Page 48 of Marked for Extinction
What?
He was actively fighting the beast, opening its slacked jaws widely, yelling for whoever this Ares was. I was both disturbed and mortified. I placed my blade inside my pocket, grabbed him around his midsection and pulled him back before the beast decided to wake back up.
Vik struggled and lunged toward the beast calling out for Ares and tears flowed down my cheeks. My poor Vik. His mind. His poor mind. He lost it.
Suddenly, the beast growled and snapped its jaws. I jerked Vik back until we both tumbled onto the snow a few feet away.
“Vik, there is no one there! Stop, he will kill you!”
“Ares! I'm here, I will save you my friend!”
ChapterSeventeen
Vik
What was wrong with her?My friend was being mauled right in front of me! And she wanted me to just stand back and watch it happen?
Ares cried out in pain as the creature bit into him with a loud crunch. I roared in fury, trying to get to him but was held back by strong arms.
“Let me go! Inés he’s dying!”
I didn’t see her fist flying until it slammed into my face, stunning me. Falling to my knee, I moved my jaw to make sure it wasn’t broken, pissed.
“I told you to let me go!” I growled.
Her beautiful face was furious and right up against mine in challenge. “Vik, there is no one there,cabrón! You’re hallucinating.”
What was she saying? Why was she spewing these lies to me? Why was she trying to confuse me?
She screamed in frustration through gritted teeth and I tilted my head. “But you know what? If you want to get eaten, then do it! Go right ahead!” Ines yelled, her face red with fury.
“I told you my name is Reaper,” I gritted out as I slowly made my way toward the beast and swung my machete down again. That creature thought I would allow it to live and kill my friend? Aries coughed up blood before he gave me a thumbs up, then slowly closing his eyes and giving in to his wounds.
I roared and swung my blade again and again, spraying blood on my mask and face.
I began to hack at its neck faster and harder. Inés was screaming at me but it took a moment for her voice to come through clearly as my mind waded through a red haze.
“Vik, that's enough! It's finished, you can stop now!”
Mercy was a comfort we could not afford.Those monsters showed us no mercy, so why the fuck would I?
“Vik, please…”
“Stop! Can’t you see I’m mourning another loss? Another life taken in association with me!” I slapped the side of my head in frustration, roaring to the skies.
“Vik!”
“Another life lost. The bloodsuckers couldn’t stop, could they? They created a monster that still took lives, still lost lives.”
I fell to my knees and hung my head in my hands. I screamed at the injustice of it all. Ares didn’t deserve to die, not after he helped us escape that hell hole.”
My ribs ached as I began rocking. The cold seeped into my shins and then the rest of my body.
Let it.
Let it take me from the outside because I was already numb from the inside.
It was her warmth I felt first, then her arms. What was wrong with her? Why did she want to be tainted by me? The darkness I carried affected everyone, killed everyone around me.
