Awake (Book 3)

Twenty-Two

I healed inhumanly faster than normal people, this was true, but a stab wound to the gut would slow anybody down, and Lucille successfully clawed my cheek before I could jump out of the way.

             The shriek that erupted from within her sounded more like some rabid animal than a human being. Then again, she was all but foaming at the mouth, and when I drew my fingers back from my cheeks, they were spotted with blood.

            “Get out!” she shrieked, lunging for me again, but that time I stumbled out of the way, hand pressed to my smarting face.

            “Mom, cool it!” I bit back, a portion of me breaking apart at the sight of her madness. Because it wasn’t completely her fault. She was just more collateral damage in Dr. Edmund’s game; we all were.

            Her response was another blood-curdling howl, and I was forced to use my abilities. She stopped short and hit the floor, and I winced at the hard thump of her kneecaps against the wood. Look at me, taking after my mother, destroying my own family.

            Like mother, like daughter.

            I stepped closer; close enough to touch her bony shoulder. She cut me with a sharp gaze, and the debilitating guilt that ripped through me was enough to have me loosening my hold for just a nanosecond. Enough to let my guard down. Enough for her to ram into my gut and send me flying backward. My head conked back hard against something as my healing wound burned. Stars danced in my vision. Lucille plowed a fist into my jaw. The force behind it was meager but strong enough to cause an agitating ache.

            “Good to see you again, dear,” she hissed, lips cracking and dotting with blood as she smiled. She aimed her elbow for my face, but I rolled out of the way, and she ended up sending it into the wall. Lucille wailed in pain, and I sat there, staring at the blood winding down her elbow, transfixed. Mesmerized. Stuck.

            Her agony was like a bolt of lightning straight through me, electrifying my insides, alerting me to everything.

            “Take a good look, honey,” she spat, turning to face me. “This is what awaits. I mean, if you don’t die, that is, which is what will probably happen.”

            “Shut up, Lucille.”

            “Ah! What tongue! What an ungrateful brat!”

            She teetered to her feet, and I couldn’t look away from her bleeding elbow, and I couldn’t ignore the growling beast inside of me.

            And she nursed you this way. You were trying to change, and all she did was feed the monster.

            It’s her fault.

            She deserves to die for it.

            I shook my head, stumbling backward, attempting to create space. Lucille cackled maniacally, wringing her hands. She didn’t seem to notice the action.

            Kill her.

            “I’m your future, Ellie! Dear! Embrace the insanity now, because it’s coming your way!”

            Shut. Her. Up.

            Lucille dove for me again, and my brain shut down. Everything shut down. Six months of brutal, intensive training surged to the forefront and I grabbed her arm with both my hands at just the right angle. Weak as she was, the bone snapped easily in my grasp.