During my fighting lessons with Myra, one of the first things she taught me was to keep my distance when up against an Adumbrae and just throw stuff from afar. She had explained that while I may be strong with a super durable body, I wouldn’t know if my opponent was stronger severalfold until it was too late—duking it out face-to-face with someone like Bob or Stella wasn’t advisable, to say the least.

However, I do know that Auron Cohenn is a weak piece of shit!

My knuckles connected with his chin. There was a satisfying crack as his jaw moved sidewards away from the rest of his face, the skin of his cheeks nearly tearing. His eyes became unfocused. No yell of pain escaped his lips. He let go of the orb machine thingy; it dangled from the wires attached to his arms.

As his knees buckled, I threw another punch, shifting his jaw back to the other side. Some of his teeth flew out. I grabbed his collar with my left hand to stop him from falling and hit him again. The next blow connected with the blue slug on the side of his head. Its disgusting goop squirted on my arm. The splat of the squished parasite was covered by the anguished wail it made.

“Finlay, stop her!” It was the old man. “Shoot her!”

A burst of gunfire. The pavement next to my feet exploded. Sharp hot pain on my calves. I pivoted to face the fake cops, holding Auron in front of me as a shield. Several bullets thudded against his back. His body twitched even though he was unconscious.

The fake cops stopped firing; Finlay was probably wracking his brain about what to do next. I had the initiative. I quickly retreated to the door of the nearest building, brandishing Auron’s limp body in front of me, while keeping both the fake cops and the old man in my vision.

I transferred my grip from Auron’s clothes to his neck. He wasn’t a large man, quite thin actually, but my hand was too small to get a good hold. I forcefully dug my fingers into his flesh, tearing into the skin and reaching his neck muscles. If he was a normal human, I could’ve already broken his neck. I continued closing my grip as I resumed punching and rearranging his stupid face with my right fist.

Auron’s nose was flattened, his cheeks caved in. His forehead cracked, pieces of his skull probably driving into his brain. Tendrils from the blue slug spread over Auron’s face to heal the damage and protect him. Auron’s red blood and the parasite’s black slime showered me. How I wished to just put his body down and work on ripping his head off, but then the Finlay terracotta army would shoot me.

“Auron’s dying!” the old man cried out. “Finlay, do something!”

I was expecting Finlay to abandon his teammates again. However, unlike Stella, he seemed intent on saving Auron. The clay men fanned out in a half-circle. They held their rifles like clubs and charged at me all at once.

I swatted them away with kicks and punches, even using Auron’s body to smash some of them. I may not know any forms and stances in fighting, but these terracotta fuckers were as slow as a normal human and way easier to destroy. Their hits didn’t bother me one bit.

A couple of assholes tried firing from the cover of their fellows, shooting through their bodies to catch me off guard. And they did succeed in hitting me. But I always had Auron’s head in front of mine, and that was the important thing. My body slowly spat the hot pieces of lead out of the gunshot wounds.

“Hey!” I exclaimed, feeling a sudden massive tug of Auron’s body.

The old man! Somehow, he managed to sneak up on my huge blind spot, a consequence of using Auron as a shield, with the help of the clay men as a distraction.

“Finlay!” he barked. “I need help!”

“Oh no, you don’t,” I said through gritted teeth. I struggled to maintain my grasp, the flesh on Auron’s neck beginning to tear. I reached out with my other hand to grab him, but all the remaining fake cops wrestled it back. I forcefully flailed my right arm to shake off the pests.

“You need to come here!” yelled the old man. I had no idea what he was on about.

“I’m here!” Someone yelled in my ear. “Quit your yapping, Mister.”

For some weird reason, all the clay men suddenly crumbled to dust. But my right arm wasn’t freed. Whoever was behind me twisted it behind my back. He was strong. Probably not as strong as me, but I couldn’t use my full strength with my arm in a lock. What the hell was this? An upgraded Finlay puppet? I couldn’t recall these fuckers being able to talk.

“Let me go, you—What?” My left hand closed on a handful of flesh and I teetered backward to the man holding my arm. The old man succeeded in pulling away Auron.

