She was still on her knees when I rose to my full height.

I didn't reach down. Didn't offer a hand. I just stood there and let the silence do the work, because silence was a weapon I knew how to use better than most.

The forest was still around us. Wind through leaves. Somewhere far off, the faint sound of drills continuing without us.

She breathed hard. Mud on her palms. Leaves in her hair. Eyes locked on the ground like if she didn't look at me, I might stop being real.

I waited.

Ten ...