only monsters here are man. And Shaw’s not the deity he believes himself to be.
The veil shrieks, spewing green fluid at our feet, performing for its master. The veil might have been born from monsters, but they were raised by demons who call themselves doctors.
“They don’t belong to anyone,” I say, my voice commanding and filled with anger. My thoughts are filled with how many times I glared at Asher through the window of Compound 186 because of what I was told to believe about him and his kind. “His heart beats like yours and mine. He deserves a real life. He’s more human than you’ve ever been,” I say, taking a step closer to them. Asher follows my movement, not shielding me as he was before but not allowing me in front of him either.
Shaw steeples his fingers; his lips thin as he shakes his head at me. “That’s where you’re wrong. You can’t really believe one girl’s feelings will overthrow the laws of a nation, do you? That pike is my property. He is not a person or something to be pitied. He is an abomination that has screwed up for the final time!” He points at Asher. His voice has raised, and he’s no longer the poised doctor he pretends to be in public.
“You two have taken enough of my time and funding. Are you aware he killed one of my veil? Do you know how much those are worth to the compound, to our government?” The doctor’s words are spewed with anger, but then a twisting calm fills his face.
“This ends tonight,” Shaw says adamantly.
He lightly touches his hand to the veil’s boney arm. A gesture done as a motion. Two more veil walk from the shadows of the woods. A few armed men walk like toy soldiers between them. They wear all black and have guns raised in their hands. Between the men is a familiar face.
Gabriel stands with his head hung low, a bandage wrapped around his head, concealing his eyes. My heart pounds harder at the sight of him. It drills frantically all through my chest.
“I have one more minor thing I wanted to share with you.” Shaw waves his fingers toward Gabriel. “One of the other pikes said this one carried a human scent back from his search. It then occurred to me Forty-four might have an alliance within the compound that I was not aware of. I questioned this one, but my efforts were … inconclusive. I thought it would be best if other methods were used to reveal the information he was concealing.”
Asher takes a small step closer to his friend, but doesn’t dare cross the veil. My heart drops with every word this disgusting man speaks.
“We used him in our last testing. Our lab had hoped mixing the genetic DNA of the veil with a natural hybrid might yield superior results, but, sadly, just blindness occurred.” He shakes his head in disappointment.
Rage stings my chest as I watch Gabriel stand blindly before me. He’s an abused and pained shell of the hybrid I met weeks ago.
The veil next to Shaw twists its head back and forth between Asher and myself, a snarling sound brushing through its razor-like teeth. Its every move is a deadly threat. The high sound breaks through the night like a beacon indicating what’s to come.
It raises one clawed hand at us, its bone like fingers curled in anticipation of its attack. Asher pushes us back, step by step from the creature as it’s about to strike. The unnatural bend of the creature's legs bow under its body like it’s about to pounce.
But it never does.
The thing cries out in pain and my eyes dart around until I see Ripper sinking his canines into the thin leg of the veil. The creature shrieks loudly into Ripper's face. Its snout-like jaw opens, baring its jagged teeth just inches from Ripper’s body. Phlegm and fluid coat the dog’s short fur, but he never releases his hold.
We take slow steps back, inch by inch. Asher’s hand presses me back toward the edge of the house. Our small steps go unnoticed with the distraction Ripper provides. When the side of the house comes into view, shadowed and dark, we run. My boots slide against the dirt to keep up the pace Asher is pushing me at. His arm never leaves my waist as we run. My gun is lowered, but I clutch it tightly in my hands. My mind is