He checked himself for a moment, wondering if he should warn her of the overrevved desires rampaging through most beasters. Nah. He’d watch her, make sure she had options, if she wanted them.
“That’s just fucked up. And the children?”
“Nope.” Sadly, he shook his head, then he unkinked his legs, rose to his feet. “Gone. All of them, and none born since the Ghoul Lords took over. Extinction is inevitable for that reason alone. Humans don’t screw each other anymore and get pregnant, and we can’t seem to make babies either. The nanites haven’t made us infertile, but beaster jizz does not impregnate humans. The female beasters are very few, but some have beaster mates. Still zero offspring.”
“Jizz is such a filthy word.”
Chuckling, he joined her at the railing, unable to help the smirk as he looked down at her, this feisty yet seemingly naive girl. “Semen? You prefer come?”
“Ugh. How ‘bout I feed you some. Let’s keep going. You can tell me more as we go. Though I doubt I’ll stay with your tribe long. I want to find out who I am. I won’t do it by sitting still.”
What the fuck? A small amount of panic stuck its head up and waved to get attention.What. The. Fuck.
“You think you’d be safe out here, alone? There are more monsters than the GLs. Besides, I… we, need you. What youare seems unique. You may be humanity’s best hope. Our only hope.”
His sister’s. If she lived.
“Oh, screw that. Me? I’m nobody. I’ve decided. I’ll stay and say hi, then I’m going.”
Was he hearing this right? It was ridiculous. Who was she to think that she, a female whatever-she-was, could survive alone? What person ofanysort would want to?
Which made him realize he really did not know who or what she was. Had he spilled vital info to a Ghoul Lord minion?
That was a stupid thought. She was just a dumb, if physically augmented, girl.
“You’d die.”
“Pfft! With this world empty, why would I?”
“Therearemonsters, unstable buildings, radiation, and other tribes that won’t have a man like me who will help you be safe and stop other beasters taking you just because they want to!”
“You?” She spun to face him then walked backward with her hard eyes on him, as if she’d burn him up at the least excuse. “And then there’s me. I’m fucking strong, fast, resistant to the Lure, and I can heal up wounds like nothing ever happened to me. Be wary of me. Be careful of who you try to fuck. Because I can fuck you up,babe.” Such a serious face on her.
She turned and stalked away.
Her logic stumped him. How did you argue with stupid? She was nobody but also all of that? How could she not see she was special?
He followed, jaw tight. The floor made thumping noises as he stomped, he was that riled. His wings ruffled out then settled in an untidy way, as his body urged him to launch and grab her.
Hell. He should upend her, strip her pants down, and spank that pretty ass. Or shoot her.
Which?
Decisions, decisions.
5
They’d both calmed down.Not that she was changing her mind.
Vargr walked beside her, his bulk keeping her in the shadow of stray moonlight as they passed rooms to the left. Within those rooms, huge windows opened onto a strange landscape. Miles away, she glimpsed mountains plagued by the jutting outlines of scrapers that poked at the graying, twinkly sky. Dawn approached. Closer in, beside this scraper they walked through, there seemed nothing, no buildings, just stray wisps of cloud.
“What happened out there?” Cyn halted, wondering if her eyes deceived her.
“There? I’m guessing you don’t mean the apartment. That quarter collapsed. It’s possible there was a nuke some distance away that weakened the foundations. You can’t see it from here, but parts of the buildings still stand.”
“Wow. Kinda fascinating.”
“That tens of thousands died?” He sounded perplexed.
