Unstoppable: Revitalized

-25-

I've lost my fucking mind. I have to have done. There's no way in hell this is real. I watched her head explode. It can't be. It simply can't be.

"I can't remember much. I remember you running into me, and something hitting my head, and that's it. I woke up on the floor, blood around me. Care to fill in the details?"

Poppy looked completely fine: Not a scratch or a dent on her. It was if I'd never laid a hand on her. She was maybe five steps away from me, arms crossed and eyes burning into me. The cold wind seemed to dig it's way into my skin as I stayed down, shaking all over. I was muttering to myself, trying to snap myself out of whatever deluded dream I was still in

Wake up Adam, you must still be asleep. Wake up. Wake up now, this is a nightmare, come on, right now, snap out of it.

"This isn't- No. I swear- I- I- How are- how- what-" I stuttered out, trying to catch myself, but to no avail. Poppy scoffed as she approached, sending my mind into overdrive as I scrabbled my way to my feet. She kept approaching, before she buckled, falling to her knees, her face going from calm to crazy as she tightened her fists, teeth clenched.

What the fuck is happening right now??

"Adam?" Her voice, sounding more familiar, kept the silence at bay as she began to cry silently, my only giveaway being tears crawling across her cheeks. I looked at her knuckles, and noted how she ground them into stones, small flecks of blood dotting across them.

"It's- It's inside me, and it's getting stronger. It takes over, even- God- even when it's not open. I need you-" She stopped, tucking her chest into her legs, as if containing herself, before sticking her head up, staring straight at me, pure fear brimming in them as she uttered her last words of sanity:

"You need to- to kill it, you- you need to kill me."

She looked as if she wanted to say more, but her mouth seemed to choke as she wobbled herself to her legs, her chest beginning to split open like I'd seen before, those same body parts emerging from her, her old body dissolving into her new one before my eyes, clothes falling to the floor as the creature I'd met before stood before me, claws bared open and ready.

"Finally..." It seemed to savour the moment, glancing at the sun, before back at me, taking a step.

"Stay away from me. I don't want any trouble. Do what you have to, but just leave me alone." I didn't move, but raised my hands, trying to show I was no threat. Clearly not caring, it raced towards me, inching it's mashing, contorting face close to mine, leaning down to examine me.

"But you do. You lie. You heard Poppy. She asked you to murder me, and after seeing how broken she was when I fixed her last, it would be stupid to leave you alive, even if your blood does allow you to live. I need more of it, I need to feed on you, Adam, and I need it now." It's claws snapped together, causing me to jump back, creating a little room.

Running's out of the question. I can't beat it, but I can dodge it, surely.

A lone claw swiped at me, once again causing me to duck down to safety, running into one of the incomplete buildings, a clomping sound behind me indicating it wasn't far behind me. I'd ran through an open door, slamming it behind me and locking it, before heading up the stairs. I dared to look back, and watched in horror as it split the door in half, calmly walking across the splinters. Passing a few rooms, I'd hit a dead end: The room I'd ended up in had no way out, facing a hole cut through bricks. I'm guessing it was supposedly used as a window. Just as I thought about trying somewhere else, the creature appeared in the doorway, ducking it's head under to make room. I wasn't able to think of a plan B, and went with the next best thing:

I jumped.

It was the second story, and I knew I'd take some damage, but I thought I'd mostly be fine. What I didn't expect was to leap out, arms spread out wide, before seemingly stopping, my body jaggedly freezing in the middle of freefall. Shocked, I looked down, and saw the culprit: A spike, tinted green, had poked it's way through my chest, seeming to sever my spine as my body went limp, my head banging into my chest. The spike itself seemed to extend out, a natural grappling hook, before sinking it's way back into me.

"You want to fly, do you? Human's were never meant to fly. I'll show you why."

It manipulated itself, lifting the spike up, allowing me to catch that the creature did in fact have a tail it was using for this, before letting me see the sun for a moment. The pain was just starting to creep in as I felt the momentum shift, my body facing down and plummeting straight, a heavy force on my back assisting it, before I hit the ground with such power I bounced, my limbs flailing as my legs broke off, scattering themselves in front of me. My head was fuzzy, dots of darkness clouding my vision as I saw my arms break apart, one no longer connected to me laying beside me. My nervous system was broken beyond belief, as no pain crept through me as I was turned over, once again facing the sky.

Help. God. Help me, someone, please. Help.

My eyes could just make out the creature that owned Poppy crawl towards my face, and I swear, though it's features were always twisting and contorting, I could make out a smile.

"Thank you so much for making this easy for me, Adam. In return, I'll make this painless." The creature snarled as it's spiked tail rose once again, aiming for my heart, before dipping down, cutting the last of the life out of me.