Prodigy

II

I'm running with the boy, Raene, and I don't know how, but I am.

The beast thing had attacked, it had leaped at me as soon as we locked eyes and I'd belatedly ducked out of the way, leading to the scratch on my shoulder that burns right at this moment like a motherlover.

It had landed on Raene's—the spy, in case it was forgotten—store, crushing it under it's weight. Thinking that it was weakened for a while at least, I grabbed Raene, who had been grabbing a bag and a gun from the mini pharmacy just as the beast had landed—I still don't know why I did that—and we both took off running.

It was like only five seconds when we went crashing to the ground as the thing had attacked Raene from behind, who had grappled and struggled with the slimy, blue creature that had the body of a giant lizard. A really giant one. With bulging veins of green and gray running all over it's body and even in it's teeth and claws that had been about to slice Raene to pieces.

Smart guy, he'd blasted it with a lightgun that shot hot, searing light rays that burnt flesh at best and incinerated at worst, making it leap back at a speed that had defied logic, even mutant speed logic, and with a shriek that had scraped at my ears and left them hurting.

They're still hurting but healing fast due to my mutated DNA as Raene and I round a corner of the terrorised establishment and stop beside an abandoned stall of raw meat.

I barely suppress a gasp at the sight of Raene's back and arms, which are ruined with scratches so deep I can see his bones in some places. Raene hardly notices though as he walks to the stall and starts packing up raw bloody meat and throwing them on the floor, putting some in his bag and even in his pockets.

He turns to face me slightly, blue eyes fixed on me as he growls through what I imagine is his pain, saying, “Won't you help?”

Gone is the playful smile from just s few seconds ago. Or was it minutes? I can't seem to be able to keep track of the time in hasty situations like these. Raene's gaze is narrowed in pain and lines bracket his pressed full lips that had split into a boyish grin to display dimples before, and I answer the boy before me. The transformed one, the spy. I answer in awareness of the situation as I walk towards him. “I would if I know what you are trying to do.”

But the sky gods help me so, when—and I say when, I will not be dying today—we're done with this, I will twist his exposed bones if I have to to get the whole truth of what the shack is going on.

“It's a Blue Bane beast.” He explains in a rush as I walk towards him. “Not one of the worst, nor is it winning any awards for being tame, so it's sort of in the middle.”

Not one of the worst, huh? I spare a glance at his back. So what is?

“Therefore, it prefers flesh, raw flesh, like any other beast, but also a healthy dose of purple rain chemicals. And this meat is washed in water contaminated by purple rain and originates from animals that consumed such water.” He sucked in a breath. “Ergo, a perfect meal.”

“So what are we gonna do with it? Set up a nice lunch in the middle of the market and expect it to forget about us? What if it kills other people? What if it—?”

“If you would let me finish,” He cut in, “We lure it. To the building across the street from the market. Ergo, the one across the mass house. Ergo, to the Flyaway drug freezer across the street.”

“Why?” I ask as he adds more meat to the mounting pile on the ground, eyeing the diminishing array on the meat sellers stand. Whoever owns this is losing a lot of money. That is, if they're not dead, or dying.