ชิ้นChîn: Chapter 1. Hallowed Man (Patreon)

Studio apartment, an infomercial plays on the TV at low volume. Charlie is asleep in his bed, his body and left shoulder covered by the blanket.

The alarm on his bedside table goes off with several loud beeps, 11 a.m.

He wakes suddenly with a snort. He stares, dazed with sleep inertia. He reaches over, his right arm presses the off button on the clock.

Charlie is a Thai-Irish American, below average height, with honey-tan skin. He has straight, pale blonde, shoulder-length hair and thick eyebrows. High cheeks, black monolid eyes, and black bands all over his body.

He rubs his face with his hand and stares blankly, then drops his head back onto the pillow.

His phone buzzes on the nightstand a few times. He turns his head and opens his eyes again. After a moment, he reaches his right arm over and pulls the phone to his face to see the message.

[Nora] We need to talk.

He closes his eyes again, places the phone screen down on the bed, and lies there for a moment. He grumbles and sits up, the blanket falling off his body. His left arm is absent from the deltoid down, ending at a second black band.

He sighs, stands up, and turns on a coffee pot on his way to the bathroom.

-

The coffee pot finishes brewing. Charlie returns to grab it and pour it into a cup. His face is still tired, the top half of his hair tied into a bun. He now wears a pair of jeans, worn sneakers, a muted lilac two-toned t-shirt, and a brown jacket with the left arm tied off.

-

Charlie puts his half-empty coffee cup on his bedside table and sits down on his bed. He slips on his shoes and stands up. He grabs his phone on his way towards the door.

-

Charlie walks into a small hole-in-the-wall diner. A lanky, pale older man, Hyphae, sits at the table by the entrance. They look up from their newspaper.

Hyphae, flat-toned: "Hello, Charlie."

Charlie returns the greeting with a warm smile and a wave.

Charlie: "Hey, Hyphae."

He walks up to the bar and sits down.

The stocky older waitress steps over to him.

Waitress: "Morning, Charlie. What'll it be?"

Charlie: "Just pancakes, thanks."

She turns towards the kitchenette.

Waitress: "As usual."

As the waitress steps to the kitchenette, Nora steps out of the diner's back office, walking past her.

Nora appears as an Indian woman with long, dark hair pulled up into a neat bun. She's average height, dressed retro-formal, with old-school teacher vibes.

He looks up at her, and she motions for him as she walks by. She sits at a corner booth. Charlie stands to follow, then sits across from her.

Charlie: "You know, you should have a bat signal for me—not that I would ever see it."

Nora raises a brow with a faint, amused smile.

Nora: "I need you to assist Basit with a job."

The waitress steps up and sets a couple of coffees in front of them. Charlie fills his cup with several packs of sugar.

Charlie gives a light-hearted smile.

Charlie: "Is my tab here out already?"

Nora: "Don't worry about that. Just go with her. We can discuss more afterward."

Charlie sighs: "Alright, so, where is my next epic yet questionable adventure starting?"

-

Charlie walks down the street, passing a flower shop with a 'New Management' sign. A man, Anwir, wearing a priest's collar and a florist's apron, spots him and watches him pass by. He then returns his attention to the customer beside him.

Anwir is a healthy, well-groomed, moderately tall man with fair, rosy skin and deep blue eyes. His hair is short, black, and cleanly cut and tended with no facial hair. He stands tall but casual, with a permanent contented smile.

As Charlie continues to walk, a gray cat walks up to his side.

Cat: "Hello, Charlie."

Charlie looks down.

Cat: "She's not there now."

Charlie stops and gives the cat his full attention.

Cat: "Brook Street, alley beside the pawnshop."

Charlie: "Thanks."

The cat walks off.

-

As Charlie nears the alley, he begins to hear pounding. He turns the corner to see Basit. She's hunched over a man, gripping him by the collar and punching him repeatedly.

Charlie: "What are you doing?"

Basit stops to look over her shoulder at him.

