Crimson Judgment

by Robert Lyons

  The world came to a grinding halt as something inside of Zayde audibly snapped.

  He was aware that the Chroma’s intent was to prey on the adopted family that took him in, but to point out Kendra specifically shifted Zayde’s brain into a different gear. The sounds of guttural straining made it past the pinch point in Zayde’s throat as he began to kick his legs back and forth.

  “Oh? I got your attention!” Rignor leaned in. “It was about time—!”

  Rignor spotted something in Zayde’s eyes. Rignor’s sudden loss of confidence and him planting his second hand on Zayde’s throat all happened before the Chroma finishing his gloating. Overlapping one hand over the other, the monster amassed the compression of his squeeze.

  Zayde didn’t feel the crushing grip on his trachea anymore; he was far too busy staring the monster down. Picturing the Chroma catching a hold of Kendra’s soft body, tearing into her flesh and maiming her, drove Zayde Maddox far beyond the realms of madness.

  …This fucker is going to die!

  The building melody within Zayde began to distort, the harmonious song erratically falling in and out of tune at random intervals.

  “Why do you keep struggling?” Rignor yelled. The spit that hit Zayde’s face began to burn his skin. The Chroma’s saliva must have been somewhat acidic. “Give up and die, already!”

  The human’s hand latched onto the monster’s wrist, the hold surprisingly firm. Zayde was able to gather that the Chroma was slowly succumbing to the death grip from the trace of pain in the demon’s eyes.

  Slowly prying Rignor’s hands off of his throat, a knuckle and a finger at a time, Zayde was steadily regaining control. Rignor let out a shout of horror when he realized that the strength the human possessed was beginning to overwhelm his capacity.

  With his windpipe clear, Zayde filled his lungs with oxygen-rich air. The throaty exhale that came out of young man made the Chroma twitch with fear.

  “You want to know what I am?” Zayde spoke with a low voice. “I’m lost on that, but what I do know is that I’m very—very angry.”

  Slamming an open palm into the solar plexus, Zayde launched the Chroma into the air. The monster’s body landed a couple of yards away, quickly sitting up, wide-eyed. The roles, by a strange turn of events, reversed.

  Rignor nervously looked in Zayde’s direction, his body shuffling away from where the human stood. Contrariwise, Zayde was slightly bending forward, his arms hanging loosely at his sides and his breathing abnormally deep.

  Standing motionless, Zayde sensed there was an ice-cold liquid flowing out of his core and spreading into his limbs. At first, the cool sensation scared him. However, the more exposure time accrued, the more welcoming the feeling became.

  Zayde’s twisted grin appeared on his face. The power welling up within Zayde made it very difficult not to enjoy himself.

  Rignor screeched, fumbling to get back up on his feet as he turned to look up to Renga. Rignor froze in place, eyes wide open with full comprehension of the situation.

  Renga’s smug smile spoke volumes on its own.

  “Y-you knew all along! Didn’t you?” He pointed an accusing finger. “What kind of a game are you playing, Renga? Was this a big setup? How did you sense the Rutem coming from him before?”

  All the other Chroma standing about turned their heads away in disapproval. From what Zayde could gather, Rignor was being ostracized.

  “Huh, so you finally noticed? I guess you forgot how to rely on your senses if you’ve grown to be so dull. Also, if you have the time to talk instead of fight, let me remind you that this time—your mother isn’t here to protect you.” The big Chroma nodded in Zayde’s direction.

  Rignor’s shoulders tensed as he turned to face the human that was projecting a daunting aura.

  “Damn you, Renga!” Rignor suddenly screamed.

  As Zayde drew closer, the humanoid suddenly bolted straight for his opponent. Rignor launched an attack. It was a fake left swing to get Zayde’s attention. Raising his right forearm to block, Zayde did exactly what Rignor wanted him to do. Rignor shifted forward, driving his right fist into Zayde’s face. The human’s reflexes were just swift enough to get out of the way so that he was only grazed by the hit. The Chroma jumped back, arms raised.

  Why don’t I fear him? Zayde asked himself. Because he said he was going to kill Kendra!

