"Damn it! Where the hell did that stupid Thomas run to? A fight between Darklings is about to start." A soldier lamented, however, his eyes remained glued to the two Darklings facing each other in the distance.
Adria stared attentively at the challenger before him. This big burly darkling had an empty sleeve dangling from his left shoulder and from the tightening of the buttons on his shirt, Adria could instantly tell that a pot belly was hiding beneath. The smell of alcohol from the man's beards was so much it blanketed Adria's sense of smell, and he could also vaguely smell almonds nuts mixed somewhere in there.
The new Darklings that had just arrived were also in the mess hall. Due to the unfamiliarity with a new environment, they sat together. "Hey! isn't that Squatterbloat?" One Darkling whispered into Holland's ears.
Holland looked properly, "Yeah! I think it is. Rumors about him and his achievements in the Hole are legendary."
"Hmmm! I heard that he cut his own hand from the Shoulder down intentionally. All because it was stuck in the mouth of a dead vampire and it was holding him back from saving his teammates." The Darkling added.
"Yeah! Now, that's a true darkling. He'll do anything for his team." Nora added, "Not like that one." her jaw motioned towards Adria. her mind could not help but recall what she had seen in his room, "All he knows is to abandon his teammates and impress girls." She folded her legs and looked away from his direction.
Just then, she saw the female soldier she had seen leaving Adria's room passing by through the window. Nora could instantly guess what the missy was going to do. The meeting in the Mess for the dead soldiers was considered a Parade. One that a soldier of that rank could not afford to be absent for. Yet, she needed to clean up after her fraternization with the captain. Nora could guess that she was most likely going to the Mess restroom to do a quick glow-up. She could not help but sigh.
"Look! It seems Squatterbloat does not like Adria." Holland added, drawing Nora's attention once more to the two Darklings confronting one another.
"Do you think they are going to fight?" a darkling by the side asked Holland.
"Who knows!" Holland whispered. Although he said this, his mind could not help but remember the embarrassment he had suffered earlier on the plane. He could clearly see how Squatterbloat looked at Adria like he was trash. This added fuel to the fire in his gaze and even Nora caught sight of it. However, she could not also help but feel a fervent rush of blood for revenge beat down.
Holland caught Nora looking at him from his side eyes, "Don't Worry team leader. I did a little check-up on that Adria when we arrived. You will never guess what I found out."
Nora was intrigued by this, "What did you find out?"
"That Adria! He is on the Darkling ladder board. But guess what," Holland smiled, "He is at the bottom of the loser hundred. That is just how terrible he is. Meanwhile, everybody knows Squatterbloat is in the top twenty of the high rankers board. There is no way Adria is winning a fight against him."
Nora nodded in understanding.
"Yeah! All that riding a vampire across planes was total BULLSHIT. I bet any of us could have done that." Another Darkling added and the others nodded in agreement with him.
Meanwhile, things between Squatterbloat and Adria seemed like it was soon going to pop like a balloon.
"Did you not hear what I said? Or are you pretending to be deaf!?" Squatterbloat leaned in a little. Although he was a bit shorter than Adria, his current intimidating presence made up significantly for the height difference.
"I asked you a question. Who told you that you are welcomed here!?" Squatterbloat slowly raised his hand, and so did Adria. The eyes of the crowd were firmly fixed on both of them. Some could already envision punches flying in the air like fireworks.
"ADRIA!"
"SQUATTERBLOAT!"
Both men drew each other into an embrace.
"You big for nothing drunk oaf! I see it's true about your hand. What did you do with it!?" Adria asked teasingly.
"Oh! Forget about it. It got stuck up a blood sucker's ass!!!" Sqautterbloat and Adria laughed loudly.
"And you what happened to you. I heard Emilia broke up with your sorry ass! Your pecker is no longer working, right?" Squatterbloat added.
"Yeah, she did. But bring your sister and we know about my pecker!" Adria responded and both men laughed some more.
"Come! Come!! Have a beer with me. Let's catch up on old times. Sqautterbloat pulled Adria along, "Hey, barman! The Wanker is back. Bring out the good stuff!"
The soldiers expecting a fight including the fresh Darklings seated at a corner were at a loss for words. Their imaginations and reality had currently played tricks on them. They watched as Squatterbloat pulled Adria along and the both of them made merry with the other older Darklings.
Meanwhile, a particular female soldier made her way into the restroom to freshen up. She rinsed her face with water and then proceeded to powder it.
Unknown to her, someone was watching from behind. In the sight of its reddened eyes, it could see the pulse in her neck. As her veins and artery transported a glowing ever-attractive liquid all over her body. It tried to hold back, but the allure of the liquid was enticing and the vacuum it felt inside, needed filling. Yes! it did. And all its primal instincts counseled that what ever glowing liquid flowing in those veins were its only and most important sustenance.
She powdered her face appropriately to her fitting, and then she proceeded to powder her neck. Trying hard to cover up the hickeys that formed a scattered necklace.
As she did, she could not help from giggling now and then. Her mind remembering a certain recent rebellious act. She used the mirror as a guide, her fingers directed by the reflection of her image.
However, she suddenly noticed a pair of red eyes looking at her. She immediately turned, her shaky fingers accidentally dropping her makeup kit, "Hello! Is there anyone there!? Hello!" After a few seconds with no response, she decided to check herself.
She had only taken two steps when she realized how paranoid she was. After all, this was the citadel. Not the Hole itself.
She remembered dropping her makeup kit and so she bent to pick up its content. Just beside the door not so far from her, she could see that her lip gloss had rolled to a corner. Although it was slightly dark at that corner, this was not going to stop her from getting back her stuff.
She walked over, squat a bit, and stretched for it. However, she felt another person's fingers. She immediately looked over. "Oh! I'm sorry I thought I was the only one..."
Her voice trailed to a subtle silence as her sight laid on the unbelievable monstrosity before her...