as he struggled to grab something from his pocket. I had an idea of what it contained, and I wanted nothing to do with anyone's cuffs.
After dumping the dispensary bags to the ground, I bolted towards him with my arms outstretched. In my center, I seized the monster's waving hand, connecting our palms. I dug my fingernails into its strange flesh just as its claws ripped through the scars on my forearm.
Both versions of myself bled as the world became too cramped, and my insides too vast. My skin itched and sizzled as though it might crack any moment, but I had no chance to fret about the side effects of the abrupt influx of power. Around me, Reapers popped into sight, but my momentum already put me on course to intercept the original Reaper.
I barreled into him, slamming us both to the ground, and he shrieked. The shrill sound cut off as his skull ricocheted off the surface. My vision had a glow to it, giving the male beneath me a putrid purplish-brown aura. In a fluid motion, I pushed off his chest, tilted my hips forward, and tucked my legs until my knees touched the street. One hand fisted his hair while the other boxed him in the ear. He cried out weakly, and it reminded me of a sickly pet rather than an adult. Letting go of his hair, I palmed his face and started to Harvest, uncaring if I broke him. I didn't bother searching for anything specific. Instead, I simply transferred the images into my own mind.
At the same time, I jerked my head around, spying two others ready and racing towards us. I disrupted the air molecules in front of me, rapidly slowing them down until ice formed. It wrapped around the skull and neck of one, encasing him as he clawed at it. His friend dashed to the side at the last second, and only a streak of frost covered his right shoulder.
One of the slower changers appeared and narrowed his eyes, focusing on the ice cube head. Water trickled down the sides, wetting popsicle boy's cloak.
Shrugging, I let go of the original Reaper's face, grabbed his hair again, and bashed his skull onto the street. His head lolled to the side, and I sprang upwards.
One down, one iced, and one busy being a heater. My odds are improving. I smirked and jumped. My feet left the ground, and the air whipped my hair around as I sailed over the male I'd missed with the ice.
He skidded to a stop, and I laughed. It came out as dual sounds, causing a surge of fear to erupt from him. I soaked it in, shivering as it washed through me. My monster hummed using my mouth, pleased with the rush of power and euphoria that it converted to. The vibration was a gravelly, singular noise like I'd gargled with gems, and a pinch of my own fear spilled out.
I didn't have time to dwell on it, though, because the Reaper regained the wherewithal to move. I also spotted four more plainly cloaked Reapers appear from the shadows of the alley.
“Well, there went our odds.” A thought that didn't belong to me boomed through my brain, and another splash of fear pooled in my belly. Shadow shoved her way in, pushing the odd thought aside as she sent an image of her leaping from my shoulder. I had no chance to respond because the Reaper that dodged my initial ice attack was nearly on me.
Dodger and I clashed, and as I grappled with him, trying to touch bare skin, I also wove emotions together inside of myself. If I could get them to submit, I could end this quickly, but I'd never tried to force so many at once. Digging deep, I pulled every drop of humility, fear, desire, and awe I had from the well at my center.
A flash of cuffs appeared to my right, and I hopped to my left, yanking Dodger with me. A third Reaper raked the cuffs down Dodger's back, launching him into me. I shoved him backwards and knocked them both down. As they squirmed on the ground, trying to untangle themselves, I heard a shrill screeching in the background and smiled. Shadow must be working.
I glanced around. I'd started with one mysterious Reaper, then gained five more. Soon after, four more joined in, bringing the total to ten, but as I scanned the area, I saw more than that.