Some Monsters Are Human

[Marcus DuBois]

She hung there. She'd only been the man's captive for maybe 10 or 15 minutes, but it seemed that even that was enough time to begin breaking her. As bad as it had been for the other girl, she at least seemed to be rallying. He wasn't sure how long she'd been his captive or what she had suffered at his hands, but it was enough that even the opportunity for freedom perked her up. This woman, though, she seemed like she had been bombarded for days, emotionally raped and staked out. The images on the screen had been terrible, no question. But this was a woman who'd stalked this man, somehow. He expected her to be more resiliant. But no matter, people were people. You never knew how you were going to handle something until you were actually in it.

He thought back to some of his own horrors. Nothing as bad as this, no. Not even close. But it had been enough. Years of it had shaped him into a god of vengeance, with the power to measure out justice to the perfect degree. And this man was ripe for his sentence. Malik went to the woman and with a thread of earth and fire was able to crumble the manacles from her hands and feet. The cuts remained of course. He had no knowledge of how to use his power to heal- or even if that was possible. She'd have to live with it. A cushion of air caught her, to steady her.

"It was foolish of you to come hunting a monster alone."
He let his voice be natural. Frightening her was not his purpose. "You are fortunate that I followed you. Can you stand on your own?"