Most of Auron’s face had been consumed by the parasite. It looked like a slimy bright blue stingray had wrapped around his head. Disgusting tendrils covered the profusely bleeding hole on his neck, stitching his flesh together as the old man dragged him to the van.

“Shoot! Shoot her!” he called out. “I have Auron, you can shoot now!”

“I can’t. I can’t make more!” The man behind me grabbed my waist and pulled me away from the two fleeing Adumbrae. “Auron’s power is blocking mine, dammit.”

I froze, my eyes widened. What the fuck did he say? Was this Finlay? The real one? That explained all the terracotta cops disappearing; Auron also canceled Finlay’s ability when he got close enough.

“I can’t hold her for long,” Finlay groaned as he did his best to hold me back. He tried to pick me up. “You help—”

“I HATE BEING TOUCHED!” I shrieked, my voice quavering with sheer rage. The hair on the back of my neck and arms stood on end as a shiver of pure disgust coursed through me.

“That was loud, lady.” He reached for my other arm. “You surprised me there. Just be a good girl—urgk!”

I jabbed my left hand up at his head that was over my shoulder. My straightened fingers stabbed through the bottom of his mouth. Blood dripped on my clothes. Wriggling my fingers, I pried open his teeth from the inside and got a good grip on his lower jaw. “No one touches me without my permission!” I yelled as I forcefully pushed my right arm forward with my fingers inside his mouth.

He almost went over me, and then tumbled backward as his lower jaw tore free. Finlay cried out in pain, managing to make a guttural bellowing sound. His grip on my right hand loosened, but before I could turn around, I felt a kick on my back and I tumbled forward, faceplanting on the rough pavement.

“Finlay, come quickly,” I heard the old man say. Agonized cries were the reply.

I heard a clink on the ground of something that sounded like glass. I looked up and saw Finlay running to the van. His tongue flapped freely in the air, flinging blood everywhere since I had just removed the bottom part of his face. Auron had been loaded up on the van. The old man waved for Finlay to hurry.

I turned to the right. About five feet away, a canister was rolling towards me.

“Fuck!” I pushed myself back up.

The canister exploded and out came another parasite.

It shot forward in the blink of an eye. It coiled around my arms, rapidly lengthening as it continued to wrap my legs as well. Rubbery and sticky, it felt like a gummy worm snake. I was getting off-balanced as it pinned my legs together. I tried to spread my limbs to tear apart the fucking parasite, but it hardened like cement, rooting me in place. I stood there on the street, coated from my feet up to my neck with this hardened material.

“What the fuck is this?!” I could barely move. I struggled to break free. The cocoon shook, small cracks running through it, but it held strong. The van revved its engine as Finlay reached it.

I gnashed my teeth at the thought of these bastards getting away. If only I could get out—I have an idea! I grabbed my left wrist with my right hand, a hardass job inside the tight cocoon, and pulled it down with all my might. Pull! Pull!!

Pain radiated from my shoulder as the joint popped free. I couldn’t remember how many times I dislocated my unusually loose shoulder joints before—maybe a couple of times in the gym, and also in my judo class—but this was the first time I had intentionally done it. Lowering my left shoulder gave me some wiggle space to reposition my right hand. I managed to get my fingers on the lip of the cocoon.

The van hadn’t driven left yet. Finlay jumped off it carrying a rocket launcher. He screamed something at me which just came out as incomprehensible hollering.

Shit! I pushed the top of the cocoon with all my might and broke it off. I scrambled to free the rest of my body as Finlay knelt on the ground and placed the rocket launcher over his shoulder, lining me up on his sights.

I grabbed a large piece of the cocoon and threw it at him before diving away.

He fired.

The projectile and the cocoon shard met.

KABOOM!

The blast forced me to roll across the street as dust covered me like I was a chicken fillet getting breaded. As my ears recovered from the noise of the explosion, I heard the van driving away. And there was another clunk.

I swear if this is another parasite, I thought as I tried to peer through the dust and smoke looking for what was thrown at me. A cylindrical object rolled into view. Not the old man’s canister. A grenade. I curled up and raised my arms to protect my head.

