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Lara had survived.
Amanda had watched her swim away. It was the last thing she’d seen through the gap in the rocks before her mind grew dark and hazy around the edges from lack of oxygen. If nothing else, Lara would survive and come back for the bodies of her friends. For Amanda’s body.
And then he was with her. Inside her. Possessing her like fire in her blood even as he dragged her to the surface of the water. She was too weak to resist, but as hours and then days passed it became clear that he would not kill her. That his interests lay elsewhere. Through it all, one thought sustained her: Lara had survived. So long as she held on, Lara would return, hopefully with backup, to rescue her from the monster that had taken their friends’ lives.
Days turned to weeks. Amanda’s body, already thin, grew skeletal. The monster’s presence kept her alive, but it could not stave off the ache of hunger. She grew impatient. What could possibly have kept Lara from digging down to the tunnels, now flooded, and searching for the friend who hadn’t died? Lara was not the sort to just give up. She had to be coming soon.
Desperate, Amanda began to talk to the monster. She thought of it as a distraction from the pain in her body, at first, but soon she almost began to enjoy it. The monster slowed down when she spoke, its fiery head tilted to listen. It was a demon, of that she was certain, but part of it reacted like an animal. Amanda had kept dogs at home – great, slobbering pit bulls. The neighbors had never understood her love for the vicious-looking beasts, but she knew the dogs’ natures. She’d managed to find the sweetness in them. Her dogs would never willfully cause harm to anyone. Delirious, she began to approach the monster the same way. Perhaps, despite his rampage, he was less of a murderer and more a victim of circumstance. Plenty of animals didn’t know their own strength. All animals protected their homes from invaders. Could she really blame him?
She talked until her voice was hoarse, and still Lara didn’t come. The monster had ceased to possess her against her will, instead offering her his hand when he saw her body failing her, and feeding her strength that way. She had tamed him, enough that she could sleep without fear of harm. He was a protector, now.
She had no idea how many days had passed without sign of Lara. All she knew was that it was time to stop waiting. The monster was hovering beside her, and she turned to face it. “I need to get out of here. You can come with me,” she assured him when he bristled. “But I need out. My kind aren’t meant to be down here for so long.”
The monster considered. Then, ducking its head subserviently, it extended its arms and wrapped them gently around Amanda’s waist. She felt herself being lifted off the ground, the monster’s presence a warmth at her back. Together they soared across the flooded chamber and into rock-filled tunnels. Amanda felt only contentment as she saw beams and pylons flash past at incredible speed. She had no fear left in her. Her monster would not kill her, not now after everything they’d been through. She felt heat flicker across her pale skin as bits of sunlight filtered in through gaps in the tunnel walls. And then they were out in the open.
She nearly screamed. The light was so painful and blinding after weeks in near-darkness. She fell to her knees, eyes squeezed shut, and felt the monster let go. “No!” she cried out, desperate not to lose her savior. “Please, don’t leave me!”
The light behind her eyelids dimmed. She squinted and saw the monster standing before her, its head tilted questioningly. Amanda rummaged around in the pocket of her now-too-big shorts and pulled out the black gem she’d taken from the door so many weeks ago. “In here,” she urged. “That way we can stay together.”
She’d expected protest or hesitation, but the monster did neither. Swooping forward, it dived headfirst into the gem until nothing was left to be seen except a glimmer in the depths of the stone. “Thank you,” Amanda murmured, stroking the gem as one would a favorite pet.
Taking a deep breath, she rose to her feet. Her mind was clear, a single thought occupying it. This time the thought felt cold, like the chill of the water that had nearly drowned her. There was no hope in the thought, only purpose. Lara had survived. And she would pay.