Anger sizzled through every cell in her body. What had Agent Green done to Adonna that she wanted him dead?
Adonna’s power scorched and controlled, driving Tracy to the depths of near-nothingness. She banged against the bars inside her own body, lost, unable to fight an alien will so much stronger than her own.
“What did it feel like?” Tracy’s voice said. Her body strained against her handcuffs, leaning toward Sean. “Holding an Ambient in your hands as eternal life ended?” She looked at him through damp, matted bangs. “Could you really feel his power ebb to nothing?”
The edge of Sean’s lips curled. “You are not Tracy.”
“Tracy’s gone.”
I am not, you bitch! Give me my body back!
Sean ran his fingers along the side of her cheek, her breast. “Good. You’re the one I liked better, anyway.”
Adonna tilted Tracy’s head back. “Touch me again, touch me again with those hands that take what they want.”
Sean pressed against her chest. Pain ricocheted through the cuts along her ribs. “Did you like watching it die?”
“Oh, yes.” Adonna writhed under his touch. Traitorous whore. “Is that what it was like when you killed the humans? Was there blood? Could you see their lives drain from them?”
Her gaze drifted to John. He’d barely moved. His pale face stared back into Tracy’s eyes, expressionless, defeated, lost. Tracy couldn’t even console him. She couldn’t even console herself.
Sean ran his fingers through her wound. Tracy cried out in agony, while Adonna moaned.
He rubbed his crimson-stained digits together. “Do you like the blood?”
Adonna stared at his fingers. “It flows so easily.” Her gaze shifted back to John.
Tracy shuddered deep in the recesses of her being. A hole bore within her, a deep sense of foreboding. Her body moved without her permission, her chin rising toward John’s vacant form.
“Can you make him bleed for me?”
No! You bitch!
Sean laughed. “You want me to put him out of his misery?”
Adonna shook Tracy’s head. “No. I want you to put him in misery.”
Light flashed in Tracy’s eyes before Sean yanked her head toward him. His tongue invaded her mouth. She willed her teeth to close, her jaw to tighten, but Adonna was too strong. She drank in the kiss. Enjoyed it. Savored it like fine chocolate.
Tracy’s mouth tingled as the entities collided. That was all Adonna wanted, wasn’t it? She wanted the entity inside Sean and nothing else mattered. Not Tracy, not John. Not even Dak.
She mentally pounded against Sean’s chest, kicked her legs, but her body no longer did her will.
*Relax.*
The word rolled over Tracy, echoed in her mind as Sean moved away from them.
Relax. Sure. Easy for that psycho bitch to say when she was puppeteering a stolen body.
Let me go, Tracy demanded.
*Not until I get what I want.*
Tracy screamed inside. What Adonna wanted was blood. Blood and Sean. Either one ended in death.
The hilt of the knife flashed as Sean stood above John. He glanced back toward Tracy. “If I slit his throat, there will be a lot of blood. He’ll die quickly.”
Adonna arched Tracy’s back. “No. Not fast. I want him to suffer. I want to watch his eyes while he bleeds.”
Monster!
John winced, his eyes vacant and staring. He didn’t move or acknowledge he could hear them plotting his death.
Tracy wished her eyes closed but Adonna forced her to watch Sean rip away the Velcro fastening John’s bullet-proof vest. The black padding slipped to the carpet with a thud.
John, fight him. Please!
Sean’s body hid his actions but not John’s cry. Subliminal tears flowed through Tracy, while Adonna sparkled with excitement.
A red circle emerged in the center of John’s chest as Sean sauntered back to her. The growing stain encroached on the stark white material with a sickly crimson sheen.
Smirking, Sean held up the knife. A long drip hung on the edge of the blade before tapping against the plastic at her feet. Adonna writhed as if being stroked by a lover.
Sick alien bitch.
“Did you hear him scream?” Sean said, dragging his tongue along the side of her neck. “Did you hear him scream for me?”
The handcuffs jiggled as Adonna shifted Tracy’s weight. Her tongue rolled inside his mouth. Tracy cringed.
“Let me do it,” Adonna whispered. “Let me cut him. I want to feel what it’s like. I want to see blood flow because of me.”
