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By the time I escape Akuji’s clutches, wash, and dress, the sun is up. I hurry through the streets, knowing the way and feeling more confident than ever. If I concentrate hard enough, I can see the shadow of my monster streaking through the buildings as he watches and protects me. Grinning, I speed up to test him. He keeps up effortlessly, and in just thirty minutes, I’m at the wall where he described the steps. I didn’t see them before. They are so narrow, I am unsure how the monsters use them, but they work well for me. I climb them and settle on top of the wall, dangling my legs down the humans’ side.
Looking out at the bright sky and the land stretching as far as I can see, I can’t help but think about how beautiful our world is. If I focus past the man-made disasters, such as the decaying roofs and sagging shacks crammed into the slums and the skyscrapers sparkling in the sun just beyond, it truly is incredible. I see far-off mountains that catch the light with fields before them, where nature survives, despite the humans’ need to destroy and change everything.
Our world might not be the one we want it to be, but there is beauty if you know where to look for it. My eyes go back to the deserted buildings behind me and the monster that hides within.
Swallowing, I scan the immediate horizon, looking for troops. Last night’s initial report said they moved into our wall’s section as well. They are spread across a gap between the slums to the east of me and the wall, where nobody wants to live. There’s an old broken bridge there that they are using for cover just before the city, but I can see them far below, moving around like ants. They even brought a fucking tank and have it pointed at the wall. I have no doubt they have scouts as well, so I wave and then pull out my breakfast and start to eat when it’s obvious they don’t plan to attack right this second.
It’s obvious they don’t want me or Talia. They want the research and maybe whatever the human who snuck in here knows. They are playing the long game, and this is just a warning. They are showing their force to make the monsters scared enough to push us back through the wall to avoid a war. Humans are good at posturing and taking what isn’t theirs, treating human life like it’s disposable. At least half of those soldiers would die.
And what for? Do they even know what they would be fighting for, or are they just following orders?
The people in charge don’t care about the careless loss of life and pain that would come from it. They are breaking peace, and it’s obvious throughout the slums that people are scared and probably trying to find somewhere to go in case the wall falls, but for them, there is nowhere to go, and that’s who will suffer—the innocents.
Nibbling on my bread, I look at what used to be my life below. It wasn’t that long ago, yet it feels like I’ve been here forever. I’m comfortable and happy, and it’s because of one man…or monster.
Akuji calls me his mate, and I’ve had no time to really consider it, too caught up in what is happening and then rescuing Talia. I don’t know what mate means to him, and I guess I should ask, but part of me is scared it doesn’t mean girlfriend like humans would say. I love the sex and the connection between us, but when it comes down to it, I’m human and he’s not.
I have a life out there, don’t I? How could I abandon it all to live in a deserted city where every day is a fight for survival? Where, if you aren’t careful and alert, you could get killed at any moment? I don’t know, but it’s something I need to consider. If we survive whatever these humans have planned, I will undoubtedly have to face the reality of what lies between us. For now, I’ll just go with it and hope for the best.
A roar has me twisting and glancing down. I grin when I see my tiger below, trying to climb the wall but unable to. I blow him a kiss and look back at the soldiers. I feel like I’m balanced on a divide, caught between human and monster, and I truly don’t know where I lie.
Liar, my heart tells me, but I ignore the traitorous thought.
The day passes slowly. I have to venture down to use the toilet and reassure Akuji I’m okay. He has taken up shop in an old, abandoned subway entrance near the wall, where he can see me and still be in the dark. He tries to pull me into the darkness to press me against his body, but I escape with a laugh and go back to my sentry duties. I don’t want to let him or his people down.
He must leave at some point, or one of his people comes through the tunnels, because I hear a hiss and watch him reach into the sun, leaving a plate of food out for me and the tiger. Hurrying down, I frown when I see his blistered hand, but he waves me off, so I sit cross-legged in the sun. He remains in the dark where he’s safe, and we share dinner. After, I lounge on the wall, counting houses, windows, and soldiers to keep myself awake in the warm sun.
Finally, after the last few hours of sunrise drag by, I get to my feet and stretch, reaching my arms towards the moon and stars that slowly blink to life above me. I can’t see much of the soldiers—stupid human eyes—but then Akuji is suddenly beside me. I blink, glancing between him and the bottom of the wall. “Did you leap up here?”
He grins before pulling me into his arms and kissing me hard. “I missed you.”
“It’s been a day.” I laugh, even as my heart melts because I missed him too.
“Too long,” he rumbles, sitting and tugging me down next to him. I soften into his embrace. “I have two hours before we are relieved. If you are tired, then sleep, little mate.”
“I’m not,” I say, even as I yawn, making him laugh. “Talk to me.”
“What do you want me to say, mate?” he murmurs, resting his head on mine and wrapping his tail around me.
“Anything. Tell me about your people, your lands, your family.” I shrug.
“I’d rather hear about yours,” he counters.
“No,” I mumble. “You’ve heard enough about humanity and its flaws. Tell me everything about the world over the wall. The things nobody knows. Tell me the truth, when I have only ever heard lies.”
He searches my gaze before softening. “You’ll always have the truth from me, little human, even if you don’t like it. Lies hurt worse than the stab of truthfulness.”
I nod, knowing he’s right. He settles down, watching the humans below, and for a moment, I wonder if he will speak before his rumbling timbre fills the air around us. The vibration makes me shiver and slide closer, but I ignore the usual arousal that fills me whenever he talks to me, looks at me, or touches me. Instead, I focus on his words and the emotions behind them, wanting to know everything about my monster and the life he has endured.
“The first several years after the wall was built were filled with pain—so much pain. My people lost mates, children, fathers, and mothers. We were just scrambling to find a way of life and safety in a confusing, alien world. The haze I told you about…it influenced a lot of our actions, and the anger was a palpable living rot that infected our people until we attacked everyone who came too close to our borders, but it was born of fear.” He meets my eyes. “Fear they would take more of our people, more of the people we love, and that they would imprison and hurt us again. We were terrified we would never be anything but an experiment gone wrong.”
“Akuji.” My heart aches for him and his people.
They didn’t ask to be made, they were just trying to navigate a world they didn’t understand and people who didn’t care. Of course they were angry and fearful, and humans didn’t help that or them. We made them into villains, the bad guys spoken about in the dark.
We made them monsters.
I can hear the pent-up agony in his words, so I reach for him, needing to comfort the boy who has to grow up fighting for his life and those of his people. He never got a chance to just live and figure out who he was. I suppose the same could be said for me, and that’s why we are so linked, so connected. Our broken souls are just reflections of the other’s, even with the genetic differences.
