I tear free of the giant man's grip and hit the ground hard, gasping for air. Every breath sends a sharp pain through my chest. Punctured lungs. Has to be.
The woman jumps down from her friend's corpse and walks over to me. I look at her for a second, then tilt my head back and stare at the sky, trying to focus on breathing.
"You."
She kicks me in the side.
I wheeze.
Then she grabs a fistful of my hair and jerks my head up until I'm staring right at her.
"What are you?"
"W-wh..."
"Cough!"
Blood surges up my throat, spilling out of my mouth before I can get a word out.
Her grip tightens.
"Who do you work for? Miracle Inc? I don't see any other reason two blessed chicks would be driving through the desert in the middle of the night."
"T-two blessed? T-there's only one..."
"Cough!"
More blood pours out.
She frowns at me.
"You didn't know the other chick was blessed too? You know, the blonde with the long hair and the suit?"
"M-me? Blessed?"
"HAHAHAH!"
She breaks into laughter.
"Don't tell me you didn't know! Hahaha!"
"D-didn't know what..."
The laughing stops. Her face goes blank. She forces my head down so I can see my own body.
My legs, torso, arms, everything is mangled. Blood everywhere. Bones sticking out. None of that surprises me. I could already feel how bad it was. What really gets me is the dark armor covering my body. It looks like a centipede's shell wrapped around me. My joints, the shape of me, all of it looks wrong. Not human anymore. More like something caught between a person and an insect.
"What the fuck..."
I barely even realize I've said it out loud.
She pulls my head back up until her face is right in front of mine. Her side tails brush against my cheeks. Even through the pain, I notice that she's kind of pretty.
"Hey, don't tell me you just got the blessing..."
I look down at myself again. The sight reminds me of the centipede from school. My memory is still a mess, but the pieces are starting to come together.
"Ah, no. I got it at school. I-I think. Though it's a bit complicated."
"Cough!"
More blood spills out of my mouth.
"L-listen, I need to see a doct..."
She presses a finger to my lips.
"Shhhhh."
She leans in closer. The full moon hangs above her, throwing a broad shadow over her face. The sky is crammed with stars, like something out of a movie or a painting. I usually hate that. Too many stars make the sky feel washed out. Even so, I find myself staring.
Her finger presses harder against my lips.
"Stay just like this. You look perfect this way."
She looks at me with this weird, dreamy expression.
What? What the fuck is she talking about? No way.
A bad feeling crawls through me as I realize where this is going.
Then she kisses me.
First on the lips. Then she shoves her whole fucking tongue into my mouth. I try to pull away, but she pins me down. Heat rushes to my face. She presses hard enough to make me flinch. I cough blood, and she swallows it.
Finally, after what feels like forever, she pulls back and wipes the blood from her lips.
"Hey, would you look at that? You taste better than I thought."
"Be a shame to let you die."
She turns and starts digging through the bag on the ground. I just lie there, staring up at the sky.
What the fuck just happened? Did that crazy chick really just make out with me? I mean, it wasn't even that bad, but she just took my first kiss...
Yashiro's face flashes through my head.
Fuck. No. Stop thinking about that.
I jerk my head trying to shake the thought away and end up yelping from the pain.
"Shut up! I'll fix you up right now!" she yells from somewhere near the bag.
"I mean in a minute! Or two..."
She corrects herself right away.
I lie there silently and ignore her. Just a day ago, I was a normal kid going to school. Now I'm half dead in the desert with some insane pervert. I must've pissed off some god before I was even born to end up with a life like this.
"Yes! Found it!"
She sounds way too excited.
She struts back over with some weird, blocky white medical device in her hand. She presses it against my neck and hits a button. A needle shoots out and stabs into me.
"Fuck!"
I shout.
"What the fu..."
She puts a finger over my lips again.
"Shhhh."
I blush. I probably look like some abused schoolgirl right now. Which, honestly, isn't that far off.
"Relax. It's just a healing booster from Miracle Inc. You know that angel bitch who used to work there? It's one of the things she made. It's not much use for regular people, but for blessed like us, it's a lifesaver. Even with injuries like yours, you'll be back to normal in just a few hours."
I stare at her.
"Really?"
She nods.
"I always bring one on a job, just in case."
"A job?"
I ask.
She presses her finger to my lips again.
"Shhh. Don't pry, or I'll have to kill you."
Before I can say anything, her phone rings.
She gives me the shushing gesture again and puts the phone to her ear.
"Yes, hello, boss. Yes. Stephan is dead. Don't know. I told you to stop giving me useless ones. For once, can I get a partner who's not completely useless? Fine, I'll be back soon. Yes! You'll get your stupid report!"
She hangs up, looking pissed off.
"Fuck!"
"Now I'm in trouble all over again."
Then she looks at me and smiles.
"Sorry, sweetie. I gotta run now. Got some problems."
"So you're just gonna leave me?"
She throws her hands up in this dramatic way.
"Oh, sweetie, I know you might want to come with me, but you can't..."
"So you aren't going to kill me?"
I cut in.
"Kill you? Why would I do that?"
She looks genuinely confused. Then she grabs my face and kisses me again. Heat rushes back into my face.
"Name's Nara. I gotta go now, but we'll meet again someday."
Her smile gets even wider.
Then wings burst from her back and she flies off into the distance.
I stay there on the sand, staring up at the night sky.
A blessing, huh? More like a fucking curse.
I close my eyes and black out.
When I wake up, it's still dark. The sky is still full of stars. No clue how long I was out. Minutes? Hours? Days?
I look at my injuries. Barely any change. I probably wasn't out for long.
What a fucking night.
I don't even know what to think anymore. So much happened that I just feel numb. I lie there for a few more hours, until most of my injuries heal. Then I push myself up and start limping back the way the car came from. Sand squeaks under my feet, and the cold night air clings to my skin.
It's a long way back to Miracle City.