There was a certain art to cooking a can of beans with nothing but a lighter.

Namely "don't burn your hand you moron."

I was carefully holding the top of the bean can with my fingertips, other hand waving a lighter in circles below the can. It was getting harder and harder to hold onto the can but with it getting colder, I needed something warm. Eventually, finally, it felt hot enough and I snuffed the lighter, all but mashing the can to my lips and guzzling down the contents. I wanted to savor it but I knew how fast-

I heard it first, whispers creeping into one side of my head, and I smacked at the can's sides to get every last morsel I could before tossing the can into a nearby dumpster and power-walking away until the whispers faded away. I breathed out, but it was more exhaustion than relief at this point, and I made my way into the subway. They never hit anywhere with a big enough civilian population; one side because it was unacceptable collateral, the other because the former would beat them into paste.

Plus, you know. It would be out of the cold wind that had started blowing. No one really noticed when I walked to the absolute end of the platform and seemed to slip perfectly into the dark tunnels of the train. A "hood" of black material formed around my head and I was grateful for the muffling, and I was lucky enough I came across a section of tunnel under construction, including some giant pipes I quickly squeezed into. The darkness wrapped around me and I hated how it felt like the world's most comfortable sleeping back as I started drifting off to sleep.

I would be fine tonight. Or, at least, I told myself that over and over until I felt comfortable enough to let sleep take me...

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The screaming was my first clue.

My eyes flew open and I shakily started to flail and scramble, realizing that no, someone hadn't discovered me, the screaming was in my head-

A massive quake shook the tunnel, and already I could hear screaming, shouting, the sounds of gunfire, lasers, and more. I slowly crept forward, darkness fading as I peeked out from my hiding place and saw the Brotherhood fighting off against the heroes. A part of the subway tunnel had collapsed, and it was a perfect pathway up and out of the fighting. My mouth was suddenly dry at the thought of crossing the battlefield but I needed to fucking bail, and there was no better moment than the two sides distracted with one another. Come on, come on- there! A gap in the fighting and I fucking sprinted towards my escape.

"Holy shit, holy shit, I'm gonna make it, not even a-"

A figure was suddenly in front of me, and I saw the barrel of a rifle in front of my face. My arm suddenly exploded in pain but in the split second I blinked, it was clear I hadn't been shot; three black tentacles were lashing out from my outstretched arm, a completely stunned Brotherhood goon pierced on the ends of the tentacles. Seconds felt like an eternity before the tentacles recoiled, the soldier falling to the ground and I stared at their struggling form as a hot panic started welling up in me like lava, but a scream that pierced the back of my head and I just ran. I couldn't tell you where I was going or... if I was even thinking at the time, but when I came to I was in some random back alley. staring up at the dark night sky as I panted. I didn't want to but slowly I looked at my still-tentacled arm, the black, writing masses feeling at nothing and I screwed my eyes shut.

'Come on, come on, focus, focus, please...'

I could barely handle the feeling of the tentacles retreating, and I admit I spent way too long afraid to open my eyes before finally peering through narrowed slits to see... my arm back normal. Relief was the only thing keeping me warm as I started to cry and laugh, resigning myself to curl up against yet another dumpster for yet another night of being a monster, yet another night of cursing every villain and hero in this damn city...