We were all puppets on strings to them, pull, pull, pull, and we would dance. They sit aloft in their mansions, dressed in all the fineries, laughing at those they controlled, like demons in the night. Their eyes used to haunt me, inhuman, cold, demonic, fractured. But over time I realized that my eyes were like theirs, one day I looked into the mirror and I saw madness.
Their actions broke the world in their lust for money and power. Their mistake was to think that such a mass of slaves would remain asleep. Humans are all capable of disastrous evil, every single soul could snap into a powerful murdering machine. Their mistake was getting the sheep to fight each other, the sheep became dogs which became hellhounds snapping at their gilded golden gates.
What about me, you might ask. I was no dog, snapping against my chains. I was more, or maybe I was less. I was the shadow, I had no name, I had no face, no voice, only an Echo. My echo was the ringing of a rifle as my fated bullet ripped away whatever life you thought you lived. While the dogs bit the hands of their masters I did what had to be done, I killed them. To be evil is to accept that level of reality, the reality that change doesn't come in verbal battles of morals and god. The rich don't fear god, nor do they really follow his example. No, they fear the echo, because in the end that's what they hear as they die. They never knew me, and they never will.
Nina is captured by parbeing man. He plans to turn her into his pet. He knows she won't go down without a fight, but he's not prepared for how much 'fight' she has packed in her small body. His new pet leaks into every area of his life, changing things in ways he could never have imagined.
Parbeings are the new and improved apex predators of Earth. Created from gene editing, they are the perfect humans, so perfect that they are no longer even considered human.
*** Content Warning: The protagonist of this story is a victim of abuse. I do not condone the actions of the antagonist ***
Chapter 1 extract:
"Hey Alex. Get over here. I've got something for you," he calls into his collar radio.
I reach the end of the alley and turn to face my foe once again, but he remains where he is, still blocking my path but not approaching either.
New plan: when he gets close, duck under his arms and make a run for it. Now I just have to wait.
Before a minute has even passed, another armoured soldier appears and joins the first. This just keeps getting worse. How am I supposed to dodge past two of them?
"What do you want now?" the new soldier grumbles. This one must be Alex.
"Look at this cute little human I found. She's feisty. I think she's perfect for you."
I glare at them.
"I don't want a pet human. That's your disgusting fetish, and I'll have no part in it."
"Oh come on Captain," the first soldier whines, "You don't have to fuck her, just train her to be obedient. Surely you can control one measly wild human? You are a captain after all. When you're done, you can just get rid of her, like I do with my humans."
What the fuck? For a brief moment my fear is replaced by anger. Who do they think they are, talking about me like I'm some kind of wild animal? "Get the fuck away from me! You freaks!" I screech.
The first soldier just flashes an evil grin. They don't budge. "Are you just going to let her talk to you like that?" he goads Alex.
(Complete. 70k words.)