Blood Line - Part 2

He woke up cold and alone in a grey and foreboding cell, nothing but sheet metal adorning the walls, and chains surrounding his wrists. He was chained down to a table, both arms and legs, and he was not alone. As his eyes flickered into focus he could make out the shape of a man. He was still in the form of the brute that destroyed the execution room, but he was powerless, his strength gone. The man had a formidable looking weapon, green liquid coolant bubbling up its length, and the barrel tapered to a point, where there was a permanent supply of electric plasma. One twitch of the man’s finger and even more energy would be drained out of his aching body. He was cold. His clothes were still ripped in most places, and the artificial chill of sterility swept across his naked chest.

His eyes gradually came into focus, showing the face of the man with the gun. It was not good news for Kaider. Before him, wearing the smug smile that only someone with a big gun can make was Berdon.

"Nothing you can imagine will give me more pleasure than this." He whispered. The cooling fan above them seemed to slow, as the breathing hastened. Kaider was more animal than human, but he understood the words. He was going to die.

Berdon removed a syringe from his coat pocket with one hand, the other one still firmly grasping the gun. He put the gun down. He had no need to worry, this creature had no power left in his muscles and his body was drained of all but life. He loaded a cartridge into the automatic needle, and then pointed the needle directly into Kaider’s left arm vein. He pulled the trigger, and the needle was fired out from the tip of the gun at a speed that was so unexpected that Kaider tried to jump back in freight, except he couldn’t because of his restraints. Except, this is what the smiling Berdon expected to happen. In reality, the needle shot through the gun, and hit the skin of Kaider’s arm, and then bent outwards. The skin was as strong as steel, even stronger. Berdon cursed, the recoil sending him back a few paces. Then he walked forward again. Now Kaider was smiling. His wrist hurt excruciatingly, but it was worth it to see the look on this scumbags face. Berdon was not smiling any more. He walked back, took out the spent cartridge with its bent needle, and loaded up another, full of the same clear mixture. He took out a knife, and sliced under the skin of his subject, cutting deep into his wrist. He placed the needle quickly underneath the skin, and then watched as the skin slowly grew around the needle. Kaider wasn’t aware of his regenerative capabilities, but Berdon was.

The helpless beast winced in pain as the bright red blood began to gush out of the wound, and then bit his lip with his fangs when the skin began to knit itself together at the wound. He could feel the tissues binding together, regrouping as if they were merely parted for a while, not forever.

Now the tip of the needle was buried deep within the man’s arm, and now the smiling had gone back over to Berdon. He looked down at the freight in the snarling animals eyes, and then pulled the trigger once more.

The needle went straight into the flesh, injecting the liquid instantly into the veins. The substance followed the vein, taking it straight back to the heart, that was by now pumping at over quadruple speed, the heart beat of an animal. The substance then went around again, delivering itself to all of the tissue and the brain, calming down the proteins, shrinking them in size.

Kaider screamed. The needle entering was painful enough, but the liquid was burning his insides furiously. Every piece of flesh that it touched triggered massive amounts of pain, and it was almost too much for him. But the pain was only temporary, and his body was already reverting back to its original form. His arms and legs were shrinking, his bulging muscles rippled violently and returned to the normal size they once were. he grew shorter as well, overstretching himself on his chains. Only his fangs remained, and they would remain for the rest of his life, protruding from his lower and upper lips. Finally the pain was too much, and Kaider’s vision blurred and then blackened once again.

And that was that. The government had found the perfect experimental soldier. Their hold over Kaider was total, because according to his blood, he didn’t exist. He could escape. The changed genes within him could be volatile, and he might hurt the general public if he was released, not that he cared much for them. He was forced to work for them, having a constant supply of potion and antidote. The liquid had a name now: Itonerum. It was a terrible name, and a substance that had ruined Kaiders life before he had really began living. The antidote was for when the job was done, and only if the job was done. But Kaider never failed. When he was the beast no mortal could stand in his way, except those of ISAD. They had him monitered via a chip implanted in his skull, and they could kill him at any point by simply flicking a switch. This would send an electrical signal to his brain ordering it to shut down. Simple as, end of story; he would just stop living.

He had changed since that day. Even in his human form he was different, more gray of character and personality, looking at the wrong in everything and the good in nothing, but I suppose it is all one who had endured so much pain as him could do, just continue living each miserable day.

He always carried a pocket syringe gun, in case he needed to change in a hurry, and he kept slightly larger needles embedded in his arms all of the time so the needle guns could slot into his veins with ease, getting around his regeneration. His teeth were always visible, but that didn’t matter. He didn’t need to make a good impression to anyone; he knew no one outside those who employed him. He didn’t have any acquaintances, at least, not yet.

