The Intruders

Chapter Eighteen

"I just wish I knew how to kill you."

Me too Veronica, me too.

I move to R's journals, and turn open the first book, the paper rips as soon as I touch it. They're completely destroyed.

I gather them in my hands and head to the bin, lifting up the lid, and saying a goodbye to R's memories.

"I'm sorry." I say as they fall into the bin.

"Oh, they're just a bunch of words." Veronica is at door again. "A bunch of words from a hormonal teenage boy, they're not worth anything anyway."

"They were worth something to him." I reply.

She rolls her eyes. "God, you really get defensive over my brother don't you. You gonna give this act up, at any point?"

"It's not an act Veronica."

"Yeah, okay we get it, star-crossed lovers, blah, blah, blah." She struts over to the table, lifting herself up onto it. "You know, you're the reason you're in this mess, if you didn't let me kill him, you wouldn't have had to come and save him."

"I'm sorry, are you a completely different person who left the room five minutes ago, cause she wanted my head on a plate, and you're having a laugh and a joke with me?" I ask her.

"Oh, shit, yes." She stands up. "I forgot to say, José is waiting for you. Ciao." She struts off again.

I go to my room and get changed. Natalie is waiting at the elevator when I arrive. I take it she is once again observing me get my arse kicked. We head down to lower level 3, and I keep my eyes to the floor as we walk down the corridor with capturers screaming at us from both sides. I beg for Natalie to hurry as we enter the room.

José is jump roping in the corner of the room, and he stops when Natalie takes her jacket off. He spins round, and smiles, heading towards us. Half of me thinks he just jumps rope his entire life, just waiting for company in this dingey room.

"Natalie," José nods at her, and then he turns his eyes to me. "Miss Sterling, are you going to follow my rules today?" He asks. I nod. "Take a seat then."

I sit myself down, watching José and Natalie in the ring.

José talks me through how he wants me to fight, and they demonstrate, throwing punches, kicks, twisting each other in the air like it's some contemporary dance.

I sit with my hand resting underneath my chin. I can do this; I can fight him. So, what I had a blip last time. I've fought with Luka, Mikko, R. R, who snaps life with his fingertips.

"Want a try?" José asks. My eyes focus on him, as his words bounce around my brain. I jump up.

"Hell yes!" I say, and go to head into ring. But José puts a hand flat against my chest, pushing me back. "You just said-"

"Not against me or Natalie." He says and I frown, but that's when I hear a door creak open. There is the slight rumble of distorted voices, and I notice Natalie is now nowhere to be seen.

I slowly turn my head, seeing her at the door to where the capturer experiments are. The monsters that are more Intruder like, with reckless and impulsive behaviour than controlled capturers which they become with time and training.

She leads one out. He squabbles, hissing at the chain round his neck.

"You need to kill an Intruder, let's see you kill a baby one." José says.

"This one has been in isolation all week." Natalie mentions as she walks over to us. "Killed all the other capturers in the room. More Intruder than capturer, was going to be killed anyway, might as well let you kill him."

I gulp.

José climbs out of the ring. "Practice what Natalie and I just did." Too bad I wasn't paying attention.

I climb into the ring, heading to one corner. Come on Mavis, it can't kill you. It's just a capturer... that's being killed because it's too Intruder like. I wonder how many of them are killed weekly. Maybe that's where the Intruder who killed Meredith came from, the experiment they run down here. Maybe that's why one got into the city so quickly, but if they can kill the others, why not this one Intruder? Why can't José or Natalie kill the Intruder? Why me?

Natalie walks the capturer over, and pushes him into the ring. He hisses at her, but she just nods at me. His face turns to me, hissing at me. The cuts across his eyes bleeding as he squints.

Natalie lets him free from his chains, and he runs over to me, nails like claws.

I forget everything José has ever said, and think of what I've learnt back home.

I quickly duck, and slide myself between his legs, he runs into the side of the ring, and I grab his ankle, pulling at it.

He loses his balance, and falls. I climb to my feet, standing on his shoulder, he turns his face as his other hand reaches for me. His nails claw into my ankle, and I hiss as it pierces the skin. I jump off him, and he climbs to his feet.

I kick him across the head, and he falls back down. He pushes himself up, and I jump on his back, hearing a crack. He growls. I spin him around, I throw a few punches, he scratches my neck. I climb back up and stand with one foot on his neck, and with my other foot, I kick him hard in the cheek.

Hs face flips and there is a loud snap in the room, and he stops fighting, growling and breathing.

That was too easy.

Hey, maybe this fight with this Intruder will be easier than I fought.

I turn to José and Natalie.

"Is that it?" I ask walking away.

I can't see Natalie's reaction, but José has a massive grin across his face.

I hear the growling. My hairs on my neck stand on end.

"You see that's the thing with Intruders, they pretend to stay dead and almost impossible to kill." José shouts back.

I close my eyes and turn my head.

It's almost like he's grown several feet larger, and he is more menacing, snapping his neck back into place.

"Hey, I didn't mean to kill you, only fun and games right?" I say in a light voice.

He grabs hold of my arms quick, and I jump up, kicking him in the chest. It knocks him down, but not for long, as he almost rises back up to his feet.

Once you kill an Intruder, they come back stronger. I swear I read that somewhere.

I rack my brain as I face this demon, trying to remember how to kill one. I read it for biology when I was fifteen.

I go to throw a punch, but he grabs my wrist, and another claw on my upper arm, and he twists, hard.

I've never broken a bone, but I assume this is what it would feel like. My entire body screams in pain as my ulna snaps first and then my radius.

I scream, but he doesn't let go. I can almost feel the bone splintering underneath my skin.

I lean forward and bite his hand further up my arm. He groans but lets me go.

As my arm falls and touches the side of my body, my body shrieks. I don't have time to cradle my arm, or even think about whether my bones will heal faster than usual due to my Survivor genetics.

He walks towards me, and I feel myself scuttling backwards, not because I'm scared, I'm not scared... at least I don't think I am. I think of my previous fear tests, none have included an Intruder, he can't kill me. I'm not injured (and okay a little bit scared).

He grips a hand around my throat, lifting me up. I swear I hear Natalie cheer. I grab his wrist with my working hand. He throws me back, and I hit the post of the ring.

My vision swirls as the back of my head stings and I feel wet on my neck. I see him, or three of him, walking towards me, lifting me up by my neck again, leaning me against the post. I feel both his hands on my cheeks, and I know what happens next.

My adrenaline kicks in, and I take a gulp of air as he snaps my neck.