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Ready.
Set.
GO.
I push into my heels, leaping like I’m going for a slam dunk…
I’m airborne, when a jarring tug plucks me from the air and I’m thrown down onto the wooden deck as the breath expels from my lungs. The back of my head knocks against the boards and an explosion of white glitter dots my vision.
I’ve hadenough. I’ve survived on my own this long, I’m no shrinking violet. I jab the knife upward, aiming for the scrotum of the rotten toothed raider but he shifts at the last second, sparing his balls and I sink the blade into the meat of his thigh.
“Fuckingbitch.” He bellows. I withdraw, taking better aim for my next ball shot, but his hands lock around my wrist, jerking me to my feet before he cocks back with is other hand and delivers a hard shot to the side of my head. Darkness flickers around the edge of my vision as I fall back, bolts of pain jab in my temple and down my neck. I focus upward, now there arefourof them staring down at me.
“She’ll make a nice evening of entertainment.” The same JE asshole with the shaved head and pirate eye patch says as one of the others reaches down to grab the front of my pants. “Cute enough. Clean. But, she’ll look better dirty.”
They all laugh like drunk, entitled frat boys.
“Don’t fuckingtouchme.” I kick and twist, as the pain from the punch throbs on the side of my skull. Where did that fucking orc go? Asshole couldn’t even stick around to at least divide their attention.
I calculate my odds and come what may, I’m not going down without inflicting as much damage as possible.
“Oh,” Black-tooth says. “We’re going to touch you alright. You’re not gonna like it.” He turns to his partners with another winning smile. “Butweare."
I release my inner honey badger. Plunging my knife forward. Jabbing at legs, feet, kneecaps, genitals. I’m bucking and spitting and hurling obscenities until a hand squeezes around my throat and the crunch of my windpipe cuts off my air as a hard kick to my hand skitters my knife away.
I shut my eyes, gritting my teeth, flinging my head side to side when I fall back onto the deck. When I look again, it’s the mammoth wall of green monster standing over me. Through his legs I catch sight of three more orcs heading this way.
Orcs usually stay out of the way of the coalition and the Judicial Enforcement. They aren’t known for scavenging for old human leftovers. It makes no sense. But sense or not, they’re coming. Huge, growling, calling out to each other but the buzzing in my ears blocks out any detail.
I gather whatever bravery I have left. I don’t show fear. They may take my body, take my life, but they won’t take my spirit. They won’t break me.
Pain explodes in my belly as one of the men stomps on my gut heading toward the massive orc. I gag and spit, suddenly an afterthought. Their focus turns to the monolith of green anger making the deck bounce as he steps forward.
My vision blurs as I flail, grabbing and punching as the grunting of the orc and the profanities of the men mix above me. I curl into a ball, rolling then inch-worming my way out of the fray, dragging the duffel along with one hand.
I hiss and wince as a wet thud lands next to my head, then scream as a severed arm settles on the deck, blood still spurting from where it was torn from the socket.
There’s crunching and more screams, the orc slams two of the humans’ heads together, hard enough that gray matter explodes from foreheads. A burst of clarity brings me back to action and I crawl to the steps, rolling down with a thud onto the cool grass.
I lock eyes with the approaching orcs but I don’t stick around to see what’s about to happen.
An armless, bloodied body lands with a thud in my path as I bolt toward the side of the house, hurdling myself over the corpse.
Seconds feel like hours. I hop on my bike, straddle the seat, stomp on the starter and barrel into the darkness, the cool air drying the hot tears on my cheeks as a ferocious roar echoes rips into the night.
ChapterThree
Mol
“You’re going to get hives.” My mother shakes her head as I claw at the dried blood down my arms and across my chest. “Must be AB negative. You’re allergic to AB negative…”
“I’m allergic tohumans.” I growl low, the image of the small human female banging around inside my head. The unusual throbbing in my center knotting my belly and coiling anger in the muscles down my back. I cannot forget her eyes. How they looked right through me and caused a stir I’ve not known until now.
“This is true. But, hatred will not solve our problems. That is what caused them. You must someday lay down your rage, Mol, or it will steal your life from you.”
A low fire warms the small living space inside the structure I built for my mother and sister.
Her voice is softer than when I was young. The translators the aliens installed in our central cortex during our time on Iruaza allow us to speak and understand nearly a thousand languages. That as well the genetic manipulation experiments changed many things about us. Our intellect is sharp, our strength and size multiplied. Their planet was cool and humid, which suited us. I’d rather spend a year in the snow and ice than an hour in Florida.
