Chương 17: 5.3 A Monster Among Monsters

"Yes, I'll eat this brain," Purple Mohawk replied, displaying a wild smile with perfect teeth. He scooped out a clump of brain with his knife—the mutant's head wriggled a bit; I couldn't be sure if it was still alive—and plopped the mush into his mouth. He savored it with gusto and dramatically swallowed.

"Don't look away now, or I'll be very, very angry."

"Mother Core…" Deen whispered,"I'm exaggerating my reactions, by the way," said Purple Mohawk, smacking his lips.

"It's not gourmet food, as you can imagine. It takes some getting used to. Are you wondering what it tastes like?" Deen and I remained silent. I wanted to ask, but didn't want to come off as weird. Purple Mohawk's face twisted into sudden anger. He shouted, "Are you fucking wondering what damn brain taste like?"

"Ye-yes, we a-are," Deen stuttered in a high-pitched voice.

"Wha-what does it taste like?"

"Very creamy. Wait. That's not taste. It's texture." Purple Mohawk ate another scoop of brain and loudly chewed it even though it was soft. He enjoyed being the main character of this scene. I was doing a good impression of being disgusted.

"Gamey, slightly metallic," he said.

"Because of the blood, obviously. But that's the taste of most innards anyway. An earthy scrambled egg. Would you want some?" Deen sharply breathed. It looked like she was on the brink of puking again. She probably feared that we'd be forced to eat brains too.

"I'm jesting," Purple Mohawk said.

"You should've seen your expression. Just don't take your eyes off of me or I'll make you eat this." He ended his sentence with a growl. We stared as he ate, scoop after scoop. Only the noises of slurping and the knife scraping bone could be heard. Purple Mohawk's goons grimaced and turned away. I guessed that this wasn't the first time he had done this, and his men didn't like it at all. Purple Mohawk looked at us while he sucked the gray matter off the knife's blade. He was relishing unnerving us.

Deen was disgusted. She made those gagging sounds while keeping down a puke. As for me, I just did regular crying. I couldn't spare the brainpower to try vomiting because I was wondering if this'd be my future. Was this a required thing for Adumbrae to do? I'd have to use a whole lot of sugar if I were to become a cannibal. Would eating humans be considered cannibalism if I were no longer one? What if I sprinkled chocolate—? My mind was going off-tangent again. I wouldn't get answers if I kept silent.

"Why… are you eating that?" Deen elbowed and shushed me.

"Just trust me," I whispered. Well, that was a shitty thing to tell Deen, knowing that I might sacrifice her later. I noticed a glint in her eyes as she looked back at me. Then she nodded. What was that about? Does she have a plan? Purple Mohawk paused, surprised that I spoke.

"Thank you for your interest, little girl," he said, putting down the knife and wiping his mouth.

"I would've gotten angry at you for disturbing my meal, but I'm almost done. Why would an Adumbrae eat brains? You should know about that in school… Adumbrae and brains."

"A Cocoon," Deen said, squeezing my arm. I supposed she meant to convey that she understood my plan. She continued, "Adumbrae needs other brains to form into a Cocoon." She followed my lead, thinking we could get on Purple Mohawk's good side if we appeared interested. She might've also thought that we'd buy time if we stretched the conversation. No one would be looking for me if I were missing for a few hours, but someone would definitely check up on Ms. Popular, Amber Deen Leska.

But we'd need a hell of a long conversation before someone would think that Deen was missing and report it to the police. I wasn't buying time; my goal was for Purple Mohawk to continue talking to pick up more information.

"A Cocoon, yes…" Purple Mohawk stood up, apparently pleased to have a conversation with us. The other kidnapped victims must've only cussed at him or pleaded for mercy. Drying blood stretched from the floor to the soles of his feet with each step he took, like crimson melted cheese.

"I recall that we were required to watch those mind-numbing videos at the start of the school year during high school. Adumbrae educational videos narrated by the drab, mustachioed man. It was so long ago…

'Cocoon prevention is everyone's obligation' was the oft-repeated line. A catchy jingle followed. Your generation probably has new videos." Deen nodded.

"The videos we watched have a woman narrator."

"We were told to be wary of cults," I said.

"Or any suspicious organizations because they may be gathering unwitting followers to link their brains or something. Cults are like brain farms for Adumbrae. I don't really get how that works…" Come on, explain it to us. This guy loved to talk.

"Bravo!" Purple Mohawk clapped.

"You've paid attention to those videos. I've slept through them. Perhaps this generation isn't such a loss yet. Not all Adumbrae turn into Cocoons, girlies. But those that do need to consume brains. Why is that? Traces of human consciousness or some abstract explanation that I also don't understand. Only human brains can link to the other dimension. More human brains, more links… is that it? Could be. Somehow, it works even with brains chewed to paste.

