The rain outside the window never shouted.
It always came with long, melancholic whispers. Drop after drop tapping against the glass with the same rhythm every night.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUlh8gOTiLY
Like invisible fingers knocking on a door, asking for permission to enter a warmth that had never existed inside this room.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpBvEZ9MpSN
The streetlights in this small town on the outskirts cast a dull orange glow through the misty rain, creating blurry circles that hung in the air like giant blind eyeballs, staring everywhere without truly seeing anything.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQiN0tobKwT
The dormitory room sat on the third floor of an old red brick building that had stood for nearly two centuries.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSHHqsmRZCN
Its walls were thick, painted a pale white, made of stone and plaster cracked in many places.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc49NHrcRz0
In weather like this at the end of the year, cold that pierced the bone, the air inside the room felt colder than the air outside.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhKgiKuLvnP
As if the ancient building deliberately trapped the cold, storing it in every pore of its bricks and every crack in its wooden floors, to torment its inhabitants who had never truly been wanted by anyone.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9n5tM7Chhf
The central heater in the corner of the room, a rusted metal box that hissed softly all night long, produced only a shallow warmth, not enough to drive away the cold that crept from the wooden floor into the bones of the feet.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1rGjUUkXZ3
Voltase Watt lay on his back on a bed far too large for his body.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE5m1ah84Kz
The body of a thin boy, shorter than the average of children his age, where his body lacked the nutrition and protein to grow any further.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGtYAMdmwdm
His shoulders were narrow, so narrow that the navy striped flannel pajamas he wore kept slipping off his left shoulder.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtXt4Pt5kfo
His arms were thin, with faint blue veins visible beneath pale skin that rarely saw sunlight.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFHtQTYVlrl
His short legs could never reach the end of the bed, and every night he felt the tips of his cold toes touching the empty air beneath the blanket.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO3xazjHmWX
He had bought those pajamas three years ago, and even then they had been too big for his small body.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrUqDGwwzuo
Sometimes he thought that perhaps his body simply could not find a reason to grow, because growing required attention, nutrition, love, and he had never had enough of any of those.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTh2Vm2NItv
No one will notice whether you're here or not, he thought.
The thought felt ordinary in his head, not a piercing sadness, but a fact he had accepted long ago, ever since his mind was old enough to understand that he was a burden moved from one place to another.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5jbdLspUKy
Things do not grow.
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He never knew his biological parents.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOmQyv9VEtl
Voltase was a baby found on the doorstep of an orphanage in South London on a cold winter morning, wrapped in a faded blue blanket with a piece of paper bearing his name and birthdate.
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Nothing else.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡws3BW7FpqW
No letter, no message, no clue about who had left him there or why they had gone.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNCvpwlgJSe
He grew up in that orphanage for five years, changing caretakers and beds and faces that came and went.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa8UuZm6rXT
Then a family came and chose him, a polite, well dressed couple who said the right things in front of the social worker.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz9MN7w47oe
They took him to their home in the suburbs, gave him his own room, food, clothes.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFdyVNAIQTy
But they never truly wanted him.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkKabRRAva5
He knew it from the way they looked at him, not with hatred, but with indifference.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa988fSKiK4
As if he were an obligation, a task to be completed.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhOynogErYZ
When he turned ten, they sent him to this boarding school.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtsTYwwwfJE
An elegant, polite way to get rid of a burden without appearing cruel.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡre6l9VlnbF
They paid his school fees.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDw9ZzPqlJt
They sent birthday cards, store bought cards with printed text identical for everyone.
