Unstoppable: Revitalized

-38-

Monday rolled around, rearing it's ugly head, as it always does. I checked my phone, recreating the same ritual I did every morning, the numbers five thirty three hanging in the air. Sighing, I rolled out of bed, switching off my alarms and dragging my body to the shower. After letting the water sizzle against my skin, I washed the grime of sleep off of me before pulling myself downstairs. The kitchen light was on, and I could see shadows moving throughout, letting me know I wasn't the only one conscious in the household. Taking a breath and straightening my shoulders, I walked in, the unnatural light seeming sharper than usual.

"Hey guys." I muttered, heading straight for the kettle. I managed to scrounge together a collection of coffee beans and sugar, pouring the mixture together before taking a seat, seeing how everyone else was doing: Poppy seemed fine, sipping her own drink and making small talk with Charlotte, whilst Callum stood outside shirtless with a cigarette in his mouth, seeming deeply lost in his thoughts. I debated joining him, but left it.

Let him ponder. He'll come around.

I put my headphones in, putting on a few R&B songs as I let the caffeine buzz me awake, before turning to Charlotte and Poppy, a new question on my mind. The chatter seemed to fade as I did, letting the question take centre stage as it left my lips and bounced around the room:

"How did you get your monster?"

Poppy seemed to freeze in place as I asked, not even blinking, before suddenly springing to her feet and fleeing the scene, moving quicker than I'd ever seen anyone sprint before. Charlotte watched it happen, turned, gave me a look of both disgust and disappointment, and chased after her. I took a deep sigh and followed it with a long sip, figuring I'd get the answer at a later date. Callum soon sauntered in, also seeming more interested in the kettle than anything else. He made the entire coffee in silence, which I let hang, before he decided to break it.

"Look, about yesterday-"

His words were cut short by a scream. A long, unbroken, shrill scream that sounded like it came from Charlotte. Neither of us gave it a second thought: We sprung into action, practically slamming the kitchen door into the wall as we ascended the stairs. I took point, knowing I could take a hell of a lot more than Callum. Charlotte was still screaming. Each second made it seem louder and even more relentless, my ears seeming to deafen before it was suddenly cut off, a loud thud following soon after. After reaching the top, I realised why: Charlotte was on the floor, nursing her head, probably caused from the long, slick, green arm protruding through the door to their bedroom. It seemed to dart around and slither, writhing against itself like a snake in chase. She ran past us, hiding behind us both as we all stared at it in awe.

"What the fuck..." I heard Callum mutter. As if on cue, the arm seemed to face him, rushing towards his throat with incredible speed. I couldn't think of doing anything else: I jumped in front of him, letting the arm lodge itself in my side, adrenaline almost immediately kicking in as the writhing mass dug itself deeper into me. I began to pull it out, but only felt more force as it continued to hack away at my skin, the flesh becoming more and more visible.

"GET CHARLOTTE DOWNSTAIRS!" I yelled behind me, before finally pulling it out and slamming it onto the floor, stamping on it and causing it to snake back behind the door. I put a hand to my side, noticing the amount of blood that seemed to leak from me, pooling onto the carpet in puddles.

That's gonna be a pain to clean up. Hey, bud, you in there?

'Hello Adam. Do you need help?'

Yes. Please.

Instead of appearing in it's form, it sent an incredibly harsh pain into the side of me, causing me to fall to my knees as the arm re-appeared. We seemed to lock eyes, and though it had no visible features, I could tell it was smiling.

I need you. Like, right now.

'I'm afraid I cannot reform at this current moment.'

Why?

'I do not have the strength. I must feed. I need more sustenance before I can reform. This pain is, however, my Deoxyribonucleic acid melting into your Deoxyribonucleic acid. It can increase the process of fixing fatal wounds.'

The blood seemed to coagulate before calming down, my body no longer feeling the full extent of my injury. I steeled myself as the hand came for me again. It aimed for my chest, so I rolled to my right, kicking myself up and leaping behind it, grabbing it. It started to thrash and throw me into anything it could find: Walls, floors, the ceiling, everything. Throughout the whole thing, I kept my arms and legs wrapped firmly against it, refusing to let go until it started to tire, flopping to the floor in a heap. Taking my chance, I ran down the stairs to the kitchen, grabbing the first large knife I could find, before stumbling back up again, sticking the knife in the top of the creature. It barely moved, as if it didn't even feel it. Motivated by anger, I forced myself to the front of the door before leaning on it with a knee and slowly slicing away at it, watching layers of flesh drop until it was finally severed. The muscle finally let go with a wet slap, the arm falling limp as I stuck the blade inside the newly severed hole I'd made. It kicked it's way behind the door again as I slammed it shut, breathing a deep sigh.

Clearly that monster didn't die. But how did it get back in her?

'Adam, think. If I can store every reconstructive cell blueprint in a microscopic part of your brain, don't you think it could be possible that my own cell blueprint is also included?'

Shit. Yeah, I didn't think of that.

'If I may, I can assist you. However, you must let me consume this meat.'

I looked at the rancid mass of cell and tissue laying across the floor, still dripping from being severed, before holding back the urge to retch.

'I can target the part of the mammal's brain that uses these blueprints, and remove them, alongside the inferior version of myself. However, I require more strength to do so.'

"Just- don't make a mess." I said aloud, standing up shakily. In that moment, my monster made it's appearance: My skin thickened, the same inky mass claimed my face, and my body felt heightened as I leaned back, allowing my stowaway full control as it began to gouge out large chunks, dropping them into it's mouth. It wasted no time, practically devouring every morsel of dead flesh on the landing before sighting the room. That same power I felt before came back stronger as the creature moved it's feet towards the door, my hesitance causing me to speak:

Don't rip it off it's hinges. Please, allow me.