My fingers wrap tightly around the handle of the steel blade in my grasp. Thane has no idea I'm here, giving me an advantage. I prepare to make my move when a scaly hand lands on my shoulder and pushes me back down to my seat. A Reptilian Superior slams a mason jar of beer on the table and sits down in the chair opposite me. He turns the chair around and straddles the seat. He rests his arms on the backrest and lifts his chin.

"Where do you think you're going?" He scratches his neck. White-scaly flakes peel away from his skin and tiny flecks fly toward me. He's sloughing. A fresh layer of green scales is visible under his molting dermis. His forked tongue slips in and out of his mouth as he reaches into his back pocket. He raises a switch blade and flips it up. "You aren’t leaving unless it’s through the ass of a Superior."

Two Rodent Superiors walk up and take their places in the chairs beside me. I tuck my knife into my sleeve to hide it and remain still while a rat-faced female to my left pulls my hood down. My long, black hair falls past my shoulders. I pray that they don't go for my glasses. I'd hate to add more to my list of casualties, though I fear it might be inevitable.

The furry male to my right leans in close to sniff me, his whiskered nose twitches up and down. "This one smells odd," he says through bucked teeth. "Must be trying to mask her scent like the others.”

"Her hair is so soft and luxurious," says the female. She takes a few strands of my hair in her skinny fingers. "Remember when my hair used to look like this, William?"

"Jealous, Minerva?"

"Hardly." Minerva plucks a strand of my hair out. It falls calmly to the ground and she strikes a half-smile. An elongated tooth pokes out of her lips and curls under like a yellow wood shaving.

"Allow me to introduce the Vale Triplets," says their lizard companion. "You may be wondering why there's only two of them. Do you mind if I tell her, Minerva?"

"Not at all, Rafe."

Rafe's tongue slips in and out. He looks over his shoulder at a blood stain splattered on the paint-chipped wall behind him. "That's all that's left of Peter. You see, we've been having a lot of trouble with Inferiors lately and our weekly hunts don't seem to be helping. Word has it that the humans are forming a Resistance, and a few of them had the nerve to come in a few days ago and stir up trouble. They got Peter before we even knew they were here."

"They got lucky," says Minerva under her breath. “Takes a lot to take one of us down.”

"But, they got what they deserved." William smiles and gestures with a scabby hand to a grill behind the bar. The owner of the tavern, a fat Superior named Hogg, turns a human arm over on the fire. He snorts through his pig nose and hocks phlegm from his throat before spitting a wet mass of slime on the ground.

Rafe raises his knife again. "Then, you show up here alone, looking all mysterious. It makes me think you have something to hide." He pulls down the front of his shirt and points to a black tattoo of a lizard head on his chest. The edges of the tattoo move like ink in water. "This mark is what makes us who we are. Every Superior has one, created by Zara himself to show that we are more than human. Each one is unique to the animal we're given."

William and Minerva show me their tattoos, both are wriggling rat tails. I remain still and lock eyes with Rafe behind my glasses. I know where this is heading.

"Prove to me that you're more than human," says Rafe. "Show me your mark before I slit your pretty throat from ear to ear."

I take a deep breath and slowly unzip my jacket. Rafe raises his brow causing his forehead to wrinkle. A layer of dead skin peels up as a result. I reach for the front of my tank top and stop for a moment. The corners of Rafe's mouth turn up in anticipation. I give him a sly grin and tease the edge of my top just above my breasts. An impatient hiss leaves Rafe's lips and I pull down to reveal my mark, a paw print with large claws. Smoky waves of black fan out from the center of the print like an ominous fog.

Rafe lets out a quick breath of air through his nostrils. "Well, I'll be damned. I'm sorry, darlin'." He flips the blade of his knife down and sets it on the table. "It's just that, you don't look anything like a Superior."

"How unfortunate for you, to still look human," says Minerva. She squints her beady eyes and looks at me with disdain.

"I don't see anything wrong with her at all," says Rafe. "Just so long as she's Superior."

William shakes his head. "Rafe is one of the few who still finds the human female body to be attractive."

"It's disgusting," scoffs Minerva.

Rafe waves their words away. "Don't mind them. Let me get you a drink." He slams his hand on the table and yells. "Hogg! Four beers!"

Hogg nods and slaps a human hand on a plate. He slides it across the bar to a Wolf who proceeds to tear into it like a chew toy.

"Hogg has a brewery in back," informs Rafe. "The beer tastes like shit, but it's all we got." He smiles at me. “So, there has to be something that puts you apart from Inferiors. You have fur under those clothes? Webbed feet? Scales?”

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Hogg's chubby-pink hands place our glasses on the table. William grabs his glass and takes a drink. He swallows and wipes his mouth with his sleeve before pointing to my mark. "You know, I don't think I've ever seen a mark like that before. Reminds me of a big cat, like a Jaguar or something."

"If she is a big cat, you two should be running," jokes Rafe.

"I'm serious," says William. "What kind of mark is that? Is it a Jaguar?"

I calmly reach for my glass. "White Tiger, actually."

Minerva straightens up in her chair. A muffled squeak escapes her. I stay stoic and take a drink. Rafe's golden eyes tighten. He grabs his switch blade and leans in close. "Take off your glasses."

I put my beer down the table, but decide not to obey his order. Rafe grunts in annoyance. He lunges toward me and rips off my sunglasses. I can see my silver irises reflecting in his fearful eyes. Minerva scurries away while William is frozen in his seat. Rafe pushes his chair back and turns to Thane. "It's her! She's alive! The bitch is al-!"

