by Jenna Moreci
“Doesithurt?”
“No,”sherepliedunconsciously.Shepausedandreconsideredheranswer.
“Yes.Alittle.”Shepausedagain.“Alot.”
“ThatChinDimpleguy…he’sadeadman.”
“Yeah,well,Ithinkhealreadygotwhatwascomingtohim.Let’sjustsayhe won’tbewalkingthesameforalongtime.”
Jasonsaidnothingandsimplystaredbackatherbatteredface.
“It’llbegonebeforeIwakeuptomorrowmorning.”
“That’snotthepoint,Eve.Someonehurtyou.That’sallIcareabout.”
Hegentlypressedthehandtowelbackagainsthercheekbone,hiseyesnow
overflowing with an odd blend of anger and affection. She looked away
uncomfortablyandtriedtochangethesubject.
“Wanttostartmelting?”
“No.”
“Oh?”Shehesitated.“So,whatdidyouhaveinmind?”
“Interlopers,” he said, taking a seat on his bed. “I want to talk about the Interlopers.”
Evesighed.“Jason—”
“Iknow,you’renotintoit,Igetit.Butthey’re evil,Eve.”
“DoyouthinkIdisagree?”shesaid.“Look,whatthey’redoing—it’sbeyond
words. It sickens me. But we’re two people, and there are God knows how manyofthem.Whatcouldwepossiblydoaboutit?”
“I don’t know.” Jason cast his eyes down to the floor. “But we have to do something.Andifweworktogether—”
“What?We’llfigureitoutalongtheway?”Evescoffed.“Thisislifeor
death,Jason.Wecan’texactlywingit.”
“Youdon’thavetobeonboard,Eve.I’mdoingthiswithorwithoutyou.”
“You’reinsane.”
“Ihavetodothis.”
“Why?Whydoesthishavetobe yourresponsibility?Why youofallpeople?”
“Becausetheycutme open! ”hebarkedwithsuddenferocity.“Theystrapped medownandcarvedmeuplikeagoddamn animal! ”Hischestheavedashe
spoke. “I want them to pay for what they did to me. For what they did to Woodgate.Allofthem.I needtomakethempay.”
The room became quiet and still. Eve felt stupid for pressing him; she had knowntheanswerallalong.ThetopofhisscarprotrudedfromtheV-neckof
hist-shirt—itwasstaringherrightintheface—andyetshehadn’tseenitfor
somereason.Hesitantly,shejoinedJasonontheedgeofhisbed.
“Youknow,Ican’tunderstand…”Shestoppedshortandbitherlip,
struggling to find the right words to say. “I mean, I want to. I want to understand.”
“Isthatyourwayofaskingmetotellyouwhathappened?”
Forthefirsttimesincethestartoftheirsessions,itwasJasonwhoavoided
Eve’s gaze; he kept his eyes pointed at the window, pretending to watch the yellowingsky,butreallylostinthought—inmemories.
“Iwentforawalkthatnight,”hebegan.“Itwasstupid.Iknewabouttheattacks.
Iknewitwasdangeroustobeoutalone.ButIfiguredIwassafe”—he
chuckled,amusedbyhisownnaivety—“becauseIthoughtIwashuman.”
Eve listened quietly, studying him as he spoke. His eyes were cold, almost empty,butshecouldhearsomethingrawandvisceralinhisvoice:arepressed
pain.
“Ithappenedsuddenly.Somethingpoundedintomyback,knockingthewind outofme.Ifelltotheground,andItriedtogetup,butsomeone—some thing
—waspushingmedown,shovingmyfaceintothedirt.AtfirstIthoughtIwas
getting mugged. Then they tossed a bag over my head, and I assumed it was some stupid fraternity prank.” He grimaced. “I felt something wet dripping ontomyback—somethingslimy.Icouldonlyimaginewhatitwas,butevery
disgustingpossibilitycrossedmymind.Everythingwentblackafterthat.Itook
ahugeblowtothehead,andIwasoutcold.
“WhenIwokeup,Iwasalreadystrappeddowntothetable.Theyhadmetal
cuffsonmywristsandankles.Therewassomethingattachedtomyforehead—
Icouldn’tseewhatitwas,butitwasringing.Maybethatwasjustinmymind,I
don’tknow.Myheadwasthrobbing.”
Jason’shandsgrippedtheedgeofhismattresstightly,andtheveinsinhis
forearmsbulged.