BOOM!

“Ugh…” I slowly came to. My mind was foggy as if I just awoke from a twelve-hour sleep. A massive headache spiked when I tried to remember what happened, making me close my eyes even tighter. How many times have I gotten knocked out by an explosion?

Stinging and itching plagued my body, a sign that my skin was healing. That meant the flesh beneath had already regenerated. I was still in pain, but it was the good kind of pain, like that I’d feel a day after an intense workout. However, even if I could regenerate back to a completely healthy body, I was tired. I had been through a lot today. Jeez.

My thoughts were drifting off. Really tired.

I want to sleep…

If only this stupid street wasn’t rough and hard so I could—hang on. I should be lying on the pavement. I tossed my head a bit. I definitely wasn’t lying on something hard. It was rather soft.

“Erind?” a woman’s voice softly asked. “Are you awake?”

My eyes instantly opened with shock. I jerked up and tried to attack the person who spoke. But I found my hands were bound. I stared up at the woman above me—my head laid on her lap—blinking my eyes several times to clear away the haziness. She removed her cap so I could get a good look at her.

“Erind…Erind…” she soothingly said. Her beautiful and gentle face calmed me down a bit. Her eyes were red and puffy. Did she cry? Drops of her tears fell on my face. She's still crying. Strands of her golden blonde hair dropped down on me, caressing my face. She cupped my hands as I tried to break my bonds. “I thought I lost you. It’s me, Deen. Amber Deen.”

“De-Deen?” I groggily replied.

“Yes, I’m Deen. I'm so happy you finally woke up.” Metal crackled as she bent apart the steel rebar that circled my arms. Where did she get this thing? This bitch restrained me with steel rebar? She massaged my wrist as she cooed, “I’m here for you, Erind. You’re safe.”

"Wha-what?" I said, still getting my bearings.

She held my hands, opening my balled-up fists and entwining her fingers with mine, and lowered it. “No need to be afraid.”

I inhaled sharply. I wanted to rip off her face for excessive physical touching, but I calmed myself down. Her Guardian Angel was here, I reminded myself. No stupid moves. I freed my right hand from her grasp and felt my face.

Crusty and stiff. Blood had dried on my face. Mine? Maybe Auron's too.

“I’m sorry I didn’t wipe it off,” Deen said. “I thought it could disguise you as you healed.”

I didn’t respond. My balaclava was gone. Did she take it off? Or maybe it got torn up by the grenade blast. Not that it mattered since Deen could recognize me even with it on. And she was already calling my name.

I looked down at my body. She had draped a hoodie over me like a blanket. I peeked underneath. I was half-naked; most of my clothes got shredded or burned away. Skin and flesh were in various stages of healing, but most of the wounds had closed. I let go of the end of the hoodie with a sigh. It fell back down on my chest.

Holding up my arm, I realized it was severely scarred like the rest of my body. Actually, way more so because I held up my arms to shield myself from the blast. The scars were fading away like how a detergent in a TV commercial quickly removed stains from clothes. My gaze traveled up my arm and rested on my palm, specifically the crystals on it. The pimple patches that were supposed to cover it were long gone. And I think these fucking crystals grew a bit and multiplied.

Fuuuuuck.

Deen reached for the crystals with a finger. I recoiled from her touch. Our eyes met.

Okay…the jig is up. I was strangely calm inside my head, analyzing the situation carefully. This wasn’t the first time I got caught in a lie. It was an occupational hazard with using faces, and I was well-versed in dealing with this situation—just modify the face and mix truth with the exposed lie.

Also, I had expected Deen to eventually uncover my secret. I just never expected our confrontation to be this way. I also thought it would happen later, way, way later, than this soon.

The more I got to know Deen, the more I realized I couldn’t get a good read on her. I wasn’t sure which of her sides would win if pitted against each other—her will to fight Adumbrae or our friendship. Now, I had my answer. After knowing the truth, she could’ve just run away or she could’ve killed unconscious me. Instead, she chose to stay and took care of me as I regenerated. She also gave me a lap pillow—something that I did to her before, although she shouldn't know about that because she was asleep that time.

