The Gender End by Bella Forrest (the giving tree read aloud TXT) 📕

saw Thomas stumbling back a few steps, his breath coming in pants, as Maxen turned the airlock wheel and sealed himself inside.

“Thomas!” Owen shouted, and Thomas shook his head, as if suddenly becoming aware of himself.

“Owen?” he called in confusion, slowly turning toward us. “Owen, I’m sorry. I tried to hold the door.”

I fired at a spider as it materialized out of thin air behind Thomas, ejecting the clip as the creature curled to one side and died.

“Thomas!” Owen shouted in alarm, and I looked up from sliding in a new magazine to see the blood now soaking Thomas’ abdomen, around a clearly visible wound, staining his clothing in seconds.

The little man looked down, his face morphing into an expression of surprise as his hands hovered just over the edges of the wound.

“Oh,” he exclaimed softly. “He shot me.” The words were so simplistic, so hollow, that I felt my alarm turn to full-blown panic as Thomas listed to one side, toppling over like a building being knocked down.

We both rushed toward him, but Owen managed to catch him before he hit, his hands cradling him and gently lowering him to the floor. Heartsick, I looked up through the door’s window to see Maxen already pushing open the door into the next observation station and disappearing within. Then I turned back to the gloomy room, searching for any sign of the spiders.

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Tim

When Violet said to run, I ran, my legs pumping as I sprang over the body of the Porteque man. I wasn’t sad to see him dead. I was angry—Maxen had killed one of my brothers. Again.

I wanted him dead so bad I could taste it, but I couldn’t find him, even though I looked. I wasn’t sure which door he’d run out of or whether I was going in the right direction, but it didn’t stop me from looking. I ran and ran, skipping around obstacles that loomed out of the mist. Enhanced reflexes were awesome for avoiding bullets, but they didn’t help me track people, and after a while, I realized I was alone.

I stopped and peered around the mist, looking around for any sign of life.

My hairs stood up on end, just in a small spot—on the side of my neck, low, almost where my neck met my shoulder. I followed my instinct and surged forward, easily avoiding the silver python’s bite. I felt the snap of its jaws in a little pop of air behind me, pulled my gun, and fired a single round over my shoulder.

I heard the satisfying sound of a thump as the snake’s body landed. I waited, and then began to run again, trying to think as I moved. I could feel rather than hear movement coming from my right, like something was trying to keep up, and from the soft slapping sounds of their feet, I realized it was those weird dog things.

Suddenly I missed Samuel. But he had bonded with the other children of the refugee camp, and I’d had to let him go. They needed him more than I did, and the field was no place for a dog. I just wished I’d had more time with him. I’d felt like we were in freefall ever since Violet had found me.

Violet. We had just found each other again, but now it was different. She was married now. I loved her, loved Viggo, but I knew that it meant it was time for me to move on. Be a grown up.

I just wished I knew how to do that. Did I have to find a girlfriend now? How would that work, with my skin always hurting, aching, burning? Clothes itched, no matter how soft they were, and the suit…

Stopping mid-motion wasn’t easy, but I had perfect balance. All the time. I stopped, just as the black wolf-monkey went flying at my face, its teeth snapping as it slid by, missing my position by inches. I ducked its tail, and it smashed against the wall with a yelp. I stared at it, watching as it picked itself up, staring at me through those little yellow eyes the entire time.

It started forward, just as I’d known it would, and I charged it. Surprised, the thing took a few steps back, a growl of warning erupting viciously from its lips. There was… something in the mist behind it, and I feinted again, slowly pushing forward, driving the thing back a few more feet.

The python waiting in the mist snapped its jaws, catching the wolf-monkey around its midsection and lifting it up. The python shook it back and forth in its mouth, the wolf-monkey’s legs kicking out as it whined, and then, with a gruesome crack, the smaller creature stopped moving.

I watched the snake lower it down to the ground and begin swallowing it, fascinated by the way it could open its mouth wide enough to engulf the creature whole, and then turned to begin running again.

I loved running. It filled me with a sense of freedom unparalleled. When I had been trapped in that cell, I’d never been able to run. There was no room to move in that tiny, suffocating space. Running felt like freedom. Obstacles just made the experience more fun. I never knew where they were, but I was never afraid—I was too fast for them to slow me down, and I could use them to my advantage. I liked jumping over things, and flipping was amazing, but launching myself even higher in the air so it felt like I was flying… That was the best.

I needed to find Violet and Viggo, but as I ran, I began to realize the caves were too big. I stopped again, trying to pull my mind out of the pure joy of movement and think. I knew we had to get to Queen Elena… but we were also supposed to free my brothers. Both were important, both I wanted to do…

I stopped, not really to catch my breath, but to