The rain outside the window never shouted.
It always came with long, melancholic whispers. Drop after drop tapping against the glass with the same rhythm every night.
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Like invisible fingers knocking on a door, asking for permission to enter a warmth that had never existed inside this room.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsBUlLo3gCw
The streetlights in this small town on the outskirts cast a dull orange glow through the misty rain, creating blurry circles that hung in the air like giant blind eyeballs, staring everywhere without truly seeing anything.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQZsqrSIJ3f
The dormitory room sat on the third floor of an old red brick building that had stood for nearly two centuries.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhxefHliMqA
Its walls were thick, painted a pale white, made of stone and plaster cracked in many places.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5dK5plngL2
In weather like this at the end of the year, cold that pierced the bone, the air inside the room felt colder than the air outside.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKXj4wAp48c
As if the ancient building deliberately trapped the cold, storing it in every pore of its bricks and every crack in its wooden floors, to torment its inhabitants who had never truly been wanted by anyone.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1z9FiOqDma
The central heater in the corner of the room, a rusted metal box that hissed softly all night long, produced only a shallow warmth, not enough to drive away the cold that crept from the wooden floor into the bones of the feet.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYbvr43Pp85
Voltase Watt lay on his back on a bed far too large for his body.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcLMRXrOok7
The body of a thin boy, shorter than the average of children his age, where his body lacked the nutrition and protein to grow any further.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn77aWu5otD
His shoulders were narrow, so narrow that the navy striped flannel pajamas he wore kept slipping off his left shoulder.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsgNHknjaC7
His arms were thin, with faint blue veins visible beneath pale skin that rarely saw sunlight.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs3y5gn8GJN
His short legs could never reach the end of the bed, and every night he felt the tips of his cold toes touching the empty air beneath the blanket.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa0fEWtJFQz
He had bought those pajamas three years ago, and even then they had been too big for his small body.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvcHMgxDiAv
Sometimes he thought that perhaps his body simply could not find a reason to grow, because growing required attention, nutrition, love, and he had never had enough of any of those.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8PHQ2wIblA
No one will notice whether you're here or not, he thought.
The thought felt ordinary in his head, not a piercing sadness, but a fact he had accepted long ago, ever since his mind was old enough to understand that he was a burden moved from one place to another.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtg71BFxe4J
Things do not grow.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn9MDu0HDIp
He never knew his biological parents.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw4qItdTtDZ
Voltase was a baby found on the doorstep of an orphanage in South London on a cold winter morning, wrapped in a faded blue blanket with a piece of paper bearing his name and birthdate.
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Nothing else.
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No letter, no message, no clue about who had left him there or why they had gone.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY8BCfpRNzl
He grew up in that orphanage for five years, changing caretakers and beds and faces that came and went.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMl29TAYZqd
Then a family came and chose him, a polite, well dressed couple who said the right things in front of the social worker.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDGk4NUphn9
They took him to their home in the suburbs, gave him his own room, food, clothes.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjMpaUnVmRV
But they never truly wanted him.
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He knew it from the way they looked at him, not with hatred, but with indifference.
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As if he were an obligation, a task to be completed.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkDmJNxDsGP
When he turned ten, they sent him to this boarding school.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbPlLW7CJiX
An elegant, polite way to get rid of a burden without appearing cruel.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtDonviiXuk
They paid his school fees.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwPY5Nnx1At
They sent birthday cards, store bought cards with printed text identical for everyone.
