbs were fairing. Shifting her position, to a few gasps from the rubberneckers who¡¯d gathered, she took a look at her left leg. Her left boot had gotten lost somewhere, and in its stead was a crimson mass of thread and shreds of skin that gave the appearance of a woolen sock. Grunting a bit she clenched her toes and felt a sharp stinging pain, like a swarm of small insects all sinking their teeth into her flesh. It was pretty ugly¡­ but not the worst thing that had happened to her. Next was her right leg, her boot had stayed on this one and there was an ugly whit scuff mark from contact with the pavement. Other than that it was in much better shape than its counter part. Clenching her toes she felt a tired ache resound up and down her calf and thigh. All things considered it was in pretty good shape. Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a dark shadow that had cast itself over her body. ¡°Shit shit shit shit shit fuck¡­ A-are you alright¡­ hey? Shit this.. this can¡¯t be¡­ I didn¡¯t mean-¡± Turning her eyes skywards she saw a man in his early twenties with dirty blonde hair and blue eyes. His whole body was shaking and he had an expression like he was about to wet himself at any moment. It took a lot of self restraint to stop herself from muttering out ¡°serves you right.¡± but now was not the time. Confirming her functionality was priority. Just as she was about to start examining her arms he spoke again. ¡°H-hey answer me? You¡¯re alright¡­. Right? Y-you aren¡¯t going to die right? Hey?¡± He was disrupting what little focus she had at the moment, but just when she thought she¡¯d have to waste energy and tell him where he could shove his concern another dark figure came slamming into him, blindsiding him. The screaming lady had recovered and seemed to have bolted across the street to practically tackle the trembling man before screaming at him. ¡°What the hell were you thinking!?¡± ¡°I-I was¡± ¡°You were fucking what!? I wanna know!¡± ¡°I¡¯d had a long day of traveling¡­ I almost ran out of gas...got stopped for a while at customs. I-I was mad alright?¡± All his desperate fervor had promptly reversed into shame and cowardice. It was like he¡¯d become a child himself. ¡°You almost hit MY child! Not only that but look what you did to that HEROIC young lady.¡± She seemed to be holding him by his lapels and he¡¯d started weeping. ¡°Guess now there¡¯s two little boys sobbing.¡± Edea muttered under her breath at the constant noise that was mercilessly pounding on her skull. Luckily before things escalated the crowd of onlookers rushed in separating the two before the hysteric mother had a chance to do whatever it was she was planning on doing. As the shouts of ¡°Don¡¯t you touch me! Let me at him! Don¡¯t let that man off so easily!¡± faded into the distance, a different voice met her ears. It was shaking like all the rest, but the speaker was putting an effort forward to try and comfort her. ¡°We¡¯ve called an ambulance Miss, please hang in there...¡± After getting an earful of screeching and shouting the calmer voice was very refreshing. ¡°Now then,¡± She thought ¡°back to business.¡± She looked at her right arm, it had taken the brunt of the skidding, as such the sleeve had been scraped away and crimson pink flesh was all that remained. Each of her fingers moved fine, however the shifting tendons caused stinging pains to shoot down her arm accompanied by an ice cold sensation like a razor blade made of ice sliding through her skin. Seemed to be fine, she noted. Next was her left arm, she could feel swelling around her thumb¡­ must have jammed it or something. Due to the swelling it was hard to fully move it around but the rest of her fingers were more or less fine. There was however a heavy ache in several places on her arm, like weighty stones had been placed on her¡­ mercilessly sinking into her flesh. ¡°Alright, looks like everything¡¯s better than expected.¡± Edea muttered under her breath. With that she hooked her left hand around the cool metal of the lamp post and slowly pulled herself up. Even worse than when she¡¯d been attacked in the wilderness her body creaked and protested. But she¡¯d been through worse, and now wasn¡¯t the time to lay around. Bending her right knee and placing the brunt of her weight on her bruised and aching leg she forced herself to stand. ¡°Miss! Please stop! You mustn¡¯t stand, you¡¯ll hurt yourself more.¡± The worried young man in front of her had his arms outreached like he wanted to stop her but was afraid to touch her. As if he was witnessing a strange crimson butterfly break free of its cocoon for the first time, and he was afraid a mere touch would kill it. Edea however, had other plans. She¡¯d already regained a lot of her composure and the world was slowly coming back into focus. All eyes in the crowd were glued on her, but no one dared say a thing. She couldn¡¯t help but feel irritated by their rudeness. The young man in front of her was in a panic, like he didn¡¯t know what to do. ¡°I¡¯m fine, I¡¯ll be alright.