Capítulo 23: Chapter 2 - Meeting A Predator
Hello there! I just want to apologize for getting this out so late. I just came back from vacation a couple of days ago and I was busy with work. I also wanted to still keep the quality and plot of the old Zenar 24, while still make things different. In the old novel, Solace was never given a name, nor really met until later on, or that was the plan. I also wanted to make it so that time has passed instead of an instant cut like the old novel, and give Mye an actual reason to why she is wondering around by herself, and how she managed to get into a restricted zone, mainly Ava's room, in the first place.
So, with that out of the way, I'm going to say sorry one more time; Sorry, and I hope ya enjoy the new chapter!
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According to the Light, I have been here for around eighteen days now. I don't know what days are nor why the Light wanted to tell me that. Currently, I am very bored. Yep! That's right. Bored. B-o-r-e-d. It means why isn't something happening, in case that tiny voice in the back of my head is living under a rock. The prey the Light gives me is good enough that I don't want to eat them and they also don't shine as brightly. Every now and then, the Light sends a metal shape to clean up the room. I remember my father making me do that before. I may not remember my room nor what I was cleaning up but I o know that it was annoying. I'm glad that the metal shapes do it for me.
One time I licked a metal shape. I didn't want to bite them since you don't bite something that is useful, that's just common knowledge. I just wanted to know what they tasted like. They tasted odd and right away I could tell that eating them would be a thing to do when I'm very hungry and prey isn't around for a while. I think the words are last resort? Maybe. I managed to learn those words from the Light and the shapes within it, which I can only barely hear. The Light can be very quiet if it wants to be.
Today, after what the Light calls testing, a game in which I answer a bunch of questions or do a bunch of things, I was given a prey and, once I ate them, I was free to do what any predator would do after a long time of doing stuff, which is obviously sleep.
As I lay down, tucking my head between my hands, I felt my tail start to coil around until the head was directly in front of me. Then, two yellow eyes opened.
"You said you had a plan today to make things change," My tail told me without moving his mouth.
Oh! In case that tiny voice in the back of my head needs some reminding, a couple of days ago my tail woke up and introduced himself as Solace. He rarely talks and this is the third time we had talked to each other. You see, Solace is very annoying. He never talks to me when I call his name, and when I told the Light about him, totally not complaining, they just said 'Mm-hmm'. I mean, come on!
"Yeah, well, I don't know what happened!" I snapped at him, closing my eyes. When I opened them, my tail was back to normal. Like normal, Solace never stayed around for long.
Letting out an annoyed sigh, I closed my eyes and settled my head down to sleep.
....
'If one were to ask me how I first met Ava, I would say I wanted some alone time away from my home and found my way to her.'
I hated my father as much as I love him. It's confusing, I know, but those are the only words I can think about to describe our relationship. As the Duke of humanity, he is always busy with work. He's also one of the highest officials out there and, as such, just his mere presence demands respect, one even his own daughter has to give. Then there is me, his daughter. Karma Mye Destin, the Grand Duke's daughter, a nicknamed earned from how my father earned the nickname Grand Duke for his accomplishments.
Normally, Duke leaves me alone even when he is home from work, and yes, his name is Duke Destin. He doesn't try and make me go to massive parties or doing anything formal such as that. Yet, even if I don't have to do those things, such as learning how to dance, or eat food elegantly, though I still learned that by myself, the fact that I am his daughter ruined my life for more than two thirds of my life. When I was in school, I was avoided. When I was at the marketplace, I was treated with disdain since the store-owners kept on giving me extra things, sometimes for free, and, since I was young and stupid back then, kept on going back, taking their actions as kindness.
Yeah, I was very foolish and naive back then. Yet, it was because of this foolishness that I managed to make some actual friends. As one might have expected, those friends could be described as delinquents. They were the laugh-out-loud, go to a party and have a good time type of people. They were good friends but, seeing as they were seen as a bad influence on her, the times they can spend hanging out together is few.
