The rain outside the window never shouted.
It always came with long, melancholic whispers. Drop after drop tapping against the glass with the same rhythm every night.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyP7zDRNhLL
Like invisible fingers knocking on a door, asking for permission to enter a warmth that had never existed inside this room.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGYRV3x5hVB
The streetlights in this small town on the outskirts cast a dull orange glow through the misty rain, creating blurry circles that hung in the air like giant blind eyeballs, staring everywhere without truly seeing anything.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPpVjHSlUpv
The dormitory room sat on the third floor of an old red brick building that had stood for nearly two centuries.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ26MtBtpmSQ
Its walls were thick, painted a pale white, made of stone and plaster cracked in many places.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0SSr2ksObA
In weather like this at the end of the year, cold that pierced the bone, the air inside the room felt colder than the air outside.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyOOOjDsy9O
As if the ancient building deliberately trapped the cold, storing it in every pore of its bricks and every crack in its wooden floors, to torment its inhabitants who had never truly been wanted by anyone.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEpjIfkn83F
The central heater in the corner of the room, a rusted metal box that hissed softly all night long, produced only a shallow warmth, not enough to drive away the cold that crept from the wooden floor into the bones of the feet.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlIa8yENMbz
Voltase Watt lay on his back on a bed far too large for his body.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXWCkwuIorN
The body of a thin boy, shorter than the average of children his age, where his body lacked the nutrition and protein to grow any further.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRRGg7rt807
His shoulders were narrow, so narrow that the navy striped flannel pajamas he wore kept slipping off his left shoulder.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa9YKazLK3o
His arms were thin, with faint blue veins visible beneath pale skin that rarely saw sunlight.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡedq5TjpRiU
His short legs could never reach the end of the bed, and every night he felt the tips of his cold toes touching the empty air beneath the blanket.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdWoTNcQ4pU
He had bought those pajamas three years ago, and even then they had been too big for his small body.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPy5OjMBcWs
Sometimes he thought that perhaps his body simply could not find a reason to grow, because growing required attention, nutrition, love, and he had never had enough of any of those.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIcjSy77ZAG
No one will notice whether you're here or not, he thought.
The thought felt ordinary in his head, not a piercing sadness, but a fact he had accepted long ago, ever since his mind was old enough to understand that he was a burden moved from one place to another.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2aC7wQT828
Things do not grow.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2tsi6sFTkV
He never knew his biological parents.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡblv0pHNBvx
Voltase was a baby found on the doorstep of an orphanage in South London on a cold winter morning, wrapped in a faded blue blanket with a piece of paper bearing his name and birthdate.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡICUBvbFszW
Nothing else.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUihd30hyea
No letter, no message, no clue about who had left him there or why they had gone.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpdR6DfPnFk
He grew up in that orphanage for five years, changing caretakers and beds and faces that came and went.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPjcO16XIxg
Then a family came and chose him, a polite, well dressed couple who said the right things in front of the social worker.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKa9LwF4Csh
They took him to their home in the suburbs, gave him his own room, food, clothes.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVVBRIZ8W3y
But they never truly wanted him.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡasQFhshm88
He knew it from the way they looked at him, not with hatred, but with indifference.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFcaS2VOylK
As if he were an obligation, a task to be completed.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXCqMtif0G6
When he turned ten, they sent him to this boarding school.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ93uJIzuVGc
An elegant, polite way to get rid of a burden without appearing cruel.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhdEsYj9ZXc
They paid his school fees.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRBkCnU1hPO
They sent birthday cards, store bought cards with printed text identical for everyone.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyK0YZb9ctA
But they never visited.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAyXnUx4Pso
They never called.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0R6uD7x3ew
Voltase was a receipt already paid in full, an obligation fulfilled.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqsfaN3CzUc
Now he was left here, in this cold room, in a country that was supposedly his birthplace but never felt like his own.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Ew4xd0Saa
You have no one, he thought, and he said it with lips that did not move, only inside his head.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡymotgU1ekv
You have never had anyone.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdQOw1C3FlM
And you will never have anyone.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYl12E4DNbe
