The tension in the air was like glass—ready to shatter with a whisper.
I could feel blood seeping past my teeth.
My legs felt like they didn't belong to me.
My heart thudded like a war drum, each beat echoing in my skull.
But I stood taller.
Just enough.
"You know what I hate about guys like you, Ethan?" I said, my voice low, cracking—but steady.
"You think watching people suffer makes you enlightened. You think being broken gives you the right to break everyone else. But that's not wisdom."
I raised my arm, slow and shaking, as I activated the last repellent core in my sleeve. The glow pulsed—fainter than the others, but still enough.
"It's cowardice."
Ethan hissed through his teeth. "Big words for someone about to drop dead."
"Maybe I will," I said.
Then smiled through blood.
"But I'm taking you with me."
He didn't laugh this time.
He lunged.
