"That smell...it's getting stronger," Elvis thought to himself while inching closer to the canal that separated Desper and RedZone. "I must be getting closer now. Strange how this Earth has a dragon of this caliber. I wonder what powerful, highly ranked socialite possesses its power."
As Elvis got closer to the canal, his injury started to hurt much more than usual, to the point where he fell to the ground and had to crawl on his hands and legs. Blood slowly started to seep through the hair bandages he made, and he could feel his energy slowly leaving his body.
"I need to feed," he thought to himself while gazing at the desolate location he got himself into. "I can't go like this much longer. I'll end up going feral again."
Confused and lost in a new world, Elvis thought of the only next rational thing he could do now - find something or someone to eat. While following the scent of sulfur and cinder, he eventually got onto one of the bridges which connected the two cities. These bridges were often desolate borders for wannabe RedZone gangsters who'd hang about causing trouble and hurting as many people as they felt like, and right now, Elvis was entering the presence of ten of those said wannabes.
"Look what we have here."
"Must be a Desper beggar. Look at him crawl."
"You don't belong here," one of them scoffed while landing a kick to Elvis' jaw. The white-haired lad skidded over the ground while wincing in pain as he held his wound. The other nine wannabes quickly ganged up on him and started knocking the blood out of him. Elvis tried shielding his vital organs and wound at the same time, but the wannabes were hitting him so fast that he had no time to react.
"You Desper fools know the rules."
"These are our bridges."
"We'll make an example out of you. Hahahaha!!"
Out of nowhere, Elvis felt a sudden burst of unknown energy which sprung him on his feet and caused him to claw one of the wannabes' throats off their necks. With his hand partially transformed, he slashed at one wannabe's neck and took out his windpipe, killing him in an instant.
"I don't know where I am, or what sort of Earth this is, but I won't allow such beings beneath me to harm me like this," he said to himself as an evil grin formed on his face. The remaining nine wannabes felt a deadly presence take over as the white-haired man they were biting a few minutes earlier stood before them with a bloody claw and a windpipe in his hand.
"He's a mutant."
"Doesn't scare me. I'll kill him." Another one of them jumped at Elvis while his hands developed into a hard, metallic texture. Elvis quickly dodged at the last moment and stood between two more wannabes who were too frightened to move.
With his other hand partially transformed as well, he delivered heavy blows to their heads that cracked their skulls upon impact. "Seven left," he smirked while dropping the windpipe he had clawed earlier.
Without wasting time and not wanting to know what would happen if he lost the energy he felt, Elvis made quick work to finish off the remaining men and took whatever he could from them, hoping that one of them would be some form of cash which he'd use to buy food.
"So they call the monster-turning humans mutants, huh? Judging by the look of this setting, I'm no longer on the twenty-first century's Earth," Elvis glared at one of the wannabes who was somehow still conscious but in pain. He knelt beside and lifted his head by his hair and asked, "Where can someone like me find a meal please? Also, do I use these plastic cards to pay for it?"
"Eat… eat sh*t!" the man replied, but Elvis just left him on the ground as he proceeded into RedZone.
"I can sense it now," he muttered. "There's more of those 'mutants' here. In fact, this place is full of them." While standing in the middle of the street between two buildings with people coming in and out, Elvis took the time to understand his surroundings and thought of how he'd navigate through peacefully. While doing so, there were a few things he noticed about this strange town.
"Everything here feels so... dangerous. I can feel a powerful presence roaming around, unlike the other place. What's that delicious smell?" To his left was a rustic building which was filled with men and women making cheerful noises as they ate. "Maybe it's a restaurant. I can get something to eat and heal, then continue with finding this scent."
Elvis calmly walked through the doors and made his way to what appeared to be the counter. The inside of the restaurant was designed to look like a pirate ship deck with its wooden floorboards and walls, to its wooden beams with old-fashioned beams, barrels for chairs, and olden-day decor all over. Behind the counter stood a huge man dressed like a pirate. Behind him was a door which supposedly led to the kitchen.
"What can I get 'ye?" he asked with a playful pirate accent.
"Please, may I have anything that's meaty and cooked rare?" Elvis asked while placing plastic cards he took from the wannabes earlier. "Will this count as payment?"
"Only one shall suffice," the man replied while taking one card and swiping it in order to make the transaction.
A few minutes passed, and Elvis was served a large serving of an animal's thigh that was cooked according to what he ordered. After appreciating the man, he took large bites from it without caring about how he looked before the others. Even though he sensed eyes watching in disgust at how he ate, he didn't let it stop him from enjoying his meal.
"Thank you, kind sir," Elvis appreciated with a smile after clearing everything on the plate, including the bone. "I'll be on my way for now. Have a good day."
Now that he had replenished his lost energy and had his wounds healed, Elvis proceeded with his next plan: tracking down the stronger sulfuric scent in this particular area he was in. "Maybe whoever I'm seeking is from my world. They might help me regain my memories and find a way back home."
---------------------
Greetings fellow readers, this is Elvis, breaking the fourth wall. See, I'm not from this world and I'm trying to find a way back. Although, I smell a dragon in this world and that blonde kid who bumped into me doesn't seem normal(tell me something I don't know.)
Anyway, join the Discord server https://discord.gg/fXdgzMrsmQ to learn where I'm truly from. Also follow this writer on his social platform Instagram @Jt3art, or else. See you there.