Shannon would love a crack at the contained ecosystem. It would eat her up that I saw it first.
The monster chuckled darkly, bringing attention to the shadow looming over me. I whirled around and jumped back, creating distance between us.
The large puncture wound, from when I shot him a couple of hours ago, still wept on his shoulder, but he’d used some plants to staunch the worst of the bleeding. More evidence of his intelligence.
He roared, and the birds nearby panicked, mimicking the screams I wanted to let out, but I held steady. If he was a man, I couldn’t afford to show anymore fear. I wasn’t in the habit of handing people more negotiation pieces over me.
Rage filled the thick air, until it was impossible to hold on to a semblance of calm. I wasn’t sure whose was what.
We stood there, silently fuming, our eyes locked in a battle of wills.
“Fuck you!” I yelled. It felt good to say, and a healthy part of me was yelling it to every asshole who thought he could use me however he wanted.
“Fuck you!” He snarled back, making my ears ring. I hated that his voice had so much more power than mine.
He took two long strides to end up in my face. I punched his chest, but he didn’t even flinch. He laughed as if it was funny that I had the audacity to fight back.
The boiling heat inside exploded, and before I could even think about it, I jammed my fingers into the open wound on his shoulder.
The growl of agony gave me a sense of satisfaction. He grabbed me by my pits and tossed me backward. I skidded across the water like a pebble, before landing stomach down on white sand, that was harder than it looked. I bit my lip on the way down, and liquid metal filled my mouth.
I groaned, but forced myself onto my hands and knees. I unclipped my backpack, but he yanked it out of my hands, throwing it out of reach. I wiped the blood off my lip and stood, turning to face him.
When was the last time I fought a man this hard?
Every time I ran, appeased, or avoided, a part of me shrank. Maybe that was why I was such an easy target.
Talia is always prepared for the worst,I remembered Gale’s words.
Forget that.
Confusion filled his eyes. “You can’t win a fight against me. Why are you trying?”
I reminded myself of all the foster fathers who wanted to ‘take care of me’ of all the ones who wanted to extract their poundof flesh for favors I never asked for. I couldn’t win those fights either.
Maybe that was what I really hated about Shannon; she never let anyone knock the fight out of her. But that was a choice. It wasn’t her fault that I decided survival was more important than preserving my soul.
It just took a monster to remind me of that.
I reached into the deep pockets of my cargo pants and pulled out a knife, holding it to my throat. “Yes, I can.”
“Wait!” True panic filled his voice.
“We’re linked, right?” I slid the knife, letting the blade slice the top layer of skin. The sting of the wound was just the cherry on top of my point. “If I die, you die.”
The way his jaw snapped shut and took a step back, confirmed my theory.
I intertwined with this monster.
Sweet control was in my hands now, and it half made me drunk. When was the last time I was truly free?
The briefest memory of my life with my mother flitted through my mind. A shadow moving through my house and her screams shook me free, but the memory was so fragmented I couldn’t make sense of it. All I remembered was being scared.
He put his hands up with a snarl.
“What do you want?” I asked, but kept the blade ready.
“You shot us.” A snarl formed on his lips, but he kept the sound deep in his chest.
