It didn't take blood. It took color .
And for the first time in its existence, the predator was full. ex-load leech
Kael sat up. The jungle snapped back into color. Sound returned in a rushing roar. He was drenched in sweat and muck, but he was full . Not happy. Not saved. But present. And present was enough. It didn't take blood
The Leech was gone. But the ex-load? That was his to carry. And he had learned, in the long dark between one death and the next, that some weights are the only thing keeping you from floating away. ex-load leech