Possibly dead, Kat corrected herself as sweat trickled down the back of her neck. He couldn't be dead. There was no way she could've done. . . .
What, exactly?
She hadn't done anything. She'd been lying still, waiting for that sharp wooden plank to end her. There'd been no contact between her and Calix. He'd just bounced off like he hit a force field. It was like the Range Rover incident again, that sudden gust of wind, only this time, it was on reverse.
For some miraculous reason, Kat was alive, and she was regaining consciousness with each passing second.Something thick and warm was trickling down her forehead. A piece of cloth was grating against the sides of her parted lips. Her eyelids felt like they had dumbbells attached to them, but they were open.Still, it didn't change the fact that she was groggy, dizzy.The dark blue sky above her kept getting blurred with the outline of the treetops. The air was thick, pressing against her aching head. It didn't help that she was being dragged by her hair, by the strong cold hand that was forcing her locks to support her weight.It was Navea's hand, steering Kat into the darkest parts of the already secluded neighborhood.A small stone-and-wood cabin appeared in Kat's muted view, dilapidated and weather-beaten. Its windows were pitch black, the weeds surrounding it wild and overgrown. There was a rectangular concrete slab close by, about two feet high and six feet long, with seams on the
Shock filled up Kat's chest. More tears leaked from her eyes, her throat going tight with the sobs she couldn't let out.She didn't wipe her cheeks, though. She couldn't. The spiral of disbelief within her didn't allow her to do much else. She just watched, speechless and hurting, as Calix touched the gash on his cheek and had his fingers come away with an unmistakable trace of red.All kinds of dark emotions flashed in his face. The transitions were subtle, but Kat felt them moving with her like sceneries changing in a train window. From paralyzing incredulity that slackened his features to painful realization that made his eyes glisten. Then came defeat. Resignation.He fell to his knees, his breathing shallow and labored, his damaged fists digging into the dry grass. At that moment, Calix seemed more like a ticking bomb than ever. Even with all the intensity emanating from him, Kat could tell that he was shutting himself in, closing himself from anyone and anything. He was trying w
Kat woke with a gasp, clutching her chest where her heart pounded like crazy. In an automatic reaction to the fright that surged in her, she turned to her side to find Calix, only to see that the space beside her was empty."Calix!" she called out in panic before she could fully get up. "Calix?""Here."Groggily, Kat got to her feet and saw him standing by the window. Relief washed over her like sunshine. "Thank God. I thought you left or . . . something.""I was waiting for you to wake so we can leave." The corners of his lips lifted in a small wry smile. "I do not feel comfortable here."Kat was all for staying a bit longer since it was only eleven in the morning, but she figured it was about time she listened to Calix. If he said he wasn't comfortable, then something must be off. So, she quickly washed up, gathered their stuff, and headed out the motel room with him following silently behind her.This whole 'silent' thing became a constan
"How many times do I have to tell you?" Kat asked exasperatedly. "Stop picking your scabs!"Knowing that this reminder would soon be followed by a stinging slap, Calix lowered his hand, which he'd just brought to his face to scratch his cheek. "Sorry."She continued glaring at him, even as he turned his attention back to the boxes in front of them. The past three weeks had allowed his wounds to heal, but in that period he'd also developed a nasty habit of picking and peeling his scabs because he found it to be 'calming'.There were a lot of things he found calming, actually. And fortunately they weren't as gross.First on that list of calming stuff was doing laundry, the frequency of which Kat had narrowed down to twice a week. After being taught how to operate the machines down in the apartment common area, Calix had wholeheartedly shouldered the chore. When she'd tried to help him, he'd only shooed her a
Calix made a face. "Huh?"That expression mixed with his single sound of confusion summed the situation up pretty well, but Kat was too caught up in her breakthrough to acknowledge it."Hear me out." She held up both palms. "Dad always told me that it was nearly impossible for Mom to have a baby, to have me. She had a problem with her uterus, I think." She paused when she caught his eyes glazing over. "Are you still following? Wait, do Hellborn women give birth?""Of course they do." He looked slightly offended. "You think Hellborns grow on trees?""Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised. But anyway," she emphasized the word when he opened his mouth to retort, "Mom had a tough pregnancy. I mean, I was lucky. What if . . . what if I'm the only one who made it?"As soon as the question left her mouth, all her excitement drained out. She felt stupid for being so smiley about the revelation. Heck, it wasn't even a real revelation. It was nothing but a theory. A depressing one, at that.Kat slid
Five hundred bucks. That's how much Ulysses charged access to the VIP lounge. Five hundred bucks. Per person.Paying that not only made Kat a thousand dollars poorer, it also caused some delay, which allowed Damien to waltz inside undisturbed. Now she and Calix had no idea where that turd went.The layout of the lounge didn't help, either.First off, it shouldn't even be a lounge. In Kat's eyes, this area of the club was more an entire hotel floor. It was a series of hallways with private rooms, made extremely fancy with crystal chandeliers, plushy red carpets, cream-colored walls gilded with gold, and a mirror ceiling that did nothing to help them navigate.Now Kat and Calix were strolling around aimlessly, clueless on where to start, trying to use the lights as a guide. However, the tiny orange sparks were scattered around the place, as directionless as they were.When she asked him about this, he just said, "The lights are guides, not pointers. There are many factors that affect th
The vase clattered onto the floor, right from Kat's trembling hand. The mirror showed that the spot Damien was standing in was empty, which meant that she was alone here.So who was this person in front of her, smiling and watching her coldly?Kat's composure crumbled altogether. Her knees were going weak, threatening to give way any second. As though relishing her broken bravado, Damien—or whatever this thing was—smirked. It contorted his handsome features, making them look . . . wrong.There was a very tense pause.Her heartbeat echoed in her ears. She inhaled slowly, gathering every bit of courage she possessed. Before she could chicken out, she spun around and ran for her life.In an unbelievable speed, Fake-Damien leapt towards Kat. To avoid his outstretched hand, she let gravity take hold and allowed herself to fall forward, propping her arms in front of her. However, before she could land on the floor, he managed to touch t
Kat should've known that when her delusions started with her college dating fails, it would all be downhill from there.And she was right. The whole business of getting stood up in a date was the mildest. Right after it, she was thrown back to the scene that started it all: the day of her death.Only this time, she was as close to death than she ever had been.The asphalt was cold against her cheek, sleek with the blood flowing from her busted temple. Her arm was bent at an awkward angle. People began to crowd around her, but only their feet were visible. She tried to lift her head, to see beyond them and the front of the Range Rover, but what she saw made her regret it.The cloaked figure. The Punisher.Kat expected it to be Calix. She knew it was him originally, and she'd taken comfort in it. However, the face under the mask was Auric Johnson's, pale and smirking. Then, it changed to Rita Arellano's. In a dizzying flicker it shifted again, morphing into the beautiful features of Nave