The next morning I slept in. It had taken many nights to get used to sleeping in my new form. The antlers made getting comfortable difficult, but somehow I had found the perfect position against a tree.
The sun woke me up, which was unusual because Edward's routine started before dawn. I hurried to his fishing spot, hoping to catch up with him.
By the water I found his nets already pulled in. Next to the nets was a wooden bucket. Inside the bucket was cloudy red liquid. Edward had mixed blood with water.
I hurried toward the village at a full sprint. It didn't take long to reach, but Edward had a head start. I smelled him at one of the houses.
He was selling a fish to Ellie the weaver. The fish smelled like his blood.
There was no plan, just action. I grabbed Edward with one hand and with the other brought the cleaver down on the fish Ellie was holding. The force of my strike split her front step in two. She screamed and retreated back inside. The fish lay uneaten in the sand.
Edward was struggling as violently as he could against my grip. He bit and scratched, and if he managed to grab hold of a rock he bashed it against my fingers. I barely felt a thing.
Our commotion was drawing attention. Villagers began to appear in the windows and from the docks. They shouted at me and gave chase, but I was too fast for them to catch.
I threw Edward to the ground outside his house. He picked up rocks and threw them at me. His face was alive with all the emotion he'd refused to show up until that point.
"I hate you! You can't kill me! I'm going to kill you! If I die then you'll be all alone!" He kept yelling, but I wasn't taking any of it in.
I saw what would happen to my family. They'd transform and eventually go mad. If they stayed together they'd tear each other apart.
In a single clean motion I cut Edward's head from his shoulders. I caught it before it touched the ground and began taking quick bites out of it. The idea of cooking him was somehow more barbaric than what I was doing. The thought of his body roasting on a spit made me want to be sick. I just kept chewing and tried not to think about it.
Edward was small so it didn't take long. I was licking my knife clean as the first villagers arrived at his house. They were too shocked for words, so I spoke for them.
"Leave this place. If any of you stay here I'll kill you."
They didn't need to be told twice. By the end of the day the village was empty. I set Edward's house on fire and stared at the shadow I cast against the flames.
I made up my mind then and there that I would have to be the last one. Edward thought it was him, but within me and a few others was the possibility of his plan coming to fruition. I discarded any thought of returning home.
As I ran it felt like the woods weren't afraid of me anymore. The animals maintained a healthy distance, but they no longer fled at the sight of me. As I passed I could hear birds crying out and beasts on the ground roaring. It was as if they could tell that my place was finally decided.
My movements before had been quiet, as if I'd been trying not to disturb whatever ground I passed over. Now I was a part of the land. The trees didn't seem to move aside for me. Instead they showed me where they were and how best to move around them.
The sun rose and set a few times, but I took no notice. I was done pretending I ever needed to stop. My body didn't need food or rest. I was driven forward by a newfound purpose.
Annalisa's village heard me coming before they actually saw me. My coming made such a commotion that they assumed Annalisa had stopped protecting them. I reached the parking lot where we had spoken weeks ago and found her waiting for me.
Her wing had healed in the time I'd been gone. She carried a pitchfork and had planted a banner with her family's crest into the ground behind her.
"What happened out there?" she asked. I didn't miss the slight tremor in her voice.
"I ate the last one. If we lose our minds they win, so I'm taking the initiative."
Annalisa pointed the pitchfork at me. "You've already lost your mind."
"If that were true then I wouldn't be speaking."
"If they could speak they would say the same things you're saying."
She took off and circled above me. The moon wasn't out so seeing her was impossible. My only clue was the sound of her wings and her heartbeat.
Annalisa swooped down suddenly. I rolled behind one of the metal shells to give myself some cover. Her pitchfork didn't skewer my head, but she managed to cut a gash into my shoulder.
The sound of her wings rose into the air then turned around in a sudden freefall. She was diving toward me. I ran across the parking lot and hoped the dark would keep her from seeing me.
I could hear her closing in, and at the last moment I dove to the ground. Her pitchfork raked four deep slashes along my back.
For the first time in days I began to have doubts. The last time we fought she thought I was another mindless demon who'd wandered too close to her town. Now she knew not to hold back.
I had to figure out how she kept finding me. It was too dark to see, and I wasn't making too much noise. My thinking was interrupted by the sharp pain in my back. I felt my wounds and wondered if I could bleed to death. The smell of blood was all over me.
I suddenly had an idea. I grabbed a stone off the ground. I smeared blood on it and threw it to the other side of the parking lot.
Annalisa began to dive but pulled back up sharply. I kept perfectly still. She circled overhead in figure eights around me and where the stone must have landed.
She must have caught on to what I was doing. Annalisa circled to the side of the parking lot and struck her pitchfork against the shell I was hiding under. I heard the clang of metal against metal, and a shower of sparks fell onto the dried grass around the pavement. A small fire began to spread, and it gave off just enough light for us to see each other by.
She grinned and took flight. She circled over me as a little orange speck against the sky. When she dived down I jumped to the side, but I still felt a searing pain in my shoulder.
When I looked back, Annalisa's pitchfork was buried in my back. She must have thrown it as she passed me. It suddenly occurred to me that she might be much better than me at killing people who had transformed.
I tried to hobble over to the woods, but I lost my balance halfway over. I'd lost too much blood. Annalisa landed behind me and advanced toward me. The claws on her feet scraped against the pavement with each step.
I wondered if I could let her eat me. She was older than me by decades, and had all the experience with fighting them. I could step aside and let her finish the fight.
When she was nearly on top of me I spun around. I swung the length of antler I'd broken off and caught her in the shoulder. She crumpled to the ground and I stomped on her wing before she could get up. She clawed at my leg, but I had the bigger weapon. I pulled the pitchfork free and ran her through.
She fell backward and did not get up. I was confident that I was the only person who had the conviction to see my plan through. No one else could be trusted not to go mad before everything was ready.
I gripped Annalisa's wing and tore it off like she was a bug. For the rest of the night I sat on one of the cars and ate her. I smelled humans coming near the parking lot, but I ignored them. They all retreated back to the village before they got too close.
With each bite my mind became clearer. It felt good, like a facefull of cold water on a hot day. I was ready to continue on my plan with the certainty that my mind was still intact.
