Satyr Play 03 Pt. 01

His mind returned again and again to that first night. He knew everything hinged on the attractive stranger who had tried to take Stanley's place in their group of friends, Henry Gable.

Roger had been suspicious of him from the very beginning, and now it seemed he may be at the center of the conspiracy. He had to be connected in some way to the large, horned goat-legged monster he'd seen in the hospital room. However, the night Roger got close enough to get a good look at him, he appeared human.

That was also the night Roger got a taste of his first monster. It had been like nothing he'd ever tasted, and he wanted more. He'd encountered the recluse next, and aside from another filling meal, he got himself a permanent base, a means of transportation, and some pocket money.

He'd used the bicycle to ride all over the city to hunt for his meals. He already knew how to travel through the city to avoid big brother's video surveillance, so that skill came in handy.

Tonight, he was close to the Bronx Zoo. He hadn't hunted in this part of the city yet. As he passed the zoo's closed gate, he picked up the scents of the resident animals and the humans who visited and worked in the zoo. The visitor scents were relatively faint as the day was done. But there was one scent that triggered his saliva glands. It was intense, pungent, and definitely not human or animal. It came from inside the grounds, so he was going to have to break in.

He found a pocket of dark between the streetlights and under the trees where he chained his bike to a tree. He tucked the key into a tear under the seat as who would look there?

While his new eyes couldn't see color or detect light and dark, his skin could feel the pressure of light, be it natural or man-made. It was simple to find darkness as it was the absence of that pressure. Daylight was uncomfortable, so now, his waking hours were during the night.

Turning, he faced the eight-foot-tall chain-link fence topped by barb wire. Once, he would have been blocked by this obstacle, but as the scent of his dinner filled his senses, his body began to itch and shift. He quickly pulled off his clothes before the change progressed too far. He wrapped his hoodie and sweat pants around his running shoes and used the hoodie's sleeves to tie the bundle to the bicycle frame.

Naked, he stood in the deep shadows as his arms and legs stretched, giving him a few more inches of height and reach. His hands extended their six-inch claws while the claws on his toes were just two inches. Both were deadly sharp and hard enough to cut through the chain-link, but he had a better way to get past the fence.

He crouched down and gauged the top of the fence, then sprung upwards, clearing the sharp wire by a few inches. He sailed over the obstacle in an arc, completely inverted as he reached the apex and continuing on to land silently on his feet. He remained crouched as he scanned his surroundings.

Drool ran down his chin as the thick, pungent pong of the monster drifted by on a light breeze. His teeth had extended as well as his jaw hinge stretched down to compensate. Long and razor-sharp, his teeth were perfectly suited to ripping the meat from his dinner.

He scented the air and determined his quarry was moving away to the north. He loped along the lit path, keeping to the shadows as best he could. He slowed and stopped when he spotted the big man up ahead. Roger's drool was freely running as he could almost taste the flesh of this brute.

He was downwind from his quarry, but the animals were agitated, and their noises painted the scene for Roger's eyes. The monster was bulkier than any he'd faced yet with thick slabs of muscle. It had small eyes, pointed ears, and jutting up from its bottom lip were two tusks. It had to be at least seven feet tall.

Roger began to wonder if he'd be able to take on such a giant creature. His hunger wasn't willing to give up when such a heavy meal was before him. He crept forward.

"Who's there! You can't be here. Zoo's closed."

Roger paused as he heard its deep voice calling out. There was no fear in the voice, but the creature sounded a little simple-minded. He hesitated, but his hunger pushed him forward.

The big man didn't run. He began walking towards Roger, which made him pause again. There was no scent of fear. This monster was strong, so he obviously believed he could defeat anything he faced. The monster's stride was long, so he was only twenty feet away at this point. It was too late for Roger to run and remain unseen.

Instead, he attacked.

The monster wasn't ready for Roger's frontal attack, but it did manage to throw one of its arms up to protect its face.

Roger's teeth sunk deep into the thick meat of its forearm as he raked his claws down the chest of the brute. It grunted then struck Roger in the side of his chest with a powerful right fist. Ribs creaked but didn't break, and the monster's eyes widened as it began to realize its strength might not be enough. When Roger's feet kicked against his rounded gut, claws dug in, then Roger sprung away, ripping the big man's stomach muscles as well as a chunk of muscle from his arm.

