The roll took every ounce of my remaining strength. I managed to trip Elena as she brought her heel down, making her stumble, but the twins were already on me. One of them landed a heavy blow to my temple, and the world didn't just blur—it started to turn black at the edges.
"Enough!" Elena's voice sounded muffled, like she was speaking from underwater. "He's done. Look at him, he can't even hold his head up."
I tried to push myself up, my fingers clawing at the smooth tiles, but my nervous system was short-circuiting from the taser. The last thing I saw before my eyes gave out was the flickering hallway lights and Elena's cold, triumphant smile.
"Throw the trash out," she commanded.
...
The next thing I felt wasn't the cold floor of Oakridge High. It was something soft. Warm. And the smell... it wasn't smoke or floor wax. it was lavender and rain.
I opened my eyes, wincing at the dim light of a bedside lamp. My head felt like it had been hit by a freight train.
"Don't move," a soft voice said.
I turned my head slowly. Chloe was sitting in a chair next to the bed, her eyes red and puffy. We were in my apartment. My knuckles had been cleaned and re-bandaged, and there was a damp cloth on my forehead.
"How... how did I get here?" I croaked, my throat feeling like I'd swallowed sandpaper.
"I followed you, Asher," Chloe said, her voice trembling with a mix of anger and relief. "I found you collapsed at the back exit. Those... those monsters just dumped you there like you were nothing. I had to call a cab and drag you up the stairs myself."
I tried to sit up, but a sharp pain in my ribs made me hiss and fall back.
"I said don't move!" Chloe snapped, standing up. Tears finally spilled over. "What were you thinking? You almost died, Asher! Look at your face, look at your body. Is this what Julian wanted? For you to end up in the bed next to his?"
I looked away, staring at the ceiling. "They have to pay, Chloe. Elena... she was talking about him like he was a joke."
"And you think getting yourself killed is the punchline?" Chloe grabbed my hand, her grip surprisingly tight. "You're not ready. You have the heart, but your body is breaking. If you go back tomorrow, they will finish what they started."
I looked at my hands. They were shaking. Not from fear, but from physical exhaustion. She was right. I had reached Level 3, but the gap between me and the Apex was still a canyon.
"I need to get stronger," I whispered.
"No," Chloe said, her gaze softening as she leaned closer, her face just inches from mine. "You need to be smarter. And you need to heal. For now, just stay here. Just for tonight... be Asher, not a ghost."
The silence in the room was heavy. I could hear the rain hitting the window. For the first time in three months, the fire in my gut didn't feel like it was consuming me. It felt like a low ember, waiting.
I wasn't defeated. I was just interrupted.