It sounded right to her.
Ashley stood in the middle of the lounge, eyes darting about, searching for any sign of movement. There still was nothing, and she began to wonder if he had fallen victim to one of those shadow pools.
The back of her leg bumped up against the edge of the glass coffee table, and she stumbled back ever so slightly, her gaze falling to the clear surface of the table, reflexively reading the titles of the magazines lying there.
It was to the left of Cooking Light that she saw the grinning face peering up at her through the glass.
Ashley let out a scream, jumping away as Teddy surged up from where he had hidden beneath the coffee table. He was growling like a mad dog as he came at her.
She tried running again, her panic making her blind, and she ran head-on into the sofa, falling up against it as Teddy pounced.
Ashley cried out as the boy landed atop her, his jagged fingernails scratching her skin as he attempted to restrain her.
“Teddy, no!” she cried out, hoping to reach what little humanity might still exist.
The wild boy tried to pin her against the couch, but she continued to thrash. She felt his groping hands on her body and felt another piece of her sanity snap off and drift away. It was then that she realized she was still holding the sword and lashed out with it, hoping to drive her attacker away.
“Stop it!” she cried out, the flat of the sword connecting with the boy and actually knocking him back to land on the coffee table, shattering the top into what appeared to be a million pieces.
Ashley didn’t waste any time, climbing over the back of the overstuffed sofa onto the other side. The sound of something thrashing among pieces of broken glass could be heard behind her, but she didn’t want to turn around.
Teddy tackled her, his limbs entwining with her legs and bringing her hard to the lounge floor.
The air punched from her lungs, Ashley lay there stunned, the boy straddling her, as she rolled onto her back. In a flash of panic, she realized that she had dropped her sword and tried to find it, but the wild child appeared to sense this and bore down on her.
Ashley was wild, fighting beneath the boy’s weight, but he kept her pinned, leering down at her, his lips pulling back to reveal sharp, yellowed teeth. Her panic set in as he leaned toward her, his mouth opening as he got closer to the soft flesh of her throat.
Close enough to bite.
I’m going to die, was the first thought that shot through her mind as she watched the animal child’s open mouth come closer. After all that she had been through, this was the way that she was going to go out.
She imagined what it would feel like when the boy bit into her flesh, the popping of her skin as the teeth broke through, the ripping sensation as he tore away the first bite.
Ashley didn’t want to feel it, but if that was the case, then she had to live.
She had to survive.
Adapt or die. She heard Mr. Harpin’s nasty old voice echo through her mind, and Ashley knew what she had to do.
Teddy’s breath was hot on her throat when she lost it, screaming like a madwoman and bucking her body so violently that she flipped the boy off her.
She knew that she couldn’t hesitate, not one little bit, or he would be back at her. Teddy was getting to his feet and coming at her just as she found her sword. Without a moment’s pause, she snatched it up from the carpeted floor and spun to face her attacker.
“Get the fuck away, or I’ll kill you!” she screamed, but it didn’t slow the boy down. He came at her full force, and there was only one thing she could do.
Ashley brought the sword down with all her might, the blade striking off the top of his shaggy head and continuing down across his shocked face.
The wild child cried out in pain and backed quickly away. His trembling, clawed hands went to his wounds and came away covered in scarlet.
Teddy stared at her with eyes that said, How could you do this to me?
Ashley remained perfectly still, blade ready to strike again, if necessary.
“I warned you,” she said, the sound of her voice scaring her with its ferocity.
Teddy whined, rubbing at the blood that now flowed freely down his face, but the whine quickly turned to a growl as he tensed to come at her yet again.
“Teddy…,” she started to warn, but he was already hurling himself at her.
Ashley struck him again, this time sinking the sword blade deeply into the fleshy area between shoulder and neck. Blood was now squirting from the wound, as he stumbled back and away from her.
The air was filled with a strangely metallic odor that she guessed was fresh blood, and would have likely gotten sick from the stink if she hadn’t been preoccupied with the wild child’s next attack.
Bleeding profusely, Teddy lunged, and Ashley defended herself. She swung the blade with excellent precision, cutting into the boy again and again, feeling the arterial spray of his blood hitting her face as she finally cut him down.
Teddy at last dropped to the floor, his lifeblood seeping from multiple wounds into the carpet, as he lay there for a moment longer before expiring.
Ashley stood over him, sword still poised, waiting for him to rise, waiting for him to come at her again.
But he didn’t.
It took a little bit longer for it to sink in-what she had done.
She didn’t know how long she had been standing there, staring at the boy’s dead body, when Squire found her.
“Hey, Ashley. You all right?” she heard the goblin ask her as he emerged from a particularly dark section of shadow near a tall potted plant.
She would forever remember the look on his face as she turned toward him, bloodstained sword in hand.
“It was just like Mr. Harpin said,” she told him. “Adapt or die.
“I adapted.”
Mulvehill could drive only as far as Mass Ave before the traffic came to a complete standstill. Waiting for the traffic to move just far enough, he found an alleyway with No Parking signs posted and pulled his car down to do just that. He had a Police Business placard in his glove compartment and placed it in his window as he climbed from the car.
There was a constant, hurried flow of foot traffic coming down Boylston Street, and he moved against the current, going toward where they were coming from. He knew that he had to go there; it was practically calling to him, even though he had no clue as to what he would find.
And the unknown was terrifying.
His hand drifted down to the weapon inside his coat and he felt a surge of courage flow through him, giving him that extra bit more to continue on.
The street was blocked off at Fairfield, two uniformed officers nervously standing on one side of the yellow wooden horses, occasionally calling out to the people who flowed passed them to keep moving.
Mulvehill recognized one of the young officers, having worked with his father, and approached. At first the police officer didn’t recognize him and was preparing to keep him from passing, but Mulvehill already had his badge out to flash at the man.
“Sorry, Detective Mulvehill,” the officer said. “Didn’t recognize you.”
“That’s all right, DeWitt,” Steven said, looking past the man, up the street to where he needed to go. “What’s the story?”
The young cop looked over as the other officer approached.
“We’re really not sure… We’re hearing all kinds of shit,” DeWitt said, a twinkle of fear in his dark brown eyes.
“Heard it might be a terrorist act,” said the other cop. “Or maybe just an electrical fire. They got the whole plaza cordoned off, and we’ve been told to keep the foot traffic moving and the curious away.”