Voltase had counted those cracks on the ceiling every night for two years since he first arrived in this room.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRTcKap04pg
The number of main branches was always twenty three.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHJ1y4ztZ6k
Never changing.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNuIUMN4BOA
The small branches varied, depending on the humidity of the night air, the temperature, whether the rain fell harder than usual.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr4psBMtktD
Tonight he counted forty three small branches, counting with his thin right index finger, tracing the crack patterns in the air without actually touching the wood.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS25VVWwdCY
If he touched it, he would feel the cold of the plaster and remember that he was still here.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNKht1LACTZ
In the distance, the bells of St. Mary's church at the end of the street began to ring.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtT53rbF1Z0
The sound was old and heavy, with a slightly off key tone from age and dampness.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGQjEzhH0Fg
Voltase counted each chime because there was nothing else he could do.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVu1irXzWV7
The bells stopped at the ninth chime, and silence returned, filled only by the patter of rain that never stopped here.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡovJLxN7QIi
Voltase reached his right hand toward the small table beside his bed.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDIcRJxwTbX
The table was made of cheap wood, chipped in places, its surface covered with scratches from pens and pencils of children who had been here before him.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuCMWx5IdNq
On it lay the cheap phone given by his foster family when he left for boarding school, a symbolic gesture so they could still keep in touch, and a small desk lamp he never turned on.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9iqaGzdnMz
His long, thin fingers groped across the table's surface until they touched the phone.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCdlpv8Vaxn
The screen lit up.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBfqTM6h0zF
Pale blue light illuminated his face for a few seconds.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBoVwgRHnwn
The time showed 21:49 PM.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8GvpjW7pJR
He opened the game he was playing.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKKYBuURZ1q
The app was colorful and bright, with the main character's icon smiling widely, a boy with black hair and oversized onyx eyes, with a smile that never faded.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhZKhJxVSS9
Voltase almost hated that smile.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPhbvv1CVmA
That character never got tired, never got sad, never felt alone.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKjoks9dXZU
He just ran, collected coins, dodged trains, and smiled the whole time.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpZXKloJe4I
His right thumb swiped the screen, and the game began.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxzZ5TDekTc
Cheerful electronic music flowed from the phone's speaker, trying to drown out the sound of rain, while the character started moving along the railway tracks with a synthetic sunset sky full of orange and purple gradients stretching behind him.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzqulILPxGZ
Golden coins sparkled in the air, and every time the character collected them there was a satisfying ding sound.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmoyN7DGcBl
Voltase played mechanically.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqefpBmOLlD
His thumb swiped left, jumped, swiped right, ducked.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡImH2HwNnTB
The score in the upper right corner climbed, 240, 480, 710, 930.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2BTdsQuxlG
He did not care about the score or the character.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxYlJpqE9zO
The only thing he needed was the sound.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbXPrrzhxAX
The music was a thin curtain separating him from the silence of the room, from the patter of rain, from the awareness that he was truly alone in this world and no one would come to save him.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC3Y4a9kOvL
On the right side of the screen, a second character appeared, a grown man in a white long sleeved shirt and a faded blue jacket, wearing a security guard's hat tilted back, and beside him a digital sheepdog ran at the same speed, its tongue lolling in a repeating animation.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6EBidx2VP4
The three of them ran together.
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A fake family in a fake world.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN9Iz2tCvJB
They are not real, Voltase thought, just code, they can never feel anything.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9dWRUR7hrs
They are never alone because they never existed.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHFfjZnBMNs
At 1,230 points, the obstacles increased.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi467hTaqUR
Train cars came faster and denser from both directions.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡafp5P3xmxP
Voltase's small fingers began to sweat, making the touchscreen feel slippery and sticky.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGHnOI5x4tu
His main character stumbled, a repeated falling animation, got up, stumbled again, while the score stopped climbing and the music shifted into anxious, stretching notes.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwelumNhp40
A giant steel train car passed right in front of the character.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf8rC79grtX
Bam!
