More Than Human

Chapter 52: An Old Friend

Soap wanted to sob when they were separated.

They had shoved Gaz into a room that glowed purple with UV light. False sun to keep him alive. Rudy and Alejandro ended up in a room together. Soap had been able to glimpse some equipment inside but he couldn't tell what it was. Then he was dropped in a room. Alone.

They shocked him before quickly removing the straps that attached him to the board and shoved him off. He knew better than to fight them right now, still feeling drugged up and sore.

There was a thin mattress on the floor, a bucket of water that he assumed he was meant to drink out of, and an open drain in the middle of the tile floor that seemed to be his best option for relieving himself.

There wasn't much space for the cellmate Makarov had mentioned, but he was starting to think that wasn't an entirely accurate statement. Two full grown monsters wouldn't be good to leave together unless it was a situation like Rudy and Alejandro. There was, however, a heavy metal grate that peeked into the next cell over. He looked inside and sniffed the air. Something definitely lived in there, but he couldn't make out the scent.

Whatever it was, it wasn't inside now.

He was sure whatever creature it was would be back eventually.

He turned back to look at the space. They hadn't left him any clothes, or a blanket, or a towel. Nothing to cover himself with when he shifted back. He could feel a slight draft through his fur, so he knew it was quite cold in the room. He didn't want to change back, but the longer he stayed like this, the more exhausted his human form would be. He couldn't afford to be out of commission. He needed to be at his best for as long as possible.

He reluctantly lumbered toward the mattress and flopped down onto it. He began to shift back, and as soon as his fur was gone, he felt the true extent of the chill. He curled in on himself, and did his best to conserve heat. He began to shiver, but fortunately his body was tired enough that it didn't fight the pull of sleep.

He woke an indeterminate amount of time later to the sound of clattering from the adjoining room. The single bulb above him was still on, he wondered if they ever turned it off. He doubted it.

He slowly rolled over and pushed himself up to look across the room and through the great.

There was something on the ground letting out little chirps and hisses. It looked... sort of... fluffy?

He got up and quietly padded over and to the barrier to get a better look.

"Um, hey there." He tried.

The thing abruptly turned its head around to look at him. Soap's eyes widened at the sight of its face. It had big red eyes and was covered in dark fluff. At the sight of Soap, it puffed up a bit. He quickly realized that it had wings. It was about human sized. Smaller than the rest of the team, though. At first he thought it might be a bird, but the eyes were throwing him off, and the fluff didn't look like down or feathers. The wings had an interesting pattern of lines and circles. But what really helped him to figure out what he was looking at was the little fuzzy antenna at the top of its head.

A moth?

He had heard Americans talk about a Mothman somewhere in the states, but he rarely took American fantasies too seriously. They were responsible for plenty of the misconstructions about other monsters after all. But he supposed the sight of one was proof enough for him. Makarov did have quite the menagerie to his name, that was for sure.

"Sorry! You can relax!" He called out, holding his hands up, "Didnae mean to frighten ya!"

The thing slowly lowered its wings back down and blinked those wide eyes at him. Its eyelids moved side to side rather than up and down. It cautiously stood up, Soap noted the extra set of arms it sported. It stepped marginally closer to the grate and tilted its head curiously, making another little chirp.