Alien Beast - Page 25
I close them and keep my mouth shut. Ava’s breathing is natural and alarmed. Before she can scream out in horror, I cup my palm around her lips.
The men turn back, heading in our direction. Everything is eerily quiet, causing me to wonder if I’m making the wrong move.
Slowly, they wade toward us, lanterns held aloft, walking between the mossy trees and hidden amphibians. I keep a tight hold of Ava, eyes creasing open to see, waiting for them to get close enough to touch us.
“I don’t see anything,” one man says. “Let’s keep moving.”
Their leader nudges him forward. “Not so fast,” he says. “The noise came from over there. Go check it out.”
“I’m not moving without you,” he says.
The cultist leader raises his rifle. “Who am I, your daddy? I’ve got your back. Now go.”
The man issues a heavy sigh and starts to walk. As he gets closer to us, a big shiver runs through his shoulders. He senses us, swinging his lantern wildly, accidentally splashing enough water to kill the flame.
He runs into my body.
The inbred stops, trembling, as my head rises from the marshes. A blood-curdling scream comes from Ava’s tiny throat as the man takes aim.
I didn’t expect a fight so soon, but I’m ready for them. I’m a beast that cannot be managed.
From across the way, the leader calls for his men. "Take his ass down," he declares.
As I stand, cortisol pumps through my veins. I issue a great roar, slashing the bastard’s throat. The two other shooters run toward the sounds of their dying brother’s choking, but I’m already on them.
My vision turns red. My muscles form into solid masses, as hard as stones. I knock out the two last cultists with a single strike, tearing their spines right from their body.
The remaining cultist, the leader of their pitiful pack, runs.
I stand, human blood running down my masculine body, draining into the water below. Ava stares in complete and utter disbelief.
“You saved me,” she says.
“I told you I would,” I mutter, heart knocking like a drum. “But that wasn’t part of the plan. Things are original with you here. This fight confirms that.”
She takes a deep breath and calms. She is visibly shaken up, and I don’t have the heart to tell her it gets worse from here.
Her actions are more surprising to me than the cultist’s attack.
“Tell me, why didn’t you scream for help?” I ask.
She looks back at the path we’ve walked. Water floats around her thighs, bits of mud drying to her skin. “Because I’ve never been free.”
“You are not free now,” I tell her.
She swallows and peers into my eyes. She is gentle and caring, but strong in a way that commands respect, while also melting your heart down like a heated candle. Her journey, whatever that may have been, is emotional for her. It may seem a little insane that she has agreed to stay with me, but it's for the better.
“You don’t know the outside world,” she says. “They control everything now. Surveillance has made people complacent.”
The outside world. More lies sprouting out of her infected mindset. There is no outside world. I am living proof of that.
“Sounds like a ut
opian fantasy,” I say.
“Are you sure you want to find out?” she asks.
I stare at her, unable to answer. The truth is that I’m not sure what lies beyond this planet now. But I know I can’t stay here, like this, forever. I want something more.
Source: readsnovelonline.net