Babygirl

**Babygirl** is a story about a boy finding a demonic creature, which he decides to keep after nursing it back to health.

While taming, feeding, and keeping it a secret from the outside world is a chore, his devotion turns the mysterious animal into a common pet and the two can't be without each other. But when his best friend shows off worrisome behaviour, he becomes conflicted on what to do, and soon finds himself in an even worse situation.

The story was conceived on January 5, 2021, but it and the characters have made no official appearance.

## Story

> **CHAPTER 1: Introduction**Weekend arrives and a young boy, named Felix, goes off to mosey about in the forest near his rural town. He quickly hears the calling of children and the screeches of an unknown animal, and goes to check the ruckus.
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> He finds some of the neighbourhood children throwing rocks at a small, odd creature, stuck in a sandy ditch it can't escape from. Felix is disturbed by its appearance and asks the other boys what it's supposed to be; a question they don't have an answer for themselves. One merely proclaims he tried to capture it, whereafter he got bitten and they swung the thing into the ditch.
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> Felix looks on as they try to kill it, with their rocks leaving behind nasty bruises and the creature letting out defeated noises every time, until it can't walk anymore. Though also scared of it, the whole situation doesn't sit well with him and he threatens the boys to go tell on them if they keep going. They call his bluff, thus Felix loudly calls for his mother, supposedly standing a few steps away.
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> This acting is convincing enough to send the boys running.
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> Felix barely manages to push a fallen tree down the ditch as a ladder, and goes to check the beaten-up monstrosity. Upon coming closer, it tries to move its legs again to crawl away, but doesn't have the energy to do much.
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> Felix spends some time inspecting it, but not wanting to touch the foreign spectacle, can only poke it with a stick from afar. Eventually, the creature gives no responses to anything anymore, making him think it's died. Though slightly disappointed in himself to have let it, he takes the opportunity to move his bare hand closer and carefully pet its smooth head. He can't resist to poke its large unblinking eyes as well, that feel much like glass.
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> The tree begins to shift and Felix realizes he needs to get out before getting stuck himself. As he runs off, he notices the creature's head is following him and is still alive. With the comical request not to get eaten, he hurriedly turns around to stuff it into his jacket and climbs out.
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***CHAPTER 2: The Raising of Babygirl**
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> Back home, he smuggles it upstairs and decides to clean its wounds in a warm bath. The creature -paralysed with pain and fear- drifts silently on its back in the water on his hands, and the bathroom light allows Felix to take a better look at it. He determines it's a girl and does not actually have eyelids to blink with; making her look dead to him whenever not moving.
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> He treats her wounds with bandages and ointment, then tucks her into his own bed. As he looks at the image, Felix agrees with himself to find her cute and pets her lovingly. With her consciousness regained, his touch makes her squeak with worry, so he decides to back off.
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> He heads downstairs to join his waiting mother for lunch, and upon returning, places down a tray with different foods and drinks for his small guest to try. Nothing invokes much of a response, except for the one glass of milk. He again tries to pet her, but she refuses to trust him and stops drinking whenever he tries. Felix' comforting tone and words are not understood.
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> When it's bedtime, he decides to take the risk and share his only sleeping space with her. He asks her again not to eat him in his sleep, while she again doesn't respond to his presence. He worriedly places a mirror near her muzzle, which helps confirm she is breathing still, and likely just asleep.
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> Felix continues to wash, feed, and talk to her in the following days, all behind his mother's back.
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> One morning, he is awakened by the creature standing on his chest, who immediately tries to run off upon hearing his voice. Though happy to see she has recovered enough to be moving, the fact he still doesn't know what she is sits in his mind; and he stays cautious of her as she toddles around his small bedroom.
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> Her large eyes won't break away from him and she refuses to come near, thus he decides to get out his soccer ball to play with. He slowly rolls the object towards her, but it makes her angry and she attacks it with vicious bites that would've been devastating if she were larger and had any teeth.
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> Felix gives her a relatively calm scolding for attacking his favourite ball, yet she screeches with fright and hobbles towards a corner. His kind invitations to come near are again ignored.
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> Wanting to light up the mood, he decides to show off his soccer tricks, jokingly adding he's not allowed to kick the ball inside the house, but that it'll be their secret. The creature watches with no discernable thoughts going on inside her head, but when Felix calls it quits, comes walking on her back legs towards the ball. Felix cheers her on, but she ends up attacking it again anyway. Then, without warning, she hunches down to pee on his floor. He yells in surprise, causing her to fly back to the corner like a kicked dog.
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> The steam coming from the strangely odourless, transparent fluid worries him, but when he sees it's had no real effect on his wooden floor after cleaning, decides not to linger on the accident.
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> He figures they might as well go outside for a walk, and gets one of his sweaters to throw over her and wraps her in it. He stuffs the confused creature inside his coat again, and places his ball and some milk bottles meant for school inside a backpack. He brings her to an open field with high grass, as to make sure she'll be hidden from possible lurkers, and releases her from her straightjacket. He instructs her to do her business here, but she immediately runs off.
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> Felix feels somewhat disheartened to have not earned the rarity's trust, but decides not to initiate a chase. After a defeated sigh, he sits down on a tree stump and helps himself with the abundance of milk he raided from the fridge. He rolls his ball back and forth between his feet, and begins to hypothesize to himself on what's the best action to take when dealing with an unknown animal species; keeping it captive because it's unknown, or letting it go because of the same reason. He consoles himself over his loss by concluding she couldn't have stayed his pet anyway, as her appearance would spook people into calling the government.
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> The moment he settles with this excuse, he spots familiar big eyes staring through the grass. Felix casually greets her, but she says and does nothing.
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> He kicks the ball to her, but she only bites it and runs away again. When Felix returns to playing by himself, her head is again seen poking out. He opens up another milk bottle and points the straw towards her, an invitation she seems to understand. She comes over to drink, allowing him to swipe her up again with his sweater. She screeches upon this betrayal, but Felix cradles her to silence and offers the milk again.
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> He's overcome with adoration and settles for a new excuse that insists she should stay in his care, "as she's just a baby, probably".
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> Felix' mother picks up on his many outdoor trips and bedroom confinements, and one night comes up to ask what it's all about. When he hears her calling his name, he quickly sprints out of his room, as to not give her a reason to enter and see his strange pet. It proves pointless when the creature immediately follows his footsteps and screeches loudly behind the door.
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> His mother asks what animal he has locked up in there, to which Felix argues it's the sound of his Game Boy. The creature starts slapping and scratching the door, erasing all credibility.