¡± she managed to squeeze out. The truth was she¡¯d expected much worse damage. Nothing seemed broken and she had no trouble breathing. There was a cold painful feeling running down her back, but she could deal with that later. ¡°You most certainly are not.¡± He said throwing both his arms out as if to block her from going anywhere. She¡¯d appreciated him before, but now she couldn¡¯t help but want to break his nose. But she didn¡¯t have enough strength to do it yet¡­ and if she had tried the crowd most certainly would have restrained her. And so she waited. It was about twenty minutes later that an ambulance finally arrived on the scene, escorted by several police cars. The young child was looked at and taken into the ambulance and she was promptly forced onto a stretcher and loaded into it as well. ¡°We¡¯ll need to cut away the fabric on her left leg to check and clean the wound.¡± ¡°well...¡± she thought to herself, ¡°not like I was going to be able to use those socks for much longer anymore anyway...¡± ¡°How¡¯s she doing?¡± A policeman had stepped into the ambulance as well and was talking to one of the paramedics. ¡°She was lucky, with all the blood we were afraid things were going to be much worse. Looks like she got away with minimal scrapes and bruises.¡± ¡°Think she¡¯s going to be hospitalized?¡± ¡°It¡¯s hard to say without further examination, but just from what I¡¯ve seen it looks like she¡¯ll be bandaged up then sent on her way.¡± ¡°I see, is she lucid?¡± Edea had a strange sinking feeling. ¡°He¡¯s not going to do what I think he¡¯s going to do?¡± She grumbled under her breath. ¡°Yea, you should be able to talk to her at least.¡± The policeman nodded before scooting closer to her. ¡°May I ask you a few questions Miss?¡± ¡°Yeah sure whatever.¡± Edea mumbled, trying to sit up before being gently pushed back down by the paramedic. ¡°Is this yours?¡± The policeman held something small and rectangular object above her head, it took a fair bit of squinting to realize what it was, her Abhuman Translocation Permit. ¡°We found it on you, Miss Edea is it?¡± ¡°hmm? Yeah that¡¯s mine.¡± She muttered reaching her hand up and grasping the bent and worn object. However, that was a mistake. In one fluid motion he grabbed her other hand, giving her just enough time to think: ¡°ah, this kind of development again.¡± before a pair of handcuffs were secured around both her wrists with an audible ¡°click.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to have to take you in for questioning after you¡¯re treated in the emergency room.¡± So Edea did the one thing she could think of in a time like this: ¡°Do you do this to all women on your first dates?¡± The policeman¡¯s face went from a stern business like manner to an exasperated expression that seemed to beg, ¡°give me a break lady, I¡¯m just doing my job.¡± while the paramedics in the ambulance quietly snickered to themselves. And so it went that after she was brought to some emergency room staff, who more or less gave her a few bandages and sent her on her way. She was immediately stuffed in a police car and then locked in a small dark room. It was just when she was staring to build up hope that she¡¯d be kept here for the night and wouldn¡¯t need to worry about shelter, the door was opened and the policeman who¡¯d handcuffed her entered the room. ¡°We¡¯ve checked with immigration, and confirmed the date of your arrival.¡± She¡¯d just about fallen asleep when he¡¯d barged in, looking up with a grumpy half asleep expression on her face she muttered at him, ¡°can¡¯t be too careful when it comes to Unshaped right?¡± ¡°You seem to know our policies well.¡± ¡°Well this isn¡¯t the first time I¡¯ve been arrested.¡± ¡°This city alert is currently elevated to where officers are given free judgment on the arrest of abhuman individuals.¡± ¡°Yeah, I gotcha.¡± The officer gave an awkward cough. ¡°Either way you¡¯re free to go.¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Excuse me?¡± The officer had a look on his face like he¡¯d just been hit in the back of the head with a bat. ¡°Put me in a cell for the night.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°You heard me.¡± ¡°Miss¡­ you saved a child. I don¡¯t think this is necessary.¡± ¡°Just for one night, that trauma from the car accident¡­ my body feels unstable¡­ I¡¯m afraid I might explode and take some innocent bystanders with me!