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk8TAY5LdFA
The screen turned blurry red, with a crimson gradient encircling the edges.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSxIlzteumD
Thick black ink pooled in the corners.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRUoDyUZGYc
White bold text appeared in the center.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvqEhB8zuxu
GAME OVER.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz649CkBU9U
Voltase let out a breath.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhb4XAtUIoV
The breath left his small chest as a faint, almost inaudible sigh, like wind slipping through a crack in a door that did not close properly.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ05fQMZdKbO
He pressed the home button, and the phone screen dimmed to black, reflecting his own face, the face of a thin child with weary onyx eyes, cheekbones beginning to protrude, and messy black hair.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAoClWWtIA9
He put the phone on the table with a slow, reluctant movement, as if letting go of the phone meant letting go of the only thing distracting him from the silence.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMbD4P0k60T
Silence returned.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgfgqtQCxhT
Rain returned.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT7CddaIYkz
He was still here.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZGvCwotChK
Still small and alone.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcqILEJkSA1
Voltase closed his eyes.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCoSUbwKsZS
In the darkness behind his eyelids, he imagined another place.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNHTxksgg8m
A place where he had a big, strong body that did not need to be afraid of other children mocking him in the school hallways.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgIrhWHRbvk
A place where he could become something, become someone meaningful, someone who could not be ignored.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpwa3Ny0Y97
But the image was vague, like smoke vanishing before he could grasp it.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW6YKlVfSfd
He did not know what a big body looked like.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhKfgyNlI3l
He had never had one.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnd3siQcoLp
He only knew that he wanted it, something more than this thin, weak, useless body.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBEEKeAtXsv
Slowly, exhaustion consumed him.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqi955MuG0z
His body curled up in the middle of the too large bed, knees drawn to his chest, arms hugging a pillow that had become dull and smelled of dormitory laundry soap, sharp and chemical.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx75n0Qgcuw
The rain kept tapping the window.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3iVzPGLseu
The wind moaned among the old oak trees in the schoolyard.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXNIV7yxcSA
His consciousness began to blur, sinking into a dark, warm abyss.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0oZjmCO7F0
The clock showed 22:01 PM.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB1MnmmiNEP
Three minutes since he turned off the phone.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4K1ckslEzo
Voltase Watt, a twelve year old boy who did not know who his parents were, who had no home to return to, who had never been loved by anyone, began to fall into a dream.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQw7glE8Pyb
The first thing that registered through his sense of smell was the stench.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV9LEvAJhY3
Not the musty, dusty smell of the dormitory room.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvUVEJ6F8AD
This was a completely different smell, one he had never smelled before, yet somehow felt old, as if he had smelled it in another life, in a memory that was not his.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtIkXmeJuDT
The smell entered his nostrils like thick, heavy smoke.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ939BbwT3mY
It crept inside uninvited.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjjNTqKMbbl
Stabbed the back of his throat like swallowed glass shards.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHtNo7vXOh0
Settled on the roof of his mouth, leaving a residue that felt like a layer of copper on his tongue, salty, metallic, and with a faint sweetness that was nauseating.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6iutE85CGN
Beneath it lay another layer: a sharp, fishy stench like fish left too long in the sun, and the smell of wet earth mixed with something darker, thicker.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZLBQqVfvVU
Blood, he thought, and the thought rose from the depths of an instinct he had not known he possessed.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2tbHIJJTRi
The smell of blood.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIqg6MzQ88H
A lot of blood and flesh.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMzboULGQYu
Rotting flesh.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOiUS3Cu4M6
Voltase opened his eyes.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUkHQLONnWQ
The darkness he saw was not the darkness of his dormitory room.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhgje6gb9iF
This was total darkness, darkness that rejected light, darkness that felt solid like wet velvet pressed against his face.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9UY7jqDMXY
His eyes blinked, adjusting, but the adjustment was slow, as if his pupils had to relearn how to catch light.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5ue2x8yjNP
Slowly, silhouettes began to emerge.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Q7hpNHqlA
He saw a shape above him, very close, only inches from his own nose.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI8olRLysep
A face.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp8T09chSGQ
But not the face of a living human.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy7hQAcDkjF
The skin of that face was ashen green, pale like dried clay beginning to crack.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtM5ngBCvvE
On its left cheek was a large tear exposing the tissue beneath, a layer of dark red that had begun to blacken at the edges, like beef left too long in the refrigerator, its fibers drying and shriveling.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Htu2ewMdc
On its chin was thin brown stubble, with flakes of dry earth clinging between the hair strands.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjTnIMhUhba
Its eyes, or what remained of them, were two dark hollows.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWDCVcruD4E
No eyeballs.
