Creature of Unknown Origin

31

Numbly, I trailed behind Spencer and a limping Delia on heavy limbs. Delia huffed and

accepted his help into the cabin, all the while chastising him for keeping it to himself. My eyes

fought to stay open the longer I remained awake, and the more my stomach begged for food, the

harder my gut wrenched and twisted with disgust.

What was worst of all was how Spencer treated me. It was like he didn’t see the destruction

left in my wake, or the battle I had waged against myself to stop my feral half from murdering him

too, before the pieces of my mind joined together again.

All he did was use soothing tones like a parent would to a frightened child. He ushered me

into the bathroom and started the shower.

“I’m gonna go and see if Delia wants help with her leg.” He paused in the doorframe and

turned to look back at me. “Don’t blame yourself for what happened today, okay? You saved our

lives, and I’ll never turn my back on someone who does that.”

“Even if they’re a monster?” I asked quietly, all too intereste d in the dated wallpaper of the

bathroom.

“Monsters don’t save people,” Spencer started, edging toward me carefully. “They don’t

care about the aftermath, or protecting those around them.”

Despite the blood and the grime that covered me, Spencer wrapped his arms around me in

a fierce hug that nearly broke me. “You are not a monster, Av, you’re a saving grace.” He pulled

away slowly and squeezed my shoulders. “So shower off, relax, get some rest; we’ll talk later.”

I swallowed hard and took a deep breath, soothed by the water running in the background.

“I guess there’s a lot to talk about now, huh?”

“Yeah, I guess there is,” Spencer laughed, his eyes fixed on his feet. “I should check on

Delia, make sure she doesn’t need help.”

“She’ll be okay?”

“She’ll be fine,” Spencer assured me with an easy smile and a nod. The door clicked shut

behind him, leaving me with my thoughts and guilt.

They all could’ve died because of me . Spence, Delia, Howie, maybe even Carol, and their

deaths would’ve been my fault. As it was, Delia was already hurt, but of course, she’d be fine.

She’s Delia, and even though I only knew her for a short time, I knew with absolute certainty that

Delia didn’t get hurt and seemingly didn’t feel pain at all.

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