Long wavy hair hangs over one shoulder, the same brown color as her eyes. She has medium-toned skin with a burn scar covering the right side of her face, arm, and upper body. Her stature is tall and her shoulders broad, but her face and body shape are feminine and curved.

She drops the bloodied man by the collar and stands, her posture proud and dominant.

Basit sneers: "Teaching this asshole a lesson."

Basit walks over to Charlie, the man groaning as the two leave the alley.

Charlie: "Right—Nora said you needed my help counting puppies or something."

Basit, flat: "What?"

Charlie: "It was a joke…"

Basit: "Oh. No, there's something out killing humans—"

Charlie, weak smile: "That isn't you?"

Basit smirks and walks out of the alley.

Basit: "It's reckless and has gotten to the point Nora is struggling to keep the human media and authorities out of it. She's pinpointed where its hideout probably is. We are going to find it."

Charlie: "And—ask it nicely to please stop?"

Basit: "Yup, as nicely as I asked that dickhead to stop grabbing asses."

Charlie: "Well, I throw a weak punch, so I'll just do the asking and puppy counting."

Basit snorts.

-

Charlie and Basit stand on a bus holding onto a hand grip. Behind them sit a few white women who glance and stare at Charlie, muttering to each other.

The middle-aged woman looks to the older one. With her shoulder turned away from Charlie, she points towards her own face with a confused expression and motions towards him. The older woman wears a small silver cross and holds a handbag.

Older woman, contempt: "It must be their religion."

Charlie glances over his shoulder at them. The younger lady quickly looks away. Charlie turns to look forward again.

-

City industrial, the two walk up to a massive storm drain.

Charlie, nervous: "In here? Really?"

Basit: "Yup."

Charlie: "This is like the opening to a horror movie."

Basit ignores him and walks on ahead. He sighs, beginning to follow.

Charlie's voice echoes in the tunnel.

Charlie: "The shit I do for some free pancakes."

Both walk further into the tunnels, dimly lit by a few work lights on the upper walls.

Charlie: "I'm not sure if you know this, but—I'm not exactly the tough guy fighter type. So why am I here?"

Basit shrugs: "Nora insisted. Maybe she just wants you to be my backup. Make sure I don't get killed or anything." She snorts.

Charlie, witty: "What do you mean? You're so tough, they call you the 'Back Alley Ball Crusher'."

Basit, confused: "No, they don’t."

Charlie flat: "It was a joke."

Basit: "Oh."

Charlie: "But for real, what could hurt you? The ghost of an Aul?"

Basit, brow furrows: "Auls are not ghosts."

Charlie: "Whatever, they're made up, so what does it matter? Point is—"

Basit: "They are real. I've seen one."

A large and low shadow crosses behind them.

Charlie: "Oh, good. Then the chance of us finding one is lower."

Basit: "That's not how probability works."

They pass in front of a dark tunnel. A scratching sound causes Charlie to stop.

Charlie, nervous: "Did you hear that?"

The two stare at the tunnel; Basit stances, fight-ready, and Charlie leans away, prepared to run.

A few rats rush out, squeaking as they run past their feet. Charlie jumps and yelps. Basit starts laughing. Realizing they're rats, he takes a breath and puts his hand over his chest.

Basit, amused grin: "What's got you so jumpy?"

Charlie: "Hey, I'm not used to all this shit!"

They continue to walk.

Basit: "Sewers and rats?"

Charlie: "Yeah, especially the talking ones that keep calling me about my car's extended warranty—No, I mean like, Vorein, Kindred, those fucking water creatures, Abnormals. All of it."

Basit, raised brow: "Abnormals? How are you not used to your own kind?"

Charlie: "I wasn't always like this."

Basit: "Yeah? What were you before then?"

The two jump down into a deeper tunnel.

Charlie: "Human, believe it or not."

Basit, skeptical suspicion: "Is this another joke?"

Charlie: "No?"

Basit: "Humans don't become Abnormals. And you're not Hyphae."