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Just black holes filled with small, writhing movements.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBViGbrymaQ
Voltase saw them clearly, maggots.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdAXlyXkK2G
Dozens, maybe hundreds of small pale yellowish bodies, segmented, with darker heads, writhing inside those eye sockets.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHwKERMnB5l
They rose and fell like tiny waves that never stopped, eating the remaining tissue still clinging to the orbital bone.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs4GY2WnZyL
Some were larger than others, fatter and whiter, perhaps because they had been there longer and had eaten more.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡegOwtNCmuz
One of them crawled out of the left eye socket, across the corpse's cheekbone, and fell right onto Voltase's cheek.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSHhu9toOnL
He felt it.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlDWSodbF5L
Cold, Damp, and Writhing.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOLAAjbZu7H
That small soft body clung to his skin for a second, then began to crawl slowly downward toward his jaw.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSfQxhvPUtV
Voltase felt every movement of that body, every small muscle contraction pushing it forward, every segment rubbing against his skin.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8EXYLjSFzP
At that moment, panic exploded inside him.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNMAWHWG54N
Pure, primal panic that recognized no logic or reason.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7uF1X033Dl
He wanted to scream, but his voice was caught in his throat.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0MO18PeIu1
He wanted to push, but his hands felt foreign and heavy.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDTlX7uBRyC
Because he realized: his body had become different.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5OcwvthaEg
His hands pushing the corpse away felt longer and heavier.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgQtxvvvd1i
His fingers were no longer long and thin.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Qg2LsUfQ3
He felt protruding knuckles, long and sturdy finger joints, a wide palm with blue veins clearly visible on the back.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWlWygxuWNr
When he pushed the corpse away, the muscles in his arms, muscles he had never possessed in the real world, contracted with surprising strength.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡql7vhogdKc
He felt the stretch of muscle fibers, pressure in his shoulders, and the weight of the body he pushed felt lighter than it should have.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmkpHZyaGFh
The corpse rolled to the side with a wet, heavy plop, like a bag of wet meat falling onto mud.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIzEXZVpSLK
Its head hit something hard, maybe a rock, maybe another skull, with a dull crack.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ90tD8XiJpV
Voltase coughed, choked, and sat up straight with a jolting movement.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDOlPkmMDEJ
He sat up, no need to crawl or roll. He just bent his body upward, and the body obeyed, while the maggot writhing on his cheek had fallen to the ground.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU8caNSuDEt
His chest felt heavy, broad, and wide. His back felt solid.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEuE0otUdy9
His shoulders were now thick and muscular.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9naJB6YdT5
He looked down and saw his own body.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJB6wj8LZ8t
A uniform.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJTjllvbFWr
A long sleeved shirt in faded blue, made of thick wool fabric that was coarse and slightly damp from dew or blood.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgiXSxXCxRM
Small metal buttons lined up down the center of his chest. Some were undone, and beneath the undone buttons he saw an undershirt in wet gray.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5XMvJoRpVl
On his left shoulder was a patch bearing an emblem he did not recognize: an eagle with spread wings, its claws grasping something that looked like a snake.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkOVLK1ZcSl
The patch was faded, its edges torn.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlEy6JuL8hZ
Blue trousers tucked into tall dark brown boots that felt heavy on his feet.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWEKz994yez
The boots were made of thick leather with hard soles. He felt small studs on the soles when he moved his feet over the ground.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs3nBI6J0dz
Loose metal buckles on the tops of the boots swung gently as he moved.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGvqOlY1Lbc
Voltase raised his right hand in front of his face.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo6QK1piKCg
The hand trembled violently.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtbXhjPu1wO
He could see it clearly, and it was not his hand.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0oGtQCNBI4
The hand was long, thin but muscular, with blue veins prominent on the back.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjZLDHIVtoj
The fingers were slender with prominent knuckles and short nails dirty with black earth drying beneath them.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ05NpfwfQ9o
There was a small wound on his middle knuckle, a scrape still wet with fresh blood, perhaps from a fight that happened before he woke up.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxr8gX5ZUQy
His palm was wide with deep, clear lifelines.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDD4EKKWNdW
At the base of his thumb was a thick callus formed from years of holding something. It could be a weapon or a tool, he did not know.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjwr9KXWekB
This was an adult man's hand.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡupyNbe8TmT
A strong hand.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3wUts01rJV
A hand that could never belong to a weak, thin twelve year old boy.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnU5uByuuAI
He pressed his palm to his chest.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzr73utdZ3A
Beneath the thick wool fabric, he felt the contour of hard chest muscles, broad pectorals with wide ribs beneath them.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHewZHH5KxB
And beneath those muscles, he felt a heartbeat.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoAbvly7zkx
Thump, thump.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ1x6cRWmsO
Thump, thump.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhnM8lnIR2K
A deeper, stronger, heavier heart.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcDxz8bDHjR
Each beat felt like a hammer striking the wall of his chest from inside.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡok3QxSvvJr
This is not my body, he thought.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9UElGFDV0t
The thought sounded foreign in his head, deeper, heavier, with the resonance of an adult man he did not recognize.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQiDvrdwOPO
This body is not mine.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9wrhjpCM3G
I am inside someone else's body.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqofnh5gmss
I am trapped inside someone else's flesh.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuBZYSc50dm
How can this be?
