As the beast lumbered out of the hall, she allowed her eyes to flutter shut—just for a second. A little nap won't hurt, she told herself. But then, as if the universe decided she wasn't allowed one tiny shred of peace, something weird happened. It was like someone had cranked up the volume inside her head.
A low hum started, so faint at first she thought it might be her brain's way of saying, "Goodbye, cruel world." But nope, it was real, and it was getting louder, buzzing through her skull like the world's most annoying mosquito setting up camp directly behind her eyeballs.
"Oh, great," she muttered through clenched teeth, trying to focus through the pain.
Then, just as her brain was doing somersaults, she heard it: a voice. A faint, distorted voice. But not hers. And definitely not Byte's smug little AI commentary, because that would've been too easy. No, this was something far worse. The realization hit her like a lead balloon dropped from orbit—the big, ugly, black creature that had flung her around like a stress ball wasn't just a random killing machine. Nope. It was inside her head now. Like, moving in, putting its feet up on the furniture, and raiding the fridge.
Fantastic. Just what she needed. Mind-sharing with a monster. Oh, lucky me.
The buzzing got louder, more persistent, like a neighbor's lawnmower at 7 a.m. on a Saturday. It wasn't speaking in words exactly, but she could feel it, creeping around in her brain like it owned the place. A low, gnawing hunger bubbled up in her gut—except it wasn't hers. It was the monster's. Because apparently, she wasn't allowed to just have regular hunger. No, she had to deal with monster hunger. Lovely.
Her vision wobbled as she tried to stand up, or at least not collapse into a heap of despair. She reached for the fire lamp, but her hand flopped around uselessly, like a drunk fish. Her body was basically held together by duct tape and sarcasm at this point. And as if things couldn't get worse, the creature—still lurking in the shadows outside—was also now making itself comfy inside her mind, rummaging through her thoughts like it was window shopping for destruction.
But the black creature? Oh no, it wasn't done with her. Not by a long shot. She could feel it simmering inside her, its anger rolling in like a bad hangover. It was hungry, and for some bizarre reason, she was now the appetizer. Great. Just peachy.
The voice in her head wasn't even bothering with coherent sentences—it was just waves of feels.Angry, confused, really hungry feels. And all it wanted was more. More destruction, more chaos. She could almost hear her rational brain throw in the towel.
As the darkness finally took hold, she thought, Well, this is it. The silence before I get chewed on again. But nope, even the silence wasn't peaceful. It was oppressive, the kind that made you want to claw your way out of your own skull. Except, fun fact, she was still very much stuck in it.
And because the universe wasn't done with her yet, the voice returned. Only this time, it wasn't just annoying background noise. It was louder. Clearer. And oh joy, she could understand it now.
We... are... not done.
Her whole body jerked awake like she'd just been slapped with a bucket of ice water. She gasped, chest heaving, covered in cold sweat. She tried to move, but it felt like her body had been tied down with invisible ropes. Paralysis? Awesome.
And of course, the voice was back, all smug and commanding, pushing through the fog in her mind. There were no actual words, but she knew exactly what it meant. Get up. Like it was her boss or something.
"Uh, no thanks," she croaked, but surprise! Her body didn't care. She found herself sitting up, despite every nerve in her body screaming, Sit down, what are you doing?
Her muscles felt like they were made of concrete, her arm throbbed like it had a personal vendetta, but the presence inside her? It didn't give a damn. It was pushing her forward, driving her onward like the worst kind of backseat driver.
"What... the hell are you?" she muttered, half expecting a billboard to appear with the answer. Instead, she got a cryptic reply, vibrating through her skull like the worst headache imaginable.
You will know. Soon.
Oh, goodie. A cryptic monster overlord in my head. Exactly what I signed up for.
The weight of that soon pressed down on her like a terrible sense of doom. Whatever this thing was, it was in no rush to share its evil plan. It pulsed inside her, a steady, hungry throb, coiling like a snake in her gut. It wasn't her anger. Not her hunger. But it was there, sharing the space like the worst houseguest ever.
She staggered to her feet, the room spinning like she was on a merry-go-round from hell. Her vision swam as she tried to focus, the scent of blood thick in the air, and the dim firelight flickering over the mess she'd made. Outside, distant howls echoed, but those seemed quaint now compared to the literal demon screaming inside her head.
Move. Now.
Oh, sure. Why not? Let's take a stroll, buddy.
Her body obeyed before her brain even got a say in it. She stumbled toward the door, barely holding herself upright, gasping for air like someone who'd just sprinted a marathon. Every step felt like she was dragging a two-ton boulder behind her, but hey, what's a little manual labor when you're possessed by a psychotic beast?
She passed the mangled remains of the other creatures, resisting the urge to vomit. The voice in her head? Oh, it didn't care. It was too busy bossing her around.
Focus. Keep going.
Because of course. What else was she going to do? Take a nap? Fight it? Yeah, right.
As she trudged forward, she felt something shift. The creature's presence inside her wavered, its hunger momentarily replaced by… curiosity? Was it looking for something?
Great. Now I'm an Uber driver for a homicidal beast. Perfect.
Her head throbbed again as the realization hit: it wasn't just driving her. It was using her. And like the world's worst boss, it wasn't even paying her for the effort.
Find it...
She didn't want to know what it was looking for. Whatever it was, she was pretty sure it would suck. But she didn't have much of a choice, did she?
As she trudged down the hall, the creature's voice roared louder in her mind, drowning out everything else. And with every step, she felt herself fading, bit by bit.
Her last clear thought, before the overwhelming wave of exhaustion took her, was laced with frustration and sarcasm: Perfect. Now I'm a monster magnet with a monster in my brain. What else could possibly go wrong?
As she collapsed onto the cold stone floor, the distant sounds of growls filled the hall.
But all she could focus on was the steady, invasive hum inside her head, getting louder and louder until it drowned out everything else.
And then….