“HaveyoueverseenanInterloperupclose?”heasked,finallyturningto
Eve.
Herbreathingbecameshallow.“Justonce,”shesaid.
“Hiseyesweresoblack,likepolishedstones.Helookedfrail;Ican’tbelieve
somethingsodamnskinnycouldbesostrong.Buttheworstpartwashisteeth
—hundreds of long, silver needles. They were the sickest things I had ever seeninmyentirelife…untilIsawtheinsideofmyownbody.
“He called me chimera. He said my death would be their salvation—that I didn’tdeservemypower.Ididn’tevenknowwhathewastalkingabout.AllI
knewwasthathe hatedme.Itwaswrittenalloverhisuglyface.”
Jasonfinallyreleasedhisgriponthesheetsandraisedhishands,measuring
out a length of about two feet. “His blade was this long,” he explained. “He showed it to me and laughed. He wanted me to be terrified. He was enjoying everysecondofit.Andthen,”hisvoicetrailedoffandheloweredhishands,
“hejuststartedcutting.”
“Jason—”
“I’veneverfeltanythinglikeit.Itwasindescribable—apainyoucould
never, ever imagine. I could feel my skin, my muscle… separating from my bones.Icouldfeel…everything.”
“Jason,”Everepeated,“youdon’thavetokeepgoingifyoudon’twantto.”
Jasonshrugged.“There’snothinglefttotell,anyway.Idon’tremember
much else—I was in and out of consciousness, I guess. But there’s one thing I’ll never forget.” His eyes became fiery, and his lips curled furiously. “That freak—hekeptlickingmybloodoffofhistalons,likeitwaschocolatesyrup orsomeshit.Oneofhistalons,onhislefthand,wasbroken—cutinhalf,likea
jaggedstump.He’dsoakitinmybloodandthensuckonitlikeitwas candy.
I’llrememberthatforever.”
Evewasquiet,captivatedbythestrangefeelingofnothingandeverythingat
thesametime.Thehairsonherarmsstoodupstraight;everysensewithinher
waspiquedandignited,andyetherbodywascoldandparalyzed.Ittookhera
momenttofinallyrealizeshewasholdingherbreath,andevenlongerto
noticethatshewasalsoholdingJason’shand.Itfeltinstinctive,almostnatural,
andyetsoveryunlikeher.Withasurgeofconviction,sheleanedclosertohim andnoddedattheincisionlinepeepingfromhisshirtcollar.
“Thatscardoesn’tdefineyou,Jason.Iknowitfeelslikeitdoes—likethey
tooksomethingfromyou—buttheydidn’t.”
“Yousureaboutthat?”hescoffed.“Becauseeverynight,Iseehiseyesand
fangsandthatdamnblade.Ihearhimlaughingandthatgod-awfulringingin
myears,andsometimesIthinkIcanevensmelltheblood.Doyouknowwhat
that’slike?Tohavenightmareseverysinglenight?”
“Yes.”Thewordleftherlipsbeforeshecouldstopit.“Ido.”
Jasonstudiedherface,searchingforanswers.“Youdo?”Hiseyeswidened.
“Becauseofyourparents?”
“Look,we’retalkingabout yourightnow,notme—”
“Dowehavetodothis?”heasked.“Thebackandforth.I’mgoingtokeep
asking,andaftersomekickingandscreaming,you’lltellme.”
“Youseemawfullyconfident,”shegrumbled.
“AmIwrong?”
Eveletoutadeep,aggravatedbreathandpulledherhandawayfromhis.For
thefirsttimeinsomanyyears,shefeltweak,breakable,anddefenseless,asif
everywallandeveryguardshehadbuiltupwasnowcrumblingaroundher.
Shehadnevertoldanyoneaboutherparents,aboutthebeginningoftheendof
hernormal,happylife.Backhome,everyoneassumedtheyknewthestory,but
onlyEveknewthetruth;shecarrieditwithheralways,likeanarduousburden thatweighedherdown.Inthismoment,theburdenfeltheavierthaniteverhad
before.
“Theydiedtoday,elevenyearsago.”Shefinallyspoke.“Today’sthe
anniversary.”
“Eve,Ihadnoidea—”
“Don’t—”shecutin,forcingasmile.“It’sokay.Itreallyis.”
Hersmilequicklyfadedassherecalledtheeveningthathadchangedherlife
forever.
