As calm lurked behind Kiya, his mind began to overthink, still grieving Cameron's death. Kiya was emotionally not vacant, to say the least.
What if the creature is alive? What if Hitleck comes back? Where did Hitleck even go? The beast died too quickly; it's weird. Kiya did not expect the creature to die so soon. What's Levythin? Is it a cult? Was Thomas part of a cult that granted him superhuman abilities? Manipulation? Like a marionette?
***
Far away, hiding in the bushes, the guard was terrified, for he saw what caused Kiya's eyes to itch. The thing was not humane.
"What… the hell was that? I know Master likes to play with humanoids, but that was not human; that was a monster." The guard, scared by every moment, became paranoid.
Behind the guard, tentacles crept up. Unaware, the guard looked left and right in a frightened manner. WHOOSH! The tentacle rose; the wet slaps reached the guard, causing him to turn around immediately.
"AHH!" The guard screamed, SWISH! The tentacle struck the guard quickly, rendering him unconscious. A smirk from the shadow towered over the guard, who was grabbing life. Another tentacle quickly stabbed the guard, loosening his grip on life.
***
"What?"
"It came from the guard's direction." Kiya and Genzo ran towards the guard. His screaming sounded painful, making Kiya speculate that the creature had gotten him.
They stopped; the bush was right in front of them. Genzo gulped before proceeding closer to the bush. Kiya also watched Genzo getting closer and closer to the bush.
The tentacles were dangerous; Kiya knew that. "Wait! What if the creature is luring us?"
"The creature doesn't have a mind on its own."
"No, Thomas is different. He can learn from others."
"But I thought Thomas was dead."
"No, if my assumptions are correct, he could still be alive."
If you say so." Genzo stepped back, standing aside Kiya.
BAM! BAM! Kiya shot the bush two times before lowering the revolver to put it in his pocket.
"You think the guard was dead?"
"He is now." Kiya stepped closer to the bush, followed by Genzo.
Vultures flew across the sky; flies came swiftly. The rotten smell indicated death; even Kiya and Genzo could now smell it.
"What is that rotten smell?" Genzo wondered.
"I guess the guard is dead. Look."
Kiya moved to one side, allowing Genzo to see the dead guard. The dead body was stabbed through the chest. The hole was big.
"Thomas developed bigger tentacles than any of the other ones."
"Ughh, another inconvenience to my beautiful home."
"I'll help you solve it."
"Well, we'll have to kill this creature first."
Wet and squishy sounds were heard, closer to the boundary. "What's that sound? Disgusting."
"Wait, that might be Thomas."
"Is he still slithering through and alive?"
"Seems."
"Huh."
Kiya, although a little frightened, went towards the sound. Getting closer, he suddenly stopped. His eyes widened as he saw something resembling tentacles move across the ground.
Kiya narrowed his eyes and inspected the wall, a white, slithery, netlike object. His eyes widened again.
"Did Thomas…" Kiya paused before finishing the sentence, afraid that his deduction could be true.
"Can Thomas… Shed?"
"What? Shed? Like a snake?"
"Yes."
Kiya also considered a dangerous possibility. The possibility that the Thomas they saw crumble and turn to dust was his outer skin. The shed skin began to crumble, turning into dust.
"No way."
"Shit! I was correct."
"Then that means…"
"Yes, the dying Thomas was not real; it was his shed skin."
"Oh, shit. What is he even trying to do?"
"Looks like he inherited some traits from his master."
"A Douchebag?"
"Correct."
Genzo chuckled. Kiya crouched on one knee. He picked up the powder, investigating the skin once more.
"But where did the other humanoids go?
Skattle…. Weird sounds came from the bush. Kiya and Genzo turned towards the bush, gazing at it with curiosity and caution.
"What was that?"
"The guard?"
"He is dead, right?"
"Yes, I'm pretty sure he is dead."
"Let's check it out."
"Don't; it IS Thomas."
"Alright."
Kiya, still curious, pulled out the revolver. Kiya slowly pointed the gun at the bush. The strange noises didn't lessen; the wet, sloppy sound was caused by slapping the ground. Thomas moved like an octopus.
***
Elsewhere, in a wooden cabin.
Two men wore uniforms representing the guards. The men were packing something into their leather bag.
The wooden cabin was furnished just like any other; looking out the window, there was nothing but sand and dry bushes, similar to a wasteland.
One of the men wore a red uniform. He gave out white gloves. The men hurriedly put it on before straightening their posture and looking at the red man with respect.
The red suit had a blue tint at the end of the sleeves. It was dark blue mixed with white like stars. The man joined his hands together, symbolising a prayer stance. The palms were distant from each other, differing from a prayer stance.
The red man's eyes represented the moon. The moon also resonated with the man's eyes. The clouds paved the way for the man's eyes to reach the moon, moving magnificently. The light from the moon struck the man's eyes. The two moons, almost attracted to each other, shone light on the rest of them, making them feel graced.
The man closed his eyes while the clouds joined again, closing the night's light. The red man looked at the rest of them.
The red man had combed hair with a few strands out in the front; parts of his hair were grey, but mostly black.
"Men, you must have realised that we cannot reach the stadium in time to defeat the Caged Demon."
"Yes, Sir."
"So we must rely on the comrades we met while spying on the prison."
"Yes, Sir."
"You must all know him as Frederick."
"Yes, Sir."
"We are low in numbers, but each of you has the power and the courage to defeat ten men."
"…Yes, Sir."
"What are you afraid of? We praised the Lord Moon; she will help us in this inevitable battle for the future of these poor slaves and nobles."
"…"
"Yes, I know that some of these individuals may have done heinous activities before getting captured and turned into a slave."
"Yes, Sir."
"Anyways, to rescue them, we have to rely on our friend to transport us through his power."
"…"
The red man looked at his watch; sighing, he turned to the guards again. "I will explain how it works in our next session; now we must prepare, for we don't have time. DISPERSE."
The men scattered, each went to their small leather bags, preparing for their next battle.
Pieces coming together.