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But they never visited.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡARROpjtdDA
They never called.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpg2jlpDenj
Voltase was a receipt already paid in full, an obligation fulfilled.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIekAn0Ygys
Now he was left here, in this cold room, in a country that was supposedly his birthplace but never felt like his own.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3sMhscHBcn
You have no one, he thought, and he said it with lips that did not move, only inside his head.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpj3mwsTyiY
You have never had anyone.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRh55fsZOua
And you will never have anyone.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlAA2vQozef
Voltase had counted those cracks on the ceiling every night for two years since he first arrived in this room.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnJCmZqALgf
The number of main branches was always twenty three.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfiPDzpFbgd
Never changing.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPouNbAOkbg
The small branches varied, depending on the humidity of the night air, the temperature, whether the rain fell harder than usual.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW03zEqOV3r
Tonight he counted forty three small branches, counting with his thin right index finger, tracing the crack patterns in the air without actually touching the wood.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYMYZMBEQMj
If he touched it, he would feel the cold of the plaster and remember that he was still here.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ420OV8yaIf
In the distance, the bells of St. Mary's church at the end of the street began to ring.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyowgAEG8Li
The sound was old and heavy, with a slightly off key tone from age and dampness.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrQE4zkSHJg
Voltase counted each chime because there was nothing else he could do.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3OKrLmKNez
The bells stopped at the ninth chime, and silence returned, filled only by the patter of rain that never stopped here.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp4GcogX2W5
Voltase reached his right hand toward the small table beside his bed.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKwmCAtoT2o
The table was made of cheap wood, chipped in places, its surface covered with scratches from pens and pencils of children who had been here before him.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3G0QyJ7R5J
On it lay the cheap phone given by his foster family when he left for boarding school, a symbolic gesture so they could still keep in touch, and a small desk lamp he never turned on.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUxAbolxcfC
His long, thin fingers groped across the table's surface until they touched the phone.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3EgyRxfj7e
The screen lit up.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl1w84IdhLP
Pale blue light illuminated his face for a few seconds.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQjlNSNUJ85
The time showed 21:49 PM.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ5WyEqOKFi
He opened the game he was playing.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyvymH02nFc
The app was colorful and bright, with the main character's icon smiling widely, a boy with black hair and oversized onyx eyes, with a smile that never faded.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYaDLVXhPHc
Voltase almost hated that smile.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4x6D9PPA5G
That character never got tired, never got sad, never felt alone.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeDL4uy7gss
He just ran, collected coins, dodged trains, and smiled the whole time.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCxStGsSzwU
His right thumb swiped the screen, and the game began.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA3jwRVmu2Z
Cheerful electronic music flowed from the phone's speaker, trying to drown out the sound of rain, while the character started moving along the railway tracks with a synthetic sunset sky full of orange and purple gradients stretching behind him.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwTszV1TJbp
Golden coins sparkled in the air, and every time the character collected them there was a satisfying ding sound.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLGtnreHydD
Voltase played mechanically.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZKdczbvc6v
His thumb swiped left, jumped, swiped right, ducked.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU8GdMFt4Wk
The score in the upper right corner climbed, 240, 480, 710, 930.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx6KTm1YYiW
He did not care about the score or the character.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAdAbeOLF8P
The only thing he needed was the sound.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ05CR83i4J8
The music was a thin curtain separating him from the silence of the room, from the patter of rain, from the awareness that he was truly alone in this world and no one would come to save him.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4uxzLsIHAo
On the right side of the screen, a second character appeared, a grown man in a white long sleeved shirt and a faded blue jacket, wearing a security guard's hat tilted back, and beside him a digital sheepdog ran at the same speed, its tongue lolling in a repeating animation.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKHaf00NX5n
The three of them ran together.
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A fake family in a fake world.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUkOQy7H7jM
They are not real, Voltase thought, just code, they can never feel anything.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVHgt7mNu8e
They are never alone because they never existed.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjP45XM8RZW
At 1,230 points, the obstacles increased.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx8mQmfoX5c
Train cars came faster and denser from both directions.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWCvBRDz3AO
Voltase's small fingers began to sweat, making the touchscreen feel slippery and sticky.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBCtATUZ8RU
His main character stumbled, a repeated falling animation, got up, stumbled again, while the score stopped climbing and the music shifted into anxious, stretching notes.
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A giant steel train car passed right in front of the character.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡolYEH3OflH
Bam!
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The screen turned blurry red, with a crimson gradient encircling the edges.
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Thick black ink pooled in the corners.
