rolling back toward the ledge and lying flat. The ledge was just high enough that she could remain hidden if she lay very still. Battered and bruised, she shivered in the night, staring up at the shimmering stars, ears straining to pick up every sound. Duane burst onto the roof, and Amiel could hear the dogs scrambling across the gravel in search of her, followed by their confused whines when the scent simply disappeared.
“Well! What did you find?” a distant voice shouted.
“It’s here somewhere! It has to be. Maybe it jumped to another roof,” Duane grumbled in reply. Frustrated shouts immediately came back his way.
“If you’re thinking about tossing my dogs across the rooftops, I’ll kick your ass!” There was a long pause.
“It’s up here, I know it is.”
“You know what? Screw you, Duane. I’m tired and cold. You want to keep looking, freeze your own ass off. We’re going home.” A long whistle sounded, and the dogs barked, quickly obeying their owner’s call to return. Duane cursed to himself, clearly disliking the idea that they’d taken away his backup. Amiel closed her eyes, fighting to keep her breathing calm as she listened and waited.
“Damn it. I’m not done with you, freak! You and I got unfinished business,” Duane promised the darkness, clearly knowing she was still around somewhere, but having lost his backbone with his backup. The rooftop door slammed as he left.
Amiel stared up at the stars, their glimmering surfaces marred by the puffs of mist from her shaky breath. She stared until she was forced to blink, tears slipping down her temples and into her hair. The adrenaline ebbed away, and with its loss came everything else she’d been ignoring. The cold night air seeped into her bones, wracking her body with jerky shivers that jarred her to the core. With the jerking movements came the pain: her fingers throbbed with each pulse; the ribs on her side screamed with burning intensity.
A sob escaped her lips and she bit down, once more opening the earlier wound in her mouth. How much time had passed since the men left? Had it been hours, like it felt, or only minutes? She found herself frozen with more than just the cold. Fear kept her rigidly in place; despite the cold, despite the near-unbearable pain, Amiel couldn’t move. She lay there shaking in her bra and pajama pants, gravel digging into her battered and broken body, blood seeping through the rags on her fingers, dripping in rivulets from other wounds on her body.
One fact kept repeating in her head. She’d nearly died. She had nearly died, half-naked in the darkness-enshrouded streets, and she had no idea what had led her to this moment in time. She had found herself bloodied, with shredded clothes, sprawled on the ground. Her bike was crushed beneath a bus; there was a pile of dead Rabids nearby, and distant, angry shouts of humans who made it very clear that they wanted her dead.
Her frazzled, foggy mind had tried to run through every self-defense move taught to her by Harley… and come up completely blank. Amiel could remember only a debilitating sense of conflict, a battle being waged within that left her staring dumbly at the blurry men that prowled toward her with menace in their hearts. And in the face of the one enemy that she found herself defenseless against, Amiel had run for her life.
Over the last few months, Amiel had felt herself growing in courage, confidence and strength. She sucked at fighting still, she knew that. But she had hoped if push came to shove, her instincts would kick in and she could protect herself. Yet when the time came to put those new skills to use, Amiel found herself shrinking, lost and terrified. And so, like the coward she apparently still was, Amiel ran. She ran and hid, just like she was still doing now. She was freezing, half naked on a rooftop, one of the greatest weapons known to humankind hanging around her neck, and she was hiding like a complete wuss, afraid
“Well! What did you find?” a distant voice shouted.
“It’s here somewhere! It has to be. Maybe it jumped to another roof,” Duane grumbled in reply. Frustrated shouts immediately came back his way.
“If you’re thinking about tossing my dogs across the rooftops, I’ll kick your ass!” There was a long pause.
“It’s up here, I know it is.”
“You know what? Screw you, Duane. I’m tired and cold. You want to keep looking, freeze your own ass off. We’re going home.” A long whistle sounded, and the dogs barked, quickly obeying their owner’s call to return. Duane cursed to himself, clearly disliking the idea that they’d taken away his backup. Amiel closed her eyes, fighting to keep her breathing calm as she listened and waited.
“Damn it. I’m not done with you, freak! You and I got unfinished business,” Duane promised the darkness, clearly knowing she was still around somewhere, but having lost his backbone with his backup. The rooftop door slammed as he left.
Amiel stared up at the stars, their glimmering surfaces marred by the puffs of mist from her shaky breath. She stared until she was forced to blink, tears slipping down her temples and into her hair. The adrenaline ebbed away, and with its loss came everything else she’d been ignoring. The cold night air seeped into her bones, wracking her body with jerky shivers that jarred her to the core. With the jerking movements came the pain: her fingers throbbed with each pulse; the ribs on her side screamed with burning intensity.
A sob escaped her lips and she bit down, once more opening the earlier wound in her mouth. How much time had passed since the men left? Had it been hours, like it felt, or only minutes? She found herself frozen with more than just the cold. Fear kept her rigidly in place; despite the cold, despite the near-unbearable pain, Amiel couldn’t move. She lay there shaking in her bra and pajama pants, gravel digging into her battered and broken body, blood seeping through the rags on her fingers, dripping in rivulets from other wounds on her body.
One fact kept repeating in her head. She’d nearly died. She had nearly died, half-naked in the darkness-enshrouded streets, and she had no idea what had led her to this moment in time. She had found herself bloodied, with shredded clothes, sprawled on the ground. Her bike was crushed beneath a bus; there was a pile of dead Rabids nearby, and distant, angry shouts of humans who made it very clear that they wanted her dead.
Her frazzled, foggy mind had tried to run through every self-defense move taught to her by Harley… and come up completely blank. Amiel could remember only a debilitating sense of conflict, a battle being waged within that left her staring dumbly at the blurry men that prowled toward her with menace in their hearts. And in the face of the one enemy that she found herself defenseless against, Amiel had run for her life.
Over the last few months, Amiel had felt herself growing in courage, confidence and strength. She sucked at fighting still, she knew that. But she had hoped if push came to shove, her instincts would kick in and she could protect herself. Yet when the time came to put those new skills to use, Amiel found herself shrinking, lost and terrified. And so, like the coward she apparently still was, Amiel ran. She ran and hid, just like she was still doing now. She was freezing, half naked on a rooftop, one of the greatest weapons known to humankind hanging around her neck, and she was hiding like a complete wuss, afraid
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