H.E.R.O. - Metamorphosis Read online

I studied Kim’s face for a moment, and asked, “Do you mind if I test my nose on you? I’d like to see if this is me, or something with her.” I gestured toward my sleeping friend.

  Kim gave me a suspicious look, but said, “Ooo-kay, but she does smell good even to me. Much better, or something than most people.

  I walked around to the other side of the bed and came up behind Kim. She stayed facing the bed, but turned her head slightly to keep track of my movement.

  Without touching her with my hands, I slowly lowered my nose to her hair and neck. While she was distracted, I used the opportunity to reach over and turn off the drip on the meds going into Stephanie. Might as well kill two birds with one stone.

  When my nose was actually in her hair, and just about touching her neck I took a deep breath. Wow, this feels pretty intimate. I could smell a faint touch of perfume, her deodorant, the shampoo or conditioner she must have used, and the scent of her skin. She’d been sweating slightly from all the running around she’d done tonight. Kim didn’t smell intoxicating to me, but she did smell good, in an odd way that I couldn’t put my finger on.

  I could smell her blood under the skin. I realized I was so hungry. I hadn’t gotten a chance to eat since midday, and it was late in the evening now. My stomach rumbled loudly as I ran my nose across her neckline. Her skin tasted good as I licked her neck. My hands slid across her upper arms. They feel soft in my hands.

  My teeth brushed across her skin as I licked, I could feel how tense she was in the arms and shoulders.

  My prey suddenly screamed, and I jerked my head back, startled. I realized I was holding her arms and released her. The taste of blood was on my teeth as I stumbled backward. It’s like I came out of a thick fog, my brain wasn’t thinking clearly.

  The door burst open, and one of the security guards barged in the room. I stared at Kim’s neck, there were a pair of thin red lines on her collarbone area, but nothing appeared deep. She fell back against the bed, and looked at me with a horrified expression on her face.

  The security guard must have seen the blood on her shoulder, and my position, because he immediately raised his pistol toward me. Everyone moved in slow motion. I raised my hands in the air toward her to show her I meant no harm. She scrambled onto the bed in an attempt to get away from me, shifting the entire bed frame.

  I forgot about the look of the claws until I saw them in front of me. They actually looked more like a threat, than the non-threatening sign I meant to portray. The guard fired the gun. My head whipped toward the sound, and everything cranked up into high speed. The bullet slammed into my chest just below the left collarbone. My left shoulder jerked back slightly from it, and I felt a rush of adrenaline like I had never felt before.

  I bared my fangs and growled as I rushed toward my new aggressor. He fired again; the bullet caught me in my right abdomen. It slowed me down slightly, but not much. Not too much pain is coming from the wounds, adrenaline must be reducing it.

  I hit him with a snap kick, and it threw him back into the hallway. The other security guard had just come up behind him, and provided a nice cushion. They both fell back into the hallway. I heard the shouts of other guards out in the hall.

  I looked at Kim and said, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean.…” Another shot went off, and this one also hit me below the left collarbone. “Damn it all, come on!” Shit, I've been shot three times already, though I must have some kind of armor or something. They don't hurt nearly as much as I'd expect.

  I dodged to the right, toward the bed and Kim, to get out of the direct line of sight of the two downed guards. I had enough of being a standing target.

  The sound of wood smashing came from out in the hallway, and gunfire started up. An animal screamed, although it could be human … or mutant. Then, the gunfire started up in earnest, and men screamed in pain.

  One of the other mutants is awake. More than awake, it sounds like it’s tearing into the guards. Do I stay with Stephanie and Kim, or head out to fight it, and risk the guards trying to gun me down at the same time? Men might be dying out there, I need to help them.

  I sighed, looked at Kim and said, “Hide, one of them is loose.”

  “You’ve been shot.”

  “It doesn’t hurt.” Too badly. “I’ll see if I can stop the mutant before they hurt too many other people.”

  I headed out the door. At least most of my fingers and palms work as normal and could use things like doorknobs. Then it struck me. I actually get to go all out on something. A wicked grin crossed my face. Man, I hope these bullet wounds don’t slow me down too much.…

  There were four guards on the ground already; two more came from well down the corridor. The two outside my door were changing their clips now. They glanced up at me, one of them said, “Shit.”

  The mutant was the one we had just checked on a few minutes ago. He roared and rushed at us.

