Colors flashed by in blur. Voices echoed, muffled, their words indeterminate. The being reached out, grasping towards the ceiling, yet his arms remained tied to his sides, static and lifeless yet buzzing with energy. People's faces appeared and disappeared, faces distorted and features all meshing together. The screeching sound of wheels grinding against metal joined a rapid beeping as his breathing quickened. A dark vignette spread around the periphery of his vision, centering around a glaring light. A writhing, twisting silhouette moved in front of it as it darkened, reddening. He felt as though his body was convulsing violently as the last bit of light faded.
The being was awoken by a loud clattering. He felt tremors within his hands, his body disheveled after whatever dream he had just experienced. The light from the lamp had dimmed slightly, occasionally flickering with a short buzz. A blaring alarm reverberated through the walls, muffled. Through the small window in the door, a red light pulsed in rhythm with it.
He stepped out the door and into the dark hallway. The alarm could be heard more clearly now. Out in the larger area, shouting and screeching could be heard. As he walked towards it, a being ran past him towards the same chaos, taking little notice of him.
The being was slightly shorter than him, more muscular, and covered in countless scars. His face was a large jagged mouth, a long scar cut through it on one side of his face. In his hand, he clutched a dark, metallic short sword.
The being followed the jawed being into the ongoing disarray. Out in the forge room, a large group of around twenty screamers was attacking. The fires of the industrial forges blazed high, their orange light highlighting the rough, twisted contours of the screamers' bestial features. The distorted howls of the screamers filles the air. The floor was speckled with sprays of black blood. Puddles grew around bodies as screamers clawed at flesh.
Some people fled the room in frantic panic while others fought back, using long tools as makeshift weapons, haphazardly stabbing at the screamers. Tusk stood nearby, guiding people out of the chaos.
"Everyone, get out of here!" shouted the jawed being. He ran into the fray, cutting down screamers effortlessly and dodging each of their frenetic strikes. The being watched in awe as screamers fell left and right, this one man taking on all of them, splaying viscera across the floor as the screamers let out mutilated screeches in pain. Within moments, the bodies of a dozen or so screamers lay dead on the ground.
Suddenly, a screamer crept behind the jawed being, its claws affixed on his skin. In a swift, chaotic motion, it slashed against him, tearing long gashes down his back. He cried out in pain, quickly slashing the creature in return. The creature fell to the ground, twitching as the jawed being winced from the fresh wound. He looked up at the being, standing frozen in the hallway.
"What are you doing? Run!" He shouted frantically, his breathing heavy. A stream of blood spilled down his back as he shakily stood, exhasperated. The being stood, almost paralyzed with fear. The jawed being grunted, turning back towards the remaining screamers. They stood, slowly circling the two like wolves, crawling with limbs poised to pounce, blackened juices dripping from their twitching mouths.
"Shit! We're surrounded. I hope you can at least puy up a fight, " the jawed being said, gritting. He clutched his dagger.
The being looked around at the screamers. He had already killed one; he knew that. Though with a dozen of them surrounding him, he wasn't sure if the same strength he somehow acquired would return once more.
He clenched his fists, his heart pounding. The screamers continued to circle them, their orbs glowed like otherworldly eyes in the dark room.
One suddenly rushed at the being, its claws scraping against the floor. The being flinched as he quickly raised his fists. Within a moment, he felt the screamers claw a mere foot from his face. He ducked out of the way, the slash lightly grazing him.
Behind him, a few more screamers rushed forwards. The jawed being quickly dashed towards them, cutting deep into one's neck with his dagger as the other jumped towards him, teeth poised to dig into his flesh.
With his knife still embedded in the first screamer's neck, he swiftly spun around, kicking the second in the chest. It fell back, yelping in pain as he yanked his knife from the first before thrusting it through the second's head, splattering their black blood across the floor.
Behind him, the being narrowly dodged each slash in a somewhat awkward manner, each one barely grazing him, leaving a multitude of shallow cuts across his upper body.
The screamer raised its claws once more to deliver a more powerful strike. The being attempted to dodge. It quickly swung its claws downwards in a wide arc, gashing deep through the being's raised arms, sending blood through the air and momentarily putting the beast off balance.
The being, wincing in pain, took the opportunity, clasping the screamer's neck before slamming it down into his raised knee. The screamers face was crushed inwards, blood leaking out and painting the floor. The being released the screamer as it fell to the floor limp.
"Goddamn dude," the jawed being said with a chuckle, "that was fucking brutal." He turned back around, looking back at the remaining screamers, their muscles tensing to attack at any second.
Several more quickly dashed forwards, claws ant teeth biting and slashing at the two. Blood sprayed through the air as the two fought them, fueled by adrenaline. The air was thick with the metallic scent of blood, the screamers constant howling, and the heat of the forges. Jaws snapped at the two as the screamers fell one by one, each leaving several cuts in the two beings, wearimg them down as they wore down the screamers' numbers.
Within a moment's time, the last screamer had fallen. The floor was covered in blackened gore and viscera, the screamer's broken bodies twitching. The two beings sat, barely conscious in the centre of this mess, covered in gashes and cuts, their bodies a mess of blood.
The jawed being caught his breath with a sigh. "Thanks for the help with that," he said, giving the being a light tap. The being looked at him, nodded, and gave him a thumbs up.
"I'm Jaw, by the way," he said, "who're you?" The being shrugged, once again struggling to convey his inabilty to communicate.
Jaw spoke with a subtle, yet distinct accent. It was as though it was worn down by some long separation from its origin, diffusing into others learned over the course of many years.
"Uh, okay?" Jaw said, clearly confused, "so like, do you just... not know sign language or something?" The being quickly nodded. "Huh, that's... weird," Jaw remarked.
"Strange, isn't he?" Tusk said, approaching from behind the two. "He showed up just yesterday, covered in blood and holding a screamer's orb, incapable of any form of advanced communication."
"Yeah, it really is weird," Jaw replied, "someone oughta teach him."
The being looked curiously at the two of them conversing.
"Here's an idea," Tusk suggested, "he's already shown himself more than capable of taking on screamers. Seeing as the hunting unit is rather low on manpower at the moment, how about, in exchange for him working with you, you could teach him sign language. That way, we could begin to get some answers about him."
"Sounds good to me," Jaw answered. He turned to the being, "What about you?"
The being nodded excitedly in response.
"Then that settles it," Tusk said, "First, though, you two go head on down to medical and get yourselves cleaned up."
Jaw nodded, lifting himself up with a grunt. He outstretched his hand to the being, to which the being grasped, pulling himself off the ground. He kept his hand outstretched, firmly shaking the being's.
"I'm lookin' forward to us workin' together."
The being nodded in agreement.