Minutes.

My ankles drink up the sea in exchange for my strength. Strategically taking a step forward, I hear a few growls.

"I left on my own terms, which I suggest you do the same."

A polite air weaves through my words even though the warning is obvious. Most of the males snicker in the front. Thirteen to fourteen figures stand before the water, largely masculine. There are two sources of dense estrogen though their presence is shaded among burly figures. One even bears her cycle.

The one speaking is a scraggly blonde with little more to offer than words. He doesn't smell of sickness, but his build is weak and unforgivingly thin. A large white shirt hangs from his chest and the denim pants are caked in dirt.

"This is our territory, Sweetheart," he sneers at me. "Didn't you have anywhere else to get off?"

Tick one.

I'll kill him.

"No one has territory, imbecile. The earth is the earth and this planet has rejected your existence."

The disgust at the bottom of my gut flares up again and swallows the entirety of my abdomen. Deep breathes can only get me so far when the repulsive look on his face doesn't fade.

"Look, Lady, I'm only going to be nice for so long, you need to get back on your boat and go somewhere else."

A low growl slowly turns into a purr as I drag my weakening frame out of the water. The contents of the ocean cling to me energetically and I feel the emotional tug. Sadness has to fuel my rage though, as quickly sinking as it is. When my shoes dig into the sand, heat fills my frame and starts to evaporate the remaining water from my skin. The faint smoke appearance shakes the few that notice it against the blue current.

My back erects with the strength of dry land, knee's repairing in seconds.

"What will you do if I don't comply?" I ask, baring my teeth almost playfully.

The man's hair flops in front of his face and he replies with a low grin, laughter curling in the back of his throat. "I'd say we'd make you, but I'd be lying with such a pretty young thing like you."

Tick two.

Breathe.

He comes up close, inches away from me now with a tall enough frame to look down on me. His breath brushes my cheeks and I sense nothing but stale alcohol and bread. The illness hasn't infected him yet, though some of the others weren't so lucky.

"I wouldn't do anything too risky, boy," I spit on his lips. "I've got a man at home and he won't be very pleased."

His hand slowly reaches around to my butt as he smirks and whispers in my ear. "You're not going home."

Tick three.

You're going to die.

A scream echoes out across the flat land in all directions. Two seconds passed. One to grab his wrist, the other to twist it so hard around his back the arm snaps like a fragile twig. Floored by the pain, I release and kick his face into the dirt so hard unconsciousness isn't a forethought.

In the corner of my eye, a small boy scrambles over the hills and back towards camp. Reinforcements are inevitable now.

I feel eyes on my back before a small squeak breaks the shock-ridden silence. Remi's dazed eyes peer over the railing and a snarl breaks over my face.

Shit.

"You couldn't just stay down."

The distraction is long enough for someone else to try their luck, grabbing each of my wrists from behind and inevitably trying to bring me down with a sturdy kick to my spine. When their bones rattle against my iron like build, I twist around and switch our grips, yanking the muscular male into a headbutt with the force to shatter his skull.

Quickly dropping his wrists and seizing a hold on his neck, and tearing mana straight from his throat. The blue wisp fades into my palm and swims into my core with the rest of a depleting source.

Fifteen souls would do little to nothing for me.

All one hundred years seems to have done is enhance male aggression and sexuality. Testosterone pollutes this planet now. The small part of their brain processing fear and pain regressing into nothingness.

Hivemind begins to cultivate though, Half of the group's members creeping forward and attempting to surround me.

One girl and five guys.

Burn them, a wicked voice hisses in my ear. My voice.

A cold sweat consumes my body and I freeze in place, my mania giving the Destroyers a false blanket of security.

"Who's going first?" I ask slowly, pulling my hands up in front of me and turning to keep my eye on all of them.

Instead three of the six edge in and size me up. The girl even smiles at me in a deranged light, her decision clearly made just like the rest.

I pivot out to the side and throw her down on all fours, grip tightening into her shoulder. With a free hand, I snap her neck quickly and feel a pair of hands on each elbow. Thrashing back, I sidle between them and crack their heads together.

My breathing sags, empty pants escaping me.

They surround me so fast, I can't reach for the girl's mana slipping into the atmosphere.

Burn them down.

Stretching out, I flex my stiff joints and muscles before analyzing the situation in front of me. The rest were men of varying heights and builds. Each wore a dark jacket and different salvaged leather beneath. Two of them were sick.

Puffy, red eyes and crusty lips give the illusion of a cold. I don't notice anything with congestion but their organs are rotting beneath their flesh. The paling faces and changing skin could easily cause an outbreak.

I use as little speed as necessary to snap the taller, rounder man's head off the spine and watch him fall.

