I remember...

Burning in the grip of a dying “god”. Ripping apart at the seams.

Was inside of Skein. Inside of it. Nightmare of putrid flesh

Its corpse became a womb of sorts.

Shapeless meat was given form… my form… mostly… as it was stitched together with Skein as thread.  

I remember dreaming. Think I was dreaming.

Sometimes dreams, other times visions of the world through Whelp’s eyes

It hurt. Her body felt wrong. The words stung when I spoke to Fell  

Sank back into the dark, into dreams of colours, sounds, veins, sinew and muscle.

Remained in that state until I was forced from it.

My seams were torn anew. Mended them with flesh. Human flesh. Whelp’s flesh. My flesh. Its flesh

Confusion. Hunger. Agony. Rage.

Sought the culprit. Found him

Osprey

Os

prey

Screams beautifully

I n s i d e  o f  m e

There was the kid, sitting in the middle of a black circle with all sorts of lines and symbols painted on the floor

Tears stained her cheeks as she stared ahead at Fell, who was kneeling with her head bowed. A woman stood next to her with a rifle pointed at her.   

I thought I would pass out again as they forced me into a kneeling position next to Fell, but I somehow managed to hold onto consciousness. Another rifle toting member took his place next to me. I stole a glance over at her and only then saw the full extent of the damage. Her face was a mangled mess. One of her eyes was reduced to an angry red hole.

“Fell…” I whispered

She lifted her head slightly in response before another voice called for our attention

“Ah good, the wolf pack is reunited!” Osprey said as he paced between us and the circle.

“This must be starting to feel familiar to you” He smiled

It was true. There was a force coming from the lines on the floor. It felt rotten and wrong, just like that cult’s camp the night Wolf died.

He continued, “That church group and their ghost town held invaluable knowledge, the fruits of which you see before you. With this, we will reopen the door to the realm of Father’s fallen enemy and pull her out”

He turned suddenly, taking hold of one of his gang members and shoving them away from the circle.

“Watch it!” He hissed with a scowl. Apparently, this guy was getting a bit too close.

His smile returned as his attention came back to us. “Of course, we are not simply repeating the same ritual. We have made some additions based on what we have learned. The remains of the cult, her enemies, worked into the Azoth lines here, will make a fine muzzle, for our safety and her compliance. With her as a weapon, we will bring glory to our Father and restore order among Proxies!”

“With you in control, right?” I spat.

“Well…” He smirked “Someone would need to oversee the organization. It might as well be me. Now, lets begin”

The rotten feeling got worse as he and his gang began to chant. The kid started screaming; begging them to stop, I looked around as my mind raced; trying to spot an opportunity or come up with a plan. I took another glance at Fell. Her head was still bowed but her jaw was moving as if she was chewing something.

The sounds of scraping bones and stretching flesh brought my attention back to the kid. Her body was being torn and reshaped. Her screams became sick gurgles as tendrils emerged from her and frantically began stitching her flesh like someone was mending a ripped doll.   

Suddenly, Fell heaved herself forward, spitting a mass of blood and a chunk of her tongue towards the circle, obscuring one of the symbols. The woman who had been aiming a rifle at her must have let her eyes slip to the circle for a moment too long. Panicking, she fired a shot at Fell, piercing her shoulder and causing more of her blood to spray onto the circle. The woman’s head was gone before she had the chance to take another shot.

I was crushed to the floor by the corpse of the guard who stood next to me. My vision blurred with the pain, but I could still make out the shape of the woman who was now standing in the circle. My ears rang. My body felt like it was burning from the inside out. The room was in chaos as our captors tried to escape. All except for Osprey who stood there immobilized by the tentacles that coiled around his arms and legs. I watched as more tendrils burst from her and stretched out to block the exit. An almost inhuman shriek brought my attention swiftly back to Osprey, who had been pulled forward to face the woman he had resurrected. Her stitched mouth formed a sick smile. His body started to violently shake as his blood pooled at their feet. I couldn’t tell what was happening to him until his body folded at an impossible angle and started disappearing into hers. Her stomach was moving. It was as if the flesh had ripped only to expose teeth. He continued his tortured shrieks until her monstrous mouth reached his chest. Blood poured from his own mouth. His face twisted in absolute agony until it too was devoured. 

Having eaten their leader, she moved on to his remaining followers. The floor became a river of blood as they were torn and broken.

The room grew quiet until only one, tiny gasping voice could be heard. It was Fell. This attracted the attention of the stitched Wolf, who crawled towards her like a hungry animal.

“Wolf please!” I cried in desperation. “It’s Fell!”

She stopped for a moment, glancing back as if she might turn on me instead. Another gasping cry brought her focus back to Fell.

“F-Fellll” She moaned and sniffed at her. Recognition dawned across her face as she let out a low anguished moan.