  Rignor’s threat from before was meant to get a rise out of the human. The helpless, choking form Zayde used to be must have bored the Chroma. What better way to get the human’s attention than to threaten a defenseless person that shared some sort of tie to him? The one problem was that Rignor couldn’t see into the future. Therefore, it was impossible to account for being on the receiving end of Zayde’s unforeseen strength.

  “You will never lay a hand on Kendra … and you will not touch my stepmother either,” Zayde growled, clenching his fists.

  “Your stepmother?” Rignor repeated, confused by the addition of another family member. He was not aware that this unnamed person was part of the human’s interests.

  “Yes, Kendra will live … and I will be the one who kills my stepmother!”

  The song that was building within Zayde exploded into a barrage of noise.

  3.

  Upon the declaration that Zayde would be exacting revenge on his cruel stepmother for years of torture, he felt a new wave rush through his entire body. The floodgates of raw power were opened.

  Throwing his head back, Zayde let out a sound that was unmistakably the cry of a monster. It was more or less an automatic in response to the overwhelming power that surged through him.

  There was no easy way to describe the feeling of having such a vast amount of strength accessible all at once. What Zayde assumed to be “power” was both simultaneously cool and hot to the touch. All of his muscles were aching from the building tension.

  “Whoa! Who else feels that Rutem energy?!” one of the Chroma announced from the sidelines. “I can feel it way over here!”

  That Chroma wasn’t the only one to up in arms about the rapid metamorphosis; the others began to react to Zayde’s transformation, as well. Rignor was shaking like he was left out naked in a blizzard.

  “What the hell is he?”

  “I’ve never smelled a scent like this before!”

  “Should we keep fighting him?”

  The audience’s commentary was ongoing.

  This power! Zayde breathed in deeply. Oh, there’s no going back now! I’ve gone too far! I can do whatever I want!

  The evident darkness that accompanied the power that Zayde was amassing was slowly taking its toll on his mental state. Albeit, the evolving situation gave him no choice, forcing him to these measures. He was fighting for his life and this dark power was his one means to fight off the monsters. There was no logical reason to deny something so beneficial.

  “That bitch’s going to die by my hand!”

  There was an awkward, brief silence.

  “That’s what this is about?” Rignor raised an eyebrow. “You didn’t want me to steal your kill?”

  Zayde smirked, raising his fists.

  Rignor’s fear was suddenly replaced by disgust and confusion. “I found someone that’s truly worthy of being hunted by the HAWK.” He flexed his legs muscles and launched himself at Zayde, closing the small gap between them.

  This time around, Zayde was able to follow every move, instead of seeing it as one continuous blur arcing across his field of vision.

  As Rignor swung his arm out, Zayde jumped to the side to avoid the attack altogether. The Chroma planned for this evasive maneuver.

  Rignor’s opposite leg was already positioned over his own head, swinging its way down to crash into the human foe heel first. Zayde crossed and locked his arms into an “X” in front of himself. The defensive stance barely stopped the attack, with mere inches to spare from the attack breaking past the guard and crashing into his head.

  Body buckling slightly from the impact,
Zayde quickly reset his footing. He had not only gained strength, but his body had become far more durable. Without delaying, Zayde wrapped his hands around Rignor’s vulnerable shin and ankle. Turning the Chroma’s foot while keeping his shin isolated from rolling, Zayde observed the joint begin to spin in an unnatural way as the tendons and ligaments resisted the imposing force.

  The Chroma rolled in mid-air, following along with the inflicted twisting motion. Building up rotational speed, the monster brought the other leg it was using to stand up on, connecting it to the side of Zayde’s head.

  Knocked sideways, Zayde’s left eardrum was nearly ruptured. Releasing the Rignor’s leg, he stumbled backward to recover.

  Liquid ran down the side of Zayde’s face as he stood his ground anew. There was no need to wipe it and check. The blood Zayde smelled was too foul to be his.

  The foot Rignor used to kick Zayde’s head with split into two halves. Broken pieces of bones fell out of the torn flesh, as black blood gushed out of the ruptured arteries.

