What is it that makes a monster, a "monster"?
Is it their ability to maintain a facade?
Or is it the lack of sympathy in their actions?
Maybe it's the atrocities they commit behind closed doors.
That's what I used to believe, until I came to a consensus—everyone in this world at some point, will fall victim to portraying these traits, whether it's intentional or simply an effect of the choke this world has them in—so what is it—that makes a "true" monster?
I believe it's the monster that does evil, just like everyone else, but this monster—it refuses to acknowledge what it truly is.
It lies, just like everyone else, but unlike the occasional lie people mouth to others, this monster mouths those lies—to itself.
In my eyes, that's what makes
a human—a monster.
Leith slowly descended from the mound of rubble.
His eyes were adorned with a cold hue to them—void of any emotion.
He ventured forward, behind him—followed a single pair of footprints.
Panting, Malric sprinted past the snowy ground, his path full of rubble and eviscerated buildings.
He checked every alleway he passed, staying on his toes along the duration of his hunt.
KEEIEEEECCKKHHH—...
Above Malric, sprung a speeding mutant, its long legs pushing off the edge of the building as it pounced on him.
Jagged edged finished lined its teeth—drenched with overflowing saliva.
Its facial structure resembled that of an animal, like a reptile—and to think it was once human..
He held it off—his arm almost swallowed whole in its gaping mouth.
Through a whirlwind of flame, Malric's eyes began to glow a bright orange as his palms began to bear a smouldering smoke.
The creature shrieked in agony as Malric's arm wore a shield of inferno—scalding it from the inside out.
It staggered backwards—quaking violently.
Malric, in a state of frenzied shock, gave it no time to recover—beating it to nothing but a mere pulp as his skin reached the brink of melting to a regressed state of liquid.
"MALRIC!!!!"
"YOU BASTARD!"
"THAT WAS MY KILL!"
But he didn't stop—no, he couldn't.
"MOVE OUT OF MY DAMN WAY!"
A raging voice yelled out, shoving Malric to the ground.
"Kiren?"
"What are you–"
"No.."
"You already—killed it…"
His dark red eyes became engulfed in a boiling anger, as he turned to face Malric, who was on the ground—confused and in agony.
"DAMN YOU, MALRICCC!!!!"
He roared, charging at Malric.
His hand clenched to form a fist as he threw himself at his helpless friend on the ground.
They clashed—tussling violently while Malric tried his hardest to push Kiren off of him.
Sssccckkkk—
"AHHH!"
Kiren yelled out in anguish as Malric grabbed his arm, scalding his flesh.
"Move Kiren!"
"I-"
"I don't want to hurt you!"
He cried out, tears forming in his orange eyes.
Kiren held his arm in writhing pain—grunting miserable noises.
"I'm—I'm sorry!"
Malric wept, as he ran away, leaving Kiren aching on the snow-covered ground.
He ran, and ran , and ran.
His pace trembled with every step.
Kiren—leaning his back on a wall, tried to get a grasp on his consciousness to prevent himself blacking out from the agony.
Footsteps in the snow echoed abruptly—accompanying his mutters of anguish.
"Kiren Voss.."
"Who the hell—are you?"
"Wait, you're that kid with no—atheris."
He said, stammering in pain.
"What a pitiful state to find someone like you in."
Leith commented, his face—expressionless as always.
"Someone like me?"
"What's that supposed to mean, huh?"
"I never thought I would find someone as courageous, and bold as you—agonizing over a little burn."
"Courageous?"
"Bold?"
"Yes, that's right."
He replied, the same cold look in his eyes.
"You're not afraid to speak what's on your mind—you say what needs to be said, and you do what needs to be done in order to achieve that which must be achieved."
"It perfectly fits you to be out here alone, battling mutants—not sitting back because of a tiny battle wound."
"No—no, I'll tell you what I really am.."
He stuttered, eyes tense with emotion.
"I'm a pathetic—sorry excuse for a human being.."
"I'm weak—so I try my best to compensate for that by pretending to have strength…"
"And because of that weakness—the people I care about—all suffer.."
He sniffled out through tears.
"Tell me!"
"How can you call any of that courageous!?"
"I—don't even understand why I'm telling you all this, it's not like you would ever understand any of it in the first place.."