No, no, no, no, no!
Sean brought the blade to Tracy’s cheek, smearing John’s blood across her skin. “And what does Tracy say?”
Adonna smiled. “She’s screaming at me. Cursing. Scratching.”
You bet your ass I am!
“But she’s weak. She doesn’t understand. She’ll never understand.”
I’m going to kill you. I swear it! Don’t you touch him!
John moaned a dull, weak sound. Why didn’t he struggle? Why didn’t he fight for his life?
Maybe because he’d lost part of his soul. Dak was gone. They’d become one, like a marriage. Losing him must have been worse than losing a limb.
Tracy couldn’t imagine having someone become a part of her and then have them ripped away. There was no chance of her and Adonna ever forging the type of relationship Dak and John had. If she could get her hands on that extractor, she’d rip the bitch out herself.
Adonna shivered, her gaze falling on the extractor nestled near the arm of the couch. Could Tracy do such a thing? Could she rip Adonna out? Watch her suffocate?
Adonna tensed her muscles, probably feeling every thought.
Yes, bitch, I want you dead. How does that feel? I suddenly have the strange desire to chain smoke.
Of course, she’d have to take control of her body first.
The plastic crinkled as Sean shoved the knife between Tracy’s ankles, slicing her skin as the cable tie dropped onto the bloody tarp. Her arms burned as he jostled the handcuffs over her head. The metal popped and her arms fell. The ache in her shoulders numbed Tracy’s mind, but barely slowed Adonna. She reached for Sean, swallowing him in feverous kisses, rubbing her blood-soaked chest against his.
Sean pushed her against the wall, fumbling with the button on her pants.
Adonna growled as the zipper loosened. Tracy’s double-crossing body reacted as Adonna’s need flooded her.
No. She couldn’t. She wouldn’t.
“Wait.” Adonna grabbed Sean’s hands. Her gaze delved through him before drifting to John. “I want the last thing he sees to be you taking this body he loves. I want him to see me give myself to you.”
Sean assaulted Tracy’s mouth again. She tried to spit, bite, anything, but it was like watching a horror movie from inside her own body. Sean pulled the knife out from behind his back and placed it in Tracy’s hands.
Adonna raised the blade before her eyes. “Show me. Show me how to kill him.”
No!
Moving behind her, Sean placed his hands on her hips. His erection snugged into the crook of her ass as he molded his body against her. He drew her earlobe through his lips, sucking the tender flesh. The sound echoed through Tracy’s helpless mind.
“You are so much more fun than your human.” He fondled her breasts from behind.
Adonna trembled, arching Tracy’s spine in response. She leaned back. “Tracy has a secret. Her body aches. She wants you. She’s always wanted you.”
No, I do not!
“Let her go,” John’s voice sounded a dry garble. He seemed to struggle to raise his head.
Sean shifted the knife in Tracy’s hands, angling the blade downward in her fist and tightening her grip. They moved toward John.
“Fight them, Tracy.” Struggling in his handcuffs, John pushed backwards, but slipped on the tile. “You’re stronger than her. Fight it. Fight them.”
I’m trying! Tracy thrashed, kicked, but her body wouldn’t respond.
“Stab him in the heart,” Sean whispered, nuzzling Tracy’s ear. “His body will pump the blood right out of him like a gift to you.”
Oh, God, no. Please!
Adonna dropped to Tracy’s knees and steadied the blade.
Think about what you are doing. I’ll give you anything you want. Anything. I promise. We can leave with Sean. I’ll go gladly! Just, please, don’t do this!
Adonna grinned at John. “Hooold stiilllllll.” She sang the words as if playing a sick game. That’s all humanity was to these things: a game. Temporary housing. Something to live in and discard.
Tracy’s soul hardened when John grimaced, seeming to fight for breath. “Screw you, bitch.”
Her heart crumpled as his words echoed her own thoughts. The last thing he would see was Tracy’s face and her hands holding a knife. The hatred in his eyes bored through her. How had something so wonderful gone so wrong?
