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--Set 6 Months before Chapter: Ricky--

It took a long time for Noah to properly orient himself. First, from the coast he'd gone inland in search of some sort of town or city. He'd found a small coastal town but the entire thing was in ruins, with no recognizable features to let him know where he was. Luckily, it wasn't long before he found a place he vaguely remembered, the city of Saratoga Springs. From what he could recall, this city had been relatively new in his youth, with not many people living there. Besides Albany and New York City, there weren't many places worth noting I n the state of New York.

"36.6 miles north of Albany... I can get there in ten minutes if I fly..." He muttered to no one in particular. He'd developed a habit of talking to himself in order to combat the loneliness he felt after 89 years of no interaction with any other member of his species.

A pair of black feathered wings emerged from his shoulder blades, courtesy of a crow he had hunted while on his way here. Feathers were superior to mebraneous wings as they allowed for easier gliding, better life, and more insulation against the cold of North America. He leapt into the air, soaring Southward at a moderately fast speed.

As he drew closer to Albany, Noah began to recognize more and more of the surrounding terrain. Though there were a lot more unfamiliar buildings and infrastructure that were not there when he was younger, that didn't mean that humans could remove all the signs of what was. Familiar rock formations, rivers, and old roads guided him along with the map he'd gotten from Saratoga Springs.

Ten minutes later, just as he had predicted, Noah arrived above Albany. It was different from the image he had in his memories. Most of the factories he remembered were now gone, replaced by bland, dull office buildings. The streets had been completely redone, some even disappearing while others had sprouted up in different locations.

Generally, though, the layout was the same, or at least close enough that he could still make his way around comfortably.

It wasn't just the layout that was different though.

Cars were randomly strewn about, covered in dust and debris, and not a single structure didn't have at least one hole in it. Everything looked to be in disrepair, and all the plant life that had previously acted as decoration had now become largely overgrown. How was this possible? Why did the city look as if it were abandoned for years and not mere weeks?

As he flew over the landscape at high speeds, taking it all in, Noah failed to notice a few figures shifting around in the city's shadows.

Finally, a minute later, Noah found his old neighborhood. He got lost a few times on the way, but he was finally here.

And before long…

There it was.

Noah's old home.

He looked at the familiar white-picket fence, the red brick walls, the black tiled roof, all weathered and stained by the marks of time. The lawn's grass was over a foot in height, and the garden in the backyard had turned into a miniature jungle.

As he observed all this from above, tears unwittingly gathered in Noah's eyes. He began to cry, landing in front of the door and collapsing to his knees. The number of times he had fantasized of returning home, of seeing this familiar white door, of walking up these familiar stone steps… they were uncountable.

He used to go to sleep at night yearning to wake up in his old room, his father, mother, and siblings waiting for him downstairs eating breakfast.

While in the pit, he would often wake up and keep his eyes closed, imagining his old room, the sights, the smells, the sensations. Sometimes he would almost convince himself that he was back home, only to open his eyes and find that familiar damp cave ceiling coated in moss and enveloped in a layer of darkness.

Noah took a minute to gather himself, before he got up and knocked on the door. He knew no one would answer, but it had been a habit he remembered doing regularly. Taking a deep breath, he turned the door's handle, breaking the lock with ease and entering the house. He listened to the familiar creek of the hinges as the door swung open, the squeak of the wooden floor as he stepped onto its surface. The smell was different, so was the decor inside.

Obviously, after eighty-nine years, the house would have switched owners quite a few times.

Noah walked through the house, looking at the rooms that held all his fondest memories within them. The living room, where he'd play with his sister while his father read a newspaper and his mother listened to the radio. The kitchen, where after everyone's long day, they would all convene and eat together, sharing their individual experiences. The kitchen, where he would often sit on a counter and watch his mother cook...

He eventually made his way up into the master bedroom, where his mother and father used to sleep, and was surprised to find their old bed frame still there, in the center of the room.

It appears the homeowners had decided to keep the Victorian-style bed frame that his mother had spent a small fortune to buy, much to Noah's father's chagrin. He leapt onto the mattress, smiling happily.

At least this hadn't changed.

At least this was still the same.

Noah rested on the bed for quite a while, an exhaustion he previously was unaware of now coming to the forefront.