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> He changes his answer by saying it's just a squirrel he befriended, which only peaks his mother's interest more. Excited to see it, she opens the door, and before Felix can close it again, his un-squirrel-like pet comes waddling out like she owns the place.
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> His mother releases a loud yelp, startling the creature, who immediately turns back inside the room. Felix tries to calm down his mother, but she's in a worried panic and insists to have seen Smeagol. She asks what it was, but Felix admits not to know and insists the creature is friendly. He invites her inside to take a look for herself, only spawning more questions he's had himself, but can't answer.
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> Noises are heard, but the creature not seen, and Felix keeps trying to call her over with sweet words his mother eventually realizes is supposed to be her name; varying between "Babygirl" and "Baby". Said Babygirl hesitantly shows herself, but not knowing Felix' mother, doesn't want to approach. Felix and his mother briefly entertain she could be a monkey, but both realize they're trying too hard to make sense out of it.
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> His mother insists they're unqualified to keep her and should call an exotic animal organization, but Felix expresses worry other organizations will get involved and she'll end up on a dissection table. He claims Babygirl has gotten way too used to him to dump her with someone else and asks if she can't stay.
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> Though they can't confirm if she's a youngling with more surprises waiting for them or a small adult, his mother says that he may try to care for her, but she'll have to go if she grows up too large or starts causing trouble. Felix is optimistic and argues she hasn't tried anything dubious in the month he's kept her. His mother doesn't share the optimism, but feels more comfortable about her decision when Babygirl jumps in her son's arms as she leaves the room.
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***CHAPTER 3: The Hunger of Babygirl**
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> In the following 10 years, Felix and Babygirl grow up together. She has an obsession with him and a tendency to follow him around the house, though is unable to listen to any real commands. He mostly has to guide her into getting her to do something.
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> She's large enough to ride as a horse, and as she has wings attached to her lower body, Felix likes to sit on her and practise flying, though realized early in time that the location of her wings don't make them suitable to. They usually go out sprinting and jumping over large ditches, which is the only bit of exercise he can give her outside of his small home and free time away from school and work.
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> Babygirl's size makes it obvious she needs buckets of food every day, but the family doesn't make enough money to give what she needs. They can only sometimes afford a few large hams and whole chickens. Felix managed to figure out she tolerates bread and tries to fill her stomach by feeding her whole loafs with slices of ham in between as her primary food.
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> One day, his mother expresses it not to be proper nutrition for the obvious carnivore and it's time they accept they can't afford to care for a creature her size. Felix insists there to be no problems and Babygirl is looking healthy, to which his mother replies it'll be a matter of time. He becomes upset over her proposal to set her free, and reminds her they still don't know what she is or where she even belongs; which would mean her death when they choose the wrong environment. His mother says they should call over experts to deal with it, putting fuel on the flames. Felix is convinced that doing so will start a torturous existence for his beloved friend and states he's not hiding her from the villagers for no reason. His mother doesn't have anything more to say and lets him storm up the stairs with Babygirl following.
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> In his bedroom, Felix can't deny Babygirl will suffer eventually if she doesn't get properly fed. After some thinking, he concludes the only thing he can do is save up for a rifle and hunt for deer at the restricted wildlife forest, away from town.
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> When he's finally acquired his weapon, he sneaks out after midnight to his mother's truck to start his first night of hunting, and ends up taking Babygirl along, who doesn't want to be left behind.
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> They silently stroll through the dark area, making the hunt a challenge. After what feels like forever, a large buck spots Felix' flashlight and thinks he can take on the intruder. Before his lethal antlers reach the boy, Babygirl jumps out from the shadows to scoop the animal up in her fanged mouth. Felix is startled by it all and fumbles to point his flashlight at the scene of action. When he sees Babygirl devouring the muscle-bound beast, he contentedly pats her neck and concludes she might as well do this herself.
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> He gives her the green light to go, and while she doesn't know what is asked of her and keeps standing around, they hear another deer's grunt in the distance, which she treats as another possible attack that needs to be taken care of. A few chewing sounds later, Felix concludes they've caught enough for the night and heads back home.
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> He notices she's become instantly more upbeat and active, but since the trips cost gasoline and requires him to give up bedtime, it's not made a daily routine.
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> One night, he finds her gone from his room. Felix gets out of bed and calls her, but gets no response. Panic starts to grow when he sees the back door open.
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> He rushes to the garden, but does not find her there, either. Not caring about his sleeping mother, he calls her more loudly, and soon after, two blue eyes are seen glowing across the river. Babygirl jumps straight over with flapping wings and lands in the garden with a thump. Felix embraces her with relief, but grabs blood as he does so. He reckons she was hungry and went out hunting herself, but scolds her she shouldn't do that near town. Knowing the explanation is wasted on her, he quickly guides her back to his bedroom, where he promises to take her on more hunting trips in the future.
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> Despite doing so, Babygirl still sneaks out by herself. Felix stops her every time he wakes up to witness it, but the stress is affecting his sleeping pattern and he eventually decides to join her on her cushion on the floor. His touch appears to help lower her urge to run off.
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> The next time he takes her out hunting, all seems to be going like normal, until Felix is greeted by a man standing behind him with a blinding flashlight. He asks what he's doing out here -and upon seeing the rifle on his back- sternly reminds the boy that hunting is forbidden. Like a child caught in the cookie jar, Felix has trouble coming up with an excuse, but claims the gun to be empty and just taking his dog for a walk. The redneck gives him a skeptical look that's hard to pick up on in the darkness, and orders Felix to follow him. Knowing it not to look good, he silently obeys.
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> The man explains to have a home in the forest and be constantly dealing with trespassers. Felix tries to argue his innocence again, but the man just scoffs in response. They stop at the forest's border, but when the man turns around to speak again, Babygirl comes swooping out of nowhere and violently swallows the man in two speedy chomps.
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> Felix' heart stops as he watches the stranger slide down her throat with a terrified, muffled scream -silenced and incinerated in mere seconds in Babygirl's powerful stomach acid. His mouth trembles, unable to come up with any worded response to the horror scene.
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> Babygirl just stands there, looking around the area like nothing happened, giving it all an even more disturbing feel. Felix can only let out confused whispers, like he's not really awake. He gives her a stuttered scolding, and in a panic, drags her onto the truck and drives back home. He has trouble sleeping that night and can't keep his eyes off the shadowy silhouette of the resting Babygirl on his floor, as if closing them would mean waking up in her stomach as well. Eventually, exhaustion takes over.
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> The next morning, their television shows reports of many disappearances of local residents, with little to no traces left behind to help authorities find their location or the perpetrator. After witnessing Babygirl swallowing a man, the reports give him cold shivers and convince him it wasn't a dream. With Babygirl calmly lying on the floor and minding her own business, he watches on and tries to find further details in newspapers and on the internet. It all seems to match and Felix feels his anxiety growing.
