"Click,"
Julia opened the door to a room, then turned back to look at Clyde behind her, who was following her while holding a set of folded clothes, a military black t-shirt, black tactical pants, a black jacket, and boots, neatly wrapped in plastic. Clyde stepped inside the room. He looked around; the space was only three meters by three meters, with soft padded walls, a bed, a desk and chair, and a bright white neon light overhead. He turned to look at Julia,
"I know it looks like a psychiatric ward, but this is a rehabilitation center. Sometimes people who just woke up try to run away and... end their own lives... It’s all for safety, so please understand," Julia explained, simply off the look on Clyde’s face.
"Oh... okay," Clyde replied, seeing no need to ask endless questions.
"Get some rest for now. Tomorrow we’ll gather in the hall for our first session at seven in the morning. I gave you a phone, right?" Julia asked.
Clyde looked down at the bundle he was holding, which included an old-school cell phone famous for being indestructible and capable of cracking someone’s skull if thrown.
"Yeah... it’s inside my boots," Clyde said, pointing at his boots.
"Okay... our session schedule is in there, so don’t lose it. Once again, welcome to the real world, and get some rest," Julia said.
"Yeah... thanks," Clyde replied listlessly.
Julia stepped out of the room and closed the door. Clyde stood frozen in place, taking in his surroundings, his face still somber as he struggled to process everything he had just learned. Eventually, he walked over to the desk and set his belongings down, then stepped back and sat on the edge of the bed. He kept scanning the room,
This all feels like a dream... If only my wallet and smartphone hadn’t been left behind in class, I’d probably be heading home right now with Monica, Tyler, and Kate. Maybe we’d be eating at a fast-food joint or messing around haha, Clyde thought in his head.
Then, the vivid image of his parents, Monica, Tyler, and Kate trapped inside the pods in horrifying condition flashed through his mind again; tears trickled down his cheeks, and he lowered his head. Silence settled over the room. Clyde sat motionless for a long time, but suddenly,
"Na... na... na,"
That hummed voice echoed in his head once more, except this time it sounded gentle, flowing smoothly to soothe his turbulent heart. Without realizing it,
"La... la... la,"
He began humming along, savoring the familiar, warm, nostalgic melody stirring in his chest, when suddenly, "vwooong," a distorted red holographic screen appeared right in front of him; "whoooah," Clyde recoiled and scrambled back onto the bed in shock,
["Clyde... I... look for... find... our... younger... siblings... search for... Chimaera Z-X... I... am... there,"]
A girl’s static-laced, fragmented voice broke through the screen, sounding like a distorted transmission. Clyde leaned closer to inspect the display, which showed a dark, grainy feed where nothing was clearly visible; he narrowed his eyes, then jumped backward again at the sight of a monstrous, grotesque giant robot whose design was deeply disturbing. The video feed vanished, but the holographic screen remained suspended before Clyde; stepping forward once more, he read the text on the display,
[Subject serial number : C – 1703 – Mothman.]
[Abilities : Bad Premonition, Interception, Eyes of Mothman.]
[Perk : Super strength, super speed, flying, immune all poison and disease.]
[Skill installed : Peak Martial Arts Mastery, Eye Beam.]
[Hunger : [Progress bar 10%]]
[Stamina : [Progress bar 100%]]
[Regeneration : [Progress bar 0%] status : healthy.]
Next to the text, a diagram displayed his different forms: his normal form, his grey-skinned form with eyed moth wings on his back, and finally, his combat form. Clyde read the description, stunned,
[C – 1703 – Mothman : human + Cryptid Mothman + Nano Machine tissue + ORB Processor + Artificial Titanium Coating Organs.]
"Huh... w... what does this mean? I’m... not human? Then what am I?" Clyde asked in his head.
Clyde’s face turned deathly pale as he stared at the screen, his hands trembling as he raised them; he then looked over at the metal desk in front of him, stood up, and pressed his palm against the sharp edge of the desk; "slash," he sliced his palm against the edge until he winced, then watched the cut, his eyes widening as the skin around the wound turned gray, closing the slash almost instantly.
This... can’t be happening, Clyde thought.
Clyde stared at the persistent screen in front of him, noticing a small note in the bottom-right corner; as he focused on it, another window expanded to explain how to open the status menu, close it, transform into his combat form, and manage his hunger. Opening the status window and even transforming required whistling a portion of the song, while satisfying his hunger meant consuming the corpses of living creatures.
"Thud,"
Clyde stumbled against his desk as he read the description before him, his face drained of color as a horrific realization clicked in his mind, that feeling of fullness he experienced after devouring the Ravager was his hunger being satisfied, which had brought him peace. Even back when he was living inside the simulation, the symptoms of hunger had been there; he had always felt an inexplicable draw toward any corpse before him.
"Urk,"
Clyde clamped a hand over his mouth to keep from throwing up, a wave of nausea, fear, and self-loathing washing over him as his mind replayed the sight of himself tearing open the Ravager’s belly and eating its innards with pleasure, feeling alive and as though he had craved it for a long time; he shook his head violently,
"N... no... What am I? What am I?" Clyde screamed, grabbing his head with both hands.
"Aaaaaaaaah!"
Clyde let out a piercing scream, "thud," collapsing to his knees on the floor; moments later, "slam," Julia and two guards burst inside, attempting to calm Clyde as he continued to scream hysterically, while Mary, who was still nearby, stood in the doorway with deep pity written across her face. Naturally, no one understood why Clyde was in such hysterics, as none of them could see the holographic display still floating right in front of his face.
"Calm down, Clyde. I know it’s hard... You have to be strong, for everyone still trapped inside the simulation... Calm down, Clyde," Julia pleaded.
Clyde continued to weep and scream, paying no mind to Julia hugging him tightly; the two guards stood by helplessly, though their expressions made it clear they frequently dealt with newcomers breaking down just like Clyde. Meanwhile, Mary stood at the door, unable to do anything but cover her mouth with her hand, her eyes glistening with tears even as she held them back. They all simply let Clyde scream at the top of his lungs and sob uncontrollably, until he had poured out every last drop of anguish from his heart.