They Called Me FIVE

LANCE

I hate to break it to you but the plan failed. 

The idiots are taking their time too long in busting us out of our cells down to our torture rooms. It's now my time to have my limbs cut off. Or supposed to be. Judging what happened yesterday, Lista threatening me through Magnus to bring fake Seven back to life… is more likely gonna happen again.

And we're waiting exactly for that to come. Twenty times I heard Magnus paced around his cell, kicking and punching walls out of impatience. He demands fake Seven's 'fake death' act too. Saying its so lame he could tell right away she's still alive.

He suspects the others too. I told them she managed to convince me. Magnus grunts. 

"You ever see her face turned placid white? Or muscles running stiff then limp?" 

I think it over. "You mean rigor mortis?" 

"Yeah, that one. This Alpha Beast only removed the heat and stops the heartbeat of her body…The rest… well, one look from me and I can tell she did something magically foolish to partially turned her body dead. Honestly, it was so obvious." 

Suddenly, I'm struck by my lack of experience around these things. Magnus can see through blessing and mana immediately. While me… I can't even totally control my own blessing. How much more on identifying others? 

Can I really succeed today?

I slapped my cheek so hard, my teeth bit my gums and bled. No. I can't have these thoughts right now. This isn't the matter of having experience or not. It's revenge. Not only for myself, but for the others who got into this mess because of me. 

Dad was the trap, I was the catalyst, now they have the three of us dancing in their palm. We're lucky enough we don't die. But the pain…all those things they put us through everyday is enough to sought death in every beat of our hearts. 

I can't let their cries go to dumps. Their pleads go to waste. I will exactly do to Lista, Dad and to their friends, what they did to me. To us. 

Footsteps echoed on the surface of metal stairs and I pressed my cheek on the bed. Listening to the ground gave a little shake from their heavy footsteps. This is weird. I can sense three hundred, four – even seven hundred pounds of overweight dudes coming into my cell.

"Magnus! Alpha Beast!" I searched for their voices in my head. 

"Yeah?" Magnus sounds worried.

"What?" Fake Seven sounds like she's in the middle of yoga, clearly forced to execute a bone breaking stance for one minute.

"I heard large – I think they're beasts coming up in my cell. You there too?" Loud thuds bang from Magnus's end.

"Yep, they're taking my door down." Magnus said. He cracked his fingers and grunts, probably stretching. "Well, here goes tearing your kin's flesh apart Alpha Beast, surely you won't mind do you?" 

" Do whatever you want." She sighed. 

"What about you Lance? Can you hold yourself against them?" 

Right after Magnus asked, banging knuckles shook the walls of my cell.

"Positive. Where should we meet?" 

The metal door at Magnus's cell collapsed. Thunderous footsteps surrounded him. 

"Let's see… the corridor down at the basement perhaps?"

"Gotcha." The hinges of my cell door blasted off. Crashing to the opposite wall. Which was three meters away from me. I'm staring straight to a very dirty furry belly that doesn't know the meaning of the word 'bath'. I gaze upwards. 

Massive bulging dark eyes met mine. My feet position to a kneeling stance as ten beasts takes their time coming inside. My cell is dark. I neither have night vision. So I don't know how high the ceiling is.

The blue rose Seven gave me yesterday glowed. I stared, struck by it's beauty. The Beasts did too. It came to me that the glowing is like a big X mark on me. To tell the Beasts where I stood. But the rose snuff out.

Something prick the part between my eyes. This is the same area Seven nudge a seed on me back at the rooftop. I blink once. Twice. After three attempts of shaking heads and blinking, magic happens. I can finally see the dark. 

Did she knew this will happen? I take careful five steps back. Watching each beast crack bones in their muscular necks, veins popping like bobbed pipes. Arms too long and sturdy, they put skyscrapers to shame. 

I readied and flex my fingers.  The death shadows slowly crept out of my fingertips. Ten Beasts take each of their position. The ugly boorish one in the middle stomp its feet. I counted three. 

And all of them lunge to get me. 

I quickly darted forward to meet them. Releasing my death wave to it's full capacity. I can almost see it grew like a pair of wings sprouting from my arms. One heartbeat, my ears are ringing from the stampede of their running feet. Two heartbeats, black veins creep in my neck like insects crawling in my skin. Three heartbeats, I entered an empty sphere where no sounds or signs of life can enter. 

A world foreign to me. A dank space closing on me. I gasped. 

Four beats and I'm pumped back to reality. Sensations are singeing my skin. My body is in shock, I couldn't react to the series of loud thuds as bodies of Beasts collapse on the floor, one by one. I'm panting. I'm sweating hard. 

Adrenaline rush roared my blood to life. Unparalled monstrous amount of strength filled me…after I take the life out of Ten Beasts in four heartbeats. The death wave I released retracts. They dissolve back into the black liquid, mingling with my blood.

My eyes traveled to the motionless lumps surrounding me. I haven't tested the effects of death wave on Beasts yet. At least... not until now. My lips broke into a smile. My voice breaks out of it's chains in my throat. And I laugh. 

I laugh like I've never laugh before. My pain, my grudge, my malicious mixing together, I'm on edge to insanity. 

"Crap, that was crazy."  I told myself. Looking down to my arms bulging with new refilled strength.

I trotted towards the Beast lying lifeless at the center. He's bigger among his kin. I didn't notice this but he has actually horns behind his scalp. Sticking out like misshapen flag pole with sharp end. I tore it off. Blood ooze out. 

I swing it in the air. Five times until I'm satisfied. 

"This will do." I don't need to do the death wave anymore. I'm energized. I'm in full strength. I'm in great condition to torture poor skully warriors to insanity. Slowly rip their arms, carve their guts out, pierce their chest until I reached the heart. Death won't come easy. 

No. Tonight I will teach them what it feels like to die every minute between excruciating pain. I rub my arm. Pierce the horn right through it. My blood pools in the cement. I take the horn out. Within one second, the shadows link my flesh together and healed my arm. 

I smiled in satisfaction. Looks like my regeneration is faster now. That means no one can stop me. I swing the horn in my hand and stepped outside of my cell. Lying waiting at the opposite wall, is Magnus covered in musky green blood.

"How's it going?" he nods at me. The scar on his cheek damaged the handsome chiseled guy I once knew. 

"Fantastic." I grin at him. He detached himself from the wall and clamp my shoulder. Studying my build under the tattered clothes I once wear on my date with Meira the Temptress. 

"Damn, these muscles are no joke eh? Where's the idiot who told me he wants to be Superman?" 

I chuckled. "He became the big bad alien villain instead." 

Up ahead, I detect movements of soldiers coming into our way. There's a lot of them. Hundred maybe. He licked his upper lips. 

"Shall we?" We marched towards the masses. My new horn weapon ready, Magnus cracked his knuckles. His fingers are bathe with dripping musky blood. I think I have an idea what he did to the Beasts who break in his cell.

When I first met him, he was already strong. His fighting skills and sheer strength are no joke. Right now… he's ten times worse. Our height is on par, our muscles and biceps are also on par, but there's still something more amazing in Magnus that I don't have. 

And I can't figure out what.

"Alpha Beast, what's the status of the Dark Elf 'boss'? Is he around?" Magnus tapped his left temple.

That's when it sink on me. This telepathy thing going around us. I never give it much thought who's behind it… And Magnus is the last person I expect to possess this power from.

"He's not here. Please hurry." Fake Seven groaned in pain. I also clutch my scalp. Trying to hear more on fake Seven's end.

"Alpha Beast what's wrong? Are you okay? Are you in a lab right now? Are they doing…" I can't finish what I'm trying to say.