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Maybe he will eat them and grow bigger.
My lips curl as I wish I’d never pulled her from the puddle. Even back then I must have recognized her and a small part of me was tempted by the hope she brought. Hope is fickle, a collection of dreams and desires with no substance, and it has no place here.
That doesn’t stop me from taking two steps after them.
Something clambers up and immediately starts sniffing the overhang where Julie and Joe spent the night. Bitterness fills my mouth and I spit on the ground. I should’ve known it would be him. He would have been smart and popular in high school, exactly the kind she went for.
I dart behind some rocks, cursing myself for avoiding a fight, when I should take it on, and either win or die. That is living. That is how this place works. Getting home is a foolish fantasy that will never work. Though for a moment, I hate her as much as I envy her. They are all fools, and I will be glad to see them eaten.
Let her lead them to their death. I will not be led.
No, instead I am hiding.
The other monster snuffles about as though following their scent. That won’t be hard. She still smells like fresh meat. Add in the sex and she smells delicious. For a moment, I can’t breathe because I know I won’t smell that again.
Smelling Joe on her skin is too much for me to take. He was always a liar and a snake, and he stole her. I should’ve known better than to take her home. This is my fault. I should have taken her to the center myself, then she would have been mine.
The anger keeps pumping through me. Last night the change caught me off guard and, not wanting to listen to Theo, I stalked away and slept. This morning I woke to Joe, human and stinking of sex, peering at me like he gave a damn.
I hate him.
He did this to me. If he wasn’t such an asshole, I wouldn’t have changed.
I pick up a rock. It feels good in my fist. The monster snuffles closer to where I lay.
They left me. Theo scooped them up and took them away. Julie didn’t even care that she was leaving me behind. All she did was use me. She’ll use them too.
I made the right decision to stay instead of following.
The monster looks up as if searching for them. Has it figured out that Theo has them? Its nostrils flap and I know it has their scent on the air.
Fuck this.If anyone is going to kill and eat the soft humans, it will be me. She is mine. I found her.
The monster jumps down as if to follow Theo. I leap out and smash the rock into its head. It tries to throw me off, but I hold on, using the rock to break open its skull. Blood sprays over me and I laugh. I will hunt them.
I will have the fun of ending them and eating them.
I drop the rock, waiting for the burn of the change that will make me bigger or faster or something more equipped to kill.
Nothing. Not a single flash of pain, no burning in my blood beyond the anger that she chose him. That she left me.
That I told her to leave me, and she did.
24
Joe
Theo leaps over a third barricade, making my teeth rattle. I never got this close to the center, so I never saw any barriers. Are they to stop the monsters from getting in or out?
I slip in Theo’s arm, even though I’m holding on, and almost fall. Julie reaches for me, and Theo adjusts his grip before he can cut my rat-like tail off with his talons. He’s breathing hard and moving slower.
Julie glances at me. Her eyebrows are knotted with concern. “Maybe we should stop for a bit.”
“Can’t. We are being followed,” Theo says, even though his run is more of a shamble.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.” His voice is unsteady. “And he’s gaining.”