Adonna raised the blade and clenched Tracy’s teeth. Tracy screamed a shattering cry of agony as the blade plunged down with strength she shouldn’t have. The knife paused on contact before slicing deep. A popping sensation rebounded through Tracy’s mind.
Somewhere in the distance of her senses, Sean laughed. A monomaniacal, continuous banter. “Yes!” he shouted. “Look at him bleed!”
Adonna raised the blade again, staring directly into John’s eyes. John reached for her.
No, he reached for Tracy.
She flung her soul toward him, desperately trying to force herself between John and the knife, but the blade continued to fall. Over and over.
Tracy shrieked, a sound overshadowed by Sean’s incessant laughter.
“Watch,” Sean cooed. “Watch the blood spread. You did that. You did!”
Thankfully, Adonna closed Tracy’s eyes. “Is he dead?” she asked.
A snicker sounded near her ear. “Maybe. But his eyes are open. He could still be watching.”
Adonna placed the knife beside her as Sean shimmied her pants down. Her hand shook.
He flipped her on her back, drenching Tracy’s body in John’s blood. Liquid warmth spread beneath her shoulders but quickly cooled. A metallic tang wafted around her: Sean’s scent mixing with the life of the man she cared for. Love and merciless hate smothered her like a filthy blanket.
Tracy’s soul heaved, but she had no body to retch with.
“How does that feel?” Sean asked, his voice sweet, as if he’d trailed a flower across her skin. “Drinking in the ecstasy, the power of the life freely given to you?”
Freely? You son of a bitch!
Adonna smiled. She shifted beneath Sean, spreading her legs.
No. God, no!
“Take me,” she whispered. “This body is his last gift to you.”
Sean wiped his hand along his lips, smearing blood across his face before sinking his tongue into Tracy’s mouth. Copper flooded her taste buds. Blood. John’s blood. Tracy screamed, wishing she could cry as Adonna wrapped her legs around the horror holding her down.
What was left of her soul died, leaving her behind. Broken and lost.
Tracy’s arm made a punching motion and Sean reeled up. Adonna unhooked her ankles, letting Tracy’s heels fall beside his hips. His eyes widened before his gaze dropped to his stomach. The hilt of the knife stuck out from above his navel. Tracy’s hand shot out again and pulled the blade free.
Sean stumbled back and Adonna thrust once more. Had she gone completely insane? Mad for blood?
She twisted the knife through his gut. “Let him go,” she grunted.
Backing into the wall, a chuckle gurgled up Sean’s throat. He drew his bloody hands away from his stomach, considered them, and laughed.
His gaze returned to Tracy. No, to Adonna. “I knew you and I would get along.”
Tracy’s body inhaled deeply and sprang toward him with a dizzying speed. The knife slashed across Sean’s throat. Blood flooded from the incision, instantly drenching his clothing. He hit the floor before Adonna righted herself. A pool of crimson spread across the Berber carpet as Sean’s swollen eyes stared toward the ceiling.
Tracy stumbled and fell to her knees. “Tracy,” her voice said. “I can’t. I’m too tired.”
A whoosh flooded through her. Tracy brought her hand to her forehead and her body responded. She wiggled her fingers in front of her face as the energy coursing through her body receded.
Tracy shifted her shoulders. They reacted. She was in control again. The overwhelming force that had pushed her deep into her own mind lay dormant. Asleep.
“Tracy?”
Pushing back the fog, she spun toward the voice. Her hands instinctively flew in front of her, warding off an attack. But there was none.
The blade of the knife, still clutched in her numb fingers, came into focus. A trickle of blood clung to the hilt before dripping to the carpet.
The haze behind the knife cleared. Agent Green’s wide eyes came into focus. He reclined on his shoulder, holding his head.
So, he was alive. Too late to help John. Too late to help Dak. Maybe too late to help her.
A spasm in her arm unlocked her fingers and the blade dropped to the floor. For the rest of her life she’d see John’s imploring eyes, the horror stretched across his features. She’d sense the knife piercing his heart. She’d feel his blood splatter across her face.
It hadn’t been her, but she’d felt it. Every single slash, every unforgiving stab.