¡± Her acting was less than subpar, but that wasn¡¯t the point. If an Unshaped made any sort of assertion that they might be a danger to the people around them the officers were required to take them seriously. Regardless of how much of an obvious lie it was. ¡°I-I see¡­ one night then?¡± And so it went. Her jacket had been torn to all hell¡­ in fact given the draft she felt on her back she had a feeling the thing was unwearable now. One of her boots was missing, and the one she still had looked like it had gone through a belt sander. However, despite her rapidly disappearing wardrobe, despite the small cuts and sickly yellow bruises, for the first night in a long time she had a roof over her head. In Between: A Cold Winters Night at the Edge of the World A long time ago, at the edge of a desolate abandoned village a woman sat on her knees with her head bowed in deference. The snow that fell blanketed the sky, the earth, and the woman in white. However even amid this pure white baptism, patches of black and red and brown forced their way through like gaping wounds. The small group of buildings behind her were rustic at best, some of their roofs had started to cave in and most of their windows had been broken. Splintered wood and broken doors added to the desolate silence of the forgotten village. At the very center of the small cluster of buildings was a well, the wooden arch that adorned it had splintered and fallen into ruin with its bucket nowhere to be found. The only structures that seemed to be completely in tact were the almost alien trees that dotted the area like skeletal wraiths. Even as the woman lay, head bowed in reverence a fine mist seemed to slowly and gently creep its way forward, caressing the untouched snow as it deftly encircled her crouched form. It was clearly something unnatural, nothing made this more apparent than its point of origin. It all came from a single point a few feet in front of the woman, leaking out of nothing like devilish tendrils. After encircling her it slowly began to grow like a spreading stain. It eagerly encompassed the entire forgotten village, in mere moments the entire surroundings had been devoured by it. The woman who had been still for the most part began shuttering and shivering, an involuntary groan escaping her old frozen lips. As if spurred on by the bite of this merciless cold that had entered the air she spoke, her voice cracked and faltering. ¡°O-o-oh Ancient One-n-n¡­ A-are you-ou th-ther-there?¡± Each shiver and spasm interrupted her prayer and yet she pressed onwards as though she were forcing every ounce of air from her lungs. ¡°W-wayw-ward D-Daeva...th-this t-tired old w-woman b-besee-eeches you...¡± After those faltering, spastic words of prayer silence once again came rushing in like the tide. However a change had come into the air, the mist that had been leaking out of the air stopped completely, it hung over the snow like a mirror. Then, without breaking the silence, it happened. The snow that lay on the trees, on the buildings, everywhere but the ground began to slowly converge together. Like metal sand seeping towards a magnet. On each surface a small orb amassed itself. Regardless of the amount of snow on each surface the orbs were of equal size and counted seven in total. Each orb was twice the size of the praying woman and together they formed a circle with her at its center. Then from each one a thing started to force its way into shape. Two oblong and bestial appendages emerged, digging into the very air itself. These pure white tendrils of snow began to roughly rip themselves free of their bindings, sending snow cascading down like sand in an hour glass. Yet amid all the white of the landscape one could never see these cascades reaching the ground. They could never get farther than the mist. After a painstaking ten minutes, the shapes had finally freed themselves, to look at their very basic structure they were great wolves reaching a height of six feet when on all fours. However simply describing them as wolves did their eldritch appearance a disservice. Some had extra legs sticking out at odd angles, a front leg reaching at a ninety degree angle from the hind of one, a hind leg haphazardly hanging from where the front should be. Some were missing legs, sporting as few as one or none. It was as though they¡¯d been haphazardly stuck onto their torsos by a blind man. Their strangeness didn¡¯t stop at limbs however, the same haphazard placement extended to eyes, to tails, to tongues. Their eyes of sapphire blue were also not of fixed placement. Like an overripe fruit flowing down a gentle stream they gently flowed down and throughout their torsos. The oblong portion jutting out at odd angles from their ¡°head¡± began