One would think, in the middle of the apocalypse, or in the post apocalypse, social standing and influences wouldn't matter. I mean, I live in the most heavily defended stronghold of humanity that researches the very thing it was build to defend against, Zenars. I guess that people would rather ignore the things going on both deep within the facility and in the world beyond, trying to cling on to what remains of life can be had here. On the planet they were on, Dorscean, was a planet full of black mountains and a dark, never-ending raging ocean. Most of the time, there is a storm going on outside. There is no grass, or sun, or anything really. The only familiar lifeforms can be found in zoos, or in the off-limit parts of the facility, where Zenars can be found.
All one has to do to be reminded of their situation is look out the big windows and see the endless ocean and the black sky. I know I wasn't alive when the Zenars first came, or alive when the three galaxies humanity ruled over got attacked by the Zenars. A good majority of people here were alive when they had to leave their homes, running while people besides them were ripped to shreds. From what I learned and, well, heard, the infection happened so fast that only sixteen worlds in total had time to evacuate before the Zenars arrived.
Anyway, getting back to the point of this, I needed some time alone. I had an argument with my father over going to a party on the other side of the facility with my friends. I should have seen the outcome coming but, for some reason, I convinced myself that he would allow me to go. Honestly, I may be a little retarded.
About a couple of months or so back, the place I used to go too to hang out was closed, off-limits even to me and my father. It was an old abandoned place with a couple of empty rooms, one of them even having a secret hallway into another hallway leading to a large room. That was the room I used to spend a lot of time in. After a month of construction, they fixed the place up and locked it off, placing eight android soldiers at the entrance. Yet, a month ago, the soldiers stopped guarding the entrance at nighttime, apparently needed elsewhere. Even still, I never went into the place, seeing it as not worth the trouble. Yet, somehow, in my upset and cloudy mind, I find myself standing in front of the two light grey heavy doors to Zone 24.
"...You know what? Fuck it," I say, shaking my head. Maybe I should really be thinking this over, but, at the moment, I honestly couldn't care less.
With that, I took out my key card and unlocked the doors. While even my father isn't allowed to enter here, the key card access is something the Destin family can still access, though the files of whatever is going on here can't be accessed by her family.
I kinda expected to be caught right away when I opened the door, so it was a surprise when I saw that no one was here. The lights were all off, cloaking the hallway in darkness. Seeing this, I expected to feel nervous but, instead, I surprised myself by shrugging and walking forward. All I could think off, when I tried to find a reason why I should go back, is that I am freeing myself by getting back at my father.
Yes, it is a stupid reason, but one nonetheless. So, after turning on the emergency flashlight square, putting it on my chest, I went. In all honesty, I was surprised by how much Zone 24 hasn't really changed. Sure, they updated the security, as well as give the place a better paint job, but that was it. Most of the rooms were still empty, with a few holding boxes and the such. I didn't come across any big changes until I stumbled upon one room. Before, it was a bare room with a empty window, by that I mean a window with a view to a black room. Now, it was a servo room, full of black blinking machinery. I thought of going in but, upon hearing voices, decided against it.
Maybe I didn't want to get caught after all.
Apparently, all they did was add a servo room. It was lame and made no sense but, I guess it makes sense if this servo room is for the President or something. Actually, it probably is. Well, if that's the case then, with hope, the secret passage should still be there.
I just gotta hope they didn't remove the door or lock it. Ah! It's still in the same location. Let me just go in and, wow, it's still unlocked. I'm really beginning to wonder about the security of this place.
The door leading into the room was just as I remembered. The door was black and grey with two large red lights on them, though the lights don't work. If I remember correctly, the button to open the door should be hidden on the wall. I found it bi accident the first time since I leaned against the wall and accidentally pressed the button. Now, I just got to hope that the power wasn't cut to this door.
Hmmm...Got it!
I watch, with a somewhat smug smile, the door open in the middle, the two ends going into the floor and ceiling. Only, unlike all the other times, the bottom of the door stopped moving with a rather loud grinding noise. I froze and looked around in a panic. I don't know how noise really travels but I'm sure that such a noise will travel far.
"Ah, screw it!" I snapped and kicked the lower part of the door which, to my surprise, fell down, broken. I stared at it, and then at my foot, before I quickly stiffened a giggle.
