Chapter 14 Monster!

Monster!

After Liza won the competition… Sir Eisenberg wanted to start the project immediately.
Project No. 509… and maybe even a more successful project so that there will be a No. 5 — after the one with poison — Sophie, Hänsel, and Gretel.

Liza: “What… are you going to do to me?!”

They strapped her to a machine.

Sir Eisenberg: “It’ll be fine… my dear… just hold on…”
Liza: “…please… I don’t… want this. I want to be 100 percent human… not half monster… half human… please…”
Sir Eisenberg: “…It will be fine… calm down…”
Doctor: “Shall we begin?”
Sir Eisenberg: “Start.”

They stabbed her with a needle, and then the machine started… it was filled with some kind of chemical.

Liza: “Ghhh… ghhhhhh… aaaaaaaaaaaarghhh!”

It filled completely.

Sir Eisenberg: “…Project No. 509… and maybe the fifth successful Human Sirus project.”
Doctor: “…Are you sure it will work? She’ll die if it doesn’t…”
Sir Eisenberg: “Don’t worry… she won’t. What element did you choose?”
Doctor: “…Nature.”
Sir Eisenberg: “Sophie already has that.”
Doctor: “Yes… but this is a different kind. Sophie has plants in general… nature, however, doesn’t have to be just plants — it can also be animals.”
Sir Eisenberg: “So will she turn into an animal or what…?”
Doctor: “If the Human Sirus works… we might find out…”

They watched her… suddenly, a giant flower sprouted from her stomach.

Doctor: “A flower…”

Liza’s veins changed — from green… to violet.

(SPLASH!)

Doctor: “Oh no… the machine… the glass is breaking!”
Sir Eisenberg: “Hmm.”

It shattered, and the flower fell to the ground — it was as big as a human.

(SPLASH)

Liza: “Hahh…”
Sir Eisenberg: “Hmm.”
Doctor: “Hh… send people there immediately!”

Several people rushed to her.

Black Eye soldier: “…hmm…”

The flower slowly opened… inside was Liza, lying there.

Black Eye soldier: “…she made it?”

He got closer… very close… and then Liza grabbed his throat.

Black Eye soldier: “Ghhh…”

Liza opened her eyes.

Liza: “…aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarghhh!”

A scream so loud that the glass around them shattered… from the flower came violet-colored smoke.

Sir Eisenberg: “What happened…?”
Doctor: “…Damn… the flower we used… apparently… it had another property. It wasn’t only affected by the Sirus Verus… it seems it was exposed to toxic chemicals as well…”

The soldiers started coughing.

Liza: “…hahhh…”

When she opened her eyes, they were violet. Her eyebrows looked like flower petals.

Liza: “…ghhh…”

(Pump! Pump! Pump!)

Liza: “…aaarghhhh…”

She collapsed to the floor.

Sir Eisenberg: “Quick… catch her and take her!”

They did so.

(A few hours later)

(CRASH!)

Sir Eisenberg: “Damn… she won’t calm down.”
Doctor: “…Sir Eisenberg… this is not good…”
Sir Eisenberg: “I have an idea…”

They used a spray that knocked Liza unconscious, then brought her back to her cell.

Doctor: “Sir Eisenberg.”
Sophie: “Huh… what… what did you do to her?!”

Liza woke up and immediately attacked Sophie.

Liza: “Aaaaaaaaaaaarghhh!”
Sophie: “…hahh… Liza… what’s wrong with you…”

Sophie pushed her back.

Sophie: “Liza… it’s me… Sophie…”
Liza: “…roaaarrr!”

Sophie hugged Liza.

Sophie: “It’s me… do you hear me? Stop!”
Liza: “…grrr!”

Liza scratched Sophie’s back, but Sophie didn’t let go… until Liza began to calm down, slowly returning to her human form.

Liza: “Ugh…”

She fell to her knees.

Sophie: “Hey… hey… are you okay…”
Liza: “Sophie… what happened…”
Sophie: “…uh…”
Sir Eisenberg: “Fantastic! You did it… you survived! Now we have Project Human Sirus No. 5. Hänsel was already one three years ago!”
Sophie: “Hahhh…”
Liza: “What…”
Sophie: “…It’s okay…”
Liza: “You’re bleeding…”
Sophie: “I said it’s fine… this is all my fault…”
Sir Eisenberg: “I actually planned to kill Sophie… but now… hmm… Liza calmed down when Sophie spoke to her… that means… well… friendship… boring, but okay… Liza, you also have a nickname now — The Executor.”
Sophie: “You bastard…”
Sir Eisenberg: “One thing though, Liza… you’re disgusting… you pissed yourself.”
Sophie: “Because she has a medical condition!”
Sir Eisenberg: “Oh… still… you could at least piss on Sophie’s lap.”
Liza: (blushes)
Sophie: “Hey, don’t listen to him… I know it’s not your fault.”

He closed the door.