to shake and vibrate, a jagged crack tearing the strange protrusion in two sending rivers of snow into the void. Tearing itself larger and larger to form gaping maws from which collectively the sound of roaring wind could be heard. With their ghostly howl finished the seven collectively let loose a sigh, expelled like steam from an engine. The white vapor ejected from them slowly rose into the air like small clouds before stopping abruptly and freezing over entirely and finally melting back into fog and dispersing. With that as a signal the seven collective leapt from their perches and landed on the mist as if it were as solid as the land it hung over. Together they silently began to encircle the lone devout woman. Some stalked around her in a clockwise manner, while others did so counter clockwise. Whenever two would meet, instead of colliding they would walk through each other. Merging together before separating and in doing so leaving a limb, an eye, a snout, or a tail behind. This continued for several cycles before five converged on where the origin point of the mist that had been and the two remaining silently trotted up on either side of the praying woman. The wolf to her right bore eight eyes, as blue as the deepest and clearest sea, while the one to her left sported three snouts jutting off its face at right angles in a T formation. The five that all merged together had become a blob of limbs, heads, and bodies. The pieces of each wolf began to flow together, writhing and squirming as if each had a set place in which it should be and each was drawn there.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. Finally the mass of wriggling limbs stilled as it coalesced into the shape of a giant wolf head, excess limbs and body parts dangling off it like fur. With a loud groan, like the sound of a thick sheet of glass being put under a large amount of stress its mouth stretched open. Pulling and stretching, tearing and ripping, until its gaping maw was wider than should be possible for it. Throughout this strange, beautiful, and terrifying display the woman made no move. She continued her reverent prayer hunched over as she was. Even her shuttering seemed to have subsided, though whether it was through fear alone one could only speculate. She however did not have to wait much longer, a voice sounded from the maw of the great wolf head. Like the soft sound of bells on a summer evening, carried by a gentle breeze it drifted into her frozen ears. ¡°oh my oh me, just what has sought to cross into our domain? A slip of a dam with no sire it seems. We are not interested in prey that cedes its life and exposes its neck at the very beginning, be swift lest our interest wain.¡± The being that spoke could be clearly seen inside the maw that lay before the woman. It was humanoid in shape reclining on a throne of hides; those of animal, human, and other things unrecognizable from this world. With skin of an uncanny alabaster, its body seemed toned and masculine yet it was also slender and feminine creating an uncanny androgynous beauty. The thing bore a rich crimson cloak around its shoulder with trim of white fur draping its entire being and obscuring most of the details of its body save its limbs. Its hair was a rose color, cascading down over its shoulders with a sheen not dissimilar to that of a pearl. Though the most striking thing about this creature was its eyes, a deep, pure, radiant crimson that pierced the very air and drew all gazes to them. It was a thing of beauty, and yet it was that same beauty that gave all who gazed upon it an uncanny unease. In a world full of imperfection, to glance upon one such as it was to glimpse at madness. It was more a thing wearing the shape of a human, a convincing fake that belied true chaos. It was only after a few moments that its voice found purchase in the frozen woman¡¯s brain, and its words finally gave themselves meaning. Silently and serenely the woman raised her torso, while keeping her head bowed reverently. Her gray blonde hair riddled with frost hung down from her bowed head, and in her arms could be seen a small bundle. ¡°Oh sympathetic one.¡± The shivering and stuttering was gone from her voice, she¡¯d frozen beyond being cold. Her body that had been racked with spasms was now deathly still. ¡°This humble woman, has but one small request to ask of thee.¡± The thing didn¡¯t move at all, simply looking down upon the wretched mass of flesh and cloth before it. The weighty silence hung between the two, like venom dripping into water. Finally it broke the silence, its voice coiling around the old woman¡¯s senses like the faint smell of flowers on a spring evening. ¡°And just what does a mongrel like you have to request? A cursed wretch lying at death¡¯s door, we¡¯ve seen plenty of your ilk. The dead and dying hold no interest to us.