Page 22 of His to Slash

The woman to my left leaned in, her perfume cloying and suffocating. "We've lost control," she hissed. "Our weapon... it's turned against us."

My mind reeled. "Grayson?" I asked, confusion evident in my voice.

The man across from me shook his head, his eyes darting nervously around the diner. "No, not Grayson. The other one. The one we created to keep him in check."

A chill ran down my spine as I remembered the second killer, the one who had been hunting me. "What do you mean, 'lost control'?"

The oldest elder's face contorted with a mixture of fear and disgust. "We've given him an order," he said, his voice trembling. "To kill you and Grayson."

My blood ran cold. "What? Why?"

The woman beside me grabbed my arm, her nails digging into my skin. "Your transformation," she whispered urgently. "It's happening too quickly. If you evolve further, you'll become something even worse than Grayson–something that could destroy everything."

I tried to pull away, but her grip was like iron. "I don't understand," I said, panic rising in my chest.

The man across from me leaned forward, his eyes boring into mine. "The second killer is our failsafe. We've unleashed him to eliminate both you and Grayson before it's too late."

My mind was spinning. "Who is he?" I asked, dreading the answer.

The oldest elder's face darkened, and he spat out a name like it was poison on his tongue. "Cain."

The name hung in the air, heavy with malevolence. I felt my breath catch in my throat as the implications of what they were saying sank in. I finally had a real name to call him.

"You can't do this," I pleaded, searching their faces for any sign of mercy. "You can't just decide to kill us."

“Your transformation,” the woman hissed urgently, her eyes darting to my hand as if expecting claws to sprout from my fingertips. “It’s happening too quickly. If you evolve further, you’ll become something evenworsethan Grayson.”

I felt a surge of anger cut through my fear. "And whose fault is that?" I snapped. "You're the ones who created this mess in the first place!"

The man across from me slammed his fist on the table, causing the few remaining patrons to jump. "Watch your tone, girl," he growled. "You have no idea what forces you're dealing with."

I glared at him, defiance rising within me. "Then explain it to me," I challenged. "Tell me why I should just sit here and accept my death sentence."

The oldest elder sighed, suddenly looking every bit his age. "The experiments we conducted... they tapped into something ancient, something we couldn't fully control. Grayson was just the beginning. But you, Carly... your potential is far greater, and far more dangerous."

"What does that mean?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

The woman beside me loosened her grip slightly, her voice softening. "It means that if we don't stop you now, you could become a force of destruction beyond anything we've ever seen. The power within you... it's growing exponentially."

I felt a wave of nausea wash over me as I processed their words. The changes I'd been experiencing, the strange healing, the connection with Grayson... it was all part of something much bigger and more terrifying than I'd imagined.

"And Cain?" I asked, dreading the answer.

The oldest elder's face darkened. "Cain is our last resort. A killer designed to hunt other killers. He's relentless, ruthless, and now... he's coming for you and Grayson."

The weight of their words settled over me like a smothering blanket. I was trapped, not just in this booth, but in a nightmare that seemed to have no end. As I looked at the grim faces of the town elders, I realized that my life had become a horror story, and I was running out of pages.

I watched, frozen in disbelief, as the elder slid a single pill across the table with a worn, wrinkled hand. The small capsule seemed innocuous enough, but the meaning behind it was anything but harmless.

"End it, Miss Vesper," he urged, his voice steady yet tinged with an undercurrent of desperation. "Before it's too late."

My breath hitched in my throat. They wanted me to kill myself—a preemptive strike against the monstrous power they believed I harbored within. My mind raced with the sheer audacity of their request, the sheer cruelty.

The eldest elder leaned in, his breath reeking of coffee and somethingdecaying. “You think you’re strong, girl? That you can just walk out of here and fight us all?” His lips curled into a cruel smile. “Cain doesn’t care how strong you think you are.”

I clenched my fists, defiance surging through me. “He’s just a puppet on your strings,” I spat. “You made him—maybe it’s timeyoutried to control him.”

The woman beside me laughed softly, a sound that sent shivers down my spine. “Oh, we did try, sweetheart. But Cain isn’t like Grayson. He doesn’t have… limits. Or attachments.” She leaned closer, eyes glittering. “Which is why he’s already set atrapfor you.”

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