The Abused Sister's Spectacular Vengeful Comeback

cked Ohio dirt, turning the cor

he dry, coarse corn leaves whipped against her bare arms,

in her hands, overflowing with heavy ears of

Her stomach was an empty, hollow cavern, cramping

the gut. The air around her su

he strength simply v

lipped from her raw

out, hitting the dry eart

bly in the cool shade of a large oa

n't have a speck of dust on it. Her perfectly man

utting through the humid air. "You are so clumsy! Pick that up ri

pologize. She wanted to say she was

a dry, rattling wheeze scr

t gave two violent, errati

ifying, absolute stillne

lded forward like a puppet wit

nto a hard, sun-baked clod of dirt, sending a

ndless years of exhaustion, hunger, and sil

s, the cornfield

r ripped through the

d. It wasn't a weak flutter, b

n a massive, greedy gulp of air, tasting the metal

s snapp

In its place was a sharp, predatory focus. The eyes of a killer. The eyes of a cham

cal commands. Threat assessment. Br

to twist and her arms

ng ha

o lift her right shoulder two inches off t

the dust, her cheek scra

ion. This body was useless. It was starved, atrophie

ike of agony drove stra

sness like broken glass. Ainsley's sneers. A dark, cramped bed

. She forced herself to breathe through her nose, lock

unching on gravel int

lammed on its brakes on the d

enim overalls, shoved the driver's d

ed against the dirt as she

es beside the fallen g

nda cried out, reaching a thick, call

's hand moved, Alissa's brain screamed to interc

cal mind overro

tely slack. She allowed Brenda's wa

ympathetic. The assess

t, perfectly mimicking the dead we

. She slid her thick arms un

f effort, Bren

of her own body. She weighed nothi

ing heat of the cornfield, marching st