‘How did you guess?’He chuckles in my head.
I knew it. Releasing the tentacles from the ceiling, I twist our body, softly landing on the ground to prowl next to Lynx’s black tiger form as Ryker halts at another cross-section in the hallway.
I don’t know how in the hell we got tossed into a maze of a place like this, but it seems like we’ve been stuck here for hours. Ryker, Zeke, Lynx, and I have been killing or outwitting monsters here and there but not really knowing where to go, and it’s doing nothing to calm down the festering anger that’s boilingwithin. I need to see results or have a fucking plan. I can’t stand being cooped up in this place that smells like decay, death, and piss.
“Do you see anything?” Zeke whispers, coming up behind Ryker.
“There’s a mirage to the right that I can’t see through. Also, a dead end to the left, and straight ahead, there’s some sort of flickering flame along the far wall,” Ryker replies.
Zeke looks back at us for our opinion, and Lynx raises a paw to go straight. One of my tentacles points in the same direction, and Slayer points to the right. I let out a deep growl that shakes in my chest while low, manic laughter rings in my head.
“So two votes for straight ahead, and I can only assume by Knox’s growl that Slayer is giving him a hard time and wants to go right,” Zeke relays to Ryker.
Ryker looks over his shoulder at me and cocks an eyebrow. “Still?”
I show my teeth in frustration, and Ryker scoffs. As soon as we landed here, we were swarmed with YarNabits. Think of a massive rat with a rabbit head, three red eyes, and a tentacle mouth. They’re carnivores, and they hadn’t been fed recently. Thankfully, Slayer appeared within the blink of an eye while I was still trying to figure out what we had landed in and kept our injuries down. The only damage we took was our leathers are a little worse for wear.
“Okay. Okay.” Ryker motions for me to calm down, and that’s the last thing I need: someone telling me to calm down. “We’ll go straight, but I’m worried about that hall I can’t see down.”
I get it. He’s nervous that whatever is down there will double back and follow us, attacking from the rear. I curl my tentacle pad around itself and throw it back up like a thumbs up, and he nods, knowing I’m watching our back. We quickly and quietly cross the hall and toward the flickering light. As we proceeddown the hall, my body becomes hotter and more uncomfortable as another wave of frustration hits me. Ugh. Where is this coming from? It’s not a natural feeling that I have to suppress as a shifter.
It’s like it’s unfiltered raw aggression that’s rolling over me, trying to seek a way into my soul where it will take complete control so I’ll be lost forever.
The awakening. Some find it a curse, while others seek it out as a blessing and the bliss that it can bring. To lose yourself to your animals and allow them to take over can be so freeing. Some say it’s natural to be one with the constant state of war we feel and to allow our bodies to run free with it. We are animals at our basic level, are we not?
If you had asked me a few years ago, when I was at my lowest, if I would take the out and be lost to the awakening, I would have happily taken it. Now, though, things have changed. I’m closer to my family, Zeke, and now I have Rez. I have a new purpose and reason to be mentally here and stronger than ever. So even though the temptation of letting go and sinking into the release of the fury is what I can only imagine would be the equivalent of a drug addict finally finding their Nirvana after their hit, I have to resist. I’d rather go through the withdrawals of fiending for another hit of that sweet release, but I know how hard it is to pull yourself out of it once it’s taken over.
The sounds of distant fighting pull me from my inner musing, and I perk up.Hmm. These mobs haven’t been fighting among themselves, so what is going on now?
Before I say more, a flood of mass fury engulfs me out of nowhere, making my vision go dark for a moment as a wave of heat inundates me. I furiously blink and shake my head, trying to regain my vision only to see things with a darker hue, but at least the flash of warmth no longer surrounds me.
What the fuck is going on?
“Does anyone else hear that?” Zeke asks, turning to look at Lynx and myself.
I peek at Lynx as he does the same to me, and we cock our heads in unison, swiveling back to the hallway with the sounds. Zeke covers his mouth, stifling his laughter before schooling his features, and immediately shares his amusement.
“When we get out of this, I want us to join a circus. We could make a killing with you guys being a synchronous act.”
“Really, Zeke?” Ryker scoffs, hitting him in the shoulder.
“What? It was one of your books that even gave me the damn idea,” Zeke fires back and continues when Ryker gives him a look of disbelief. “Galaxy Circusby Lexi Winston?” He throws his hands out as if saying he should know, but Ryker just stares blankly at him. “It’s all about weird ass aliens that are shifters from out of this world that are in a circus. So why can’t we do something like that on Earth?”
While Zeke continues to make his point about some new romance Rez has ultimately turned him on to, I try to block out the issues with my eyes and focus on what we all hear in the distance. Shaking off the uncomfortable feeling over my body, I leave my post towards the back for a moment, my tentacles attaching to the ceiling and lifting me to the closest wall. I need to have a better purchase if I need to lunge.
‘What are you picking up?’I ask Slayer as we focus through the shadows, but my new eyesight is not helping at all.
My senses flicker briefly as I feel Slayer push forward slightly, causing a power boost. I wish we could always operate at this level, but doing so tires us out. I’m sure we could push ourselves to a new level if we worked on our endurance though.Something to work on later, but now isn’t the time.
As we tune into the subtle sounds, we pick up a few grunts, death rattles, and a familiar yip and swoosh of flames. A flare of light glows along the wall when we hear a sound that sends ourheart racing. It’s the most beautiful yet heart-wrenching sound in this damn place—Rez’s voice screaming, “Reaper!”
I reach out to let JP know that Rez is here, only to remember he’s not in our group.Fuck.I don’t want to shift to tell them and shift back only to waste that precious time. Slayer, in his brilliance, makes the call for me. Our left tentacle pad flies back and smacks Ryker in the side of his head with a whack.
“What the fuck?” he screeches, but I don’t wait to see what he does. I’m already running down the corridor. He should be happy that it was the smooth side, not the hooked side with the barbs.
“Shit! Is that Rez?” I hear Zeke ask, panic in his voice.
Feet pound behind me as I rush down the hall, my whips propelling me along the rusted flooring ahead of them. The only thing I focus on is the flicking firelight that’s getting brighter the closer I get until my body swings around a corner, my whips pulling me short of missing it, and I come face to face with a mob of monsters surrounding Reaper and my mate.
