"No."

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. This was impossible. I shook my head in disbelief. "No," I repeated, my voice a little louder. I let out a small nervous laugh. "How is this happening? How did he find me?" My heart rate began to speed up. "How does he always find me?"

"Amarie," Isaac said slowly, reaching out a hand.

"No!" I shouted. He flinched. I winced. "Sorry. Don't touch me right now. That, that...thing, it's going to get inside my head, I'm going to transform into a monster."

"We won't let it hurt you," Isaac said firmly.

I shook my head. "No, you don't understand. There's nothing you can do!" My knees began to shake. "Someone knock me out. Please."

"No," Ravi responded, oddly calm. "This is a good thing."

I looked at him in wild bewilderment. "How could this possibly be a good thing?!"

"It gives you a chance to get over your insecurities," he said. "You can fight this, Amarie."

"No, I can't!" I shouted, my throat constricting. Why didn't they understand? Why couldn't they see?

"It's getting closer," Sophie warned.

"Which insecurity is this?" Ravi asked firmly.

I glanced at the shadowy figure rapidly approaching. "I...I don't know. They all look the same from far away."

"Okay, so what you're going to do is talk to us while the thoughts are going through your head, yeah? Then we can figure this out and fix it."

I could feel the familiar panic start to set in at the sight of the black mass coming closer and closer. I swallowed the knot in my throat. "I'll try."

And then the Whisperer was there.

It loomed over the boat, growing and shifting, sleek and silky. It looked like oil, if the oil was sentient and malicious. A dark shadow fell over the boat as the Whisperer moved to block out the sun.

"This is creepy," Audrey mumbled.

I squeezed my eyes shut, waiting for the inevitable. My heart was pounding wildly.

You foolish girl.

There is was. The first whisper. The first words of that serpentine hiss, cold and sharp, a tongue made out of barbed wire and ice.

You thought you could hide? How foolish. How STUPID. You never were the intelligent type, no?

I gritted my teeth and took a breath. "It's intelligence," I managed to spit out. "It's my insecurity about my intelligence."

"Oh my god," Sierra murmured.

"You can hear it?" Isaac asked, concern laced in his voice.

I nodded.

You have led me here and put all these people in danger. Did you really think we wouldn't find you? You are an idiot, Amarie. You couldn't see the most obvious trap in the world coming.

I clenched my fists, my legs trembling more fiercely. "No," I whispered, "I will not fall for this. I will not transform."

But am I wrong?

I opened my mouth to reply, but found no words. It was true.

You can't think your way out of the simplest of problems. You never know what to do or to say. You're simply stumbling through life, PRETENDING you have the slightest inkling of what's going on. And yet you have the arrogance to think that you're intelligent to any degree. That might be the most ridiculous part of all.

And just like that, it was happening again. My rock hard resolve to stay strong crumbled beneath the words resonating inside my head.

"Amarie," Sierra said cautiously, "Amarie, are you alright?"

I shook my head slightly, my breath speeding up.

"Amarie, you're intelligent," Ravi said urgently. "I promise."

He is lying.

"You're intelligent!"

You're an idiot.

"You're wise!"

You're naive.

"You're incredible!"

You are a fool.

"You're—"

I screamed and fell to my knees, the back and forth overwhelming me. A loud static noise filled my head. I could vaguely hear the shouts of the others, but the static grew louder.

You're an idiot.

"I know," I whispered.

You're naive.

"I-I know."

You're a fool.

"I..."

You are worthless.

I was consumed.

Blackness overwhelmed me, the slick feeling of oil running down my throat, roiling around my stomach, slowly dropping down my arms. Every molecule in my body felt wrong, as if they were shifted out of place. My head spun and throbbed, the blackness snaking around the nerves and synapses of my brain. My mouth felt wet and sticky, leaving me with the unsettling feeling that, if I opened my lips, thick rivulets of dark black blood would trickle down my chin.

