Shattered by Sophia Sharp Page B

this time. “Laura, you have no idea what they’re capable of. I fought when there was little at stake, against four children . The two men behind us – they’re bounty hunters. They’re my kind. And when they fight, they fight to kil .”
    Laura had to get her head straight. She had to think. That momentary lapse in thinking when she said Logan could fight… that wouldn’t do. They were both in danger, and the least she could do was understand what she was facing.
    “You mentioned weaknesses earlier. Of your race. Maybe we can use that to our advantage. What are you bad at, compared to humans?”
    Logan sighed. “Not much that is helpful in this case. Our vision in the sun is the main thing. Things become hazy in direct sunlight. Glare, when the light reflects off glass, nearly blinds us on any day. And these woods might give us a slight advantage, as wel . The air is dense here, and your scent is harder to pick out. It might make it—” Logan cut off with a strangling sound, and in an instant was at the door.
    “They’re coming,” he hissed back to her.
    “What? Already? You said we have until nightfal !”
    “I was wrong.” He shut the door quickly and rushed to the opposing wal . “You need to hide.” He pul ed back a board to reveal a smal cubby in the wal .
    “Quickly!”
    Laura ran over. “Get in,” he told her, “and don’t make a sound.” Laura nodded. Her pulse was racing, and she felt that kick of adrenaline again. A mixture of fear and dread came over her as she pushed herself into the wal . There wasn’t much space, and splinters and rough pieces of wood pierced her skin and got caught onto her clothing. She wedged herself further in, and Logan replaced the board.
    Light scattered in from cracks along the wal , and Laura pressed an eye to one of them to peer out. She could see the entire space between her and the entrance door. Logan stood with his back to her, facing the door. In a predatory stance. Anxious minutes passed. Only Laura’s ragged breaths broke the silence, and they sounded loud as hammers to her ears.
    Slowly, the door started to move. Logan tensed. The door creaked open al the way, and a tal figure stepped into the entrance. Laura’s breath caught. It was the same man from the dream, the same one she saw at the school.
    “Where’s your friend?” the man asked Logan crudely. He spoke with a harsh accent.
    If it were possible, Logan tensed even more. The man took a step forward. He had the same long coat on from before, the same dark hat. He and Logan were approximately the same height. Leisurely, he started to take off his coat. Logan stil hadn’t moved. The man dropped his coat in a pile at the side, and Laura saw that he was much thicker than Logan. Bigger, more developed. Stronger .
    “Don’t try to hide her. I can smel her stench from here. I know she’s been here.”
    “You wil not have her.” Logan’s voice had a steely edge to it. The man laughed derisively in reply.
    “Oh? Is that so? Or what, you’re going to stop me?” He laughed again. “You are but a youngling, only a child, and you have broken the ancient creed by bringing her into our world. You wil answer for your crime harshly, as wil she.”
    “You wil not have her,” Logan repeated.
    The man waved dismissively, and took a step towards Logan. “You cannot stop me,” he said. “And I don’t intend to take just her. You’l be coming along, as wel .”
    “No,” Logan growled.
    “Oh, yes, I wil take you both.” The man was only a pace away from Logan, now. “You cannot imagine what they wil do to you. You wil be bound in chains, locked away forever to never again see the dark of night, feel the cool rays of the moon. You wil grow weak and feeble, forever barred from taking blood. You wil not be fed, and you wil never feed again.
    “Your body wil be the first to go. Your muscles wil wither away to nothingness, and your bones wil crumble. You wil become a mere shadow of what you once