She’d killed him. The one guy who listened and understood. The person who accepted her despite her idiosyncrasies. The man who reached into her soul and made everything right.
The man she loved. Dead. Because she wasn’t strong enough to stop it.
Tracy staggered to her feet and hobbled toward John’s body. She folded into a heap beside him.
Vacant. Hollow. Everything was gone. What was left of her was a shell. Not human. Something less. She hauled John’s torso into her naked, bloodstained lap.
She needed to keep him comfortable. Needed to keep him safe.
Leaning against the couch, she gathered him in her arms, refusing to allow her gaze to fall on the horrendous holes she’d cut into his chest.
She’d only known him for a short time, but it was enough for her to know it was right. Maybe even meant to be. But now he was gone. Dead by her own hands.
Agent Green staggered to his feet. His right hand remained riveted to his temple.
He squinted as he limped toward her. “Miss Seavers, are you all right?”
She blinked. Was she all right? Odd question. She was sitting on the floor in the living room of a serial-killer, naked and drenched in her boyfriend’s blood. She may never be all right again.
The federal agent lifted the silver cylinder from the corner of the couch. His gaze carried over Sean’s footprint embedded in the dark dust covering the floor. The quake in his eyes told her he knew that an alien had lost his life. “Who?” he asked.
Tracy shivered. “Dak.” One body. Two deaths. If Dak had still been within John, would the entity have been able to save him? Would they have been strong enough together to stop Adonna?
A sticky ooze slid within Tracy’s chest, creeping about her body, using her like a parasite. An abomination. A sick, deceitful creature that didn’t deserve the air Tracy’s lungs filtered so it could live.
Her gaze drifted to the extractor and then to Agent Green. “Take it out of me. This thing inside me killed John.”
Green stumbled and eased to the floor beside her. His head lolled against the couch. “I don’t think I could hold the chamber up long enough.”
Sirens sounded in the distance. The agent laughed and shot his hands to his head again. “Glad they could make it. I think I’ll include in my report that this freaking county needs more police. No wonder so many people died before we caught this asshole.”
We? Tracy tightened her grip on John’s body. Not that Green’s comment m
attered. Sean was dead, but at way too high a cost.
Brakes screeched in the streets. Shouts sounded through the closed windows. Could one of them help her, rid her of this invader—this unwanted guest? They’d have to. Tracy couldn’t live with a murderer inside her. She wouldn’t.
John’s body jerked. Death pangs. She held him tighter. Her stomach turned. None of this was fair. None of it.
John’s body quaked as if startled. Tracy screamed, releasing her grip.
Green knelt beside her. “What happened?”
“He moved.”
John’s eyes bolted open as wraithlike, white, lifeless orbs. His mouth splayed, his jaw stretching his lips into an unnatural, wide O. An inhuman, latex-like squeal riddled the room, as if someone slowly released the air from a balloon. But John’s lungs expanded, rather than contracting. The ghostly intake pierced Tracy’s ears, lashing and gouging—berating a soul no longer capable of absorbing any more horror.
The door kicked in. Legs in dark trousers moved about the room. Voices shouted indiscernible words.
Tracy trembled as John’s eyes rolled, the whites replacing themselves with dilated, lifeless pupils. His mouth closed slowly. He stared into a void of nothing. Would his torment ever end?
Green held out his arms, shielding John’s body from the cacophony of intruders.
Someone covered Tracy’s naked shoulders with some sort of light cloth.
A man crouched beside Green, rubbing a stubbled cheek. “Jesus Christ. It’s Peters.”
Green glanced over his shoulder. “I need a code-seven medical team now!” He turned back to John. “This one just picked up an Ambient.”
Tracy gasped, the quick intake burning her lungs. “What are you saying?”
“The scream and the white eyes… That’s what happens when they latch on. He’s got another entity in him.” He lifted John’s tattered, blood-soaked shirt and grimaced. “Let’s hope it’s a damn strong one.”
67
Three weeks later
Light seared through John’s eyelids, but the peaceful sensation of floating lulled him into keeping his lashes closed. An incessant beep berated his ears, but it wasn’t his alarm clock. What the hell was that?
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