Mutant Busters: Insomniac Hell

Chapter Nine. Brutux and The Bookshelves

⚠️TW⚠️ Mentions of drinking and Suicide, death, swearing, fire

Please tell me if I missed any

Notes at the end like always
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You know, most people have found ways to adapt. Some people drink, some just kill themselves. And some just... survive. Maybe that's how I got by. I just got lucky. Though, I wouldn't consider being stuck in the concrete hell 'lucky'. One year, yeah. Two years, maybe. But three whole years is mostly not considered 'lucky' in any books. The only part considered 'lucky' is that I got out. Well, not anymore. How do we break the news?

"Well well well. Look who's still alive. It's Sheriff." I heard a familiar voice call. Just as I tried to lift my head, it was shoved down. Brutuxs posse must have shown up, well, they're right here.
"Why do we call him 'Sheriff'?" I heard one of them ask. Oh God. Not this again.
I felt their disgusting hands on my body again, pulling down the collar and showing them the birthmark.
"That's why. Ugly little thing isn't it?" They all seemed to agree. I guess a specific someone must have woken up, because I heard gunshots.
Two fell. Two more joined them on the ground. I didn't want to turn my head. I know Shooter has a perfect shot, and I know he's a pain in the ass when you wake him up. I also know he shoots to kill.
"You alright Sheriff?" He asked. I looked up to see him covered in blood, reaching a hand down to help me up. I grabbed his hand and used it to pull myself up.
"Yeah, I'm good now." I said. Still holding his hand. Of course I let go a little bit after, but I only did it so I wouldn't make him uncomfortable. That would just be rude and disrespectful.
"So, I'm guessing you have quite the record here if they know about the mark." Shooter mentioned, staring at the now dead bodies. I thought about his remark for a moment, maybe a bit longer. I was soon able to give him an answer.
"Whenever dad needed to settle his debt, he'd send me to get my ass kicked by these cunts." I answered. My dad most certainly wasn't the best, but I can't say he was the worst. Other people got worse. I guess Shooter was shocked to hear this, but oh well. He asked.
"Damn, kind of happy my dad left the picture early now. Now we're even. Your dad's a piece of shit and mine up and left." Shooter joked. I couldn't help myself. I bursted out into a fit of laughter, with Shooter joining me soon after. Soon enough, we heard something. A door perhaps? It was a door. The very door that leads to the hideout of Brutux.
"Well, well well. Seems like you can only push a man so far before he fights back. Just sucks that those were my best men." A voice called out. There he was. Six foot something irrational. A body worthy of God. If God even exists. Red hair and a bionic arm. Wait, he didn't have that before.
"New arm? It looks cool but still." I said impulsively. Brutux gave a light chuckle as he grabbed his arm and answered.
"This is nothing compared to other losses, although all these creatures do give me a run for my money."
"Damn right, can't kill shadows without a light gun. And even then it's iffy." I replied quickly. Brutux looked at me, then looked to the horizon.
"So you haven't seen it yet..." I stood in a state of shock. Seen what? I survived three damn years in that hell and there were only shadows.
"Seen what? There's only shadows in the concrete hell." I asked, while I reaffirmed my point. Brutux looked back at me and Shooter.
"Not all the creatures here are shadows. Some seem human, while being monsters. Some seem monstrous, while behaving like humans. Come now, I can't let my guests stand outside forever, can I?"
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"So, about my debts..."
"No need my boy, once this is over you can get a job here. I need a couple more men to help me out around here." Brutux replied before I could finish. I was honestly relieved that he dropped my debts for now, and even more relieved he let us inside. His place is very beautiful. A tall brooding tower on the outside, a luxurious library on the inside. I'm not even sure how he got all these books. I'm even more curious about what each one's about.
"So, do you have a clue what any of these creatures are?" Shooter asked, hoping Brutux had an answer. Brutux got up and walked towards the bookshelves. When he got to them, he started to scan through the books, softly muttering to himself.
"Aha!" Brutux exclaimed. He grabbed a book from the shelf and walked back to the desk area.
"I found this a few years ago, drawings done by people suffering from severe hallucinations caused by insomnia. And as you can see, they have names too, classifications and stats as well." Brutux explained. We opened the book to instantly see one of the creatures. The guardian, the book called it 'The Watcher' which is much cooler. Hat guys are called 'Deceivers' and have been known to gain your trust before killing you and 'Friends' are called Mimics. The last one makes the most sense to be honest. Reading through the book even more gave me a sense of knowledge, even if the were just drawings with descriptions, there were some based off actual things. Some based of Yokai, some based off of Crypids.
"That one's based off of a murder, isn't it?" I heard Shooter say. I looked to see a floating head that looked a bit too familiar.
"Yes, the hello kitty murder. I'm shock you know of it." Brutux replied.