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But they never visited.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXusRYKgT1T
They never called.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPqcdDZ8IN4
Voltase was a receipt already paid in full, an obligation fulfilled.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡarq5KPblpm
Now he was left here, in this cold room, in a country that was supposedly his birthplace but never felt like his own.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5f5iYzs2Rw
You have no one, he thought, and he said it with lips that did not move, only inside his head.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOp5awrVrpT
You have never had anyone.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhawlrITKF1
And you will never have anyone.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgWpggF1625
Voltase had counted those cracks on the ceiling every night for two years since he first arrived in this room.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeuxLY9jqSJ
The number of main branches was always twenty three.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD0RPX76tcp
Never changing.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpzpjvo2AMv
The small branches varied, depending on the humidity of the night air, the temperature, whether the rain fell harder than usual.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb6h34LMf7r
Tonight he counted forty three small branches, counting with his thin right index finger, tracing the crack patterns in the air without actually touching the wood.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmXTVi2S6PE
If he touched it, he would feel the cold of the plaster and remember that he was still here.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ7qFFlEfaH
In the distance, the bells of St. Mary's church at the end of the street began to ring.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoVec3FBUF5
The sound was old and heavy, with a slightly off key tone from age and dampness.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5z2F0vWsFD
Voltase counted each chime because there was nothing else he could do.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN3nYh1jakW
The bells stopped at the ninth chime, and silence returned, filled only by the patter of rain that never stopped here.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8ctUIU4EgA
Voltase reached his right hand toward the small table beside his bed.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl1tInTj6Jx
The table was made of cheap wood, chipped in places, its surface covered with scratches from pens and pencils of children who had been here before him.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTpDb5XkwsL
On it lay the cheap phone given by his foster family when he left for boarding school, a symbolic gesture so they could still keep in touch, and a small desk lamp he never turned on.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡORkTrLatgK
His long, thin fingers groped across the table's surface until they touched the phone.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡthF2wjLs42
The screen lit up.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡscQbA3b6V7
Pale blue light illuminated his face for a few seconds.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwK5RK2eRIg
The time showed 21:49 PM.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc4jrj52FeL
He opened the game he was playing.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCJ1kqgFseX
The app was colorful and bright, with the main character's icon smiling widely, a boy with black hair and oversized onyx eyes, with a smile that never faded.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXbkZE4dFRg
Voltase almost hated that smile.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMJdUm7f2lv
That character never got tired, never got sad, never felt alone.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWhRw3ZbapW
He just ran, collected coins, dodged trains, and smiled the whole time.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHJq6fAuifi
His right thumb swiped the screen, and the game began.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv9610akv9q
Cheerful electronic music flowed from the phone's speaker, trying to drown out the sound of rain, while the character started moving along the railway tracks with a synthetic sunset sky full of orange and purple gradients stretching behind him.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbpw7RpOlWN
Golden coins sparkled in the air, and every time the character collected them there was a satisfying ding sound.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ92JpZIYtCv
Voltase played mechanically.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmHuwOykNhC
His thumb swiped left, jumped, swiped right, ducked.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7UH301NRTg
The score in the upper right corner climbed, 240, 480, 710, 930.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeqLuYGKj0h
He did not care about the score or the character.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDiN6wdv5Qm
The only thing he needed was the sound.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5EhOkFgbwK
The music was a thin curtain separating him from the silence of the room, from the patter of rain, from the awareness that he was truly alone in this world and no one would come to save him.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoYbK1ORLZt
On the right side of the screen, a second character appeared, a grown man in a white long sleeved shirt and a faded blue jacket, wearing a security guard's hat tilted back, and beside him a digital sheepdog ran at the same speed, its tongue lolling in a repeating animation.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0o4WXswshk
The three of them ran together.
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A fake family in a fake world.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtexVw1R0gf
They are not real, Voltase thought, just code, they can never feel anything.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7QHiUt3GaL
They are never alone because they never existed.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhdejXv43Hw
At 1,230 points, the obstacles increased.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcYpOZ7v2cy
Train cars came faster and denser from both directions.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7tkM1WJwKw
Voltase's small fingers began to sweat, making the touchscreen feel slippery and sticky.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbbrDBPWhmg
His main character stumbled, a repeated falling animation, got up, stumbled again, while the score stopped climbing and the music shifted into anxious, stretching notes.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMOuOVuCJLl
A giant steel train car passed right in front of the character.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzGj5BUOPgu
Bam!
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The screen turned blurry red, with a crimson gradient encircling the edges.
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Thick black ink pooled in the corners.
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White bold text appeared in the center.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9khTz7Y5MP
GAME OVER.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFaoHGyQyR7
Voltase let out a breath.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbVWznCN101
The breath left his small chest as a faint, almost inaudible sigh, like wind slipping through a crack in a door that did not close properly.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK8dSTK5xnD
He pressed the home button, and the phone screen dimmed to black, reflecting his own face, the face of a thin child with weary onyx eyes, cheekbones beginning to protrude, and messy black hair.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTcDqg32KJy
He put the phone on the table with a slow, reluctant movement, as if letting go of the phone meant letting go of the only thing distracting him from the silence.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzWpuBmVmj9
Silence returned.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡonKN8IXION
Rain returned.
