The Beast I Am

Chapter 6

By the time I could find anything that wasn't peak summer wear, Rhazien was already waiting by my door.

Ugly scars decorated the original flooring, gashes sanded down into a smooth dust. It felt uneasy as the room healed, traumatized from what it saw.

Buried in the back of the drawers was a pair of drawstring joggers that I still had to double knot around the fullest of my waist. The cold lingered in this room, Luther watching me with his large, unblinking eyes as I pet between his flicking ears. A purr caught in his throat before he leaned into the touch; my hands still sore and throbbing from the rapid healing, an ache reminiscent of growing pains.

"This will be quick."

The words dropped like a stone into my gut, the Beast rattling the cage around my heart.

The choice on my own life had been easy enough for me to make multiple times over... I had never had to think of my life ending any other way. But now, the thought of kicking the bucket by someone's else's hand was absolutely terrifying and everything screaming inside of me was telling me I wasn't ready.

The fog in my mind whirled in his presence, his blood so strong in my veins. I turned on the feline, following after Rhazien. He had managed to change into another sharp suit, and I found I preferred the flowing canvas he had been wearing earlier. This outfit another layer to the meticulously created mask. "Where are we going?"

He held open the car door for me. The hollows under his eyes had returned, threatening to reveal their bruise to anyone who looked long enough. The words tight as he spoke them, "A friend."

I shifted in the seat, Rhazien quick to join me, Ezekiel turning into the street before I could entirely turn to my captor. I stared at him, giving him a look that seemed to make him shift in his seat at its intensity, a sigh rolling through him.

"A very important friend. One that doesn't appreciate unwanted questions."

My eyes twitched, my frown evident from how his gaze flicked down to it, my teeth squeaking with effort. "Understood."

Rhazien met my stare with his own, glassy... worn. I could see every tendril of anger and willfulness plucked from his soul, wrapping and curling around the hinge in his jaw. "Consider tonight an extended lesson..."

Rhazien finally broke from me, long enough to realize I had stopped breathing, "On what...?"

"The importance of speaking only when spoken to."

My fingers cracked against the flesh of my thighs. I rested my forehead against the cool glass, squinting my eyes to watch the streets pass in a blur of neon and LED's. I had become lost in my thoughts, nearly tumbling out of the vehicle when Rhazien opened the door.

He hummed, displeased, jerking his chin to my hoodie, "Pull it on, we're here."

The briny wash was pungent as the East River lapped against the concrete. The water level was high, shrinking the impressive loom of the bridge. I slipped out of the car, tugging on my hood, following Rhazien's heels along the uneven terrain. A rusty door latched before he was ushering me into darkness. His feet cannons on the metal staircase as he traveled down.

I hesitated as his shoes echoed before stopping. The back of my neck was sweating as he realized the exact moment I had.

This door wasn't locked.

He was too far down to reach me in time.

My fingers twitched against the railing, the moment I had been waiting for revealing a shining beacon of disturbing reality... Where would I go? Where would I stay...?