Boondocks

Chapter 4: Snapped

WILLOW

"Is she as good in bed as I keep imagining?"

The minute the words left his mouth, something shifted in Croc's expression. His eyes flashed, teeth bared, and I sucked in a breath, recognizing the change. He wasn't my Croc anymore. A dragon-like growl rumbled from deep inside his chest. He was whoever had been chained to that tree.

"Cro—"

He gripped Reggie by his clothes, hoisted him up, then slammed him down hard.

"Croc!"

If he heard me, he didn't care. He pounded Reggie's skull.

"Croc!"

The men carrying vegetables down the path dropped their cargo and rushed to help. Reggie swung his massive fist, connecting with Croc's cheek. But Croc barely flinched. He just kept hitting him, and no matter how many times Reggie hit him back, he didn't slow.

Reggie kicked and bucked, fighting to get free, but Croc wrestled him like an alligator. Only, this was so much worse than in the swamp. This wasn't a game. This was savage. "Goddamn, do you not feel pain?" Reggie roared.

"I am pain."

Croc headbutted him hard. A sickening crack rang up. Reggie went slack. Three men rushed forward and gripped Croc from behind, fighting to pull him away. He turned his rage on them. Another roar. He yanked the legs out from under one, yanked the shirt of another. He moved like he was possessed, inhuman, feral. Like everything he'd learned had melted away, and this was who he truly was. More men approached, massive men who'd been changed, but Croc wasn't like them. He hadn't been morphed from man to beast. He was a beast disguised as a man.

The remaining men fell into formation, like a wall of soldiers moving into battle. He was outnumbered.

Croc released the call.

"Oh, fuck," I said.

The men slowed, looking between themselves and Croc cautiously. Then a horde of gators raced forward, and their wall crumbled to ruin, as they all scrambled to escape.

No, no, no, no, no! This was not good!

I needed to stop this. If the gators killed even one of those men, then all our hope was lost. We needed each other. We were already too few. I opened my mouth, and the sound that emerged was unlike any I'd ever made before. It was so powerful it burned my lungs. So loud it hurt my ears and echoed long after it ended. It filled me like the green, coursing through my veins. Only, instead of rotting me from the inside out, this filled me with life. With power.

Then the sound faded away, and absolute silence took its place. I looked around, stunned to find the gators had stopped, and Croc was staring at me.

"Go, Little Bit," Merle breathed. It was only then I noticed him behind me. He must have exited the men's room. He too was frozen, looking at me as if I'd suddenly donned a cape and saved the world.

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" Tex broke through the crowd. "What the fuck is going on?"

The men all kept a distance, held back by a barrier of growling gators standing guard between us.

Merle motioned toward Reggie with his chin. "Is he dead?"

"Not yet," Croc rumbled.

I focused on Croc, willing him back to earth. "We don't kill people just because they—"

"He challenged me," Croc seethed.

I heaved a shaking breath. Despite knowing he would never hurt me, I hesitated on whether or not to approach. Not when he was like this. Basic intelligence, instinct, and every natural urge dictated I stay as far away as possible. Regardless, I took a small step forward.