Leith remained silent, stepping forward to kneel down as he tended to Kiren's wound.
"I think it's courageous of you to try, Kiren."
He said, wrapping Kiren's arm in a cloth.
"Even if you show no results, the fact that you took the first leap forwards—is well deserving of the title."
Kiren couldn't say a word as his lips quivered.
His eyes welling up with bundles of tears.
"Your telling me only goes to show how much you wish to better yourself, despite all the suffering you've induced on others around you—don't you think that's courageous?"
"Who am I to think I have the right to try bettering myself!"
"After the things I've done—I lost the right to that luxury a long time ago."
"You act as if you're the only monster in this world, Kiren."
"If what you say is true, then no one in this entire world deserves that right—but in the end, people must learn to move on from their past, and grow."
"Lying stagnant—feeling sorry for yourself because of the way you are—none of it will do anyone any good unless you act upon that regret you feel."
They remained in silence as Leith finished tying up the cloth on Kiren's wound.
The world felt silent as Kiren sat there—no longer in agony, but contemplation.
"Forgive me for dismissing this wound of yours, Kiren."
Leith quietly chuckled, removing the blood-soaked cloth from Kiren's arm.
"I-"
"I want to apologize—to Malric."
"You're in his group, right?"
Leith's eyes returned to their cold, faded look.
"Do you maybe know—where I can find him?"
He asked apologetically.
His gaze stuck to the ground out of shame.
"Our group is meeting here in an hour—you can apologize to him then, if you meet us here."
"But why here?"
"Uh—this might sound a little odd.."
"But we're planning on dissecting a mutant's body after the trial."
Leith said as he nervously chuckled.
"Sure.."
He said, wiping the tears from his eyes.
"I'll come."
Attention Candidates..
Your trial is over, please report back to your dorms.
The intercom sounded.
Soldiers—deployed to clean up any remaining mutants marched into the ruins.
The grounds of the ruins became engulfed in an atmosphere of calm—yet a tense, shallow disturbance.
Leith's group reunited—all mutually distraught.
"Ivan!.."
"Have any of you—seen Ivan?..."
Malric asked through his gasps for air.
"Leith?"
"I was planning on asking you guys—we were in the south wing as planned, when he suddenly ran off on me after catching sight of a mutant chasing someone."
He replied, his expression one of worry.
"Come on.."
"We have to look for him."
Suggested Nyel, maintaining a calm expression despite his trembling hands.
Snowfall intensified as the stake of time became introduced.
The skies became shrouded in an even deeper darkness than usual.
They searched as hard as they could, but the minutes began to fleet by before they could find their missing friend.
"Hey, you four!"
"You're not supposed to be out here!"
Yelled out a soldier, gripping his flashlight—exposing the group in its radiance.
"We're looking for someone."
Coren replied, stammering.
"He was last seen in the south wing—before he ran off to chase a mutant!"
"Huh?"
"The south wing??"
The soldier questioned, wearing a look of confusion.
"That wing was completely sealed off during the trial, there were certainly no mutants in that sector."
"If that's the only dumb excuse you guys managed to come up with to be here this late, you can leave now."
He added dismissively, promptly turning around to continue his patrol as the sound of his voice retreated.
Puzzled, and in shock, they turned to look at Leith.
His face—still completely cold—expressionless.
"Leith?.."
"Tell me, Nyel, Coren."
Shluk!
A sickening sound echoed through the tense air; the raw sound of air escaped Malric's lungs.
A pool of blood formed underneath him, pouring down from the puncture in his thigh.
—-hah—-...
"How well can you hold a secret?"
Leith asked, discarding the serrated metal rod in hand.
He smirked—cynically.
His eyes—unsympathetic.
"What the hell–are you doing, Leith..?"
"You were right, Nyel.."
Hhrkkk—
Thump
Thump
Thump
Time seemed to come to an abrupt standstill as the horrifying resonance of Malric's heart beating struck.
"HHHHRR—!!!!"
"HHRRAAHHH—!!!!!!!!!"
Agonized shrieks tore through Malric's throat as his body became engulfed in his own flames.
Coren and Nyel—couldn't say a word out of shock.
Leith's eyes fell cold, as his mouth opened once more.
"I am–"
"The Print of Calamity.."
