Cursed

Chapter 23: What Needs To Be Done

Darkness reached me the moment I succumbed to sleep. The usual awareness of someone watching me made the little hairs on my neck rise. This time felt different, their presence didn't drift off after a few seconds, on contrary, it was as if they didn't simply watch from a distance, but tried to reach for me. A heavy warmth drifted around me, like smoke or fog would. Yet everything around me stayed pitch black. Where were the images, the memories, the dreams?

"I thought you were a failure," an echoing voice filled the void. It sounded so unnatural, yet too soft to truly fear it. "They were wrong about you." It came from the other side now. "Do you know what you are?" They sounded pleased.

It stayed quiet. I waited. The presence drifted around me in the dark, observing me. My skin heated up under their gaze. Not in the good kind. My heart thudded so hard in my chest that it was audible in my ears. Something I didn't like at all, giving information like that could be deadly. It could be used. If they were in my head, they could probably sense my emotions.

Unease made me want to struggle against the dreamscape. My eyelids pressed together and I kicked around in the dark void. With my arms I pushed against nothing, which made me probably look like a difficult toddler. But I needed to wake up.

An electric current shot from my spine towards every nerve ending in my body. My body spasmed. My muscles tensed into rock-hard cords. Fear followed.

No! I don't want to kill again.

As if in response, I felt the warm smoke wrap around my body and hold me back from returning to the waking world. It wasn't pleasant, being torn apart in two different directions.

A hand with long, slender fingers reached for me from inside the smoke. I should've reached for it, it could've kept me away from that nightmarish hunger in the waking world. Yet, my instinct kept kicking and struggling against the confines of this dream. Right before the hand could touch me, the darkness evaporated.

Hunger hit me hard.

My eyes weren't even open or I was already standing. My head turned to the left, and my gaze went to its now familiar focussed tunnel vision.

Two. There were two.

Within the time I had felt their presence, I was already halfway there. In seven seconds, I had knocked the first one unconscious and pinned the second one under my body.

He was better trained. Much better trained. Even with his legs unmoving, his hands were hitting me hard enough to make me fall into a defensive mode. His left hand grabbed my upper arm and squeezed a little too hard.

I hissed. My arm throbbed, making my right hand feel slow and hot. It gave him time to punch me right in the jaw. I fell back, in a bit of a daze. With my left hand, the one that wasn't throbbing like the injury had just occurred, I rubbed along my jaw. An annoyed growl bubbled up in my throat.

Enough! I was done with this animal.

With aggressive hands, I reached for his hair and smashed his head on the ground. I repeated the movement until he finally stayed still.

The unease of an electrical current buzzing through me stayed, making my skin crawl. Not enough. I groaned. The hunger was getting impatient.

My eyes switched from left to right, eventually ending on a small girl with auburn hair. She didn't look pleased. Nor truly angry. Maybe disappointed?

Who cares! My mind screamed. The nice pointy dagger on her hip is much more interesting. It would be perfect to kill these monsters.

Kate's small hand covered the dagger, making me growl in annoyance.