Now I get it. I must be dreaming! There is no way that I could kick down a metal door like that. That also means that I don't have to worry about anything either! Though, I do know that some part of my mind is against believing that I am dreaming, I just can't bring myself to listen to it. Not after everything that I've been through today. I just...need this.
I just need to let go of my worries, to get rid of the headache and barely-restrained tears that I have. And, though not all of my dreams have been pleasant, most were. Why would this one be any different?
The hallway on the other side of the door, well, now broken metal door, is still as creepy as I remember it being. The hallway had no lights and, despite the light grey coloring of the walls, they seemed to absorb any light that touched them, like a void. Yet, despite how dark the hallway is, it is always light enough to make out the cobwebs hanging on the ceiling, the dark stains on the walls and ground, and the broken black heavy flashlight on the floor that seemed too sharp to ever consider safely picking up.
After peering into the darkness and making sure nothing was there, I started walking, my hand on the right wall as I went. The hallway only had two turns or so, and they were sharp ones, but the hallway, nonetheless, gave me a creepy maze feel.
Finally, I found my way to the door at the end and, after pressing the button, watched as it open silently and all the way, unlike the other door. To my surprise, the hallway this door led into was clean and painted bright white, which meant that this part is probably used for something. After peeking my head out to make sure the coast was clear, I darted to the metal door to my left. Before I got there, I stopped, frowning. Not only was the door different, more 'newer', but there was no button or keypad for it. It seemed the door couldn't be open from this side.
I felt my frown go deeper at that and, feeling the stubbornness inside me grow, I took a step forward, leaning forward to try and see if I can spot anything. Because I was distracted, I was totally unprepared for when the door opened up by itself, causing me to jump backwards. It took me a moment to realize the door was motion activated and, as such, didn't need a keypad or button to open. It seemed a little unsafe to me since, what if the door doesn't work, but I'm not an expert.
Seeing the darkness of the room the door led to, I felt a chill go down my spine. There was a feeling, a feeling telling me to not go in there at all costs. However, being the smart and determined bugger that I am, I ignored the feeling. I wasn't going to let some scary boogieman in my dreams scare me. So, without a second thought nor hesitation, I walked into the room.
And the moment I did so, the door closed behind me.
I spun around, alarmed, and realized that there was no way to open the door from inside the room, nor was the motion sensor working, or ti was but it wasn't opening the door.
After catching my breath, I turned around slowly, whispering words of encouragement to myself...
....
....
....and I met a pair of glowing red eyes in the darkness.
I felt my eyes widen and I took a step back before I squinted, trying to get a better look at whatever those eyes belonged too. Even if I've never seen one, I knew those patterns. Those eyes belonged to a Zenar, but what Zenar has two or so rings around their pupils? As my eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness of the room, allowing me to make out the Zenar's features, I only grew more confused. There were too many subtle, but still large differences between a normal Zenar and this one.
Then, the Zenar spoke.
"So, how come yer different from the other prey?"
It was a young, chippie and cheerful female voice, and it had not the briefest hint of being inhuman. I was so stunned that it took me a couple of seconds to respond.
"I'll have you know that my name isn't prey, nor is it food," I told the Zenar, showing a bit of snark.
In response, the Zenar's tail dropped to the ground, causing it to shake slightly, and her eyes widened. It was, in all honesty, an adorable and perfectly childish response.
"T-th-then, wh-what is your name!?" The Zenar asked, getting up from her laying position to stand on all fours.
"My name is Karma Mye Destin," I responded, ignoring the strange pose I seemed to be doing.
"Huh. That's a nice name," The Zenar said, surprising me again by the genuine compliment she gave me.
"S-so, what's your name?" I asked, quickly recovering.
The moment I asked the question, the Zenar's eyes glowed even brighter, so bright that I could perfectly make out her sharpened teeth as she gave a wide and prideful smile. In a blur, she spun around many times, her long tail whipping in the air as she spun up and struck a pose, her left hand on her chest and a close-eyed smug smile on her face.