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoIS44wkHc7
He wanted to scream, to call someone, to ask what was happening, but his voice only came out as a hoarse breath caught in his throat, like the voice of someone who had just woken from a long sleep and had not yet found his words.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFoWzLzO1uE
He straightened his body, rising from his current sitting position.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLsBnRX1wxf
His knees wobbled at first. The long, strong leg muscles felt strange, unused to supporting this much weight, but he forced himself to stand.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0ZDcNYOC2A
Eye level was now above the piles of corpses around him.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6gGzTYLp9n
He could see far across the field, farther than he had ever seen in his short, narrow life.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9NcO0kmXBR
The body was now tall, a hundred and eighty centimeters or more.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbgSLQ6KulA
When he looked down, he saw the long distance between his chest and the ground, a distance he had never experienced before.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPmVMmP1u1Y
His long, sturdy legs felt foreign, like poles newly attached beneath his body.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡslMl5ckkYU
Every step felt like walking on an unstable stage.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6EZNNUVsiI
He felt his body's weight differently.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡupIim2Fz1m
Gravity felt lighter on his bones, perhaps because his bones were now larger and stronger, but his muscles felt heavier and denser.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyFMsUtPwQy
There was strength there, potential for movement he had never explored.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBsIBL3IYew
He felt that this body could run faster, punch harder, endure longer than his thin, weak body.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgWY3qFc5EC
But that strength must have its price, something he was always aware of, that nothing in this world was free.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4rfR5nJBaa
Instead, he felt strange after obtaining this body.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzJdj1F0utn
Like a thief who had stolen something precious and did not know how to use it, where every movement felt like a violation.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡny5FQyCp0K
Whose body is this? The question repeated in his head like a mantra.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi8iYFmZ6b1
Where is he?
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ778FFIs4Dn
Is he dead?
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX1cLUgxuWM
Did I take his body?
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ82t8dWaKB6
Did I kill him?
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1BSDwt0NZF
He looked around.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ12e3ExnHmY
Above him was not the cloudy gray English sky always ready to rain. The sky here was pitch black, blacker than the hollows in the corpse's eye sockets.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhm6IeZdtNK
No stars, moon, or glowing clouds.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY4BzSwE3kP
Just a black canvas stretching endlessly, as if someone had covered the entire world with thick velvet and forgotten it there, leaving it hanging without end.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkFZWM400uI
But beneath that gloomy sky, there was enough light.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3gQQRuusvi
Perhaps from reflections off puddles of liquid on the ground that cast a dim gleam.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlfG3qcChrG
Remnants of fires long dead in the distance, still emitting thin smoke and red sparks beneath the ash.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKWiX8xIvL6
The source of the light was unclear, but it was enough for Voltase to see the sight that would sear itself onto his retina forever, burned there like a photograph exposed to sunlight.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH8WpYPzugK
Around him, as far as he could see, there were only bodies.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJaXGDZoNWt
Hundreds, maybe thousands, impossible to count.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeaXgWqCXo4
They lay in chaotic piles like rag dolls thrown by an angry giant and then forgotten.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVFnpyLPWXA
Some were stacked on top of each other, forming small hills reaching up to an adult's waist.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJz6aINVp2L
Some piles were higher, reaching chest height.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEfzAp5eMiY
Voltase noticed that the piles moved.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡufJgpekZT4
Not moving like living things, but moving because of the maggots and flies writhing inside them, creating small waves on the surface of the flesh.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAAPxGDvlrp
Some bodies lay alone, separated from the piles, with arms bent at impossible angles.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeiDGuYa4Na
Elbows twisted the wrong way.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiB1MCnlIXi
Fingers clutching empty earth as if they were still trying to crawl in death, still trying to escape something that had caught them.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPE6Ur2j7Ud
Some had intact faces with wide open eyes staring at the black sky, expressions of fear frozen forever in the rigid muscles of their faces.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL9oLYIetpn
Some had no faces at all.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡddeTytwBFN
Just red, glistening hollows inhabited by maggots and flies, with remnants of flesh clinging to skull bones like unraveling threads.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyyAaeQxdG0
Their uniforms varied.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpjBTRFhDfw
Most wore faded blue, like Voltase.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM4HX6OMHqw
Many wore pale green, the color of dead moss, a faded, dull green gray like leaves already rotting in an autumn that lasted too long.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAA8Iydfe5Q
Some others, fewer in number, wore ash, the color of gunpowder dust, or ash left after fire dies.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwYHb3EWnQc
Those three colors mixed in this pile of death without pattern, without meaning, just chaotic horror.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaNDVlNUirD
Often he saw blue bodies lying on top of green bodies, or gray bodies wedged between two blue bodies.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxFYNumE4xi
Nothing was ordered.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1IF91Opqzd
Nothing was intentional.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡosL1oTN6MH
They died where they fell, and they fell where they died.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAtSpLPDKjC
The ground beneath Voltase's feet felt soft, not like the hard earth of the school garden, not like the wooden floor of his room.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe5ZaCGYqeN
