Inamorato

by Keira Michelle Telford

  But it’s not going to be that simple.

  “There she is!”

  Three Security Officers emerge from one of the elevators, and one of them spies her immediately. He sends the other two after her and they tackle her to the floor, pinning her there while they cuff her hands tightly behind her back.

  “Assholes,” Ella mumbles, her face squished against the floor.

  The two Officers heave her up and force her back to the elevators. The other Officer—the one who threw her out the first time—shakes his head at her disapprovingly.

  “Didn’t you understand what I told you?”

  She doesn’t answer.

  They take her downstairs, remove the handcuffs, and toss her back out into the street.

  “If you don’t stay away,” the first Officer warns her, “I’ll have to arrest you.”

  With tears welling in her eyes, Ella doesn’t even attempt to bark a retort to that. She can sense the eyes of a dozen passersby on her, and she feels foolish and embarrassed.

  She tries Alex one more time.

  IS THIS FOR REAL?

  Nothing.

  She walks home crying.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Grapevine

  Alex wakes up feeling slightly less groggy than he’s been the last couple of days. The first thing he does is check his cell phone, but there still isn’t anything from Ella.

  No missed calls.

  No texts.

  Nothing.

  He tries to call her, but he gets an automated message saying that the number can’t be completed as dialed. He’s confused, but doesn’t get a moment to dwell on it.

  Celia walks in.

  Behaving as if she belongs there, she sets down a bunch of magazines on the bedside table and leans over the bed to press a kiss against his forehead.

  He does his best to flinch away from it. “What the hell are you doing here?”

  Ignoring that, she busies herself opening the blinds. “Where’s your girlfriend?”

  “Working.”

  “She’s at school, you mean.”

  “No. She’s an Intern, she’s hunting.”

  Celia pulls up a chair and sits beside the bed. “Have you heard from her lately?”

  Alex stays silent.

  “No?” Celia cocks an eyebrow. “Hmm.”

  Alex doesn’t have any patience for her. “Whatever you want to say, just spit it out.”

  “It looks as though I was right, that’s all.”

  “About what?”

  “She got what she wanted out of you and now she’s moved on.”

  “Go home, Ci-Ci.”

  “You disagree?”

  “She’s busy. Why are you here?”

  “Because I thought you should hear it from someone you know, rather than hear about it later on the grapevine.”

  “What’re you talking about?”

  “Word has it that your precocious little brat has renewed her relationship with her former beau, Luka Kinsella.”

  Alex is paralyzed by those words.

  He says nothing.

  He does nothing.

  “Did you hear me?” Celia sighs. “She’s fucking someone else.”

  “You’re lying.”

  “Really? Then where is she? And why isn’t she answering any of your texts? Did you try calling her? I’ll bet she even changed her number.” Celia slides a hand onto the bed and begins stroking the back of Alex’s hand. “You need to move on, Alex. What she did to you was cruel and unfeeling, but you can’t say that I didn’t warn you.”

  Alex pulls back his hand. “I want you to leave.”

  “Of course. I’m sure you must be tired, and you’ll need time to adjust.” Beaming a smile at him, Celia bends down and kisses him on the mouth. “I’ll stop by again later.”

  *************************

  Holed up in a ruin on the outskirts of a sector in the Second Reclamation Territory, Ella’s third line unit is cornered and running out of ammunition.

  “I don’t understand where they keep coming from!” one Hunter yells, exasperated.

  Behind him, Harkin is compressing a wound on another Hunter’s chest. Blood is pooling everywhere, and the man needs medical attention immediately.

  Ella peers out through a hole in the wall and watches four Chimera run into the street in their direction. She checks her weapons: her PP-2000 is empty, and her HK USP has one full clip.

  Harkin tries to keep the bleeding Hunter from passing out. “The second line obviously didn’t clear this sector properly. They must’ve missed a nest.” He looks over his shoulder at Ella. “I have to get you out of here.”

  “No.” She shakes her head, pointing at the dying man. “You have to get him out of here.”

  “Like it or not, you’re the priority in this unit.”

  “I’m not the one who’s bleeding to death. Like it or not, I’m not gonna let you leave him here.”

  “What choice do we have?”

  “This is the third line, for christ’s sake. People aren’t supposed to die on the third line!”

  “We didn’t bring enough ammunition for this. If we take him with us, we’ll never make it back to the truck.”

  “It’s only three blocks away.” Ella brainstorms ideas. “If we lure the Chimera in the other direction—”

  “With what?!” Harkin cuts her off.

  She locks eyes with him. “I can outrun them.”

  He begins shaking his head vehemently. “No way!”

  “Are you sure?” the other Hunter asks.

  Ella shrugs. “Let’s find out.”

  She ditches her useless PP-2000 and darts out through the hole in the wall before Harkin could even try to stop her. He yells for her to come back, but she doesn’t listen. She bolts into the middle of the street and whistles, getting the attention of all the Chimera within earshot.

  They turn their heads, but don’t immediately go after her. They can smell the blood of the dying man in the ruins, and the lure of that is stronger than the lure of a healthy prey animal that’s making a lot of noise.

  She throws rocks at them, but that doesn’t work either.

