Chương 25: Chapter 25
Tobi ran through the woods, his breath ragged, his legs aching. His body had never known exhaustion the way it did now. The claws on his hands scraped the earth with every step. His heart thudded in his chest, faster with each beat.
He had once been human, or at least close enough. But after the experiments, he was something else. He couldn't remember much of the past. All he knew was the cage. The cold, sterile metal. The needles. The pain.
He had escaped a week ago, blood dripping from his sides, skin torn by the rusted fence. But now he was free. He had to be free. That's what he told himself. Every day, every minute. He wouldn't let them take him back. Not to that place. Not to become something worse.
Through the trees, he saw the glow of a fire. Tobi slowed his pace, his animal instincts alert. People. He should keep moving. But something about the fire, the warmth, the voices, called to him. He crept closer, stepping on soft moss and dead leaves.
"They'll help me," he whispered under his breath.
A group of figures sat around the fire, their faces hidden in shadow. They looked like humans, but Tobi didn't trust them. He was no fool. His escape had taught him that. But he needed them. He needed to stop running. His body was breaking down. The pain was constant now. His muscles stretched too tight, his bones too brittle.
One of the figures stood up. A woman. Her eyes caught his. She didn't move. Didn't blink. Just stared at him like she had been waiting.
"You've come," she said.
Tobi froze. His heart skipped a beat.
"You're safe here," she said, her voice smooth, like silk. "We'll help you."
He stepped closer, his feet sinking into the dirt. "You'll help me?" he asked. His voice came out rough, like he hadn't used it in years.
She nodded. "We know what you've been through. We're like you."
Tobi's eyes darted from the woman to the others. They were all watching, waiting. None of them moved.
"They experimented on me," Tobi whispered, his words breaking apart like glass. "I don't want to be a monster. I just... I want to live."
The woman smiled, though Tobi wasn't sure if it was real. "We're not monsters," she said. "We're more than that. Come with us. We can give you a place. A home."
Home. He hadn't had a home in years. He stepped forward.
The fire crackled, the flames dancing like they had a life of their own. The group stood as one, moving in perfect sync, blocking Tobi in. The woman's smile stretched. Too wide. Too hungry.
"We've all been through it," she said, her voice changing, growing colder. "The experiments. The pain. But now we're something better. We're gods, Tobi. You can join us."
Tobi's heart pounded. Something was wrong. The air around him thickened, cold and sharp. He tried to turn, but the figures closed in. The fire behind them flickered in a way it shouldn't. It seemed to stretch, the light bending unnaturally.
"You're just like us now," the woman whispered, her voice sliding into his ears, filling him up. "You'll never escape again."
Tobi turned to run. But his legs didn't move. The cold seeped into his bones. His body stopped working. It was as if his own skin turned against him. He couldn't breathe.
One of them stepped forward, a man with skin pale as death. He reached out, his fingers brushing Tobi's cheek.
"You'll never leave us," the man said. His voice was an echo in Tobi's mind.
The fire flared one last time, and Tobi knew. He wasn't just an experiment anymore. He was a part of something worse. They weren't gods. They were devils. And now, he was theirs.
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