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I double-check her map as we walk. “Only another hour or so, I reckon. Once we’re in, we need to be quick. No dallying. Get your research and get back, okay?”
“Of course.” She nods, and she seems excited at the prospect of the lab, making me groan.
Scientists.
FIVE
Her laugh fills me with joy, and her eyes…
I could have sworn she saw me. I hadn’t meant to reach out and tangle my claws in the strands of her hair, but I couldn’t resist as they glowed like lights in the darkened shop. When she turned faster than I expected, I melted back into the shadows, but I swear her eyes saw right into me. If she did, though, she would have screamed and run.
No, she didn’t see me. It was just wishful thinking.
I stalk her again. She’s almost spotted me so many times, and her earlier act of talking as she scanned the shops didn’t fool me. She knew something was there, but she didn’t know what. She was right when she told the blonde-haired woman I’m not a threat.
Not to her.
I won’t hurt her.
Everyone else? They aren’t safe.
Even now, I see monsters hunting her, drawn by her companion’s loud footsteps. Some are like me, while some are true animals who were once kings and attractions of this city. Now they hunt rodents and other animals to survive, left by the humans to die. I can appreciate their beauty, though, and the sleek way they slide between buildings, their eyes glowing in the darkness.
If they try to touch my human, I will end them. Not because I want to, but because I have to.
She’s mine to protect.
I follow her, knowing I should get back to my people. They will wonder where I’ve gone. We are all mostly loners and like our independence, and they don’t need supervision, but I have been out a long time. They might think one of the others attacked me, so they could be plotting revenge as we speak, ready to spark a war.
Yet I cannot leave her.
Even for my duty.
Even for my people.
She’s smart, avoiding the hotspots for animals and monsters. Her eyes are always watching everything, and she evades collapsing buildings and live wires as she moves at a fast pace. Soon, she’s at the heart of the city, which is a neutral zone.
A meeting place.
It’s where the very first wave happened.
What is she doing here?
She looks around once more before she and the blonde head into the very building that started all of this.
It’s where they caged my people.
It’s where they created monsters.
SIX
ARIA
We make good time after I give her different shoes. She never complains once, and my annoyance at this whole mission lessens a bit. She’s clearly trying her hardest, and she has no choice but to be here, so it’s best we just get in, get out, and then forget this whole thing happened.
But even at that thought, my spine tingles with awareness and a sense of knowing.
Something about this journey feels different, even more so because it’s deeper than I’ve ever gone before, but I have a bad feeling. It’s not just the waning daylight either, though that is a worry. It’s something else, something beyond.
