《The Anomaly》


 Prologue; Confinement

    Pain. That''s my first memory. Then came fear. Confusion. And rage.


    Why was I angry again? I don''t remember.


    But I do remember the pain, coursing throughout my body. No one told me what pain was but I instantly recognized it. How? I can only guess it was my instincts. I don''t really care anymore.


    I could move, but only a little before my body hit something.


    Sometimes sounds could be heard but I couldn''t understand what they belonged to. Some sounds were loud while others was so quite I could barely hear them. I liked some sounds while I hated others. Some sounds were followed by pain, that''s why I hated them.


    I remember the first time I opened my eyes, I had never had any before. The first thing I saw was light. I closed my eyes and return to the darkness.


    The light scared me more than the pain. The pain was familiar but this... This was something NEW. I had never encountered anything new before.


    It was... interesting. I wanted to know more, despite my fear. This was my first taste of what is called curiosity.


    I opened my eyes again, this time slowly, letting my new eyes get used to this light. And I SAW. For the first time I saw.


    Around me were THINGS with SHAPES and COLORS. Everything was new for me. I could feel something inside of me heath up, and I felt ALIVE. It was scary. It was new. It was thrilling. I needed more.


    I looked down on myself for the first time.


    While I didn''t know what their names was them I know them now and can describe what I saw. Two arms, with one hand on each and every hand had five fingers on each. A torso, legs and feet with two toes on each.


    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    That was me. I looked around. There were others. They looked like me, as far as I could tell, but they had something more above their torso, a head. I came to the conclusion that I also had a head. My first conclusion in life. It makes me feel nostalgic just thinking about it.


    Most of the others were unconscious, only a few were like me, awake. They also looked around but after they satisfied their curiosity they went to sleep.


    How could they be satisfied after seeing so little, I thought. How can this not intrigue them?


    I spent so long checking everything. I now knew what confined me but I didn''t know what it was called. It was see through but I couldn''t pass through it, my body stopped after moving a few inches.


    It made me angry. I wanted to know more. It was so much that made no sense to me.


    I started to feel my body becoming tired even if my mind was full of energy. I tried to resist it but I failed. In the end I had no choice but to go to sleep, just like the others.


    ------------------------------------------


    A young woman walked in the room. Right behind her walked what seemed like man, even younger than her. It was difficult to even call him a man, a boy would be the right description. The sound of their feet echoed in the silence. None of them said anything. The woman suddenly stopped in front of the row of glasscontainers.


    "This, your majesty" the woman said, "this is your army".

 Chapter 1: The Third Platoon

    I was awoken by a sudden pain, unlike anything I have ever felt before. First it attacked my muscles, then my my organs started to spasm and finally I was completely drained of my energy. It was unlike any pain I had experienced before. I could hear the others around me scream and slam against the confinements. The only reason I didn''t was because it would just waste my energy.


    One after another they went quiet until I was the only one remaining but I could feel my consciousness fading. I was exhausted and the pain kept getting worse.


    Finally my mind went blank, it almost felt rewarding compared to the pain. Almost.


    -----------------------------


    When I awoke I was no longer in my confinement. Not the others either. We were all laying on the floor in a large room we had never seen before. Now that I think about it, this was the first time we ever left our "birth room". Interesting.


    I was one off the first ones to wake up. When the others awoke they began walking around, confused as they were. Me? I simply sat where I was. I didn''t know what would happen and saved my energy for whatever might.


    Some of the others began hitting the walls. They wanted to return to the safe confinement. They saw this new place as threatening and scary.


    Morons.


    I tried to communicate with some but everyone answered me the same way; silence. Either they didn''t want to communicate or they simply didn''t have the ability to do so. Maybe it was both?¡ä


    The room we were in had a high roof and black walls. The only lightsource was a giant floating globe in the ceiling. How did that work, I asked myself. Why does it shine? How does it stay where it is? How did it get there? Interesting.


    I continued waiting for something to happen but nothing did. No one entered or exsited the room. Time went by. The others stopped slamming the walls and started to fight each other instead, probably to went out their frustration. I never participated in these meaningless fights. Waste of energy and time, that was the only thing it was.


