I raise from the water around me, but my specs lower values lash against me. My strength, durability, and even my heart rate returned to near normal values. Fuck. I raise my head above the water as Allure raises her head above the water, and I say, "The Fog's deviants found us. I want you to hide in a crevice around this pool. I'll fight them as long as I can.

Her eyes widen, but before she sings in response, I place my finger against my lips saying, "If they find you, you're dead. Period. There's no chance for fighting this force. An army of armageddon marches up there. I am a decoy so that you can live on."

I grab her kissing her lips with a rushed passion before I say, "The moments I spent with you here are some of the best in my life. Goodbye."

I strengthen my limbs before I sprint towards the cliffside. I leap towards the wall with my skin dragging behind me. I land on the wall before I kick once more shoving me towards the crevice leading outside. I stab my fingers into the stone noticing the dramatic increase in resistance before I peer through to the inside of the cave.

Aged mutants shamble sniffing every inch of the cave frenzying like insects. Allure won't escape unless I lure them away from here. I sigh before I dig deep into my soul for resolve. Few things will inspire strength like guarding a loved one, so I steadily build my reserves of energy before a monster peeks his head through the crevice.

I lift my foot before I smash its face against a wall with the same motion as kicking a door down. A gut wrenching splat and crunch resonates in the cavern, but I shove its body aside as I crawl through the hole. They'll see the pools of sirens, and no one will escape, namely Allure.

So I'll fight them before they reach through this gap. As I reach outside, a charging aberration reaches me. the dark yellow monster leaks orange slop from its mandible. Squirming tentacles flail from its mouth mimicking a moving and uprooted tree stump. Misshapen, gaping wholes in its skull show no mental capacity while the three arms and and three legs shove the entity forward like a charging gorilla. Nothing about the animal flows smoothly - this is an abomination.

As it lifts a right appendage, I step my right foot behind me sliding me outside of its direct path, but I lean forward as I push through the floor gyrating my elbow against the creature's head. My elbow snaps through its skull before my blow sinks two feet further down its chest bathing me in the glowing yellow blood of these monsters. I roar filling with the spirit of a warrior destined for death yet not defeated in spirit, "COME. FACE ME."

Several dozen mutants peer towards me before they rush towards scrambling over one another. Once one meets me, I grab at what appears to be its neck before I lift the entire body of the creature slamming the monster against another creatures skull. I clamp my hand behind the other creatures skull pulling the heathens together splattering their orange brains against me as I close my eyes at the moment of impact.

I leap towards the roof with my left foot as I jerk my right upwards. My arm sinks into the soft flesh and through the hard carapace lining its torso. I turn my arm destroying its insides before I chuck the body away from me as I wipe my eyes with my left hand.

I use the momentum of the monster's body flying to the floor to plant my own feet into the roof with a crouch. I rocket from my closed position activating my absolute maximum power with gravity aiding my efforts. Before I land, I alternate my power from my legs into my shoulder as I crash into a pile of squirming bodies.

As I mush through flesh, the sensation of diving through syrup and wooden bars covers my entire body before I impact the ground. Bodies splat everywhere as I shake their organs and blood from my body. I open my eyes thundering my struggle through the cavern.

For the first time, my enemies reel backwards rather then continue their charge. A single monster defies my command, so as he reaches me, I duck under neath a strike from its left side by crouching. I power through my bent knee uppercutting the creature creature against the roof as the force explodes out the back of its chest.

Its corpse slaps against the roof, and as it flops down towards the earth, I backhand the creature shoving the body from in front of me without averting my gaze from the horde in front of me. I boom my voice as I pound my chest, "I SAID FIGHT ME."

The creatures experience an emotion that's flooding through my veins with each beat of my heart. Fear. Anyone can attest to the paralyzing effect of fear, and the only method for overcoming this petrification is experiencing the sensation and powering it with willpower.

These monsters operate as a hive mind, so the only way to inflict fear is to scare all of them at once. I exploded with such force hoping for this exact moment. Even though my muscles burn and I heave for breath, I stand tall disguising my weakness. Most battles are won before their fought, and I've won this single skirmish with my tactics.

Unfortunately, life isn't so kind. The creatures move out of the way of a dreadnought. The most ancient of The Fog's denizens eventually evolve further becoming a hulking monstrosity with six enormous limbs six feet in length each. Their jaw splits at the bottom as the bone curves around its jagged skull like face.

Each step jars a boom as its large hands with thick, armored fingers digs into the stone. The previous globular body of the lesser denizens covers with shifting, interweaving plates of stony muscle. The six spikes from the dreadnought's back scrape against the ceiling sending sparks and chips of stone against the floor.

Humans that survive the infection as I did transform into these mongrels. After several years of mutating, nothing of their previous form remains except this hulking behemoth. This is the fate that awaits me. I may have said I was the only person to survive the fog, but that was before I noticed my physical changes. I thought I had pierced past this sad future. I did not.

I crush my fear and guilt. I have not time for self pity nor dread. A lonely angel swims behind me, and I shall become the wall that protects her. None shall stop me. I shall overcome this fate until Allure sits in a sanctum of safety. Even if I have to fight without a mind, I shall pound and pulverize my foes.

As I brace myself, the dreadnought charges towards me bellowing a deep growl that vibrates my skin and bones. The sound's so loud, my teeth chatter against one another...That may just be fear however. I clench my fists while gritting my teeth as my stomach sinks.

I charge towards the creature as well. If this will be my last stand, then these monsters shall see the engulfing power of a human with more to protect than just his life.