The large canine-shaped shadow watches them from a tunnel.

Charlie, dry sarcasm: "Yeah? Well, I guess I'm just really lucky then."

Basit: "Okay, so assuming you're not full of shit, how did you become one of us?"

Charlie's brows furrow for a second before his face takes on his typical witty grin.

Charlie: "I don't know. I touched an old cursed artifact, it bit me, I tripped into a nuclear power plant, and now I'm Lego man. The weakest member of Nora's superhero league!"

Basit unamused: "Uh-huh..."

The two enter another tunnel.

Basit: "What was it like as a human then?"

Charlie, dry wit: "Uh—Kinda similar, but minus the monsters, dead humans, hiding from the law, and struggles finding a job. Actually—No, it's pretty much the same."

Basit: "Right. Do you really think I'm that gulli—"

The shadow lunges from the side. Basit ducks and dodges it. The Vorein's maw lands on Charlie's arm, biting down. Charlie screams in pain, and both fall over an edge and into a deeper open space.

The Vorein pulls Charlie's arm off, ripping the sleeve, and tosses it to the side. It turns back to his face, mouth open with a snarl about to bite—A sharp appendage of bone and muscle pierces its skull, killing it. Basit stands several feet away. Her morphed arm slings the Vorein's body to the side, contracts, and reforms.

Basit, casually: "Just a mad Vorein. Well, that's much easier to deal with."

Charlie rolls over in pain. Basit walks up to him and kneels.

Basit: "You alright?"

Charlie: "Get—my arm—please."

Basit looks up at the arm a few feet away. She stands up, walks over, and picks up the arm. It’s bloodied and ripped from the teeth, but the separated point at the band is black and smooth. She brings it back over to him, kneels down, and looks from him to the arm with mild confusion. She holds up the arm to him, and it snaps back into place. Charlie lifts and flexes his hand before holding it against his chest.

Basit: "It just snaps right back on like a magnet, huh?"

He pushes himself up with his arm.

Charlie: "Yeah…"

Basit watches him and reaches down under his reattached arm to pull him to his feet, holding on while he regains his balance. She shakes off the torn, bloodied sleeve from his arm.

Charlie mutters: "I liked that coat…"

-

The two walk back through the tunnels.

Charlie stares down at the ground. He sees his feet, but they are bare, dirty, and walking a much darker path, his vision mildly obscured by red noise and static.

Basit looks back at Charlie, whose face is twisted in pain, eyes watery, and looking downward. She looks at his arm, bloodied but healed, with no wounds.

Basit: "Does it hurt?"

Charlie stirs: "Not anymore."

Basit: "Does it hurt for it to disconnect like that?"

Charlie: "Nah, it just feels—"

His expression shifts from disturbed to a masking smile and sarcastic tone.

Charlie: "Like I said, I'm Lego man—the useless, indestructible superhero."

A tinge of a frown breaks through the mask.

Charlie mutters: "That's missing a few pieces."

Basit watches his face with empathetic concern.

The two exit the tunnels.

-

They stand at a bus stop, both smoking as they wait.

Charlie: "Why does Nora like to involve me in this shit lately? I'm practically useless."

Basit: "You're not. But maybe she's just trying to get you 'used to all this shit'."

She grins, and Charlie sighs.

-

Late noon

Charlie enters the diner, tired and not smiling.

Hyphae: "Hello, Charlie."

Charlie: "Hey."

Hyphae: "She's in her office."

-

Charlie gives a quick knock before immediately entering. Nora sits at her desk, staring at a small stack of half a dozen parchments in her hand and a small box on the desk to the side.

Charlie: "So, where is my tab at now?"

Nora half-smiles: "You know I don't keep up with that, Charlie."

He sits in the chair across from her, and she looks up.

Nora: "Well? What did you find?"

Charlie: "A mad Vorein."

Nora: "That's all? You found nothing else?"

Charlie: "No, were we supposed to?"

Nora leans forward: "Did you know the Vorein, or recognize them?"