  “Stone skin?” Rignor whipped his foot back and forth, the torn halves suddenly snapping back together. The tattered flesh fused itself back into a single piece.

  Spreading his legs shoulder width apart, Zayde brought his hands chest high and waved foe to advance. Contrary to Zayde’s expectations, Rignor suddenly dropped the fighting stance, standing up straight and looking at his human foe up and down. The threatening aura died down as well.

  “That’s enough.” Rignor’s voice was calm.

  “‘That’s enough?’ What the hell are you trying to pull?” Zayde’s fists tightened with anticipation. Dropping his guard may have been his enemies’ intent to pull off a crooked feint, but the unmistakable feeling of bloodlust had truly vanished. The human fighter was left with a mild case of paranoia.

  “So naïve.” Rignor smiled. “Are you not feeling the world around you? For a creature that produces the amount of Rutem energy like you, I can’t imagine how you survived up to this point. You’re like a beacon.”

  Rutem energy.

  At once, Zayde dialed in, realizing that the uncomfortable jabs stabbing all over his body since the Chroma made an appearance were pointing directly back toward each corresponding Chroma relative to Zayde’s position. The number had gained by one. The new spot imposing on his body was slowly growing with intensity.

  A single, piercing cry echoed from the backstage area.

  Another one? Zayde’s eyes shifted uneasily. There were already far too many enemies surrounding him. Sure, he was gradually gaining the upper hand against Rignor, but Renga was going to eventually release the others at one point. When that time came, all of Zayde’s luck will have run out.

  Sluggish, heavy footsteps slowly grew louder as the new being was about to join the fray. The form came out into the open. Zayde felt his body grow cold.

  “Zayde … help me!”

  It was Sydney. Just about twenty minutes before, Zayde woke up to find the severed corpse of what was left of his girlfriend. Now she was alive and walking.

  “SYDNEY?!”

  “You have awakened, my blood.” Renga, Rignor, and the rest of the Chroma all turned to gaze at the young woman standing by the backstage entrance.

  “Your blood?” Sydney stumbled slightly, catching her loose footing. It appeared as though the connection of nerves between her lower and upper halves were not communicating seamlessly.

  “You are one of us, now.” The giant Chroma smirked, anxiously anticipating an expected event to start. “I never thought I would meet an Awakened in this place, but with all of the Rutem energy concentrating here, it does make sense.”

  “W-what’s happening to me?” Sydney looked away from Zayde, bringing up her arms that were severed below the elbows. Similar to a time-lapse video of plant growth progressions, new forearm bones sprouted from the bloody stumps, followed by muscles and skin.

  By some bizarre twist, Sydney had not only come back to life, she was completely coherent and regenerating lost limbs. Peering down where her shirt was torn at the midriff, Zayde spotted the unnatural movement of her abdominals. There was something long slithering between her organs before it headed up to her head.

  “Witness.” Renga turned to look directly at Zayde. “When one of ours is reborn inside of a human.”

  Sydney suddenly collapsed, her newly restored arms hugging her stomach tightly as she released a guttural scream. Zayde turned, bolting between two Chroma that made up a part of the outer perimeter for the fighting space. Rushing to his girlfriend’s side, Zayde grabbed her off the floor and desperately held her in his embrace.

  “What am I supposed to do?!” Zayde yelled out, partly believing what was happening was a mere hallucination. How could it be reality? Was his girlfriend a Chroma all along? Was that what Renga was implying when he addressed her as “his blood?”

  No! It can’t be!

  “Oh, God!” The wails of the woman were drilling directly into Zayde’s ears. “Make it stop! Make it STOP! It’s talking!”

  “Sydney! Fuck! How do I make it stop?!”

  “What you need to understand—whatever you are—is that what’s happening to her cannot be stopped. She chose this and now she will have to go through with it.” Rignor smiled mischievously.

  Sydney’s screams couldn’t block out the sickening, popping sounds her joints were producing. Her body ceased the convulsions and began to bend with unnatural ranges of motion, instead. Additionally, the tone of her voice was shifting. The human wailing was transitioning to a chorus of demons. What Sydney was projecting was no longer a single cry. There were many.

