Water Pipes

Can people talk without a tongue?

I wasn't sure, but probably not.

Having no other option, I grabbed the lump of meat from the ground, cleaned it with a wave of my hand, and stuffed it back in the guy's mouth, grabbing his shoulder with my other hand. I tried to glue the bitten-off piece back to the stump, reconnecting all the tissues.

I closed my eyes, trying to focus.

Reattaching a severed body part was technically possible. I mean, if surgeons could do it, then there was no reason why I wouldn't. It was a complicated procedure, but I could break the reality laws and had sufficient anatomical knowledge after all, so it should be much easier to do for me. I'm pretty sure I would be able to do it on myself, as long as I remained conscious, but for someone else…

Moreover, was it really worth it? Wouldn't he just bite it off again after he wakes up?

The time has passed, but I was not getting any results. With a sigh, I threw the lump back on the ground and sat on my chair. Observing the guy, I lit a cigarette.

He had guts, I had to give him that. Bitting off your tongue didn't seem like an easy thing to do, and it must have hurt like hell.

But what was I supposed to do now? I could try to get some more clues by watching his reactions to what I say, but it was unlikely to bring many results.

Then was there any point in keeping him alive? If the organization was willing to send him alone on the mission in the first place, they probably wouldn't spare much effort to retrieve him. I could still try to use him as bait, but simply destroying the world might end up being more effective.

As I was pondering over my options, I suddenly heard a metallic clang above.

I looked up. There were multiple large pipes by the ceiling. The sound came from one of them.

It was dark in here, the only source of light was the large camping lamp I brought with me. I stood up and squinted my eyes, trying to see better, but to no avail.

Soon I heard another clang, and then one more…

And then part of the pipe cracked, and the water started pouring down.

Just my fucking luck.

Coincidence? Or has the world started hunting me again?

The room was quickly filling with water, it was already reaching my knees. I glanced at the guy. Do I bother bringing him out with me?

I easily could, but what for? Just let him die if he wanted it so much.

I grabbed my bag and quickly made my exit. The basement continued filling with water at increasing speed. As I reached the stairs, I could hear another pipe breaking in the distance.

I wonder how far the water will come up. Will it flood the whole area?

On a spur, I turned back. If the world wants to turn this basement into a huge underground pool, I might as well help it a bit.

I raised my hand and slowly curling my fingers into a fist, I crushed several pipes. Satisfied, I ran upstairs. As soon as I made it out of the building, I jumped onto the roof of the nearby building, so that I could observe what happens.

Just a few moments later, the water started pouring out of the building at an incredible speed, flooding the whole street as I expected. Unfortunately, the area was rather deserted, so I couldn't witness a chaotic scene of people frantically running away such as on the bridge earlier. As a result, it was rather boring.

Should I just collapse the building while I'm at it?

I was a bit frustrated, since my interrogation efforts weren't as successful as I hoped. I was able to obtain some new information… But that was not enough. So it would be nice to let off some steam.

However, after some consideration, I gave up on the thought. It hasn't even been a few hours since I destroyed the bridge. That was enough damage for today. I was a bit tired anyway. The world was still too stable, so breaking the reality laws to such an extent was a bit exhausting.

I needed a change of pace.

I wasn't even able to get much fun in this world, and I already had to start destroying it. It was such a shame.

It was time to enjoy myself a bit, while I still could.

***

Later that night, I sat on the windowsill, smoking a cigarette, slightly drunk.

The girl I went home with was moving way too much in her sleep, constantly waking me up. It was annoying, but she satisfied me well earlier, so I left her alone. Might as well let her live a bit longer as thanks.

The city was rather calm and quiet, despite the two calamities that have just struck it. Well, three, considering the flooding, but it was relatively harmless, and not entirely caused by me, so it didn't count. People seemed nervous, some were hysterical, some were speculating about terrorist attacks, but that was about it. There were still plenty of people who went out for a drink.

It was just quiet before the storm though. As more incidents ensue, everyone will start fleeing the city in panic.

I couldn't tell whether that was good or bad for me. With everyone gone, my abilities would get stronger… But the same might apply to the members of the organization. Then again, fighting them in a half-ruined city might be a bit easier, cause with fewer people around, I could just kill everyone at sight, and they wouldn't be able to hide in the crowd. But at the same time, they wouldn't need to worry about hurting civilians…

It was difficult to form any decent strategy to deal with the situation. I simply didn't have enough information.

Moreover, regardless of what I planned, I had no choice but to wait for them to make their move first.