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White bold text appeared in the center.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP76kfSS8JX
GAME OVER.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuLwLEWgug0
Voltase let out a breath.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0abznwScYw
The breath left his small chest as a faint, almost inaudible sigh, like wind slipping through a crack in a door that did not close properly.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvJUWrpCyQ7
He pressed the home button, and the phone screen dimmed to black, reflecting his own face, the face of a thin child with weary onyx eyes, cheekbones beginning to protrude, and messy black hair.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMZ6IEiWKR0
He put the phone on the table with a slow, reluctant movement, as if letting go of the phone meant letting go of the only thing distracting him from the silence.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcP6qkr0twm
Silence returned.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu2UmDJGVB4
Rain returned.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKZngCrg6PP
He was still here.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfX4xV05TB0
Still small and alone.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvzV167sgQy
Voltase closed his eyes.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAxT9raTEKm
In the darkness behind his eyelids, he imagined another place.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtK3jZkD9be
A place where he had a big, strong body that did not need to be afraid of other children mocking him in the school hallways.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpIEzx1IKAa
A place where he could become something, become someone meaningful, someone who could not be ignored.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh0qL4NWQpP
But the image was vague, like smoke vanishing before he could grasp it.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6o9VPT6gRu
He did not know what a big body looked like.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlWUc1FI549
He had never had one.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFeDHMjE6xo
He only knew that he wanted it, something more than this thin, weak, useless body.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡISngXFmvWN
Slowly, exhaustion consumed him.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuvpLnTMuLw
His body curled up in the middle of the too large bed, knees drawn to his chest, arms hugging a pillow that had become dull and smelled of dormitory laundry soap, sharp and chemical.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmlQOx8t4Li
The rain kept tapping the window.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzfwgZGrfy7
The wind moaned among the old oak trees in the schoolyard.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWZkEyvvKru
His consciousness began to blur, sinking into a dark, warm abyss.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEJjVh1vyj7
The clock showed 22:01 PM.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlimEvjlS31
Three minutes since he turned off the phone.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL6PNNT0PTt
Voltase Watt, a twelve year old boy who did not know who his parents were, who had no home to return to, who had never been loved by anyone, began to fall into a dream.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk3KHoXaxIT
The first thing that registered through his sense of smell was the stench.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqryiFrSwx4
Not the musty, dusty smell of the dormitory room.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4dE5yujqe0
This was a completely different smell, one he had never smelled before, yet somehow felt old, as if he had smelled it in another life, in a memory that was not his.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUvLxmX0i0H
The smell entered his nostrils like thick, heavy smoke.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ92iWoxaPGn
It crept inside uninvited.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI6ktKFYZPZ
Stabbed the back of his throat like swallowed glass shards.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLGO6b08P9c
Settled on the roof of his mouth, leaving a residue that felt like a layer of copper on his tongue, salty, metallic, and with a faint sweetness that was nauseating.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdPkS6n78kN
Beneath it lay another layer: a sharp, fishy stench like fish left too long in the sun, and the smell of wet earth mixed with something darker, thicker.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2O0OLz6N88
Blood, he thought, and the thought rose from the depths of an instinct he had not known he possessed.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwxh9Yx4p6j
The smell of blood.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcmJ766cFo1
A lot of blood and flesh.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9vSIv4hYKL
Rotting flesh.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCvoGSXomWQ
Voltase opened his eyes.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvWMjATFHhQ
The darkness he saw was not the darkness of his dormitory room.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQOS0fuT0WS
This was total darkness, darkness that rejected light, darkness that felt solid like wet velvet pressed against his face.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNAHtJHqELv
His eyes blinked, adjusting, but the adjustment was slow, as if his pupils had to relearn how to catch light.
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Slowly, silhouettes began to emerge.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLMpeqqgSYy
He saw a shape above him, very close, only inches from his own nose.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQh5wOBlgkr
A face.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhzQoaFKhvQ
But not the face of a living human.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ61MMFRL3rf
The skin of that face was ashen green, pale like dried clay beginning to crack.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7wHlGRLLvN
On its left cheek was a large tear exposing the tissue beneath, a layer of dark red that had begun to blacken at the edges, like beef left too long in the refrigerator, its fibers drying and shriveling.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbCMLuCFuHm
On its chin was thin brown stubble, with flakes of dry earth clinging between the hair strands.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVvrYgvD3g5
Its eyes, or what remained of them, were two dark hollows.
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No eyeballs.
