Mad As A Hatter (Completed 2015) [WATTY AWARD WINNER *Featured Story*]

chapter twenty four - ruof ytnewt retpahc

It felt like someone shoved sand down my throat, it scratching from my burning vocal chords. I was unsure if my deafening scream was audible because of the mono buzz ringing through my ears.

I desired Alice's indifference view on death. She was used to it; she was surrounded by it every day. It was almost like she was immune to it.

Jessie wasn't.

My heart felt as if it was defrosting and the numbness was vanishing. It was pumping now. Faster. Harder. Thud, thud, thud. Too fast. Too hard. The buzzing noise increased and my lungs ached. So much screaming.

It was hard to comprehend what was going on. This was all happening so fast. But my mind was processing it so slow. Thud, thud, thud. I blinked twice, regaining my vision. Thud, thud, thud. My heart rate felt like rapid fire. Thud, thud, thud.

We were falling faster. Fear was balled up in my chest. Thud, thud, thud. Then a bolt of shock struck my head and I snapped out of the human side, Alice regaining control.

Ultimate strength pumped from my heart, travelling through my blood and this energy exploded within. My body shifted in the air and I was running down the glass building now.

The wind picked up and my hair was thrashing side to side. I pumped my legs faster, my arms slicing through the air. Thud, thud, thud. Soon, I quickened, zooming down the windows. Gravity was pressed against my back, the feeling similar when sprinting downhill. Thud, thud, thud.

The human ants increased their size, still casually walking along the city streets below us. The sound of angry shouts and car honks amplified. My lungs thinned, and I propelled the speed of my legs. My feet were silent, toes gingerly bounding off the glass. Energy was swirling down my thighs. Thud, thud, thud. I was gaining closer towards the ground.

It was almost ten feet away. I took two swift steps, and leaped off the glass, landing onto the cement. Pain shot through my thighs for a split second before disappearing. My breath instantly settled to a normal rate. My chest was just pumping a little more rapidly. That was it. I should have been exhausted.

But I wasn't.

People screamed at my presence and I leaped up again, higher than normal humans could, and landed in front of the meteor with a cement shattering impact.

I stared down the bitten man and he made a demon screech I had grown too fond of, and charged towards me. He threw us both into a shop window. Glass flew and I yelped, the sharp fragments digging on my landing. The shoppers darted out of the deli, dropping their bags and crashing past the door.

My attacker scrambled up, and I did the same. I barley dodged his punch, his fist a collection of merely bones as the breeze brushed past my check. His fists ripping like bullets, I backed into the cashier and ducked, knocking him from his feet. Before he crumbled, I drove my heel to the side of his head, the coldness sweeping over him before the ground.

I leaped through the broken glass window and watched the crowd part away from the meteor, Isaac and Grim staring down the demons.

I walked steadily towards them, and then suddenly someone bowled me over from the right. They slammed my stomach onto the cement, pushing asphalt into my mouth.

My head throbbed as it smacked off, a low moan dragging.

"You're under arrest for the murder of..."

My ears twitched at the sound of metal clinking together.

"You're shitting me."

Anger writhed through my body and I screamed, summoning the unknown strength and pushed the police off, pinning the man down so we had switched spots. "Handcuffing me isn't a smart move," I snarled, pressing the officer's face down. Handcuffing his wrists, I let the officer scream into his shoulder, buzzing his friends for backup.