Read Online Catharsis (Book 2): Catalyst by D. Andrew Campbell - Free Book Online Page A

minutes (Although it certainly would have been helpful right now with the side of the car exposed to the elements.  I bet I could hear all kinds of conversations in there...if I could only hear.).  But that thought does remind of another person who can hear right now.
                "I'm OK, Renny," I whisper just loud enough for my mic to pick it up.  "They blew out the side window with a shotgun, but they didn't get close to me.  I'm safe," I say and then consider my next move.  "I believe they have just volunteered themselves to be tonight’s quick snack, though."
                Awkwardly duck-walking the few feet across the length of the back of the vehicle (I don't want them to see my head pop up through the rear window and ruin the surprise.), I peek around the passenger side of the Escalade and look towards the now blown-out window.  Above the scents of the city and the guns, I can pick out definable smells for at least four different people.  Four people who will provide me with enough energy to unleash some fury on one Mr. Chadwick Morrin tonight.
                And even better than that?  One of my future snacks is starting to lean out of the window to get a better look at the street around him.  It's almost like they're gift-wrapping this meal for me.
                Pulling on the bit of darkness I've been holding in reserve for just this moment, I use the power it gives me to slow time even more and allow myself a chance to run up to the window and surprise the poor guy before his head even fully clears the sill (I know now that I don't actually slow down time , but instead I accelerate my own metabolism and body functions to the point that I move at a speed that is faster than the normal human eye can register.  It's not quite as cool as stopping time, but it's still incredibly fun and effective.).
                Launching myself forward towards the opening the shotgun blast created, I sprint the length of the car in a split-second and arrive at the window just as his chin comes into view.  With surprise as an advantage, I use my momentum to power a punch that I send straight into his nose with as much energy as I can muster.  The force of my hit rocks his head backward into the SUV's shattered window frame with an alarming crunch .  I watch as his eyes begin rolling back into his skull even as his head starts to ricochet back towards me.  He's out cold, and he never even saw me approach.
                Knowing that I'm about to replenish my dark energy with this man's lifeblood, I tap into what little I have left to elevate my strength, too.  Reaching in through the open window (and avoiding the remaining glass fragments as best I can) I use both hands to grab the man's torso and pull him up and out of the window and onto the street with me (I get lucky that he isn't wearing a seatbelt, or it all would have been thwarted by a small strip of fabric.  Luckily, drug thugs don't seem to embrace the Buckle Up! Laws too heavily.).  Once he's on the street, I drop to my belly and shimmy under the car while pulling him with me.
                Even though I can't see what I just did through their eyes, I can only hope it looked as cool as I imagined it.  It should have been as sudden, violent and disconcerting as one of the Xenomorph attacks in those awesome Aliens movies.  It should be enough to throw them off their game and give me a moment to enjoy my new friend.
                There isn't much room to move underneath the SUV, but all I need to do is pull his neck close enough to get my teeth to it.  Once I do that, it's just a matter of letting my instincts kick in and enjoy the rush.
                And this time, for Ren's sake, I remember to turn off the mic just before the warmth flows into me.
     
     

CHAPTER THIRTEEN
                The jolt of energy the man's blood gives me is a relief after the evening