Welcome To The Dragon's Den

Bonus angry baby

2023 Eldritch SD-K

TW: Scopophobia

Warning: Mentioning of robot gore, slight body horror(?), and depressing thoughts.

Neo sat in his room, the lights glowed dimly due to the fluctuation of the Solver in effect. He was breathing more calmly than before, but the tremors were still present in his tense shoulders.

The organic wings that unnaturally grow from his back hung limply at his sides, his own oil dripping down as the winged fingers flexed without his consent and gently grabbed his ankles, acting like a second pair of arms to comfort himself. The strange fleshy head on his tail coiled around him and stared up at him with almost soulless eyes, but Neo knew better now, the tail was basically an extension of himself, and it was as upset as him.

“Why does bad things happen, when I think that I am understanding what is wrong with me?”

Neo muttered to himself as he hugged himself tightly, a thick black substance leaked out from his mouth, his stomach not yet accepting the taste of oil… Neo shuddered as he recalled how he got it, he almost vomit as the mental image of returning to Doll’s apartment and stole the whole pot of oil and dismembered Worker Drone limbs. He didn’t like what he had to do, but the scorching pain of overwhelming heat that pitted into his system begged to be quenched, to be freed from the pressure and the fear of death. But he felt a heavy weight of guilt for consuming the oil, he felt guilty for what he did at the campsite. He didn’t mean to hurt… To kill anyone… All he felt in that moment was hunger and the need to ease the overheating that burned into his core. Neo clutched his arms tightly, the fabric of his hoodie stretched and almost ripped in his grip.

It didn’t take Uzi long to finally make it to the 10-15 feet tall stone wall of the border between Bunker Hill and the Badlands. Uzi gets off her moped and hides it behind some shrubbery before walking towards the wall.

“250 miles of wall that cuts us off from the rest of the other 250 miles of this island.” Uzi huffed as she takes off her backpack and pulls out two items, a grappling hook and a gas mask. “And it’s been untouched for 65 years, so it’s just been just waiting to be explored.” Uzi securely fastened her gas mask before pointing her grappling hook and pulled the trigger, a clank was heard when the hook made contact with the top of the wall.

After a few seconds of climbing, Uzi made her way to the top of the wall. She took a moment to marvel at the sight in front of her, stretches of sand and dead vegetation as far as the eye could see, and you could barely make out the sight of the Badlands. “The City of Copper, who would have thought a meteor is responsible for the destruction of an entire city.”

Uzi lets an amused laugh before turning her gaze towards the direction of Bunker Hill, a flourishing city that contrasts with the old city yonder from the Badlands. Uzi huffs before jumping down the wall, leaving the border of safety of the outside world and into dangers unknown. It excites her.

“Gods! This is boring!” Uzi groaned as she continued to traverse the open sand, the border wall was barely visible behind Uzi as she walked. The sun was starting to fall, causing a beautiful scenery contrasting Uzi’s sour mood. “There’s nothing out here! No road, no infected animals, nothing! There has to be more to the Badlands than the city itself!” Uzi sighed in defeat, not feeling as excited as she anticipated. It made her feel frustrated and ashamed, thinking that something interesting would happen. “I… Should go home. There’s nothing for me here…”

Uzi was about to turn around before she yelped in surprise when something bright was flashed in her eye. She brought up a hand to shield herself before curiously peeking her eyes towards the source of the light. Uzi widened her eyes when she looked at what she saw, “are those… Ruins? How on earth did I not notice this?”

Uzi started to walk towards what seemed to be ruins of a small town, but what drew her attention the most, was the glinting light that led her here. Uzi looked around the ruins, buildings were covered in dead vegetation and looked like a tornado ran through them. “What… Happened here?” Uzi walked towards a small house and ran her fingers across the gravel wall that had what appeared to have slash marks. “Well ain’t that a bad omen,” Uzi shuddered as a chill went up her spine.

It didn’t take long for Uzi to come across a large structure, she felt a sense of curiosity and hesitance as she walked through the open doorway. Uzi peered inside and saw the interior of the building, it looked like it was supposed to be some kind of church or something similar. But what really caught Uzi’s eye was the source of the glinting light.