Chapter 24

Avoid two on one fights even if you’re stronger, but if you must, never allow them to surround you. Or so he said. I slipped the mace into my vest and took a breath. Dan had to go.

I attacked, launching my knee into his stomach. An elbow to the back of his head knocked him to the floor. A stomp to his knee removed him from the fight.

Fast and decisive. Fights are won in moments, not minutes. Those were Dan’s words, and they weren’t lost on me.

Unfortunately, someone let the secret out.

Yanked, ripped, and pulled away. My foot hadn’t left Dan before the man slammed me to the wall. His boots shredded the back of my legs. My muscles tore; peeled from the bone like a blazing gash. A scorching pain spread to my spine and reached my calves below.

He jerked my body to the ground and jammed his knee into my groin. A twist forced my tortured scream. He mangled my thigh, and my eyes burst into tears.

“Fucking bitch,” he growled and pierced my neck with his odd gun.

I clawed his face while the worms burrowed deep. His arm pressed my throat; my vision narrowed to a point. I grabbed his elbow, raising him enough to gasp for air. Wrapping my legs around him—I squeezed until his ribs cracked.

A pained grunt filled his throat from my punch to his side. He dug his fingers under my collarbone until my jaw no longer clenched. Pounding my head on the ground left me dizzy for a moment; it was all he needed.

My legs lost their grip, so did my helmet’s strap.

Without my headgear, he lifted me from the floor and drove my skull into the concrete. My skin tore with every movement. Three, four, five, maybe more. His punches put me to sleep. His kick to my face woke me. My body shook, and then it locked.

A glob of spit hit my face. A second kick landed for good measure.

He left for a moment, mumbling and washing his bloody scratches. I rolled and pressed my elbow to the floor; stabbing pain jabbed my shoulders. Dragging my body, I couldn’t stand before he came back.

“Ballsy coming here, you little bitch.” One last kick to my ribs flipped me on my back. “Stupid, but ballsy.”

He dropped on top of me and gripped my neck where he shot. Clasping and releasing in a rhythm.

“I’ve been searching for an essence manipulator.” The small worms attacked the ties binding my soul to my mind, spewing strings that wrapped around. His face twitched. “Ain’t you—no, something ain’t right with you.”

My cheeks throbbed. My legs spasmed. Bloody foam from biting my tongue and lips dribbled down my cheek. With every breath, I groaned. Painful tears through swollen eyes. He broke my nose. My head swirled and wouldn’t stop. Icy throbs and searing stabs.

The strings grew. Threads turned to cords, and blades formed, then spun. Tiny shavings and digested pieces of my soul left as he carved me to nothing. Like me, he took bits of others and added them to himself, stealing their abilities at the cost of their lives.

The man weaponized his ability. A gun few could resist. Dan, me, he tore chips from our souls. Memories and skills. Worms disconnected our minds from our bodies. With the driver gone, he’d steer the car. My mind, Dan’s mind, we’d watch the show. His nod and laugh before, all for show, just a show. The man would take everything, and we’d watch it happen.

Lines of serrated knives dug deeper, destroying my resistance. I squirmed, scratched, and screamed silently. I didn’t have long. He’d break through. He’d shatter me. He was shredding me alive. Once his worms ate enough, I couldn’t fight. His to move, and his to command. I had to stop him.

I reached, grasped, blindly clutched. Finally, grabbing his wrists, I shot tentacles of my ragged soul into his. A rigid covering. Shallow slices. A grin crossed his face.

“There it is. That strange ability.”

His barrier was no stronger than mine. But I didn’t have teeth. His threads that ripped like razor wire made mine look like shards of glass. Our battle, our fight, it ended when someone broke through; he’d win.

I struggled, wriggled, kicked my legs, and thrust my hips. He rewarded each movement with a headbutt. My body shook uncontrollably. My vision flickered on and off. I had too many things left to do. Mike, Lia, Allie, Chris, and Dan. I promised everyone something. Failing was a disgusting way to die.

How foolish? I had more essence, but I could only use one third physically. I barely trained. Why did I think I would win? I overestimated myself. I underestimated my opponents.

The hardening of my neck did nothing to release his grip. Pouring everything into my soul didn’t speed my cuts. I jerked and strengthened different body parts at random. The effort didn’t work. I needed help, and I finally got it.

Worms, connections, wheels—I discovered the links and touched them.

I discovered his bonds to me and fought his advance; it was a distraction. The man’s face grimaced, and he closed his eyes, focusing on gouging me quicker. Unlike him, I had no parasitic helpers. A finite soul can only spread so far. My strings were my own, and they found his anchors.

As if nearly dead, Dan crawled towards the distracted man. His body jerked, paused, and moved. I hadn’t gained full control, but it was enough. Dan grabbed the man’s arm and bit. That was all I needed.

The man roared in pain, releasing my throat to swing at Dan. The sawing stopped. My soul charged immediately. Dan bit him again, and the man ripped him free by his hair.

One by one, my thin tendrils drilled into his soul until it didn’t matter. Every muscle in his body tensed. I pressed as much essence as I could into my arms and locked onto his wrists, preventing his escape. Twisting. Wiggling. Fighting to get loose. He couldn’t leave. I wouldn’t allow it.

