Kate
There’s a deep gash across his forehead that’s bleeding heavily. He’s slumped against the passenger side door. We’re safe inside the van, for now. Some idiot left the keys right on the dash, and as soon as the sun comes up, I plan to see if the engine will run. I’d try it now but I don’t want to have any unwanted attention drawn to us when I have one of these things sitting here right in front of me.
I clear my throat and shine the stream of my flashlight over his face. “Where did they take my sister?” I growl. I don’t even recognize my own voice; it’s guttural and coats like poison on my tongue.
He just sits there, staring at me with an increasing sheen of sweat that trickles down his face. Most of the blood has been smeared off, and I’m surprised by how much he looks like a regular guy. He’s young—close to my age—someone I’d probably hang out with. Dark, unruly hair sticks against his forehead, fat drops of rain dangling from the ends. A tinge of color covers his cheeks and his chest rises and falls, same as mine. I wonder if he has a heart.I wonder how easy it is for him to die. I wonder what would happen if I sliced open his skin—if his kind has the same insides as mine. The thought shocks me. I’ve never wanted to hurt someone in my entire existence. An acidic taste fills my mouth and I shake my head to clear my violent thoughts. I need to get answers from him.I’ll daydream about killing him later.
I nudge the steel toe of my boot at him. “Hey! Do you even understand me? Where did they take my sister?”
The thingshrugs.
The heel of my boot connects with his metal shin. I pull it up higher and slam it down on his knee. It reverberates through my steel-toed boots and makes a strange hollow sound. I kick at him again and again, but it’s like he doesn’t feel it at all.
“You’re like a little pest,” he laughs in a gravelly voice. “One of those ugly wingless cockroaches that infest this world.”
I lunge forward and slap my flashlight right at the cut across his forehead.
His body reels back as a spray of blood splatters over the windshield.
“Don’t think I won’t hurt you!” I shout into his face, waving the flashlight at him again. “Tell me where—”
Instantly, I’m shoved against the dashboard and the cold metal surface of his palm smacks up against my lips. I try to scream but no sound passes the barrier of his strange metallic hand. His other hand is gripped tightly on the back of my head, holding me in place. The flashlight clanks hard at his metal chest as I flail my arms around. The fact isn’t lost on me that this thing could probably crush my head right now, snap my neck like a twig, but I’m not going down without a fight.
I slam the crown of the flashlight over his head and shove my weight against him. There’s no room in the front seat of this van for me to get away. Adrenaline spikes hotly in my veins, rushing over my body at an alarming rate, and my limbs begin to shake. I punch my hands out frantically but it does no good. I’ve never been in a physical fight before; all I’m doing is hurting myself. He’s not even responding, just gritting his teeth and taking the blows. Maybe under all that stupid skin he’s made of metal too.
I’m still struggling when he yanks my face closer toward his, leveling his eyes on mine. “Stop,” he hisses sharply, then releases his hold on the back of my head and points a finger upward.
I go completely still and my eyes widen when I hear a faint mechanical whir. The hand that covered my mouth slowly drops against my leg. I feel its coolness through the material of my jeans, making me squirm to get away.
But the metal digits tighten where they fell, covering the expanse of my upper thigh, stilling my movements. Just outside, somewhere above us, something is closing in.
Sweat bursts out across my chest as every muscle in my body tenses. I spin my head around, searching for what’s making the noise. “Is that them?” I ask low, leaning my head toward the windows.
“Don’t. Move.” His words are a soft wisp of sounds.
Slowly, I tilt my head to face him. “Why? So I’m just a sitting duck? Easy for them to grab?”
He leans in closer, bringing his face an inch in front of mine. His jaw is set and tense and his words are ground out through clenched teeth. “So they don’t findme.”
Before I could utter a response, the top of the van crumples in right above our heads, rocking the van sideways. I slam back into the dashboard and pain explodes down my spine. Glass shatters all around as all the windows blow. My mouth is instantly full of grit and his large muscular arms shove me back.
Metal scrapes across the hood of the van in a high-pitched squeal. Through the front windshield, I glimpse the three brutes from before.
I flop around frantically in the driver’s seat and claw my trembling fingers around the dashboard, searching for the keys. “Come on! Where are they?” I scream as my fingers slide over the sharp glass, feeling the jagged edges slice through.
Next to me, the thing is rummaging through my pack, pawing through my belongings like they weren’t the only things in the world I owned.
“Hey!” I shout, yanking the bag from his grasp.
His stupid robot hands fumble for it as I shove his face away.
“Give me my shield,” he growls.
“No!” I scream, shoving my bag under my bottom and skimming my hands over the console, desperate to escape.
I finally find the keys and jam them into the ignition. The van turns over, headlights flooding the street with brightness. I yank the gearshift into drive and gun the engine, slamming into the three creatures all at once. The impact thrashes me up against the steering wheel, ripping white-hot pain across my chest, but I keep accelerating and the steel monsters flail wildly and drop to the ground.
Tires crunch and bump over metal and the front of the van bucks wildly. I dart my eyes to my passenger. His arms are outstretched, bracing himself against the dashboard. “Hold on,” I say, yanking the van quickly into reverse. I gun the engine and the van bounces violently over the crushed metal again.
I leave my foot on the brake and put a shaky hand over my mouth.They’re underneath the tires. I’ve never killed anything in my life.
His eyes flare at mine. “They won’t stay down for long,” he says.
They won’t?
I grip the steering wheel hard. A heavy feeling churns slowly in my stomach. “Are you telling me what I just did wouldn’t have killed them?” I ask, shaking my head. My chest squeezes tight and I can barely catch my breath.
“Stupid girl,” he grinds out, looking straight ahead, “just move this archaic machine. Go as far as you can and as fast as you can, before you get them really angry.”
