“E!” I screamed as a sob broke free from my throat. “E!” Still gripping the metal bars of the cage door, I tried to force it open, only succeeding in making a fool of myself as the crowd screamed louder, laughing at me.
And then my screams died in my throat. Trembling, I released the bars and backed slowly away. When I hit the rear wall of the cage, my bladder gave way, releasing urine down my quaking legs as I collapsed to the floor.
Just like before, the biter was led through the parted crowd, held with long poles at arm’s length. Emaciated, its body stripped down to nearly nothing but skin and bone, its arms reached out for me as its soulless eyes burned holes straight through me.
“Daddy ...” I sniffled. “Daddy.”
I can’t help you now. You should have listened to me.
• • •
Eagle
“Don’t shoot!” Jeffers bellowed, his hands raised in supplication. His words were for the handful of guards surrounding us, their guns aimed at me.
“They better fucking shoot me,” I gritted out as I tightened my grip on his neck. “It’s either they shoot me, or I kill you.” Raising my brow in question, I stared at him, trying desperately to ignore the terrified screams erupting from behind me. Even over the roar of the crowd I could hear her, her every cry chilling my blood, turning it to ice.
She was in the cage. Autumn was in the goddamn cage, and Jeffers had brought me out here expecting me to ... what? To stand here and watch as she was served up as lunch to a rotter?
Jeffers wore a mask of utter calm. “You kill me, she still has to fight. All that will accomplish is signing your own death warrant.”
Every inch of my body was tense to the point of snapping. I wanted to tear him limb from limb, and then use those limbs to beat to death everyone else in this place. But he was right; I couldn’t kill him. Killing him would do nothing for Autumn.
“What the fuck do you want from me?” I spat out, and reluctantly released him. “Do you need me to beg? You want me down on my fucking knees, youmotherfucker?”
The noise level of the crowd picked up, and I spared a glance over my shoulder to find a rotter being led toward the cage. My heartbeat that was already working overtime sped up, and my furious gaze snapped back to Jeffers.
“What do you want?” I roared.
Jeffers didn’t respond. The useless piece of shit only continued to stand there with his sad eyes staring into mine.
My mind raced alongside my frantically beating heart. “I’m fucking sorry!” I shouted. “Is that what you need to hear? I killed them, right? I killed them all! It was my decision to leave them alone, my decision to keep searching, to stay away longer! And it’s my fault they’re all dead, isn’t it? It’s my fault, Jeff! It’s all my fault and I’m so goddamn sorry!”
Jeffers’s eyes went wide and his mouth moved, but I couldn’t hear what he was saying. The din of the crowd, Autumn’s sharp, piercing screams, and the beating of my own racing heart overshadowed everything else.
“Put me in that cage!” I shouted. “I deserve this, not her!Not her!”
The sound of the cage door slamming shut jerked my attention from Jeffers, and I spun around. Shoving a guard out of my way, I started through the crowd only to find my arm captured. With a firm grip my forearm, Jeffers forcefully yanked me backward.
“I never blamed you!” he shouted, his eyes flashing with anger. “Never! That was my family, they were my family,you were my family! It was my job to protect you!” He released my arm with an angry shove. “I failed you! Do you understand me? I fucking failed you all!”
Another time, another place, maybe I would have been taken aback by his admission, but at the moment I didn’t care. All I cared about was Autumn.
Balling my hand into a fist, I sent it flying into his face.
• • •
Autumn
I was going to die.
I was going to die the most horrible death at the hands of my worst fear.
I was going to be torn apart and eaten alive.
I was going to die ...
The man opening the cage door refused to look at me. His hands shook, and his eyes flitted over everything except for me. Jumping to my feet, I ran forward and slammed myself against the door.