"Well, since ya asked, I am the one and only Super Predator, the great and mighty Ava Kalesidia, and my other great name, the Greatest Mighty Zenar 24!"
Needless to say, I was stunned by her response so much that, after the ten or twenty seconds of silence, I couldn't help but burst out laughing, which only intensified when the girl actually gave some kind of mix between a squawk and a squeal of indignation.
"What!? Is there something wrong with my name? Ya shouldn't laugh at yer predator, food!" Ava growled, stomping her foot. If she was a dragon, I bet steam or smoke would be pouring from her ears and nose.
"I'm sorry but, y-you just a-are incredibly cute," I got out before catching myself and quickly covering my mouth.
Ava paused for a bit before she let out some kind of nervous chuckle, striking yet another smug pose, though there was a small blush on her cheeks and it seems like she has lost her composure.
"O-of course, I am v-very cute! I see you know how to...do something," Ava finished, awkwardly.
"Well, I have another surprising fact for ya," I tell her, sitting down on the cold floor and pointed behind me, "Did you know that not everything that comes out that door is food?"
The expression on Ava's face told me all to well that she is having a minor crisis. Seeing it, I couldn't help but burst out laughing again.
"Um...Moving on, what's a door?" Ava asked after recovering with a small shake of her head.
"I'm sorry, what?" I asked, not quite understanding the question.
"What's a door? Do you mean the food wall?" Ava asked, pointing to the door behind me with the tip of her tail.
"...That's not a food wall, but a door," I explained to her, trying my best to keep a neutral expression on my face, "The one in that corner there too is also a door."
"Oooh!" Ava exclaimed, rapping her clawed fingers on the floor rhythmicity, "Those are doors!"
I could only nod in confirmation. I know this is rude but, I seriously think she may be retarded. Actually, aren't Zenars suppose to have the very bare minimum of memories from their previous life? I guess it would make sense why she wouldn't know what a door is. No, wait...I'm pretty sure Zenars have knowledge at what doors are. I've been told many times to never underestimate a Zenar, since they are smarter than you would expect. Hell, I even was told many stories about how a Zenar figured out how to punch in a passcode or use a keycard to open lock doors they can't get through!
Which means that she truly is retarded...but I know it's rude to assume. Mye, you should know better. You've never heard of a talking Zenar before, besides the mythical Alpha, which this is clearly not, so you don't know how different they are from other Zenars.
"Well, thank ya for expanding my mind!" Ava said, giving me a close eyed smile that was way too bright and cheery to belong to a terrifying invasive predator.
"Expanding your mind?" I asked, looking away from the smile, knowing full well I was blushing.
"Yeah!" Ava yelped, jumping up on her two feet, "My mind went like, 'kapow'! Now, now it feels all different and bigger and stuff."
I couldn't help but burst out giggling yet again at her actions. This truly must be a dream, since there is no way I'm talking to someone so cute and dumb at the same time, and that someone is a talking Zenar, too. If I tell anyone about this dream, they will call me crazy for sure.
When I finally calmed down, I opened my mouth to say something. What I was going to say, I don't know, since my mind instantly became distracted with something else.
"Karma Mye Destin! Get Out Of There Right NOW!"
I frowned. I recognized my father's voice anywhere. He somehow made his way in my dream, huh? Well, that's too-
I never finished my line of thought. Ava lunged forward, moving so fast that she was nothing but a blur, and pinned me to the ground. Somehow, despite my back hitting the cold metal floor, I felt like I fell on a pillow. I didn't get to this about this long since Ava's head was inches away from mine, being so close that I could see the second row of sharp teeth she has in her mouth, and the red and black veins coming out of her eyes. If it wasn't so dark, I bet I could even count the small black scales below her eyes.
"You didn't answer my question from before, you know?" Ava pointed out, her voice actually sounding somewhat serious, "Why are you different from other prey?"
I know how absurd it sounds but, for some reason, her serious voice sounds alluring...
....I may have a problem.
"Well, that's up to you, Ava," I pointed back, "Am I prey, or am I a friend?"
.. ....
