Reanimated as Death's Bane

A portal

Pete's fist hung in the air, inches from the Dashkyr's shifting face. Rage burned in his chest like fire, his new muscles tensed and was ready to strike.

The alien's green eyes glowed faintly in the dim tunnel light, its skin rippling like water as it struggled to hold its human shape.

Behind them, the stomping footsteps of the assassins echoed louder, closing in fast. "You tricked me!" Pete yelled, shoving the creature harder against the rough walls. "You're one of those things that ruined everything I had, my home, my family!"

The Dashkyr gasped, its voice a weird mix of Tee's tone and something alien, like a groan wrapped in words. "Wait... listen! If you kill me now, we're both done.”

“Those trackers will get us. They'll drag you back to the labs, turn you into something worse than me. Or worse, kill you slowly."

Pete's breath came in heavy bursts. He could feel the power in his hands, the strength from whatever those chemicals had done to him.

One punch, and was sure this thing's head would splatter like the drones he'd smashed earlier. But the words sank in.

The alarms echoed loudly, the red lights flashed like angry eyes. The assassins were getting closer, he could hear their boots splashing through puddles. He had to make a choice.

The Dashkyr turned towards the noise. "We have to work together to get out of here. I know a myth, a way to escape this hell. A thing, hidden in the wild outside."

"It could guide us free or leave a clue. Then we split. Go our ways. No more deals."

Pete was deeply confused. He wanted to escape. To find Dave, check on his mom, fix the mess he'd made. But trusting this monster? It felt like swallowing poison. Still, the blasts were getting closer, and he wasn't ready to die in some filthy tunnel.

"Fine," Pete growled, releasing his grip. "But one wrong move, and I'll rip you apart myself."

The Dashkyr nodded quickly. They bolted down the tunnel, side by side. Up ahead, they were guards unaware of the situation patrolling the exit paths. Four of them, armored in white suits, with blaster guns.

Pete didn't wait. He charged first, his body moving faster than ever before. He slammed into the nearest guard. The man went down with a grunt, but the others spun around, firing wild shots. Pete dodged, his enhanced senses picked up the whine of the blasts before they hit.

The Dashkyr shifted partially, its claws extended from its fingers like knives. It tore through two guards in a blur. But the last one got a lucky shot, grazing the alien's side. It hissed in pain, clutching the wound as green ooze seeped out.

They cleared the bodies and burst out of the tunnel into fresh air. Night had fallen and the moon cast a dim glow over the thick forest that waited them, with grass overgrown to chest height, swaying like a sea of green blades.

Small paths cut through it, with stationed guards on each corner, lights flickered from watchtowers, shadows of guards moved past like ghosts.

"Through the grass," Pete whispered, diving in.

As they crept deeper, the Dashkyr spoke in a low voice. "The myth... it's old, from my kind's tales. The thing changes every time, it could be a stone, a tree mark, or whatever thing that seems out of place. When you activate it, the guardian comes."

It paused. "It mostly gives a clue, but sometimes they say it guides you out. I tried escaping once, with my pack. We fought hard, but they killed them all. I surrendered, and they tortured me with more experiments.

"Stories say only a handful ever escaped. The rest get slaughtered before finding it."

Pete's heart twisted at the word "pack." It reminded him of Dave. But he shoved the feeling down. "Shut it," he snapped. "Talking will get us caught. Focus on finding this thing."

They moved silently through the woods, with Pete picking up every rustle and footstep, avoiding were guards were positioned.

But then, a shout cut the silence. The watchtower lights circled them, and four guards came after them, running through the grass with their guns.

The Dashkyr jumped at them, it shoved its claws into the gap at the neck area of their suits, taking down two guards with brutal swipes without a sound.

But the effort cost it a fresh slash across its arm with more blood dripping out. In human form, losing blood like this sped up the shifting time back to its true form, and its skin was already rippling.

Pete faced the other two, he blocked a punch, countered with a knee to the gut, but these guys were trained. One tackled him, slamming him into the dirt. His rib was stabbed by one and the other rained blows down on him.