Charlie's eyes narrow: "Oh yeah, we're old college buddies. We played ball before Basit stabbed it in the skull. No. I didn't know it. What's this about, Nora?"

She sighs, frustrated: "It was a long shot, but I hoped it was involved. Whatever, that's one issue out of the way. I just wanted more information before bringing this to your attention."

She hands him the stack of papers.

Nora: "Do you know anything about this?"

Charlie looks over the scraps of paper, the notes containing fragments of scripture.

1#

And lo, ye faithful, cast off thy burden of self and lay it before the Lord; and let thy heart exult,

for blessed art thou who art found worthy to wield His sacred Flesh.

For the Blessed shall be made more—a Scion of our God.

Thou shalt slough the dust of the Hallowed Man and shape the

Vassal of Desire.

The Vassal's hunger shall be of the Lord's—eternal and boundless, as is Her yawning Void.

And all shall be consumed until naught remains to slake our Lord's hunger but the devouring of time.

And when the last sand hath descended into our Lord's Desire, He Who Was shall Be and shall step

forth, remade and Wholly.

2#

Go forth, ye Blessed, and bear the Flesh of the Lord; seek thee thy Hallowed Man.

For the Vassal of Desire must be forged of a hollowed host—rendered void, that it may be filled with

His Glory.

Rejoice and steel thy spirit, for it is ordained; the Blessed shall be given unto the Vassal.

And from the Blessed the Vassal shall feast on the Desire of our Lord, and His will shall be sown.

3#

Seek among thine Man the Scions of God, for Divinity dwelleth within them.

Yet let not thy hunt be aimless, for not all Scion are for His will.

Seek only those whose form is as the Hallowed Man.

For the Scion shall be consumed, made one with the hollowed flesh.

As once the Vassal was of Man, so too must the Scion bear their shape.

Reap from the Scion only their likeness, familiar unto the Vessel– be it eyes, ears, hands, or feet,

the sacred pieces must be mirrored of the Vessel, that the rite be made whole.

4#

Prepare ye the Vessel upon the body of our Lord, for it shall be laid bare.

And the Vessel shall be sanctified in the cleaving of parts from the body,

that it may be made ready for our Lord.

Sever the parts with care, for many fragments lay open the Void wide.

And in the Void shall Man be made hollow and in the Vessel shall the Lord's Will be made manifest.

5#

Let not thine duties falter before the blood of Man, for the Vessel must be made.

Let thy Lord bear the burden of thy mind, that thou mayest be of His will and carry His body as thou

dost shape the Vessel from the hollowed shards thou hast carved from the Hallowed Man.

Only then, with the Flesh thou hast been charged to bear, shalt thou pierce the hollow and fill the

Vessel with the Glory of our Lord.

6#

Returned is life, for the Vessel hath been made of His Divinity, but not yet full of His Flesh and Will;

for the Vessel is not yet ready to bear our Lord.

Gather ye thy harvest of the Scion and prepare their likeness, as thou hast learned by the Vessel.

Be ready, O Blessed One, and join thy body unto them, as thou wilt join them unto the Vessel.

Charlie stares at the papers, disturbed. His vision of them becomes obscured by a red static. He sees the same notes as whole pages, coating the ground in a dark room.

Charlie looks away, collecting himself.

Charlie: "This is just a bunch of religious gibberish word salad. What does this have to do with me?"

Nora: "Each came in a package, addressed to the same name—your old name."

Charlie grimaces.

Nora: "But they were all sent to other people's locations. All Abnormals."

He tosses the papers down and stands up.

Charlie: "If that's all, then I'm going home."

Nora speaks up: "Along with one of these!"

She pushes the box towards him.

He turns around, stares at the box, and opens it. Six of his own disconnected finger parts sit inside.

Nora, serious: "Charlie, some of these people only I should know the identity of—including you."

Charlie shuts the box, picks it up, and puts it under his arm, leaving the office.

Nora, upset: "Where are you going?"