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He was still here.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7VR8o9t0AF
Still small and alone.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwfXUGxXT7r
Voltase closed his eyes.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS2F0haCGI7
In the darkness behind his eyelids, he imagined another place.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVq6AgbStap
A place where he had a big, strong body that did not need to be afraid of other children mocking him in the school hallways.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXl8CQ7Xqpf
A place where he could become something, become someone meaningful, someone who could not be ignored.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmBNpztU4F1
But the image was vague, like smoke vanishing before he could grasp it.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxGKnG4nlnq
He did not know what a big body looked like.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcoyFsewXsY
He had never had one.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBW3dSxddnD
He only knew that he wanted it, something more than this thin, weak, useless body.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfT52pU0Wwq
Slowly, exhaustion consumed him.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHcRR7aowEp
His body curled up in the middle of the too large bed, knees drawn to his chest, arms hugging a pillow that had become dull and smelled of dormitory laundry soap, sharp and chemical.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzBZcGqIRaJ
The rain kept tapping the window.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtbnQx8jeID
The wind moaned among the old oak trees in the schoolyard.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE37CF5fYad
His consciousness began to blur, sinking into a dark, warm abyss.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS5ohiRy0Sa
The clock showed 22:01 PM.
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Three minutes since he turned off the phone.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuKco5L2r1X
Voltase Watt, a twelve year old boy who did not know who his parents were, who had no home to return to, who had never been loved by anyone, began to fall into a dream.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT8TD9jflne
The first thing that registered through his sense of smell was the stench.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZWOwyJBeXj
Not the musty, dusty smell of the dormitory room.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtxVWMroXmR
This was a completely different smell, one he had never smelled before, yet somehow felt old, as if he had smelled it in another life, in a memory that was not his.
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The smell entered his nostrils like thick, heavy smoke.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMV82vyQv2e
It crept inside uninvited.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvnEihdDz7O
Stabbed the back of his throat like swallowed glass shards.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNzPf5uQb72
Settled on the roof of his mouth, leaving a residue that felt like a layer of copper on his tongue, salty, metallic, and with a faint sweetness that was nauseating.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmiyONbkGIu
Beneath it lay another layer: a sharp, fishy stench like fish left too long in the sun, and the smell of wet earth mixed with something darker, thicker.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEni2xrhC5S
Blood, he thought, and the thought rose from the depths of an instinct he had not known he possessed.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW6NRxGiLud
The smell of blood.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjtiSKjOXzf
A lot of blood and flesh.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ9sK5gT7Qb
Rotting flesh.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO8drNRCtdJ
Voltase opened his eyes.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMTwi4m8Wcf
The darkness he saw was not the darkness of his dormitory room.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMEm7wsVLJw
This was total darkness, darkness that rejected light, darkness that felt solid like wet velvet pressed against his face.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8ODq1kTOdO
His eyes blinked, adjusting, but the adjustment was slow, as if his pupils had to relearn how to catch light.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkqr1nTANeG
Slowly, silhouettes began to emerge.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaYmfyb2dMq
He saw a shape above him, very close, only inches from his own nose.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcjId6mshxJ
A face.
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But not the face of a living human.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡenRKnNNxr1
The skin of that face was ashen green, pale like dried clay beginning to crack.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnPlCong1R9
On its left cheek was a large tear exposing the tissue beneath, a layer of dark red that had begun to blacken at the edges, like beef left too long in the refrigerator, its fibers drying and shriveling.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9INOGl2l6J
On its chin was thin brown stubble, with flakes of dry earth clinging between the hair strands.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwVhf7icwGF
Its eyes, or what remained of them, were two dark hollows.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzBG6ECsh06
No eyeballs.
