When Flesh Becomes a Prison: Chapter 2 – The Violence of Lust made Manifest

Chapter 2 – The Violence of Lust made Manifest

Chaos and the red mist overtake the once quiet streets of the town as people run for safety.

“Is…is anyone else feeling really weird because of this mist?” Ro asks.

“Yeah, try not to breathe it in or let it bother you,” Colina says.

I’m feeling really strange, too. My body feels hot, I feel a need to take off my body suit, and do something…regrettable to someone.

“Let your lust overtake you,” I hear a voice whisper in my ear.

“Huh?” I say aloud and look around for the source of the voice, only to see no one else besides Ro and Colina.

“Great, now I’m hearing voices.”

“Focus, Ro! We’re just a few more blocks away,” Colina says, just as a fleshy meteor lands in front of us, blocking the street.

The meteor looks to have various faces in it that are all contorted in agony, that moan and scream as if they were voices of the damned. It convulses before a multitude of distorted bodies come out of them with faces on them and many sharp spider, bone-like limbs protruding out of them.

“Give yourselves to pleasure. Our god Lavinia will ensure you live in happiness forever,” that voice whispers again.

The creatures leap at us, and Ro, Colina, and I transform our cybernetic arms into canons to blast them apart. Even in pieces, the creatures convulse and crawl their way towards us, while also trying to form into one another to regenerate. More creatures form themselves from the fleshy meteor, so we run back, looking for an alternative route, while blasting back the creatures that come for us.

“Give in. You’ve been leading such a dull life, and this is the time to treat yourself to something truly pleasurable and fulfilling,” the voice says.

Continuing ahead, we see the creatures attacking the law enforcement and civilians, watching them kill them, and melding their bodies with theirs. Just what the hell are these horrific creatures?

“Become one with us, and you’ll feel the never-ending satisfaction that we’ve been feeling for centuries,” the voice says.

“Clear a path ahead! We have to rush through them. We can’t stay here!” I say as I lead my squad forward.

Ro covers one side of our advance, Colina covers the other, and I push us ahead, switching between my arm cannon and blades that come out of my other arm and legs. By the time we get to the car, I’m covered in the blood and living flesh of the creatures, and I have to clean the flesh off me as it tries to enter my skin. Ro is driving the car, while Colina sits with me in the back, and he speeds off, driving from the streets and pavement to try to get us away from the creatures and town as fast as possible.

“You love these people, don’t you? Why don’t you share your feelings for them with physical contact?” the voice asks.

The effects of the red mist are making me feel lightheaded and not myself.

“…stop…no…” I say out loud as I fight the suggestions of the voice.

“Griselda-Griselda!” Colina says, grabbing my hands and restraining me.

“What’s going on? What are you doing?”

“What am I doing? What are you doing? You were touching yourself weirdly.”

“I was?”

“This red mist seems to prey upon people’s lustful desires,” Ro says. “The creatures also moan and convulse with dead bodies sexually.”

“Of all the kinds of humanoid aliens to face, I didn’t expect to get the horny ones,” Colina jokes.

“I’m sorry…I’m sorry,” I say.

“Sorry about what?” Ro asks.

“Sorry for not saving your town and commanding you to run away.”

“It’s okay. It’s not like we could’ve done anything while we were there. Hopefully, its defenders can hold out by the time we come back with our mechs.”

Ro drives out of the town and continues to dodge incoming flesh meteors and tendrils coming from the invading planet. By the time we make it back to base, everyone is on high alert, and everyone across the planet is deployed to face this threat. I’m told by command that they’ve been having trouble communicating with others because of interference coming from the planet, so my squad and I immediately get in our mechs, where we have better communication devices and weaponry, and go back to the town to cleanse it from infection. With seemingly everyone inside, we use our shoulder-mounted miniguns to slaughter the hordes of fleshy creatures, use the laser rifles to blow the meteors apart, and the canons to blow the tendrils from the planet away. Once the area is clear, I look around to check for survivors, but don’t see any.

Seeming to know what I’m looking for, Colina says, “The townspeople are probably still hiding.”

“They should stay inside until that planet is dealt with,” Ro adds.

“You’re right,” I admit. “How should we handle this? I’m assuming we’ll have to use our mech’s overdrive function to destroy it.”

“The overdrive function is still in beta and could turn our mechs into self-destructing nukes. That’d have to be our last resort,” Ro says.

“How about we fly up there first, tear it apart, and see what happens before turning to options like that, huh?” Colina asks.

“Agreed,” I say.

My squad and I activate the space function of our jets so they can shoot us at high speeds into space. As we ascend upward, we link up with other squads of mechs, superhumans, heroes, and vigilantes, who are going to support us. This relief is quickly taken away as more meteors descend from the fleshy planet, most of which break apart in the atmosphere, so that their flying flesh creatures can meet us in the air. We try to fight them and help clear the way for our allies, but more and more enemies keep coming, forcing us to fight through the incoming hordes so that we don’t run out of jet fuel.

“With us, you can finally feel complete. With us, you can feel satisfied for the first time. With us, you can feel like you matter,” the voice says.

“I do matter,” I accidentally say out loud.

“What was that, Griselda?” Colina asks.

“Don’t worry about it. Those voices are bothering me again.”

“Pray and focus on the task. There’s a supernatural aspect to this foe. I can feel it,” Ro says.

“The happiness they’ll give you is temporary. The happiness we’ll give you is eternal,” the voice says.

Shut up, shut up, shut up!

“Become one with our flesh. Together, you’ll feel more loved than you ever had, than you deserve.”

Hail Mary, full of grace…

“Your family and coworkers have used you ever since you were born. Have you ever made a decision that was truly yours? Have you ever done something for your own pleasure?”

Guardian angel, guardian dear…

“We have unlocked the secret of unending worldly happiness through our god and her angels. Your skin cries out for it. We can feel it. Give in.”

I scream out, activate the laser sword function of my rifle, and plunge it into the large eyes on the surface, and an eruption of blood comes out. I keep yelling and screaming until I feel one of my mech’s arms being pulled away.

“Griselda!” Ro says.

“Don’t let it get to you!” Colina says.

Stopping what I’m doing, I say, “I know I’m not supposed to. I know I’m supposed to be stronger than this as the child of a Mundr and Emundation, but I’m not! I can’t stop this voice from digging into my head and making me act out!”

“Depend on us then.”

“That’s why we’re here. You’re not alone.”

“Right…right…still, we have to destroy this place. At least my rage did something productive.”

“Sort of. Look.”

The eye that I was stabbing closes its wound, and blood stops pouring out of it. It then eerily looks at me, and whispers start crawling into my ears.

“There has to be a faster way of killing this thing,” Ro says.

“Let’s do it together and quickly,” Colina adds. “The voices are getting to me, too.”

As we move, we feel the ground shake until large creatures comprised of faces and limbs are formed out of it and swarm us from every direction. God, I’m going to need your help more than ever.