Free Purge of Prometheus by Jon Messenger

labored and sweat beaded along her temples.   Each scream felt like claws being drug down her spine.   Clenching her eyes tight, she grinded her teeth against the invasive noise.
    There had been a time when Keryn would have welcomed the screams; she would have allowed herself to swim in his agony and would finish, sweaty and weary, but exhilarated.   But those were darker times; times where she had lived her life for no one but herself.   Her darker self had been a defense after losing her brother and becoming estranged from her remaining family.   She had worked hard to separate that sadistic person from the woman she had become.   But now, hearing the merriment in her own voice as they tortured Cardax, she felt less like she was swimming in his suffering and more like it was threatening to drown her; she felt as though she was clawing for air toward a surface that grew further and further away as dark hands pulled her deeper into her own masochism.  
    Struggling for breath, Keryn released the Oterian’s head and stumbled back until she was able to lean against the far wall.   She felt the bile building in her throat, threatening to make her physically ill.   Adam stopped, withdrawing the scalpel and standing straight, blood still dripping from his hand and the smuggler whimpering softly in his chair.   He looked concerned, but Keryn wasn’t interested in his sympathy.   She walked hastily from the room, fearful that speaking would betray her emotional turmoil.
    “Is everything okay?” Adam asked as she stormed past him.
    She stopped at the door, breathing deeply to control her shaking hands and quivering lips.   “I’m fine,” she said quickly, wanting to be free of both the room and her thoughts.   “Continue without me.”
    Stumbling out of the back room and through the living room, Keryn pushed open the front door and stepped onto the balcony of their second-story hotel room.   The warm air washed over her and carried away her nervous tension.   Closing her eyes, she turned her face toward the sun and let its heat melt into her bones.   She heard the soft click of the door behind her, but didn’t turn.
    “Are you okay,” Penchant asked, his face now formed into that of a youthful Uligart, the sharp bones protruding from his cheeks and forehead.   “You left in a hurry.”
    “I’m fine.   It…” she paused, trying to find the right words to explain.   “It got a little too intense in there for me.   I just needed some fresh air and a change of scenery.”
    Penchant nodded in sympathy if not understanding.   “After chasing him for so long and after all he did to us, I figured you would have wanted to be present for his… questioning.”   He paused before the last phrase, wisely choosing an ambiguously descriptive word.
    Keryn sighed.   “I thought I would have too, but my heart just isn’t in it.   I would have felt better just putting a bullet in his brain.   Shooting him is impersonal; I can do it from a distance without even seeing his eyes.”   She turned toward him and leaned against the railing, motioning toward the inside of their hotel room.   “This, though… I don’t know.   It just seems brutal.   It’s too intimate for my tastes.   I’ll leave it all in Adam’s capable hands, and yours, if you feel so inclined.   I can pull watch out here while you two do what you need to.”
    Penchant nodded again as though in understanding of her sentiments.   His eyes, however, still reflected the same concern she had seen in Adam’s when she stormed out of the back room.
    Smiling softly, she laid a hand on Penchant’s arm.   “I’m fine, I promise.   Go back inside and do what you need to do.   I’ll let you know if I need anything.”
    Turning, Penchant opened the front door and disappeared inside.   She shivered as, for a second, Keryn swore she heard a muted scream.
     
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