World Eater

69

CLICK! The tap of a button locked the doors. Alzar squirmed under the seat belt, nails scratching at the door handle.

“Please-” Alzar choked, sweat dripping down his face, “I'm sorry, please-”

The car took another sharp turn. “Stop talking,” the officer spat. Every word contorted his mouth in unnatural ways, motions that made Alzar want to heave.

They passed by a tattered metal gate, the field within almost taken over by weeds. Chunks of concrete and rocks picked up the wheels of the car, nearly hitting Alzar’s head against the window.

They came to a sudden stop. His heart pounded faster as he searched for any other signs of life.

He was alone.

A burly hand snatched him by the arm, flinging him onto the ground. Rough concrete ate into Alzar’s face with shallow but painful cuts. He lifted his head, tears filling his eyes as the two men hovered over him.

Their eyes were lifeless, glossy orbs haphazardly shoved into twisted faces, their movements as if their limbs were hanging off strings. They looked just like his classmates had. Alzar was frozen, blood turned to ice that pinned him to the ground.

“You're a little monster, don't you know that? You killed all those kids in cold blood. You don’t even feel anything, do you?”

Pain surged through his jaw as the officer drove his boot across his face, his vision turning into black spots. It jumped off a barrage of kicks, each brutal blow making his world spin. He covered his stomach and ducked his head, spitting clots of blood.

Thunder rolled above him as cold rain turned the dust to mud, the sound of birds cawing barely registering in his ears. He wheezed, breath wet and heavy with blood.

Another kick to the ribs. Alzar cried out, convulsing in the mud. Surely it had broken his nose.

The sky seemed to redden. Alzar clenched his eyes shut as he waited for another blow, but it never came.

“Oh, my dear Alzar,” Fancy’s silky voice murmured, “What have you gotten yourself into?”