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Just black holes filled with small, writhing movements.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSiD8rXjKZJ
Voltase saw them clearly, maggots.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡphz0AqArJw
Dozens, maybe hundreds of small pale yellowish bodies, segmented, with darker heads, writhing inside those eye sockets.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCRsJVpEcBI
They rose and fell like tiny waves that never stopped, eating the remaining tissue still clinging to the orbital bone.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡngX9g62Pfm
Some were larger than others, fatter and whiter, perhaps because they had been there longer and had eaten more.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3G6njaLwaT
One of them crawled out of the left eye socket, across the corpse's cheekbone, and fell right onto Voltase's cheek.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK0JpHsuXn7
He felt it.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Acs1KWzCE
Cold, Damp, and Writhing.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyA9l9h3mnD
That small soft body clung to his skin for a second, then began to crawl slowly downward toward his jaw.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF11zDqj3bo
Voltase felt every movement of that body, every small muscle contraction pushing it forward, every segment rubbing against his skin.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVJPC23RaQe
At that moment, panic exploded inside him.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnGx0EuouvU
Pure, primal panic that recognized no logic or reason.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwxcwjh9KsR
He wanted to scream, but his voice was caught in his throat.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGa1Kmhw1zP
He wanted to push, but his hands felt foreign and heavy.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4aulzz6maO
Because he realized: his body had become different.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtJd2rh03ZK
His hands pushing the corpse away felt longer and heavier.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ38dPNlQQjj
His fingers were no longer long and thin.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTo3gGHycbl
He felt protruding knuckles, long and sturdy finger joints, a wide palm with blue veins clearly visible on the back.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIiyQTV65vh
When he pushed the corpse away, the muscles in his arms, muscles he had never possessed in the real world, contracted with surprising strength.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ738EKHvfXA
He felt the stretch of muscle fibers, pressure in his shoulders, and the weight of the body he pushed felt lighter than it should have.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9LpnXlPt6E
The corpse rolled to the side with a wet, heavy plop, like a bag of wet meat falling onto mud.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAXmhgkMraW
Its head hit something hard, maybe a rock, maybe another skull, with a dull crack.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn7ceU7sTCI
Voltase coughed, choked, and sat up straight with a jolting movement.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbTWLnLW1IL
He sat up, no need to crawl or roll. He just bent his body upward, and the body obeyed, while the maggot writhing on his cheek had fallen to the ground.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdHWD8gPth3
His chest felt heavy, broad, and wide. His back felt solid.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnth8HcWY8X
His shoulders were now thick and muscular.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRCrb2sv4Lq
He looked down and saw his own body.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9gUXqmF6MM
A uniform.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡta3eknT0TS
A long sleeved shirt in faded blue, made of thick wool fabric that was coarse and slightly damp from dew or blood.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvkWP4fv9zh
Small metal buttons lined up down the center of his chest. Some were undone, and beneath the undone buttons he saw an undershirt in wet gray.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOjBdgO40TA
On his left shoulder was a patch bearing an emblem he did not recognize: an eagle with spread wings, its claws grasping something that looked like a snake.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVNz9nQ6QEF
The patch was faded, its edges torn.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJpHwOwkWXi
Blue trousers tucked into tall dark brown boots that felt heavy on his feet.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbFyL5wX3bJ
The boots were made of thick leather with hard soles. He felt small studs on the soles when he moved his feet over the ground.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnBo1YsKpIu
Loose metal buckles on the tops of the boots swung gently as he moved.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVFnVEowXgw
Voltase raised his right hand in front of his face.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBQgeuKczbu
The hand trembled violently.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfmYhgffpuI
He could see it clearly, and it was not his hand.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUgGL0XvGn4
The hand was long, thin but muscular, with blue veins prominent on the back.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvlvclxaXXQ
The fingers were slender with prominent knuckles and short nails dirty with black earth drying beneath them.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡam33pD4lDv
There was a small wound on his middle knuckle, a scrape still wet with fresh blood, perhaps from a fight that happened before he woke up.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3MLjfX3vmZ
His palm was wide with deep, clear lifelines.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡanvpH87bFG
At the base of his thumb was a thick callus formed from years of holding something. It could be a weapon or a tool, he did not know.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjhpyzcx94M
This was an adult man's hand.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFsBsqTCRhi
A strong hand.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbtk2f1coJp
A hand that could never belong to a weak, thin twelve year old boy.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiufb9M5TIX
He pressed his palm to his chest.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtodpRQiKSZ
Beneath the thick wool fabric, he felt the contour of hard chest muscles, broad pectorals with wide ribs beneath them.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7tuEa0PX35
And beneath those muscles, he felt a heartbeat.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbTViFGhM28
Thump, thump.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFvFb3MJAVO
Thump, thump.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmvo29NNUUf
A deeper, stronger, heavier heart.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR1UdUf1nI3
Each beat felt like a hammer striking the wall of his chest from inside.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOufITpu51n
This is not my body, he thought.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZmv4s5i2b2
The thought sounded foreign in his head, deeper, heavier, with the resonance of an adult man he did not recognize.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHGDUSrqdwh
This body is not mine.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhDbFGUoSrv
I am inside someone else's body.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjE46zCd8gm
I am trapped inside someone else's flesh.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOKb5jtbyfn
How can this be?