I was sleeping when I heard a familiar sound, which is the sound of the food wall opening and closing. I stayed still, sniffing the air for that amazing scent that happened whenever food saw me. Yet, this time, none came. Instead, a rather sweet smell hit my nose. I was confused by that is. Normally, the only things that would come in here that smelled differently from prey would be the metal-shapes.
Too curious to wait any longer I got up into a sitting position, my tail unwrapping around my spiked arms and sliding across the floor as I turned to look at the food that entered.
The food let out a small gasp but that tasty scent never came. But that wasn't the most surprising thing. I could see this shape much more clearly than the others. I stared at her, yes a female, for a long time. Normally, I wouldn't be able to tell genders apart from shapes since they lack any detail to them other than how some had more hair or hair on their face or some other body detail that set them apart. But this one I could make out every curve, her hair, and even the dress she was wearing...which was vastly different from what the others wore.
Finally, the food took a couple of steps towards me. I let out a giggle at that, though it was silenced, of course. I learned to do that after my time spent hunting. It was like the prey was curious of me, which was new, and I was curious about her too. I guess we both have that in common.
"So, how come yer different from the other prey?" I asked, unable to hold back my curiosity any longer.
The prey stiffened and seemed taken back by my question. Why is that? Did they not see my eyes? My eyes give me away, especially in the dark, which is another thing I learned from hunting.
"I'll have you know that my name isn't prey, nor is it food," The shape told me, causing some kind of weird feeling in my mind.
My tail dropped to the ground causing it to shake slightly. The food's name isn't food!? Impossible!?!?!
"T-th-then what is your name?" I asked, trying to wrap my head around and stop this weird feeling.
"My name is Karma Mye Dastin," The pr-Karma introduced, striking a cool pose.
Clearly, since she struck a pose, she is a cool person.
"Huh. That's a nice name," I tell her while I think about the pose she just did. If I want to show her how cool I am, I'm going to have to strike an even cooler pose!
"S-so, what's your name?" Karma asked, though her voice sounded a little...funny? I think funny is the word.
Though, her voice is not my concern. I already have the cool pose in mind. Now, I shall give her a greeting showing off my coolness!
"Well, since ya asked, I am the one and only Super Predator, the great and mighty, Ava Kalesidia, and my other great name, the Greatest, Mighty, Zenar 24!"
It is important to tell her all my titles. It not only shows how cool I am, but it is to remind her that I am still a super predator, or predator, and that she should not insult me...unlike some other prey I've had the...the....whatever the word is, hunting.
I see that the sh-that Karma is stunned and in awan, awan? Yeah, in awan of my coolness and glory. Who wouldn't be with a tail, claws, and teeth like mine. The shapes, Karma included, as well as the Light, should learn from me and all my glory.
Wait, why is she laughing? Is she...insulting me? Really? Just when I thought I could like ya a lot more too.
"What!? Is there something wrong with my name? Ya shouldn't laugh at yer predator, food!" I growled, stomping my foot out of annoyance.
"I'm sorry but, y-you just a-are incredibly cute," Karma said before covering her mouth as if she is doing that thing I saw one prey do while trying to hide behind the restrainment chair.
Since she called me cute, I'll forgive her. After all, she is the one shape that I've met that treats me with respect!
"O-of course, I am v-very cute! I see you know how to...do something," I got out, trailing off as the word never appeared in my head. You know what? I really need to try and get my memories back.
"Well, I have another surprising fact for ya," Karma said, sitting down, "Did you know that not everything that comes out that door is food?"
....
....
....
....Is this what people call, abuse? Actually, what are people? Scratch that thought. I need to get my mind back. She attacked me while I was already weak! Quick, I need to think of a counterattack!
"Anyway, what's a door?" I asked, hoping she didn't continue her mind attack, which she didn't!
Nice thinking, me!
"...That's not a food wall, but a door," Karma answered, pointing to the food wall, "The one in that corner there too is also a door."
....
...She got me again, huh. Wait. Quick, act like she didn't get ya!
"Oooh! Those are doors!"