    I remember the first death. It started off as an ordinary fight between two of the others. Both of them had fought before and had won their fair share of fights. They started dealing blows.


    One of them grepped the head of the other and slammed it into a wall. The other one responded with a kick in the stomach area. The fight continued. Finally one was defeated. But instead of walking away, the winner did something... unexpected. It grabbed the neck of the loser and started to choke it.


    The loser tried to fight it off but in the end it was to weak. When it was dead the winner shouted a victory scream. This one... was dangerous, I came to the conclusion. I started to avoid him while the others sought him out, wanting to fight him.


    While some met the same end as the first one, some was spared. They started to move in a group, with the strongest one as the leader. They challenged the others until finally, only their group of around 50 was left. Plus me of course. I had been smart enough to not seek out attention or provoke anyone but now I couldn''t avoid it anymore.


    When the first one that challenged me I tried to simply ignore it by continue sitting down but it didn''t work. Instead it attacked, without me wanting to fight. So I had no choice but to defend myself.


    During the time in the room I had not only inspected it but also the others. Their fighting styles, movements, differences in personality, strengths and weaknesses. They were like open books to me.


    The first one charged at me, trying to hit my in the side of my head. But instead of getting hit I rolled backwards and jumped up on my feet. I lifted my foot and aimed towards this ones weak spot; his neck.


    One swift kick did it. His head fell clean of.


    The other ones noticed this and starte to attack me. First one on one but when they noticed that didn''t work they started to attack me all at once. But it was no use.


    I avoided all their attacks, hit their weaks spots and killed them without second thought. Soon only 7, including me, was left. We were all the strongest of our kind and we were ready to fight to the death when...


    A whole in one of the walls appeared. We all froze where we stood. Into the room walked three people. They looked so different from us but they also bore similaritys. Two legs, two arms and one head. They were all different in apperance. One was tall and fit, another was short and slim while the last one had weird lumps of fat on their chest.


    Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.What were they, I pondered. This was certainly interesting. I decided to observe them, but refused to let my guard down incase some of the others decided to attack.


    One of those that walked in, the shortest one, opened his mouth and began to speak.


    "I am prince Occsa Ulterra Indesi III, the future demon king AND" he made a slight pause, "your master".


    It was my first time hearing anyone talk but I understod everything clearly. I looked at the others. They seemed to have understand it to.


    Seeing us understanding what he said he continued.


    "You were all created to serve me. Your lives are not your, but mine. You are the strongest of your kind and therefore the only ones strong enough to defend me."


    My life is not my own? Am I not the one holding it? Have it been in your hands all along? This makes me feel... Uneasy. I don''t like it.


    Suddenly the tall one stepped forward and started to speak.


    "You are not in title to refuse any of our commands. After this we will take you to the battle stations were everything will get further explained. Your majesty."


    It bowed down to the short one and they both walked out. The only one left was the one with lumps of fat on its chest.


    It stared at us for a while before muttering something, I could not hear what. Suddenly my body became heavy and I started to stagger, so did the others. Some even fell down.


    I looked down on my torso and saw an odd symbol glowing in red. I did not know how but I did know this was the work of that fleshy thing. It fascinated me.


    Then it started to speak.


    "Follow me."


    That was the only thing it said and to my suprise my body started to move on its own. This was strange, I thought. How can I not control my body. The same thing appeared to have happened on the others as well.


    We followed the fleshy thing out the room and soon found ourselves in a small corridor.


    We walked for atleast 10 minutes before we arrived to the destination. The fleshy thing stopped and so did we. In front of us were a huge door.


    "Behind this door there is the person that from this day onwards will hold your lives in her hands. If you are deemed unworthy, weak or even just looks at someone wrong you will be eliminated."


    The fleshy thing turned around and opened the door. We walked in.


    We were in another room, but this one much larger than the other one. It also looked completely different. The walls were covered in red and they were decorated with shining objects of all kinds. I could see multiple doors on the opposite side of the room. This was truly interesting. So many new things at once. I wanted to know everything.


    But then one of the doors opened and another tiny one appeared, this one even shorter than the one called Occsa from before. It started to speak.