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> His eyes drift to Babygirl, and for the first time, mortifying fear fills him. All kinds of conversations start rambling inside his head, on what he should believe, or do, and how. They become worse and more desperate, making his fingers tremble.
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> From the living room, he looks over to the kitchen and its drawers, housing many types of knives. He carefully gets up while keeping his gaze on Babygirl, who looks back intensely to determine if he's going anywhere she should follow him to. Felix grabs the largest knife they own and slowly approaches her with it. Neither the blade or his expression invoke any worry with her, and she just watches on.
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> He eventually gets on his knees, where eye contact lasts for a while. He gives her a hesitant embrace, and places the tip of the knife against her neck. Babygirl begins to gently bite his head like she often does, but this time the action paralyzes him. More nervous inner voices yell at him to do something, yet he can't get his weaponed hand to move.
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> Babygirl gets more comfortable on the carpet and uses her wing to push him down with her, making cooing noises the best she can with her otherworldly vocal chords. Felix realizes his fear for the weird animal isn't strong enough to retort to murder. He drops the knife and gives her a proper hug. Babygirl gives an observant, yet indifferent look upon hearing his sobbing.
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> Abandoning his morals, he decides to prioritize Babygirl and not kill or turn her in to save future victims. Figuring she'll be less likely to target humans when feeling full, he agrees with himself she'll have to eat every night from now on.
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***CHAPTER 4: The Capture of Felix**
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> The town and Felix' mother become more aware of the repeating disappearances as well, and everyone agrees with each other to implement a curfew. As this isn't an official rule enforced by the police, though, she can only beg Felix to not go outdoors after sunset. She entertains the idea of sending Babygirl to hunt down the killer, making it clear she does not treat her as a suspect, though Felix understands that's only thanks to her unawareness of their midnight trips and Babygirl's solo hunts.
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> Felix takes her out to the forest as usual and sets her loose. She runs off, and a few seconds later, a car is heard approaching. Felix flinches upon hearing the sound at this commonly empty road, and as his mother's truck is visibly standing at the side of it, finds there's not much to do but hide behind some trees. Waiting for the driver to continue their journey, it instead stops next to his truck and Felix sees it's law enforcement. His heart shoots into his throat and beats with anxiety.
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> Two officers step out and inspect the truck, then start yelling into the direction of the forest. Felix feels forced to answer, as to ensure Babygirl won't get drawn to the noise and cause trouble again.
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> The men ask what he's doing out here, to which he replies to merely be taking a bathroom break after a long car ride. They look at each other and discuss if that's legal, then decide he's standing too close to the road where passing cars could see him. Felix finds their logic unfair, considering the time of hour and empty area, but they insist they report him anyway.
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> They comment on his foolishness to be lingering around at night, and ask if he's not seen the news. Felix just replies that the fact a killer is on the loose makes his arrest an even bigger waste of time. The officers don't appreciate the sass and ask him to sit down in their car, not wanting him to run off before he gives his personal info. While bummed to be getting a ticket, he sits himself down on the back seat, whereafter the doors lock.
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> The officers occupy the front and start discussing with each other on who should drive the truck, completely ignoring Felix. He asks what they're taking his truck for and adds they can't send him to jail over a debatable crime. He gets no response and the co-officer agrees to take care of it as he heads out. Felix looks through the rear mirror at the man messing about with his mother's car and repeats his earlier question with a more impatient tone.
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> The remaining officer does not answer, but instead, randomly comments on his "beautiful eyes". It visibly shocks and disturbs Felix, to which he quickly reassures him he's not planning anything romantic with him. Felix is hardly reassured, since the officer continues to blab on about his eyes. He cuts him off with the demand to know what this is all about and when they're finally going to write this report. The officer responds his name and address not to be necessary, unless he got his eyes from his mother and they should give her a visit as well.
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> The perverse vagueness of it all gives Felix an unpleasant feeling and he begins to hit the passenger door, demanding to be let out. The officer is not alarmed and asks him to stop with an overly kind voice.
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> His partner then opens up the trunk to ask Felix where exactly he peed, a confusing question he wants to know the reason for. The man just smiles and answers to be busy cleaning up evidence. Felix again shouts what this is all about, so the lead officer suggest his partner to just use their UV-A light and inspect the area they found him walking away from.
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> The trunk is closed shut and Felix calmly asked to relax until everything has been taken care of, but he doesn't care to wait any longer and starts swearing at him. The officer tells him not to waste his breath or energy, as he won't be seeing daylight again anyway. Felix falls silent in disbelief at the whole situation.
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> The officer derives excitement from Felix' shocked face reflecting in his rear-view mirror, motivating him to keep on talking. He repeats to like his eyes and be a fond collector of the organ. Felix tries to process the madness he just heard, then asks if he's being kidnapped just for his eyes. The man replies they're planning much more and joyfully shares how "they" often play a game that involves disassembling a person while keeping them conscious for as long as possible.
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> Felix pauses, then asks if they're the killers from the news. He replies to be a member of a group of body part fanatics. The reveal leaves Felix even more speechless and the man smiles at him through his mirror. He then tells him to tone down his expressions, as it'll supposedly affect the quality of his eyes.
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> Felix shakes with rage and fear, and huffs the demand to be released. The man instead announces they might skip the game if he promises to conduct himself better. Felix repeats himself more loudly this time.
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> The officer continues to playfully bargain with him; and asks if he's seen a redneck in the area, who he dubs missing and a possible snitch. The description is familiar, but he refuses to answer.
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> Felix begins kicking the car doors and hitting the detainment cage in a frenzy, urging the officer to grab a dart gun and point it through the small grate. He angrily threatens to shoot and promises it won't be the kind that'll put him into a comfortable sleep. Knowing it'll be over if he loses control of his limbs, Felix stops.
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> Since the other officer is taking his time and Felix doesn't want to speak to the psychopath at the front, he only has his thoughts to turn to. He tries to come up with ways to neutralize the two men or escape unseen, but the specialized police vehicle allows for no openings and the only option he has is his words.
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> Felix tries to scare the man with imprisonment and promises that people know where he is and will come find him. The officer answers he'll never be found, as he benefits from being law enforcement and has been assigned to the abduction cases. Felix asks if the entire police station is involved with the group, but the man just grunts and starts to complain about his slow partner.