“Thedrunkdrivercameoutofnowhere.BeforeIknewit,thewholething
wasover.Itwasso loud, thecrash.He destroyed them.”
Hereyesweredistantasifwatchingtheaccidentplayoutbeforeher.
“Ijuststoodthere.Thebastardgotoutofhistruck—assholehadthenerveto
threaten me.Thewholescene,itwassofoul,soawful.
“Somethinghappenedinsideofme.Ifeltthishorriblepoundinginmyhead,
andthensuddenly—everythingstopped.Icouldn’tseeorhearorfeel anything.
Thatsplitsecondfeltlikehoursofjust…nothing.
“WhenIcouldfinallyseeagain—whenallofmysensescamefloodingback
—Ifelt,Idon’tknow—different.Ifeltstrong.Toostrong.Icouldn’thandleit.
ThefirstthingIsawwasthatbeastofatruck.Ilookedatit,justforamoment, and,” she paused, her voice wavering, “it flew into the sky, like the ugliest
damn bird you’ve ever seen. And then it fell to the ground, flat on top of the drunkdriver.”
Sheraisedherchinasiftobraceherself.Jasonremainedsilent.
“CSI had to hose his body off the pavement. It killed him instantly— I killed himinstantly.”
“My God—”Jasonmurmured.
Evegrimaced.“Thepolicetriedtosaythatthetruck—myemergence—was
intentional.Iwaschargedwithsecond-degreemurder.Theyweregoingtotry
measanadultduetothe‘ gravity’ofthesituation.”Shepausedandshookher head.“Myfacewasalloverthelocalnews.EveryonethoughtIwasakiller.”
“Whathappened?”
“Theystuckmeinjuvieduringthecourtproceedings.”
“Juvie?Forhowlong?”
“Sixweeks.”Sheclosedhereyesandcringedasanicychillranthroughher.
“Look,thingshappened.I—”
“Don’twanttotalkaboutit?”
SheignoredJason’sinterruptionandquicklymovedon.“Iwaseventually
acquitted. The whole case was dismissed. People were calling it the greatest failureofthejudicialsysteminyears.”Sheturnedtolookathimbriefly.“You
know,SanFranciscoisabigcity,butonceeveryonetherewantsyoudead,it
reallystartstofeelsosmall.So suffocating.
“Iwassenttolivewithmyaunt.God,thatwastheworstpart—seeingyour
ownfamilylookatyoulikeyou’resomekindofmonster.Shecouldn’tstand
thesightofme.Wedidn’tspeak.”
Evecasthereyesdowntoherhandsandangrilypickedathernails.
“Iwastormentedeveryday.Theybeatme,theybrokemybones.WhenI
startedfightingback,theykepttheirdistance,butthehateneverwentaway.”
Shescowleddisgustedly.“Myaunt—she’d seemecomehomecoveredinmy
ownblood.Andshedidn’tsaya thing.She’dlookatmewiththemostpathetic, lifelesseyes,like shewasthevictim…andthenshe’djustwalkaway.
“IgotoutoftherewhenIturnedsixteen—madesomemoney,gotan
apartment,andfiledforemancipation.”Shefinallyrestedherhandsonherlap
andstaredblanklyatthewallinfrontofher.“I’vebeenonmyowneversince.
NotlikeIwasn’twhenIlivedwithher.I’vebeenonmyownsinceIsentthat
truckflying.
“Andthenightmares—they’reconsistent.Everysinglenight,it’sthesame
thing.Iusedtowakeupscreaming.Now…nowI’mjustsousedtoit.It’slike
somesortoftwistedlullaby.”
Finally,herstorywasoutintheopen.Itseemedtohanginfrontofherlikea
thirdbodyintheroom,andforthefirsttimeinyears,shewasoverwhelmedby
afeelingshethoughtshehadlearnedtoabandon:fearofjudgment.Shecould
feelJasonwatchingher,buthedidn’tspeak,andhissilencesoundedlikethe
loudest,mostagonizingscreamshehadeverheard.
“Ididn’tkillthatman,”shedeclared.“Well,I didkillhim,butIdidn’tdoiton purpose,liketheysaidIdid.I’mnota murderer.”
“Iknowthat.”
Shepickedathernailsyetagain.“Iknowwhatyou’rethinking—itexplains
alot,right?HowI’velived.ItexplainswhyIamthewayIam.”
“Iwasn’tthinkingthat.”