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Just black holes filled with small, writhing movements.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBWCaeafluv
Voltase saw them clearly, maggots.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaP445o0W8x
Dozens, maybe hundreds of small pale yellowish bodies, segmented, with darker heads, writhing inside those eye sockets.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ62eQx7HFzI
They rose and fell like tiny waves that never stopped, eating the remaining tissue still clinging to the orbital bone.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw7PSqy0kcP
Some were larger than others, fatter and whiter, perhaps because they had been there longer and had eaten more.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjs0gdwxwx8
One of them crawled out of the left eye socket, across the corpse's cheekbone, and fell right onto Voltase's cheek.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWpE92OSlvJ
He felt it.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrGFYKCJDhc
Cold, Damp, and Writhing.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJN9R8SxoAm
That small soft body clung to his skin for a second, then began to crawl slowly downward toward his jaw.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2FkdN8ntu7
Voltase felt every movement of that body, every small muscle contraction pushing it forward, every segment rubbing against his skin.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0rhlgxSRxY
At that moment, panic exploded inside him.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1BquoJvPd3
Pure, primal panic that recognized no logic or reason.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKpc3cPvTLT
He wanted to scream, but his voice was caught in his throat.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZON364VMub
He wanted to push, but his hands felt foreign and heavy.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Jzbn0GAzk
Because he realized: his body had become different.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLEZKAadqV0
His hands pushing the corpse away felt longer and heavier.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVSOTn9Tt6v
His fingers were no longer long and thin.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNfgh0JgIY3
He felt protruding knuckles, long and sturdy finger joints, a wide palm with blue veins clearly visible on the back.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPvtX8iNjxv
When he pushed the corpse away, the muscles in his arms, muscles he had never possessed in the real world, contracted with surprising strength.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh8pt7sFb70
He felt the stretch of muscle fibers, pressure in his shoulders, and the weight of the body he pushed felt lighter than it should have.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2rE6lG0W2M
The corpse rolled to the side with a wet, heavy plop, like a bag of wet meat falling onto mud.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV2YdNigTlv
Its head hit something hard, maybe a rock, maybe another skull, with a dull crack.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw9XyygUY4J
Voltase coughed, choked, and sat up straight with a jolting movement.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3qYuzMCWYb
He sat up, no need to crawl or roll. He just bent his body upward, and the body obeyed, while the maggot writhing on his cheek had fallen to the ground.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLtCNOz3iro
His chest felt heavy, broad, and wide. His back felt solid.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqAkVQYkxWf
His shoulders were now thick and muscular.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLda3520r8g
He looked down and saw his own body.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNOzdXbXBRF
A uniform.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaMlDIdQswM
A long sleeved shirt in faded blue, made of thick wool fabric that was coarse and slightly damp from dew or blood.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4XCRrTmq2i
Small metal buttons lined up down the center of his chest. Some were undone, and beneath the undone buttons he saw an undershirt in wet gray.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvx4b9aEmh1
On his left shoulder was a patch bearing an emblem he did not recognize: an eagle with spread wings, its claws grasping something that looked like a snake.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡws0pvonoVL
The patch was faded, its edges torn.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0fBrLSutlh
Blue trousers tucked into tall dark brown boots that felt heavy on his feet.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWjpMVuMDRq
The boots were made of thick leather with hard soles. He felt small studs on the soles when he moved his feet over the ground.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcvW96Mz6V0
Loose metal buckles on the tops of the boots swung gently as he moved.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFtI7A7uexE
Voltase raised his right hand in front of his face.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7XIey6YXSN
The hand trembled violently.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi9rIMexZBE
He could see it clearly, and it was not his hand.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIwUXzB1Jsk
The hand was long, thin but muscular, with blue veins prominent on the back.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuw86qX1U5j
The fingers were slender with prominent knuckles and short nails dirty with black earth drying beneath them.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQhdP0bGyi2
There was a small wound on his middle knuckle, a scrape still wet with fresh blood, perhaps from a fight that happened before he woke up.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyCIUJDtYaz
His palm was wide with deep, clear lifelines.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvkrKr4jF7z
At the base of his thumb was a thick callus formed from years of holding something. It could be a weapon or a tool, he did not know.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡouA0AOvoYX
This was an adult man's hand.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaZODznmfel
A strong hand.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkBviOPTlEp
A hand that could never belong to a weak, thin twelve year old boy.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡohCUWQXas1
He pressed his palm to his chest.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuyA20pNDAF
Beneath the thick wool fabric, he felt the contour of hard chest muscles, broad pectorals with wide ribs beneath them.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNW6j7NcscX
And beneath those muscles, he felt a heartbeat.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlLuUAOlYsR
Thump, thump.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI30kH80sNZ
Thump, thump.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtp7sbKwyWC
A deeper, stronger, heavier heart.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2XFPQEdlSr
Each beat felt like a hammer striking the wall of his chest from inside.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgX9kTfDR4w
This is not my body, he thought.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnQ6IujT1MF
The thought sounded foreign in his head, deeper, heavier, with the resonance of an adult man he did not recognize.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Tv4KbVAXp
This body is not mine.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE1Z0HcFnIr
I am inside someone else's body.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuwFB6OCV1X
I am trapped inside someone else's flesh.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡroF7eVvefe
How can this be?
