Chapter 32:What She wants me to spend the night?

(Sam's POV)

"So… when's the real one?"

The question, spoken in Liza's soft, hesitant voice, landed in the quiet aftermath of the fight with the force of a tactical nuke. The air, still thick with the metallic tang of blood and the sour reek of fear, seemed to warp around the words. The adrenaline, the cold, murderous rage that had been a roaring fire in my veins, was instantly doused, leaving behind a plume of thick, bewildered smoke.

My brain, which moments before had been a hyper-efficient combat computer calculating trajectories and stress points on human bone, simply ceased to function. It was a blue screen of death, an error message flashing in a language I couldn't comprehend.