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> Minutes keep passing, feeling like hours. Felix can only think of swear words and violence, thus keeps quiet until a real plan has formed inside his head. He looks around the forest area, hoping to see Babygirl, but there's no sign of life outside of the police car.
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> The officer becomes tired of waiting and opens the door to call his parter. With the door opened, Felix becomes restless and can't contain himself. He screams for Babygirl to save him, hoping to be audible enough wherever she is. Not unexpected, the officer swiftly grabs the dart gun and shoots him down.
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> The drug is quick and feels like gravity pulling at him. Like the officer claimed, he is wide awake, but his body unresponsive. Felix has trouble keeping his eyes open and there's a torturous pressure on his lungs, making breathing a chore. There's instant regret for his hasty decision.
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> Nevertheless, as the man is cursing at him and leans back outside, Babygirl comes sprinting to devour him in a laughably unchallenging fight. The front of the car is trampled by her landing, but it does not create an exit for the imprisoned Felix. He sheds a tear of joy, but can't call her and has to watch her pace around aimlessly on the road after her meal. He tries to find the strength, knowing to need her to get out even after regaining control of his body, but his efforts are only making him more out of breath.
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> The lack of oxygen affects his awareness and he can barely see Babygirl anymore.
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> Babygirl, clueless about his whereabouts and feeling impatient, sticks out her brush-tipped tongue to help enhance her smell. She quickly finds him, but is unsure if he needs help. Since Felix can't speak, he can't communicate with her to be in danger. Her large eyes determine that his are open and moving, seemingly convincing her of his safety. She lies down on the public road as if they were at home, not helping Felix feel less on edge.
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> Luckily, Babygirl prefers to join him inside and bites open the car as if it were paper. After some more waiting and not getting pet or talked to, she begins to suspect that things might not be in order. She leans on her back legs and grabs her ragdolling owner out with her hands. Unable to determine the meaning of it all, the simple creature decides to make the dark forest their bed for the night and lets him lean against her body with a warm wing over his. Though worried people will find the mess on the road before their next awakening, he realizes this to be the best location for him and his saviour right now.
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> Despite the lack of breath and traumatizing events, he allows himself to fall asleep.
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***CHAPTER 5: The Hunger of Felix**
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> Felix wakes up with heavy limbs, but able to move. Babygirl bites his head and is guessed to be content with things having gone back to normal.
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> Remembering what happened a few hours ago, adrenaline starts rushing through his body and he hastes himself to the road. He sees both vehicles still standing, seemingly not having been discovered yet. Knowing he'll be the one in trouble if the destroyed police vehicle is found in an area that contains fresh traces of his DNA, he concludes it needs to go.
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> With alot of effort, he gestures Babygirl to help him push the car off the road, who ends up chucking it into the forest. He quickly ties her to the back of his truck and places a cloth over her.
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> His mother responds upset over seeing him drive around with Babygirl in the early morning. Felix is emotionally exhausted and does not argue with her. They're both sent to his room.
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> He sits down on the floor with Babygirl and gives her a tight, but silent embrace, whereafter his body gives in and he faints after all the excitement. She stays put and decides to slap around his soccer ball, too well-rested to sleep again.
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> Upon waking up and collecting his thoughts, anger starts to rise. Disgusted by the officers and their made casualties he almost took the life of Babygirl for, he wants to track down this secret criminal community and take them out.
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> While the police station was his primary suspect, the way the officer described being able to erase and ignore evidence by being assigned these murder cases makes Felix believe the station not to be in cahoots. He concludes it wouldn't be necessary to be assigned to anything if any officer can take on the job and do the same thing.
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> Knowing he can't show up at the station with wild claims and doesn't even know the names of his dead assaulters, he has to think of another way to find the killer club.
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> Days pass and the disappearances don't stop. As the forest is no longer a reported crime scene, it confirms that the man Babygirl first killed was a member, earning her a loving caress from Felix when he puts these puzzle pieces together. He tries to find a link in the other reported locations, but there's none.
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> He doesn't want more people to die until he can discover a pattern, and with little else to do, makes the hard decision to offer himself up as bait and again get kidnapped by one of the murderers.
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> Realizing the plan hinges on Babygirl to show up to save him again, specifically *after* learning the location of the hideout, he comes up with a risky strategy. He plans to sneak out without her and leave behind a trail of used socks, hoping she'll follow the possible car tracks or killer's scent at where his scent ends.
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> He hides a few pocket knives across his body as an extra safety measure and tries to initiate his plan the following nights, but Babygirl wakes up every time to watch him walk off.
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> Since innocent people keep getting snatched up, he starts taking more measures to ensure he won't be spotted, like covering up her eternally open eyes with a sleeping mask and wearing sound-absorbent socks in bed. These help and Felix finally reaches the outdoors alone.
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> He becomes uncertain in the cold, silent air, but with no progress of the police's investigation in sight, agrees with himself he has the highest chance of getting rid of the madmen terrorizing everyone. He starts walking through town and drops down a sock every few steps.
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> Like a bleeding animal in a crocodile pond, he's immediately grabbed. With his neck clenched in a muscular elbow, Felix is unable to see the perpetrator or scream, but knows that not to be the plan anyway. He let's himself get dragged to a vehicle, where another person gets out to tie him up and stuff a cloth in his mouth. Felix is pushed inside the car and they drive off with haste.
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> Nothing is said the entire way and Felix can't see the faces of the hat-wearing duo. While they're occupied driving, he tries to reach one of his many pocket knives to cut loose the ropes and give himself a head start, but the knots are expertly tied. They stop at an unsuspicious shack that looks more broken down than whole.
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> Felix quickly tries to force his limbs in positions not possible, but isn't flexible enough and has to let the figures touch him again. They pull him out and utter quiet, simple words of amazement for the victim they snatched up; apparently pleased by the look of him and the body parts they'll get out of it.
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> While guided to the shack, Felix is still trying to grab a knife, but can't, and ends up having to find peace in a delayed, more challenging escape.
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> Then, a familiar screech is heard in the distance.
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> Thanks to -admittedly- dumb luck, the angel of death shows up to take out the men holding her human in their grip. Babygirl casually approaches Felix afterwards, who skips trying to course her into helping him and drops down at her clawed hands to cut the ropes with. He jumps back up with praising words, then heads over to the shack to inspect it.
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> Initially wondering if this is actually what he's looking for, he then finds a secret door in the floor after shuffling some objects around. Babygirl's tongue seems to pick up something appetizing down there, but she's too big to enter.
