Catharsis

THIRTY FIVE

In shock, I make no sound or movement. My gaze drifts from her back to him. He's watching her, too. An expression of concern and anger crosses his face. The skin of his neck is wrinkled beneath my clinging fingers.

"Stay out of this, Emma and get your ass back to your room!" He holds up a palm in her direction. "This doesn't concern you!"

When he turns to me again his face is twisted up and furious. It's obvious to him now that I helped her escape.

"Aaron, please just be careful," Emma orders. "Don't do anything stupid. Just come with me." She holds out a hand. Does she really expect me to take it? A muscle works in Kaman's jaw and he moves slightly as if he wants to lash out at her. I tighten my claws a little more as a reminder that I'm still here. He'd better not even think of hurting her.

"You need to get out of here, Emma." I push all the tips of claws against the side of his neck, his artery pulsating beneath my fingertips. "You're not going to want to see this. After everything he put me through. And Sammy. . ."

A lively flicker wakes up Kaman's dead eyes. Before I can react, he pushes me aside and throws me to the floor. My spine slams against the concrete and I wince. Somehow I manage to keep my neck stiff, preventing my head from making contact. Kaman staggers in a frenzy with a hand on his neck. But he removes it, examining his fingers to find that there's no blood. As he finds his footing again, the two of us pause. He seems to be deep in thought, anger bubbling up beneath his surface.

My gaze is darting between Emma, him, and the knife resting on the floor. Kaman seems to be completely focused on me.

"I'm done keeping you alive!" He glares at me with pure hatred for my guts. "It's too much of a risk." He tries to kick me, but I roll out of the way and scramble upright. The two of us size each other up, both an equal distance from the weapon on the floor.

"Aaron!" Emma shouts. She is standing firmly in the doorway. She shifts her weight, lips parted and wordless. There's confusion on her face like she is being ripped in two different directions.

"Go!" I say breathlessly. "Leave me behind, this is your only chance."

"I'm not leaving!" She says and takes a step into the room.

"No!" I bark at her and she freezes.

Kaman is on his feet now, facing Emma. He stands between us with an arm stretched out behind him as if to keep me away from her.

"What do you think you're doing Emma? Do you really think you're going to be able to save him? He'll kill you just like he killed the girl he supposedly loved!"

She glares at her dad but speaks to me. "You can't do it, Aaron. You can't hurt him or you'll prove his sorry ass right!" Her eyes briefly dart to the knife on the floor. If I had blinked I would have missed it. "Don't do it," she says. "Don't do it!"

"Exactly. Exactly! This girl is smarter than you are." Kaman glances over his shoulder at me. "But not smart enough to avoid punishment." He raises a hand over her head and he begins to strike it downward.

I rush for the knife and flick it across the cement floor as if I was skipping a stone across the surface of a lake. It slides right beside Kaman's feet. Before his blow can land on her, Emma crouches down, picks up the weapon, and shoves it into his abdomen. The momentum of his punch sends the blade deeper into him. It almost seems to happen in slow motion.

He stumbles backward and flops onto the floor with a thud. I stand over him. Every struggling breath heaves his chest up and down.

"I knew you were a murderer!" He gasps, "You can't resist killing an innocent person. It's in your blood." Raging eyes roll back into his head. "Don't -" The word barely escapes his lips. What does come out is nothing but gurgling and muttering as his muscles give way. Blood streams across the floor beneath him. His chest ceases its heaving and his fingers twitch. Sickly blue-gray color washes over him.