What Lies Between ✔

Kairos Vs Stone

39.

Kairos

The world around me seemed to darken, consumed by screams. Justice screaming, Ben screaming, Lidia, and then I realized me as well. But Mostly Zuri's.

Her cry was inhuman, drenched in pain. Stone released her throat, her body collapsing into a distorted pile at his feet. Her hands came up weakly to her face, covering the yawning red gash that ran diagonally from the left side of her jaw over her nose and straight through her right eye. A waterfall of blood spilt between her fingers. Her cries were fearful and shrill at first, but quickly became panting and feeble.

Stone shook the dagger to get some of her blood off, almost as an afterthought.

Justice's run turned into a dead sprint, a warrior's cry ripping from his chest and out of his mouth as he dove, tackling Stone at his waist to the ground. The two of them struggled, Justice throwing mighty punches, but I knew Stone would recover from the shock quickly, and then he'd get the best of him.

I had enough.

A scream tore its way out of my throat as my anger catapulted. I grabbed the arm Thorne was restraining me with and used his own weight to flip him over my shoulder. He landed with a harsh thump, a surprised gasp escaping his lips. His back was already injured from Ben's assault, so the new attack had his features contorting in a fresh spasm of pain.

But I didn't process it, didn't see anything except Stone ahead of me, rolling his weight to pin Justice to the ground. The dagger was inches away from them, still wet with Zuri's blood. Stone reached for it, looking to kill Justice.

And just like that, something within me snapped.

I sped towards him, feeling a new kind of power pump through me, one that demanded blood and gore. My anger piqued, relishing in the animalistic urge to kill. Stone caught sight of me, a slow grin stretching across his face. With a rough elbow to the head, Stone rendered Justice limp and half unconscious, forgetting about him completely. He picked up the dagger and eagerly made his way towards me.

Something inside me roared, insisting over and over again that he couldn't beat me, that nothing in all the worlds could beat me.

The moment we collided, gripping each others forearms, our energies battered together, like broken edges of glass. I could feel what he felt for me, and most of it hardly made sense. Betrayal, anger, disgust, and most of all, a gut wrenching heartbreak that nearly toppled me over.

The barrage of his feelings was not the only attack that I needed to fend against. Stone was able to easily shove me back, and then slashed at me with the dagger, cutting into my already freshly sliced skin. My blood whipped in the air around me as he swung the blade left and right, up and down across my body, but I hardly felt it. It only increased my rage, heightening my senses. I jumped back from his swings, locked my sight on his next movement, and without any reservation, shot my arm out to grab hold of the blade. It sunk deep into my palm, but my strength stilled the momentum, and Stone's eyes widened in awe. He tried to pull free from my grasp, but I held tightly, staring straight into his eyes.

"You will not harm anyone else," I hissed, and I barely recognized my voice as my own.

I saw myself reflected in his eyes. I was a terror to behold, my lips curled back into a feral snarl, my eyes alight with something that looked frighteningly close to maddness, and every inch of my skin was covered in clotting and dripping blood. I couldn't help but find myself delighted by the way that I looked.

I looked powerful and dangerous; a creature worth being noted.

I grinned. Nothing could beat me, nothing could ever make me feel inferior when I was like this.