Chapter 19: Jason

“F*ck!” I didn’t have time to tell her that I wasn’t here to hurt her before she came at me. The move was so unexpected that I stood in shock and barely moved out of the way in time. I felt the wind from her blade as it sailed by my face, but instead of defending myself, which would’ve entailed hurting her in some way, I went into retreat, gliding back on my heels and out of the way.

She came in fast, and I had no choice this time but to ward her off, but still, I did the least amount of damage I could in the circumstances by hitting her wrist with the heel of my hand in just the right way to get the results I wanted. The blade clattered to the old cement floor with a clanging sound. “I’m not…” I started to explain myself, but she came in low and fast, and this time both hands held the blades she’d grabbed from their hidden place at her sides. Stupid me watched in fascination, not quite believing what I was seeing.