He looked down and saw his boots sinking several centimeters into a brown black surface.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgM0H08y3RN
It was mud, but not ordinary mud.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Jl8oUTN0t
This mud was mixed with something darker, thicker, denser.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvc8KOUYgGp
Blood.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHo5GP8KqKx
This ground was not earth.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFkvZAdqKfU
It was a layer of flesh and bodily fluids that had soaked into the soil, mixed with mud, forming a new, horrific layer.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6MtTZNjS0Y
When he moved his boots, there was a wet squelch, the sound of liquid squeezed out from the pores of the earth like water from an oversaturated sponge.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnC8HbhS8MZ
He saw small white fragments among the black mud.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr0oVE27HcO
Bone fragments.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJzLcTeWd9n
Broken rib pieces with sharp ends.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP7AriAJSKA
Severed finger joints still bearing remnants of flesh at the joints.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD4EYkngCOw
Shattered skull fragments with pinkish inner surfaces from residual brain tissue.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1ZUuV526o3
There were also torn fabric pieces, dull glinting metal buttons scattered among the mud, and undone shoelaces uncoiled like dead snakes.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH9CqyrbCNk
The stench here was not uniform.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVufxQrR3QZ
It came in waves.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7m3xSftOzl
Sometimes sharp and stinging like ammonia burning the nose.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJEfv3ZQcG4
Sometimes sweet and nauseating like overripe flowers beginning to rot.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIHuFVaMaMj
Sometimes like old iron scraped across the tongue, leaving a metallic taste he could not get rid of.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4LSenoxtlC
Every time the wind blew, cold, damp night wind, the smell changed, shifted, found new ways to torment his senses.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSAKlSxI5GT
Voltase covered his nose with the back of his new, long hand, but the smell entered through his mouth, through his skin, through every pore of his now large but still vulnerable body.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvV8GPlP8O1
He felt it behind his eyes, in his sinuses, at the back of his throat.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH5xcd5Xivf
The smell became part of the air he breathed. He could not separate himself from it.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdD9Hc1dQhN
In the distance, he heard something.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5n9gjyWNsg
Not the sound of rain. The sound was a crack, like a twig snapping.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9yW6t2d8Zq
Voltase froze.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEDVLx2gHnv
He held his breath, that deep, heavy breath from this adult man's lungs, and tried to listen more carefully.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTwzZ2XOUJ7
But his own heartbeat was too loud, too thunderous.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡudaFUoT3Ti
Thump, thump.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQumyXdHRH4
Thump, thump.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK13ItHGNSJ
This heart was like a war drum inside his broad chest, and he could not stop it.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8lejkWhAxv
Then, he saw movement.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQENCw5QzFF
Among the pile of corpses to his left, about ten meters away, the pile shook.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKm7MbgjQt5
Not from the wind. The wind would not move a pile of flesh that heavy.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8bQO0Udler
Something inside it was moving.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHfiNiYKJeI
An arm emerged.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHh8rjJZUiy
An arm that still had intact skin, pale but not rotting, with muscles still tense beneath the skin's surface.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡItez5BO8k5
The fingers of that hand grasped the air, then pulled, pushed the bodies above them.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVxgjH5ln5b
Those bodies shifted, rolled, fell aside with wet sounds.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJrYCf43J9O
From that pile, a man's figure emerged.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxanI3nWplm
He rose with stiff, mechanical movements, like a wooden puppet whose strings were pulled by an invisible hand.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqDKV6LRC92
He brushed dust and dried flesh scraps from his uniform, pale green, the same green worn by many corpses around him.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2pfyVrEsC5
The fabric was torn in several places, and on his right shoulder was the same patch, the eagle or raven, but the colors were more faded, more worn, with threads beginning to unravel at the edges.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDp1fYGtPVp
On his left arm was a large tear exposing the skin beneath, pale skin with an old, dried wound.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXL79mUEXVl
The man was tall, almost as tall as Voltase.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnIevA6qVxb
His face was gaunt, with a firm jaw and prominent cheekbones.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIxgG0I5DOG
His hair was dirty blond, short and unkempt, with sideburns slightly elongated beside his ears.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyHXtAthz4S
His dark eyes, dark like Voltase's eyes in the real world, stared directly at him.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgLyovHO7Jc
The stare was unfriendly.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbVZaFfrkGi
Full of suspicion, confusion, and beneath it, a layer of fear trying to hide behind a tightening jaw and pursed lips.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV8bjjBxi5n
They faced each other.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT6Tln7HH39
Two adult figures in the middle of a sea of death.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY13Mbbm8qq
Cold night wind blew between them, carrying the stench of rot and old gunpowder smoke.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEAm1FoCrG4
Voltase felt the wind hit his face, carrying his long, dirty hair dancing around his eyes.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJxqUeFsun9
The man did not speak.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqfWj1l4GGy
He just stared, eyes narrowing, measuring whether Voltase was a threat or just another survivor.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNyewP9gXIh
He examined Voltase's faded blue uniform, then examined his face.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkKQe7trsrP
Perhaps searching for recognition.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVD3WhJCGgz
