Evelyn slammed into me again, harder this time.
I staggered backward, boot sliding over the smooth tile. My heel clipped a piece of broken chair frame, but I caught myself just in time to duck under a savage, clawing swipe that would've torn through my throat.
Her movements weren't coordinated. They weren't tactical. It was just pure, desperate violence wrapped in a body I knew too well.
I couldn't fight her.
Not properly.
Not when every bone in my body screamed to save her, not break her.
She lunged again, shrieking.
Her nails ripped down the front of my jacket, slashing through cloth and skin alike. I yelled for a moment, pain flaring across my chest, but I didn't retaliate. I couldn't.
"Evelyn!" I choked out. "It's me!"
No answer.
Just another savage, mindless swing. One that had no hesitation or humanity behind it.
