The Rise of Io Read Free Page B

unmelted from each other and took form. The fuzzy object to her right came into focus as it coalesced into the face of the coward hovering over her. He was looking off to the side, talking to himself.
    Slowly, the words became coherent. “…obtaining supplies and logistic support since we’re off-book, and especially with our low clearance. As for our current bind, I’ll see what I can do about locating a nearby training facility, although who knows, maybe she’ll jump at the chance to escape her current predicament. That would be best. Just in case, though, I’ll run a search…”
    Ella did the first thing any woman who lived in the slum would do in this situation. She threw a left cross and smashed the man in the face. The blow snapped Coward’s head back and he fell onto the floor. Ella jumped to her feet a little quicker than she probably should have, and the room swayed. She found herself standing on a bed wearing only her underwear. Coward groaned as his hands massaged the nose she had just broken.
    She saw her ragged and dirty clothes folded neatly on a dresser, grabbed them, and hastily threw them on. She eyed the door and then looked down at Coward. She’d have to pass him in order to escape. She clenched her teeth and made a break for it. He sat up and tried to block her exit, and she rewarded him with a kick that hopefully broke his nose even more.
    â€œGet away from me, you pervert,” she screamed, making a mad dash for the door.
    â€œWait,” he said, reaching out and catching her ankle.
    She kicked out over and over until he let go, and then she fled the bedroom. She ran down a narrow hallway and stopped in an open area overlooking an upstairs landing. Where was the door? How did you get out of this place? She paused. This was a really nice apartment.
    Relax. Calm down, and take a breath.
    What was that raspy weird voice? Who was that? Probably just her brain trying to keep her from hyperventilating. Thinking about breathing made her breathe even faster, and she frantically looked for a way out. She found a spiral staircase in the corner of the landing and took it downstairs. She ran down another hallway and swung open a door at the far end, only to walk out onto a balcony thirty stories up in the air. Cursing, she ran back down the hallway and came face-to-face with Coward in what she could only assume was his living room.
    He held a hand out cautiously. “You need to calm down.”
    Why was everyone telling her to calm down? That was the wrong thing to say to her, or to any woman for that matter. Ella tried to run past him and he shuffled to the side and blocked her escape. She tried to go left, and he shifted to block her again.
    â€œSeems you didn’t learn your lesson the first time,” she growled, and threw a punch at his face.
    To her surprise, she hit air. Ella tried to punch, kick, claw, and anything else she could muster, but Coward, now ready for her onslaught, was able to block or dodge all of her attacks, and with relative ease, it seemed. Finally, he caught her wrist in one hand, and held tight.
    â€œYou’re going to hurt yourself,” he said, and then swung around and put her in a headlock. “If you just calm down for a second, I can explain everything.”
    Ella stomped down with her heel on his feet several times and then elbowed him in the stomach. He loosened his grip on her just enough that she turned around and struck him open-palm on his already busted-up nose. She hit him square in the face and he stumbled backward.
    â€œLet me go!” she yelled.
    â€œCan you just calm down for a second?”
    Listen to him. Take a deep breath.
    There it was again. Roaring, Ella charged, flailing her arms and trying to overwhelm Coward with sheer aggression. She failed. Coward knocked her to the ground with a well-timed shove. Ella landed and skidded to a stop against the wall. She picked herself off the ground, rubbing