Trying to remember if he had ever seen this face before.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR84qoYeOUB
But there was no recognition in his eyes.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4vv6jCXN0x
Only deepening suspicion.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ61Lpvstc1a
Slowly, he bent down.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqrfZ2hrF9y
His dirty fingers, crusted with dried blood beneath the nails, groped among the pile of corpses.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdzODbFY6Cg
He pushed some bodies aside, shifted others, and finally pulled something from beneath the pile.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBVoGq3Zz4X
A long object.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG6ST0prxfD
Voltase recognized the shape even though he had never seen one directly outside the history books in the school library.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrnKWQC58un
An old wooden stock, darkened by oil and covered with scratches and deep grooves from grips.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ43J6LscJyz
The wood was worn, its fibers peeling in places but still solid. He could see that the stock had been used for years, perhaps decades, by people he would never know.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn2wxiyvM7s
A long, slender barrel of dark metal, gleaming dully under the dim light, with grooves along its surface to reduce weight.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmgS6QJN9Wu
Beneath it, just in front of the curved trigger made of the same metal with a finger groove, a small box magazine jutted out like a second jaw, loaded with ready to fire bullets.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxE7VUS6Xwp
And at the end of the barrel, he saw a locking mechanism, small grooves and metal protrusions, designed to attach a bayonet.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaPubk9fCVb
It was a heavy, ancient, deadly rifle.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj8niBl3qfb
A rifle that had killed more people than he could imagine.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxV4iOz726a
The man aimed the muzzle at Voltase's chest.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡslAbqXEa5C
Voltase's reflexes acted before his thoughts could formulate a strategy.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLg897zVE43
Both his hands, the long, sturdy hands of an adult man, rose up, palms open wide, in the universal gesture of surrender.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR0Sk2Bwjrj
His heart pounded in this new chest, and he felt its beat at his temples and at the tips of his trembling fingers.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmLqhE7H2jz
"Wait," he said, and his voice came out as a deep, hoarse baritone, a voice he had never heard before, a voice emerging from this chest.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR7BXS2MBOv
"I do not know where this is."
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzkfcltQaim
"I do not know what is happening."
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGe1xN9Ewnj
"I just woke up."
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRs7UXckvOF
The man did not answer.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ10HgdmnzU4
His eyes narrowed further, examining Voltase's faded blue uniform, then his face, watching Voltase's lips move, hearing his words.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDVX87eKSxO
But there was no response.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBg3xFTZAdf
Perhaps he did not believe him.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYTrpiHz0ro
Perhaps he had seen too many tricks in this place to trust anyone.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV9dCSgPKCM
The man began to step forward.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRPRrvFIahb
One step.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWYTDQjdmGF
Two steps.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Qvu6D07gx
The muzzle stayed aimed exactly at Voltase's chest.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfYSbEhqZIo
Each step the man took was torture.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOEKOpZIRTE
Voltase heard the squeak of the man's boots on the bloody mud.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9LtXyNq0uw
He saw every scratch on the rifle's wooden stock, every peeling fiber, every deep groove.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8ZuJ2T8Hej
He saw the man's finger on the trigger, a steady finger that did not tremble, a finger accustomed to the weight and pressure of pulling.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4cUeDj3Oo9
The voice in his head whispered.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Oj92c7RwX
If you do not move, you die.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiZHU4L2FNa
You die here, in this place.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIHe6I8sI2Q
And you will never return to your dormitory room. No one will come looking for you.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFBABysn8bi
No one will care.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh10yKzxkuR
You will just be another corpse in this pile.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7j4UO21GlG
The thought of the world's indifference, about foster parents who never called, about teachers who did not know his name, about the empty room with only the cracks on the ceiling, gave Voltase a strange strength.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCqVsRq6BHA
He had nothing to lose in the real world.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrh0NmlhGbG
No one would mourn him if he died.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl5B05t03eK
But here, in this strong body, he might survive.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMBzW03Jryp
He might become something.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFAcSBKEwXT
And he moved.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡycOfqPDbnz
His tall, powerful body shot forward, faster than he had imagined.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2owBV38mOK
The muscles in his legs, muscles he had never possessed, contracted with surprising strength, propelling him forward in an instant.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn8w4zCGTVT
His long hand grabbed the end of the rifle's barrel before the man could react.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpMxJUXJvsv
The metal was cold, very cold, like ice burning his skin.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJo1RokypAv
He felt the texture of the metal beneath his fingers, smooth in some places, rough in others from rust, and he gripped it tightly.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAvuKf9vN1B
He twisted the barrel aside, away from his chest.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsF2ASsSNwl
His other hand formed a fist and swung it at the man's face.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLvA1PcySd5
The punch landed.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGras42MPLl
His knuckles struck the man's cheekbone with a dull thud.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡldcKj5loBG
Voltase felt the hard impact in his hand, pain spreading like waves from his knuckles to his wrist.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfEtJGscq0D
But there was a primal satisfaction that his punch had connected.
