Who's the real Monster?

As I drifted off to sleep I thought I saw Papi caressing my cheek. His big strong hands were always gentle with me. Whenever I cried, even if it was for something small he'd cradle the side of my face to wipe a tear away with his thumb.

"Remember to smile after crying" Papi always told me that. Smiling was never an issue with him around. My lips curled as I fell into a dreamless sleep.

~ Nightmare

Watching Z on the verge of rest I touched their face in a comforting way. They smiled as I did so. Something stirred inside me. It felt warm.

This is too much.

I need to leave.

I need to get out of here.

I need to make her pay.

Slowly leaving Z's body I made sure they stayed asleep. Not even a stir as my presence left their body. Taking a moment to make sure they wouldn't wake I glanced over to Ed. He stayed close enough to them. Still unsure of how I should feel or think about him. I knew that Z trusted him enough. Which will have to do for me, at least for now.

Leaving the room I headed straight for the Solitary Unit.

Slithering under Anderson's door I made my presence known before she could see me. She stopped mid pace in terror to watch me take the form of a human being. I could smell the fear come off her in waves, yet still Anderson kept a strong front. She was always good at masking her fear.

"I am going to ask you some question and you will answer sincerely" I told her using my human voice.

"You can talk?" she asked astounded.

"I have always been able to. You and the others never listened."

She looked at me stunned.

"Why is Z crying?" I asked.

"What?" she replied confused.

"Answer me" I commanded.

"Why? What does it matter to you?"

Taking a step forwards I replied "Answer my questions and stop asking your own or I'll give you a fraction of the torture you put me through."

Her body shook as she took a step back.

"Now tell me; why was Z crying? Why do they feel both sad and mad?"

"Inmate Zero is--"

"That's not their name."

"She is--"

"Stop calling them that!"

Watching Anderson gulp she finally finished "Z is sterile, that means she" I took another step forward as she corrected herself "I mean they can no longer reproduce."

Taking a moment to process what that means I think I understand what Z is feeling. On my planet everyone saw me as an inferior being. I never had the chance to have offspring of my own. "You took their ability to have offspring?" I said.

Anderson began shaking her head.

"Can you?" I asked her.

"Can I what?"

"Can you reproduce?"

"No, not anymore."

Shifting my form to that of a snake I leveled myself to her eye line. Seeing only fear in them. "If you're lying I'll kill you."

"I'm not. I had ovarian cancer. My doctor did the same thing to me as what happened to In-- I mean Z."

'Cancer'. I know that word means something deadly to humans, especially Z.

"Tell me why."

"Why what?"

"Why did someone like you do that to Z?"

She took a long moment to think. While waiting I morphed the shadows around me into snakes. All slithered close to Anderson.

She made a noise before replying "I'm not sure. The higher ups could've done it for a number of reasons; In--Z was the first to be infected by you and lived, they ran and stayed hidden for years, from what we knew they were the strongest Spawns documented, because of their body type Z could've had a child at some point, and nobody wanted to take that risk. It could also be your fault."

I hissed at the accusation as my body coiled ready to attack.

"Your kind crashed landed here from another planet. None of us knew if you were a threat or not. When you tried to assimilated with us you ended up killing thousands of people worldwide."

Staying still I thought of everything that has happened until now. Is it really my fault? I had to leave my planet. There was no other choice for me and the others that followed. We came here because others like us came and it was the one planet where the others wouldn't follow us to.

Deciding that now is not the time to think I moved my focus back to Anderson "Z and I did what was necessary to survive. You call us 'Monsters' when it is you and people like you that do worse things just because you can."

Anderson balled her fists "There are other facilities like this for beings like you and Z..."

Inhaling deeply to smell a new sense of fear coursing through Anderson. I couldn't resist any longer. Lunging myself forward I aimed and bit deeply onto her left forearm. The same place where Z is scarred at.

Anderson screamed as I coiled backward. Leaving my mark on her in the form of a snake. "Now you're just like us. Like Z" I told her as I left the room.

Rushing back to the room where I left Z I had no idea of how long I could stay in this form anymore. Seeping in their shadow I felt whole again. This is where I belong now.