They both flinch back at the sound of the gun.
I’m already recovering. The sound was horrible, but my body bounces back fast.
I focus on her as she raises the gun in slow motion.
I’m staring into her eyes and I can also see right down the barrel of the gun. Her fingers are squeezing, trying to pull the trigger again. Just before the hammer is tripped, my mind slips around hers. I wrap her up in a heavy blanket of hypnosis.
The man falls into my trap as well.
She lowers her gun and I let out a relieved breath.
I still can’t move anything more than my talon. For the moment, it’s all I need.
While I hold them in my stare, I tap on the floor. I let the echoes ring out until I’m sure that I’m hearing them correctly again. The sound soothes and comforts me, but it also does more. I think the sound is actually helping me heal from the sound of the gunshot. It also helps to mesmerize the police officers. I’m able to blink my enormous eyes without losing my grip on them.
I send the yellow waves down into the cellar below me and direct them to show me the details of the breaker box. It takes a while, but I build up enough energy to trip the main breaker for the house. The hum goes away and the threat of electric light is gone for good.
Meanwhile, the officers are enthralled with my eyes.
The sun is still descending on the west side of the house and I’m gaining strength as it does.
It’s really lucky that Amber didn’t call the police earlier. She must have missed the note that I tucked into the door.
I feel the minds of the officers squirm inside my control.
I’m able to hear them inside my head. I have a sort of telepathy with them.
“You shouldn’t have come,” I tell them.
The policewoman is able to form a response that I understand. “You asked us to.”
“No,” I tell her.
Is she right? What did I say in that note? I asked for Amber’s help. It was because I didn’t trust the police to do the right thing. I thought that they would shrink from the responsibility of ending my life. I wanted a guarantee that they wouldn’t try to put me in a jail cell. If they managed to confine me, it would just be torture. I wanted my life to be over.
So why did I just stop her from shooting me?
I could do it now.
I used the man as a puppet. The gun is still in her hand.
In fact, why not both?
I massage the man’s mind until his hand reaches, draws his gun, and clicks off the safety.
It’s easy to get them to do things that they already want to do. They’re both exerting pressure back on me now. They want to squeeze their triggers, sending bullets ripping through the infinite space inside my eyes.
“Do it,” I whisper.
The woman’s hand trembles in time with her lower lip. There’s a battle inside her that I’m not privy to. The man’s hand begins to tremble as well.
They either can’t or won’t do it. It should be easy enough for me to force their fingers to squeeze the triggers, but now there’s a battle inside of me as well. The part of me that links my mind to theirs has a decent amount of self-preservation. I can’t manipulate them into killing me.
(I'm stronger than ever.)
I’m stronger than ever.
The man was easier. I nudged and pulled at his mind until he was leaning forward. His arms slumped to his sides. The gun was forgotten completely. When he was within reach, my talons guided him forward and opened him. It’s not like consuming food. It’s the absorption of energy. The effect is instantaneous. There is no waste involved.
I understand why spiders are so delicious.
They consume and concentrate energy. Think of how much energy a fly has. They can buzz around constantly for days. The spider pulls that power right from the center of those insects and leaves behind everything else. A tick latches onto a host and sucks energy in the same way.
I’m the ultimate parasite.
I take the man’s energy, or spirit, or soul—whatever you want to call it—and I incorporate it into myself. I could have left him with enough power for his body to eventually recover, but I don’t. I take his energy down to zero. As I taste the last of it, I feel him inside me and I know that my transformation is complete.
There’s nothing human left inside of me now except a tiny scrap of decency.
Urging the woman to come forward, I vow to leave her with a beating heart.
She was trying to protect me from myself.
I guess they both were, but he’s already dead.
I’m still pondering this irrational favoritism as she draws her final breath. Their bodies litter the doorway for the moment. They’re already beginning to decompose into unstable slime. In a few minutes, before I’ve even finished collecting myself, the only things left are clothes, tools, and weapons. My talons push these remnants around. I look at my other hand—my good hand. These eyes aren’t so adept at specific details of things. It’s much easier to understand the world around me when I can tap.
I use the new talons on my good hand to tap on the wall. I see yellow waves bouncing and all the shapes perfectly outlined. My body has transformed. Clothes are hanging off of me. I don’t need them. I gather up the police clothing. One of them had a pocketful of change that has spilled. I have to pick up each coin so I can sort them into proper piles. This isn’t a thing that I want to do—it’s necessary.
Outside, night has fallen. I skirt around the cone of light from the vehicle
