“They’d offer to stop hurting me. I couldn’t decide if it was a test or if someone truly demented had stolen us. It was a game of survival to endure procedures I’d never seen in my worst nightmares. And then, one day, I became that nightmare.”
“Hunters and junkers can be ruthless, too,” I mutter, hoping no one ever sees my scars again, or I fear they’ll run from me like they do Menace.
Menace turns to scan the area, but I don’t see any approaching welvirs, even if I can hear them. “I’m glad you’re okay. Because if I’m honest, I was scared.”
“You, scared?” I laugh softly in disbelief. “Impossible.”
Menace looks down, and I realize he truly was.
“You’re serious.”
“Yeah. Usually. Macabre was more of a joker than me.”
“What could possibly scare an alpha monster like you?”
He runs a hand over his mouth and thinks for a moment. “Losing hope. Without it, down here where we have so little and have lost so many, it brings back a lot of bad memories that could easily swallow me. They dig in with some pretty big teeth.”
“And what gives someone like you hope?”
Menace drags his eyes back to mine. “Someone who understands my kind of pain but fights anyway.”
“Ah, yeah. I feel like all I do is try and fail, lately.”
He slinks back to the opening. “Same for most of us. It’s why hope is so important.
“Are you awake enough to make a run for it?”
I draw in a deep breath. “My pride hates to say it, but I’ll follow you.”