The healthy male still seemed to have faith in the situation, squaring himself for when I made the next move. However, the ill individual looked panicked, shaking beneath his jacket ever so slightly. From his ailment or fear, I wouldn't know.

You have to burn them!

A tiny grin tugs it's way onto my lips and I feel my brain and limbs fall numb. A glow hovers at my fingertips, eyelids growing heavy when I reach out in both directions and sear them to the ground. It takes seconds of the blast to leave a pile of charred leather and crisp bones.

My knees give out beneath me.

Some echoing screams and yells cry out in the back of my mind but I can't bring myself to decipher anything. Static fills my ears, splashes of water fighting their way into my awareness.

Tight fingers knead into my bicep, a stinging pain rippling over my skin. I blink away the blurry, heavy feeling and see the crowd being replenished by a new party. Now easily twenty bodies, I glance back and see Theron standing in front of Remi with a gun, Daniel shoving me back and forth again.

"-have to-" a voice phases in and out. "-coming-"

"Daniel," I manage through gritted teeth. "Keep them back."

I cough, blood pooling up over my lips. Shoving off the ground, I sway a little bit and almost collide with the ground a second time. "-not useless-"

His scolding is muted among my pain.

Ahead of the new pack is a slim, muscular figure that is no taller than the shortest man. Silver locks coil into a midnight ombre some might assume is stained or dyed. The lengthy hair tumbles down over the curves of her chest nicely and down beyond to her waist.

"Mum, should we take her out?" A dark-skinned warrior whispers in her ear.

A laugh escapes me and I wobble upright and attempt to collect myself. "Your people are sick," I yell at her. The strange, mania consumes my brain and I scratch at my neck with a weak grimace.

Her icy demeanor cracks slightly, the smallest of smiles showing under her cloak in the moonlight. "You look rather ill yourself, no thanks to us."

The softest monotone voice. Her words crisp and clear. An enchanting level of eerie haunting the night air.

"Your point?" I ask, lowering my volume.

A second of clarity returns and I smell something familiar. My gut clenches tight. Age, the scent of centuries. A sweet fragrance brushing against my face in the dusk breeze.

"My point is," she answers softly, taking a step forward. "You're dying."

"I'd be dying anyway," I snap, recoiling in regret.

Every barrier inside my head is crashing down, leaving nothing but rubble to step over for my innermost thoughts. Blood continues slipping out the corners of lips, but I shove a brisk arm and smear it off to the best of my ability.

Another step forward. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Her eyes flicker with interest over her shoulder, a light violet flame fluttering deep within her pupils. Black-clad boots and tight black gear, she wears that of what a trained assassin would fight in. Blades are strapped to her thighs, surely up her sleeves and within her other garments as well.

She palms one hesitantly and gives me a warning look.

"You don't need that," I chuckle, a chill overtaking my chest.

A look of familiarity flashes in those eyes, something I don't have the luxury of returning.

My eyes close for a single moment, opening to a crowd with no leader. A blade reaches my throat though and she brings her mouth centimeters from my ear.

"Fight me," she commands.

I scoff tiredly, going slightly limp under the blade.

Remi is screaming in the background. Theron has her tightly restrained in his arms, her thrashing doing nothing against an effortless hold. The guys watch like sentinels, stiff and vigilant.

She carves a thin line into my skin and I feel a drop of blood run down my neck. "Fight with me."

"Why?" I laugh. "You'll win."

"Fight with me, Káli," the woman begs in a whisper.

I choke against the blade in surprise, sputtering curses in a different language and kicking her feet out from under her and trap her in the sand. The hood falls off fully to reveal silver bangs and a narrow face. Her features are small but prominent.

A lengthy scar fading into the skin around the corner of her lips.

I haven't heard that name in years...

The air deflates from inside my lungs.

"Kill her!" The woman beneath me bellows, a giant grin stealing her frown.

Frozen in shock, I stay paralyzed on top of her. Her pointed ears peek out of her thick hair, dark tattoos coiling and maneuvering up her neck. She grabs my hand and I feel a strange crackle ripple through me. Endless, bottomless mana. Her fuel crashing through my veins.

"Fight with me," she says again.

Clarity sweeps through my brain and I see the way I have not in just under one hundred years. I did not understand her strength or why I remembered giving her that scar, but there is a rush of fury headed for us with each passing second.

"We'll end them tonight." 

Hey, beautiful Destroyers! I have another update in the works even, can you believe it? Probably lol. It's November! Which means? Nanowrimo. I know a lot of people start new projects but to be completely honest, I'm just using this as a time to focus on and give this book my undivided attention. 

If you have any questions, thoughts, or feelings, be sure to let me know. I love hearing all of your crazy theories and to be completely honest, I want to interact with you all more. I don't bite, I promise. 

Have a lovely day!