The shriek that tore through the night was a sound of pure wrongness. It was the sound of something that should not exist, and it acted like a physical blow, shaking Anmol to his very soul. He didn't hesitate. Fear was a luxury he couldn't afford. He was already moving, his mind clear and cold with purpose.
He rush, standing in the moonlight filtering through his bedroom window. He focused his mind on the tiger, and the familiar golden light of the Animal Stamp erupted from his chest, wrapping him in its energy. The cool, solid weight of the gold and green armor formed around him, a second skin of power. The tiger helmet clicked into place, and the world sharpened, seen through its glowing blue eyes. He was no longer Anmol, the college student. He was Animal Boy, the city's only hope.
He opened his window and leaped out into the chilly winter night. He didn't fall. Calling on the power of the langur, he landed silently on the roof of the next building. Then he called on the cheetah, and the city became a blur. He raced across the rooftops, a golden shadow moving faster than any eye could follow, heading straight for the industrial district known as MIHAN.
As he ran, the whispers of the city's animals became a single, unified scream of terror. It was a chaotic flood of thoughts that painted a horrifying picture in his mind.
Claws like metal hooks! came the terrified thought from a flock of night herons taking flight from a water tank.
It smells of oil and old, angry bones! howled a pack of jackals on the city's edge. It is not a living thing! It is a nightmare of metal and flesh!
He pushed himself faster, the images from the animals driving him on. He saw through their eyes: a massive, reptilian creature, but wrong. Its movements were twitchy and unnatural. It was a monster, yes, but a man-made one. This was the thing Vijay had bought. This was the price of a gang leader's anger.
He arrived at the outskirts of MIHAN, a sprawling area of dark warehouses, empty container yards, and tall streetlights that cast long, lonely shadows. The place was a ghost town at this hour, which was a small mercy. The path of destruction was easy to follow. A thick metal fence was torn open as if it were made of paper. Deep, three-toed claw marks were gouged into the asphalt. A large shipping container had been knocked onto its side, its contents spilled across the ground.
Anmol moved silently, using the power of the leopard to become one with the shadows. He followed the trail of destruction until he found it, in the middle of a large, open yard.
It was worse than he had imagined. The creature was huge, bigger than a car, a horrific mix of scaly, reptilian skin and bolted-on metal plates. Green, glowing fluid leaked from thick tubes that snaked across its body, and its eyes were cold, dead lights, filled not with animal instinct, but with a burning, unnatural rage. It was an abomination, a mockery of the animals he loved and respected. It let out another of its metallic shrieks, a sound that hurt Anmol's ears even through his helmet.
The monster saw him. It lowered its head and charged, its heavy feet shaking the ground.
Anmol didn't meet the charge head-on. That would be suicide. He was a dancer, not a wall. He used the cheetah's speed to zip out of the way at the last second, letting the creature smash headfirst into a stack of empty oil drums with a deafening crash.
The fight began. It was a brutal dance of speed against raw power. Anmol was a golden blur, using his agility to stay just out of reach of the monster's snapping jaws and sweeping, clawed tail. He leaped from containers to warehouse roofs, forcing the clumsy beast to turn and charge, again and again, tiring it out.
He tried a few quick attacks, using the cobra's strike to land fast, hard punches on the creature's metal hide, but it was like punching a tank. He needed a weak spot. He leaped to the top of a tall light pole, using the power of the eagle to sharpen his vision. He scanned the monster's body, looking for anything that seemed out of place.
There. On its back, just below its neck, was a junction box, a metal panel where dozens of the glowing green tubes connected. A thick bundle of wires was visible underneath the panel, which was slightly bent from a previous impact. That was it. That was the creature's heart, its brain.
His plan was set. He needed to get on its back and destroy that panel.
He leaped down, landing in front of the monster to get its attention. It shrieked and lunged. Anmol dodged, weaving under its clumsy swipe. He used the rhino's power to absorb the shockwave as its claws hit the ground next to him, showering him with chunks of broken asphalt. As the creature recovered, Anmol saw his chance. He called on the langur's agility and the gaur's strength, and with a powerful leap, he landed right on the monster's broad, scaly back.
The creature roared in fury, bucking and spinning like a wild horse, trying to throw him off. Anmol held on tight, calling on the python's spirit to give his arms and legs a crushing grip. He reached for the damaged panel and tore it off with a screech of tortured metal.
The bundle of wires and tubes was exposed. He raised his fist, calling on all the strength of the Indian bison—
Suddenly, the glare of headlights flooded the yard. A large black van screeched to a halt at the edge of the clearing. The doors flew open, and Vijay stepped out, followed by four of his toughest thugs, all carrying heavy iron rods.
Vijay had a wide, triumphant grin on his face. He had followed his new pet, wanting to see the kill himself.
"There you are, freak!" Vijay shouted, his voice echoing in the yard. "See? I told you I'd get you! A monster to hunt a monster! My monster is going to tear you apart, and then this city will be mine!"
Anmol was distracted for only a second, but it was enough. The monster used the chance to slam its body backwards into the side of a warehouse. Anmol was crushed between the wall and the creature's armored hide, the impact sending a starburst of pain through his entire body. He was thrown to the ground, his armor cracked, his head spinning.
The monster, its systems now going haywire from the damage, turned its head. Its cold, glowing eyes no longer saw Anmol. Its programming was fried. It now saw only the nearest, loudest threat. It saw Vijay.
"Finish him! What are you waiting for?" Vijay screamed at the creature.
The monster let out a high-pitched shriek and took a heavy step, not towards Anmol, but towards Vijay.
The grin on Vijay's face vanished, replaced by confusion, then dawning horror. "No... Not me! I'm your master! Attack him!" he shrieked, pointing a shaking finger at the fallen Animal Boy.
But the monster wasn't listening. It lunged.
Vijay's thugs screamed and ran, dropping their weapons and scrambling away into the darkness. But Vijay was frozen in terror for just one second too long. The monster's massive, clawed hand swiped through the air, catching him and sending him flying like a doll. He slammed into the side of his own van with a sickening crunch and fell to the ground, unmoving. The leader of The Protector gang had been taken out by his own weapon.
The monster, now completely out of control, turned its attention back to Anmol. It shrieked and charged.
Anmol, his body aching, forced himself to his feet. There was only one chance. He poured all his remaining energy into the Stamp, calling forth the full, unyielding strength of the Indian bison. He didn't dodge. He stood his ground and met the monster's charge head-on.
The impact was like a bomb going off. But this time, it was the monster that was thrown back. Before it could recover, Anmol was on it, his fist glowing with the focused power of the Stamp. He aimed for the exposed wires on its back and punched.
There was a massive shower of green sparks, a final, agonized shriek, and then silence. The creature twitched, its glowing eyes flickered and died, and it collapsed into a heap of dead meat and broken metal.
It was over.
Anmol stood over the dead monster, breathing heavily, his body bruised and his armor damaged. The gang was broken. The monster was dead. He had won.
He cautiously walked over to the creature's body, examining it. As he looked at the mess of wires and metal on its neck, he saw something. A small, blinking red light on a metal plate. Etched onto the plate was a logo, a symbol he had never seen before: a black metallic snake with green eye, its tail forming a perfect, stylized gear.
[To be continued…]
Support me: vanshbosssrahate@oksbi (UPI ID)
Author: Vansh Rahate
Editor: Vansh Rahate
Story by: Vansh Rahate
Under: Alaukika Studios