  Damnit.

  There’s one thing left to try.

  She rolls up the sleeve of her left arm and pulls out her hunting knife. Tensing herself for the pain, she draws her blade along the soft flesh of her inner arm.

  Finally.

  As the blood trickles down her arm, over her fingers, and drips down into the dirt, the animals begin to take an interest in her. One takes a step toward her, sniffing the air. It’s the alpha male of the pack, and where he goes, others will follow.

  Sure enough, he shrills.

  He calls out to the others to join in the hunt, and he gallops toward her.

  Ella turns and sprints in the other direction.

  The plan is working perfectly. Until … Ella realizes she has nowhere to go. She can’t keep running like this indefinitely, and she needs to find someplace safe before she begins to tire.

  Thinking quickly, she drives the pack toward the edge of the sector—toward the guard units. As she approaches the perimeter line, she looks around for a way over it.

  Aha!

  She takes a sudden right turn and leaps up onto the side of an overturned dumpster. Keeping her momentum going, she jumps off the dumpster into the wall of the building next to it, and pushes herself up and backwards.

  Flying over the top of the guard unit wire like a high jumper over the pole, she swings herself into a flip and manages to land on her feet in the dirt on the other side. Standing to face the Chimera, she holds steady and catches her breath.

  Running at full tilt, they don’t notice the wire. Even if they did, they might not stop; Chimera toast themselves in the guard units every day. The only chance they have to avoid them is to approach the perimeter slowly. That way, if they hear the hum of electricity, they’ll usually back off in fear.

  But it’s too late for this pack.


  One by one, as Ella stands before them, the Chimera run into the perimeter. The alpha male goes first, and ends up as a charred corpse at Ella’s feet. His eyelids and lips are completely burnt off, and his ghoulish face glares up at her, his eyes shriveled and blackened.

  More follow.

  In all, eleven Chimera barge straight through the perimeter, and Ella enjoys her success. Of course, she has no idea how she’ll get back onto the other side—she hasn’t thought that far ahead.

  She doesn’t care.

  This was a victory.

  She’s still enjoying the victory when she becomes aware of something moving beside her.

  Shit.

  A Chimera.

  She pulls her gun and kills it, but it’s an adult male and it takes four shots before she’s able to put it down.

  She only has eight rounds left.

  “Do you have any idea where you are?”

  Harkin’s voice scares the hell out of her.

  She spins to face him on the other side of the wire. “Not a clue. Did you—?”

  Harkin nods. “We got him out, and another truck’s already on its way here for us.” He looks around nervously. “But you really need to get yourself back over here.”

  He’s trying to conceal the panic in his voice. He’s trying to remain calm, but Ella can sense the cover up.

  “Where am I?” she asks him. “What part of the Second Reclamation Territory is this?”

  Harkin doesn’t need to answer her; she follows his gaze.

  Behind her, more than a dozen pairs of violet eyes are stalking her.

  “Uh-oh.” Understatement.

  She’s in a first line sector.

  “Here!” Harkin tosses his PP-2000 to her over the top of the guard units. “Hold them off.”

  While she begins firing sparingly at the monsters, he kneels in front of one of the guard units and swipes his wrist across the maintenance box.

  It pops open.

  Delving around inside it, he tries to override the unit. All the while, Ella is backing closer and closer to the wire.

  Harkin’s no engineer, though, and the unit’s more difficult to manipulate than he’d anticipated. This is Police Division territory—not his.

  Ella backs so close to the wire that the tip of her ponytail gets fried. The smell of her own burning hair keeps her pinned to the spot, warning her not to take another step.

  She fires the last shot in the PP-2000, and the Chimera, wary of the weapon and approaching slowly until now, are quick to realize her weakness.

  The leader of the pack shrills.

  He begins to swagger and rumble, and Ella knows that’s a precursor to an attack. She throws the PP-2000 at its head, hoping to dissuade it.

  No such luck.

  It charges.

  Its brethren follow suit.

  Ella takes a deep breath and prepares to feel either the pinch of talons in her chest, teeth in her neck, or heat from the wire—or maybe all three at once.

  Instead, she feels none of it.

  A hand grabs her by the ponytail, yanks her through the wire, and throws her to the ground.

  She doesn’t even realize what’s happening.

  Before Harkin can get the guard unit functioning again, the alpha Chimera manages to break through. It lands on top of Ella’s chest and she’s barely able to hold it off. She presses her hands against its throat, trying to deprive it of oxygen and keep its teeth from her flesh.

  Just when her arms are about to give, the pressure is lifted. Harkin tosses the animal back through the wire. It cooks, and lands amidst its own pack, still smoking and still twitching.

  They begin to eat it.

  A meal’s a meal.

  Ella relaxes against the dirt, catching her breath and letting her heart rate settle.

  “What did the boy do now?” Harkin glares at her.

  “Huh?”

  “You heard me. Toying with the enemy reminds you that you’re in control. It reminds you that, no matter what others have done to you, you’re stronger and more resilient than any enemy you’ll ever face. I understand that. What I don’t understand is what could possibly make you want to risk your life for a dying man.”

