[REND] B2. 10.1 - Monsters Make Friends

Kelsey Fletcher

Kelsey Fletcher stirred awake from the deep hibernation that she had willingly gone into. The void wasn’t so empty anymore.

Is that Keke? Kelsey could feel a medley of emotions swirling around her—wonder, excitement, a sprinkle of confusion, and many more. This was what prodded her awake, even though she didn’t want to. Keke must be having a blast using her body.

How much time had passed since Kelsey had completely surrendered her body? Did Keke finally escape the PCM prison, as she had promised? She might be fighting her way out right now, causing this slew of emotions. Keke often repeated that experiencing emotions was the main reason that she wanted to come over to ‘this side’. Fighting using a physical body would surely be a thrilling experience for her, an entity swirling with many others in an undecipherable dimension.

A worrying thought came to Kelsey—what if her friend did escape… and was now killing innocent people? No matter the promises Keke made, she was still an Adumbrae. There was a chance that…  

Kelsey was tempted to surface and check what was happening in the outside world. Keke had told her it was fine to look, but it was probably better not to. If her friend had indeed turned into a rampaging monster, then it was better not to see that. If Keke was simply exploring the world, then even more reason for Kelsey not to peek.

I’d prefer not to yearn for the life I had given up. She was yearning for it now. Dammit.

But Kelsey couldn’t go back to sleep, no matter how hard she tried. The emotions kept coming. Sensations started to seep in. Pain? Fighting?

Keke… what’s going on up there? I trust that you’re doing what’s best for us.

Fifteen years ago, Kelsey met the entity she called Keke. She didn’t know when it started, but it was probably before she was kidnapped by her parents and taken to join a cult. One day, Keke was just… there. Kelsey didn’t really question why her shadow was no longer on the ground; it had climbed up to sit beside her.

Kelsey reminisced about those days, smiling even though she could no longer smile. She always counted three in their bedroom—herself, Myra, and… Keke. Thankfully, Myra forgot about those days, thinking that her seeding was recent. Their aunt dismissed Keke as an imaginary friend.

An imaginary friend that wasn’t really imaginary.

‘Keke’ was supposed to be Kelsey’s nickname. It was given by her parents, those good-for-nothing, brainwashed cultists who abused her and Myra. Kelsey didn’t want the nickname, so her other self offered to take it. The Adumbrae promised to receive all her pain.

That was the least of what Keke had done for her. Keke saved Kelsey and Myra from the cult. It was with Keke’s help that Kelsey was able to kill her parents, who weren’t fit to be called as such.

Kelsey had accepted her fate as payment for everything Keke had done for her. She knew this would happen when she became older and realized what Adumbrae were. She wasn’t angry at Keke. But it took her some time to make peace with—actually, she still couldn’t accept it.

She was twenty-four and living the best years of her life so far. She and her sister were thriving, going to one of the best universities in the country, making lots of friends, and forgetting about their dark past. Didn’t she deserve to enjoy these moments after what they’ve been through? Didn’t she have the right to be like other normal people?

But it wasn’t meant to last.

The spiraling thoughts were returning. I should go back to sleep and forget all this…

Kelsey hoped that Keke wouldn’t ever wake her up again. It took ages in this void to shut off her mind. And there were no sleeping pills in this place.

But Keke didn’t let her be. Stronger emotions flooded in, disturbing Kelsey’s little nook in the darkness. Elevated excitement, amusement, and wonder, and lots of pain. Kelsey could recognize suffering, though she could no longer feel it herself. If Keke was dying, shouldn’t Kelsey be worried too?

Should I care about it? She had already written herself off as dead. It was Keke’s body now.

But Kelsey reasoned that she should care for her friend, if nothing else. She swam through the darkness, even though she didn’t have hands or feet to paddle with. She didn’t even have a body. She headed up without knowing where up or down was. The trail of emotions and sensations was the breadcrumbs she followed to be reunited with Keke’s consciousness.

Sparkles of light disturbed the darkness. The glittering became a tiny thread. Kelsey desperately reached out for it, willing the blob that was her minute consciousness to move into the light.

Keke kept her promise… Kelsey had doubted whether the Adumbrae would really leave her a way out of this void.