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> Felix decides to take the kidnappers' car back home first to get his rifle and some tools to open up the entrance, with Babygirl running along. The noise of her footsteps invites residents to call the police, who start inhabiting the streets, making it difficult for Felix to continue his vigilantism. Seeing the many officers sparks a conundrum; to either report the shack to them or satisfy his own need for vengeance and go on as planned.
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> Though the latter is appetizing, he has to admit not to be equipped for these kind of missions, and entering the hideout might cause legal trouble in the future.
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> He distracts Babygirl with some meat from the fridge, while he hurries himself to an officer outside. He tries to keep it vague as not make himself a suspect, and claims to have seen groups of people hanging out near the shack. The officer finds it an unlikely clue, as the building is broken down and easily accessible to the public, but promises to check it out with his colleagues.
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> To make sure they do, Felix silently follows the leaving officers with Babygirl at his side.
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> As promised, the police cars stop at the shack and all men and women do an intensive search that leads them to the same hidden latch. But before Felix can contently turn around, the officer holding open the latch door is shot in the face by a silent pistol coming from inside. Before the others can react, they meet the same fate, whereafter people show up from behind trees and bushes. In an instant, the only hope to freedom the victims had is erased.
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> As they're armed and scattered around still, Felix delays his retaliation for Babygirl's safety, and watches them push the dead cops down the entrance, whereafter the group follows and the latch closes.
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> Felix waits a full minute for them to get away from the entrance, then runs over. Just then, a person comes back up with the intention to clean up the area, startling Felix, who shoots him with his rifle. Before the body can fall down, an eager Babygirl snatches it up in her mouth.
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> Though his timing was quick, he's assured the noise was heard by the group inside, and he quickly gets out his axe to destroy the wooden frame to allow better entrance for Babygirl. People indeed show up and start mindlessly shooting upwards. As his rifle is too long, Felix can't find an easy position to shoot back at them, and some enemy's bullets end up scraping him. His wounds and the loud noises agitate Babygirl, who begins to rip open the entrance herself and dig her way to the attackers. Not wanting her to get hit, Felix tries to stop her, but she ignores his pulling and the commands.
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> The people below respond with confused fear and try to flee back inside, but she catches up to them. Felix decides he might as well jump down and join the hunt.
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> He finds himself in a hallway, already cleaned out by Babygirl. At the end is a door with light at the other side, which he carefully approaches with rifle in hand. He tries to listen for voices, but hears nothing, so slowly opens it. It leads to an inoffensive living room space with 3 more doors. Babygirl has her attention set on one in particular, and Felix takes it as the right way to go.
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> They keep on walking, until they end up in another uninhabited room that looks like a surgeon's chamber. This time, distant voices are heard, seemingly of people unaware of the brawl that happened outside. Felix guesses some of the walls have sound-proof isolation, worrying him a little for what's to come.
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> When the voices stop and silence returns, he decides to slowly open the door, which grabs the attention of someone standing in the door opening at the other side of the room. The figure quickly calls the others and Felix jumps back to prepare his rifle. The entering group are taken aback by the monstrous Babygirl greeting them, allowing her and Felix to swiftly take them on.
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> When they think to have gotten everyone, they continue to the next room, existing out of carton boxes and closed curtains.
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> Babygirl becomes curious and bumps her head against the curtains, whereafter a big glass jar is heard falling. On the floor, many severed ears are seen, earning a yelp from Felix. As Babygirl treats it as a snack for the taking, he hurriedly tries to pull her head away from it and make her come with him to the next area. Though reluctant, the smell coming from the next room grabs her attention more.
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> They enter what looks like a prison, with the cells looking empty at first glance. Nevertheless, a woman is heard waking up and starts calling for help. Felix hurries to her cell and sees she's tied to the wall with chains, luckily still untouched and in good health. More people from different cells start calling out upon hearing their voices.
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> Babygirl still has a hungry mind and tears open the iron door to get to the woman, forcing Felix to stand between them. The woman loses her mind upon seeing the demon, riling up the rest of the prisoners as well, but Felix argues Babygirl simply doesn't know what human counts as an ally down here and promises she's his friend.
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> As the chains are thick and Felix is having trouble coursing Babygirl do break them or any of the other doors, he asks everyone to be patient while he looks for tools and the keys. The prisoners respond with neurotic worry, but he knows to be useless to them for now and keeps going.
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> At the end of the hallway is one other door, but before going in, Babygirl becomes extremely enticed by something in the last cel. The smell is putrid and Felix takes a hesitant look. He becomes petrified when he sees a mountain of incomplete corpses stored inside, and notices one still breathing with hardship. A small child with her entire lower body missing and cleanly sewn shut lies on the floor.
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> Realizing there's a low chance she'll survive much longer, he takes his rifle and points it through the barred window of the iron prison door. The click of the gun catches her attention, and the girl cries not wanting to die. Felix explains to her it'll be for the best, but she desires to go home to her mother. He can't get himself to do it in the end, thus asks her to hold on and promises to bring her there.
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> He opens up the last door, whereafter he sees a hand holding a gun, trying to shoot him down. Babygirl again ignores the bullets and jumps the hiding gunman inside. Many objects are heard rattling, and when Felix enters this last room, he sees it's an equipment storage holding many ghastly tools. He takes giant clippers for the chains and the many keys hanging behind the door, guessed to be for the prison locks.
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> While trying out the keys and handing them to freed prisoners to help minimize the work, some of them are feeling vengeful and inspire the others to raid the equipment room and fight back. Felix tells them he and Babygirl have gotten rid of most of the criminals already and should be the ones walking at the front anyway. The prisoners claim they'll be fine, even after the argument their short tools won't help against guns. Nobody cares for it and they run off, including the more docile, but unarmed woman he gave the severed little girl to.
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> Felix can only shrug at the decision and pets Babygirl for a job well done. She desires the mountain of corpses as her reward, but he can't give it to her in good conscience and tries to tell her she'll get a different reward later. She can't keep her ghoulish eyes off of it, though, thus Felix decides to run off without her, hoping she'll chase him like she tends to do.
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> When she sees he has disappeared into the surgeon's room, she comes sprinting with disapproving noises, whereafter he closes the door leading to the prison. Felix gives her a cocky, triumphant smile after his clever trickery.
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> When he opens up the door to the living room, Felix sees some familiar tools discarded all over the floor and an unknown girl standing in the center. Babygirl responds unusually angry and cautious, urging Felix to point his rifle at her.
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***CHAPTER 6: Baby and the Girl**
 (Click "Expand" to read)>*

