The group entered the cave that would serve as their final night's refuge before arriving at their destination. As they climbed further into the mountains, the caverns became larger and higher, and the nights grew colder.After everyone tucked away in their thermal blankets, C1313 rose and tried to sneak outside.A close-eyed Tejeda whispered, “Where are you going?”She turned and for a moment, she thought she had imagined things. He wasn’t moving an inch, except for his chest steadily going up and down as he breathed in and out.C1313 had almost reached the cave’s entrance by the time she heard his voice again.“We don’t know if you can withstand the heat outside. Why do you want to risk i

Mushy organic material accumulated on the ceiling, towering over its maker. Kirian let it encircle him, gradually grabbing hold of his lifted arms and black hair. It seemed as though the scientist had consented to dress, and an enormous, slimy sweater was slowly lowering to accommodate his wish.“Don’t be a fool!” Tejeda yelled. “It will devour you too.”“Kirian’s long gone, dear officer. I did devour him long ago. Then copied his body and took hold of his knowledge.” Now the crimson goo completely engulfed its maker. “I’m both Kirian and the bacteria he created. I’m Fresh Flesh.”After all the layers of mushy material came off the walls and ceiling, a large, meaty creature stood tall and wide where Kirian once stood. The top part took on a sphe

Tejeda pondered his choices after being absorbed inside of Fresh Flesh. He could either wait for the bacteria to consume him or initiate the shift. He had a lot of DNA swimming around him.Only in extremely dire situations did he do this. He hated the perks of his psionic ascension and avoided using these abilities, which he perceived as a curse. Others strived to earn powers, to climb the steps toward an Apex, while he was close enough to reach two of them. The biological one was easy; nature provided for him and he didn’t want to deny his roots. He had never wanted psionic powers but living so long as he did meant learning stuff even if you didn’t want to. He started to take over the meat body, one molecule at a time. His mind melded with Fresh Flesh's, who already had Kirian’s inside. Tejeda could use this to his advantage. He was eag

Jackeye was hunting... bananas. Don’t you dare laugh at our brave hacker! He needed to practice in order to level up his hunting skills. However, killing animals, even virtual ones, proved to be more challenging than anything else he programmed into his world. Therefore, to practice how to stretch the bow, take aim, and release the arrow, Jackeye found other targets. He would start with bananas, moving up to smaller fruits, maybe increasing distance along the way, until he would be able to hit a blueberry from a hundred steps away. Yeah, that sounded like fun! The problem was this girl following him through the woods. She kept hiding behind the trees, giggling when he missed a target or applauding when he managed to hit a banana. Whatever mischief had gotten into her, it wasn’t his doing either.Last Updated : 2022-03-05

Tejeda took his time rinsing his new scrawny body and wondering how Kirian did anything with those long, thin fingers. His pale complexion could have been due to the extended time spent in that cave. He closed his eyes, swiping through the memories. Perhaps it was because of his entire life spent loitering indoors or an interesting gene inherited since birth. But the last one was a stretch considering his black hair and black eyes. Of course, he could stop and search through the past or inside his body structure, but he got bored before even beginning to do anything.Unfortunately, Shayla had wasted all of his Zondarian horra, so for now he was stuck inside this weak frame. Of course, he could have increased his strength and perhaps even improved his appearance, but he was too preoccupied with dealing with the tidal wave of memories during the shift. He d