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAI2VHaoKgb
He wanted to scream, to call someone, to ask what was happening, but his voice only came out as a hoarse breath caught in his throat, like the voice of someone who had just woken from a long sleep and had not yet found his words.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGHWLLdmT5e
He straightened his body, rising from his current sitting position.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlgA1p8tu8l
His knees wobbled at first. The long, strong leg muscles felt strange, unused to supporting this much weight, but he forced himself to stand.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeBCnOputCO
Eye level was now above the piles of corpses around him.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡttX9bmAA2X
He could see far across the field, farther than he had ever seen in his short, narrow life.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAvqWy6rrty
The body was now tall, a hundred and eighty centimeters or more.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGbNYzw0hd3
When he looked down, he saw the long distance between his chest and the ground, a distance he had never experienced before.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxvhBK5blZ5
His long, sturdy legs felt foreign, like poles newly attached beneath his body.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM1yS4llrIn
Every step felt like walking on an unstable stage.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs2E4lo7BPi
He felt his body's weight differently.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEJlL3lMa5H
Gravity felt lighter on his bones, perhaps because his bones were now larger and stronger, but his muscles felt heavier and denser.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXa59TdhaRO
There was strength there, potential for movement he had never explored.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5ZWME3enGb
He felt that this body could run faster, punch harder, endure longer than his thin, weak body.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1fWk6mB9mr
But that strength must have its price, something he was always aware of, that nothing in this world was free.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Jz7jUqA3j
Instead, he felt strange after obtaining this body.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsf8T0tzCcp
Like a thief who had stolen something precious and did not know how to use it, where every movement felt like a violation.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkTYSMj9gtR
Whose body is this? The question repeated in his head like a mantra.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgjBZ0BnhGn
Where is he?
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ96f8LF3sWG
Is he dead?
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZOlSzVQhEz
Did I take his body?
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXXwj5woOZe
Did I kill him?
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpjGYOs4NkR
He looked around.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKqrwqbZwxt
Above him was not the cloudy gray English sky always ready to rain. The sky here was pitch black, blacker than the hollows in the corpse's eye sockets.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8bdIF67WNp
No stars, moon, or glowing clouds.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx0Cn95qyrT
Just a black canvas stretching endlessly, as if someone had covered the entire world with thick velvet and forgotten it there, leaving it hanging without end.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmmSc0ZWfoW
But beneath that gloomy sky, there was enough light.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUpLhlET1CY
Perhaps from reflections off puddles of liquid on the ground that cast a dim gleam.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO5DrLDquiw
Remnants of fires long dead in the distance, still emitting thin smoke and red sparks beneath the ash.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmR8a52mvJ9
The source of the light was unclear, but it was enough for Voltase to see the sight that would sear itself onto his retina forever, burned there like a photograph exposed to sunlight.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5mqNJbAobg
Around him, as far as he could see, there were only bodies.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXL8sXSN4EX
Hundreds, maybe thousands, impossible to count.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXahsCyqQej
They lay in chaotic piles like rag dolls thrown by an angry giant and then forgotten.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3p6JV7hi5x
Some were stacked on top of each other, forming small hills reaching up to an adult's waist.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSSxRf2vXUl
Some piles were higher, reaching chest height.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtgRq32RqCk
Voltase noticed that the piles moved.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIIRtuC7a8m
Not moving like living things, but moving because of the maggots and flies writhing inside them, creating small waves on the surface of the flesh.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡor56MsPDGz
Some bodies lay alone, separated from the piles, with arms bent at impossible angles.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYmvb940dk5
Elbows twisted the wrong way.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrkG2Yo0hz7
Fingers clutching empty earth as if they were still trying to crawl in death, still trying to escape something that had caught them.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ914IbJDSG
Some had intact faces with wide open eyes staring at the black sky, expressions of fear frozen forever in the rigid muscles of their faces.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuzQzCjgGVI
Some had no faces at all.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcOGhAzdXkv
Just red, glistening hollows inhabited by maggots and flies, with remnants of flesh clinging to skull bones like unraveling threads.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMJgTYCzhIi
Their uniforms varied.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd17wx8epHI
Most wore faded blue, like Voltase.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsrydevCrbN
Many wore pale green, the color of dead moss, a faded, dull green gray like leaves already rotting in an autumn that lasted too long.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUXqMUod26d
Some others, fewer in number, wore ash, the color of gunpowder dust, or ash left after fire dies.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Jfb8tJ364
Those three colors mixed in this pile of death without pattern, without meaning, just chaotic horror.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQGf6nWXrw0
Often he saw blue bodies lying on top of green bodies, or gray bodies wedged between two blue bodies.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL5QBSivs4a
Nothing was ordered.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCi4WCVt74j
Nothing was intentional.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtoXzqd73Zy
They died where they fell, and they fell where they died.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMPmGRXDoai
The ground beneath Voltase's feet felt soft, not like the hard earth of the school garden, not like the wooden floor of his room.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM1Cw2uWmTO
He looked down and saw his boots sinking several centimeters into a brown black surface.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhNQM0nd6DU
It was mud, but not ordinary mud.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWXVUr8HweI
This mud was mixed with something darker, thicker, denser.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoZPU1Y4zxX
Blood.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwJN8o5cf4o
This ground was not earth.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrQa9WEjcax
It was a layer of flesh and bodily fluids that had soaked into the soil, mixed with mud, forming a new, horrific layer.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsl5UgB4RAA
When he moved his boots, there was a wet squelch, the sound of liquid squeezed out from the pores of the earth like water from an oversaturated sponge.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpaD0UeAovw
He saw small white fragments among the black mud.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWbfsGufzAE
Bone fragments.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdO89lPukH8
Broken rib pieces with sharp ends.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCPIZ1rMdDe
Severed finger joints still bearing remnants of flesh at the joints.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7DUuD1LeEI
Shattered skull fragments with pinkish inner surfaces from residual brain tissue.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhviJM7YlZC
There were also torn fabric pieces, dull glinting metal buttons scattered among the mud, and undone shoelaces uncoiled like dead snakes.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3UUYmyTz7s
The stench here was not uniform.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAfvZUnZ0xu
It came in waves.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtIboNdqU44
Sometimes sharp and stinging like ammonia burning the nose.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZPiqnado3C
Sometimes sweet and nauseating like overripe flowers beginning to rot.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKWzrwaMREn
Sometimes like old iron scraped across the tongue, leaving a metallic taste he could not get rid of.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUcj6yzkh5x
Every time the wind blew, cold, damp night wind, the smell changed, shifted, found new ways to torment his senses.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi0ZsfyasWz
Voltase covered his nose with the back of his new, long hand, but the smell entered through his mouth, through his skin, through every pore of his now large but still vulnerable body.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡekXdJ9HFda
He felt it behind his eyes, in his sinuses, at the back of his throat.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBkLxbUFVap
The smell became part of the air he breathed. He could not separate himself from it.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs26ADLWIYu
In the distance, he heard something.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRRiWD9AwD2
Not the sound of rain. The sound was a crack, like a twig snapping.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKdI6T1Sq2S
Voltase froze.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDdzc66L6v1
He held his breath, that deep, heavy breath from this adult man's lungs, and tried to listen more carefully.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw4sRkSHP9M
But his own heartbeat was too loud, too thunderous.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyExnvnA6H7
Thump, thump.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXT5ABM2gvN
Thump, thump.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa4wxUfWa4o
This heart was like a war drum inside his broad chest, and he could not stop it.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡleLaaXVazu
Then, he saw movement.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwBittBMQ6u
Among the pile of corpses to his left, about ten meters away, the pile shook.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpQG9Mzmxkg
Not from the wind. The wind would not move a pile of flesh that heavy.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6nRj6txBhw
Something inside it was moving.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQU26Qd3lz2
An arm emerged.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgLQM0H7mlE
An arm that still had intact skin, pale but not rotting, with muscles still tense beneath the skin's surface.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4fHknWX9s9
