101 Ways to Skin a Hoodie

Chapter 2

Alright that's enough. Wake up..

I do.

I blink a few times, my eyes adjusting to the harsh LEDs in the ceiling. The ceiling that I'm hanging from. My hands are cuffed above my head, and the cuffs appear to be attached to some sort of conveyor belt in the ceiling that's moving me down a thin hall. There are some people in front of me, and at least one that I can see behind me. All in the same predicament.

"Wh-" A head turns slightly in front of me. I need to get better about talking out loud.

What is this place?

I'm at about as much of a loss as you are. I didn't lose consciousness when you were knocked out, but your eyes were useless so I had to rely on the ears. From what I heard it doesn't seem like those people on the street have anything to do with this. That thing that was chasing us-

Don't say us. You're just tagging along because I forced you to be here. This is my body.

The thing that was chasing you seemed like it picked you up once you passed out. I think it carried u- you here through the air, but I have no idea where here is.

Hm. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Even if I used the trick to shoot the branch out of my hand again I doubt it would have enough force to knock these cuffs off of me. So we wait. Every so often the conveyor belt jerks us forward.

Wait wait wait. You just thought of us as "we." I thought there was an animosity for these collective pronouns.

...

It was a royal we, and stop listening to my every thought.

What else am I supposed to do with your continuous internal monologue?

...

The belt slides forward again, and the girl in front of me drops down as the floor under her opens up. Alright, I'm starting to get nervous. I feel like I should be prepared for anything by now, but let's just call it PTSD from the long fall that happened oh so long ago.

...

A few more minutes pass, and I'm finally moved forward one last time. The lock that kept my handcuffs attached to the ceiling releases, and I fall through the hole below me, trying unsuccessfully to grasp the retreating floor tile. The walls narrow as I descend, forming what's more of a slide than anything, and a few moments later I fall onto a new floor below me.

I scramble to my feet, and come face to face with the thing that was chasing me. Its body encompasses most of the wall opposite me, but it's curled over onto itself, and if it stood erect it would easily be over six meters tall. Said body is fairly lean, and it's covered in faded, grayish-yellow scales. It has two arms and legs, but only three massive, clawed digits on each. To boot, it also has four leathery, batlike wings that protrude from its back; making it decidedly non-humanoid. Well, I could also have come to that conclusion just by looking at its head, which is a cylindrical shape with holes running up and down it. Some slits also fall in between these holes, and from the way they twitch it seems like they can open into a mouth.

Of course, I absorb all this information in the time that it takes for me to get to my feet, and once I do the thing beckons me closer with its talons. It's only then that I notice the small wooden chair in the middle of the room. Cautiously, I cross over to the seat and take it, and that's when the thing starts to talk.

Well, not out loud. I don't think that its body is capable of producing human speech. It just talks directly into my head.

"So, what are you here for, let's see. Upsetting the city order is the main charge, and, ah! I thought I smelled something odd. It's reported that you may be in possession of multiple souls." I don't see what it's reading off of, as that's what it sounds like it's doing. It continues; "Well, that's very interesting. We'll have to study you soon, however for now we're done, you'll be going to your cell."