“You’re related to the Rhodes family?”
Lincoln’s smile was not the inviting one I’d seen all those nights ago. “I’m one of the Rhodes siblings. Archibald Rhodes is my father.” Fuck, this was bad. If Lincoln was even tangentially connected to those psychos, I wanted to get as far away from him as I could. I went to open my mouth again, but Lincoln stopped waving his gun around as he spoke, aiming for my head. I felt my heartbeat hemorrhaging, scared that I was seconds away from having my life cruelly taken from me. “And now, I’m as bored of you as you were of me.”
Closing my eyes, I braced myself for the gunshot I knew was coming. I guess he wasn’t waiting to tell the tythwig about us. Oh god, Arze was having to watch me die. The thought of becoming part of his trauma hurt me more than any bullet ever could.
The fates held me in high regard as I heard the sound of a small explosion, saving me from the bullet that Lincoln wanted deliver into my temple. I opened my eyes to see that Lincoln’s gun had fucking exploded in his hand. His screams filled the immediate area, blood dripping down his hand as he waved it in pain through the air. The people I’d learned now were part of the Hellgrammites hate group scrambled to his side, pushing Arze to the ground. But as I searched Arze’s face, he shook his head. He hadn’t been behind the explosion.
“What the fuck!?”
“I would drop the guns, if I were you.”
I turned to the new voice, shock and relief washing over me as I saw Khalice standing at the edge of the clearing, hands on her hips in defiance. Her promised, Jgel, stood next to her, their children, Chrizel and Betz, clinging to their parents. Chrizel let go of his mother’s arm as she stepped forward. Jgel gave me a curt nod, silently telling me that everything would be okay. I watched as he sent the same nod to Arze, who returned it swiftly. Arze righted himself, returning to his stance on his knees as the Hellgrammites and Lincoln stood dumbfounded by their sudden attendance in the forest.
“Unless you want more of your guns to explode, then please,” Khalice chuckled with a devilish smile. “Give me a challenge.”
Everyone froze as the four stellymn stood on the edge of the clearing, not daring to make a move after Khalice’s threat. I’d never been happier to see her, and it finally felt like I could breathe. No way were these despicable humans that Lincoln had at his disposal going to be stupid enough to wave their gunsaround after Khalice had just made oneexplodein Lincoln’s hand.
Though I’d hooked up with a stellymn before, I had no idea they could do something like that. I’d learned from Khalice and her family that stellymn could produce fire, but being able to cause a gun to misfire and dismantle itself with the twist of their hands? It made me wonder what else they could manage, but now that Khalice was leading the charge in saving us, my eyes flew to Arze.
It didn’t look like he’d been roughed up like I had been, relief pouring over me like a downpour. He was only a couple feet away from me but it was a couple feet too many. I wanted to console him, to have him console me, to reiterate that we weren’t going to die today. Even if Lincoln was hellbent on making that statement as untrue as possible.
Lincoln was still wincing as one of the Hellgrammites was twisting his hand and inspecting it. That was the most movement they were daring to muster, Khalice just waiting for a change in their bravery.
“Chrizel,” She said, turning her head in her son’s direction without taking her eyes off of Lincoln and his temporary cronies. “Take your sister and check with the campground director we spoke to and ask when the police will arrive.”
Without an ounce of hesitation, Chrizel grabbed his sister’s hand, unlatching her from their father, and the two went sprinting out of sight. Once the children left, Jgel stood forward, joining his promised in a defiant stance, giving the tainted humans a death glare.
“Krueger, can you stand?”
Her words propelled me to accurately check, unable to take my eyes off of Lincoln as I got to my feet. “Yeah, I’m good.”
“Arze?”
The man I was head over heels for mirrored my earlier action, standing on his own two feet with relative ease. “I’m okay.”
“Splendid.” Khalice walked forward, Jgel following in stride just a few steps behind until they were right by our sides.
I wasted no time in throwing my arms around Arze, feeling his embrace wrapping around me. “God, I’m so sorry, Arze.”
“It’s not your fault, Krueger.” He pulled back, cupping both sides of my jaw with his hands. “I’m just glad you’re alright.”
“Yeah,” I nodded, feeling tears stinging the tips of my eyelids. “I’m glad you’re okay too.”
One of the Hellgrammites went to run, wanting to get the hell out of there, which I wouldn’t blame them if they weren’t already horrible human beings. Khalice caught the movement, outstretching her hand and twisting it in a clockwise formation. Another small explosion emitted from his hip as the gun he’d had holstered there was completely torn apart. The man’s screams filled the forest as he fell to the ground in agony.
Khalice returned her attention to the rest of the group that was accumulated around us. “Anyone else want to test their luck? Keep in mind, you don’t need a gun on you for me to hurt you from a distance.” They averted her gaze, too scared to look her in the eyes. They remained silent and she gave a smile in response. “Didn’t think so.”
“Thank you, Khalice.” Arze said, giving her his undivided attention as we unfurled from one another.
“Of course.” She laid a hand on Jgel’s shoulder. “Betz saw one of them dragging you into the forest and told Jgel what she witnessed. We informed the campground director and headed right over.”
“Yes, thank you.” I said, nodding emphatically. “I owe you big time.”
“You owe me nothing, Krueger.” She walked over until she was standing in front of Lincoln. The Hellgrammites by him cowered, shuffling away from her. But whether it was his fear, his pain, or his pride, Lincoln didn’t shy away. “You however, human, can never repay for the horror you attempted today.”
I joined her, standing before Lincoln. When he looked at me, he had angry tears in his eyes, his normal hand cradling his ruined one as it continued to redden.
“I just wanted to get away from my family,” Lincoln explained, staring into my soul through his eyes. “I thought I could leave them behind. And then getting here and meeting you, I thought I could find someone who could really give a shit about me. It seems I was wrong twice.”