Tidbits of what was happening outside collided with Kelsey’s mind, giving her glimpses of Keke’s experiences. Kelsey hadn’t seen anything in what felt like ages, finding it difficult to make sense of what was happening. Were they still in the tunnels? Everything was dark.

Stairs? Rooms? This was no longer underground. Keke succeeded in escaping!  

But she was fighting someone. She was in danger.

A monster? A werewolf was what first came to Kelsey’s mind. Was this another Adumbrae held by the PCM? It was chewing on an arm, purple and glittering in the scant light. The view shifted. Keke was looking at a stump gushing blood.

That arm was hers! Our arm!

Phantom palpitations enveloped Kelsey. Her heart was no longer her own, yet she imagined it racing. She felt the coldness of fear even though she no longer had skin. They were hunted down by a strong foe.

Kelsey could hear bits and pieces of the conversation, but couldn’t make out the individual words. Everything sounded mushed together. Even the scenes blended, as if someone pressed the fast-forward button. Through the jumble of events, Keke's laughter permeated throughout the void.

Why was she having fun? Kelsey didn’t understand an Adumbrae’s mind.  

And then, it turned dark.

It wasn’t that Kelsey lost sight of the outside world. What happened was that Keke couldn’t see anything in the almost total darkness. The werewolf Adumbrae must’ve brought them to a holding cell.

Did it mean that the werewolf was in cahoots with the PCM? Keke failed in her escape.

Light. Very dim light. It came from a single lightbulb dangling from the low ceiling that was switched on. Keke was lying on the ground, looking up at it. She then looked left and right to scan the place.

The rest of the room had crates stacked against the walls. Kelsey didn’t know what they contained. She also noted chains running through hoops studded on the walls. Some of the chains ended in manacles. This truly was a prison.

How could simple chains restrain an Adumbrae’s strength? Were the PCM going to turn on those horrid machines that cause tremendous headaches?

A rattling noise. Keke struggled to push herself into a sitting position with the stumps that were her regenerating arms. The solid metal door opened, followed by the grills sliding to the side. The werewolf that Kelsey had seen earlier struggled to fit herself through the narrow rectangular opening that was half the size of a regular doorway. The werewolf seemed to be growing before her very eyes, its massive shoulders scraping the ceiling.

“Why haven’t you eaten me yet?” Kelsey said. Or rather, it was Keke who spoke, controlling her body.

Nonetheless, Kelsey felt the sensation of her moving mouth. She tried controlling any part of her body to no avail. A pang of guilt stabbed her. She had promised Keke that she wasn’t going to fight for control of her body. It was payment for saving her and Myra.

Did Keke notice that Kelsey was here, too? Keke seemed to be fixated on the werewolf looming over them.

The werewolf replied with rumbling growls as it turned around to grab the grill door and forcefully pulled it into the already cramped room. Metal groaned as it warped and tore loose from the walls. The werewolf tore each of the individual grills off the door as if shredding paper.

“Or are you thinking of restraining me?” Keke asked, chuckling. “I suppose that you want to return to your human form so that we can talk. You don’t trust your other body to be capable of fighting me.”

The werewolf grunted as it hunched over to pick up Keke, its massive fingers wrapping around her midsection. The claws that were like scimitars dug into her sides as the grip tightened. Kelsey could only feel hints of the sensation.  

“On the topic of trust, you should know that you have to trust me,” Keke said, looking down at her body.

It was then that Kelsey realized they had lost their legs as well. The pain Keke felt must be immense. Kelsey was glad that she wasn’t in control, or she’d be yelling at the top of her lungs. She’d probably outright faint after losing her first limb.

“You can’t expect my cooperation if I’m your prisoner,” Keke continued as the monster pressed her against the back wall. “It’s as if that I—urgh!”

Oh my god! Kelsey gasped in her thoughts.

The werewolf stabbed Keke with one of the bars from the grill door, pinning her to the wall. There were several more bars.

(Don’t worry, Kelsey,) Keke said in her mind.

(You know that I’m here? I-I’m sorry that—)

(There’s no need to apologize. I must’ve disturbed your slumber.)

(What are we going to do? A-are we gonna die?)

(This foe won’t kill us.)

Warmth embraced Kelsey, reminding her of the times that Keke hugged her when she was scared. If Keke was confident that they’d survive, then it must be so.