The fingers of that hand grasped the air, then pulled, pushed the bodies above them.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3opUP4FTcz
Those bodies shifted, rolled, fell aside with wet sounds.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡibavY1oQzR
From that pile, a man's figure emerged.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtbQEusITWX
He rose with stiff, mechanical movements, like a wooden puppet whose strings were pulled by an invisible hand.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNtqQSpUpnf
He brushed dust and dried flesh scraps from his uniform, pale green, the same green worn by many corpses around him.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE5RUNnGzXL
The fabric was torn in several places, and on his right shoulder was the same patch, the eagle or raven, but the colors were more faded, more worn, with threads beginning to unravel at the edges.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNvsrdRZvPL
On his left arm was a large tear exposing the skin beneath, pale skin with an old, dried wound.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjrAFWBlN8s
The man was tall, almost as tall as Voltase.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbtSQtgP0a6
His face was gaunt, with a firm jaw and prominent cheekbones.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbftANDAg93
His hair was dirty blond, short and unkempt, with sideburns slightly elongated beside his ears.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3JS1lwmo2B
His dark eyes, dark like Voltase's eyes in the real world, stared directly at him.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlimJlHBnrf
The stare was unfriendly.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXTpptLowms
Full of suspicion, confusion, and beneath it, a layer of fear trying to hide behind a tightening jaw and pursed lips.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaG3J9Azpp4
They faced each other.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgBPwZig981
Two adult figures in the middle of a sea of death.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvl2TugUl0B
Cold night wind blew between them, carrying the stench of rot and old gunpowder smoke.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHuxg5faLFa
Voltase felt the wind hit his face, carrying his long, dirty hair dancing around his eyes.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMt1QAD7RnK
The man did not speak.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx9IsE4gbDO
He just stared, eyes narrowing, measuring whether Voltase was a threat or just another survivor.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOAPaXtAML5
He examined Voltase's faded blue uniform, then examined his face.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNHbTZl31qd
Perhaps searching for recognition.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeBP8EYxP0V
Trying to remember if he had ever seen this face before.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4lxX45JHZs
But there was no recognition in his eyes.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSUjPNSfcoZ
Only deepening suspicion.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBqV2wfeJ3B
Slowly, he bent down.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEcecM9Vn2c
His dirty fingers, crusted with dried blood beneath the nails, groped among the pile of corpses.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWRRwLUYLig
He pushed some bodies aside, shifted others, and finally pulled something from beneath the pile.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn9ZCErE9hO
A long object.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFWyzIQ0XSW
Voltase recognized the shape even though he had never seen one directly outside the history books in the school library.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXnWs61MHqT
An old wooden stock, darkened by oil and covered with scratches and deep grooves from grips.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOhkPSF6EhD
The wood was worn, its fibers peeling in places but still solid. He could see that the stock had been used for years, perhaps decades, by people he would never know.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKxq6Ml1bOs
A long, slender barrel of dark metal, gleaming dully under the dim light, with grooves along its surface to reduce weight.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡspNImHZaAn
Beneath it, just in front of the curved trigger made of the same metal with a finger groove, a small box magazine jutted out like a second jaw, loaded with ready to fire bullets.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6WMQ8Olptx
And at the end of the barrel, he saw a locking mechanism, small grooves and metal protrusions, designed to attach a bayonet.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMkGptf3fGe
It was a heavy, ancient, deadly rifle.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlaoGwVC5ds
A rifle that had killed more people than he could imagine.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfe9jGXwdOh
The man aimed the muzzle at Voltase's chest.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1VnDGEC8yA
Voltase's reflexes acted before his thoughts could formulate a strategy.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7JenT7ztPu
Both his hands, the long, sturdy hands of an adult man, rose up, palms open wide, in the universal gesture of surrender.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡia44qJeSvE
His heart pounded in this new chest, and he felt its beat at his temples and at the tips of his trembling fingers.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVfBJGsmVcf
"Wait," he said, and his voice came out as a deep, hoarse baritone, a voice he had never heard before, a voice emerging from this chest.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWqmOmSJi2Q
"I do not know where this is."
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAHHanA7nlR
"I do not know what is happening."
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN5JZjux5yz
"I just woke up."
