Fragment - A Work in Progress [W.I.P.]

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Once upon a time a monster was born, and the first thing it knew was that it had nothing and was nothing.

It was small and insignificant, naught but a hollow existence. The anguish of this emptiness pervaded its entire being with agonizing pangs, pounding like the beat of a twisted heart, each one more vigorous than the last.

Anguish gave the monster life - gave it purpose.

A pulse, driving it to move. To seek. To want.

Without limbs upon which to properly move, or eyes with which to properly see, for the first time in its new life the monster began to stir. Slowly, desperately, pathetically, it inched forward.

It had nothing and was nothing.

It needed have to more - to be more.

It needed to feed.

So, on the first day, the monster learned of hunger.

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Blind and numb to the world into which it was thrust, it felt neither the passing of time, nor the sense of space.

The monster crawled along, upon ground it could not comprehend, through land it cared not about. All that mattered was its single, overwhelming purpose and nothing more.

For how long and how far did it slither and slide? Nobody could know, not even the monster itself. But eventually, it felt a presence. Something other than itself in this dark and endless expanse. Something that, like him, was also filled with anguish.

Closer, closer!

It desperately crawled. The beat of its hunger compelling it toward the direction of the other.

Finally, finally! It was upon the source.

The monster latched itself onto the other, overflowing with anguish and torment similar to its own.

Quickly, quickly! The monster bathed in the swirling essence. It fed. It gorged. With each passing moment the monster felt the emptiness subside. Oh, how wondrous it felt! Warmth, before the monster knew warmth. Comfort, before the monster knew comfort.

Then, all too quickly, it was gone.

There was no more. The presence of the other vanished completely. The monster had devoured all there was.

The pangs returned. The cursed emptiness! The pummeling hunger!

One bite... just one more bite! Then, its purpose would have been fulfilled! The monster writhed in in agony. It twitched this way and that. But there was no trace of the other left. Not one bit of warmth remained.

It was not enough. The monster was scarcely satisfied. That meager amount was barely a taste.

It desired... it craved...

More.

So, on the second day, the monster learned to eat.

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Its last meal had changed it.

Along with its new form, the monster also gained new senses.

Suddenly, the land was white and grey. The earth was cold beneath its four small feet. The howling winds whipped against its narrow face and screamed loudly into its sensitive, round ears. Its tail dragged trails against a soft, icy ground as it scurried along, plowing a miniature pathway. The world was a bigger place than the monster could hope to comprehend... or was it simply the one who was incredibly small?

Periodically, visions and sensations flashed across what little cognition could be called the monster's mind - leftover bits of the other it had taken into itself. Violent blurs. A sense of dread. Hopelessness. Despair. A beast larger than itself. Claws, tearing through flesh. Teeth, sinking through skull, and then... darkness.

So that's how it was. The other had met its end because something stronger came along. If you could not hunt, you are hunted. If you could not feed, you are fed upon. This world was filled with so many threats, and if the monster fell to any of them, then it would end up like the other. Food for another. Returned to nothing.

No, that was not right. It must be the one to eat, not the one eaten.

A shadow swoops overhead. Without needing to think, the monster's body reacts, darting beneath nearby shelter.

More... more...

Hunger gnaws at it from within. The pulse beats strong, but until danger passes it would remain hidden. It must not return to nothingness - not while it was so empty, and unfulfilled.

So, on the second day, the monster learned of instinct.

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Time passed, and the monster grew.

With each meal, it took something away from the other that it consumed. It became larger and changed, a little bit at a time, so gradually that the monster was barely aware of its own transformation. A new sense here, a new reflex there... within a short amount of time, the monster had turned from a small, pathetic creature that scurried away at the slightest noise to a beast that could hold its own - a beast that could defend itself. Soon, it was not enough to simply pick at the leftover scraps of other animals; the monster grew, yes, but its appetite also increased. The emptiness within ached harder than ever.

So the monster simply became the next logical step: a beast that could hunt.

It dashed through the night on four powerful limbs. A set of blood red eyes scanned the surroundings for signs of movement. Its ears were now sleek, sharp, and far keener than before. With impressive speed, it tore through the forest until... there, in the distance behind a set of trees!

Prey...

The other immediately noticed its approach, but became far too startled to react in time. In its attempt to escape, the creature briefly tripped over its own legs. That moment was all the monster needed to dig its sharp claws into the creature's hide. It groaned and huffed hoarsely, struggling uselessly as the monster pinned it to the ground. Even in its final throes of life, the other tried to fight back, rearing its head full of antlers at its attacker. But the monster had learned, through all its previous meals, the quickest way to deal with caught prey.

With a quick snap of its razor-lined jaws, the monster bit into creature's neck. A muffled snap, a few more twitches... then silence. With its prey downed, the monster had another meal.

More... more...!

The body meant nothing to the monster. There were beasts who could hunt, just as he could, and would feast on the flesh and blood of their kill until only bones remained. But the monster's meal came from something beyond that, something much more valuable. In death the prey would release the warmth that the monster so desperately craved. Coated with the other's final thoughts of pain and agony, the energy that flowed forth filled the monster with a temporary peace. For a moment, as it took in its new meal, it could feel somewhat whole, and not so painfully alone..

For a moment, bathed in tainted existence much like itself, it would feel... at home.

And then in an instant, just like every other meal before, the warmth would be gone. The monster was left, once again, an incomplete and empty existence. Hapless, isolated, and unable to comprehend itself.

The monster let loose a howl that rang through the forest for miles around. A long, haunting cry that goes unanswered. Then, the monster moved on, leaving only the cold body of its kill in its wake.

So, on the tenth day, the monster learned of loneliness.