Chapter 2 - Rocky

Genetic mutation brought on by climate change has divided the human race into three subspecies: leaders the predators and the protectors, dominions the nurturers, and betas who fall in between.

This guy looks like to be a leader, except he's not as powerful as me. Of course, I have yet to meet another male as strong as me, and nope that's not my ego speaking, just hard facts.

I peel back my mouth and my opponent squares his shoulders.

He's shorter than me, leaner, and almost wiry in build.

His brawns flex, and he clasps up his fists in front of him. There is a gun hooked to his belt, a sword on his back.

All props. Not that I don't resort to them when faced with a worthy opponent. This man doesn't seem dangerous. Bet, I can take him with my bare arms, after all, that’s how I survived all this time on the streets. With my guts, my wits, one day at a time.

“Get out of my way.”

He stays where he is, gray eyes, shining with intelligence.

“You have a death wish?” I squeeze my fingers into fists, and my joints pop, the sound loud in the space. And ominous. It’s normally enough to make my opponents pause.

This man angles his head. “Not as much as you, Bastard of the East End.” I stiffen.

He called me by the nickname I have earned, thanks in no small part to the bodies I have left in my wake over the years; clearly, he knew I was coming. Knows who I am.

“I am done playing games.” I drop to a crouch.

His brawns tense, and I know he’s going to attack me.

His fingers connect his gun, and I rush at him and throw him over my shoulder.

His body hits the ground with a satisfying thump, and he doesn’t move.

Straightening, I rub my palms on my pants and stride away.

Perhaps this man has only brawled in showpiece fights; he doesn’t have what it takes to face me.

My instincts scream a warning a second before a weight slams into me from behind.

I swear even as I go face down, rolling at the last second to break my fall.

Without breaking the move, I rear up and slam my fist straight into his face.

His head snaps back. His fingers loosen on the sword and it falls to the ground. I kick the blade to the side.

With a roar, I grab him around his shoulders, biceps straining, every brawn in my body coiled, and I sling him away.

He goes rolling through the undergrowth. The leaves from the shrubs rain down on him. He swings up to his legs, and I am already charging him.

I headbutt him, and our combined weight smashes him backward into a tree. The vibrations from the impact ricochet through my neck. Suffering slashes down my spine, but it’s nothing compared to the white-hot regret that squeezes my chest. Nothing comes between me and my mission. Nothing. Rage fills me, my vision narrows, and all I know is I need revenge for what the General did to my mother.

“I am going to tear your guts out.” I interlace my fingers before raising my fists over my head.

The man pushes away from the tree and to the side, and my fists slam into the tree trunk. There’s a screech, a loud groaning, and I look up to see a massive branch barreling down on me.

Then I’m being pulled aside.

I go tumbling down, hit a hydrangea bush, careen through it and crash into a pond.

The cold water pours over me. I swallow, then cough and spit it up. I hit the shallow bottom only to push myself up. I manage to stand, the water sluicing from my shoulders, down my chest. To my surprise, I find my head is clearer than it was. And that idiot saved my life.

I straighten and look around, only to find him surfacing less than a foot away.

I wade through the water, the other man closes behind me.

When I reach the shore, I swivel to face him.

He pauses and clasps my look warily.

“Why?” I growl, raking my fingers through my hair.

“Why did I save you?” He angles his head. “For the same reason that you could have murdered me and you didn’t.”

“A mistake I am beginning to regret.” I curl my fingers into fists at my sides. “You knew my name. Knew I was coming, how?”

“I am going to help you.”

“Is that right?” I smirk.

His sound is serious. “You are here to murder the General, and I want you to succeed.”