I thrashed, hollowing him out, slicing him apart layer by layer. His ability was too valuable to lose. I cut a hole and smiled. He’d live a little longer, as a patch within my quilt.

Widened eyes and trembling. Something left the man’s mouth, but I didn’t understand. A plea or whimper, it didn’t matter. His fingers spread, then tightened to a fist, and it didn’t matter. Once I reached his core, the battle was over. When his body shook no more, I squirmed free and searched through puffy eyes. First my helmet, then his gun, finally his vest.

After a moment’s struggle, Dan had armor, and I found what I wanted. I slid my finger across his eyes and removed a pair of lenses. Stolen, most likely.

I stuffed them in my pouch. Nobody chipped Allie and Chris; only half of us entered the system before the fifth breach. Dan’s chip was military and outside of my database. Still, the lenses would work for him. The scope on my rifle cracked in our fight, but my pistol hadn’t fallen far. Three signals were on their way. I dragged Dan, placed the man’s body in the center of the room, and stood next to the door.

My mind raced. Slowing it was impossible. The man was dead. Dan was free. I was alive. And a group of men surrounded us. Foolish. So foolish. Allie told me just to check. Dan told us to plan before we acted. I ignored them both and barreled in like a fool.

I stopped the shaking in my hands enough to grab my knife. They were evil people, so it was ok. It was the right thing to do.

The first man entered recklessly. I tripped him, jumped on top of him, and stabbed him in the neck. Rushing out, I knocked the other men to the ground, stomping one’s head and hammering the other with my mace. Four bloodstains on my soul in one day. Was it alright to take the lives of evil people if they tried to hurt your friend? What would the priest say? Was it ok to cry?

I was still a good person. I knew I was. The priest would forgive me. I knew he would.

I leaned my head against the wall and healed my eyes, then my nose. My body ached, my soul was full of wounds, but nothing was above equilibrium in the town. At least, I didn’t pick up anyone. I shouldn’t rely on it like Dan said. I didn’t know what else to do.

When I was ready, I grabbed Dan by the back of his vest and dragged him down the hall. Nobody rushed us. The exits weren’t blocked. If they planned an ambush, they planned it past the orange glow. I didn’t detect a single person outside the school other than scabs. The gymnasium hadn’t emptied.

The people no longer chatted, and the room went black. They huddled in the dark. I didn’t see the little girl, but she was probably ok. Perhaps they really were going to a better place. For her sake, I hoped Greer had changed, and these were nothing more than evil people taking advantage of others. I did the right thing. I knew I did.

Outside, Dan moaned with every bump, but he was too awkward to carry. He’d be ok. His pants were thick, and most of the cuts from glass and scrap metal would heal. If he complained once I figured out how to treat him, I’d threaten to cut his threads.

The wall I cleared remained unguarded. There must have been an alert system. One that no longer mattered. The shed of scabs erupted with noise as I passed, and they rammed against the walls in a frenzy. I left the same way I entered and did my best to slip into the night beyond the orange glow of barrel fires before the sun rose.

I ignored the weapons I had stolen, only worrying about how to escape and where to go next. My cloudy daze made it difficult to think, and the lightheadedness made me want to vomit. I dragged Dan further into the darkness for close to ten minutes, then dropped him. Four pings and vicious snarls.

I was sick of it all and sprinted to the first, ripping its head off with a single swing. A backhand knocked the second to the ground, and a stomp ended its life. With mace in hand, I killed the third, then raced towards the handler.

Without a thought of who he once was, I threw him into a pile of rubble and buried the flanges deep into his brain.

Even though I wouldn’t hesitate to kill them, my reasons were no longer the same. It finally occurred to me that the scabs were the victims, and the humans were the monsters. They suffered enough; they deserved to rest.

Nobody saw me in the dark, but without a doubt, they’d track me when the sun rose. I had no way to stop that. A little over five hours until the sky turned pink, and they followed my trail.

When I reached the basement, I fought to catch my breath and opened the makeshift covering. “I got him. Pack our. Pack our things we’re leaving.”

Allie ran up the stairs first and hugged me, whispering, “Thank you.”

I finally vomited and rinsed the day from my mouth. “Breathe, Amy. Breathe.”

Deep breaths and my own voice slowed my thoughts and calmed my shaking body. Allie checked on me, and I reassured her with a nod. I’d be ok, eventually.

Chris dragged our stuff, and I loaded it to mine and Allie’s back. After tying ourselves together once more, I returned the essence they transferred to me and fastened Dan to Chris.

Every day felt worse than the last, and things wouldn’t get easier after the breach. I started my stitch of the man’s soul as we walked. I wouldn’t finish before daybreak, but I didn’t want to use his ability unless I had to, so it didn’t matter. His essence alone would make me stronger. All that mattered was finding somewhere safe.

Hopefully, Lia heard my prayers. She always knew what to do. Because if Allie and Chris relied on me before I fixed Dan, I’d surely let them down. I’d let them down, and they’d leave me behind. Leave me behind, like everyone who left before.