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“Go!” I demand and turn, running myself. When I look back, I see her disappearing between two buildings with one last worried glance at me and the tiger.
Good.
At least she’s safe for now. I just need to lose this bastard and find her again. Ignoring the blood trailing down my arm, I keep running, forcing myself to calm down. I’m not dying here, not today, not ever.
It’s an animal.
I can outsmart it.
I slide around corners and over broken glass, not even looking where I’m running. All the while, I feel the rancid breath of the tiger on my neck. It’s playing with me. When I accidentally turn into a dead end, the darkness closing in, I know I’m as good as dead.
The tiger blocks the only way out, baring its teeth in victory.
I knew this city wasn’t for humans anymore, but I still ventured inside.
Foolish.
Pain makes me weak. I stumble but manage to stay upright, searching for an exit, a weapon—anything.
Its head drops back, and it roars, the sound jarring me to my very bones.
I stumble again, my vision darkening from blood loss.
The darkness behind it suddenly parts, and a shape emerges from it like a demon from a horror story. It lingers there for a moment, observing. I gawk at the huge silhouette of a creature, unsure what to do as it grabs the tiger. The beast thrashes and claws in its grasp, but the shadow doesn’t falter. It watches me with bright red eyes that pierce through the shadows as its arms rise and wrap around the roaring tiger’s neck. Then, with its own earth-shattering roar, it rips the beast’s head from its body and tosses it aside.
It killed it.
Which means I’m dealing with a bigger predator.
A fucking monster.
It steps into the light, and I finally give into the blood loss, even as I try to fight it.
Like a woman in an old horror movie or a goddamn damsel in distress, I faint.
SEVEN
ARIA
Idon’t really pass out, no, I’m conscious in a way. I try to get to my feet, but they are shaky and unstable. The darkness moves closer, so I crawl backwards, trying to escape it. I’m not weak, and I refuse to be eaten. No thank you.
There will be no all-you-can-eat Aria buffet for this monster.
“Stay the fuck away from me, I bet I taste terrible,” I call, but it just keeps approaching. Ignoring my wooziness, I use the wall to the left to get to my feet and grab a stick, using it as a weapon. I swing it in front of me and the shadow stills, but I stumble and then it’s there. I can’t help but scream as arms—impossibly wide and strong arms—wrap around me, and I’m suddenly upside down. It takes a minute for me to realise I’m hanging over a shoulder.
I blink in disbelief as something bright and long flutters in my vision.
A tail.
A fucking tail.
It waves through the air as we move swiftly, my stomach rolling with the pain from my injured shoulder with each jarring lope of the creature. A hiss of pain escapes through my teeth, and it stills for a moment before speeding up, so I force my pain back.
When he—it stops again, I’m getting the fuck out of here.
All this time, I genuinely wondered if there were monsters, if I was alone, and now I don’t have to wonder anymore. I just want to be back at the wall, safe and sound, but it doesn’t stop. It keeps running before ducking into darkened buildings where I can’t see, and then I realise we are moving down.
Underground.