    "So these are the new ones eh? Doesn''t look like mush but I guess they will do."


    For some reason I didn''t like the way it talked. It... irritated me.


    The fleshy one responded.


    "You are not one to talk Erica-sama, but I''m afraid that I have to go now. Please take care of them and try to keep them alive."


    "Ha!" the tiny one shouted. "Have more faith in me Lenora!"


    "I shall try" the fleshy one said before leaving the room. The tiny one sighed and looked at us. We still couldn''t move so we just stood there.


    "Well then, I guess the first thing I gotta do is introduce myself. My name is Erica Pendragon and I am the leader over the third platoon, that will say you guys! But because we will be togheter from now on please call me nee-chan!"


    This thing called Erica stopped and started looking at us before continuing.


    "Ah that''s right, ya''ll can''t talk yet. Well first things first, let''s get some sleep shall we? Everyone stand beside one door each."


    We did as she said and stod between one door each.


    "Now then, this shall be your rooms where you will sleep and keep your private things... when you get them that is! Now now, go through the doors and go to sleep and we see each other tomorrow. See ya!"


    Erica suddenly disappeared and with nothing else to do we all entered our rooms.


    My room was simple. One bed, a drawer, a desk and an empty bookshelf. But this was enough for me right now. I laid down on the bed and started to drift off to sleep.


    As my mind faded only one thought entered.


    What is an nee-chan?

 Chapter 2: Starving Creatures

    Two weeks went by. Each day me and the other ones received hellish training without end from the creature called Erica. Despite her small frame and immature personality she could easily defeat every one of us without even breaking a sweat.


    She demanded that we would obey everything she said without questioning and if we did we would get punished. I quickly understood and kept myself on her good side. The other ones were beaten senseless before they learned.


    The first week we fought against each other but Erica gave us the strict order not to kill each other. Some had trouble controlling their blood lust but she easily took care of them.


    I decided to not attract to much attention, I did not yet know what was ahead of us. Therefore, while I fought with the others I always made sure to let them land some hits before winning. I should have let some of them win but I refused to give them that pleasure.


    I noticed that every time Erica spoke her mouth moved and I realized that I didn''t have a mouth and neither did the others. We also did not have what they called ''eyes'' nor noses or ears. Despite not having a mouth to speak with we could still make clicking noises that we used to convey our emotions.


    The only thing we had was white, smooth skin and blue insides. We were all identical to each other. I hated it. I did not wish to be put in the same group as them.


    The second week we fought a new kind of creature I have never seen before. This one walked on four legs, its body was covered in black fur, with yellow eyes, sharp teeth and a long tail. When walking on all for it was about half my height. Erica called these creatures dark wolves. I was intrigued but I kept my distance. Even from a distance I could feel the killing intent of them and when they saw us they lunged at us, only to be kept back by chains.


    According to Erica living beings need nutrition to stay alive and when starved one would enter a desperate state. These wolves had not been fed for three weeks and were therefore extremely desperate and angry. After saying this she said that we were to fight them. She then disappeared from the room in a flash and in the same instance the chains holding the wolves back went up in smoke and they attacked.


    The others rushed forward in hopes of landing the first hit. But not me. I stayed back, observing the new threat. I didn''t know what their strengths and weaknesses were so lunching forward would only bring trouble.


    The first thing I noticed was their way of moving. They moved faster than us and while it all seemed random at first I soon noticed a pattern. One of them would attract the attention of the enemy (us) and the other ones would attack from the blind spot.


    They fought by using their fangs and claws, ripping apart the flesh of their prey. The others had no chance to defend themselves, just punching the air at random in hope of hitting one of them. The wolves dodged all of them. Such a creature... It was beautiful yet deadly. I admired them for their strength and intelligence. Sadly I had to kill them in order to survive.


    One of the wolves finally noticed me standing in the back of the room and growled to one of its companions. They charged at me the same way they did at the others.


    The first wolf rushed right at me while the other one circulated around me to find my blind spot. When it found it the wolf went in for the kill. Sadly for it, the moment it was about to bite me I dodged by moving slightly to the left and grabbed its head. Before it could react I slammed it into the floor, crushing it. The wolf let out a single whimper before closing its eyes forever. I released my grip in the wolfs head and slightly stroked it. Such a pity, killing a beautiful creature like this.