“Love you…. Try to fix…. If you want” She struggled, as if trying to remember how to form the words “Do you want… Still want to be with me?”

Fell managed a nod

A thin tendril emerged from Wolf’s wrist and went into the bullet wound. Fell screamed in pain as Wolf went about her work, stitching and mending as best she could   

I could see Fell’s veins begin to pop out and turn a dark red, before slowly sinking back. She sobbed as the process continued.

By the time Wolf was done, Fell’s face had become a web of stitches and one dark red, dead eye, but at least she was alive. They held each other, but the moment was cut short by the boss, who suddenly appeared

Wolf sprang to her feet; Fell following suit.

“Ritter” she said   

Tentacles sprang from him but turned to ashes before they could reach her.

He made this terrible noise. Calling it a roar doesn’t seem to do it justice. He was furious. Wolf opened her mouth, the stitches straining against her skin, and made a horrible noise of her own in response

They stood in silence for what felt like an eternity before he finally disappeared.

Wolf walked over to me, shoved the corpse aside and rolled me onto my back. Her gaze went from my injuries to my eyes.

“Hart…” she started

“Do it.” I said, already knowing what she intended to ask

It hurt worse than the torture but at least I can walk, and I don’t have any open wounds. I feel weird. In a way I feel better than before, like a weight has been taken off my shoulders

We’re squatting here at Osprey’s hideout while we recuperate and adjust. Fell has been practically glued to Wolf’s side as if she’s afraid that she’ll disappear. I can’t say I blame her. 

Wolf seems distant; out of it. I think she’s trying to get her head together

I know this wasn’t what she wanted. I know that we failed her and Whelp. Now that she’s here, I can’t help but feel happy, even as I mourn for the kid.  

Where do I even begin with this?

I see that the kid posted about the attack.

The kid… Whelp… I’m sorry

I woke up in a windowless room without a door. Aside from the chair I was tied to, and a bare light bulb hanging from the ceiling, the room was empty. I quickly became aware of the pain pulsing through my arm where Osprey had shot me. A clatter behind me broke the silence as he appeared in the room, bringing a tray of knives, pliers, a hammer and other tools of the trade. He walked around me and set the tray down.

“What did you do with the kid?” I asked

“Nothing yet. She is being kept in good condition, while awaiting her role in the Wolf’s rebirth”  

“She’s going to kill you” I said. “If you bring Wolf back, she’s going to rip you apart”

He laughed, “she won’t be doing anything other than what she’s told. We’ve taken steps to ensure her cooperation.” 

It was my turn to laugh. “Dude, do you know how many dead idiots have said the exact same thing about whatever they thought they could control?”

Grabbing the hammer and a chisel from the tray, he came towards me. “I’m touched by your concern, but you should really save it for yourself and Fell”

His smile turned into a jackass smirk as I glared at him “Yes, she’s still alive, and… mostly intact. You will both serve as further incentive for the Wolf’s obedience.” He placed the chisel on my knee “It didn’t have to be this way, Leon, but you and that blue haired bitch had to be difficult”

“Bullshit!” I laughed “We worked together, remember? I know you well enough to know that this would have happened no matter what we did”

He chuckled “Probably. Oh well.”

He swung the hammer down with a crack and everything seemed to stop.

I was brought back to reality by the sound of my own scream. The pain tore through my leg. My arm was on fire as I instinctively strained against the ropes.

“I may need you alive,” he said, “but that doesn’t mean that we can’t have lots of fun in the meantime!” From that point, it was a blur of pain and pieces as he went through his collection on the tray. I remember him telling me that he had missed that horrified look in my eyes. He said he wished Falcon could see it.

“I can’t believe you outlived him.” He said, starting to frown. “But I guess that’s one of the benefits of being a dickless little shit. You can just hide behind someone else.”

“Says the asshole who sent a gang to chase after a ki-” I was cut off by his fist connecting with my face.

“Shut up!” He snarled “It was necessary for the development of that remnant of the Wolf.”

He paced back and forth.

“Did you ever find out how Falcon died?” He continued before I could answer. “On that last job before you were reassigned, he was shot in the back by a runner. He was paralyzed but alive. Then Father showed up and finished him off. If you had even half a testicle, you would have been there for the action and that runner might not have been able to get the drop on him!”

“Do you really think I’m going to feel sorry for you, dude?” I gave a bloodied grin “Go fuck yourself” 

He responded by wrenching my pinky finger out of its socket before cutting it off.

I must have passed out again at some point, because I remember opening my eyes and realizing that I was alone. I don’t know how long I stayed in that state, but the waiting and the silence became another sort of torture. 

Eventually, I was grabbed and cut free of the chair. Two of Osprey’s guys had teleported into the room. One emptied a bucket of water over me before they took one of my arms each and brought me out; dragging me down a dimly lit hallway and into a large room.