her arms folded in front of her as if they could somehow protect her. She felt the others around her ease.
The connection deepened as their gazes remained locked. It made her shift her weight. She thought by meeting him it would somehow reinforce her opinion that he was not to be trusted and couldn't remain in the cabin. That she could relate to him in even a small way took a sizable chunk out of her argument. Those eyes kept her stare cinched while she struggled with the unexpected feelings. She wildly groped for her original wrath.
“ You want to speak with me, go ahead.” Blade's voice pierced through her but was barely above a whisper.
“ I—I just want to make sure you won't kill me.”
“ I won't.”
Jessica peered deeper into his eyes. The fear and anger she felt before fled in its entirety. She was drawn to him. Surprising herself, she took a step forward. The group around her tensed, stepping forward as well, but Blade maintained his casual posture.
Unable to understand why, she felt like maybe the others were right. Maybe he could be trusted. Staring into his eyes changed something inside her. She blinked. Grasping at the opportunity, she quickly dropped her gaze.
Big mistake. Her eyes grazed over the metallic rectangles on the back of his folded arms. She went stiff and took a step back. Realizing his blunder, Blade tucked his arms behind his back, but the damage was already done.
A boiling rage festered inside Jessica. Red flashes of her parents and Cindy swept through her. She felt the carefully placed facade slipping. Her angry shriek pierced the air, finally able to free itself around one of the monsters. The rest of her followed suit as adrenaline surged through her. Months of suppressing emotions caught up with her all in one moment. She stepped forward, ready to attack him with her bare hands or die trying.
Someone firmly grabbed her arm before she could reach him and dragged her from the hallway. The last thing she saw was the monster's deadly arms shaking.
Chapter Seven
Fury trembled through Jessica's body while her new acquaintances gathered around in the kitchen. Her stomach tightened into a hard ball as she drew in shallow breaths. She felt like she was breathing through a clump of dough. The memory of the monster's metal flashed in front of her, yanking on her anger. Unable to hold still, she paced the amount of space the others had given her.
No one said a word as she let loose. Several times she stopped at the edge of her human barricade closest to the hallway. Part of her knew the people hedging her in were nervous, but she didn't care. All she wanted to do was break free and hunt him down. Kick him out of the house at the very least. At the most…
Jessica stopped herself. She knew she couldn't stoop to the monster’s level, no matter how desperately she wanted to. There had to be a better way to gain control of the situation. The others stared at her with mixed expressions. Deborah's forehead and eyes tightened slightly, deep in thought. On one side of her Julie was expressionless, but on the other side Ben wore a faint smirk. She was surprised he hadn't let her slip by him in pursuit of the monster.
Zach stepped toward her, his eyebrows raised and forehead wrinkled. Concern oozed out of him. “I told you this was a bad idea.”
“Well, it was Blade's choice and I think it went well,” Deborah retorted. “He controlled himself, like he always does. She was doing fine before the slip up. I believe she did a lot better than the rest of you did when you first met Blade.”
Ben snorted, but said nothing. Zach shifted his weight for a moment and then relaxed a little. “Deborah's right. You really didn't do too bad. At least until the end.”
Jessica scowled at him.
“ Mmmhmmm. Blade knew what he was doing. Would have gone better if he'd kept his arms out of sight,” Deborah muttered.
“ I don't get it,” Jessica forced out. “How can you put up with
The connection deepened as their gazes remained locked. It made her shift her weight. She thought by meeting him it would somehow reinforce her opinion that he was not to be trusted and couldn't remain in the cabin. That she could relate to him in even a small way took a sizable chunk out of her argument. Those eyes kept her stare cinched while she struggled with the unexpected feelings. She wildly groped for her original wrath.
“ You want to speak with me, go ahead.” Blade's voice pierced through her but was barely above a whisper.
“ I—I just want to make sure you won't kill me.”
“ I won't.”
Jessica peered deeper into his eyes. The fear and anger she felt before fled in its entirety. She was drawn to him. Surprising herself, she took a step forward. The group around her tensed, stepping forward as well, but Blade maintained his casual posture.
Unable to understand why, she felt like maybe the others were right. Maybe he could be trusted. Staring into his eyes changed something inside her. She blinked. Grasping at the opportunity, she quickly dropped her gaze.
Big mistake. Her eyes grazed over the metallic rectangles on the back of his folded arms. She went stiff and took a step back. Realizing his blunder, Blade tucked his arms behind his back, but the damage was already done.
A boiling rage festered inside Jessica. Red flashes of her parents and Cindy swept through her. She felt the carefully placed facade slipping. Her angry shriek pierced the air, finally able to free itself around one of the monsters. The rest of her followed suit as adrenaline surged through her. Months of suppressing emotions caught up with her all in one moment. She stepped forward, ready to attack him with her bare hands or die trying.
Someone firmly grabbed her arm before she could reach him and dragged her from the hallway. The last thing she saw was the monster's deadly arms shaking.
Chapter Seven
Fury trembled through Jessica's body while her new acquaintances gathered around in the kitchen. Her stomach tightened into a hard ball as she drew in shallow breaths. She felt like she was breathing through a clump of dough. The memory of the monster's metal flashed in front of her, yanking on her anger. Unable to hold still, she paced the amount of space the others had given her.
No one said a word as she let loose. Several times she stopped at the edge of her human barricade closest to the hallway. Part of her knew the people hedging her in were nervous, but she didn't care. All she wanted to do was break free and hunt him down. Kick him out of the house at the very least. At the most…
Jessica stopped herself. She knew she couldn't stoop to the monster’s level, no matter how desperately she wanted to. There had to be a better way to gain control of the situation. The others stared at her with mixed expressions. Deborah's forehead and eyes tightened slightly, deep in thought. On one side of her Julie was expressionless, but on the other side Ben wore a faint smirk. She was surprised he hadn't let her slip by him in pursuit of the monster.
Zach stepped toward her, his eyebrows raised and forehead wrinkled. Concern oozed out of him. “I told you this was a bad idea.”
“Well, it was Blade's choice and I think it went well,” Deborah retorted. “He controlled himself, like he always does. She was doing fine before the slip up. I believe she did a lot better than the rest of you did when you first met Blade.”
Ben snorted, but said nothing. Zach shifted his weight for a moment and then relaxed a little. “Deborah's right. You really didn't do too bad. At least until the end.”
Jessica scowled at him.
“ Mmmhmmm. Blade knew what he was doing. Would have gone better if he'd kept his arms out of sight,” Deborah muttered.
“ I don't get it,” Jessica forced out. “How can you put up with
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