> Felix demands to know if she's one of the criminals, but she just stares at the odd action hero duo with an empty expression. He has to repeat himself multiple times, while dealing with Babygirl, who wants to push herself in front of him with offended growls directed at her.
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> She finally begins to speak and asks what they're doing here. Felix answers he came to kill the limb fetishists who have been terrorizing the area, and once again asks if she's one of them. The girl corrects herself; saying she was addressing Babygirl, not him. Felix comments on her stupidity, as Babygirl is perceivably an animal that can't talk or understand her.
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> Because the stranger is a hesitant speaker and won't answer the one question that'll help him learn who she is, he's unsure on how to progress. He inspects her clothes, a normal top with jeans, which leaves no room for her to be hiding a gun. She looks way younger than the members he took down and he wonders if someone like her could even be part of a dangerous group of perverts. While willing to entertain the idea she's just a socially awkward wanderer who decided to explore a hole in the ground, the distrust Babygirl shows for her can't be ignored, and Felix refuses to lower his weapon.
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> He suggests she starts answering him truthfully, and tries to motivate her by sharing his willingness to have the police deal with her if she admits her involvement. She points him on the rudeness of drawing a gun on someone before knowing the truth, to which he replies to trust Babygirl's instincts that something's off about her.
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> Her gaze moves to the beast and her thick neck, covered in many fanged mouths, gently being pet by Felix as an attempt to keep her from jumping her. The mouths nibble his fingers upon making contact.
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> The girl asks him if he knows what she is, but Felix says that not to matter to him, spawning a very minor expression of surprise on her otherwise static face.
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> He more threateningly points the rifle at her and says to be getting tired of her time-wasting. He repeats to want to know her connection to this place, to which she finally gives a relevant answer; and states to merely visit "to eat".
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> The answer turns him speechless, then enraged. He demands clarification on her apparent admission to cannibalism, though her continued silence has him take it as a yes.
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> He calls her disgusting, whereafter the girl asks if that's the same opinion he has of "his mate", who she witnessed devouring the people in these rooms with his approval. As she's clearly talking about Babygirl, the use of the term for what is his pet spawns confusion and earns her the snide comment that she doesn't know what the word means. Felix replies Babygirl is an animal and the victims deserved it.
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> The girl asks if looking like a human is what makes murder a crime, which he takes as more random banter and doesn't give an answer to.
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> Knowing what he knows about her, the impatient Felix aborts the interview and announces to see no benefit in keeping someone like her alive. She merely closes her eyes during the threatening speech, but before he can properly aim the rifle at her head, they open up again and reveal a pair of changed eyes.
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> Despite the distance between them, Felix is able to discern they look like Babygirl's. He lowers his gun, and after scrambling to find his words, asks if they are the same species. The girl confirms that to be so.
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> He shows off hesitant excitement mixed with shock, and begins to ask her what kind of creature they are and where they came from. The girl reminds him he said earlier that not to matter to him, thus does not answer. Like he expected this, he instead comments on the fact she looks human and asks if Babygirl can transform too. She says to look human because the ones who raised her are, and admits not to know why Babygirl looks like herself.
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> The girl then turns to Babygirl, noting her on her old age and asks why "she hasn't killed him and gone home yet", referring to Felix. The question takes him aback and he insists they're best friends who've known each other since childhood. The girl rejects that explanation, and assures their kind can't have those kind of relationships.
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> With no real understanding for the concept in general, she gives the conversation an embarrassing turn by claiming Babygirl's toleration of him has to be linked to high sexual activity. Felix blasts down the claim and changes the subject to why a creature like her even joined this criminal organization. She answers to come from a busy city where she could not discreetly hunt for food, and managed to find and unite a group of particular humans through the internet; eventually spawning the club he's just disbanded.
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> While Felix empathizes with the challenge she faced in getting food, he can't tolerate her sole preference for human meat and scoffs at the sick hobby of those she willingly made her allies. He wonders how someone could even find people like them, to which she replies it's her search for her own kind and wanting to learn their methods of acquiring food is what lead her to them. Though not directly involved with their practises, nor cared to do so, she guesses they were humans who knew about "crossbreeds like him" and wanted to collect their body parts out of some kind of fascination.
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> Felix looks at her in confused silence, until the gears inside his head are finally done turning and he addresses her remark concerning him. The girl repeats he's a crossbreed. He says not to be any such thing and asks what she means by that.
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> She attributes his supposed origin to laughably trivial matters, like his bright eyes, combative nature, and again, Babygirl supposedly being his mate. Felix shuts down the latter in his growing annoyance and replies her arguments are applicable to normal human beings. The girl admits not to have the knowledge on what are considered normal human traits, but to sense herself in him.
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> The mood turns more sour when she comments he's wasting Babygirl's time if he has no interest in her, and should die in order to allow her to return home. There is genuine offense spotted on her face, but Felix can only muster moans of disgust for the selectively deaf demon and her repetitiveness. He snarls she has no right to say anything about the legitimacy of their relationship, since she has no moral compass as a people-eating criminal.
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> As he says these words out loud and his eyes wander off to the dropped equipment on the floor, Felix suddenly starts to realize something. His face fills itself with dread and his attention goes back to the girl. He carefully asks what happened to the prisoners he freed. She says nothing.
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> With more urgency, he asks her if they passed her on the way out. After a short silence, she replies she ate them, as they attacked her. Felix shouts there were children in the crowd who could not have attacked her, but the emotional scolding does not spawn any hint of concern on the girl's face.
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> Felix feels overcome with anger, spreading through him like a poison. Without saying anything, he raises his rifle and fires a shot at her. Though perfectly aimed at her head, the girl managed to avoid it and starts speeding towards him with fangs and claws out. The mentally prepared Babygirl jumps in and the two end up in a wild chase though the living room, throwing around many pieces of furniture and creating the challenge for Felix to avoid it all. He tries to aim his rifle again, but with Babygirl fighting her, can't pull the trigger with confidence.
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> After a lengthy minute, the two take a break and create distance. The girl comments on Babygirl's extreme protectiveness, to which Felix proudly confirms they are best friends. She still doesn't know what that entails and can only come up with more primitive reasoning.
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> Because a female is fighting for him and Felix portrays himself as fairly dominant and goal-driven, she begins to wonder if he is an objectively valuable male she should claim for herself.
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> While the duo keep shooting and lunging at her, she becomes more focused on grabbing Felix over harming him, but knows to be decreasing her chances as long the two are actively working together to kill her.
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> She decides to announce her intentions and suggests him to kill Babygirl if a human body is more to his liking. It earns her an empty stare. Felix snarls he's not planning on dating a scatterbrained psychopath and continues to unload bullets her way. She doesn't take the rejection well and promises to prove her strength and worthiness. Felix begs her to shut up through the blasts.
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> The girl makes more sudden jumps and sprints, making full use of her human size, while the small room restrict Babygirl's ability to follow her. As Felix needs time to reload, he uses the discarded tools on the floor to swipe at the girl with whenever she dares to approach. His use of the lethal items inspire her, and she decides to pick up two weapons herself.
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> While circling Babygirl, she pierces her neck with a thick spear and her shoulder with a giant axe blade. They appear a critical hit, as she immediately fall down with a screech.
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> Felix wants to run over, but the girl claws his rifle out of his hands and pins him down. She says his fighting spirit to be attractive and her being the victor means Babygirl is no longer worthy of having him.
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> While she keeps spewing more nonsense Felix doesn't care to hear, his eyes can't stop darting back to his beloved friend, dying on the floor. He tries to wrestle himself loose from his enemy, but her strength proves to be otherworldly. He demands to be released, but she wishes for him to confirm they are indeed mates. Felix begins to wriggle, curse, and shout, while the girl's voice stays eerily calm.
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> Babygirl is no longer making any sound and nauseating panic rises within him. He calls for her, but receives no response.
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> His rage reaches its limit and his right arm manages to slide itself out of the girl's grip. His nails hit her in the face and she flinches backwards, creating an opening for him to hurry himself to the floored Babygirl. There's still no response from her, but there's slight relief when he confirms she's still alive after listening to her chest. When he wants to remove the blade in her shoulder, he sees his own face in the reflection, showing fangs in his mouth and his pupil having turned red. When looking down at his hands, his fingernails have become pointed, explaining the nasty mark in his attacker's face.
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> Felix is petrified after this reveal, allowing for the girl to slowly approach. She states there's no reason to spare the weak, and strong offspring should be what he wants. Whilst still in his state of disbelief, he quietly huffs not to be an animal. She continues to utter more indifferent statements as if they are facts, until she stands right beside him. Without a second thought, Felix grabs the handle of the blade in Babygirl's shoulder and swipes the weapon up. Babygirl screams in pain while her blood starts gushing out, while the girl slumps down onto the floor, missing the front half of her head.
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> Felix tries to soothe Babygirl, and after some confusion on what to do next, reminds himself of the surgeon's room. Babygirl, thinking he's abandoning her, cries loudly as he disappears out of sight, even when his distant voice is heard comforting her.
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> He returns with medical supplies and sleeping gas, and attempts to carefully remove the last weapon from her neck. When he struggles closing up her wounds with the fragile needle and thread, he uses his newfound strength to pull her sturdy skin together and force the needle in. After some excessive use of thread, it finally holds. Felix waits in the bloodied, messed up room for Babygirl to awaken. His moment of rest helps his body turn back to normal, though his mind stays filled with questions.
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***CHAPTER 7: The Village**
 (Click "Expand" to read)>*