He landed a solid hit to the helmet but it did nothing, stalling Pete for a second, the second guard pinned his arms and quickly cuffed him. "Got the intruder!" one yelled into a comm.

Pete struggled to break free, but he wasn't strong enough, he was still adapting to this new body. The guards tied him up and dragged him down with them.

The Dashkyr had hidden between the grass, watching what unfolded, he turned to the forest depths. It could run, find the 'thing' alone. But something stopped it.

The memories of its pack being torn apart in a similar escape. Leaving this kid felt... wrong. Like repeating the same failure.

The Dashkyr followed the path the guards took, blending into the shadows, sniffing the air for Pete's scent, moving from cover to cover, dodging the patrolling guards by inches.

Up ahead, in a small clearing, the guards had Pete on his knees, with energy rings cuffing his wrists. "The scientists will love dissecting this one." one muttered.

The Dashkyr decided on climbing a thick branch to survey the area, then it spotted Pete. It struck immediately rushing through the grasses with its claws extended. The guards turned towards the rustle but the Dashkyr was already landed behind them.

It slashed the first guard's throat in a heartbeat. The second turned, firing a shot that grazed the alien's shoulder, then another followed, drawing more blood from it, but it didn't stop. It tackled the guard, grabbing the weapon free and blasting him point-blank.

Pete blinked up, surprised. "You... came back?"

The Dashkyr yanked off the cuffs, grunting as the current passed through it. "Couldn't leave you. Reminded me of... old mistakes." It helped Pete up, and they dashed off.

"Thanks," Pete said quietly, the word seemed heavy because of who it was directed to. Pete felt a strange pity for the creature, it wasn't just a monster, it had lost things too.

From above, Ace watched through drone feeds in the control room. He monitored the two heat signals that weren't his mens. "Pinpoint them," he ordered. "Don't strike yet. Wait till they're out of the overgrowth. Surround and capture them."

Pete felt a prickle on his neck, like he was being watched and followed, but he couldn't spot anything odd ahead. "Something's off," he muttered. But they had no choice but to push forward.

They stepped into a clearing, moonlight shone on the open space, like the clear path to freedom. Instantly, armored guards emerged from the trees, dozens of them with their weapons locked on the two. "Freeze!"

Nets shot out, heavy webs of energy that wrapped around Pete and the Dashkyr, pinning them to the ground. The guards closed in, to take them away, but the Dashkyr had a plan.

Its claws burst free, twitching to tear open its net but it was too tangled so it slashed at Pete's, tearing a hole. "Go!" It yelled.

Pete burst out, grappling the nearest guard. He grabbed the energy rifle and fired wildly, the blasts turned guards into blood particles and the survivors backed off, giving space to avoid friendly fire.

Pete turned, ripping the Dashkyr's net open. He sensed a blast coming in his direction then he shoved the alien aside, letting it graze his arm enduring the acid burn. "Run!"

The Dashkyr grabbed a fallen weapon, and they sprinted, blasting backward. The shots lit up the night, trees exploded around them.

Focused on the pursuers, they didn't see the pit ahead hidden by overgrown grass.

They tumbled in, landing hard in the dirt ten feet down. Pete groaned, rubbing his head, when he gained consciousness of his environment and knew the Dashkyr was with him, he blamed it. "If I were leading, we wouldn't be in this mess!"

"Me?" the Dashkyr shot back. "You pushed us this way!"

Above, guards zoomed past, missing the hidden drop. The duo stayed quiet, holding their breaths, until the footsteps faded.

The Dashkyr strolled away from Pete towards a small opening where it spotted a glow, it was a small bell tied to a vine on the wall, it looked ancient and rusty. "This... it matches the myth." It tugged, but the bell didn't budge.

The Dashkyr tugged at it for minutes, but Pete sat and watched, he remembered the theory the Dashkyr had given, when it was found it should be activated, and tugging a bell was no way to activate it.

He reached over, gripping the clapper, and struck it hard. The sound was deafening, like a thunderclap echoing through the forest. The guards turned back, tracing the sound wave to the pit.

But as they rushed in, a portal opened at the pit's base. Pete and the Dashkyr leaped through immediately. Then the portal closed, leaving the guards staring at empty dirt.