Grey sat wearily at the dinner table hesitant to dig in to her rat pie. Willow reached over from her left and held her hand comfortingly. To her right Mika consumed her dinner and looked over at Grey`s food with innocent eyes. Grey smiled and moved her pie over onto Mika`s pte for her to devour.

  “I still don`t understand why they just let us go.”, Max commented from opposite Grey, his food only partially touched.

  “I told you, they didn`t think I was worth the effort.”, Grey replied, telling them only half the truth.

  “Then why the extra guards outside the house? Something happened that you`re not telling us.”, Max insisted.

  “Let`s not argue, let us just enjoy our dinner. It`s been a while since we were all together like this. You have all been so hard at work, you deserve a chance to rest.”, Willow interjected, trying to defuse the tension.

  “I agree.”, Grey added, leaning over and kissing Willow on the lips.

  Dinner went on with a sense of unease. Max watched Grey suspiciously his mind working to figure out what she was hiding from them. Grey tried to ignore him wanting to enjoy the time with her family. But she couldn’t shake Isabelle`s threats. The thought of anything happening to her family was too much to bear. A part of her wanted to go back and accept Isabelle`s offer. To take the path of least resistance and ensure her loved ones safety. But she could never do that, she wouldn`t be able to live with herself if she turned her back on the people of the Undercity.

  She had to resign herself to the reality of the situation. She was in this fight till the end, hers or the Cartels. She just hoped that if things went bad her family would be spared.

  Whiskers, who was sat by the front door, lifted his head and perked his ears towards the outside. Grey looked at him and he looked back a shadow in his eyes. Something was wrong.

  The conversation at the table had taken up a sense of normalcy but now Grey was drowning it out. She rose from the table and walked over to the front door looking out with Whiskers.

  She could feel something out there beyond the tunnel, a dark insatiable hunger. She focused and tried to strengthen her senses to detect what it was. She looked past the life force of the Grey Guard patrolling the farm, past the life force of the people beyond the farm and stopped when she sensed something feint and inhuman. A darkness.

  Grey snapped back and looked to Willow and Max who were now by her side.

  “Is everything okay my Love?”, Willow asked concerned.

  “Something is coming for us isn`t it?”, Max deduced.

  “I need you all to stay in the house.”, Grey decred.

  Max was about to intervene, Grey grabbed him and forced him up against the wall, a cold numbness coming over her.

  “No matter what happens. You protect them.”, she pointed at Willow and Mika. “You protect THEM. Not me. Do you understand?”

  Max wanted to argue, but he could see the fear in Grey`s eyes. An uncontrolble fear that gripped her very soul. For once he didn`t question, he just did as he was told. Now was not the time to argue.

  Grey wondered out to the farm with Whiskers at her side and waved for the Grey Guard to assemble. One by one they huddled around her and could sense something was wrong.

  “Something is coming. I need four of you to stand with Max and protect my family. The rest of you form up defensively around the farm perimeter.”, she announced to their surprise.

  “Want me to run for more help?”, one of the Grey Guard asked.

  “There is no time, they`re already here.”, she replied. “Stand ready.”

  The Grey Guard setup as Grey had instructed and readied themselves watching the tunnel entrance. The glow from the mps seemed to dim as a shadow descended upon the farm and everything grew cold.

  Anticipation gripped the Grey Guard as their minds wondered to what could be approaching. Regardless of what came for them they would fight to their st breath to protect Grey and her family.

  The darkness grew closer and Grey braced herself, summoning all of her strength to defend the people she loved.

  The light of the tunnel dimmed and faded into darkness, then they came. Creatures from the abandoned section of the Undercity began to pour through the tunnel and spread out towards the farm.

  The Grey Guard stood their ground and yelled in unison taking on the ghouls as they came. They fought with their prosthetics and crude knives, sshing, stabbing and tearing at any that came near them. A few would slip through and charge onwards only for Whiskers to descend upon them and tear them to pieces.

  Grey braced herself, certain that any which broke through would come for her. To her horror however the ones that slipped through ran straight passed her towards the house.

  Rage filled her as Max and the four Grey Guard stood vigint and tore the first ghoul to approach the house to pieces. Grey knew for certain now that this was Isabelle`s doing, she had somehow sent the ghouls to make her suffer.

  Grey would not stand by and let this happen. She reached into herself and spread her tendrils into every fallen ghoul she could find. She knitted their wounds back together and commanded them to rise and fight once more.

  They did as she commanded even as she grew weak in the legs and dropped down to one knee. She didn`t care, she tapped into more of herself and empowered the Grey Guard taking on their fatigue.

  The tide of battle began to turn and Grey looked on with hope as none of the ghouls could make it to the house. She looked passed Max and through a window at the faces of Willow and Mika. She would protect them, no matter the cost.

  “What in the name of creation is that thing!”, one of the Grey Guard yelled out over the melee.

