Chapter 6 Testing the waters

As I didn't know what awaits me, I tried to be as soundless as possible and took cover whenever possible. To silence my footsteps is actually quiet easy, I just have to step with my toes first and then place the rest of my foot, always wary of any objects on my path, like twigs or pebbles. But it takes a lot of long term concentration, one slip up could convey your location to whoever listens to their surroundings.

Like that I made my way into the town. It didn't take long for me to find the first disturbing sign. I almost puked. What I found was a human corpse or what was left of it. As I inspect the lone corpse I find a multitude of bite marks on it, but what disturbed me the most was what killed that person, it was a stab wound in the head, it looked like someone took a chisel and rammed it in the head, only to forcibly pull it out.

Deeming that whatever or whoever caused it was way to close to our camp I decide to hunt it down. I don't want any man-eaters close to the place I sleep. Conveniently whoever did that seemed to be on its own, since I only found one bloodied pair of footprints leaving the kill site. The footprints look human. So either we have a tool using soulless or a cannibalizing psychotic person.

I don't know which though disturbs me more to be honest.

I take out my sax (that's a variant of a long knife btw) and spread my soulsense to find the perpetrator more easily. The footprints soon begin to fade, but they were still noticeable. They lead me to a one-family house with a torn down door. I feel a soul inside. Seeing that I noted down to secure our doors in a better way, maybe with some steel sheets from the depot hull?

Warily I enter the house, only to be greeted by the stench of death and a pool of blood. I guess someone found another meal. Slowly and without making any unnecessary noise I move in what looks like the living room. The soul I sensed is hidden in a slightly shuffling mountain of pillows and blankets in the corner that is farthest from the door. There is no blood here, but I can smell it from the hiding person.

Not taking the risk of getting jumped at, I keep my distance. “Show yourself!” I shout. I wasn't prepared for what emerged out of the pile. In most aspects it looked like a human, although barely apparelled, but it looked as if it lost all its fat, it was packed with muscles especially its right arm. Said arm had something that looked like a thorn instead of an hand. But what really shocked me was its mouth. Not only was it covered in blood but it also looked wider than it should be, as if it changed to be able to tear apart its prey.

When it saw me it hissed and charged at me. Damn it was fast. It almost got me, but I evaded, the thorn it swung at my head, in the last fraction of a second by stepping to the side. It stumbled past me and tried another attack. It swung its right arm even faster, but it was its last swing, since I heard a tendon snap as I evaded. Taking the opportunity I drove my sax through its jaw and its skull to end the creatures live, not seeing its left hand coming for my face.

Cursing I notice that its nails look akin to talons. While cleaning my blade I try to patch up my cheeks by guiding my body with my soul and closing the wounds by controlling the mist around me to push the flesh together. I check the product by looking at my reflection on my blade, there are four new scars on my face. I got lucky it didn't hit my eyes, those are really hard to repair.

Turning back to the body I study it a bit. First with my eyes then with my soul. It is really skinny, there is no fat at all only muscles and it is filled to the brim with soulmist. I check its jaw and see that it lost its molars, but I also saw new teeth surface in their place. Teeth that remind me of carnivores.

Next I take out my dagger and peeled off the skin on the right hand. I wanted to take a look at this strange thorn. It was made out of the bones of its hand, they grew together and had increased density. A change like that needs a lot of guidance, something I didn't think those instinct driven soulless were capable of.

Did the mist enable it to change using its bodily resources? Was that the reason why it needed so much nutrients, that it would start to devour its own kind? Shivering at the possible horrors, I turn my full attention to the mist. Since its the colourless kind its easy to absorb, I feast on it, my soul needs a lot more to grow than what I can find in the atmosphere.

I leave the house and breath freely for the first time in almost half an hour. Looking at the sky I notice that its time to for lunch. Sitting down next to the bench I take out a package with precooked food and began, against my nausea, to eat. “I will need the energy” I though to myself.

Finishing my break I decide that I should check if other soulless also have begun to change. Leaving the house behind I continue on my way towards the mall, where I met Paul. I decide to make a detour and climb up hill and the tree atop off it.

What I see from there destroys all my hopes for the soulless to return to normal humans.