And inside the small liminal moment before I bring my arm back down, my crazed gaze flicks to Mercy. Her mouth is open in slight shock, but I don’t miss her pinkening cheeks and rising chest. I shoot her a dark grin and then plunge the broken stem deep into the man’s unprotected neck. Pulling it forcibly out again, I make sure the spray of blood doesn’t reach Mercy. And I ram the stem back into his neck. Again. And again. And again.
