Multiverse: by Nick Venomz (best books to read for beginners .txt) 📕

Barry took the man, an unshaven man that looked in his sixties. His hair remained strongly black, but his face and thin body appeared deteriorated. He had very little meat on his bones, seemingly from starvation. 

He wasn’t immune from sickness, coughing up small amounts of blood as he approached the portal. He looked up and noticed the blueness of the rift licking at him. Unlike Orville, who was memorized by the rift, it terrified the prisoner.

“No, I have a kid! I need to see him. I need to see Gu-” The person was grabbed by Orville and shoved into the rift. He let out a scream as he disappeared through the rift, not a piece of him remaining in their universe

Everybody waited for something to happen, eyeing the rift with curious eyes. As they wanted, something did happen.

A dismembered arm flew out of the rift, landing on the floor with a fleshy thud. It hit the ground and bounced, landing at Orville’s feet. Blood leaked from the arm, creating a shallow puddle.

Orville stared at the arm with confusion. He expected something to happen, but never anything that could dismember a body part. It was out of his expectations.

Meanwhile, a man had emerged from the rift, seemingly more of a wild beast than a man. He had the height and weight to fit a bear, but with human characteristics. 

Every step he took shook the ground. The scientists backed away from the beast, even those watching from the safety of the balcony. They were afraid of this beast that appeared.

Alongside the hairy beast, a normal man emerged. He resembled any generic male in Cidon, with tanned skin, short black hair, and dark-colored eyes. He looked dead inside, staring at Orville then at the scientists.

“Who are you?” He croaked, his hands at his side.

“My name is Stephen Orville, the CEO of Asura Industries and owner of this rift. I have summoned you-” This was not in my expectations, either, he thought. “-to serve a greater purpose in life.”

“G-Greater purrpose isss nott eeatting fffllessh.” The man’s voice was hoarse and discombobulated. He had the intelligence to speak, but not enough to speak clearly.

“Yes, you want to eat more human flesh? I can do that for you.” Orville stated.

“W-Whyy ttrrruuusst yyyooouu?” The beast asked.

“You could attack everybody and then everybody in the city, but the government will track you down and kill you. If you listen to me and serve me, I’ll make sure you can get enough flesh to stuff you and make sure the government doesn’t know about you.”

The beast glanced at the normal man, who nodded his head. “We agree. We’ll do whatever you need as long as you fulfill our demands.”

Orville nodded. “What are they?”

The man showed them his palms, the flesh irritated. Instead of a pinkish-red color, it was bright red. “You know his demands, but mine are gloves that can handle my heat. I can’t touch anything or else it’ll burn. It’s horrible to know you won’t be able to ever embrace your wife. I can’t even touch my kids or else they’ll become charcoal.” He looked at them with saddened eyes. “I’ve been tempted to commit suicide.”

“Don’t!” Orville exclaimed. “I’ll get everything working and design nonburnable gloves for you. And-” He pointed at the beast. “-I’ll get you your flesh.”

He turned around to face Berry. “If I remember, Hillary Wright has been protesting us.”

Berry nodded his head. “She wants us to reveal our secrets.”

Orville smiled menacingly. “Send the Hound.” He pointed at the hairy beast.

Berry nodded his head, turning around and leaving the basement. Hound followed after him, the man who appeared with him, whispering for him to not kill Berry. People stepped out of Hound’s path to avoid being eaten.

Orville turned around to face the man. “I’ll call you... Thermal. I want you to go back through that portal and fetch me more people like you. More… metahumans.”

Thermal nodded. “As you wish.”

***

“Hillary Wright murdered at 29. This fierce businesswoman has protested many of Asura Industries’ projects, many speculating that the company pulled strings from the shadows. However, the Cidon Police Department hasn’t connected the grizzly murder to Asura Industries.” Channel 29’s Alissa Strong said on television. She sat on her chair in the news station. “The following photos have been censored for obvious reasons, but, please, discretion is advised.”

Three photos appeared behind Alissa. They showed censored images of Hillary torn apart, her head staring at her corpse with wide eyes. Her body was dismembered and disfigured, with strange bites and claw marks on her body. The censored images didn’t show the entire gory, but enough to disgust many people watching the broadcast. Especially Aaron.

He slammed down a cup of alcohol on the table. It was his second shot.” Asura Industries is involved. There’s no way they aren’t!”

Ty hadn’t gotten drunk yet, lowering his first cup. “You’re right. Bitemarks? That’s either a strange serial killer or one of those experiments you talked of. Do you think one of them was involved?”

“Yes! I need to… We need to kill them instantly. Before they unleash their experiments and take over the town.” He stood up from his chair. Ty followed his action. “Stay here-” He glanced at Ty. “-it’s about to get bloody.”

TBC…

Aaron stood across the street, staring at the three-story skyscraper that was Asura Industries’ headquarters. The large glass building stood profoundly in the middle of a wealthy neighborhood - acting as if everything was okay.

