Hollow

A flower of death.

A lone flower rested in the shade of the abandoned buildings, forgotten and discarded. The once vibrant petals were now wilted and browned over, each one falling off to join its brothers and sisters in the soil. It looked like it would be blown away by the next breeze. Despite the harsh environment, the flower was still alive, holding on by a thread.

But it wasn't really a flower.

It was the mutilated body of tanashi saturo.

How had it all come to this?

Ah, yes.

Just a few moments ago.

Asahi ito, ran for his life through the pitch-black night. His feet carried him desperately in a random direction, hoping to escape the gruesome fate befalling his team.

Their team leader lost control, ordering them to scatter for their lives, and he complied without hesitation, bolting in a random direction alongside Tanashi saturo. For a brief moment, he thought he was safe, that the monster hadn't followed in his direction.

But then, the sound of screams echoed in the distance, tearing through the night air and the noises were gone as suddenly as they had started. Asahi had felt a knot form in his stomach, knowing that the silence could only mean one thing – everyone else was dead, and he and Tanashi were the sole survivors.

After which, just a few seconds later he saw it. The monster. Its body was a nightmarish sight, covered head-to-toe in the bloody remains of his fallen team. It loomed over them, preparing to slash his head off with its long fingers.

In a panic, a desperate act of sheer cowardance, a desperate move to save himself.

It was a decision which would haunt him for the rest of his life, if he even survived this.

With a swift and sickening motion, he had thrust Tanashi into the path of the monster, using his friend's body as a shield between himself and the impending doom.

"I'm sorry," he had muttered, the words an empty, hollow apology.

Asahi ran, his heart racing, guilt clawing at his heart. The sound of Tanashi's screams echoing through the air, piercing his heart like nails.

"YOU FICKING BASTARD! I HOPE YOU ROT IN HEL—" Tanashi's last words were a desperate cry, a final curse spat at Asahi's retreating figure and before he could finish his sentence, he was cut short. The monster stared down at Tanashi, its blank and emotionless face somehow conveying a sinister glee.

It extended one of its boney fingers and began to cut open Tanashi's protective suit. Its bone-like finger sliced through the material. The fabric tore open easily, as if it were mere paper against the monster's touch. Tanashi's exposed stomach was vulnerable, the chilling air biting against his skin. In that moment, Tanashi felt like a mere insect, exposed to the whims of a predator.

No words were spoken, but Tanashi couldn't shake the feeling that the monster was mocking him, savouring the moment before it struck and then what happened even Tanashi couldn't believe it.

The monster, which had ruthlessly killed his teammates, now held him in its grasp, its fingers surprisingly gentle around him and raising him off the ground.

The unexpected gentleness took him aback. He expected violence, pain, or even death, but the creature held him almost delicately. It turned and started walking, not chasing after Asahi but taking Tanashi in a different direction. Tanashi was left confused.

He would try to struggle but the monster only tightened its grip slightly, enough to make him understand that any attempt to escape will be futile.

He felt as if he had been captured, like a tiny bug caught in a spider's web.

He couldn't fathom why it had spared him, why it was carrying him like this. He tried to muster some fight, to squirm or make any attempt to break free, but the creature's grip held fast.

As the creature carried him further, Tanashi's eyes fixed on distant sight. It was a rusted support beam, once used for structures, standing tall amidst rubble. The sight filled him with a sense of impending dread, as if the universe were toying with him.

He could just imagine the gruesome fate that might be waiting ahead.

The creature stopped in front of the towering metal rod, its destination in sight.

Fear and dread coursed through him, his body frozen, knowing there was nothing he could do to escape the impending horror.

He trembled, tears streaming down his face.

He was helpless, unable to fight back. He took a deep, shaky breath, a final attempt at calming his racing heart. If this was the end, he didn't want it to be in fear.

Closing his eyes, he exhaled slowly. He let his breath out gently, his body trembling but strangely calm. There was no point in struggling; he would face his end with as much dignity as he could. His heart ached in his chest, his life flashing before his eyes. He stopped breathing. He would rather go the easy way out than die in pain.

The creature raised him up onto the long rod in front of it. Tanashi was about to die in a cruel way when suddenly the creature stopped. It examined him. It waited. Tanashi, determined to meet his end without pain, held his breath until he finally lost consciousness.

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The monster's gaze seemed to bore into Tanashi's soul as it raised its free hand, grasping a rusty metal rod that lay nearby. The rod was covered in rust and grime, but its purpose was clear: it was designed for impaling.

With a slow and deliberate motion, the monster inserted one end of the rod into the young man's abdomen. His unconscious form didn't flinch as he felt himself being slowly pierced by cold metal.

As the rod slid deeper into his body, the young man's internal organs began to spill out.

His intestines slithered out of his abdominal cavity, dripping with blood and viscera. Coiling around the metal shaft like snakes escaping from a basket. And his stomach contents splattered against the ground with a sickening squelch in a putrid mess of half-digested food and bile.

The sound of tearing flesh and crunching bone filled the air as his internal organs were forced out of their natural positions. The monster's long fingers grasped and pulled, tearing apart his chest cavity like a rag doll. His ribcage cracked and splintered under the monster's grip, allowing his lungs to burst forth like deflated balloons.

Tanashi's body began to resemble a flower in full bloom, a flower of death. His skin stretched taut over his skeletal frame, now exposed for all to see.

And as the monster let go, Tanashi's body fell unceremoniously, like a doll without string. He was no longer a fighter, a human being. He was little more than a trophy.

Tanashi never felt it. Being unconscious had spared him from experiencing the pain.