But then…

Crash!

A noise came from downstairs.

Noah immediately sat up on high alert.

He heard an ominous groaning coming from downstairs along with the sounds of shuffling feet.

Who was in his house? Could it be other humans?

Such thoughts in his mind, Noah ran out of his room and down the hallway, eventually reaching the stairs leading to the first floor.

He descended, and upon looking around, he saw a humanoid figure standing in the corner of his living room, its features obscured by the long shadows cast by the furniture as the afternoon sun shined through the shuttered window.

"Hello? Don't be scared, my name is Noah. I live here. Do you need something? What's your name? Hey, are you alright?" Noah began introducing himself and asking questions as he approached them.

The figure stirred at his voice, slowly turning to face him.

When Noah was within arms reach of the figure, he finally could make out who they were… but he found himself quickly stumbling back in shock.

It was human, at least, it was at one point. Now, it was anything but.

Its skin was melted, blackened and deformed, sagging downwards as a disgusting green ooze poured from all of its orfices.

It let out a low groan.

Noah's face contorted, looking at the creature with unhidden disgust.

In top of this feeling of revulsion however, he also felt a deep-seated anger boiling within him.

What was such a vile creature doing in HIS home?

This was a place where his best memories were made. He couldn't stand the thought of those pure and jubilant moments sharing the same space as this… thing.

The creature stumbled towards him, dripping green ooze onto the floor, the odd substance quickly eroding the wooden surface and burning through it.

Seeing this, Noah became even more angry.

Starting at his left shoulder, his arm began to wither and decay, his skin blackening and sinking, sticking to his bones as a slightly transparent dark film.

Then, with inhuman speed, the appendage swung towards the creature and wrapped around it, almost as if his bones themselves were gone. His elongated fingers dug into the creature's flesh, holding green as they began to absorb the green substance that lay within.

Noah lifted the creature up effortlessly, carrying it out the front door and off the lawn. Once he was sure he was sufficiently far from the house, he set it down with a deep breath.

He looked down at his once-withered left arm, only to find that the black, translucent skin now glowed an ominous green, the disgusting ooze now flowing beneath.

This was a special trait of the Sethker species. They were born without blood, and by absorbing the life-liquid of other species, they were able to strengthen themselves greatly.

They were wiped out by Gorm eons ago.

(Assimilate this creature. I feel a… familiar power coming from it).

Gorm suddenly spoke up.

Noah's first thought was 'do I have to?' However, after a brief moment of consideration, he realized that it may be in his best interests to do as Gorm says here. If something left enough of an impression on his monster counterpart that he could feel a sense of familiarity from them after 800 million years of imprisonment, then they were most likely pretty powerful.

With this thought in mind, Noah's body expanded, enveloping the odd humanoid and quickly shrinking down to his original size, now alone in front of his house.

Once he had assimilated it, Noah suddenly felt a phantom sensation, much akin to the feeling someone would ge rafter losing a limb. He also felt something welling up in his throat.

He coughed, releasing that same green ooze from between his lips.

"Gorm?" Noah prompted, hoping that he may have figured out what this creature was after the assimilation.

But he remained silent.

More sounds of groaning diverted Noah's attention as more and more monsters like the one he just absorbed began to appear in his surrounds, all shuffling towards him while letting out pitiful noises.

Noah sighed.

Not only were these creatures disgusting, but they also dripped that acidic, vile green ooze wherever they went, ruining their surroundings.

He spread his fingers on his right hand, pointing each towards a different one of the approaching figures. Blue spines emerged from their tips, shooting out and impaling their target's heads with ease. A few more volleys, and all of them were dead.

Upon impact the blue spines began injecting a potent substance that quickly corroded everything it came into contact with, leaving only a pile of ash.

And yet, even after killing the new arrivals, more still began to pour down the street and out of houses.

A/N: The blue spines Noah shot from his fingers are based off of a special type of fish found in coral reefs near the tropical Pacific and Indian Oceans: the stonefish. The corrosion effect is my own spin, but the original creature's sting is known to be one of if not the most painful stings in the entire world.

A few people have been asking for pictures of Noah and Gorm, and I think I have found a picture for each of them that I am satisfied with.

Here's the picture for Gorm.

Here's the picture for Noah.