"With enough brains consumed, an Adumbrae will weave a Cocoon and do their interdimensional hocus pocus inside until they can start Rending the veil between worlds. I've seen it happen once. Up close and personal. Fortunately, we were able to stop it. A mountain of a mess that was."

"Is that why you're eating brains… Mr. Firio?" I asked. That was his name, wasn't it? He might appreciate it if I sounded respectful.

"To make a Cocoon and call upon your powers from, uh, the other dimension or something? Like, you'll get stronger?" Purple Mohawk laughed.

"No, you silly girl. That isn't my aim."

"Something more than that? Um, are you trying to become a Purple Bloom?" Those were the pinnacle of Adumbrae's evolution. Transformation. Metamorphosis? Not sure what term to use. City-sized mega Cocoons that probably needed tens of thousands of brains, though scientists weren't really sure how they were made. Would Purple Mohawk know?

"Goodness, no, not a Purple Bloom," said Purple Mohawk as he came closer to us.

"I don't think I can. Even if it were possible, I wouldn't want my body to become a reality-rending monster factory. I'm quite fine with how I look now. Turning into a Cocoon would likewise ruin my body."

"So, why are you—?" I started to ask.

"The natural Adumbrae, little girl. That's what they do. I am not one of them. Unnatural. Artificially created would be the more apt term for me. Normal people eat for sustenance. For nourishment. I also eat for sustenance in a different sense. To sustain. To maintain. To retain myself. This isn't pleasurable. But if I don't do this, then I'd lose myself to the dark void that always creeps there, asking to be paid its due after giving me powers." Freeze-frame. Rewind.

Insert that whirring sound of those old tape rewinders. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. What did Purple Mohawk say? Did he mean that eating mutant brain prevented him from losing his mind to the Adumbrae? That was what I needed! And what was that about being 'artificially created'? The rumors were true that a terrorist group had discovered a way to make Adumbrae at will. This was world-changing news. No way they'd let us go after learning this. But…

what if I didn't want to go? I needed more information.

"What if—?" I started my question, but Deen talked over me.

"The reason you eat brains is the opposite of natural Adumbrae," she said. She looked super determined while her tone was even. I could tell that she had something cooked up.

"Natural Adumbrae do it to make Cocoons and become stronger through establishing a connection to the other dimension."

"That's right," said Purple Mohawk.

"Our pure cousins require brains for Rending. They don't eat brains in the sense that they chew them. Rather, they… connect. Consume and link. Think of it as hooking additional processors to their computer. Is that how it works? I've never been the techie type."

"On the other hand," said Deen, "you… eat brains… so you won't lose your mind."

"Clever girl. Not just any brains. It must come from mutants. An ironic twist, wouldn't you say? The mutants, failed experiments that they are, became the solution to our problem. Became our salvation. You'll have to forgive me if parts of my explanation are wrong because I'm no scientist. You see, we make Adumbrae by forcing the body to transform and then attempting to connect the person to the other world. It's the reverse of what Adumbrae do to humans, connecting first before transforming.

This way, we have control of the connection." That seriously works? Should be more to it than that. This wasn't regular criminal activity. Purple Mohawk should be part of a huge organization with plenty of resources for science stuff. The plot thickens. Dun, dun, dun.

"Poor creatures, these mutants, don't achieve such a connection," Purple Mohawk continued.

"They are left as husks. Consider them as discount Unripe Manifestations. Plain monsters. However! Coincidences of coincidences! It turned out that their brains contain a substance that somehow counteracts connecting to the other world. Dampens it. Lessens it. If we consume this… substance, we can prevent the Adumbrae from taking over our bodies. We are connected to an Adumbrae, you know? Otherwise, we'll be mutants. This way, we… basically win!"

"You must have a whole bunch of mutants," I said. Would this mutant brain thing work for me? This was the closest to a solution I'd come across so far.

"A mutant farm." Purple Mohawk nodded.

"We do have that. A pitiful place. A necessity. There's also a factory that turns the brains into pills we take. We don't usually eat the brains like this, you know, straight off the skulls. That was just a little show I thought you, girlies, would appreciate."

"We, um, appreciated it," Deen said in a strained tone. A sudden realization popped into my head.

"The Adumbrae attack," I blurted.

"They weren't Adumbrae. They were mutants." Purple Mohawk clapped as he chuckled.