He brandished his katana, a long and slightly curved blade with small holes in the blade. The black hilt had rubber wrapped around it and on his belt were a few daggers and a bundle of string.

Aaron dashed across the street, effortlessly avoiding the cars barreling down the road. On the other side, he slowed down to a jog. He went around the building to its backdoor, pressing an ear to it. He heard two men on the other side. 

He stepped back and took out the bundle of string, cutting a long piece off. He reached into his pocket and took out something resembling ash, sprinkling it on the string. It stuck with ease.

Then, he wrapped the string around the doorknob, turning the knob slightly before putting it back in place. The guards inside noticed the knob turning, but assumed nothing. Must be wind, one of them thought.

Aaron continued wrapping the doorknob until tying the string firmly in place. He backed away, grabbing a match from a pocket in his cloak. He lit the match and pressed it against the string before dashing backward. The fire licked at the string, the ash-substance being slowly consumed by the fire. A series of popping sounds were emitted, resembling bubble wrap, and the doorknob swiftly fell to the ground. It landed with a loud enough “thud” sound that attracted the guards’ attention. One held his assault rifle to his eye while the other carried it nonchalantly---like it was a stick and not a killing machine---in one hand and opened the door with the other.

He threw the door open, grabbing his gun with both hands. He peered down the sights aimed at the alleyway that connected to the backdoor. There was nobody. Only a chipped glass doorknob.

“See, this building may look grand, but it was made cheap. Probably all China stuff.” A racist guard declared, looking at the door - it opened halfway, part of the alleyway being blocked from their immediate sight.

“I… I guess so.” The guard that opened the door muttered. He took a step outside, glancing at everything except for what was behind the door. He took his eyes away from the sight, lowering the gun. “Nothing. Guess you were rig-” A katana was thrust into the guard’s head, killing him instantly.

The racist guard tried to quickly raise his assault rifle but received a dagger piercing through his right hand. He dropped the gun, hitting the ground with a small “thud” sound. The guard collapsed to his knees, babbling about “don’t kill me. I’m just a guard that works minimum wage. You can kill my bosses, I won’t say anything. Don’t kill me.”

Aaron ignored him, picking up the doorknob from the floor. He had on a skin-tight black jumpsuit that covered every inch of his body, especially his hands. He couldn’t leave behind fingerprints.

He threw the doorknob up and caught it with one hand, inspecting him. He then looked down at the shivering guard. “Made in China, ain’t it?”

The guard didn’t know how to answer. Should he say “yes” or “no”? Was there a correct answer at all?

“Uh… no?”

Aaron smiled, his smile being caught by the guard. The guard looked relieved, believing that he was letting him scot-free.

That was far from the truth.

Aaron cocked back a throw. He launched the doorknob at the guard, hitting the guard in the face, breaking his nose. The guard tried his best to keep the blood from spilling out, but it was too much to contain.

“Goodnight,” Aaron remarked, grabbing the dagger that pierced the guard’s right hand. He threw it up into the air, watching as its descent headed towards the guard’s head. The guard went to let out a scream, but the dagger was faster than him. He died, Aaron disappearing through the hallways with his equipment in tow. The bodies were left on the floor and the door was wide open.

***

“You found more?” Orville questioned.

Thermal nodded. He pointed at their new comrade; a thin and overly tall woman stood next to Thermal, her head nearly hitting the top of the rift. She wore a sleek black jumpsuit that couldn’t hide either her purple eyes, which appeared from behind the black material or her twisted grin which was as bright as her eyes. She looked to be Caucasian, with many blemishes on her skin. She also appeared dirty with black and red patches on her visible skin.

By her side was a heavily modified shotgun. It resembled an old WW2 style Remington but had numerous upgrades and futuristic pieces.

“Tall Lady, what’s your power?” Orville asked, glancing at a team of scientists scribbling notes into notepads. 

“Amber. Amber Mckeg. I’m a speedster and hunter mixed in one. Give me prey and I’ll track them down using their scent.”

“A bloodhound then,” Orville concluded.

Amber shook her head. “Don’t classify me, mortal.” She coldly stated. “I am Strider, not Bloodhound.”

Orville looked at her with a moment of disgust before correcting his facial expression. “Fine, Strider.” He looked away from her. “I need more, Thermal. Tens more.” He ordered, before quickly resending the order. He noticed how Striker’s head flicked onto the balcony. There were no scientists there, but a man in a blue cloak. Orville never sensed his presence.

Strider growled before dashing into a full-on sprint. Thermal glanced at Orville, who nodded his head, before following Strider’s lead. 

Orville turned to nearby scientists and ordered for Hound to reappear. He came quickly, almost sensing the fight from another room in the basement level. He broke through a wall and gnashed his teeth, glaring at Aaron.

Meanwhile, Aaron stayed on the balcony, watching as Strider lept towards him. He threw a dagger at her, hitting her in the eye. She shrieked loudly, falling on her back.

He turned around and dashed into