> Babygirl wakes up, still slow and dizzy. Felix greets her with a caress and asks if she can walk. Not really expecting an answer in the first place, he gets up and heads for the entrance. She pushes herself on her feet, but shows priority for the corpse of their enemy still lying on the floor, which she devours with vitriol. He doesn't know whether or not to scold her over it, but decides it's wise not to leave behind evidence of an alien creature. Too emotionally exhausted for it anyway, he patiently scuffles through the hallway, allowing for her to follow him.
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> Since she's too weak to walk back home, Felix guides her on top of one of the orphaned police cars and drives back to town at a snail's pace.
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> While moving through the small streets, a woman suddenly shows up from her house to approach him. Felix is spooked by her presence, but the large demon resting on top of the vehicle is seemingly ignored while she tries to get the attention of who she thinks is a cop. Felix nervously lowers his window, but not wanting to look suspicious over driving a police car, claims to be an intern bringing it back to the station.
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> The woman is disheartened and asks if he can give them a message. He doesn't know how to decline, and while looking at the heavy Babygirl drowsily staring at the interaction, grabs a notebook and gets out to play the part of an eager officer in training.
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> The woman explains to had been feeling sick earlier in the day, and so her husband left to the drug store before sunset. As she just awakened and he never got home, Felix guesses the man was one of the victims he failed to save back in the underground bunker. The woman happens to express this worry as well and asks his opinion on his current safety.
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> He's unsure on what would be appropriate to tell her, and his expression is picked up on. He settles with the promise that the kidnappers will never take another person again, for which she decides to thank him for.
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> He guarantees her testimony will reach the police and turns around, standing eye in eye with Babygirl as he does. He asks the woman if she sees what's on his car, which earns him a confused response. He excuses his question to being tired and says his goodbye.
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> He stops at his house to drop off Babygirl first. Though weakened, she doesn't like to be left alone and screeches when he tries. He puts on her sleeping mask and tucks her in with a blanket, attempting to insert a sense of security and make her calm down. He pets her until she falls silent, then leaves to return the police car.
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> His mind fills itself with more questions on his way to the station. He looks at his hands holding the steering wheel; his nails again and still normal.
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> He parks in front of the entrance and heads inside, where two lonely cops are chatting it up. He hands them the woman's note and conducts a story about having found the police car abandoned with doors opened for hours on end. They are grateful and ask him if he's seen any of their late colleagues at all, which Felix denies. Happy with his efforts, though, one of the cops jokes he should join the police, "since the others are probably dead now and they'll have lots of vacancies". The remark earns him a scolding from the other cop. Felix gives a parody of a smile and says to think about it.
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> Before he can exit, the men ask if he has a ride back home and remind him he shouldn't go out alone with kidnappers on the loose. Though the distance makes for a fair walk, he wants to be alone with his thoughts and assures them his house is around the corner.
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> Upon getting home, he hears Babygirl has woken up and finds his mother in the kitchen. Too tired to be upset over seeing him arrive home so late, she only remarks that Babygirl sounds to be missing him. Felix is visibly not in the mood for jokes and joins her at the kitchen bar.
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> He cuts to the chase and asks her what he is. She doesn't know how to take his seemingly random question. He clarifies to have learned to be a crossbreed and the same species as Babygirl, which does not help his mother understand.
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> As if it's already become second nature for him, he spawns his new bodily features for her to witness. She responds surprised, yet not surprised enough.
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> She says his father was a strange man she could never describe, explaining why they hardly talked about him when he was little. While indifference defined him and she's never seen him smile, he stuck by her side and lived to keep her satisfied. But when he broke up with her and his reason as to why made less sense -only telling her he had to go home- the one conclusion she could draw was that he forced his love for her, but in actuality had grown tired of pretending and wanted to move out.
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> Felix thinks that to make sense, until she reveals he's the one who gifted them their cottage. He asks why she moved at all if she could've kept their original home and saved the money, to which she replies his father wanted him to live in this particular village. The why was never shared and the man disappeared from everyone's radar afterwards.
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> After some silence, except for Babygirl's distant moaning, his mother asks if he's feeling alright. He replies to have never felt like something was off about himself and still feels the same as before.
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> He then asks what she's thinking of it all, and she agrees it doesn't change who he is and knowing Babygirl softens the shock of standing eye in eye with a supposed half-demon. She jokes if he needs to be fed 10 cows a day as well, to which he promises not to be a huge eater.
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> His mother lets out a sigh Felix can relate to, then suggests he should comfort Babygirl. He moans to be exhausted and his mother smiles they can talk more in the morning.
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> He heads upstairs and enters his bedroom. Babygirl, still masked, stops crying and threateningly turns her head to the entrance. When Felix announces his presence, she relaxes. He takes off her mask and changes his clothes without a word, whereafter he sits down on his bed with a listless stare.
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> He then gets off to join Babygirl on the floor and instantly collapses after all the stress and excitement. Babygirl pushes him closer with her wing and finally falls asleep as well.
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> Time skips to a few years later. Felix is a police officer and has an isolated home on a forest mountain, a few short miles away from his childhood town. Babygirl is still by his side, but won't stay home and tends to follow him from a distance when he goes to work. During these moments, it's impossible to keep people from seeing her at times, but Felix always steps in to make witnesses doubt themselves. As there are no crimes happening that people can link to these sightings, no one feels paranoid enough to make an issue out of it.
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> At the same time, Felix noticed some people to have looked her straight in the eyes, yet act like she's air. Though he can't link an explanation to it, it also doesn't affect anything.
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> Many things are still left unsaid and shrouded in mystery about his town, Babygirl, and himself, but Felix chooses to exist in the now and is happy to be continuing his life as a normal human being, joined by his strange pet demon.
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## Characters