But Asahi, who was still alive and on the run, would not be so fortunate.

———————————————————

Asahi, his heart pounding in his chest, took shelter in a desolate old house, his body trembling slightly. He found himself crying, tears streaming down his face. Tanashi had a fiancé, and their wedding was imminent. He had been saving up money for months, to build a life with her.

One more mission after this one and he would have left.

He could still remember the excitement, the pure joy, on Tanashi's face when the young man had shared the news with him. His friend had been so happy, so full of life. He had dreamed of a life full of love and joy, and now…it was all over. Just like that.

Asahi, was on the verge of a mental breakdown. He forced himself to take several deep breaths, attempting to calm his racing heart and panicked thoughts.

With trembling hands, he activated his neuro-tech implant, initiating a call to the police.

A neuro tech implant was different from a Neurochip.

While both devices were inserted inside the user's skull, a Neurochip was more invasive and complex. It often required a surgical procedure to be inserted correctly and precisely. It was capable of interfacing directly with the user's brain allowing for an augmented and seamless brain-machine interface. It is the primary interface for human-machine telepathy and neural networks. However, the implants were expensive and often only issued to members of megacorps or by the police.

On the other hand, neuro tech implants were the stuff available to mercenaries and the general public.

Despite the lower cost and more accessible nature of neuro tech implants, they still held a significant amount of capabilities.

Among other things, they allowed users to communicate with others over various networks, access information, and provided various utility functions. A neuro tech implant functioned more like a smart phone from ages ago than a chip.

You couldn't use your thoughts to control it however and you needed to access anything using it on a holographic panel visible only to you.

Asahi had never been fond of the implants. They always made him uneasy. The idea of some strange device nestled in his skull, always watching, always listening, was unnerving to say the least. But at the moment, he was glad for it. It was a vital lifeline, providing his only means of communication with the outside world.

Although it was supposed to be turned off during a mission like this, he couldn't care less. Fuck the protocol, his life was more important.

The connection was made, and the voice of a dispatcher came through Asahi's earpiece, "Neo-Tokyo Police Emergency Dispatcher. What's your emergency?"

Asahi's voice was shaky and weak. He took a moment to gather his bearings before speaking. "I...I need help," he managed to utter, his voice quivering. "There's... there's a creature.. a monster.....it..killed...ev..everyone.."

The dispatcher on the other end of the line sounded skeptical. "Sir, can you please provide us with more details? What kind of animal are you talking about? Where are you and are you sure you are not drunk?"

He clenched his fists, trying to maintain his composure. "I'm not drunk, damn it!" he snapped.

"I'm telling you, it's a monster! A giant, nightmarish creature that slaughtered my friends! I'm in...I'm in an old abandoned house, somewhere on the outskirts of Tokyo."

The dispatcher's tone shifted from skeptical to surprised. "Sir, since the bombing of Tokyo, it's been strictly prohibited to enter the area. If you're there, it's considered unlawful. May I ask what you were doing there in the first place?"

Asahi's frustration boiled over and he yelled out loudly, "We are mercenaries hired by the Kusunoki Conglomerate! We had legal permission to be there! We were heading to Yokohama when the abomination attacked us. Send help, damn it!"

The dispatcher was taken aback by Asahi's outburst, but his words registered. There was a brief pause before the dispatcher spoke again, "Alright, sir. We're dispatching help your way. Stay where you are, and keep yourself safe. The police and emergency services will be there as soon as possible."

"Please hurry...I'm scared." He leaned against the wall of the abandoned house.

"while they are on their way, can you tell us what the animal looked like?" The dispatcher said.

Asahi's voice trembled as he described the creature, "It wasn't an animal! It was a demon! It was dark, I couldn't see everything, but I know it stood on two legs, at least six feet tall! And its fingers...those fingers were like scythes, sharp enough to cut someone's head off!"

The dispatcher seemed to have a hard time believing Asahi's account. There was a moment of silence before the dispatcher spoke again, "Sir, are you sure you're not hallucinating? Demons don't exist..."

He let out a bitter laugh, "Hallucinating? Really? I wish I was! I'm telling you, it's real! If you don't believe me, send in a SAT unit, or better yet come here yourself and see!"

Just then Asahi heard something outside, footsteps.

Cold dread coursed through his veins. How had the creature found him? It didn't follow him, so how did it know where he was?

"How...how did it find me? It didn't follow me... did it?" He whispered, fear creeping up on him. The footsteps grew louder... closer... until they were right outside the door.

Asahi's voice trembled as he spoke to the dispatcher, "It's... it's found me... I think I'm... I'm going to die."

"Sir, you must hide! Find a place to hide and stay there! Don't give up! The help is on its way!" but Asahi's despair had taken hold, clouding his judgment.

Before the dispatcher could offer further advice, Asahi abruptly ended the call, refusing to engage any longer in what he perceived as a futile conversation.

The door of the abandoned building caved in, giving way to the monstrous arrival. Asahi, still slumped on the floor, now found himself face to face with the horrifying creature. He had nowhere to run, no escape possible.

The demon extended its long blood-soaked boney fingers towards him and lifted Asahi off the ground with ease. The creature didn't lash out with violence. Instead, it gently picked him up and started moving, carrying Asahi away.

The monster carried Asahi away from the remnants of the old city. In a matter of minutes, they reached their destination – a place of unspeakable horror.

What greeted him was Tanash—

No.

It was Tanashi's body, impaled on a rusted metal spike, his internal organs on the ground.

Asahi could only ponder: would his own end be as gruesome?

And the answer was yes.