“This isn’t your lair,” Keke told the werewolf. “The PCM members—” Keke paused as another piece of metal impaled them “—were inside here. You don’t expect to keep me here for long because they’ll find me.”

The werewolf isn’t with the PCM? Was this another Adumbrae who escaped along with Keke?  

“Which leads me to… ugh… believe that you simply want to talk.” There were now three metal bars that passed through their body.

Keke’s body, Kelsey corrected herself.

The werewolf continued its grim work, nailing Keke to the wall with more bars. There were two embedded below each shoulder. Three on the chest area, piercing the lungs. The heart may have been hit as well. Another three penetrated her abdomen. Dripping blood punctuated the silence between each stab.

“You may end up killing me,” Keke said, gurgling some blood. The werewolf shook its head. Keke laughed before spitting out blood. “I never thought this would happen after I escaped the PCM. This world hasn’t been kind to me so far. I wonder why the others are so eager to come here.”

The werewolf looked around, finding no more metal bars to stab Keke with. It had grown so big that it filled the front two-thirds of the room with its hairy bulk. It made the room darker, blocking out the weak light bulb.

“Return to your original body,” said Keke. “You don’t have much time until my limbs fully—oh, you’re going to remove them again. Such a cruel creature you are.”

Nodding, the werewolf leaned forward with its open maws. A flash of intense pain reached Kelsey, causing her consciousness to almost dissolve. She held herself together, enduring a fraction of what Keke suffered. Through Keke’s eyes, Kelsey’s windows to the outside world, she saw the werewolf chomp off Keke’s reforming limbs.

Right arm. Then the left. And the legs followed. After each bite, the werewolf would violently chew the limb, splashing blood and flesh bits on Keke, before swallowing it.

“Don’t bother with the theatrics,” said Keke. “You can’t intimidate me. Either I choose to cooperate with you or not. Either I choose to tell you the truth or not. You have to gamble your trust.”

The werewolf made snorting sounds that may be laughter. It scratched the bottom of its chin.

The room brightened a couple of notches. The werewolf, casting a huge shadow, was gone. Keke looked down at a young woman with long black hair standing where the werewolf once stood. The woman was holding a red item that faded into sparkles in the air.

Who is she? Kelsey couldn’t shake the feeling that she should know this woman. But she hadn’t encountered other Adumbrae, not counting the one leading the cult at Waco.

“You are no longer covering your face,” Keke said.

“This is proof of my sincerity,” said the woman. “A bit weird to be talking about sincerity after eating parts of you, but that’s it.”

“How is this proof of—? I understand. Kelsey knows who you are. I was right that you aimed to save your friend. Unfortunately, she is inside me. I cannot bring her back even if you tried.”

“I will still try.”

There was a certain confidence in the way she spoke that made Keke pause. Kelsey felt her friend’s uncertainty. What could this mysterious woman do to them?

(Who is she?) Keke asked internally. (I’ll search your memories.)

(I-I don’t know. I feel that I’ve seen her recently. We’re not friends, that I’m sure of. Occasional acquaintances, maybe?)

“Are you done asking Kelsey about me?” the woman wondered. “It won’t be a surprise if I didn’t stick to her memories. I can’t even remember if we’ve talked in law school. Maybe during orientation last semester? Then again, I mostly keep to myself.”

Law school? Kelsey watched as Keke flipped through her memories. Dozens of faces proverbially flashed in front of her nonexistent eyes. The image of a short and petite woman wearing glasses came into focus. She was a fellow 1L student whom Kelsey had barely interacted with.

What was her name again?

“Eren…” Keke said.

“It’s Erind, not Eren. That’s a common mistake. My name and its spelling aren’t so familiar to people.”

“You don’t have much time, Erind.” Keke nodded to the side at her regenerating arms. “Let us talk. Once again, I offer you cooperation. Assurances? I have none to give other than empty words. This is a gamble. But your salvation is worth a try, isn’t it?”

“I will talk… with Kelsey. Not you.”

(Author's Notes: It appears that Kelsey knows about Erind's secret before Deen does. We're going to see next chapter why Erind decided to do this. Also, we've learned a lot from Kelsey's perspective. What would Kelsey think of Erind eating her body? Apologies for the delay. Thank you for reading and supporting REND.)