Sleeping in mud was definitely something to avoid in the future.

  Cold. Wet. And I absolutely hated the way it felt.

  My eyes fluttered open to darkness.

  Crickets.

  Snuffling animals.

  Nothing trying to eat me.

  Yup. Night had fallen.

  My body screamed in protest. It felt like I’d been tossed into a blender and poured back into human form. My head pounded.

  “Asshole Ohanko.”

  I pushed myself into a sitting position, muscles aching.

  “What the hell did you inject me with?”

  ‘He injected you with shadow dragon venom,’ a cheerful voice chuckled in my head.

  ‘And you are?’

  Still exhausted.

  Still muddy.

  A voice in my head seemed like the least of my problems.

  ‘Chaos, at your service,’ he purred. ‘I really like you.’

  Fantastic.

  I needed to get out of here and hopefully dry out.

  August in Ohio meant not worrying about—

  That’s when the rain started.

  “Son of a bitch.”

  Yep. Tracked for Ohio as well.

  Guess staying here wouldn’t kill me.

  Just make me cold and miserable.

  At least the rain would wash my scent away.

  Great way to lose Taro.

  ‘Lovely weather, isn’t it?’ Chaos chuckled.

  Yeah. Things were not looking up.

  “Why are you here anyway?” I muttered.

  ‘Order picked a vessel, and I didn’t want to be left out.’

  There were several flaws in that logic.

  “I doubt you’re a toddler,” I grumbled.

  ‘Balance is important. I can’t let Order have all the fun.’

  Why was I arguing with a voice in my head?

  Screw it.

  I was already wet.

  The rain wouldn’t kill me.

  ‘We can discuss feelings, if you want?’

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  The bastard was laughing at me.

  “Nope. I’m good.”

  I bolted out of the hiding place like a bear was after me.

  Yes, I knew the voice was in my head and I couldn’t escape him.

  It was a statement.

  Rain struck my skin.

  It grounded me as I made my way back toward the cabin.

  I took a different route this time.

  My trails were a maze if you tried to follow just one—

  but I knew every single one.

  ‘This is my kind of idea,’ Chaos said.

  I ignored him. Refused to talk.

  I didn’t do friends.

  My son was the only person I talked to, and that was fine by me.

  ‘Sounds lonely to me,’ Chaos murmured.

  My jaw tightened as I crept through the rain-soaked forest.

  Eyes on the sky.

  Eyes on the ground.

  Every sense on alert.

  No clue what might be waiting for me.

  ‘I’ll keep talking,’ Chaos said.

  ‘I’m more chatty than Order.’

  I rolled my eyes and kept going.

  Thunder rumbled overhead.

  My head jerked up at the noise.

  “Shit.”

  I picked up speed, still careful where I placed my footsteps.

  My clearing came into sight.

  But something was wrong.

  My heart pounded as I drew near and crouched in the brush.

  My cabin had been burned—

  the skeletal, charred remains jutting skyward like broken ribs.

  The shed was gone.

  The vegetable patch torn up, trampled and shredded as if something had ripped through it in a rage.

  My body started shaking.

  Not from anger.

  ‘He violated your space,’ Chaos said softly.

  My hands curled into fists.

  Shadows gathered around me as my heartbeat thudded against my ribs.

  I shook my head hard.

  The shadows crept back.

  I turned and retreated into the forest.

  ‘Did you have a plan?’ Chaos asked.

  “Always have a backup plan.” I said.

  I froze as I realized I’d answered him—

  then forced myself to keep moving.

  Not thinking about it.

  The forest closed around me.

  I could still feel my anger pulsing through my veins.

  I should have hit him harder.

  Shadows reached for me, but I ignored them.

  You couldn’t make me acknowledge magic.

  Pump shifter venom into my veins, sure.

  Make me use it?

  Hell no.

  ‘Why this anger at magic?’ Chaos asked.

  Why was he still trying to talk to me?

  I didn’t talk.

  Most conversation I’d had today was with Taro.

  ‘Walls so thick for one so young,’ Chaos murmured.

  I snorted at the young part.

  I wasn’t young.

  My son was in his mid-twenties.

  A small smile flickered at the thought of Jack—

  then vanished as fast as it came.

  He was missing.

  My shoulders slumped, but I kept running through my maze of trails.

  The place I was heading… I didn’t visit often.

  Maybe once a year, just to check the supplies.

  A bottle of hunter’s scent spray made sure no one ever found it.

  Paranoia was mine.

  The trees grew thicker, and I paused by a rope ladder.

  I kicked it down into the ravine—not a deep one, but deep enough that if you didn’t know it was there, you’d fall in and break your neck.

  I double-checked the knots, made sure it was secure, and climbed down.

  The bunker below had been dug and carved out years ago.

  A heavy metal door, hinges drilled into stone with a mason bit.

  Halfway down, I paused. Rested my forehead against the cool rock.

  I missed who I used to be.

  But this was all I had left.

  ‘I’m here now,’ Chaos whispered.

  Being alone was easier.

  Now it seemed I’d never be alone again.

  Rain trickled down my neck.

  Thunder cracked overhead.

  Wind funneled through the ravine and cut through my soaked clothes.

  “I don’t want you,” I muttered, and kept climbing—slow, careful, hand over hand on the slick rope.

  I reached the bottom and dropped lightly to the ground.

  I pulled my keys from my pocket.

  Never left without them.

  Always on my person.

  They jangled as I reached the door and unlocked it.

  I heaved the heavy metal door open and squeezed inside.

  I flicked on the small generator beside the entrance—

  filled, primed, always ready—

  then turned on the lights and slid the barricade into place behind me.

  Lights suspended from wires ran the length of the bunker.

  Shelves lined one wall, stocked with supplies.

  A bed, a shower, several farmer-style water tanks, and a makeshift kitchen filled the other.

  Spare clothes waited in a trunk by the bed.

  I needed a shower.

  ‘This is impressive,’ Chaos murmured.

  This was just my life.