Moonlust

Chapter Nineteen, Underneath The Skin.

The clash of bullets and steel roared on the battlefield. A thousand cry echoed across the barricades while the vicious troops advanced further beyond the human borders. Soldiers' eyes were sealed with desperation as their comrades fell one by one, the absence of Andrew wounded the strategy division inevitably harming the legions as a whole. It seemed that the human population was in a disastrous decrease, alerting the mooncallers to an imminent future where their lust is never fulfilled and so, they were keen on catching as many alive humans as they can for the means of reproduction. This was very visible in that battle, the attack techniques were different but bloodshed still occurred as the mindless ghouls recruited in the army of the dead had no restraint over their hunger.

A scene that left the minds of the survivors forever unsteady. Battle after battle, the deafening wails of agony never lost their petrifying effects on them. On that night, where the full moon was ashamed to share its stolen light, plots were brewing in the shadows of the battle. It seemed that those who surrendered to their despair never knew the knowledge others had gained. There were new developments in the hidden plot that sparked hope in the hearts of Ivanka and Carvo. As the sharp claws of the enemy closed in on the city, a force pushed it further back in hope of delaying the final fall of the grand city of Boneclad.

I. Resurrection.

Tied down to Carvo's bloody experimentation table and humiliated by the failure he underwent, Brando wouldn't rest. He fought with all of his might to break through the restraints as the full moon cursed him with an agonizing craving.

His words were suppressed inside his beaten mouth. His eyes were glaring red, and through them, the soul that once inhabited that body left no trace behind. Those windows only showed the nature of an artificial beast. Carvo was smitten by his sheer presence. He was processing all of the possibilities involving his sister's disappearance, and he hoped that once he tamed this demon, he would use him to find her before the full moon ended.

"Marclyen, you stay with me. Ben and Ali, you go watch the front door." Carvo ordered the league of soldiers he gathered. Marclyen had always been a good acquaintance of Carvo. She was his former wife's niece who he had seen grow into a fine lady and a tough soldier. He knew she would be trustworthy to go through with this plan, and she proved his choices to be correct.

The two soldiers exited the basement as Carvo began to hook up the fake Brando into a monitor while he resisted and whimpered underneath the muffle. Marclyen was horrified yet she kept her cool. She was intrigued enough to glance at the anatomy of this creature, one that was so close to being a human. Carvo wouldn't let her just look. "Help me here, turn on the monitors." He asked her as she darted across the room and obeyed his orders. As soon as she had heard the monitors being turned on, she watched Carvo take a deep breath as he held a scalpel and patiently cut through Brando's abdomen.

"Watch this... Magnificent!" Carvo gasped while Marcela gagged. "It replicated the organs entirely, all of this is created by consuming the original ones!" Carvo looked around Brando's exposed internals, mesmerized by the strange maze of bionic organs still entrapped in the flesh. Carvo could see that the original ones were not completely engulfed, there were remains of them in each newly generated artificial one, like a seed. Perhaps a blueprint for the artificial duplicate.

"I would have never imagined it to be this beautiful!" Carvo touched the glowing blue lungs. He understood what that body was, a temporary generated vessel that would only work when supplied by organic material. Once he considered the nature of Brando and his minions, he understood that if he isn't done before the full moon is over, the fake Brando's body would disintegrate and the remaining flesh of the stolen body will continue its decaying. There will be nothing left but a brain in stasis, awaiting revival.