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKMU3lH1pM2
He wanted to scream, to call someone, to ask what was happening, but his voice only came out as a hoarse breath caught in his throat, like the voice of someone who had just woken from a long sleep and had not yet found his words.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi9pGwYa26F
He straightened his body, rising from his current sitting position.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBEWVL5Kq1R
His knees wobbled at first. The long, strong leg muscles felt strange, unused to supporting this much weight, but he forced himself to stand.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjXekTrnBYs
Eye level was now above the piles of corpses around him.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfyFBYhIsz3
He could see far across the field, farther than he had ever seen in his short, narrow life.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUIQksY50mZ
The body was now tall, a hundred and eighty centimeters or more.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNtUoKztgTO
When he looked down, he saw the long distance between his chest and the ground, a distance he had never experienced before.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoRzZ4yBLTS
His long, sturdy legs felt foreign, like poles newly attached beneath his body.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTDhYrcQttw
Every step felt like walking on an unstable stage.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG8PBLzFAcq
He felt his body's weight differently.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfPIIFkGLFZ
Gravity felt lighter on his bones, perhaps because his bones were now larger and stronger, but his muscles felt heavier and denser.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW4iMiWNtGt
There was strength there, potential for movement he had never explored.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡupElXEzIAJ
He felt that this body could run faster, punch harder, endure longer than his thin, weak body.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5ZUGns8o9o
But that strength must have its price, something he was always aware of, that nothing in this world was free.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiPHFvVbmVB
Instead, he felt strange after obtaining this body.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN1IbtNA1A7
Like a thief who had stolen something precious and did not know how to use it, where every movement felt like a violation.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnQlbKEDtPY
Whose body is this? The question repeated in his head like a mantra.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ41NovCZKj6
Where is he?
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCkDhGejyiX
Is he dead?
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfS0tJihxCV
Did I take his body?
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡavWxChswXR
Did I kill him?
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Gpeat39u0
He looked around.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1KU7N1O5iB
Above him was not the cloudy gray English sky always ready to rain. The sky here was pitch black, blacker than the hollows in the corpse's eye sockets.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhMc3AKSGNZ
No stars, moon, or glowing clouds.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFMnrUxTdk7
Just a black canvas stretching endlessly, as if someone had covered the entire world with thick velvet and forgotten it there, leaving it hanging without end.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAtZjLvAgqo
But beneath that gloomy sky, there was enough light.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNTN8pDkLGi
Perhaps from reflections off puddles of liquid on the ground that cast a dim gleam.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRlyGjknbts
Remnants of fires long dead in the distance, still emitting thin smoke and red sparks beneath the ash.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ80qVRzQGkd
The source of the light was unclear, but it was enough for Voltase to see the sight that would sear itself onto his retina forever, burned there like a photograph exposed to sunlight.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwRce2EXWHT
Around him, as far as he could see, there were only bodies.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3GFmPc3n8x
Hundreds, maybe thousands, impossible to count.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJHMseXA8J5
They lay in chaotic piles like rag dolls thrown by an angry giant and then forgotten.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡffKl5gcL8M
Some were stacked on top of each other, forming small hills reaching up to an adult's waist.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Gip3XE5CP
Some piles were higher, reaching chest height.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ5XhYLC2Lu
Voltase noticed that the piles moved.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN2xajAcHee
Not moving like living things, but moving because of the maggots and flies writhing inside them, creating small waves on the surface of the flesh.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Hb0H5XHQZ
Some bodies lay alone, separated from the piles, with arms bent at impossible angles.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ543o9LkQp9
Elbows twisted the wrong way.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLM30iVKijB
Fingers clutching empty earth as if they were still trying to crawl in death, still trying to escape something that had caught them.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPSO7kNKk8r
Some had intact faces with wide open eyes staring at the black sky, expressions of fear frozen forever in the rigid muscles of their faces.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUQhseakqiX
Some had no faces at all.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDe0CndSrFX
Just red, glistening hollows inhabited by maggots and flies, with remnants of flesh clinging to skull bones like unraveling threads.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡifrCTWobSq
Their uniforms varied.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKVkMBu6k1B
Most wore faded blue, like Voltase.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1vW3llhZwg
Many wore pale green, the color of dead moss, a faded, dull green gray like leaves already rotting in an autumn that lasted too long.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9bqEpSjN0R
Some others, fewer in number, wore ash, the color of gunpowder dust, or ash left after fire dies.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡelRHelC3S9
Those three colors mixed in this pile of death without pattern, without meaning, just chaotic horror.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ91ESO5hX4g
Often he saw blue bodies lying on top of green bodies, or gray bodies wedged between two blue bodies.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFXrNTIAMSu
Nothing was ordered.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHXswUH5d7A
Nothing was intentional.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcX2LlhjgRH
They died where they fell, and they fell where they died.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUFwgWVTsl8
The ground beneath Voltase's feet felt soft, not like the hard earth of the school garden, not like the wooden floor of his room.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwS6ijgUtQ9
He looked down and saw his boots sinking several centimeters into a brown black surface.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEEorl8WT26
It was mud, but not ordinary mud.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa04aAs2J5a
This mud was mixed with something darker, thicker, denser.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1x2VzAqK6I
Blood.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtseNVURSXm
This ground was not earth.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGpo967nkSM
It was a layer of flesh and bodily fluids that had soaked into the soil, mixed with mud, forming a new, horrific layer.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD5hxbDaWKd
When he moved his boots, there was a wet squelch, the sound of liquid squeezed out from the pores of the earth like water from an oversaturated sponge.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnFAq57glnx
He saw small white fragments among the black mud.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS4jvgdfrBF
Bone fragments.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKq3gpvhbWj
Broken rib pieces with sharp ends.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQgUwlRJFF4
Severed finger joints still bearing remnants of flesh at the joints.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsBTj5Ov7Ej
Shattered skull fragments with pinkish inner surfaces from residual brain tissue.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYct9T1sS2b
There were also torn fabric pieces, dull glinting metal buttons scattered among the mud, and undone shoelaces uncoiled like dead snakes.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrSyrqaNXz2
The stench here was not uniform.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdMKQPVhgDr
It came in waves.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHi9AFXyc63
Sometimes sharp and stinging like ammonia burning the nose.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiFqdqFB1uC
Sometimes sweet and nauseating like overripe flowers beginning to rot.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNqAytmg4y4
Sometimes like old iron scraped across the tongue, leaving a metallic taste he could not get rid of.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM6VU508BdY
Every time the wind blew, cold, damp night wind, the smell changed, shifted, found new ways to torment his senses.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTGFgj5uc0S
Voltase covered his nose with the back of his new, long hand, but the smell entered through his mouth, through his skin, through every pore of his now large but still vulnerable body.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf3SfOYcG7W
He felt it behind his eyes, in his sinuses, at the back of his throat.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbLgePkMBBB
The smell became part of the air he breathed. He could not separate himself from it.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡECPn202Nfd
In the distance, he heard something.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpsz1ze5V8d
Not the sound of rain. The sound was a crack, like a twig snapping.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt9bBZPmqIr
Voltase froze.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYbKNtv2MZS
He held his breath, that deep, heavy breath from this adult man's lungs, and tried to listen more carefully.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHyxykcDRfz
But his own heartbeat was too loud, too thunderous.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOoJujje2wI
Thump, thump.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5KsecnBiBR
Thump, thump.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1fhTeSIGwb
This heart was like a war drum inside his broad chest, and he could not stop it.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTIxrYBGbb0
Then, he saw movement.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLSQQXuwE4v
Among the pile of corpses to his left, about ten meters away, the pile shook.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrivqhBSuU6
Not from the wind. The wind would not move a pile of flesh that heavy.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZLUwPVzgz0
Something inside it was moving.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBdquWn3ycf
An arm emerged.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmHtKlYKvyV
An arm that still had intact skin, pale but not rotting, with muscles still tense beneath the skin's surface.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFAZpfacYCZ
The fingers of that hand grasped the air, then pulled, pushed the bodies above them.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuXpkTT3JGJ
Those bodies shifted, rolled, fell aside with wet sounds.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvtlsOun6It
From that pile, a man's figure emerged.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHB8F8zkhik
He rose with stiff, mechanical movements, like a wooden puppet whose strings were pulled by an invisible hand.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFKdqditdEU
He brushed dust and dried flesh scraps from his uniform, pale green, the same green worn by many corpses around him.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjyDIYDO33z
The fabric was torn in several places, and on his right shoulder was the same patch, the eagle or raven, but the colors were more faded, more worn, with threads beginning to unravel at the edges.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD3WDJxz8Vo
On his left arm was a large tear exposing the skin beneath, pale skin with an old, dried wound.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB5Juga3XCt
The man was tall, almost as tall as Voltase.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl1FqpfIVmn
His face was gaunt, with a firm jaw and prominent cheekbones.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ73yAMYqFIs
His hair was dirty blond, short and unkempt, with sideburns slightly elongated beside his ears.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHQlvppoEBW
His dark eyes, dark like Voltase's eyes in the real world, stared directly at him.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6KhpKvEo87
The stare was unfriendly.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjBwPiogxoj
Full of suspicion, confusion, and beneath it, a layer of fear trying to hide behind a tightening jaw and pursed lips.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJPxBgPs8s3
They faced each other.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNwDg1KI1ay
