The suburb grew quieter the deeper Devin moved.
Not because the danger faded... but because he was removing it.
Or… something like that.
A broken swing creaked slowly in the wind. Papers scattered across the road. A distant scream echoed.. faint, desperate but Devin didn't move toward it. His head tilted slightly, listening, but then he turned away.
The hunt mattered more.
He walked down the middle of the street now, no longer hiding his presence. His shoulders were relaxed, almost casual. Blood stains darkened his clothes, some dry, some still wet. His hands hung loosely at his sides.
Something crawled across a rooftop thin, spider-like limbs dragging behind it. It hissed when it saw him.
Devin stopped.
He didn't attack immediately.
Instead… he stepped forward slowly.
The creature leapt.
It slammed into him, claws raking across his chest. The suppression seals glowed faintly as his body absorbed the impact. The cuts were shallow. He didn't even flinch.
He let it keep attacking.
It scratched his shoulder. Bit into his forearm. Screeched in his face.
Devin just stared at it.
Then… he smiled.
A slow, unsettling grin.
His hand shot up and grabbed its jaw. He let it struggle for a moment... almost curious... then suddenly jerked its head sideways. The neck snapped with a wet crack. Before the body hit the ground, he punched through its torso, ripping something out and tossing it aside.
He wiped his hand lazily.
No urgency.
No emotion.
Further down the street, three anomalies dragged what looked like a wounded man toward an overturned car. The human tried to crawl away, leaving a trail of blood.
"Help…" he whispered weakly.
Devin watched from the shadows.
He didn't move.
The creatures tore into the man. The scream was short.
Devin's expression didn't change.
He stepped forward only after the noise stopped.
One of the anomalies noticed him and lunged. Devin sidestepped easily, grabbed it by the back of the head, and slammed it repeatedly into the asphalt. He didn't stop even after it went limp. The second creature clawed his back... he allowed it.
He turned slowly, grabbed its arm, and bit down, tearing flesh away. Black fluid spilled across the pavement. He dropped it, then stomped its chest in.
The third tried to flee.
Devin chased it.
Not fast.
Not efficient.
He followed it deliberately, letting it think it might escape. The creature stumbled between houses, screeching. Devin walked behind it, calm, patient.
Finally, he sprinted.
He tackled it from behind, rolling across the grass. He pinned it down and tore into it with his teeth, ripping chunks away. Some he spat out.
Some he swallowed.
He didn't care.
The communication collar crackled faintly.
"Subject is… consuming some of the targets."
He ignored it.
Hours passed.
The moon climbed higher.
Devin moved like something out of a myth... a werewolf that never transformed. He prowled rooftops, stalked alleyways, and dragged anomalies into the open. Sometimes he fought brutally.
Sometimes… he played.
He let one claw his face before snapping its arms. Another he allowed to bite his shoulder, only to rip its spine out moments later. The line between necessity and enjoyment blurred.
His breathing stayed calm.
His eyes darker.
A group of survivors hid inside a house. They watched through cracked blinds as Devin dragged a creature across the yard. He tore it apart casually, then looked up.
Their eyes met.
For a second… silence.
They expected help.
He turned away.
And left.
Inside the house, one whispered, "Was… was that human?"
No one answered.
Devin crouched on a rooftop, looking over the burning suburb. Smoke drifted across the moonlight. The collar around his neck blinked steadily. The seals still held his transformation.. but mentally, something had changed.
He no longer felt connected.
The screams didn't matter.
The people didn't matter.
The hunt did.
He licked blood from his knuckles absentmindedly.
The primal pulse inside him beat steadily.... stronger now. It fed on isolation, violence, detachment. Each kill pushed him further from the boy who once helped on a quiet farm.
He dropped from the roof.
Another anomaly waited below.
He cracked his neck slightly.
And walked toward it.
Not as a protector.
But as a predator wearing human skin.
The suburb fell silent.
Bodies of anomalies lay scattered across streets, lawns, and rooftops. Some torn apart. Some crushed. Others half-eaten. The moonlight revealed the extent of the carnage, a battlefield shaped by a single predator.
