❝how do you kill a monster without becoming one?❞
In the last city ruled by man, fish soar in the skies above and monsters lurk in the alleys below. Ten years ago, Jase lost both his legs and his mother to one such monster. However, tragedy couldn't...
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Jase woke up in his bed.
The sheets were crumpled and his stomach still felt like he had gotten kicked by... well a Smile. Sitting up, Jase groaned and looked around his room. His legs were still attached and completely dead - which made maneuvering his body into his wheelchair that much more of a struggle. He'd taken worse, though. Pushed his body past limits that were not meant to be passed. There had been days when Jase couldn't even sit up.
But what was more pressing right now was the fact that Jase was alive at all. Alive and certain that Huraira was Cinderella.
But that should have been impossible. Huraira had been Jase's closest friend for years now. She had listened to him rant and rave and break down more than a few times. She had listened to him plot his revenge and she trained beside him. How could it be possible that their past five years' worth of friendship was nothing but a lie?
However, there were some things that Jase couldn't deny. Huraira was fast. Faster than any human should have been. Not to mention the fact she fought with a sword, which was practically the same as Cinderella's staff.
Huraira was Cinderella.
But... what should Jase do with this information? He couldn't just report her. He had no solid proof. Nothing besides a late-night visit and a feeling in his gut. And even if he had proof they were friends...
Cinderella wasn't even that bad of a Smile. She hadn't killed anyone. Or it hadn't been proven that she'd killed anyone.
But the first thing Jase needed to do was to talk this over with someone. And that someone was usually Huraira but he couldn't do that for obvious reasons. He needed a neutral third party who could tell him if he was being stupid or not. Jase pulled on a shirt and started scrolling through the contacts on his Chip.
They had only exchanged numbers in case of an emergency, but Jase felt like this qualified. This was the only other person that Jase decided he could trust with this matter.
Kova Malik.
Jase pressed the call button before he could regret it. The Chip rang three times before someone answered. Only it wasn't Kova. Instead, it was a woman, her hair pulled back as she smiled at Jase. "It's really early for a call, Williams."
"Sorry," Jase choked out. "I'm looking for Kova." As soon as he said this, Jase realized that Kova must've given him the wrong number either on purpose or not.
"Well this is his Chip," the woman said. "I'm Parthēna, Koko's older sister." Jase stared blankly at the nickname. It was unexpectedly cute and it didn't seem like anything Kova would tolerate anyone calling him. "He's in the middle of something right now. Want me to pass along a message?"
"No!" Jase said a little too quickly. There was something about this woman or the circumstances that they were speaking which made Jase anxious. "I mean... just tell him to call me later." He sighed. "It can wait."