    The other wolf got shocked by the sudden death of its comrade but quickly overcame it and decided to attack my on its own with bared fangs. But when it did I simply kicked it, causing its body to slam into the wall. Because of the strong impact the body shattered and the walls got painted red. Beautiful.


    The other wolves directed their attention towards me and when they saw the bodies of their fallen comrades they became furious. Because the other ones possessed such a minor threat they decided to focus all their attention on me.


    One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen... Fourteen opponents. Fourteen kills. Seems easy enough.


    The largest of the wolves, one with a large scar covering its right eye, started howling and the other ones followed him, howling back. It''s the leader, I concluded. Erica told us that only the strongest and the most intelligent can become the leader.


    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.Suddenly they all attacked at once. He. This seemed interesting. I readied myself. Let the slaughter begin.


    The first wolf that reached me I killed with a blow to the head, killing it instantly. The second one jumped on my back but instead of trying to shake it off I gripped its body, keeping it in place, and slammed into the wall, crushing it.


    The third and fourth one attacked me at the same time. I threw the third wolf at the fourth and then I stomped their heads in while they were still on the ground.


    The fifth wolf tried to bite my throat but I grabbed its jaws before it could reach me and pulled them apart until the lower jaw got completely ripped off.


    The sixth wolf I ripped in half, the seventh I kicked into the eight. The ninth died by having me twisting its neck, the tenth had its throat ripped out and the eleventh had my hand showed into its stomach. The twelfth got its head shopped of and the thirteenth got crushed by my elbow.


    Thirteen... I looked up. The only one left was the leader, the scar wolf. It stared at me with anger in its eyes and exposed fangs, growling. It readied itself and so did I. We stared at each other for a few seconds, observing each other. The leader was the only one I had not seen fighting. Maybe because he didn''t need to?


    As if someone had flipped a switch we both launched at each other. I managed to avoid the first hit but the leader quickly turned around and his fangs grasped my arm. I kicked him in the head, forcing him to let me go. I threw myself at the wolfs back and by arms surrounded its neck. I clenched my arms but the leader bumped me into the wall with full power. The pain made me release my grip.


    The leader tried to bite me once again but this time I grabbed its jaws, like with the fifth wold. But my strength was not enough to rip this one apart. I started to grow weak. My stamina was not enough. Soon I would be out of strength and the leader would easily defeat me. Unless...


    Suddenly I released my grip on the lower jaw and the leaders teeth buried itself in my arm. But that didn''t bother me. Instead I used my fingers to claw out its throat. The leader noticed this and tried to release me but I put my legs around its neck and kept on clinging onto it.


    The wolf started coughing. I could feel blood gathering in its throat. The leader started convulsing and twitch, throwing its head around like crazy but I refused to let go.


    After a while the wolf sank down on the floor but even then I did not stop. I only stopped when I could no longer feel its heartbeat.


    I pulled out my arm which was covered in teeth wounds and blood, both mine and the wolves.


    That was interesting. The way the wolf fought for its life, even when it knew it was over. It was fascinating.


    Suddenly clapping could be heard from behind me and I turn around. There stands Erica and a person I have only met once; prince Occsa Ulterra Indesi III. The clapping came from the prince himself.


    "I am impressed, I gotta say. You have really done a great job lady Erica in training my soldiers" he said.


    "Your words honor me your majesty" Erica answered him put her arm across her chest.


    The prince, satisfied with Ericas response turned towards me.


    "You, you have done good. Keep on getting stronger and fight in my name. I wish you the guidance of the great Father". After he said this he disappeared, just like Erica had done earlier. When he was gone Erica stared smiling.


    "Hahaha! You really surprised me there with your fighting skills! When you stayed behind I thought you was a coward but it seems that I was wrong! Hehe, you are completely covered in blood right now! Hmm, from now on I think I should call you something in order to separate you from the others. What about... Feign? Yeah! I have decided! From now on your name shall be Feign! Hehehe!"


    Feign. That''s my name. My own name. It distinguish me from the others. I like it.