novelraw Chapter 462: What You Need To Be Strong
Chapter 462: What You Need To Be Strong
Before anyone could stop her, Sera was already on the move.
The drone fired again, and Sera stepped into the space where the blast had not reached yet, letting the pressure ripple past her like it was nothing more than a gentle breeze.
The dust kicked up around her boots as the pavement trembled from the aftereffects of the sonic drone.
But while everything around her might have reacted, her body didn’t.
Her creature rose under her skin with a pleased, stretching satisfaction that made her spine feel warmer. Finally. They brought a team that might be more challenging to kill. I just hope they don’t depend too much on their toys. Otherwise, they will be disappointed.
Sera climbed the incline toward the ridge in a straight line, not bothering to hide or weave. The ambushers wanted her to react like prey, and she had no interest in playing along.
She could hear their voices now, clipped and urgent, the quick cadence of trained humans trying to keep control of something that refused to fit in their training. It was the same tone that she heard in Adam’s lab when one of the experiments didn’t turn out exactly as planned.
Or fought back.
The first volley snapped across the slope.
Bullets tore into rock and scrub, skipping and ricocheting. One punched into her shoulder hard enough to turn flesh, the impact sharp and sudden. But it wasn’t enough to slow her down.
In fact, she didn’t even blink.
The wound closed with an impatient pulse of cold heat, skin knitting back together as if it had never been touched.
The ridge went silent for half a breath before someone swore long and hard.
That made Sera smile.
They expected for us to hurt... to be in pain, her creature purred, more than a little happy to prove them wrong. They built their courage on the assumption that you still flinch. I can’t wait to keep disappointing them.
She reached the top before they could adjust their spacing.
A man broke cover and came at her with a rifle raised, his mask giving him the bravery of anonymity.
He was tall and solid and fast enough to be dangerous to ordinary people, but Sera was anything but ordinary.
He was also close enough now that Sera could smell him, sweat and old smoke and adrenaline spiking hard as he realized she was already inside his firing range.
He tried to backpedal, but he wasn’t nearly fast enough.
Reaching out, Sera quickly caught him.
She hooked one arm under his chin and yanked him backward until his spine pressed into her front, his boots skidding in the dirt. Her other hand clamped around his wrist and forced the rifle barrel upward, turning it into a useless piece of metal.
She held him there, tight and effortless, like a cat pinning a mouse without bothering to bite yet.
The man’s breathing went fast and wet inside his mask.
His squad froze.
They didn’t fire.
Good.
Sera leaned closer, her mouth near his ear, and spoke with mild curiosity. "Was this supposed to be impressive?"
The man twitched, trying to wrench free. His elbow slammed back into her ribs. It felt like a child trying to punch stone.
Sera’s creature laughed, full and unapologetic. I like this. Let them watch. Watching teaches faster than surviving. After all, a calf isn’t scared of a tiger until they understand what it can do.
Sera tightened her grip on the man, smiling even brighter when she felt the tendons in his wrist strain. She could have snapped them immediately, but she wanted him functional for the moment. She wanted him to understand what it felt like to be held down against his will.
Down the slope, Zubair and the others moved into position, spreading out without speaking. The drones lowered again, emitters glowing. Sera heard the change in their pitch and felt the air begin to thicken with vibration.
The man in her arms shuddered as the sonic pulse hit, but Sera didn’t so much as flinch.
Her creature pushed back with bored irritation. That noise is annoying. It is not dangerous. It is a wasp pretending it is a wolf.
Sera turned her head slightly and looked past the man’s mask at the ridge line.
She could see at least six more figures, some in heavier armor, one with a launcher slung over his shoulder. Their posture had shifted from confidence into a careful kind of calculation.
One of them lifted a hand, then lowered it, not sure what command would matter now.
Sera bared her teeth in a smile that never reached kindness. "You should have brought something better than that."
The man in her arms made a strangled sound.
Sera opened her mouth and bit into the side of his neck.
She didn’t nip. She didn’t pierce and pull back. She clamped down and tore, taking a mouthful of muscle and skin in a single rip that spilled hot blood down her chin and across the front of his armor.
He screamed into his mask, the sound muffled and useless, and the ridge erupted into motion.
Gunfire resumed, frantic now, bullets slamming into Sera’s back and shoulders and arms because they had decided it was better to hit her and their teammate than hold fire.
The rounds dug in. They tore. They punched holes clean through her. The man in her grip took some of them too, jerking hard as impacts hit his torso.
And still, Sera didn’t release him.
She kept him pressed against her like a warning sign.
Her creature purred with satisfaction as she continued to feast one the fear in her arms. Warm. Real. No rot. No laboratory bitterness. This is what you needed to be strong, to be full. This is what we need more of before we meet Adam.
Sera swallowed and bit again, deeper, teeth finding the edge of his collarbone.
She tore through the muscle there and used the leverage to pull him tighter, forcing him to feel every movement.