Star Bright

Twenty Seven: Cadaver

  There was a brief moment of silence.

  "And what makes you so sure about that?" His voice gave hints of uncertainty.

  "Because he's not just any ordinary star, he's a DeathStar. Someone who feeds off deaths."

  "What?" His footsteps stopped.

   Dani stopped too, took a deep breath, and continued. "There are good Stars and bad Stars. I don't know how long this has been like this but what I do know is that the Star you're taking me to is a bad one. He feeds off Death, which means he didn't kill those policemen on duty just because he was trying to rescue you, he needed to feed."

  "And how the hell do you know so much about these freaks?" Kolo walked around her, stopping in front.

  Dani now had a clear way to her target. She didn't know how fast her wounded body would allow her to move but she prayed it would be enough. If she failed, Kolo would be more vigilant afterward and any more attempts would be anticipated. She decided to wait.

  "I know so much about them because I live with one. He's a good one, a LoveStar. He's—"

  "—the one that nearly choked me. The crazy one from before, isn't he?" Bitterness flashed in Kolo's eyes, his lips thinned in anger. "I'll be going for him next. After you're dead, I'll go kill him. I know metal or iron is their weakness, an officer shot that man that rescued me right before he snapped his neck. He screamed like hell. I'm going to stab him repeatedly in the face, give him the real love he deserves."

  Anger boiled in Dani's chest. Ian hadn't meant to hurt anyone; he couldn't break promises and he'd promised Jean he would look after her at the party. But then again, remembering that empty look in Ian's eyes as he was killing a man was chilling. The anger subsided and Dani shuddered.

  "Let's keep walking." Kolo started to move to her back again. Just when he was shoulder to shoulder with Dani, she reached for the stick, grabbed Kolo's shoulder, positioning him to face her, and cocked her arm. The stick came down with force and energy, thanks to the amount of adrenaline flowing in Dani's veins. 

  But Kolo was faster.

  He pushed himself out of the way, but not at the right pace. The stick jammed itself into his shoulder, snapping in two in the process. One end sticking out of his shoulder, the other in Dani's hand.

  He yelped in shock, pain, and surprise. Blood ran down his chest, spreading like a map over his shirt. He wrapped his fingers around the broken end of the stick, grimacing in pain, and jerked it out. He let out a small yell when it did. In his daze, pain, and growing anger, he realized Dani wasn't with him anymore.

 
•••

  Dani, who had begun running as soon as the stick made contact with Kolo, was tearing her way towards the Moon Lake. She knew there was no way she could outrun Kolo back to town, so the best solution was to hide. And what other place to do so than somewhere she practically grew up in.

  The lake held so many of her memories and hopefully, it wouldn't be the place where her last breaths would be taken. But Anon didn't want Kolo to kill her; he wanted to do that himself. Still, that wouldn't stop Kolo from messing her up when he got hold of her again.

  Pushing her body forward began to prove difficult the more she ran. Pain throbbed in diverse parts of her body. She was beyond sure that she had an internal injury. Her back stung, her arms and legs throbbed, her insides burned. To make matters worse, her vision began to blur. If she fainted now, when next she resurfaced, she would wish she'd died instead.