I need a different life.
Probably a true thought, since I’d just spent thirty seconds of my remaining oxygen contemplating the best way to bleed out a Walker.
He was slowing in the water, and it was light around us now. As my head broke the surface I took a huge gasp of air. My lungs seized as I coughed in a rough manner.
“Hello, my precious baby Walker. I missed you, lovely.” His caressing words washed over me.
I shuddered in revulsion. There was an obsessive stalker quality to not only his actions, but also now his words.
“The feeling is not mutual,” I muttered, trying hard not to think of my last lot of torture at his hands.
Panic hovered much too close to the surface and I needed to stay in control a little longer.
His expression darkened. “I think maybe you just need to spend a little time with a real man. You will come to realize that we are a much better match than you and that Abernath.”
I laughed, thinking he was kidding. The grip he suddenly had on my throat told me he was serious.
“No need to disrespect me. Do not forget your place. No matter the beauty I behold, you are still a half.”
This was probably my best chance. He was holding me close, his eyes locked on mine. He wasn’t looking down to see what my hands were doing. I didn’t even care that I’d be left floating in the water. Anything was better than being in his presence.
With his arm gripping my throat, I had a perfect angle to hit the axillary. I tightened my grip on the smooth handle, preparing myself. I didn’t shift my eyes, afraid to give away my intention. Instead, I distracted him by moving my face closer to his. He didn’t remove his hand, but he allowed me this.
“Tell me what you have to offer me. What am I missing out on?” I appealed to his massive ego.
Considering its size, I should have enough time to not only hit the artery, but probably dismember him too.
He smiled. His large white teeth reminded me of a shark about to devour its prey.
“Aribella, I shouldn’t have to explain anything to you. You have experienced my power.”
I bit my lip. I had absolutely no problem remembering the burn of his power. Psycho. I almost had the knife in position.
“You have witnessed my intellect and skills. My creatures are perfect; they have done the job I intended.” He looked out over my shoulder, slight chuckles shaking his upper torso. “I have seen what no one else could. I scoff as they worship their so called gods and challenge them to be more omnipotent than me.”
Out of the corner of my eye I could see the glint of steel, and my angle was perfect. Without hesitation I stabbed upwards, the shallow water offering almost no resistance to my Walker speed and dexterity. Despite my squeamishness, I never hesitated as it made contact with his skin. I continued to push until it was at its hilt.
I noticed once I pulled back that I had not only cut him with a knife, but had also depleted some of my power. It was bleeding from me in slow ebbs. As soon as I recognized this, I halted the flow. Shock registered on his face.
“Should have used your omnipotent powers to see that,” I snarled as reached forward to twist the blade. “Maybe what you meant to say was impotent; it’d be more accurate.”
He bellowed then, dropping me from his grip. Reaching around, he attempted to staunch the flow of blood before realizing the knife was still lodged. As he pulled it free, small spurts of blood erupted from the wound.
“What have you done to me, Aribella?” he spluttered as his blood gushed into the water, coloring it a dark red.
I kicked my feet, keeping my head above water and working my way backwards. He didn’t follow me. Instead he went a deathly white color and started to sink into the depths of the water.
I lay back, floating like I’d practiced on First World, and began to kick my legs hard, powering in the direction I hoped was land. I stared up at the half-sun. Its weak light was my visual guide. I didn’t think or worry about the creatures that much blood could bring. I just kicked.
It took me a long time to tire myself. I couldn’t even say when I noticed the slowing of my kicks, the heaviness of my body. But eventually, when I couldn’t kick any longer, I just floated. The sun disappeared.
The world shifted into shades of blue as the four moons spanned the sky. And for the first time I wondered if I would die out here, if my First-World side, which could drown, would prevent the immortality of my Walker genes. Finally, as my exhaustion reached its maximum, I let the few tears that had been threatening fall free.