  “That man needed medical attention!” Ella picks herself up out of the dirt.

  “He’ll die anyway,” Harkin snaps at her. “And you’re lucky you won’t be joining him.”

  “You think that’s what I wanted?”

  “No boy is worth your life. Be as angry and as pissed off as you want, but don’t you dare take such foolish risks with your safety.”

  “I was trying to save a man’s life, that’s all. If you want to punish me for that, go ahead. It won’t stop me from doing the very same thing again if I have to.”

  Harkin doesn’t know what to say to her. Morality and strategy are often mutually exclusive on the line. Sometimes one has to be sacrificed for the other, and eventually, Ella’s going to have to confront that.

  But not today.

  She’s bleeding.

  Her sleeve slipped back down during her run and tumble, and Harkin notices the blood seeping through the fabric.

  He grabs her arm and exposes the gash.

  “What happened?”

  “I needed to lure the Chimera out.”

  He pulls some gauze out of a pocket in his Kevlar vest and binds the wound enough to stem the bleeding until he can get her proper medical care.

  “I can’t tell if you’re a fool, or a genius.”

  “Don’t worry, neither can anyone else.”

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Maddie King

  Three Months Later …

  Having spent another Sunday wandering aimlessly about the Fringe District from dawn till dusk, Ella is tired and hungry.

  Using memory to find her way back to her starting point—at Kink Central—she inadvertently stumbles upon a crime in progress. At the end of a dark alleyway, two men are assaulting an elderly lady. As Ella watches, one man holds her down while the other pulls out a knife.

  “Hey!” Ella yells. “Leave her alone!”

  Both perpetrators turn in her direction, and for a moment, Ella wonders if they’re about to switch targets. She has faith in the emblems, though. She takes a step closer, making sure that her uniform can be seen clearly by both of them.

  And it works.

  They see the Hunter Division uniform and they panic. The Hunter Division has unofficial carte blanche in the Fringe District. Even though it’s technically under the jurisdiction of the Police Division, the Fringe is overwhelmingly manipulated by the Hunter Division.

  Hunters control most of the pit fights.

  Hunters supply nearly all of their weapons.

  Hunters buy most of their drugs.

  Hunters keep the Handlers in business by fucking their Jades.

  Hunters buy their illegal booze.

  Hunters.

  Hunters.

  Hunters.

  The Fringe District is their playground, and the emblems command more respect here than the Police Division could ever hope for.

  That’s why both attackers flee as soon as they realize what she is. They abandon the woman, crumpled into a heap at the side of the alley, and they disappear into the night.

  Ella rushes over to help the lady, who’s lying so still, Ella fears that she might’ve had a heart attack and expired on the spot.

  Nope.

  She’s just pretending.

  As Ella gets closer, the woman begins to flail her arms and legs in the air, warding Ella off.

  “Stop it! I’m trying to help you,” Ella snaps at her.

  The woman stops flailing, and Ella gets a good look at her for the first time. She’s not as old as she’d first appeared. She’s probably in her early fifties, but she looks haggard. She’s skinny and frail, and blind in one eye. As Ella kneels closer, she has to breathe through her mouth: the woman stinks like piss and cigarettes.

  Her left wrist is bleeding.


  “Are you okay?” Ella asks, digging through the pockets of her vest for gauze.

  The woman lets Ella bind her wrist, but doesn’t answer the question. Instead, she roams her one good eye over Ella’s uniform.

  “You’re a Hunter.”

  “Mm-hmm.” Ella doesn’t care to make small talk.

  “My boy is a Hunter.”

  “Good for you.”

  The old lady reaches out and pokes a finger at Ella’s name on her Kevlar vest. “I know this name.”

  “That’s not uncommon.”

  “You’re Gabriel’s daughter.”

  Ella hesitates. “How do you know the Hunter General?”

  “He’s the reason I’m here.”

  “I doubt that very much.” Ella finishes bandaging the woman’s wrist. “But you can believe whatever you want. It makes no difference to me.”

  She gets up to leave, but the woman has other ideas.

  “Gabriel Maydevine took me away from my son.”

  “The Banishment and Enforcement Council took you away from your son because you broke the law.”

  “I haven’t seen him since he was four years old.”

  “What do you want from me? Sympathy?”

  “Your father’s not the man you think he is.”

  That could have dual meaning, but Ella’s not interested in exploring either. The only thing she wants to know is who the hell this stranger thinks she is.

  “What’s your name?”

  “No-one’s bothered to ask me that in years, dear.”

  “Well, I’m asking it now. Who the fuck are you?”

  “I’m Maddie. Maddie King.”

  A strange kind of fear takes hold in Ella’s core.

  “What’s your son’s name?” Barely audible.

  “Alexander.”

  Ella’s chest feels tight, and the pained look on her face betrays her familiarity with the boy’s name.

  “You know him?” old Mrs. King asks.

  Ella breaks eye contact. “Yeah, I know him. He’s a second line Commander. You should be very proud.”

  “I’m disgusted.” Old Mrs. King spits on the ground.

  Ella’s eyes leap back up to meet hers. “Excuse me?”

  “He only became what your father made him, just like you did.”