The brute cried out in pain this time and stumbled forward. Roger sprung up and over the monster, narrowly avoiding another swipe of the huge right fist. He lashed out with his claws and left deep gouges across the left side of the creature's face. He got the beast's eye too, and its next cry was full of fear. Roger felt a thrill course through him.

He moved in for the kill and found himself sailing over a wall and a deep moat from a powerful backhand from its uninjured right arm. He struggled to catch a breath then crashed to the ground inside an enclosure. He was immediately attacked by two large and very agitated beasts with sharp teeth and claws.

Roger's claws and teeth were sharper and more vicious as he fought for his life. He killed one lioness and drove the other off with severe injuries. His head whipped around as the scent of his target moved away.

The giant monster was almost to the security office when Roger dropped onto his back and sank his teeth into his thick neck. Dagger-sharp teeth stabbed deeply until they crunched bone and hit the spinal cord.

Roger rode the paralyzed body down to the ground. He didn't release the grip on his bite until he was sure the creature wasn't going to surprise him again. Just in case, Roger used a single claw to open its neck. It gurgled for a bit, then the twitching weakened. He rolled the huge body over onto its back. Small eyes filled with shock and fear stared up at him.

It was taking too long, and Roger was too weary from his injuries and his hunger. He could wait no longer. He forced two claws into the big man's gut just below its ribs and tore downwards, opening him up. He didn't have time to wait for the beast to die, so he began eating his organs as it shook and gasped under his claws.

As good as it was for Roger, he didn't have time to enjoy it as someone was likely to investigate. Still, Roger glutted himself on the monster before he finally stumbled away off the path towards the fence he'd leapt over. He was bleeding from several cuts and scratches from the lions, but with a full meal in his belly, these wounds were already healing quickly.

When he reached the spot he'd entered the zoo, he picked up the sound of the bike lock chain rattling against the frame. Someone was stealing his bike?!?

He sprang over the fence to land just behind a small man trying to figure out how to steal his bicycle. The lock's chain was extra thick, as was its small U-lock. The thief was trying to pick the lock.

Roger must have made a sound as the bike thief spun with a knife in his hand and froze.

"What the fuck are y-uurrkk!" he began to shriek, but it turned into a gurgle as Roger slashed his throat with a single claw. Before the man could fall, Roger gripped his jacket and crotch and heaved him over the fence.

Roger heard a siren coming in the distance, so he quickly dressed and willed himself to relax to be able to put his runners back on. He unlocked and unchained the bike so he could quickly ride in the opposite direction from the sirens. Once again, he kept to the side streets as he rode in a wide arc to bring himself back to his hide-out. The sky was just beginning to lighten, which told him once more he'd fucked up and taken too long tonight. He stopped a block away and did a quick but thorough check of the neighborhood, extending his senses in all directions but saw no signs of watchers. He rode his bike back to the home and settled himself in for the day.

He looked around the dump he now had to spend his days in and frowned. This wasn't how he wanted his life to be. He was supposed to be the one who opened the eyes of the world to how empty and corrupt their societies had become. He was going to usher in a new era of pure anarchy, as mankind was supposed to live! When he discovered the monsters living amongst them, he thought that exposing them would send civilization into a tailspin, but even when he left their monstrously deformed corpses for others to find, no one seemed to see their true shapes! It wasn't working, and that made him angry!

As he sank back against the worn cushions of the old recliner chair, he smiled as he felt the pain from his bruises, cuts, and scratches gradually ease. He healed remarkably quickly after a meal. He assumed this was a survival trait of whatever he'd become. That question, what the small bike thief had been trying to say when Roger ended his life, burned in him. He needed to know. Roger's mission was gaining no traction.

He was betting that Henry Gable knew the answers to his questions. Maybe it was time to get them.

Chapter 7

There was a rapid knocking at Henry's door, and Tish ran to open it. Sigrid and Meixiu were there with anxious and guilty looks on their faces, respectively. Tish stood aside as Meixiu rushed in and headed for the bedroom immediately.

