Techno rips into the abuser, the most vicious he’s ever been. Fueled by pure terror, he surges into a behemoth, snarling and lethal. Yet starving for so long, chained by a child convinced his foe is all-powerful, he wasn’t supposed to win. Yet Techno grits his tusks and pushes himself, further and further, because he needs this man dead. He’s not strong, but he’s fast, dodging blows and striking out in raking claws and fierce nips. He’s not strong, but he’s clever, lurching out of the way of charges so the foe slams into things, hurling blankets that blind and entangle. He’s not strong, but he’s evil. The evil, wretched, remorseless monster under-his-bed, and there’s only room for one monster in Tommy’s life.
Techno stands over the corpse of the abuser, and in a frenzy feeds for the first time in weeks. The wrenching of bones from sockets and the crack of eviscerating teeth fills the room. And as the blood frenzy fades, the sound of crying.
The fear is undeniable for a feeding monster. Techno lunges for the next prey, and the next, desperate after starving for so long. For the first time, Tommy’s scared of Techno. Of the thing that’s devoured the looming titan of his life. That sort of terror is a death knell, with a monster under-the-bed. Techno snarls in delight, making sure to scrape his claws along the floorboards as he approaches, relishing the fear. Tommy’s sob chokes as he slinks under-the-bed, the expectation of his death ensuring it.
Techno slowly, carefully, breaths in the scent of his terror. And then proceeds to devour every last drop of fear. A tricky thing when everything in him craves blood. But with great pains and precision, he eats only the fear and not the boy.
Tommy curls into him as his terror dies in chunks, leaving him with a strange null. He doesn’t know how to feel at all. Safe? Is this safety? Is this beast curled around him what safety feels like? Is the blood in its fur?
After a few minutes they pick up bits and bobs. Steal money and food and supplies. And they plunge into the night, knowing nothing can possibly be more dangerous.
Techno feels strange. Not quite an under-the-bed monster anymore, but a full fledged imaginary friend.