“Thenwhatwereyouthinking?”
“Thatyou’reamazing.”
Evefroze.“What?”
“Thatyou’rethestrongestpersonIknow,”hecontinued.“Thatdespiteall
thebullshityou’vebeenputthrough,you’restillgood.You’renotfilledwith
hate.”
“Youdon’thavetosaythat,Jason.”
“I don’t have to say anything I don’t want to.” His voice was stern, almost reprimanding.“ImeanwhatIsay.”
TherewasnowayforEvetorespond.Aweighthadbeenliftedfromher
shoulders,andthoughshecouldn’tlookathim,shefeltherselfbegintorelax
theslightestbit.
“So,areyougladtobeoutofSanFrancisco?Youcan’tmissitmuch.”
Evehesitated.“There’sonething,”shebegan.“It’skindofstupid.
Sometimes at night I’d head south, toward the mid-peninsula. There was this park that had a beautiful view of the bay. I’d lie down on one of the picnic tables,stareupattheskyandjust think.”Shetookinadeepbreath.“It’scheesy asallhell,Iknowthat.Buttheskywasalwayspitchblack,andthestarswereso perfectly clear. It was the only time I felt peaceful—like all of my problems
wereinsignificant.”
“Youcandothathere,youknow.We’vegotpicnictables.”
“Itriedonce.”Shesmiledruefully.“ThatwasthenightIfoundMarshall
Woodgate’sbody.”
“JesusChrist…”
“Icameheretogetawayfromallofthat:thechaos,theblood.Mypast,more
thananything.”HermindwanderedtoherfirstdayatBillington,andto
howdrasticallythingshadchangedsincethen.“Ihadagoalinmind.A
purpose.Itsortofconsumedme.”
“Andthatwas?”
Evewasquiet,refusingtolookJasonintheeye.
“You’renotgoingtotellme.”
“Itdoesn’tmatter.Itdidn’tworkout.Ifailed.”
Heshrugged.“Maybeyoudidn’t.”
“Trustme,�
��shechuckled,“Ireally, reallydid.”
“Maybeitwasn’tmeanttobe.Maybeitwasneveryourtruepurposeinthe
firstplace.”Heleanedforward,inchinghiswayclosertoherside.“Sometimes
you want something so badly, you get caught up; you lose yourself in that hunger.Butthen,onceit’sgone,youhaveachancetoreassess—todecidewhat
itisyou’retrulyafter.Halfofthetime,it’snotwhatyouoriginallythoughtit wouldbe.”
Jason’swordsrepeatedinEve’smind;theyhadawakenedsomethinginside
ofher,apowerfulsurgeofenergythatnowachedtobereleased.Inaninstant, everysinglefunctionwithinEve’sbodystopped—herbreathwasstifledinside
herchest,herhandswerefrozenathersides,andhereyesweredilated.Itwas
there, right in front of her—an answer to a puzzle she didn’t know she was tryingtosolve—andsuddenlyeverythinghadbecomesosimple,soclear.She
turnedtoJason.
“Ichangedmymind.”
Jasonwrinkledhisbrow.“Whatdoyoumean?”
“Iwanttodoit.”
“Dowhat?”
Evewasintoxicatedwithanewsenseofpurpose:anewdesireborninsideof
herinthatverymoment.Hercarriagebecamestrong,almostaustere,andher
eyes lit up with a passion and fervor that glowed through her like a burning fire.
Deepbreath.
“TheInterlopers—Iwanttofightthem.”
CHAPTER8:STARRYNIGHT
Theclassroomwasnearlyempty.Evesataloneatherdesk,hurriedly
slavingawayoverherexam;itwasthefifthunannouncedtestthey’dhad
already,andtheywerebarelyhalfwaythroughthesemester.
EvelookedupfromherpapersandmadeeyecontactwithProfessor
Richards—hesatatthefrontoftheroom,scowlingatherfromhisdesk—and
she tightly gripped her old-fashioned pencil until it snapped in half. Richards chuckledtohimself; God,hewasadick.
ThiswasthesecondtimeEvehadtakenthistest.Duringthenormalclasshours
—which,fortherecord,hadlongsinceended—Richardshadpointedly
scannedtheroomlookingfor cheaters,orsohehadclaimed.Andthen,justas Eve had reached the last page, the final stretch of this nightmare of an exam, Richardshadappearedatherelbow,torntheexamfromhergrasp,andripped