Devin stood in the middle of the road, breathing steadily. Blood coated his hands and forearms. His clothes were torn. His eyes glowed faintly in the darkness, scanning for any remaining movement.
Nothing.
The hunt was over.
He tilted his head slightly, listening. No heartbeats nearby except distant survivors hiding behind walls. He didn't bother checking. He had already lost interest.
The collar around his neck blinked.
Inside a monitoring station, G.O.C operatives watched the live feed.
"Target zone cleared."
"Subject showing increasing instability."
"Proceed with retrieval."
One operator pressed a control.
Back in the suburb, Devin frowned slightly. A faint hiss came from the collar. He reached up instinctively, but before he could react..
A colorless gas released directly from vents near his neck.
He inhaled it.
His body stiffened instantly.
His legs wobbled. His vision blurred. He tried to fight it.... his muscles tensed, instincts screaming but the gas was specifically tailored to his physiology using data gathered over months.
His knees hit the ground.
He growled softly, trying to stand. The world tilted. His strength drained rapidly. Within seconds, his consciousness faded.
He collapsed face-first onto the asphalt.
Minutes later, a helicopter descended.
G.O.C retrieval operatives moved quickly, attaching reinforced transport restraints. They lifted him onto a stretcher designed with additional suppression fields.
"Vitals stable."
"Sedation effective."
"Transporting to secondary containment."
The helicopter lifted off, leaving the silent suburb behind.
Hours passed.
Then darkness slowly lifted.
Devin's eyes opened.
The first thing he noticed was the difference.
This facility was… heavier. The air felt denser. The hum of suppression systems was stronger. The walls looked thicker, layered with multiple containment measures. His restraints were upgraded.... additional seals, reinforced brackets, and a heavier collar with dual emitters.
He didn't move.
But inside… anger flared.
He remembered everything.
The hunt.
The gas.
The collapse.
They had used him again.
He kept his breathing steady, hiding the emotion. He didn't struggle. He didn't react. He let them think he was calm.
But his mind churned.
He stared at the ceiling, expression blank.
And memories surfaced.
The farm.
Sunlight across open fields.
Amber laughing while handing him food.
Her voice soft at night.
The way she looked at him... or what he thought she did.
He remembered how free he felt. No organizations. No cages. No experiments. Just quiet life, simple work, shared moments.
His jaw tightened slightly.
All of it… a lie.
He had trusted her.
Opened up.
Let his guard down.
And she used that.
The rage built slowly..
not explosive, but cold and simmering. He replayed her clinical voice over the intercom. The detached tone. The way she described him as a subject. As an asset.
His fists curled subtly inside the restraints.
He imagined her standing behind the glass, calm, unaffected.
The primal pulse deep inside him responded, beating heavier.
He exhaled slowly, forcing himself to stay still.
Don't react. Not yet.
He began thinking.
Analyzing.
Every time they checked his cell, they followed a pattern. Two guards. One technician. Restraints loosened slightly for inspection. Suppression intensity fluctuated for a few seconds.
He had felt it before.
A small window.
Small… but enough.
His evolution had already surpassed the restraints once. Now, he had stronger suppression but also more adaptation. He could break through if he timed it perfectly.
His eyes hardened.
He didn't want to just escape.
He wanted something else.
Amber.
The name echoed in his mind.
He remembered her smiling at the farm.
Then her emotionless voice in containment.
The contrast fueled him.
He whispered internally:
She needs to understand.
Not quickly.
Not mercifully.
Slowly.
He imagined reaching her. The surprise in her eyes. The fear. The realization that he wasn't an asset anymore.
His breathing remained calm outwardly, but his heart rate increased slightly.
He decided.
Next inspection.
He would transform.
Break free.
And carve a path through the facility.
His target wasn't escape.
His target was Amber.
He leaned his head back, eyes half-closed, pretending exhaustion.
Inside, the rage continued to build... controlled, sharpened, focused into a single objective.
The chamber lights dimmed slightly, signaling approaching personnel rotation.
Devin didn't move.
He waited.
The predator wasn't just hunting anomalies anymore.
He was planning something far more personal.
And deep within him, the primal pulse beat steadily… anticipating what would come next.