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This was the first time in his life, both in the real world and here, he had ever hit someone with full force.
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The man stumbled back, his arm bending, but he did not fall.
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His head snapped to the side, and from the corner of his mouth, a drop of blood began to flow.
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He raised his hand to his face, touched his lip, looked at the blood on his fingertip.
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Then he looked at Voltase with changed eyes.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhomUaUPu3F
Suspicion transformed into burning anger.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpXsUwoYXi3
With reflexes faster than they looked, he blocked Voltase's attack with his forearm.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcSQJ7QMGhf
His other hand grabbed Voltase's collar and pulled him forward.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM03NdRN5Wv
At the same time, he bent his right knee and kicked forward.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDK1gKwY8Hq
The knee struck Voltase's stomach, and the pain exploded in his solar plexus like a bomb.
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All the air in his lungs was forced out in one gasping exhale that sounded like a long, deep groan.
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Saliva and bitter bile from his empty stomach spurted from his open mouth, wetting his chin and dripping onto the faded blue uniform.
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For a moment, the world around him spun wildly, black sky, corpses, and the man's face all mixed into a nauseating vortex.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoOJo329rqY
He tasted metal on his tongue because he had bitten his own tongue from the impact.
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Fresh blood began to flow in his mouth, mixing with the bile.
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But Voltase did not fall.
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Unlike in the real world, where he always fell when pushed by other children at school, this body was stronger, heavier.
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His long legs planted in the bloody soil as he held his ground.
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His hard, trained abdominal muscles absorbed part of the kick's impact.
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Despite the overwhelming pain, he was still standing.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFKmjAxXjOD
With clenched teeth, enduring the pain gnawing at his stomach like burning fire, he launched a counterattack.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3dtZBgvVJx
His foot with the heavy boot and hard sole swung toward the man's shin.
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He swung his leg with all his strength.
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The kick landed with a harder thud than before.
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The man stumbled, losing balance.
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His kicked leg buckled, and for a moment he seemed about to fall, grimacing in pain, his teeth clenched, his breath coming in a long hiss.
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Voltase seized the moment.
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He twisted his body, pulling the rifle barrel with all his strength.
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The wood and metal, an object weighing nearly four kilograms, tore from the man's grip.
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It flew, rolled across the pile of corpses, and fell among the rotting bodies on the other side, sinking beneath the pile of flesh.
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Now, without weapons, they faced each other equally.
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The man swung a punch at Voltase's jaw, but Voltase ducked, feeling the wind of the fist brushing his long, dirty hair.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4HIyHouT54
He answered with a punch at the man's chin, but the man tilted his head with agile movement despite his large body.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW5UDHLwgfB
They fought wildly, punches, kicks, elbows, and knees, in the middle of the sea of corpses.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7ecNcrRErA
Dust and dried flesh scraps flew around them every time they stepped on or fell into the piles of bodies.
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Voltase felt blood, both the corpses' blood and his own, covering his face.
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His lower lip was split, and he tasted his own salty, metallic blood on his tongue, mixing with the copper taste from the air around him.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAFftYv1C0s
This is not me, he thought between punches, but his thoughts were fragmented by pain and exhaustion.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ654GYWcuRQ
Why am I here?
ns216.73.216.217da2 
and then Add to home screen.