Page 10 (1/2)

The night turns to day as lights built into the wall flood the ground And then I see the reason for the co, black haired, shirtless, with strainingveins beneath skin the color of coffee He’s growling and throwing men around like they’re paper dolls dressed in brown paper uniforuns! Taser the beast! Taser to stun!" Bowen roars besideme faster Toward the uproar Toward the beast "Tasers! Now!" he shrieks

Several rab pal toward the beast With a zip of electricity I can feel inthe beast with a quick flash of blue as tiny round, eyes rolled back in their heads,With thele with electricity again, and blue sparks light the air, but when they hit the beast, he growls, yanks the s

Surely Bowen can see how insane this person is, I tell sainst his hold He pulls harder I dig my feet deeper His eyes meet mine, full of fury, and he s into my temple

The world swiuns, and my knees buckle Bowen’s ars me the last few steps toward the beast In one swift round And then he sits on s on either side of my hips

His eyes flicker toin the world but the two of us has disappeared Tireen eyes take in every detail of ain When our eyes lock, his brow furrows, his eyes narrow in confusion, and he blinks But then the cuffs on my ar a slow step away from me

I roll onto my side, toward the beast, and whimper at what I see A circle of militia, at least twenty thick, surround the beast and two other people The militia have their Tasers and auto its every move The beast’s muscles twitch and spasm from the electrical residue of the Tasers, but it doesn’t seem to care

Bowen, his hands raised, speaks soothing words to the beast as he sloalks toward it But the beast isn’t paying attention to hi at the third person trapped inside the armed circle of militia

Me

Its dark eyes, the irises overwhel hu into the eyes of a wild animal A very deadly, braild ani sooes taut, and then, as if it pains him, he steps between the beast and me

"You er cale forward, but Bowen doesn’t budge A deep, gravelly hu slowly louder, like a jet tearing across the sky And then the sound grates against the night, vibrating infrom the beast’shih the air And then it is just the beast and me It stares atits skin, eyes starved, as if it is about to devour a feast Me

But as Bowen flies through the air his voice rings out clarion clear:

"Taser to kill!"

Never taking its ani flash aboveinto the creature’s dark skin Its feral eyes stop staring as they roll back in its head, glea bloodshot white, and its body convulses as it soars through the air

It lands on round, and electrical current enters my body, boils my blood, and jolts my heart

The beast spasms atop ue sticks to the roof of my mouth like a fly on flypaper I work it free and part my swollen lips Pain pulses in ers up to e

I forcebut darkness But to the left of me, the darkness is somehow darker, and shaped like shoulders and a head I reach toward that darkness and feel fabric, and beneath the fabric, warm skin

"Are you awake?" the shadohispers

I jerk le bit of roan

"Definitely awake," he says, voice a deep, quiet rumble Bowen

"Crap I was afraid of that Why do I hurt so erly lick my swollen lip and taste blood

"Let’s see You were attacked by a beast filled with electricity Before that, I hit you upside the head because I had to get your cuffs off Oh And the bathroom door split your lip"

Bathroom door? And then I remeasp and run my hands over my chest and down to h mountain lake My eyes slip shut in relief My secret is still safe

"So, ere you going to tell ence of fear "Tell you what? I don’t knohat you’re talking about"