Granted she had bound my hands, but that was probably more of a precaution advised by her Guardian Angel. I bet her future-seeing pet told her to leave me and she chose to ignore it. I’m so touched, I sarcastically thought.

Friendship wins, just like in the movies. I was going to see how far this friendship went. Time to whip out scared and embarrassed Erind.

“Deen, um, I can explain,” I stammered. I pushed her hands away and got up from her lap. I scooted a few feet away. For a second, she wanted to keep me still, but just let me go. I sat across her, holding her hoodie to cover me like I was ashamed of what I had become. “This isn’t what it looks like. I…I can ex-explain.”

“It’s alright, Erind,” she said as she wiped her eyes. “Don’t worry. There’s no need to explain anything if you don’t want to.”

Typical Deen to act this way. This was my comfort zone if she behaved normally. "But I kept it a secret from you. I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry for. I understand you. And...I accept you."

“Ho-how did you find me?” I needed to know how much she saw to make a well-crafted story to back the modifications to the default Erind face. “And why are you here? I thought you were attending that event thingy at city hall?”

“I was. But I received a message from Reo and Everett that…uh, they needed help investigating the hospital.” She explained that the parasite monsters attacked her on the way to EFU Medical Center, how she met up with Reo and Everett, how they fought to survive the horde of mushroom people, and where those two were now. While telling her story, she tried to get closer to me, slowly inching across the floor as if I was a squirrel that would run away if spooked. She stopped when our knees almost touched. “I just had a feeling I should go out and look for something…someone.”

“A feeling?” I asked. I got busted by a ‘feeling?’ What a load of fucking bullshit!

“Yes. I-I can’t explain it. Maybe it was the Mother Core guiding me to—"

“But how did you find me?” I asked my first question again.

“I was just looking for anyone who needed my help. And then I heard explosions. Different from the large ones with the BID bombing the Adumbrae Titan. Closer too. I just had a feeling in my heart I should go there. I was right…I found you lying unconscious on the street.” She closed her eyes. The waterworks turned on again. “Your body…it was in a horrible shape. Wounds, lots of blood. I…I…”

“Did you see a van on your way to me?” Those fucking bastards chucked a grenade at me before leaving!

“I didn’t. Why? Who were you—? No. Never mind that.”

“You’re not going to ask—?”

“No,” she firmly interjected. “Focus on healing. When you’ve fully recovered, we’ll move."

"O-okay...I'm sorry again."

"Enough of that. We can talk later…or not if you don’t want to tell me anything.”

"Thank you," I said, adding in a little sob.

"Just rest for now."

As I mulled what to make of the situation, I looked around for a topic to fill the awkward silence. Deen had made a mini fort with various pieces of furniture to hide us from view. An office of some sort? “Where are we?”

“The first floor of an office building, a block away from where I found you. I saw a dead BID agent there and I thought we should move away from that place.”

“I…yeah…that,” I hesitantly spoke, as if I was conflicted over explaining about that BID guy. I wasn’t going to volunteer anything unless she asked me for it.

“I destroyed the security cameras here. There’s no one here. I made sure. Well, a few mushroom monsters were hanging out on the street, but they suddenly died.”

“They did?”

“Yeah. Just fell on the ground and stopped moving. I didn’t do anything to them. I think the BID took care of the Adumbrae Titan.”

“I see. It’s over.”

"Yes, it's over." She held my shoulders. I shuddered. “And you’re safe with me,” she said, perhaps misinterpreting my reaction. She leaned forward. “Can I…can I hug you?”

I nodded.

She wrapped her arms around me and nestled her head against my neck. I controlled my breathing and stopped myself from instinctively pushing her back. She normally couldn’t put our heads this close together because we were standing on the rare occasions we hugged and she was taller than me. “You’re safe with me,” she repeated. “I’ll be here for you. And I’ll protect you no matter what it takes.”

I nodded again. Wow, this problem got resolved pretty easily. And I had a new ally. A powerful one. What a wacky end to a wacky day.

Too bad Deen didn’t bring me anything to eat from the party.