Beast Soul

"Marty! Marty!" Clarice Gordon yelled out loudly as she repeatedly knocked on Marty Macgregor's apartment door. 

"Marty! Why the f*ck aren't you opening the door Marty?" Clarice was angry and frustrated. She clicked her tongue and stomped her heels onto the floor, which made a loud 'thud' noise.

"Hey!" The voice of an old woman was heard from below the floor, and Clarice stopped slamming her fist on the door.

Tap! Tap! Tap!

The sound of footsteps heading up the stairs was heard, and Clarice turned her head and shifted her gaze towards the stairway, where the figure of an old lady climbing up the steps could be seen.

"Why the hell are you being so goddamn loud, young lady?" The old lady said in a frustrated tone, which made Clarice flinch. "You're making the other tenants annoyed with your behaviour! Now, I consider myself to be a good enough landlord, but even I have my limits. And you're dangerously close to crossing that line, young lady!"

"I-I'm sorry…" Clarice seemed to have been intimidated by the old lady's words and replied quietly, with her head down and her hand clasped together, rubbing her fingers. "It's just- It's just a guy I know lives here, and for some reason, he's not opening the door today." She replied, and right after speaking, pointed at Marty's door.

"Oh, is that right?" The old lady tilted her head and glanced at the door in question, and then squinted her eyes. She then turned to look at Clarice once again, who was desperately trying to avoid making eye contact with the old lady.

"Is he perhaps…" The old lady scratched her chin, and Clarice began to sweat. "Is he perhaps your boyfriend?" The old lady said, and her eyes sparkled.

"....Ye- Yes," Clarice decided to lie this time. She couldn't tell the old lady that Marty was her dealer, and she hasn't had her fix for two days. "Yeah, Marty's my boyfriend…" She replied, even acting embarrassed when she finished speaking, in order to sell the role. "Do you know where he is? He's not answering his phone either."

"I can't believe a beauty like you is dating a guy like him!" The old lady said with a sigh and waved her hands in the air. "You could do so much better…"

"Ha- ha, ha…" Clarice laughed nervously in response, unsure of how to reply to the old lady's words. "He- He might not look like it, but he's really a nice guy." She said while nervously tapping her feet on the floor in a rhythmic manner.

"Well, whatever you say I guess…" The old lady replied as she rolled her eyes, which just made Clarice even more angry, but she didn't show her unhappiness outside. "I don't know where he went, but .." The old lady continued after a few seconds of contemplation, and Clarice raised her eyebrows and leaned forward, curious to know the answer. "I do know that he's been gone for almost a whole week."

"Wait? Really?" Clarice replied, looking confused. Had Marty gone somewhere? Did he get in trouble with the authorities? Clarice didn't know what he was doing, and could only think of various scenarios.

"Yes, really.." The old woman walked back towards the stairs, and Clarice stood in front of Marty's door for a few more seconds, before walking away.

"This has got to be the worst day of my life." Clarice mumbled under breath as he took out a cigarette stick and placed it between her lips, then took out a lighter and lit it while breathing in. She stood right outside Marty's apartment building, which was located in a fairly empty and shady neighborhood. Perfect for dealers like Mary. 

"Damn you, Marty!" Clarice was frustrated, and teeth bit into the cigarette. Marty was the only dealer she knew, so she was in a bit of a pickle, given that he's not in town.

All of a sudden, Clarice's eyes widened, as though she had thought of an idea. She turned around to look at the apartment building, and squinted her eyes towards the alleyway that was right next to it.

"Marty's a pretty reliable dealer.." She murmured softly and her gaze slowly moved up towards Marty's window. "Maybe he has some hidden away.. for backup.."

She wasn't sure of it. It was just a guess. But right now, a guess was all she had.

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"My son! Oh, my son!" The loud and ear piercing voice of Bill Remus, the Mayor of New World City, echoed throughout the interior of the police station, and the Commissioner let out a heavy sigh as he rubbed his sweat covered face with his handkerchief.

"Oh god…" The Commissioner couldn't help but call God for help right before walking out of his office and into the main hall, where the large and chubby figure of a middle-aged man could be seen screaming and crying, being held back by multiple police officers. 

"How on earth do these people get information so quickly?" Commissioner Bridge couldn't help but wonder. At this point, he was simply impressed with how quickly and accurately the Mayor received the news of his dead son. The Commissioner had specifically asked the department to keep the information a secret, and yet, here the Mayor was in front of them, within hours of them confirming that the corpse was indeed the Mayor's son.

"Mayor Remus!" Commissioner Bridge stepped forward and waved his hands at the Mayor, who saw him and yelled out, "Walter! Walter, you have to tell these buffoons to unhand me immediately. I have to see my son! Please!" The Mayor pleaded.

"Hah…" Commissioner Bridge let out a sigh. He then turned to look at the police officers who were holding him back and waved his hand at them, motioning them to take their hands off the Mayor. "Leave him."

"Yes, sir!" The men immediately followed the Commissioner's orders and took a step back, and Mayor Remus adjusted his tie and clothes before walking towards the Commissioner, but not before giving the police officers who held him back a sharp glare.

"Walter!" The Mayor called the Commissioner loudly as he approached him. He grabbed the Commissioner's hands once he reached close to him, and continued, "Walter, you have to let me see my son! I know that you have his body, so don't bother lying to me! You have to understand. I need to see him! Please!" The Mayor pleaded.

"May- Bill," Commissioner Bridge let out a long sigh and placed his hand on the Mayor's shoulder. "You have to understand that nothing good will come out of seeing his body. Trust me. You don't want to see this."

"Walter!" Mayor Remus grabbed the Commissioner by his collar and shook him violently. "I don't care. I just need to see him one last time. Please…"

"... Alright." The Commissioner nodded his head, relenting to the Mayor's wishes. "I hope you don't regret this decision."

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The four young boys sat in a circle, their arms crossed and their eyes closed. They seemed to be in deep thought, and their facial expressions seemed to imply that what they were thinking about wasn't exactly positive.

"Ah... F*ck me!" Harold screamed loudly and scratched his head as he leaned back onto the ground, letting out a long and heavy sigh.

"Are you sure that we can trust him?" Alphonso leaned forward and whispered softly, glancing at Noah secretly as he spoke. 

'I can hear you, you know…' Noah, who was standing next to Wolfe the dragon and petting him, rolled his eyes and pretended not to hear the boy's discussion. Ever since his senses were enhanced, they only continued expanding and improving. His hearing ability in particular, has gotten incredibly better. Although sometimes, he wished he had normal hearing abilities.

"Well, he is letting us live. And it's not like he would have any ulterior motives from lying about us being.. well.. like him, I guess." Max said as he scratched his chin. He didn't seem so sure about his words. 

"Yeah well, we don't know what kind of ulterior motives a monster like him would have now, do we?" Harold said with an aggressive tone while waving his hands around frantically. "For all we know, this could be his kink!"

Noah, who heard his words, almost threw up. 'I just can't stop getting called a pervert, huh..' He wanted to cry.

"But if what he said was true, then it would explain how Alphonso's legs magically healed.." Gerald said as he pointed at Alphonso, and the whole group turned to look at him.

"That is true..." Harold bit his lips. 

"What would it mean, though?" Max whispered softly, and the rest of the group turned to him. "Us, turning into monsters." He began to clarify. "What would it mean to our lives, if it was, in fact, the truth?"

"I wouldn't worry about it," Noah's words entered everyone's ears, and the whole group leapt up from the ground and turned to look at him, their eyes filled with fear.

"Given what's happening in the city.." Noah said with a serious expression. ".... I'd say that you just found yourself a way to survive."