The Level 2 High Eater, Runner class, let out a chilling hiss, crouched low, and peeked upside down through one of the broken upper windows. It's face pressed against the jagged glass, inches from them.
Johnquis froze, staring into its eyes.
Violet. Unblinking. Hungry.
It saw them.
"Run," he whispered, but too late.
The Runner screeched and burst through the narrow window frame, twisting its limbs and collapsing into the narrow bus interior.
Johnquis grabbed Lex and tried to shove her back, deeper into the flipped bus, but the corridor was too tight. No room to run. No escape route.
The Runner's claws scraped the floor as it crawled low.
Lex screamed, panicked, and kicked back.
"NO, NO, NO! PLEASE!"
The Runner slammed into her, claw pinning her chest, fangs dripping inches from her face.
Lex screamed so loud. "GET IT OFF ME! JOHNQUIS PLEASE! HELP!!!!"
Johnquis charged forward, "LET HER GO!"
He swung, hitting the creature's shoulder. It didn't even flinch.
Lex was sobbing now, screaming through blood. "HELP ME! PLEASE! IT HURTS!!! REX!!! BROTHER!!!"
SLASH.
Its claw carved through her abdomen.
Lex wailed.
Johnquis lunged again but the Runner kicked him, knocking him sideways, slamming him against the bus wall.
Lex reached for him. "JOHN—!"
Her voice choked mid-word.
The Runner bit down.
CRUNCH.
Her throat collapsed between its jaws. Her scream died in a wet gurgle.
Blood sprayed across the inside of the bus as the Runner tore into her open abdomen.
Johnquis gasped. "LEX... No…"
Her body twitched once. The Runner turned, blood dripping from its fanged maw. Its eyes locked onto him. And it was still hungry.
Johnquis's ears rang.
The Runner turned to him slowly blood smeared across its jaw, claws wet and twitching with anticipation. Its crooked limbs moved like a spider's, one by one clicking against the metal.
Johnquis stood still. His heart thundered. His hands trembled.
"I've faced death so many times fighting your kind… and this won't be the end. I still need to see my sister."
He took a step back slowly, eyes locked with the runner, and let it come.
"I won't give up!"
SLASH!
It lunged, claws dragging across the wall of the bus as Johnquis ducked and rolled under a pair of shredded seats. Sparks flew. The narrow width of the flipped bus kept the runner's swings awkward, forced to twist and contort just to move forward.
Johnquis panted under the seats. Think. Use the space.
The Runner jumped, hitting the low ceiling its claws stabbing through but it couldn't fully stretch.
Johnquis leapt up and smashed an elbow into the side panel to disorient it, then drove both knees into the side of its leg. It stumbled, slamming into the wall.
"C'mon!" he shouted. "Come get me in here. I dare you."
The Runner hissed and charged again but the narrow corridor forced it into a sloppy, twisted crawl. Johnquis vaulted over a mangled bench and grabbed a loose rod of twisted steel from the floor, stabbing it into the creature's shoulder. It roared and slashed back, catching Johnquis across the chest.
Blood sprayed.
He staggered. Vision doubling but he kept standing.
Then something clicked in his mind. The air shifted. His right hand burned. The chain wrapped around it, his Eater Blade, suddenly pulsed. Johnquis felt the power deep in his spine.
A whisper in his head. A name.
[Skill: Chain Slave — Blood Cost 0%]
He clenched his right hand tight. He narrowed his eyes.
"You ate my Squad," he growled. "You hunted them. Left Randy in pieces. Killed Mars. Tore Lex apart."
He lifted his bleeding hand. "Even if only for a little while, they were my first squad." He gritted his teeth. "Our lives aren't yours to eat."
He charged. Tackled the Runner shoulder-first, slamming it against the curved wall. As it writhed to claw back, he grabbed a length of frayed black cable hanging from the ceiling, leapt onto its back and wrapped it tightly around its throat and shoulders, anchoring it in place against the wreckage.
"Stay down!" he roared.
The Runner thrashed violently. It clawed, it bit, it screeched, flailing within the cramped cage of the bus.
"GRAHHH!"
Johnquis used his first skill for the first time after grinding for months through all the hardship and fights to survive, he finally got to use it.
He spoke the name of the skill, "CHAIN SLAVE"
His Eater Blade chain glowed black-red, smoke hissing from its edges. He pointed his right hand at the Runner, and the chain shot through its chest. He gripped the chain harder.
SQUELCH.
The chain pierced flesh and bone, touching something pulsing—its heart.
The Runner froze. The chain coiled tightly around its heart.
The Eater Blade chain connected through Johnquis's right arm, running through his body, now linked to the Runner's heart.
The Runner struggled, still fighting, but Johnquis held firm. The chain was not enough to hold it completely.
Johnquis felt a burning pain in his right hand. Blood seeped down his arm, flowing through the chain connected to the Runner's heart.
[Skill: Chain Slave — Blood Cost: 5%]
He tightened his grip, pulling the chain with all his might. The Runner snarled, twisting violently against the bonds.
The narrow bus became a battlefield of desperation. The creature slamming its weight into the walls, cracking the metal and glass around them.
[Skill: Chain Slave — Blood Cost: 16%]
Johnquis pushed through the burning pain in his arm, tightening the bindings further. His vision blurred, heartbeat pounding in his ears, but he refused to let go.
The Runner growled, claws raking the floor, trying to pull free.
[Skill: Chain Slave — Blood Cost: 29%]
With the Runner's movements growing desperate but limited, Johnquis gritted his teeth and pulled the chain again.
The bond tightened. The chain hissed like a live thing.
Johnquis could feel his own blood draining fast, dizziness creeping at the edges of his vision.
His breaths came ragged but steady.
The Runner's furious growls slowed, its eyes flickering with confusion and rage.
[Skill: Chain Slave — Blood Cost: 46%]
Summoning every last drop of strength, Johnquis screamed through the pain and agony.
He pulled the chain with all his might.
"I'LL MAKE YOU MY SLAVE!!!!!!"
[Skill: Chain Slave — Blood Cost: 57%]
The Runner's thrashing stopped. Its body slumped, muscles relaxing as if defeated.
Its wild, burning eyes dulled.
The narrow bus fell silent but for their heavy breathing.
[System Announcement]
Chain Slave: Binding Complete.
Target fully subdued and linked to user.
The chain connecting them vanished.
Johnquis collapsed onto the cold floor. His right hand trembled as blood dripped from the wounds, the chain still glowing faintly in his grip.
The Runner lay motionless, bound, now his slave forever.