Revenant's Kiss | ONC 2022 Shortlister ✓

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"What caused LycanZ anyway?" Soren asked, latching his hand around mine as he helped me up onto the wall of an abandoned QZ. "I've heard so many stories I don't know what is true and what ain't."

I held onto the rough concrete of the crumbling wall as I pushed off from a wrecked military hummer and used Soren's hold to pull myself up to my feet. His question was random, but a good one, and I thought of the easiest way to explain it as I caught my breath. I held my side for a moment and let the dull ache subside, chewing my lip. "The real origin of LycanZ is found in a few scientists hired by the President. They were supposed to find a way to create supersoldiers, ones that would strike fear in our enemies."

"I guess in a way they did," he commented, watching me attentively as I told the story. "Revenants are all sorts of scary."

"They definitely are," I agreed, smiling ruefully. "So those scientists created a modified strain of rabies — called LycanZ — which promised the superhumans, and distributed it at military bases around the country. When they injected the first male army grunts, everything seemed perfect. Then those men turned and, well, you know the rest."

"I do." He nodded, shifting as he glanced at the setting sun peeking through dark rain clouds and the wreckage. He drew in a lungful of air before pushing it out slowly. "Think we'll make it to your safehouse before night falls?"

"Oh definitely," I replied, pointing to a fenced-in building in the distance. "Do you see that yellow light out there?"

He followed my finger. "I do. Let me guess, that's the safehouse?"

"Correct. Which means we'll be there in thirty minutes, give or take," I said in reply before leaning over the edge of the wall to calculate the distance to the bottom. Ugh. it was way farther than I wanted it to be, around seven feet, but I'd deal with it. I just hoped it wouldn't hurt so bad getting down there, but that would be a miracle.

Soren bumped my shoulder and captured my attention, a tiny smile growing ever larger on his lips. "Is the badass sergeant afraid of heights?"

"Pshhhh. As if!" I snorted, giving a playful roll of my eyes. "I just don't wanna break a leg, or something. So get your revenant ass down there and help a lady out."

He laughed at me, but obeyed like a member of my squad. Damn, I fucking missed them. They were my family, and Azrael. . . . Well, now wasn't the time to go there. Hell, there never was time for it, but whatever.

I had Soren to look after now, and I couldn't afford grief or anything else to get in the way of that.

A solid thump echoed up from below, and I chanced a peek down at the base of the wall. Soren waved back up at me, beaming brightly as I shook my head in amazement. Travelling with a physically enhanced person definitely had its perks. "Training for your modeling career?" I teased him, unable to resist the opportunity.

"Oh hush and come on down before I change my mind," he threatened, coming out of his shell more and more as the time wore on.

I didn't know how I felt about it, but I guessed it was a given. Oh well. It wasn't hurting anyone. Yet.

I lowered my backside to the hardness of the wall, dangling my feet over the top. My bottom lip pressed under my front teeth and I watched Soren stand with arms akimbo. "You wouldn't dare."

"Yup. You're right, I wouldn't," he agreed with yet another laugh. He held out his arms to me and stepped back just a tad. "Just jump. I've got you. Trust me."

Trusting him to catch me when I fell had to be one of the deepest levels of trust I could give anyone. Too many times I'd been dropped by the one supposed to make sure I didn't hit the ground, and I would be lying if I said a part of me didn't wonder if he would actually keep me from crashing. There was only one way to find out though. Scary, right? I sure as hell thought so.