“Better, thank you,” Maddy said.
“Is he awake yet?” Klang said.
“No, not yet,” Maddy said. “He mumbles in his sleep but hasn’t opened his eyes.”
“Don’t worry, lass,” Trang said. “I’m sure he’ll come around soon enough.”
“I hope so,” Maddy said. “He’s pretty tough but he took a big blow. I’m not sure many people can recover from that. Not even a Titan.”
“He’ll come around,” Klang said, leering at her. “If I had someone like you to come back to, you can bet I’d do everything I had to to get back to her.”
Maddy turned to Klang and smiled politely. Trang scowled at her “brother.”
My left nut they’re siblings. A girl didn’t get jealous like that when her brother showed an interest in a girl.
“I thought I might get some fresh air,” Maddy said.
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” Trang said. “Iron Hoof is still out there. He could attack at any moment.”
Not if you have anything to say about it.
Claiming the kill was all these creatures ever cared about. Another notch to add to their huge collection. The more kills they got, the more money they earned, the more famous they became.
And I knew without a shadow of a doubt they enjoyed what they did.
“I need to check on the arjath anyway,” Maddy said.
I kept a close eye on the creatures as they eyed Maddy warily. They didn’t want her to go outside, not when they had her in their sights and could kill her any time they wanted.
Just looking at these two made me feel sick to my stomach. They weren’t the type to tease an audience. They were the type to kill and murder and maim because they enjoyed it. If they didn’t kill the first chance they got it was because they’d been ordered to prolong the inevitable from their bosses.
Their bosses were the head honchos of Lovers’ Escape. There was a cloaked room somewhere out there where they controlled the show and issued their orders. Their commands might as well have come from God.
“I’ll come out with you,” Trang said. “At least if there’s two of us, it’s less likely he’ll get both of us.”
Maddy smiled but it was nervous. She didn’t look my way as she didn’t want to give away my position, but she was nervous as she crossed the threshold and stepped outside.
Her expression was as plain as day: Now what do I do?
She was going outside for a nice stroll in the moonlight with a killer. But there was only one of them. It could have been worse. They both could have gone with her.
“Damn it! Hurry up!” Klang said, bolting to his feet and speaking to no one I could see. He dug the communicator out of his pocket and pressed it his face. “Just how long do you want us to wait? They’re right here! We could have done them in hours ago! Ratings? Ratings? Who cares about viewer ratings? What about my ratings? What about our kill ratings? I swear, if the horned creep takes these kills from under our noses again…”
He stood in the middle of the room and tapped his foot in agitation. He sighed and shook his head.
“Yes,” he said, though he didn’t look happy about what he was hearing. “Yes. Fine. Then how about the one upstairs? The Titan? He’s unconscious. I can kill him in his sleep. I can do it any way you want.”
He sighed and stared up at the ceiling. I eased back slowly to avoid being seen.
“How about if I shoot him with adrenaline and make him sit up?” he said. “That will wake him up and he’ll be full of beans and it’ll make for a good death. I’ll inject him so no one will notice. I’ll let him get in a few good shots before I do him in. Then, picture this, the whore will come back inside and find him dead. And imagine the tearjerker that will be! Then we can help her get right up close to the shuttlecraft and then kill her. Right at the moment when she’s about to escape. The audience will love it!”
He waited a moment as he listened to the other end of the line.
“Of course I’ll make it painful,” he said, spinning a knife around in his hand. “You know me. I’m the last great showman. So it’s a deal? I can go upstairs and kill him?”
I could hear the excitement in his voice.
“I swear, you’re not going to regret this,” he said.
He hung up and breathed a sigh of relief. He gave a loud “Yippee!” and then turned and climbed the stairs.
We had a plan. It was simple and no one would get hurt.
Now it had changed and we were going to have to get our hands dirty.
Why could things never be simple?
I lay back on the makeshift bed Maddy had made. She was a good girl. A brave girl. I only hoped I wouldn’t hear her pained scream in a few minutes.
By what I could make out from Klang’s earlier phone conversation, her safety wasn’t something I needed to worry about. It was mine. They were intending on killing her the moment she reached the shuttlecraft.
Not while I still drew breath, assholes.
I lay perfectly still, my body curled around in a C shape. Klang would have to get close enough to my sleeping form to administer the shot of adrenaline he promised the show’s producers. And no matter which direction he came at me from, I would have him covered.
My legs were curled up, ready to spring at a moment’s notice. If he tried to jab my calf or thigh, I would crack him in the face with a foot. If he came at me on either side, I had my arms bent and ready to lash out and tackle him to the ground.
My eyes were closed but not completely shut. I could just about see through my eyelashes.
His footsteps up the stairs were slow and deliberate.
Thump.
Thump.