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8yZ1Fm9t1b
The man did not answer.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL5dJeqZO0j
His eyes narrowed further, examining Voltase's faded blue uniform, then his face, watching Voltase's lips move, hearing his words.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTU8Uow6TJU
But there was no response.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzOUTflWbs0
Perhaps he did not believe him.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTQC1PED5j5
Perhaps he had seen too many tricks in this place to trust anyone.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNJggeGPTcR
The man began to step forward.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGx7bdf04hC
One step.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgG9xEsyhwh
Two steps.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqCCd7F8m64
The muzzle stayed aimed exactly at Voltase's chest.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeTxJoEMzTu
Each step the man took was torture.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIrZLwwSbT3
Voltase heard the squeak of the man's boots on the bloody mud.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEa9WzYHrlJ
He saw every scratch on the rifle's wooden stock, every peeling fiber, every deep groove.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiOx05UVGeF
He saw the man's finger on the trigger, a steady finger that did not tremble, a finger accustomed to the weight and pressure of pulling.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZPY0re9uFa
The voice in his head whispered.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvGWVXsfygJ
If you do not move, you die.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO3XGdoikcS
You die here, in this place.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsKBU3Mzb7f
And you will never return to your dormitory room. No one will come looking for you.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAW23jJxAea
No one will care.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ14gUWq871b
You will just be another corpse in this pile.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeRyhgZrJtH
The thought of the world's indifference, about foster parents who never called, about teachers who did not know his name, about the empty room with only the cracks on the ceiling, gave Voltase a strange strength.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmkA72yTMKw
He had nothing to lose in the real world.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBlVwveczem
No one would mourn him if he died.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrQWaMd8nZl
But here, in this strong body, he might survive.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnlCfhs9uTd
He might become something.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbQWCMJDcdx
And he moved.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4w44jXRFGG
His tall, powerful body shot forward, faster than he had imagined.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjngiT8ndh9
The muscles in his legs, muscles he had never possessed, contracted with surprising strength, propelling him forward in an instant.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTWGdfdUyCe
His long hand grabbed the end of the rifle's barrel before the man could react.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlmZqL24vis
The metal was cold, very cold, like ice burning his skin.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP1md6Mp3Gz
He felt the texture of the metal beneath his fingers, smooth in some places, rough in others from rust, and he gripped it tightly.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Z911vslka
He twisted the barrel aside, away from his chest.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj9cYeeaHt6
His other hand formed a fist and swung it at the man's face.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxekk4IsvAN
The punch landed.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt5SGkNSeax
His knuckles struck the man's cheekbone with a dull thud.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp028Dbno4A
Voltase felt the hard impact in his hand, pain spreading like waves from his knuckles to his wrist.
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But there was a primal satisfaction that his punch had connected.
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This was the first time in his life, both in the real world and here, he had ever hit someone with full force.
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The man stumbled back, his arm bending, but he did not fall.
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His head snapped to the side, and from the corner of his mouth, a drop of blood began to flow.
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He raised his hand to his face, touched his lip, looked at the blood on his fingertip.
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Then he looked at Voltase with changed eyes.
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Suspicion transformed into burning anger.
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With reflexes faster than they looked, he blocked Voltase's attack with his forearm.
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His other hand grabbed Voltase's collar and pulled him forward.
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At the same time, he bent his right knee and kicked forward.
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The knee struck Voltase's stomach, and the pain exploded in his solar plexus like a bomb.
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All the air in his lungs was forced out in one gasping exhale that sounded like a long, deep groan.
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Saliva and bitter bile from his empty stomach spurted from his open mouth, wetting his chin and dripping onto the faded blue uniform.
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For a moment, the world around him spun wildly, black sky, corpses, and the man's face all mixed into a nauseating vortex.
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He tasted metal on his tongue because he had bitten his own tongue from the impact.
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Fresh blood began to flow in his mouth, mixing with the bile.
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But Voltase did not fall.
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Unlike in the real world, where he always fell when pushed by other children at school, this body was stronger, heavier.
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His long legs planted in the bloody soil as he held his ground.
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His hard, trained abdominal muscles absorbed part of the kick's impact.
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Despite the overwhelming pain, he was still standing.
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With clenched teeth, enduring the pain gnawing at his stomach like burning fire, he launched a counterattack.
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His foot with the heavy boot and hard sole swung toward the man's shin.
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He swung his leg with all his strength.
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The kick landed with a harder thud than before.
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The man stumbled, losing balance.
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His kicked leg buckled, and for a moment he seemed about to fall, grimacing in pain, his teeth clenched, his breath coming in a long hiss.
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Voltase seized the moment.
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He twisted his body, pulling the rifle barrel with all his strength.
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The wood and metal, an object weighing nearly four kilograms, tore from the man's grip.
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It flew, rolled across the pile of corpses, and fell among the rotting bodies on the other side, sinking beneath the pile of flesh.
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Now, without weapons, they faced each other equally.
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The man swung a punch at Voltase's jaw, but Voltase ducked, feeling the wind of the fist brushing his long, dirty hair.
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He answered with a punch at the man's chin, but the man tilted his head with agile movement despite his large body.
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They fought wildly, punches, kicks, elbows, and knees, in the middle of the sea of corpses.
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Dust and dried flesh scraps flew around them every time they stepped on or fell into the piles of bodies.
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Voltase felt blood, both the corpses' blood and his own, covering his face.
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His lower lip was split, and he tasted his own salty, metallic blood on his tongue, mixing with the copper taste from the air around him.
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This is not me, he thought between punches, but his thoughts were fragmented by pain and exhaustion.
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Why am I here?
ns216.73.216.217da2 
and then Add to home screen.