Free Terror by Francine Pascal

slightly.
    â€œMmm,” Gaia said.
    â€œOkay,” Jake said matter-of-factly, pulling away. “You’re clean.”
    â€œWhat a tease,” Gaia said.
    â€œWhat?” Jake said. “You wanted a face cleaning, right?”
    â€œI didn’t say that. You said that. Actually, your face is still looking a little messy.”
    â€œSo,” Jake said. “Return the favor, then.”
    Gaia moved forward and rested her forearms on Jake’s shoulder. “I don’t have much experience at this, so—”
    But before she could finish, Gaia was throttled from the side by a full-force slam to the rib cage. The spot that had just been the epicenter of pleasure in her body was now seized by a violent paroxysm of pain. The world moved too fast for Gaia to process. The only way she could gauge reality was through forces of impact, which transferred from her right side to the grind of her left elbow against the pavement. Gaia’s body stiffened straight. Her instincts were totally off. At the moment where her kick-ass reflexes would normally have clicked on, she found herself focusing on something utterly irrelevant—a nasty smell. Whatever sort of creature had just hit her, it smelled like a trash heap. Gaia’s second instinct was to curl up in the fetal position and wait for this to end. She felt a hand squirming in her front pocket like a crazed snake.
    â€œGimme all your cash!”
    Gaia yanked the hand from her pocket and punched her palm upward, in the general direction of the stench, connecting with what felt like a sternum.
    The beast jolted back. Gaia gathered herself and stood up. Jake was on his feet, too, crouched and ready, bouncing on his toes like a boxer at the sound of the first-round bell.
Come on, Gaia. Pull yourselftogether. Be energized. Protect yourself.
She looked at her assailant—all she could see was the lit silhouette of his nose poking out from beneath a hooded sweatshirt. It had the body of a guy but moved in a more exact way, like a robot. The faceless thing threw itself at her again. She braced herself for defense, but he dodged her and grabbed a fistful of hair. He yanked. Gaia could hear her hair being ripped from her scalp. It sounded as painful as it felt.
    â€œAhhhhh!” Gaia yelled. “Bastard!”
    Her fight instincts finally jolted, Gaia jabbed her elbow into the place where his head should be. Impact. The point of her elbow sank into softness before hitting bone. Judging from the intensity of the punk’s scream, she had made contact with either lips or eyes. Gaia stood up. He was doubled over and holding his face, sort of yelping. Gaia noticed that he held his face with one hand and was careful not to drop something with the other.
    This was the point where, Gaia recognized, she would normally go in for the kill. One precisely delivered kick and this thug would be rendered a useless nonthreat. But Gaia couldn’t help feeling content at having gotten this far, infinitely relieved that she might not have to fight anymore.
What is wrong with me?
She looked to her left and saw that Jake was in full control of the other assailant, socking the poor guy bloody with a flurry of jabs and roundhouse kicks.
    â€œYou bitch!” It was Gaia’s guy, walking toward her. He thrust both hands into his sweatshirt pocket. “I’m gonna kill you, you dumb bitch. We’ve been wanting to finish you off for so long….” He pulled one hand out and raised it above his head. “It will give me so much pleasure to be known as the one who liquidated Gaia.”
    Gaia was frozen in her tracks, staring at the shadowy figure stalking slowly toward her. She had heard this kind of banter so many times that she could usually just block it out. But not right now. A part of her had already resigned itself to her grim fate. If that was a gun over his head, she might have less than a minute to live.
    â€œYo, man!” It was the