She nodded! Is that good or bad? Hmmm, I don't know. I'm just going to guess her nod is a good thing. Anyway, I should thank her. She did teach me new things and, if I'm correct about that weird feeling from before, I think she expanded my mind or something, which is something I wished my room did. It really is too small in here.
"Well, thank ya for expanding my mind!" I tell her, showing my grad...gradtty? Grati? Whatever that is.
"Expanding your mind?" Karma asked, though she was looking away from me and, like before, there was something funny with her voice. Also, why are her grey cheeks changing color? Shapes were always grey before. You know, I think I really shouldn't eat her. I mean, I was thinking of eating her when she first came in but, now that we were talking, I don't really want to. Besides, I'm not hungry since I ate before I went to sleep.
"Yeah!" I yelp, jumping up on my two feet while doing the famous exploding mind thingy that I learned when I...that I learned, "My mind went like, 'kapow'! Now, now it feels all different and bigger and stuff."
Karma broke out giggling and, unlike last time, I felt happy. When she stopped, she opened her mouth, ready to continue the conver-
"Karma Mye Destin! Get Out Of There Right NOW!"
I snapped my head towards the Light, my smile gone. They sounded different and I had a small feeling that they were another Light but, I don't really care enough right now to find out. All I knew is that the Light is trying to take what is mine, and the Light is uncomfortably loud as well. Besides, Mye hasn't answered my question yet.
Paying the Light no mind, I pounce on her, making sure not to hurt her in the process.
"You didn't answer my question from before, you know? Why are you different from other prey?"
I don't know what I was expecting but, I was kinda impressed that Mye-no, wait, Karma, wasn't giving off that tasty scent all prey to when I have them pinned.
"Well, that's up to you, Ava," Karma told me, causing me to blink in surprise, "Am I prey, or am I a friend?"
Friend. Friend, huh? I haven't heard of that in a while, and, unlike my other memories, it doesn't hurt recalling the word. I can't recall who my friends were, but I do know I had them. Ever since I woke up here, I...haven't had a friend. The Light is all serious and like Solace, and Solace is, well, Solace. Besides, since friends don't kill friends, then I don't have to kill her! Wait, no, I wasn't going to kill her now anyway.
"Yeah, I guess we can be friends! I'll keep ya since yer in-" I began, closing my eyes as I imagined all the things we were going to do as friends, when I opened them again...
....and Mye had color.
I jumped back off her, my heart thumping loud enough for me to hear, and my tail rose above my head before I even realized that I was in a 'Don't mess with me' pose.
Mye was, like me but not. She has a little paler skin than me, and her red eyes seem to have purple mixed in them, and the black of her eyes was white. Besides the obvious lack of tail and claws, and her teeth, while sharp, were nowhere near as sharp as a predator's should be. That's not even mentioning the lack of horns and secondary horns, as well as the crest I have on my stomach. Though, I do like the dress she is wearing. It's black, red, and white and...um....frilly? No, friley. Yeah, that's the word.
Going along with her dress was her long black hair that shined. It was nowhere near as shiny as the Light, my many glowey parts, and my eyes, but they still shone in the darkness.
"Ava? What's wrong?" My-no, Karma asked, sitting up. Why do I keep getting her name wrong?
"Oh, uh...nothing really. It's just that," How do I say this without being weird? "you have color...?"
Karma was giving me a weird look.
"Don't look at me like that. You are the weird one!" I exclaim, feeling like I was getting attacked again, "You can't just suddenly gain color and look like me...only an inferior me since you lack any proper defences."
"I don't actually find that offensive," Karma said, though I have a feeling she is talking to herself.
"Anyway, what were you going to say?"
Oh. Good thing I still remember.
"I was going to sa-"
"I don't Care what your orders are. Send In The Androids and get my daughter out of there!"
Daughter...They said daughter? No. No no no. They are trying to take away Mye! Even after I spared them, they still want to mess with me!? I'll show them. Yes, I'll show them.
Without waiting for anything else to happen, I let out a roar and tensed up, then sprung at the Light's wall, breaking right through it and grabbing one of the shapes inside.
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