She gets up to follow him, Hyphae looks up, and watches them exit the office.

Charlie: "Home, I'm about to miss my favorite infomercial."

Nora: "Charlie, my people are being targeted. You are being targeted. If you know something—"

Charlie, flat: "I don't know anything."

He leaves the diner. Nora stands frustrated and concerned. She turns to Hyphae.

Nora: "Watch over him."

They nod and pull their paper back up to their face.

-

Charlie walks down the street, away from the diner. A black 2004 Toyota Camry is parked across the road. The gray cat from before lounges nearby, watching him pass.

Charlie's phone beeps from his pocket. He pulls it out and reads the text.

[Daniel] meet @ park when Nora done w u

-

Evening

In an isolated ball court within a large park, Daniel dribbles a basketball. His head and shoulders are made of dense, contained flames. He bounces the basketball around, then throws it, making the shot easily.

Charlie: "Nora's gonna be pissed if she knows you're out in public unmasked."

Charlie walks up to him, and Daniel's flames extinguish to show his human face.

Daniel has shaved, warm brown hair, bright blue eyes, and warm medium dark skin, covered in tattoos from his neck and chest down both arms, wearing a gold cross necklace, and a sports tank and shorts.

Daniel: "Gotta stretch out once in a while."

Charlie stops and stands off to the side, watching him.

Daniel: "I don't know how she and Basit manage it all the time. Especially Basit."

He throws another.

Charlie: "Yeah, Nora never unmasks. Basit does it pretty often, though. She was when I first met her."

Daniel: "She was probably still half-masked."

Charlie: "No. There wasn't anything masked about that."

Daniel looks over and tilts his head with a smirk.

Daniel: "Was she the size of a building?"

Charlie stares silently.

Daniel looks back at the hoop and makes a shot.

Daniel: "Then she was still masked."

Charlie sweats: "Damn…"

-

Late at night, Charlie and Daniel are sitting on a bench, Charlie smoking and huddled up as if cold, Daniel still in his shorts and shirt, unfazed while he pets a black cat that sits in his lap. A backpack sits beside him on the ground. The cat has a scar on its back leg and a chip out of one ear.

Daniel: "You alright, man?"

Charlie: "Yeah?"

Daniel: "You just seem… less chipper today."

Charlie sighs: "It's been a long day."

Daniel: "Talked with Nora?"

Charlie: "Yeah."

Daniel looks at the package on the bench beside Charlie.

Daniel: "She told you about those weird ass letters'n shit?"

Charlie: "You know about that too?"

Daniel: "Yup."

He leans over and pulls open the backpack.

Daniel: "I got one too."

Charlie looks over, concerned and nervous.

Daniel holds up the package to him.

Daniel: "I haven't opened it. Figured I shouldn't if it's yours."

Charlie takes it, brows furrowed. He stares at the name on it for a moment. 'To: Chîn'

Daniel: "I didn't realize what it was until Nora asked me about them. I didn't tell her I received one. Don't need to worry her any more than she is."

Charlie opens it. Inside sits another note and finger part.

7#

Bring forth the Vessel, hollow made full by our Lord—the Glory of God;

born of the Hallowed Man—the hollow body of God;

united in flesh of the Scion—the Divinity of God;

and thyself—wielding the Flesh of our Lord, of God, for together ye fulfill the Glory of His Will.

Wield His Flesh and bind the Wholly Trinity unto the body of our Lord,

and accept the gift of the Vassal's yoke.

Daniel looks over to Charlie, who looks deeply uncomfortable as he puts the contents in the first box.

Daniel: "Do you know who's sending them?"

Charlie, sharply: "No."

Daniel: "I worry about you. This shit isn't normal, even for us."

Charlie stands: "I'm going home."

Daniel, concerned, watches him leave.

Charlie: "See you later, Daniel."

Daniel: "Yeah… I'll pray for you, man."

-

Charlie walks down the street. He reaches a dive bar and steps inside.

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