Chapter 46: Seeing the Light (2)
He’s not fragile anymore. Not like the boy I found half-dead. His frame is solid now. Broad shoulders, filled-out cheeks—still gaunt, but stronger. Healthier. He’s still filthy like the rest of us, but no longer broken.
None of us are as broken as we were.
Not anymore.
A grin tugs at my mouth. It isn’t wide. It’s the one I wear when I’m close to killing. When the air smells like sweat and blood and the hunt is coming.
I move fast. My boots splash near the edge of the water, almost stepping into it.
Gene turns to me. His auburn hair lifts in the breeze of movement. He’s not grinning, but his eyes flash with something close to pride.
My breath stinks. I haven’t cleaned it in days. Could be a week. Could be longer. Time is worthless down here. The night doesn’t end. The sun barely matters.
The days blur.
I think of Ren. My brother.
My grin fades but rises again as I think of the other blood oozing from my mouth as I drink of their dead limbs.
I pivot left. My pace quickens. The stone tunnels echo with footfalls—ours and theirs. Our screams and theirs. The air turns metallic in my lungs.