¡± Even as it berated the mass of cloth and hair that lay at its feat not a single ounce of derision entered its tone. It was a sing song tone, like the placid surface that reflects the misty morning¡¯s dawn. ¡°P-please¡­ oh great one...¡± Then, slowly she began raising her arms towards the creature, in them lay a small bundle of cloth wrapped tightly. The movement itself was unnatural, everything else was still save her arms, it gave the feeling of a puppet performing on stage. ¡°The blight is about to overtake this town¡­ my husband and I, refused to leave as this was our-¡± ¡°You waste our time, for each breath you waste a limb shall be taken as recompense.¡± ¡°O, Ancient One¡­ you may take what you wish from this tired old body¡­ All this humble old woman asks is that you take this child and keep her safe.¡± The child in questions was still inside its wrapping. Whether it was dead or simply sleeping could not be seen at a glance. The pure white wolf with eight eyes nudged the cloth a bit with its nose before returning to its vigil over the frozen woman. The thing on its throne narrowed its burning crimson eyes, before leaning its cheek upon a fist that seemed as delicate as gossamer. ¡°Let¡¯s end this farce shall we crone? You know we are nothing as divine as you pretend us to be.¡± Even in its gentle, radiating voice the dull edge of disinterest had entered. Like a songbird singing into the void. ¡°Neither god nor devil would venture this close to our realm, all you¡¯ll find here is us and our ilk.¡± ¡°Please o¡¯ great one¡­ if you are there... just answer this old woman¡¯s last prayer...¡± In its reclining pose it heaved a delicate sigh, before making a dismissive motion with a third alabaster hand that appeared to be floating in the darkness behind it. The eyeball wolf slowly began to turn to dust, each individual snowflake that made up it breaking away from the rest like grains of sand. It¡¯s pure crystal eyes followed the flow of snowflakes, like lilypads swept down a stream. The snowflakes mixed with the mist, and the sapphire eyes glided along the mixture to encircle the woman like scuttling spiders. Each one staring through the frozen woman and child, each one appraising some unknown value. ¡°We have no obligation to listen to you ingrate, we are neither the god you pray to nor have the capacity to hold this sympathy you seem to expect in us. Corpse of a woman, the reasons we have to refuse your plea is more numerous than stars in the sky.¡± The eyes still maintained their encirclement of the woman, who in turn remained still. The thing sat quietly with a bored look on its face before finally breaking the silence again. ¡°And yet, wouldn¡¯t it be interesting if regardless of those trifles we did so anyway? Indeed, sometimes contrarianism is the door that leads to greater intrigue.¡± It raised a fourth gossamer arm in the darkness and with a dainty flourish snapped its fingers. Innumerable arms of alabaster broke the darkness outstretched in welcome. ¡°Rejoice woman of faith, though your prayers go unheard by your god, though the home you cherish has been eroded away, you do not go unnoticed.¡± A crescent smile slowly crept across its delicate features, slowly and deliberately like cracks in ice. As it continued its soliloquy the remaining wolf slowly opened its three maws peeling open its face giving the impression of a flower whose petals were littered with curved spikes of ice. In a long, slow movement the eating wolf slowly enveloped the infant and the mother¡¯s hands into its maw, down to the middle of her forearms. Each fang seemed to gently fold in on itself like a snakes, prizing the bundle of cloth free and enticing it deeper into the void. ¡°We have sacrificed our precious time on you, be grateful. Should our investment prove unsatisfactory know that we shall wring whatever enjoyment to be had until we are satiated.¡± And with those closing words it was over. The flower closed with two resounding snaps, like two twigs breaking underfoot. With that all that remained of the woman¡¯s arms were two stumps with jagged wounds as if her hands and wrists had been forcibly torn from her. The wolves quietly became dust, the mist dispersed as for the first time that night the clouds above parted, shining moonlight on the empty scene. The shadow of a nearby tree crept across the motionless old woman, and yet still she remained. Statuesque as she was one could be forgiven for thinking that she never had moved in the first place, a part of the forgotten land that had been there for time immemorial, and will continue to be for years to come.