And then I lost all perception of anything.

~~~~~

The sphinx blinked open her eyes, stretched, and stood up. Her body was perfect. Every muscle toned to the exact right degree. The lean form of a lioness was exhilarating. Much better than that...other form. She couldn't quite remember.

She rolled her neck, sighing with relief. She grinned wickedly. Oh, it was good to be awake at last.

Her eyes passed over the people gathered on the deck of the boat. An odd group, to be sure.

"I am the Sphinx, the most intelligent individual in the universe," she declared, making eye contact with each of the sniveling weaklings. "Which one of you would you like me to eat first?"

The small one with curly brown hair shrieked. The sphinx grinned maliciously. "Are you volunteering?"

"Back off!" the boy next to her said, throwing a protective arm in front of the girl.

The sphinx chuckled. "Isn't someone brave? Brave and foolish." She sighed. "I haven't got all day. With some haste, please?"

"I have a counterproposal."

She turned her head in the direction of the voice. It was a scrawny young dark skinned boy. She raised her eyebrows. "Go on."

"You say you're the most intelligent being in the universe?"

"I am."

"Prove it. A battle of riddles. Each person tells riddles until one can't solve one."

The sphinx threw back her head and laughed. "Oh, silly boy, you cannot possibly compete with me."

The boy took a breath. "Let me try. If I win, you have to let us go and give us back our friend Amarie."

The sphinx frowned. That name sounded familiar. But from where?

"And if you win...you can eat me first."

A girl next to him gasped. "Ravi, no!"

But the boy looked determined. "Deal?"

The sphinx smiled. "Well, I relish a challenge. Deal." She settled down and crossed her paws. "Shall I begin?"

The boy nodded, sitting cross legged opposite her.

The sphinx tilted her head a moment, then began. "Tall I am young, short I am old, while with life I glow, wind is my foe. What am I?"

The boy looked down a moment, but almost immediately looked back up. "A candle. Easy."

The sphinx narrowed her eyes. She hadn't expected him to get it that quickly. "Correct. I started fairly simple for you. Proceed."

The boy grinned, but continued. "What has many keys, but can't open a single door?"

The sphinx didn't even hesitate. "A piano." She grinned and licked her lips. "My turn."

The boy's eyes widened. So. He was finally realizing how truly intelligent she was.

"The more you take, the more you leave behind. What am I?"

He bit his lip. The sphinx settled back in satisfaction and watched him struggle with glee. His forehead creased. He looked down.

She was going to win this battle of wits. It wasn't a fair competition, truly. But she was happy to indulge.

"If you wish to give up, by all means—"

"No. Wait." The boy closed his eyes for a moment, his lips parting. Then he looked up. "Is it...footsteps?"

The sphinx growled. There was no way the boy had gotten it that quickly. "You are...correct." The people on the boat gasped and cheered until the sphinx silenced them with a glance. "We are not yet finished." She forced a smile. "Your turn."

The boy wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead and began. "Five hundred begins it, five hundred ends it, five in the middle is seen. The first of all figures, the first of all letters, fill in the spaces between. Of all of these things, I am the king. What am I?"

The sphinx raised her eyebrows. "Interesting." She purses her lips, her mind whirring at the speed of light. "David."

The boy's shoulders deflated in disappointment. "Oh. Yeah. Yeah, that's it."

"What?!" the red headed girl exclaimed. "That makes no sense!"

"Roman numerals, dear," the sphinx purred. "Figure it out." She stretched her spine. "Ready?"

The boy nodded, although he appeared to be growing nervous.

In the morning, I walk on four legs—"

The boy gasped. The sphinx raised her eyebrows. "Is there a problem?"

The boy shook his head wildly. "No. Sorry. Keep going."

"Very well. In the morning, I walk on four legs, in the afternoon, I walk on two, in the evening, I walk on three. What am I?"

The boy tapped his finger against his leg for a moment and creased his forehead. He didn't appear to be thinking as hard as before.

"A man," he said finally, with such certainty that the sphinx hissed slightly under her breath.

"And how did you know that?" she growled.

The boy shrugged. "Uh...figured it out. It's stages of a man's life. Babies crawl on four legs, adults walk on two, old people use a cane—three legs. There you go."

"Nice," the redhead whispered.

The sphinx ground her teeth. "Very well. Continue."

The boy took a breath. "A man, his father, and his son were in the car, but got in a terrible accident. They were rushed to the hospital, but only the youngest boy lived. When the doctor came in to operate, he took one look and said, 'I cannot operate on this boy. He's my son.' How is this possible?"

The sphinx grinned. "Amateur. This is easy. The doctor is the boy's mother."

But the boy shook his head. "No. I said 'he'. The doctor is male."

The sphinx paused. She narrowed her eyes. "That's not possible. The boy's father died. You said he did."

The boy nodded. "He did."

The sphinx's mouth fell slightly open. "Then it's not possible."

"It is."

The sphinx stood up. "Then...the doctor must be the boy's stepfather. Right?"

"Is that your final answer?"

"Yes!" the sphinx roared. "That is the only answer!"

The boy was still. Then slowly, a smile began to creep up his face.

"You're wrong."

"What?!" she seethed.

"You're wrong. I win."

"What's the answer then?" she cried, slowly walking forwards.

The boy stood up, still grinning. "The boy had two fathers. They were a gay couple."

The sphinx froze. "No," she breathed. "No, no, no, NO!"

She looked around wildly. "I...I am not as smart as a young boy!" she shrieked. "I have been outwitted!" She threw herself on the deck and began to sob.

"Hey," the boy said, "we much prefer our friend Amarie to you. She's smarter than you'll ever be."

The sphinx looked up. Something inside her shattered.

And then suddenly the world around her began to fade and everything went black.