### Felix

Felix is a boy who lives alone with his mother in a compact cottage in a rural village, surrounded by forests. They used to live in Boston, which his absent father originates from.

He was about 8 years old when he found Babygirl.

As a child, Felix was a typical boy with matching interests, yet not someone who stood first in line to deal with foreign or dangerous situations. Still, his righteous mind prioritized Babygirl's safety over (potentially) his own when he witnessed her under attack by the neighbourhood children.

It didn't take long for him to put on a motherly act towards the frightful creature and treat her like an inoffensive baby, earning her the name.

Years later, he witnesses her swallow a human being whole without any provocation, and with worrisome reports littering the local news, believes she's the wanted perpetrator. He becomes heartbroken and unsure on what to do; and his newfound fear for her has him entertain the idea of taking her life.

Even when he settles on keeping her around, the fact she's developed a taste for humans doesn't sit well with him and his fear for her sticks a little while.

After a kidnapping attempt that helps him realize he could've killed his childhood friend over a mistake, he becomes blinded by vengeful anger and wishes to rid his town from the real criminals plaguing them. Having that said, Felix underwent a dramatic change of demeanour when things started going sour for him and could not shake off his negative feelings or reevaluate his extreme vigilante approach to the matter. These traits are linked to his blood as a crossbreed, which amplifies feelings of rage and offense taken when being slighted.

Since he's lived most of his life as a cheerful and inoffensive child, it's insinuated he's never experienced anything to get upset about before.

He has prominent green eyes and unruly black hair that nearly always falls in front of his face. One of Felix' mannerisms is brushing it back with his hand. He had light freckles as a child, but loses them as he grows older.

### Mom

"Mom" is the nameless mother of Felix.

She's an eccentric jokester and as much a friend to Felix as she is a mother. Their humor is similar and her failed relationship with his father was not off-limits; always blaming it on her weirdness.

Though not unexpected from the odd woman in hindsight, she surprised him when she allowed Babygirl to stay. Her relationship with the monster is basic, since she has a clear preference for her son. Unlike what he'd claim, she doesn't think she's "adorable" -giving her less reason to enable physical contact- though also isn't afraid of her like she used to be.

Nevertheless, as Babygirl grows older and the little money they have to feed her decreases, she takes a stern stance towards her disregardful son, and the overall stress causes their relationship to suffer a bit.

When people in the area start disappearing, she does not suspect Babygirl, though also doesn't know about Felix' midnight hunting trips and Babygirl's solo escapades.

Felix hoped she was aware of his alien origin and came to her with questions. She couldn't help him much, but since his vanished father is the only mystery she could never decipher, guessed he would've had the answers.

Realizing Felix never received a description of his character, his mother revealed why she was having trouble giving one and told him the sudden, unsatisfying reason for their breakup.

Though not stated or made a subject of importance in the story, her ability to see Babygirl insists there's at least one cinderel family member in her bloodline as well.

She has orange-blonde hair in a French twist, blue eyes, and freckles.

### Babygirl

Babygirl, or Baby, is the pet and best friend of Felix. She's a cinderel and comes from a different realm of existence.

Cinderel are ruthless demons with the ability to take on the form of any existing creature after birth. The mothers dump their offspring with other animal species to raise in their stead, not unlike the cuckoo bird.

Babygirl is special in the sense she tolerates other living beings and didn't take on a disguise, since she misunderstood what animal she was supposed to copy at birth, thus copied her biological mother, her own species.

Normally speaking, a cinderel's true appearance doesn't "register" on Earth and they're invisible, but the ending reveals that her visibility is exclusive and humans/animals with the blood of a cinderel can see her.

As she looks alien and has a dangerous aura to her, no animal wanted to adopt the pup. She was soon found and tortured by children, but Felix showed up and saved her life, which is a fact she can't take into consideration, as her kind isn't intelligent enough to do so. Having that said, her relationship with him developed the way it did only because he fed her and kept imposing his presence on her.

Cinderel have ingrained aggression and can't pick up on most emotions, so it took golden patience and effort to tame her. Commands can't be learned or understood, and often Felix has to join her side and gesture his wants.

Though the species can't experience "love" and their urge to want to attack not be unlearned, Babygirl managed to recognize the beneficiary relationship she has with Felix and purposely lets him serve her in order to stay lazy and dependant. It is an uncharacteristically intelligent move that protects him from herself. Whenever her instincts tell her to lunge at him, she instead politely takes his head in her jaws or nibbles his nose, which Felix believes to be kisses.

Their relationship isn't solely superficial and made of out compromises, though. Babygirl has a genuine obsession for him and feels most at ease in his presence. She awaits to hear his voice and feel his touch, which is not normal for the anti-social race. As he spends so much time with her, she becomes increasingly more displeased whenever he leaves the house without her.

Besides being with him, she enjoys playing with soccer balls.

Babygirl is a large, mostly quadrupedal demonic-looking beast with black skin, sharp fangs, long, thin forearms with clawed hands, two tails with black hair, wings attached to her lower back, many fanged mouths on her neck, round blue eyes with a red ball floating inside with the texture of molten lava, and a double set of black branched horns of differing size that lean back and slightly arch inward.

As a pup, she had light smooth skin, big eyes, and no teeth.

### Temima

Temima is a cinderel. Her name was not revealed in the story and she was only dubbed "the girl".

Though a minor character and her chapter mostly consisting out of a seemingly pointless back-and-forth, meeting her enabled Felix to learn more about himself, which would've otherwise stayed undisclosed information.

Unlike Babygirl, Temima took on a suitable Earthly disguise and spent her entire upbringing living as a human being. She's about 17 years old, meaning  she's nearing the point of killing her foster parents and returning to the cinderel realm as a full-fledged adult.

Temima's caretakers believe she is their biological daughter, as neither one of them got to see their real child after birth. Nearing the end of the mother's pregnancy, she suffered sudden contractions that forced her to give birth at home by herself, whereafter she lost consciousness, opening up the chance for a young Temima to devour the baby and take its place unseen. With the added luck of growing up with similar physical features to her foster parents, no further suspicion was raised.

Because transformed cinderel have to kill their caretaker(s) in order to reclaim their original form and spawn a portal back home, Temima was surprised to see the adult Babygirl still lingering on Earth. Her extreme protectiveness of Felix only added to the confusion.

As there's no possible scenario where a (female) cinderel would tolerate the presence of another creature outside of mating, Temima's limited ability to understand relationships made her conclude they were mates and Felix to be a dominant, wanted male. Obsession took over and she became eager to claim him for herself, even though Felix was perceivably annoyed by her and firing gunshots her way.

Temima admitted to have inspired the existence of the "limb collectors club", though used it as means of getting her hands on human meat without taking any real risks that would otherwise endanger her way of life. She did not kidnap people and only visited the bunker to feast on discarded limbs and bodies. The other members did not know she took these to eat or was a cinderel; adding to the irony of club's main focus being the collecting of human-cinderel crossbreed body parts.

How any of them learned about the existence of cinderel and crossbreeds, or what village to target, was not revealed by Temima.

Despite being to blame for it, she did not pretend to be the club's founder and is not a leader in general, as her low intellect as a cinderel wouldn't make it possible. She's a patient speaker and has trouble processing most questions or things said to her, thus can only give brief replies and lacklustre stares back. In the body of a human, it makes her look "deep thinking" and "stoic", though the impatient Felix believed she had autism before learning about her alien roots.

Temima is a mostly flawless-looking human, but with a hair structure error. Like her foster parents, she looks to be of African descent, but her hair is more straight than curled. She carries a static face, and even when something sparks somewhat of an emotion, it is barely noticed. She has a warm, soothing voice.

## Trivia

* The story wasn't supposed to have an episodic format and originally ended after Felix spared Babygirl's life; confirming her as the killer and leaving Felix without a deeper origin.
* Temima was going to be Babygirl transformed.