When she got there, she saw Dayshia sleeping next to Henry as Michelle and Sandy were groggily sitting up on Henry's other side. They eased themselves off the bed.

Michelle wore a very pleased smile on her face as she'd slept with a man for the first time in her life. Slept. Baby steps.

Sigrid and Tish arrived in the bedroom, and the tall blonde looked at the others in surprise. Tish smiled self-consciously. "We've been taking turns talking to him all night. Where were you two?"

The two shared a guilty expression. "We were hunting the serial killer. Our cell phones were off."

Meixiu wasted no more time but climbed onto the bed to stretch out next to Henry. She moved her lips next to his ear.

"Henry? You need to wake up! Where are you?" she pleaded.

They waited, but nothing happened.

"Henry! Please wake up!" Meixiu cried.

Still nothing. The small woman looked at Sigrid with a stricken expression. "I should have been here last night!"

Sigrid just pursed her lips and shook her head. She felt equally to blame as she'd managed to get Meixiu to confess what she'd be up to and told her they would go out together from now on for safety. "Try again."

Sigrid turned to Sandy. "Go out on the balcony and look up. Tell us if you see a change in the color of the sky." Sandy nodded and dashed for the door.

The tall and slim Chinese woman nodded and clung to Henry. She repeated her calls and listened to his breathing between each attempt. He'd come back so quickly last time. That it was taking so long now was seriously frightening her.

Sandy called out from down the hall. "The sky above is turning green!"

Meixiu looked hopefully at Sigrid, who nodded. The smaller woman moved her mouth closer to his ear to speak insistently. "Henry! Where are you? Come back to your body, NOW!"

Henry's body heaved as he sucked in a deep breath. Everyone screamed, squealed, or squeaked in surprise, Dayshia waking with a scream on her lips. She blinked and looked at Henry's waking state. Sandy came running when she heard the noise.

Meixiu clung tighter and kissed Henry, whose eyes were fluttering open.

"Meixiu, give him a chance to fully wake up!" Sigrid admonished her roommate.

Henry's eyes were rolling in his head. "Oh god... What... Did that... what happened?" he muttered.

Tish climbed on the bed and leaned over him to look into his eyes. "You were injured last night. Your mind left your body again after you were healed."

Henry was looking at her in dread. "Shit... it happened again. This time I didn't cause it but..." He tried to sit up, and Tish helped him. He looked to Meixiu. He took her face in his hands and kissed her. "Thank you for bringing me back."

"We tried talking to you all night to get you to return! What is it about Meixiu's voice that makes you hear her!" Dayshia asked.

Henry blinked at her then looked to the others, who were all waiting for an answer. "Thank you. I-I recall hearing your voices... as I passed by in orbit."

Sandy squeaked in surprise. "Your mind was flying around in outer space?!?"

A shudder went through Henry's body as he shook his head. "No. More like the upper atmosphere." He looked to Sigrid. "The flow of the Wild Magic is much faster than it was before, and it's much stronger. I was caught in the current and went around the planet again, again, and again."

She looked frightened by his admission. "Henry. Out of body experiences don't normally allow for that much distance between the mind and body. You could become permanently lost out there."

Meixiu's breathing was becoming faster as she began to get more and more upset. "You will not do that anymore!" she snapped at him in fright.

He felt it then, a compulsion to obey. He smiled as he pulled her into a tight hug. "I know why Meixiu's voice draws me back!" he said with a shocked smile. The others looked to him. "She's able to compel people with her voice. I felt a pull! Is that some kind of Vampire ability?" He looked to Meixiu and Sigrid.

The muscular blonde smiled as she bumped her forehead with the heel of her hand. "Ah! Of course. I should have remembered, but she's the only Vampire I know."

Henry suddenly looked uncomfortable. "Sorry, I need to use the facilities. While I do that, Tish, can you turn on the TV to a news channel? Look for a story on an epic storm in a coastal Middle East city. His expression was a little bleak. He tried to get out of bed only to end up on the floor, his muscles weak and trembling.

"Henry! What's wrong?" Tish asked nervously.

"I seem to have no strength left, and I'm so hungry," Henry moaned.

