I Devour the Leftovers

Chapter 8: The Boiler Room

The boiler room on Level Four was a furnace of heat and noise. Massive pipes, thick with rust and condensation, snaked across the walls and ceiling. In the center of the room, a colossal iron boiler rumbled, its metal skin glowing a dull, angry red. The air was thick with steam and the smell of burning coal.

Kaelen stepped through the heavy iron door. The heat was oppressive, but his body, toughened by the parasite, handled it without complaint.

Three figures waited for him. Gorran was there, his broken wrist tied to his chest with a filthy rag. Beside him stood two other Scroungers. One was thin and wiry, with a face like a rat. The other was a hulking brute, even larger than Gorran.

They had barricaded the door to the storage room with a pile of broken crates and scrap metal.

"There he is!" the rat-faced man squeaked. "The thief!"

Gorran stepped forward, his face twisted with rage and pain. "You think you can just take what's ours? We've been saving that stash for months! It's all we have!"

Kaelen didn't respond. He just looked at the barricade. It was flimsy. He could tear it apart with his bare hands.

"You're going to die here, Scrubber," the hulking brute growled, cracking his knuckles. "We're going to feed you to the boiler."

Kaelen moved.

He didn't go for the brute. He went for the barricade.

With a roar that was more animal than human, he grabbed the top crate and hurled it aside. It crashed into the wall, exploding into splinters. The rat-faced man screamed and scrambled back.

The brute charged, swinging a length of heavy chain.

Kaelen ducked under the chain. He drove his shoulder into the brute's gut, lifting him off his feet and slamming him into the boiler.

CLANG!

The impact was deafening. The brute gasped, the air knocked out of him.

Gorran and the rat-faced man attacked together. Gorran swung a pipe. The rat-man lunged with a rusty shiv.

Kaelen was faster. He sidestepped the pipe and grabbed Gorran's arm. He twisted, using Gorran's own momentum to throw him into the rat-man.

They crashed to the floor in a tangle of limbs.

Kaelen didn't stop. He turned back to the brute, who was still dazed. He grabbed the man by the throat and slammed his head into the boiler again. And again. And again.

The brute went limp.

Kaelen turned to Gorran and the rat-man. They were trying to crawl away, their faces pale with terror.

"Please," Gorran whimpered. "Don't kill us. Take the stash. It's yours."

Kaelen walked past them. He didn't kill them. He didn't need to. Fear was a better weapon than death.

He reached the storage room door. It was a heavy, reinforced steel door with a simple padlock.

He didn't need a key. He grabbed the lock with his mutated hand and squeezed.

Crunch.

The metal deformed and snapped. He pulled the door open.

Inside was a small room, no bigger than a closet. And in the center of the room was a wooden crate, sealed with wax.

Kaelen tore the lid off.

Inside were a dozen high-grade mana crystals. They glowed with a brilliant, sapphire blue light. They were pure. Potent. Everything the Vyre needed.

He picked up one of the crystals. It was warm, almost hot to the touch.

He popped it into his mouth and bit down.

CRUNCH.

The taste was incredible. It was like drinking liquid sunlight. The Vyre larva in his arm went wild, surging with energy. Kaelen felt a rush of power, a clarity of thought he had never experienced before.

[Consumption: High-Grade Mana Crystal]

[Parasite Evolution: Stage 2 - Pupa]

[Trait Upgraded: Corrosive Touch -> Acidic Spray]

Kaelen felt his arm changing. The bulge under his skin shifted, hardening. He could feel new muscles forming, new tendons connecting.

He looked at the remaining crystals. He would take them all.

He turned to leave. Gorran and the rat-man were still cowering in the corner. The brute was unconscious.

Kaelen walked past them, his eyes glowing with a faint blue light.

"Get out," he said, his voice cold. "This is my territory now."

They didn't argue. They scrambled to their feet and fled, disappearing into the steam and shadows of the boiler room.

Kaelen was alone. He had the crystals. He had the power.

And he was just getting started.