"Exactly, little girl! Another test of ours." I now had an explanation for why Fidgeting Hoodie turned so fast into a monster. Baggy Overalls got rammed by a police car—I didn't see what happened to it afterward, but it probably didn't regenerate its injuries. As for Fidgeting Hoodie, I thought the ComExo stopped its regeneration with electrocution. Did this experiment have something to do with how I turned into an Adumbrae? But I have to ask another thing first: "What if a normal Adumbrae eats a mutant brain?"

Purple Mohawk raised a brow.

"Why do you want to know?" Was it too suspicious a question? I didn't hesitate to explain, "Because it might be the way to fight Adumbrae, the natural Adumbrae. Make bullets out of mutant brains and shoot the Adumbrae or something to cut off their powers. Would that work?"

"I don't think so, little girl. We are made differently from them. If I may surmise, the mutant brains work on us because we undergo the same process."

"What are you?" I asked.

"I mean, you're an Adumbrae. Not a natural one, you've mentioned. Like, what's your group? How did they make you? What's that forcing thing—?" Purple Mohawk raised a finger as his expression turned sour. I didn't know what I said wrong. He stood up and came closer.

"Too many questions, little girl. Why?"

"I'm just fascinated by… by Adumbrae." Was it right to act like I was caught? Or should I have gone full eager beaver about this?

"You were explaining things and I thought—""May you be wasting my time in vain hopes that the police will arrive to rescue you? Because that'd truly be wishful thinking."

"I'm not buying time," I said as innocently as I could. Damn, things got derailed. I might be forced into action soon. How should I use Deen?

"Another possibility occurred to me," Purple Mohawk said.

"Might you be connected to the mysterious Adumbrae lady we seek? The blasted Adumbrae bandits that have become quite the thorn in our behinds these past months."

"Adumbrae bandits? I don't know anyone on that train. You should know that since you've watched footage of me at the subway station. I was alone. I was asking questions about Adumbrae because—""We're interested to be one," Deen chimed in. The fuck? I gave her a bewildered stare. This was her fucking plan? I… like it, actually. Crazy enough to work. Extremely beneficial to me if it did. Purple Mohawk stopped pacing in front of our cage. He knelt to examine us.

"You are interested in becoming an Adumbrae? Is that what you're saying?"

"Mr. Firio, I know that you can't let us go after knowing all of this stuff about Adumbrae," Deen said in a confident tone. She had this new wave of courage from only Mother Core knows where. Main character material.

"Are you calling me a liar?"

"Not quite," she said.

"I assume you'll release us, thereby fulfilling your promise, but your men will kill us. There could be another mutant you have in store that you'll sic on us. In any event, we cannot be allowed to reach the authorities."

"Now, you're saying that I tricked you?"

"There's no trick there. You didn't promise us our lives. But we want to live. It's but human nature. I may be wrong, but I'll venture a guess that is your motivation for leaving your humanity behind." Purple Mohawk raised a brow.

"It is as you say." Deen's freaking negotiating with an Adumbrae! Super entertaining stuff. It felt like I was watching a movie. I resolved to try my best to keep her alive. But if Deen was the main character of this scene, that meant I wasn't, even though I was the secret Adumbrae. Still, I was learning stuff from her.

"We also don't want to die, Mr. Firio," Deen continued.

"Can we be artificially turned into an Adumbrae too? It'll ensure that we'll never betray you or your organization. We'll be productive members, right, Erind?" I nodded.

"Ye-yes, we will." It clicked into place what her plan was. Deen wasn't the normal blonde character. She was pretty and pretty smart. I hated to admit it, but she had higher grades than me. She also must've had extensive experience navigating situations. I had to defer to her and take the sidekick role. Deen placed a hand on her chest.

"My name is Amber Deen Leska. Yes. That Leska. Your men didn't check who they were kidnapping. If I die here, rest assured that there'll be investigations. I'm sure you have friends in high places, but it'll be very difficult to hide what happened to me since my family has friends in high places as well." Would your family even care to find you? I wondered in my head. Given Deen's rants about them, they may just go on with their lives like nothing happened.

"A Leska, you say?" Purple Mohawk flicked the bent bars of our cage.

"Are you threatening me?"

"Not at all," said Deen.

"I'm explaining that it'll be a bother for your organization to deal with. Examine the flipside—if I'm also an Adumbrae, your organization will have access to Leska family resources through me. Erind here would also be helpful."

"My mom is a consultant for Greaves," I said.

"I'm sure I can help your organization procure some weapons and stuff." I honestly didn't know if that was possible. I had no clue about the actual projects Mom was working on.

"Consider our proposal," Deen said. She was kneeling on her vomit, acting self-assured.

"Discuss this with your bosses. I'm sure they'll be open to it. We can wait here and—" BAM! Purple Mohawk punched through the metal bars.