12 BC 1 2

Creature's human fingers and the loose cloak lapels twitched. All slight bits roiled on his all too still figure. This was perhaps the most animate I have seen him. The leathery walls weren't still, either. There was creaking and groaning in the distance. Was it just falling apart or was the creature still twisting and grinding the military base around the edges?

But something was definitely off. He was riled up. "What's wrong?" I asked.

I couldn't bear the ominous intensity anymore and I tried to step backwards, but his sleeve weaved around my wrist and up.

"I was too late," drawn out growl shook the wide passageway. As pleasant as all the noisy ambiance was, this harsh sound was way too much for my atrophied ears. I grabbed for my head.

"What?" I stammered out with my teeth clenched. Being on the receiving end of this creature's displeasure was paralysing.

"You've been consumed," growl snarled aggressively. "By that."

I looked behind me, remembering we weren't alone. Instead of sprinting to colour the new area the usually lively snail was huddled where it plopped off before. The thin appendages curled rather than twitching every which way. One was extended all the way out of the cell for a talk.

"Oh. Didn't I mention? I had help. The people here thought I was a monster and treated accordingly… Needless to say I wasn't repairing my cells the fast way."

Horned monster's sleeve uncoiled further and slammed into snail's protruded stalk. The appendage started turning black immediately and the brutal invasion spread further, throughout the boneless body. They might not have pain receptors but I could have sworn I saw signs of definite distress and no apparent resistance.

I slammed my untwined hand onto Nerve's other grappler without thinking and yanked it back, "Wait! Stop! Don't hurt it! I'm telling you, it helped me."

"By making you its mouth?" the growl was still cavernous and painful. My struggle against monster's hold on either of myself or snail – not fruitful. It meant nothing to him. Demon didn't even bother crushing my forearms like the time I took a hold of his horns. I was afraid to go for that again, so just pointlessly kept tugging the crumpled skin.

Shouted back at him, "It knew who you were and that you were coming, but I wouldn't have survived that long. It asked me and I agreed."

"So even you can agree it knowingly ate a part of me." Faux pas of monster world – do not nibble on thine neighbours. Ugh. Well, understandable, but still – ugh.

"You said I wasn't a mouth," I protested vehemently. "So whoever eats me or doesn't was my choice."

"You weren't," growl shook the walls.

"Well, I'm still not a mouth! I don't feel any different."

"How would you know?"

"Well… I don't, but you do, right?"

He had abandoned the argument he deemed pointless.

There was no longer any trace of friendly snail that happily smeared bloody excrement on the walls. I felt disgusted, threw the retractable sleeve away from me and proceeded to wrestle my own arm free from the grip. Cruel monster held on, seemingly unaware of my effort at all. Let's face it, the mountain of flesh wasn't.

"What, I'm next?" I spat out.

The skin snakes slowly unwrapped themselves.

"No. You may leave," growl passively ticked out and another shape took form by the wall. One with way paler skin than blacks of his dress. Another me solidified and looked as confused as I felt. Perhaps more so.

"The church had such modern catacombs? Cool," the guy asked in my voice and then his eyes locked with mine. We shared identical expressions of horror. "I'm not loving the interactive mirror," he muttered nervously and glanced back at the monster, hoping to be told this was a joke.

Silence hung thick and heavy and the new me broke, "What the fuck is going on here?!"

My throat was surprisingly dry but I managed to croak out, "You've made another one? And discard me?"

"That's what you wanted, isn't it?" creature growled indifferently.

The clone raised his arm, "Excusm, that's what I wanted too?"

My lips quivered and stomach roiled with apprehension. Dear fucking god, this colossal abomination of a foreign deity fully recreated another me and that one will be stuck to him like skin. Forever and ever. I did not want to be dumped like week old diaper, but that fate was worse.

"You can't do this," I argued the injustice on my other me's behalf. I knew it was pointless to even try. Irrational. The powerful always did what they wanted and rest of us were swept along for the ride like dust.

"You can't. Please," I begged. Being on the very bottom of the social ladder I did that a lot, but this one slipped out from my aching chest without me meaning to. There was no manipulation in the works, no plan behind it. I knew nothing could or would be changed. There was no hope.

"What happened?" the other me also pleaded desperately.

Monster turned away from me and extended his arm towards… his new mouth? "I'll tell you, but we must go find someone on the other side."

The clone crossed his arms and laughed like this was some drunken client, "Well, good luck then. I won't be of any help anyway."

"Yeah, and water completely ruins our looks," I added and outstretched my arm for the replica to take instead. I wasn't giving any part of me away. He sidled nervously to grip it with all his might. I saw it in how tense he was, how hard he breathed despite the carefree words. He mouthed water and crooked an eyebrow as though he had no idea what I meant. Did he not have full batch of my memories? Or did I have too many manufactured for me?

A black strip of leather wrapped around my clone's waist and tugged backwards. Two steps and they both disappeared in the wall. The squirming mass started retreating briskly. The building started sagging and groaning as though losing the supporting construction.

The nauseating oppressiveness eased, but I was still terrified of breathing in case that collapsed the building over my head. Touched my forehead and wiped sweat. This wholesome reunification took a sudden turn for tense walk on the blade's edge.

He just created a copy and left.

He killed snail. It's dead because the mollusc helped me.

All of this was fucked up. Much, much more than before my saviour has descended upon this mortal realm.

Fuck. I caused this! Again. I keep making things worse. If only I had the decency to keel over and stay that way.

Shoved that breakdown into a box where I've kept all my guilt and regrets. 

I can just enjoy my circumstances. Things weren't terrible for me for once. I was free of the monsters. Free from humans, too. I can even loot this place and return home a rich man. Truly rich. There must be so many unattended wallets just hanging out, waiting for my attention. Not to mention weapons or other trinkets which would sell remarkably well to right people. I'd have to be picky, though. Can't carry all that much on my own and this place was bound to be swarming with investigative personnel any moment now.