New Earth
The steady thud of fists hitting leather echoed through the empty gym.
Dera's knuckles stung through the wraps, but she didn't stop. Each punch landed harder than the last, the bag rocking on its chain. Her breathing came sharp, her arms slick with sweat, but it wasn't exhaustion that furrowed her brow. It was confusion.
She kept seeing flashes.
A forest at night, teeth glinting in the dark. A silver knife in her hand. The roar of something not human. The sound of Ken's voice, breaking when he called her a liar.
She blinked, fists slowing. The bag swung back, bumping against her shoulder.
"What the hell is wrong with me…" she muttered.
She shook her head, tried to push it away, but it never stayed gone. Every time she closed her eyes, it was there. Those memories—or dreams, whatever they were.
She wasn't just a woman at a gym in New Earth. Not in those flashes. She was something else. A hunter.
And worse, it felt real. Too real.
