'Breath in,' Thomas thought as he distanced himself from the others. 'Breath out.' All the deep breaths in the world could not prevent what was happening. Only he could. He just didn't want the others hearing his guttural groans. He clutched at his stomach as a silent agony burned within. He must resist but his stomach; it was so empty, so very empty. A single strand of drool dripped on the ground.

'Damn it,' he thought. 'I had hoped we'd see at least one venomous salamander. Elero and Frey are tough. Alexander told me that it doesn't matter how tough someone is as long as they have their back turned.'

Frey and or Elero would run after him if he bolted out the exit. He cursed under his breath, realizing he should have wandered to the entrance. Instead he had lingered by the double doors at the back of the rectangular chamber.

"I swear he's doing this on purpose," Frey said from around the corner.

"That means his training is working," Elero replied as she knocked on parts of the floor. "And how's your training going? You had some good swings but it was…"

"Sloppy," Frey shook his head. "I know that I'm not the best with a spear despite my training, but I still think it's unfair to take it away and give me a completely unfamiliar weapon."

"Maybe he has a plan," she shrugged. "Just endure it for now."

The pain came in waves, growing more intense with each burst. "Frey," Thomas tried to say. His voice came out weak and pathetic, just like he was. Elero and Frey had healed themselves. Their clothes, however, were still soaked with the stench of irresistible, delectable red…Thomas shook his head and wrapped a cloth around his face. The smell of his damp, sweaty sock turned his face green.

Frey and Elero talked and formed a plan to use the back of the notes to get more of the map. Thomas remained hidden behind one of the furthest pillars. 'No. I can't just shy away from this. I have to face this urge head-on. I used to be weak but I'm not like that anymore.'

'I have grown. I have left the mansion. It only caught me off guard before. Yes, that was why I gave in. I can do this now that I know what to expect. This is a challenge I have to overcome. This is not me. If I can just suppress it.'

"What if you are convincing yourself to stay here?" A little, tiny voice of doubt asked.

The expected pain arrived in the form of a throbbing headache. He doubled over and suppressed a groan before it escaped his dry throat. 'I'm a soldier. I can take pain.' He gritted his teeth. 'I have trained until I passed out over and over and over again. I'm strong.'

"We should leave in a minute," Frey said. "I've been getting a strange sense from these pillars, and it's only been growing."

"I've had that feeling ever since we got here," Elero said. "And we are in no shape to fight. Let's call Thomas back here." She knocked the center part of the floor. "Wait a minute…"

Every bit of fat in Thomas's body evaporated, shrinking his limbs. Veins bulged under his thinning skin. 'I just want to help people.' An inky black began to spread through his eyes like paint dumped in a clear lake. 'F…f…fresh…no.' The eclipsing blackness halted mere hairs away from fully encompassing his bright green eyes. 'I am human, not a monster.'

He clawed at his throbbing head, slicing through the soft skin, and scraping the hard skull underneath. Blood dripped through his dirty blonde hair. "No," he softly cried out, unheard. "No. No. No. Please no. Please stop. Stop. Stop!"

He glanced down at one of his thin fingers, which he had unknowingly been chewing on. There was a chunk taken out of it. Strangely it didn't hurt even though bone was visible. He eyed the rest, opened his jaw, and slapped his hand away.

"Thomas?" Frey called out to the dark chamber. There was no response. "Thomas where did you go? Alexander is going to be royally pissed if we stay any longer. Then we can't come back. I know you want to sleep so get over here, please." He narrowed his eyes and scanned through the pillars.

Elero knocked on the floor, resulting in hollow echoes, and smirked: "Frey, I think I found something," she said. "I knew there had to be more to this place! This section of the floor sounds hollow. If we can get through to whatever's down there, we can call this trip a success."

Frey didn't take his gaze off the pillars as he replied. "I understand, but there's something more pressing at the moment." He backed up closer to her and took out his mace. "I don't see Thomas."

"What do you mean?" Elero asked, still distracted with her newest discovery. "He's fine." If only she had looked up then she would have seen Thomas's twisted grin as he strolled out of the shadows. "He's right behind you."

All the hairs on Frey's bare neck stand on end. The giant turned and stared deep into Thomas's wide, pitch-black eyes. Thomas reached up with his claws and tore the sock away from his fanged mouth. Frey reeled back with his mace, forgetting that his sloppy swing always created an opening.

"Thomas?" Thomas sunk his fangs into Frey's arm. The mace smashed into Thomas's ribcage but he felt nothing, not pain nor remorse. Frey's blood smattered onto his light crystal. The chamber was dyed in a red hue. Thomas went for the throat next, only to grate off a thick layer of blue life essence.

"Thomas, what the fuck!?" Frey switched his grip on the mace and swept the hilt upwards. Thomas didn't even try to dodge. Four ribs cracked, resounding in the chamber. Pain never arrived in his twisted mind, only more hunger.

"More!" Thomas cried with another snap to Frey's neck. The blue life essence faded, but still held strong. Frey reeled back the mace but hesitated like the caring human he was - or so Thomas thought before the giant slapped his face away with the edge of his shield.

"Thomas?" Elero asked as Thomas's head snapped to her. Her eyes wide in horror and in them he saw his own bloody maw. "Not again," she said in a horribly weak whisper, weaker than Thomas's. "Not you too." Thomas blinked and the darkness faded to a transparent grey. His stomach sunk as he was lifted high and thrown into the nearest pillar.