  “I’m going to help you.” I said to the guard. Then I rushed at the mutant, but slowed as he neared me. I let him throw a swing at me, and grabbed his arm as he did. I used his own momentum to throw him behind me against the side wall. He gouged into the drywall and stumbled. I noticed he still wore the arm straps from the bed. He must have bent the metal frame of the bed to get loose.

  I used the time to throw a side kick at him, but he blocked it with his left arm. He’s faster than he looks, damn strong too. I think I’m moving slower than I should be as well. Bet that's from the gunshot wounds. Sure enough, I was bleeding from my chest. Probably from the other gunshot wounds as well. Thanks much, assholes.

  He threw a wild swing with his right arm. I easily dodged it, swung upright and punched his underarm as the arm passed. It threw him off balance, but he didn't react like a normal person getting hit there. Maybe he's armored, or just that hard to hurt.

  Before he could turn around, I kicked his right leg out from under him. He fell to the ground, but instead of rolling upright, he dove on one of the two guards near him on the floor. In one relatively smooth motion, he ripped the arm off the guard.

  I grabbed his left shoulder, and noticed that my claws dug into him reasonably easily. His attention immediately turned back to me.

  He leapt to his feet, somewhat slowed by his right leg being injured. I punched him in the face as he rose, but he didn't fall back. Blood ran from his mouth, and I’d broken at least one of his teeth.

  He is definitely slower than me. I punched him twice in the gut, but they didn't appear to do a lot of damage. He's not taking a lot of damage from my punches; I need to use the claws more.

  He slammed a fist into my left shoulder, and I created a big dent in the drywall behind me. Those short spikes on his knuckles drove into the muscle. It’s only hurting a little, that’s something at least. But, man, this guy hits hard. Every punch he lands knocks me back much more than I'm used to in a fight.

  He punched at me with his left hand, and I successfully caught his hand with my right hand. Again, the knuckle spikes drove into my palm. I clamped down on his hand, and my claws stabbed into his left hand. My claws were much longer than his spikes. He howled in pain, and pounded me again with his right fist and spikes. I grimaced in some pain at that one. I've had people punch a prior wound before; this isn't nearly as bad as those times. Can't have armor, I'm taking damage from even the smaller hits. I just don't feel it as bad.

  One of the guards unloaded into his back, but one of the bullets missed and hit the left side of my torso. The mutant slammed his right elbow into my chest, and the spike there drove into me as well. I felt trickles of blood running down the left side of my chest. The power of the elbow embedded me in the drywall, and I heard the supports behind it bend.

  I slammed my right knee into his torso, and my claws embedded in his hand prevented him from moving much. I saw the second guard aim and fire, as the mutant power punched my head and shoulders back through the wall. I couldn't mov
e much in this position. The top of my body extended back into Stephanie’s room, my torso in the wall, and lower body was still in the hallway. Not an ideal position to fight from. Been shot four times now, and have at least three blood wounds from his spikes. Shit. Big superhero I am.

  He leaned back to grab at a guard, so I twisted my claws in his hand. He growled and said, “Asshole, you’re going to pay for that.” What the hell, he's been shot a good dozen times now, and he bitches about my claws? He punched me in the gut with his right hand, which was generally what I had been hoping for, barring the stabbing pain when the spikes hit my stomach.

  I grabbed his right bicep and crushed my claws into it, and then yanked him forward into the wall. He faceplanted in the drywall just above where my body went through. I wrapped my right leg around his left, and yelled “Take him down; I don’t know if I can hold him here!”

  I ripped my claws completely through his upper arm, so there was no chance of him freeing himself of me. I heard a veritable hailstorm of lead blasting off out in the hall. His body jerked a bunch of times. He still had plenty of life in him, though, and he kneed me in the privates. Spike there too. I coughed and choked while I tried to hold him with his face in the wall. This time, I tried to crush his leg between mine to prevent another knee. Another bullet impacted my right side. Can’t these guys hit from a few feet away? I yelled, "Go to target practice, you miss too damn often!"

  My right shoulder and arm hurt by now, as did my sides, right hand and groin. I had no idea how much blood I’d lost, but I saw spots, and it had gotten harder to breathe. I was certain by then that even without feeling the pain to its full effect, my body was being affected by the damage.

  This guy’s barely slowing down. I can tell the claws are tearing up his hand and arm, but the bullets either aren’t hurting him, or are doing minimal damage.

  I looked over at Kim, and choked out “Take her and run, we aren't winning this fight. You shouldn't die here....”

  Chapter 10 – Just a Small Shot

  Stephanie's Viewpoint