I bust my glass in half on the table and ram it into Rafe's neck before he can say anything else. He gurgles blood from his mouth and stumbles back. William hides under the table while Minerva returns with an elephant rifle. She fires and the blast shakes the old tavern. Everything that follows happens within seconds. I move with such speed that time seems to stop as I pull Rafe in front of the bullet. It blows a hole in his back. I grab his knife, spin around, and flit it towards Minerva. The blade enters square between her eyes before she has time to dodge it. Rafe and Minerva fall to the ground. I catch William reaching for Minerva's rifle. I pull the knife from my sleeve and fling it at the ground. It catches his arm and pins it against the warped-wood floor. I kick the rifle away as I make my way toward Thane. The females around him dart toward the exit, leaving him alone in the booth. I pull my pistol from its holster. It's heavy, unable to be carried by an average person, and laced with gold filigree. It’s one of few weapons that can actually kill a superior. I aim it Thane's head and he leans back in his seat.

"Heh, I thought I smelled pussy," says Thane. He crosses his legs and smiles. "How are ya, Gwen? How's the single life treating you?"

I purse my lips in anger and pull back on the hammer of my pistol when a rumbling shakes the tavern.

"Sorry you can't stay and chat." Thane gives me a short salute. "Ta-ta for now."

I'm tackled by a Rhino Superior just as I pull the trigger. Thane dodges the bullet and escapes up a staircase to the attic. The Rhino rams an ivory horn, protruding from his forehead, into my abdomen and forces me into a wall. The brick mortar cracks under the force. I try to lift myself off the horn. He backs up and slams me into the wall again, pushing his horn deeper into my side. I wrap my hands around the bloody tusk and position my feet against The Rhino's bulging chest. I push against him and pull on the horn. It cracks. The Rhino groans and rams me harder against the wall. I keep pulling until the horn breaks off. I hit the ground and rip the horn out. It's stained red with my blood. The Rhino stamps his feet in anger. "You're gonna pay for that!" He yells. "Come here!"

He stampedes towards me and I wait for the precise moment. When he is inches away, I step to the side and jam the horn under his chin. It exits through the top of his head, pushing bits of brain matter out like an erupting volcano. The Rhino stops running. He falls to the ground and slides across the floor until friction finally stops him.

I bolt up to the attic to find an open window. The breeze from outside blows tattered curtains around like ribbons. I run to the window and look down. I see Thane get on a Romkin, one of Zara's flying vehicles. Zara only sends them out when the passenger riding them is reporting back to home base. Thane must have called for it. The coward. He knows I'll never be able to catch him now. I may be fast, but I'm not Romkin fast. A white flash of light fills the sky as the Romkin blasts away and out of sight.

"Keep running, you bastard. I know exactly where you're going."

"Hey, bitch!" screams a voice in the darkness.

I turn around. Rafe is standing behind a large object covered with a sheet of tarp. There's a massive hole in his torso from the gunshot earlier, but there are signs of fresh skin forming. The wound is beginning to heal. He grins and pulls the tarp off of a modified Gatling gun made to fire red hot lasers.

"Shit." I mutter under my breath.

Rafe opens fire and I run for a circular stain glass window. I gain speed and lunge headfirst, crossing my arms over my chest as I dive through. Shards of colored glass scrape my skin as orange lasers fly past me. I flip in the air and land on my feet three stories below. A fiery pain leaves my leg followed by the smell of sizzling flesh. I look down. There's a fresh red burn on my thigh. I bite my bottom lip in aggravation and place a hand on my gored wound. "That didn't go as planned," I say to myself. "You're losing your touch, girl."

I limp off toward the ruins of capital D.C. now overrun by dense forest. Rafe calls after me, "Enjoy what's left of your life, bitch! I have a feeling it'll be ending very soon! For good this time!"

His voice darkens the farther into the forest I go. I look down at my stomach and lift up the edge of my jacket. My favorite tank top is ruined with blood. The wetness from the wound shines in full moon’s light. I have to patch myself up before hitting the road again. My wound will take a few hours to completely heal and the smallest drop of blood with leave a scent trail. I need to make sure I stop the bleeding before I head out. I find my way through the trees and come to a clearing where I’d set up camp. There’s an old red Corvette parked on the edge of the clearing. That’s one thing I love about the apocalypse. Free cars. I don’t remember much about being human, but I’m glad I didn’t forget how to drive. I walk to my rucksack resting on the ground by a stump. I grab my pack and plop down on the ground. A grunt leaves my lips. I forgot about the burns on my thigh. I rummage through my pack and find some gauze and a canteen of water. I take my jacket off and lifted my tank top. My fingers touch the outside of my gaping hole in my stomach while I pour the cold water over it. The dried blood washes off while a river of new blood pours out of the wound. I press fresh gauze on the opening and hold it there. I turn the best I can and check the hole in my back. It has already started to heal.

I close my eyes and lean against the stump. As I lay there listening to the silence of the night, I get foggy glimpses of what I assume to be past memories. Memories of laughing with friends. Dancing in a white dress with a man whose face I can’t picture. A little girl who looks like me running into the arms of a woman. These aren’t my memories. They are the memories of someone who died long ago, before I became this. They become less vivid as time passes. My memories are clearer. They run red with blood. Destruction. Turmoil. Heartache. My life was nothing short of sightless dread until I met the one who opened my eyes. I only wish I had met him sooner.