Two adult figures in the middle of a sea of death.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGwuhjvo1gS
Cold night wind blew between them, carrying the stench of rot and old gunpowder smoke.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡASLc36UWPe
Voltase felt the wind hit his face, carrying his long, dirty hair dancing around his eyes.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZDWFoS3t4H
The man did not speak.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0zcuS8AX04
He just stared, eyes narrowing, measuring whether Voltase was a threat or just another survivor.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfer3YIEDqc
He examined Voltase's faded blue uniform, then examined his face.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcllpln3aNc
Perhaps searching for recognition.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBz1YpQOlgp
Trying to remember if he had ever seen this face before.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYyAHhtbDzt
But there was no recognition in his eyes.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbrCx14yFbb
Only deepening suspicion.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAe8mOgBDjd
Slowly, he bent down.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgyF6b01Mlm
His dirty fingers, crusted with dried blood beneath the nails, groped among the pile of corpses.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDDrcJ0DrYk
He pushed some bodies aside, shifted others, and finally pulled something from beneath the pile.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxyU7QVs31K
A long object.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf8jzgFyRrQ
Voltase recognized the shape even though he had never seen one directly outside the history books in the school library.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsXZ3Nz4H8n
An old wooden stock, darkened by oil and covered with scratches and deep grooves from grips.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv6zCQ2XlNm
The wood was worn, its fibers peeling in places but still solid. He could see that the stock had been used for years, perhaps decades, by people he would never know.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAq7dXpfRSL
A long, slender barrel of dark metal, gleaming dully under the dim light, with grooves along its surface to reduce weight.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1HFFm1VBIa
Beneath it, just in front of the curved trigger made of the same metal with a finger groove, a small box magazine jutted out like a second jaw, loaded with ready to fire bullets.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8VcA6q6Aye
And at the end of the barrel, he saw a locking mechanism, small grooves and metal protrusions, designed to attach a bayonet.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCfLbmlJh6b
It was a heavy, ancient, deadly rifle.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl8fIKdbaiD
A rifle that had killed more people than he could imagine.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMJqzxGH4BQ
The man aimed the muzzle at Voltase's chest.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMIEuUc3btn
Voltase's reflexes acted before his thoughts could formulate a strategy.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1b4LO7zYDb
Both his hands, the long, sturdy hands of an adult man, rose up, palms open wide, in the universal gesture of surrender.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcuOc6q7JjJ
His heart pounded in this new chest, and he felt its beat at his temples and at the tips of his trembling fingers.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxnR7itAyvm
"Wait," he said, and his voice came out as a deep, hoarse baritone, a voice he had never heard before, a voice emerging from this chest.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6MgOm7BHC4
"I do not know where this is."
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdK1AM1tFC0
"I do not know what is happening."
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqDNKN1QV6w
"I just woke up."
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp1aZC4W2pN
The man did not answer.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe0OBNYcdR7
His eyes narrowed further, examining Voltase's faded blue uniform, then his face, watching Voltase's lips move, hearing his words.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH7Zup7RVZu
But there was no response.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZLWCWyifHF
Perhaps he did not believe him.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxtMTHSiwae
Perhaps he had seen too many tricks in this place to trust anyone.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSxq5pgKRTG
The man began to step forward.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT6O676HPms
One step.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcEqztZ5Ssy
Two steps.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqkZtgPiV9d
The muzzle stayed aimed exactly at Voltase's chest.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj2ymN4c4ij
Each step the man took was torture.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYjVXAeHjKL
Voltase heard the squeak of the man's boots on the bloody mud.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB9kCqL5wxy
He saw every scratch on the rifle's wooden stock, every peeling fiber, every deep groove.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡESFgmtyFAC
He saw the man's finger on the trigger, a steady finger that did not tremble, a finger accustomed to the weight and pressure of pulling.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhGqG7KVs6k
The voice in his head whispered.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlrA3Mp5s9p
If you do not move, you die.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPRxZviqdAY
You die here, in this place.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnVo3ZCVmWn
And you will never return to your dormitory room. No one will come looking for you.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0cKG0K8U4N
No one will care.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNDrL65TsvZ
You will just be another corpse in this pile.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIutcyYkxP1
The thought of the world's indifference, about foster parents who never called, about teachers who did not know his name, about the empty room with only the cracks on the ceiling, gave Voltase a strange strength.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE3luKVpkMF
He had nothing to lose in the real world.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJtqRtujudA
No one would mourn him if he died.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYnuP5uiZmd
But here, in this strong body, he might survive.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzQsKdRRWcA
He might become something.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLkEiTmDrGw
And he moved.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNOM9W4qweL