"Kesini and I have this," Sandy said as she moved closer to lift Henry to his feet and helped him over to the washroom. Dayshia and Tish raised their eyebrows at the apparent ease Sandy had with lifting her much larger patient. They shared a grin with her, then guided the others out of the bedroom to the living room.

Tish got the TV going and scanned through the news channels. It didn't take long to find a story on a devastating explosion that killed hundreds in Kuwait City.

With Sandy and Kesini's assistance, Henry soon returned to join them and gave them all hugs. He was still a little shaky, so Tish immediately began preparing breakfast with Meixiu's assistance.

Henry stared bleakly at the screen, which was showing a very long view of Kuwait City. The press crews weren't being allowed to get close. Troops were also unable to move into the city from outside because of a wall of viciously whipped up sand and dust encircling the city. It didn't look natural. There were occasional flashes of silver from within the dust clouds. The news feed cut to a drone cam one of the news teams snuck into the area and deployed. They'd positioned it a short distance outside a large open space on the southern edge of the city. They were showing a huge gathering of gleaming humanoid shapes in this area. There had to be close to two hundred of them!

"What-- What are those?!?" Dayshia gasped.

Henry twitched and looked to the dark beauty. "Glass People. I was there last night. I saw them being created. The pseudo-clouds were fighting. They flew over the city streets, shedding their mass, saturating everything with Wild Magic charged rain. The people were coming outside to stand in it and watch the light show in the sky. Then the remaining clouds unleashed another attack. The lightning was intense, and when it was over, the people were either dead or had become glass."

"Oh my god, Henry!" Sigrid said, realizing he'd been inside what must have felt like a war zone.

"So much death!" he muttered as he watched as the screen split to keep one side with the drone footage and the other showing scenes of the amassed military might, just outside the stationary sandstorm. A single tank rolled forward. The news camera focused on this attempt to probe the wall.

Suddenly, a single silver humanoid rushed out of the swirling clouds of sand to rush up to the side of the tank. The split-screen switched to a single view of this silver being and the tank. The camera was too far to make out small details, but they could see it standing next to the large vehicle. A soldier sticking out of the top of the tank pointed his handgun at the silver being and pulled the trigger. The silver being didn't react at all at first. It just seemed to touch its chest. Then it stepped forward and kicked the tank's track multiple times, faster than the eye could track. It finally rushed back into the sandstorm. The Tank tried to move forward again, but the track that had been kicked no longer turned. It was broken.

"What was that?!?" Sigrid exclaimed.

Henry was peering closely at the video, trying to make out how many of the silver beings were racing back and forth in that cloud of sand. It became apparent to him that they were creating the blockade to... protect the Glass People? That was the first thing that came to his mind.

"Henry!"

He looked to Sigrid, who was staring at him intently. "Hmmm? What?"

"I was asking you if you saw the silver man last night too? Did he come from the other side?" she asked.

He shook his head. "I only saw one last night, and he was human before he changed. He was soaked with the rain from the pseudo-cloud, but he didn't get hit by the lightning. He picked up some debris that fell from one of the dead clouds. It was some shiny yellow stones and the silver strips which melted over his skin. The Silver People are, or were, Human. The one I saw last night ran away really fast after he changed." He pointed to the TV. "There seems to be more of them now, and I think they might be protecting the Glass People."

"The sandstorm is moving!" Dayshia called out. They turned back to the TV and saw the swirling sand and dust's outer boundary was indeed moving away from the troops and into the city streets, racing back to the field where the other beings waited for something. A few silver beings were running around the open park's periphery to keep the Human citizen within the city from interfering with the Glass People inside.

A reporter stated that the population of Kuwait City was almost two and a half million, so Henry was grateful, so few had ventured out into the storm. While there seemed to be hundreds of people gathered to see this event, they kept their distance.

While that was happening, the drone cams caught the flash of orange light in the center of the open space where the Glass People were gathered.

"Xiong and the others heard their call! It's an opening to Eden!" Henry shouted excitedly.

The glass beings surged forward slowly and began passing through the rip in space. Considering the number of Glass People, how slow they moved, and the energy it took to keep that rip open, Henry knew most weren't going to make it through.