  Grey turned towards the cries and was shocked to see a hulking behemoth of a ghoul bounding out of the tunnel. It stood tall with cws like knives and a protruding spine that made it even more horrific to look at. Atop its head it wore a crown of bone and lorded over the battlefield, a Queen to the Ghouls. It cried out and the ghouls fought harder, throwing their animalistic caution to the wind.

  One of the Grey Guard fell to the renewed onsught and the ghoul leader jumped at the opportunity. It stormed through the gap bashing Whiskers aside and charged straight for Grey. Before she could respond the creature had her by the throat and lifted her off the ground.

  “You are Grey Lady?”, it asked with a thick guttural voice not used to human speech.

  Grey looked the creature in the eyes and could see a feint intelligence in them.

  The Ghoul Queen stared back at Grey and tightened its grip around her throat. Her consciousness began to fade but before darkness could take her the Ghoul Queen howled in pain and released her.

  She looked over and saw Whiskers atop the Ghoul Queens back tearing into her flesh with his teeth and cws. The Ghoul Queen reached behind her and grabbed Whiskers by the leg pulling him off of her and tossing him away. He nded on his feet and pounced towards her in defence of Grey despite her cries of protest.

  The Ghoul Queen saw Whiskers charge coming and grabbed him by the throat in mid-air. In a single violent motion she ripped him in two. She discarded his lower torso to one side and his upper torso towards Grey.

  “Suffer!”, the Ghoul Queen croaked at Grey.

  Grey crawled towards the upper half of Whiskers and tried to urge him on but it was too te. He had suffered too much damage and she had pushed herself too far. He was gone and would never return to who he once was. He was gone.

  “Suffer!”, the Ghoul Queen cried once more as it locked eye`s with Grey then turned towards the house where the ghouls fought with Max and the GreyGuard. Willow and Mika looking through the window with tears in their eye`s screaming for Grey.

  “NO!”, Grey cried out. “I`m the one you want, take me!”

  The Ghoul Queen ignored her and marched towards the farm house with sinister intent.

  Grey screamed and pleaded crawling towards the creature. She begged her body to move faster but there was no use. She looked inside herself and found nothing left, only the tiny bit of her soul that kept her alive.

  She grabbed what was left and used it to reach out towards the Ghoul Queen. She reached inside the monster and looked around for a way to stop it. There was none, she was too weak, unless.

  Grey took a deep breath and reached into the Ghoul Queen`s mind with her final breath.

  [---]

  Darkness filled her vision.

  Hunger filled her mind.

  She crawled her way towards sustenance. A hand; fresh meat. She devoured it whole. More!

  She crawled further and found a leg, more seasoned but still good.

  Before she could satiate her hunger she was struck aside.

  Stronger.

  A rger version of herself had thrown her aside and consumed the leg. She was reminded of her weakness.

  Stronger.

  She crawled around the darkness hurrying amongst those smaller than her. She snatched at every little bit of flesh and gore she could devour. She raced against mouths just as hungry as hers and was found wanting.

  Faster.

  Determination filled her body. She forwent sleep in favour of hunting.

  Faster.

  She raced once again against her brothers and sisters. They could not compete.

  She wondered from the security of those lesser than herself and gravitated towards more choice opportunities.

  A cadaver, freshly departed, there was nothing better.

  Before she could feast she was thrown aside once more by those rger than herself.

  Stronger. Faster.

  She licked her wounds.

  Stronger. Faster.

  She would not run away. She ran forward, her speed carrying her towards the assaint`s throat. She shed out victorious and feasted on their strength.

  Stronger. Faster.

  Time passed. She met any challenge and came out on top. She grew rger with every victory. None could challenge her.

  Stronger. Faster.

  She watched from the shadows. The two legged ones, so full of life. Talking to each other. She tried to mimic their words. It pained her but she continued.

  Smarter.

  She observed them closely. Studied them, their words, their ways.

  She was spotted. The two legged thing smiled at her. Curious. Unafraid.

  Smarter.

  The two legged thing returned. It bore with it gifts. Flesh. Fresh.

  It spoke to her. She tried to speak back.

  A feint smile from the two legged one.

  Smarter.

  Stronger. Faster. Smarter.

  The two legged one says I am strong.

  The two legged one says I am fast.

  The two legged one says I am smart.

  The two legged one says I am special.

  She visits me. Talks to me. Brings me things.

  In return I do things for her. Kill for her.

  She is kind to me.

  [She is using you]

  She cares about me.

  [You are nothing but a tool to her]

  Shut up!

  [No. Listen to me. Let me help you]

  Silence!

  Grey reached out and took the creature by the hand. “Let me help you. Let me show you the truth of her maniputions. Let me give you what you are missing, let me help you grow, stronger, faster, smarter.”

  The Darkness consumes Grey. A darkness she knows she will never wake from.

  The creature in return gets to opens its eyes for the first time.