  “Zayde! Kill me! PLEASE KILL ME!” The woman’s voice had completely morphed into the shrieks of a monster. “It’s taking over! I’m losing myself!”

  A great tumult erupted within Zayde’s mind. These developments were becoming too much for his mind to handle. What was he supposed to do? Assuming that Sydney being a Chroma or somehow turning into one was true, that would mean that she would try to kill him as well. Could he fight her, going as far as killing her? Was it possible for him to tear into her chest to rip out the heart that loved him so?

  During one of Sydney’s jerking movements, her elbow flew up, slamming into Zayde’s temple. Much to his surprise, Sydney’s hit actually stunned him, despite how robust his body had become. He let go for a moment, trying to recover by shaking his head.

  Rolling out of his loosened embrace, Sydney’s body began to tremble on the floor, her eyes rolling back into her skull. By the time Zayde turned to look back at what was happening, he realized the terrible truth. Sydney’s left eye remained human-like, while the right eye bled into a bright red. The giant black pupil rolled back, looking into his face.

  All of the pain on Sydney’s face was gone as she stared at Zayde with a grin that quickly became more disturbing with each passing second. Her human teeth were slowly growing, taking on the appearance of predatory fangs instead.

  “You reek.” Sydney’s voice was almost the same, but Zayde had known her long enough to spot the difference. This creature was wearing Sydney’s face and skin but it couldn’t emulate her voice exactly. “The power leaking out of you is disgusting.”

  Without warning, Sydney slammed her hand into Zayde’s chest. The compression of his organs brought tears to his eyes as he puffed his cheeks out. How was it possible to generate that much force from a prone position? There was nowhere enough room to build that kind of momentum.

  For a brief moment, the tune playing in Zayde fell silent.

  Zayde was lifted off the ground, crashing backwards a couple of feet. Landing on his back, Zayde stared up at the ceiling in disbelief as his lungs struggled to draw another breath. There were hairline fractures running along his bottommost ribs.

  “Yes!” Renga cried out in the monster’s native tongue. “What a fine specimen! We may have lost the doctor, but bringing in an Awakened and this Rutem emitting human will surely make up for the loss!”

 
“Don’t get ahead of yourself.” Sydney suddenly picked up the conversation, continuing in the Chroma language. “I may have just awakened, but I’m sensing a lot of hostile energy coming from that creature. I doubt he will come with you without taking his head first.”

  Still stunned, Zayde slowly caught his breath again. There was an unquenchable fire igniting in his belly. As he clenched his teeth, Zayde drew a series of deeper breaths, his body tensing up as he launched himself back onto his feet with a single motion.

  The quiet in Zayde’s mind was overtaken with the warped melody once more.

  “Oh? I can really feel his presence.” Rignor narrowed his eyes as he stared at his revived foe. “What’s the matter? Your woman turning out to be one of us made you angry?”

  “She wasn’t one of you!” Zayde bellowed. “You did something to her! She’s human!”

  “You’re right.” Renga interjected. “She was human, but now she is a successful implantation of a Parasite. This is the first time I have seen one bond so willingly with its host. Most of the implantation attempts end with failure, but the black pill has worked with this one. Yes. The union was a success.”

  Implantation? Parasite? Union?!

  A memory of Sydney taking the black pill before they went to tumble between the sheets flashed in Zayde’s mind. It was the very same product that Jensen was offering earlier.

  Oh my God.

  “Your woman is dead. What is left of her belongs to us now. Renga, it’s time to stop playing games. I’ve tested him long enough. He should prove to be a valuable piece to our collection.”

  A valuable piece to their collection? Zayde knew what that Chroma was inferring. They were going to take him alive. That could not happen. He would have to push the Chroma to drastic measures.

  Zayde concentrated, amassing power and sending it down to his legs. The Chroma were playing games with him all along. It was only a matter of time until they were going to get bored. The power from before amplified threefold. The internal song grew more distorted until it was nothing more than a barrage of ear-splitting static. “Come on, give me a clean fight! What about your family name? You’re going to let that slide? A human hitting your precious, fucking red eye?”