His eyes slowly came back to me, twisting my stomach until I was sure the organ would never recover. I know I’ve seen his eyes somewhere else. Where?
Damn it, Talia. What are you forgetting?
“I’ll kill you before I let you go.”
I knew he abused his power, but now I could see the insanity in his eyes. It was painfully familiar, and I knew I had to get out of his grasp.
“Fuck this!” The last couple of students fled into the woods.
“Be my good girl.” He pressed the hot muzzle under my chin, burning the tender skin.
“You can’t have that. This is a science expedition.” A childish notion, not worth the finite breath I wasted to utter it.
He shushed me with that calm voice he used to de-escalate situations. Effectively telling me he could do whatever the fuck he wanted to do.
Rot thrashed against his cage harder. The anchors grew slack with all the force, now that no one held it in place.
“Stay,” Gale stood up and leveled the gun on Rot, who glared at him with murderous eyes. It was surreal to see two sets of eyes with violence in their minds, with two very different reactions.
“No!” I scrambled to my feet, slipping in the mud before I got my feet under me, and stepped between him and Rot as Gale fired.
Could a person keep going if you ripped their heart out of their chest? No.
Whether I’d made peace with it or not, Rot was an essential part of me.
The bullet ripped through me easier than any knife could, sending agony through my shoulder. I screamed but kept my body as a shield between them. If my legs gave out, Rot would die. I couldn’t let that happen.
Gale roared with desperation that almost convinced me it was for me.
The swamp’s sounds grew louder, more agitated. Even the frog’s songs sounded like a war drum. The sound of claws on wood was a deadly threat of what was to come.
“Move,” Gale commanded.
“No.” My voice shook.
“He’s going to escape.” Gale snarled, but next to Rot, his irritation was nothing.
“You better run then.” I hoped I sounded brave and not like my shoulder was ground beef.
“Not without you.” He put his hand out for me to grab. If I had to choose between him and the monster, there was only one choice. He sensed my hesitation. “You can kiss your scholarship goodbye if you don’t come with me right now.”
There it was.
The next time Rot slammed against the cage, it flipped until the top was on the ground. Gale ran away, but he wasn’t done yet. I sensed it deep in my bones.
A roar came from behind me, and my blood ran cold.
I turned around and found a feral lizardman looking right at me. His blown pupils zeroed in on me as his tail smashed the ground threateningly.
This was what I chose.
Chapter 25:
Theinstincttorunhit me hard.Survive, no matter the cost.
I stumbled back, without thinking about it, needing space between me and the threat. He charged at me on all fours, snapping those deadly teeth at my legs. A tooth snagged on my pants leg, shredding the fabric.
His eyes locked on me, showing how blown his pupils were. His hot breath rolled over my leg like a threatening caress.