So here he was, outside, past midnight, looking up The North West quarter, fourteenth sector, sixth block, row four, building seven, floor eighteen, apartment 12. It was a hideous building, identical to all in Isondon. Endless monotony. Is this world had been reduced to everything being the same; individuality had been destroyed, along with creativity, originality, and most of the human emotions? It seemed that it had been, and had been in this state for several years. But Kaider didn’t care. He just wanted to kill some people, drink their blood, and plot his escape.

Of course he was going to escape; he just wasn’t sure how he would do it as yet. But he was here for a reason. He had a name: Arthur Mathentew. He would be the one to die tonight. He would feast upon the flesh of man. His fanged mouth started salivating just thinking of the thought of the kill, the blood.

He took out his needle gun. This always hurt, but the rush afterward was better than any drug, and the side effects were all powerful. He was the beast. He slotted the needle into the tube in his left arm, poking it through the top layer of skin. He drew breath in harshly, and then breathed out. He pulled the trigger. The needle shot forward a few inches, going through his arm. His vein was pieced for sure. The Itonerum was sent through his body, being transported to his brain in less than three seconds. he screamed in pain. Growing an extra few meters and putting on several hundred pounds in pure muscle in the space of less than fifteen seconds was always going to be painful, but Kaider was a glutton for punishment. He fell to the floor, convulsing, kicking out at the invisible demons poking him, prodding him in his head.

After several seconds, the pain stopped, and he was able to get up. He was the beast now. He smiled, showing his massive fangs to the silent, blackness of the night. He lifted up his massive arms, baring his new claws, and let out an almighty roar. It was a cross between a dinosaur and a werewolf. The night was his now. He strapped the needle gun to his upper arm, and then ran at the building’s wall. No need to use the door when you have claws that climb. He scrabbled up the building, scaling the bricks with ease. He reached the eighteenth floor, got to the window he needed, and checked the state of the occupants.

There was Arthur. Sleeping in his chair. There were tables all around him, all covered in minor substances, and the television was still on, showing what looked to be a satellite pornography channel. He had obviously had a sad and quiet night in with himself. Kaider had no need for such human vices as list. Kaider leaped through the window.

The sound of shattering glass wasn’t all that uncommon on the late night streets of Isondon. The sound of flames licking at cars in the outer suburbs was a well seen sight. Arthur was woken up by the sound of glass falling with dark grace onto his wooden floor.

There he saw a terrible creature. Kaider walked casually over to the television, where at this point an attractive girl was having sexual relationships with what looked to be at least three men. Kaider didn’t like lust, it was terrible corruptor of men, and for this reason he cut himself off from it at all costs. He turned the television off, and then looked up with a smile. Arthur had moved from his chair, and he was now standing up, pointing an old fashioned revolver at him. Kaider continued his smirk, baring the teeth. "
How many shots do you have" he growled. "You think that that can kill one such as me. Try me. I am ready for the pain."

Arthur gulped. He was unnerved by this things appearance, and also by the fact that it was almost…human. It spoke. It had a savage sense of humor. And it was confidant. He pulled the trigger. Once. Twice. Six more times. The shots rang out through the smashed window, echoing in the nightly silence. Kaider wasn’t even floored. His body nudged to each side with each shot, they all hit their mark, straight through his chest.

Click, click, click. The last sounds of a dead man. No more bullets to shoot, all empty cartridges. Arthur watched in horror as Kaider looked up at him, then reached through the holes in his chest, and pulled out each blood soaked bullet in turn, just before the gaping gashes in his chest healed up before him. He dropped the bullets to the floor in turn, letting each ones clang ring out true and clear. The creature clicked its neck around, snapping the bones in its vertebrae. Then he looked at Arthur, and then lunged forward.

Arthur ducked and dived into his small kitchen area. Kaider flew into the wall. A clang as muscle hit steel. Arthur grabbed the sharpest knife that he could find and ran at Kaider, shouting obscenities. Kaider just had time to stand up when he was stabbed in the face, through the right eye. He roared, then slammed his massive palms into his neck, and lifted up his limp, puny body up, and pushed it against the wall. He used his other hand to slowly draw the knife from his eye, slowly drawing the blade from inside his skull. Arthur could see the sliced eye healing again, giving him his vision back perfectly within four seconds. He took the knife and drew it across the screaming and writhing man’s throat. He was instantly dead, and Kaider lifted the corpse to his ravenous lips and sucked all that he could from the body. It took him less than a minute, but the body was soon drained completely of all life.