Ruin - By N.M. Martinez Page 0,64

to hold out indefinitely.

Maria smacks me in the arm. "Pay attention to me."

I turn away from the building and look directly at her as she spreads her feet and balls her fists in a move so smooth she hardly seems aware of it.

"Good. So look, there's three spots you can hit a person that will make them think twice about attacking you. Throat, eyes, and crotch. Most of the guys around here are going to protect their crotch for all its worth though, so you'll only get them if they aren't expecting it. Best thing to do it hit them in the throat, then they can't breathe and you can kick them in the crotch right after."

I shove some strands of hair back and scratch my head. "What if they're tall?"

Maria stops and stands up. "What? What does that have to do with anything? Everyone is going to be taller than us. We're short."

"You're short. I'm average. How would I reach their throat?"

She rolls her eyes and sighs. "Or whatever. The important thing is to just fight, but not flail around doing nothing. Unless that's part of your strategy and you plan on surprising them."

"What if there's more than one?"

"Paula." Maria tilts her head and eyes me. "You're not taking this seriously."

"I am." But even as I protest, I know she's sort of right. I don't really want to play practice fighting with her, not when she so easily falls into a fighting stance. "They're valid questions." And they kinda are too. Most of the people I've seen travel in groups. Even if they came across one lone little Neutral like me, I'm sure they'd still all come at me, not take turns.

"Then you've got to be smarter than them. Find a way to get one alone and escape if you can. You can't give in or give up. And never give ground or let yourself be herded. You have to fight. That's the only way you're going to make it."

I look to the broken building. What chance do I have as a lone human when a group couldn't even defend themselves with the benefit of a strong building around them?

There's a slight movement at the side of the building that draws my attention. Green eyes meet mine right as he stops to lean against the building with his arms crossed. There's something different about Alex this time as he rests so casually, and when I notice it, my breath catches in my throat. He's shirtless. His long torso curves slightly as he leans, the wiry muscles stand out against his tanned skin. On his chest is the most surprising tattoo-- a tiger with eyes that look faintly colored.

Right away my face flushes, the heat from the midday sun suddenly making beads of sweat appear on my face in the most unattractive of places as my entire face becomes hot up to the hairline on my forehead. I glance at Maria who follows my gaze and looks annoyed before she looks back and sees my face. Then she barks out a laugh before she has a chance to even think about it. After the first one, she covers her mouth and apologizes to me. "I'm sorry. But your face is so red."

I will it to go away, but that seems to only make it worse. And then Alex shoves off from the side of the building and comes towards us. My hands rise to cover my embarrassingly bright cheeks, but it's not enough. There's no way I can hide my entire face from view.

Alex stops at a respectable distance, but I can feel his eyes on my face. I glance at him and catch his eyes a second before he smiles. "Your face is red."

Maria stifles another laugh behind her hand before she gets serious. "Bad, Alex. Not appropriate. I'm sure she knows her face is red without you telling her."

His smile dims a little and he actually looks a tiny bit confused at that almost like a frustrated kid. "I was just saying what I see."

Maria rolls her eyes. "You were not. You know she's embarrassed, and you're taking pleasure in it."

If I wasn't completely mortified before, I am now. I put my face in my hands and give it a rub. It can't get any worse than it is right now. "Please put a shirt on."

Maria laughs again, and Alex smiles as he gives a shrug. "I don't have one now," he says.

I cover my face with my