The Monster Inside Me (2)

A Miracle…

That miracle did happen, but in a way that she could never expect nor accept.

[I'm starvinggg… Sister, are you not hungry?]

A monstrous child-like voice rang from within her. And at the very second that voice appeared, clarity kicked in as Xie Yi was roughly pulled awake to take over the body.

— Slurp!

The monster child hissed in bliss as it made a slurping sound. And terrifyingly, her body moved as the child willed, licking at her own lips that were now wet from all the drool and blood.

"You!!!"

The sudden sweet taste of blood prompted her sluggish and confused purple eyes to widen in fright as she instantly recovered from her stupor. Her two hands that were gripping tightly at the body parts of the prey she had just torn trembled before they lost strength, letting all the nutritious flesh slip out of her grasp.

[Goodness! You're such a bad kid, Sister! Why waste these precious and delicious food? It's not everyday that we can have a feast this freely.]

The monster child chided Xie Yi, the blatant dissatisfaction in her voice apparent to the ears. Obviously, in this self-proclaimed sister relationship of theirs, the child took herself as the bigger and more mature one.

As the monster child kept on scolding the silent Xie Yi without any intention of stopping, her body instinctively moved to bend her back and recollect the fallen meat when it suddenly froze in place, arms awkwardly staying outreached in the air.

It took Xie Yi the entirety of her willpower to stop her body from moving itself or to be exact, move as the child inside her told her to. At this point, the feeling of dread gnawing at her had long become too overwhelming to be curbed.

What should she do? Her panicked eyes trailed the tint of dark purple hardening the entirety of her skin as they eventually landed on her ten blade-like pointy fingers.

The tip of those blades gleamed menacingly under the soft light of the moon, reminding her of the hand that once punctured through her stomach without any mercy, the hand that belonged to her mother – a Mutant.

She once wondered why her mother had cruelly ripped out her super core, why she had left that surge of foreign power inside her and how she was able to form another new core that day. And it was only till this day did some light seem to have been shed on this grand scheme.

That talking monster inside her… came from the new core or to be exact, the baby mutated nucleus isn't it?

Oh, Mother.

"What have you done to me?" 

Xie Yi's complexion became exceedingly pale. She was hurting all over both physically and mentally, and it was exactly at this particular moment that she recalled the scene happening back in the old pawnshop.

"Consume it if you happen to feel any discomfort or if you feel as if you're going crazy like… like strange voices clamoring inside your head! Whatever it is… save… it'll save you. It's from Doctor Xue, you know the rules…"

At that time, Master Zhang's words were nothing but an ominous speech that discomforted her to the core. However, now that they had become a piece of information that fits the puzzle, they conveniently offered a way out for the current her who had been frightened and confused to the point of not knowing what to do.

Xie Yi knew that she wasn't thinking straight at this moment. Probably, she would come to regret this decision once the state of her mind had fully recovered. But…

She gritted her teeth and grabbed the vial in her pockets, hot tears overflowing her burning eyes. It wasn't necessarily bright, but the better future she thought was waiting for her the moment she escaped out of the military's grasp had become exceedingly bleak.

If the vial from the doctor were to work, Xie Yi knew that she would unwittingly be forced back to the path of no return. She would be voluntarily entering the Doctor's trap and expose herself to him.

But, she truly had no choice. She truly did as she would be damned if anyone were to see her in this state. Thus, Xie Yi didn't even hesitate when she popped open the vial and raised it to her mouth.

[Sister, what is that in your hand? It doesn't smell nice nor look good either… No, wait! Sister, don't–]

The child's voice was harshly cut off like a speaker that had been drained of its battery as Xie Yi dumped the green liquid down her throat, leaving only a small portion behind before sealing the vial.

The strange taste of the liquid was like a drug. The sensation that followed after was intoxicating and addicting, making her feel as if she had grown wings and urging her to fly to the moon. Xie Yi's muscles softened as she crumbled to the ground, her back against the dirty wall of the dark alley.

Her five senses had started to become blurry, but she could still see the speedy transformation her body was going through at the moment. The sharp blade-like tips shrunk back to form clean cuts of transparent short nails that were trimmed to the finest.

The dark shade of purple painting her whole skin gradually diminished as well, recovering its healthy rosy color which was soon followed by the softening of her skin. Through the reflection from a nearby steel lid, Xie Yi overlooked these changes with mixed feelings.

There were so many things going on in her mind at the moment, so many concerns and consequences waiting for her to sort out. Fortunately, Xie Yi was quick to make her decision. She decisively pushed everything that can wait to the back of her head, deciding to get herself out of this crime scene first.

With an expressionless face, she stood up and patted all the dirt and dust off her clothes, before she moved her eyes to the ghastly sight of those mutilated rat corpses. With so much blood spilled in the scene, Xie Yi was sure that the matter wouldn't be able to go unnoticed for long and thus, she didn't bother to clean the surroundings.

The only thing she needed to do was to not leave any evidence behind that might lead people to associate her with this matter. And thus, Xie Yi looked around whilst avoiding the splash of blood, lest she left behind any bloody footprints.

It was only after Xie Yi retrieved all of her personal belongings and perfectly covered her traces did she leave the scene in a hurry, moving far away from the scene to dump her contaminated clothes and change into a clean set she casually borrowed from a nearby drying rack.

Walking down the streets, she took a good look at herself in the mirror of a store, combing her hair with her fingers and tidying herself before she headed back to the Xie Residence.