“After we find Paul in the tunnels?”
“Then…” I pause to smile as I picture what actually comes next. “Then… a new nation. A new race. A new destiny.”
She doesn’t understand, but that’s OK. I stand up in the water, extending my hand down to her. She hesitates, but only for a moment. Then she places her fingers across my palm and squeezes her hand, helping her rise.
Since she is mostly naked, and since she has taken my blood—quite a lot of it now—her breasts are a sight to behold. I let my gaze linger on them. Then down between her legs where there is a bit of blonde fuzz to entice me. “I would like to fuck you, but I’m afraid there’s no time.”
She scoffs. Like she wants to point out that she wasn’t offering herself up. But she knows better and leaves it at that.
We walk towards the back of my cavern together. She’s still fairly amicable, but when we arrive at the entrance to a tunnel that glows with a lavender mist, she hesitates. “Now where are we going?”
“Into the earth, little baby. I’ve explained this.” I grab a hold of her arm—just in case—and tug her into a passageway where, at the end, there is a large tapestry covering the wall of rock.
When we get there, I keep a hold of her with one hand and use the other to pull the tapestry away, revealing a dark hole in the side of the earth.
“What’s in there?” She’s facing the hole, nearly under the threshold, when she says this. So her question bounces off the ceiling of the new cavern.
“Our destination, love.”
I push her forward and she stumbles, then turns, trying to get past me. I grab her, hard, and push her up against the wall. “I just explained to you that you’re coming with me. There is no way out, little baby. None at all. So stop. Because if you resist,you will piss me off.” This last part comes out mean, almost a growl. “You’re not going to die. You’re already dead. And I will be with you every step of the way.” I reach down, making her flinch, and swipe a strand of hair away from her sweaty face. “Do you understand?”
Echo forces herself to take a deep breath, then nods her head as she presses her lips together. She’s terrified. And she should be.
Because while Iwillbe with her every step of the way, we will certainly be parting ways once we arrive at our destination.
She must read my mind because she makes one last attempt to get around me. But this time I am forceful and committed. I grab her wrists, spin her around, and then shove her forward.
She screams when she realizes there’s no earth under her feet. And I have just enough time to grab her tight around the middle, and unfurl my wings, before we start falling.
With the wings comes the transformation. It creeps across my skin like a spider weaving a web of death. Turning it blue-black. Making my teeth grow into long, sharp fangs, and claws appear at the end of my hands and feet.
This is why I didn’t bother putting on clothes.
When one goes into the dirt, one must become one’s self.