He said with a sickly grin on his face, reaching into his pocket.
He held his arm over Malric on the ground, before twisting a bloody cloth over him.
"It's not too late to run away—even if you'd be a coward, there's no shame in saving yourselves is there?"
You're wrong commander..
"I'll consider letting you live as long as you scram—without a word."
Malric's flames turned from a bright orange to a dark red, as Leith finished squeezing out every last drop of blood from the cloth.
I am no monster, no—I just happened to be another victim of this cruel world…
I'll make whatever sacrifice I must make in order to win.
That doesn't make a monster—it makes me a survivor—a fighter..
Leith stepped over Malric's burning corpse—dropping the cloth once soaked with Kiren's blood.
Coren and Nyel ran for their lives, past the soldier, and past the fences marking the perimeter of the assessment center.
Footsteps manifested around the corner.
"Hey!"
"Hey!!!"
"You've got to hurry, it's Malric!"
"Kiren murdered Malric!"
Leith yelled out to the soldier, leading him to Malric's ignited corpse.
"What the hell are you talking about, weren't you kids supposed to have left when I told you to?"
"What could have possibly happened in those few minutes I—"
"Oh, my—god.."
The soldier stammered.
As him and Leith turned the corner, they found Kiren standing there—shocked.
He couldn't protest—his jaw was locked in place, trembling.
"Mal—ric?..."
Kiren muttered, looking down at the corpse.
Before the soldier managed to reach for his walkie, a crowd had already shown themselves.
"What—happened here?..."
"Speak Kiren!"
Yelled the examiner.
Snow drifted down, clashing against the upward drift of the sparks of flame.
Silence enveloped the scene, a symphony befitting the tragedy before them.
The examiner grasped his walkie,
"Please report to the assessment hall at once."
His voice sounded through the intercom among the crackles of flame arising from Malric.
His eyes reflected disappointment.
Kiren was escorted to the hall, his eyes—desolate.
"Some unforeseen circumstances have unfortunately arisen."
"And as such, I regret to say—this assessment must be concluded early."
The examiner announced, before turning to face Kiren.
"You're scum, you know that, Kiren?"
"Murdering another candidate because he was 'too' close to you in rank—it really shows your true colors—a coward."
"It-"
"It wasn't me!"
Kiren finally rebutted through trembling lips.
"I would never do such a—-"
"Oh, but you would.."
"I had already received several reports of you clashing with Malric, next to a corpse of a mutant engulfed in his flame."
"But–"
"You wanted that kill, didn't you Kiren?"
Kiren remained silent, unable to form a rebuttal.
"Not only that, but Malric's body was found burning, with your flame.."
He argued, his voice firm.
His gaze—judgemental.
Kiren was stunned.
But beneath that disbelief, boiled an anger inside him—clawing its way out.
He turned to look at Leith—his teeth clenched as he took a step toward him.
"It was you.."
He muttered, loud enough to hear but quiet enough to justify not rectifying any safety precaution.
"You!"
"He's the one who set me up!"
His eyes began to glow dark red as he attempted to pounce on Leith.
He was held down by the soldiers in the room—jerking like a ravenous beast, hollering curses as he bucked to tear Leith apart.
He coiled against the men bounding him to the ground—his eye's encompassed in malice.
Leith stepped back in fear.
"What are you talking about?"
"Are you really going to try to make someone else suffer for your own undoing?"
He said wavering—hands quaking in fright.
The board flickered once again,
A monotonous voice sounded throughout the hall, announcing the top ranked candidates of the assessment.
Candidate Number One: Drelan Draeven.
Candidate Number Two: Soren Malvek.
"Let me go!"
"He did this!"
Kiren yelled out, flailing.
He looked up at Leith, ready to spit more curses at him—but his anger turned into a silent shock.
Candidate Number Six: Ezric Vale.
Candidate Number Seven: Tavian Locke.
Leith looked back at him, meeting his gaze directly.
His face—blank—completely blank.
His lack of expression emitted a sense of dread, tearing through Kiren's heart.
Candidate Number Eleven: Silas Trenor.
Candidate Number Twelve: Kastial Hale.
"You're a—"
Candidate Number Fourteen: Orin Marrow.
Candidate Number Fifteen: Leith Laziel.
Congratulations.
"Monster.."