Sophie: “Are you okay?”
Liza: “Mhm…”
Sophie: (smiling) “Good.”
Liza: “…Thanks, Sophie… you’re really a good friend… like a sister… or something.”
Sophie: “Hey… I’m only one year older than you.”
Liza: “Not anymore… I turned 19 yesterday.”
Sophie: “What… really… why didn’t you tell me?”
Liza: “Maybe because I wasn’t here…”
Sophie: “Oh… right…”
Liza: “Mhm… On my birthday… I had to kill people… several…”
Sophie: “I’m sorry.”
Liza: “It’s fine… for me… my birthday was always a bad day anyway… when I was born… my real father left… well, actually shortly before… still… my mother didn’t want to hold me… instead, a nurse held me… tried to calm me down… but she couldn’t — only a mother’s warmth can soothe a baby… On my sixth birthday… I experienced what my stepfather did to me… you already know… and every birthday after that, he did… well, perverted things with my mother… in front of me… my brother filmed it… just to taunt me with it…”
Sophie: “Hmm… the day my parents were murdered… was my birthday… we were celebrating… and mom kissed me on the forehead… and then… about two hours later, while we were sleeping… they attacked us… and killed my parents… it was already midnight… but still…”
Liza: “Hehe… guess we both have crappy birthdays…”
Sophie: “Yours is worse… my parents gave me love… my mother always hugged me when I was scared… I was afraid of the dark… and of that stupid vampire and Nosferatu story… hehe… those were the days…”

The two sat next to each other… exhausted — especially Liza. Both were good friends when it came to pain and loneliness… both had lost so much… Liza her freedom… Sophie her family and warmth.

Sophie: “…hahhh… so what do we do now…”
Liza: “Hahh… I don’t know… kill Sir Eisenberg.”
Sophie: “Forget it… it won’t work… even if Hänsel agreed… Gretel never would. Gretel is exactly what I was supposed to be — a cold-blooded killer — that’s why she’s Sir Eisenberg’s favorite project.”
Liza: “Is she strong?”
Sophie: “…Actually no… she’s the weakest of us… as for you, I have no idea… but the problem is… from what I’ve seen… Gretel has something special. She has the blood element… if she takes blood from others… she regenerates… she only needs to kill someone for their blood to flow directly into her veins… the smallest wound to her could be fatal… As for Poison… that’s worse… you never know what he’s thinking… or how he’ll act… he could do things you’d never imagine.”
Liza: “Can’t Hänsel convince Gretel?”
Sophie: “Hmm… not him… but maybe me. Gretel likes me a lot… probably because I trained her. She’s one year younger than me… still… she’s strange. Poison, though… he can take on all four of us. We’re like glass to him. They call him Poison not because he’s toxic, but because he’s like poison — you only realize the damage he’s done when it’s too late.”
Liza: “Hmm.”
Sophie: “Let’s just sleep now… I’m tired…”
Liza: “Mhm… me too…”

Liza fell asleep sitting, while Sophie lay down a little further away.

Liza: “Hahh… I wonder if Dante, Kenn, and the others are okay.”

(Meanwhile)

Zoe: “Hahh…”
Kenn: “So… how are you feeling?”
Zoe: “Better… I have to say… that medicine Miss Nightmare gave you…”
Kenn: “Sophie… yeah…”
Zoe: “Hehe… seems you’ve forgotten what she did.”
Kenn: “…No… but I trust she didn’t know… Heinrich and Franklin betrayed her…”
Zoe: “I’d still… and probably will… beat Sophie up.”
Kenn: “Hmm…”
Zoe: “But not kill her… after all, she saved us… and about Henry… he deserved it…”
Kenn: “Hey…”
Zoe: “What? He almost killed Liza… was careless, which destroyed the camp… stole food from Liza and from you… in the storage…”
Kenn: “Hmm.”

Kenn said nothing.

Zoe: “You’re too nice.”
Kenn: “Hmm…”
Zoe: “Hehe… I have to admit… I’m worried about Liza… and somehow about Sophie… and you.”
Kenn: “Mhm…”

Sophie and Liza were in the cell when the door suddenly opened.

Hänsel: “Sophie…”
Sophie: “Hmm? What do you want… let us sleep…”
Hänsel: “…Hey… it’s important… come.”
Sophie: “…hahh…”

Liza woke up too.

Sophie: “…You’re worse than a stick up the ass…”
Hänsel: “I’ll take that as a compliment… and hey… my stick can get someone pregnant.”
Sophie: “…Huh?… Oh… you did not just say that…”
Liza: “What… does he mean?”
Sophie: “…Forget it… Hänsel is the kind of person that makes you jealous of deaf and blind people.”
Hänsel: “Deaf, yeah… but blind?”
Sophie: “…You’re ugly.”
Hänsel: “Hey… then why do women like me so much?”

Hänsel grinned.

Sophie: “Because they’re blind…”
Hänsel: “…One of them actually is blind…”
Sophie: “…Aha… what do you want now?”
Hänsel: “…Oh… I overheard from Gretel… she was eavesdropping… that you plan to kill Sir Eisenberg… and now… we’re on your side.”
Sophie: “Wait… you… okay… because you’re still hoping to have me, which will never happen… but Gretel…”
Hänsel: “Believe me… I was just as surprised… so… fine… we meet tomorrow… in the sewers.”
Sophie: “Why in such a place… do you like crap?”
Hänsel: “…It’s behind the girls’ bathroom.”
Sophie: “That doesn’t make it better…”
Hänsel: “For me… it does, hehe…”
Sophie: “…Ugh… I’m starting to want to go deaf.”
Liza: “…Me too.”

He laughed and closed the door.

Sophie: “Ghhh… that guy… ghhh… his mother really should have aborted him… now I understand why so many are for abortion!”