His tall, powerful body shot forward, faster than he had imagined.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi52ukp6JxP
The muscles in his legs, muscles he had never possessed, contracted with surprising strength, propelling him forward in an instant.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlUGLxFWSB6
His long hand grabbed the end of the rifle's barrel before the man could react.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGOuD3a9kQw
The metal was cold, very cold, like ice burning his skin.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXkJ6Od5zLk
He felt the texture of the metal beneath his fingers, smooth in some places, rough in others from rust, and he gripped it tightly.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAZ6wfxljQZ
He twisted the barrel aside, away from his chest.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE9Gj32FMhM
His other hand formed a fist and swung it at the man's face.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCgGaxVhPVe
The punch landed.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGRHFs7V5QT
His knuckles struck the man's cheekbone with a dull thud.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVLDbepVRwe
Voltase felt the hard impact in his hand, pain spreading like waves from his knuckles to his wrist.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuPxM0ctejj
But there was a primal satisfaction that his punch had connected.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqip8t3HusB
This was the first time in his life, both in the real world and here, he had ever hit someone with full force.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJBvMk9IJDf
The man stumbled back, his arm bending, but he did not fall.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡllXRFcQZ7Z
His head snapped to the side, and from the corner of his mouth, a drop of blood began to flow.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf40faBXhVz
He raised his hand to his face, touched his lip, looked at the blood on his fingertip.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxMahRniYRx
Then he looked at Voltase with changed eyes.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKszJ5ajoyq
Suspicion transformed into burning anger.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7y1iWdco6L
With reflexes faster than they looked, he blocked Voltase's attack with his forearm.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBNHybGYhe1
His other hand grabbed Voltase's collar and pulled him forward.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNritd90bvF
At the same time, he bent his right knee and kicked forward.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWnZ46nuOUw
The knee struck Voltase's stomach, and the pain exploded in his solar plexus like a bomb.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYwjPS6I4tF
All the air in his lungs was forced out in one gasping exhale that sounded like a long, deep groan.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFsZk0USyyR
Saliva and bitter bile from his empty stomach spurted from his open mouth, wetting his chin and dripping onto the faded blue uniform.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0aFmSwdphc
For a moment, the world around him spun wildly, black sky, corpses, and the man's face all mixed into a nauseating vortex.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz2j2dNmA6Z
He tasted metal on his tongue because he had bitten his own tongue from the impact.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwm75jYbPGY
Fresh blood began to flow in his mouth, mixing with the bile.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRSyQ76tz13
But Voltase did not fall.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjVwWErZVoE
Unlike in the real world, where he always fell when pushed by other children at school, this body was stronger, heavier.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ567Mea7JVw
His long legs planted in the bloody soil as he held his ground.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO0jVPMM7nW
His hard, trained abdominal muscles absorbed part of the kick's impact.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGgt22PKaut
Despite the overwhelming pain, he was still standing.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbTBDMGc00z
With clenched teeth, enduring the pain gnawing at his stomach like burning fire, he launched a counterattack.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7xjeihQRO1
His foot with the heavy boot and hard sole swung toward the man's shin.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQJdnmsOEAs
He swung his leg with all his strength.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡisNQU3lxOV
The kick landed with a harder thud than before.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuII5fXGFlZ
The man stumbled, losing balance.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhtQaLMRrPw
His kicked leg buckled, and for a moment he seemed about to fall, grimacing in pain, his teeth clenched, his breath coming in a long hiss.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvqUS0S9YRX
Voltase seized the moment.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNMHRl3qLcp
He twisted his body, pulling the rifle barrel with all his strength.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVusMcMqRU0
The wood and metal, an object weighing nearly four kilograms, tore from the man's grip.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHSiRntNJE7
It flew, rolled across the pile of corpses, and fell among the rotting bodies on the other side, sinking beneath the pile of flesh.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDExZviOjaO
Now, without weapons, they faced each other equally.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCLmonLmzuQ
The man swung a punch at Voltase's jaw, but Voltase ducked, feeling the wind of the fist brushing his long, dirty hair.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDPr3s3EPX4
He answered with a punch at the man's chin, but the man tilted his head with agile movement despite his large body.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqyHvmDrJaS
They fought wildly, punches, kicks, elbows, and knees, in the middle of the sea of corpses.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlxxKIRWCgw
Dust and dried flesh scraps flew around them every time they stepped on or fell into the piles of bodies.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHz2tYnEBlU
Voltase felt blood, both the corpses' blood and his own, covering his face.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKZrpwRITYD
His lower lip was split, and he tasted his own salty, metallic blood on his tongue, mixing with the copper taste from the air around him.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5RSnTMUeqO
This is not me, he thought between punches, but his thoughts were fragmented by pain and exhaustion.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAwlAxGQwPp
Why am I here?
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