When The Sun Starts Rising

10

[Lucero's POV]

I open the door to my room to check on her after cleaning up the plate she ate from, she looks like a broken doll right now.

The way her hair covers her tear-stained face messily, her eyebrows scrunching in pain, her body lying down on the floor in a fetus position, it makes me wonder if my action was necessary.

I kneel down beside her fragile little body and observe her quietly.

Her breathing is very soft and faint. I can't hear it even with my sharp hearing. I brush my thumb along her face and tuck her hair away. She sniffles softly and mumbles something inaudible.

I put my hand on her forehead and chant a spell to see what's going on. When I try to enter her dream my eyes turn black and I enter a small door leading to the back of her mind.

Cara's standing in the middle of a battle field all alone, without any weaponry. She stays idle and closes her eyes tightly, little fists scrunching up the hem of her shirt tightly.

"Cara" I call out, she looks around the field hastily trying to find a way out. I push my vision further but it stops and my eyes turn back to normal.

I sigh and feel irritated by the amount of time my vision is only available for. I take out a velvet box and open it to reveal a small sage colored ring and put it on her pointer finger.

She stops whimpering and goes back to a deep sleep. I try to get into her mind again but it blocks me, meaning she has no dream as of now.

Finally, the ring is working.

I take out a cigarette and light it up by going out to the balcony.

I overlook the whole city and think about how they're all gonna die one month from now. After finishing my cigarette I throw it in the tiny bin next to the door and walk toward Cara.

I pick her body up and lay her down on my bed, undoing her bounds and sweeping any dirty particles away from her shirt. She shuffles closer to the edge of the bed almost falling off. I roll her over to the middle and sit on the edge of the bed.

Opening the small drawer from the table I pick up a bullet and lodge it into my gun.

I'm heading downstairs to the basement and careful not to wake my saber-toothed tiger up.

I open the last cell door and point the gun at the forehead of a once healthy man, now his face and body are ruined to their limit.

"Are your eyes falling out of their sockets?" I say despite the question being rethorical he still manages to answer me with the rest of his energy.

"I thi-nk s-o." He coughs and holds his broken arms out to shield his body from my gun. "Wh-"

"One last question and I'll let you go." I picked up the document from a nearby desk. He looks at me and relieves floods out his eyes, he knows what I meant. He can die today.

"Wh-at is it." I showed him the picture of a young boy and another one of the boy's mother.

"Recognize them?" I make my tone as curious as possible though I'm not.

"No! D-don't!" He screams with a throaty sound from his broken voice chord.

"I see, well now you can go peacefully." I shot him in the head as he pleads with his last words to not kill his family.

"You finally did it." Rhys says from behind me and I look at him through my shoulder.

"I've been dragging this for too long." I pat my pockets and throw a couple coins at him. "Clean this up would you?" On my way out I make sure to pat him lovingly at the back.

I hear him complain under his breath but keep it as quiet as he can anyway.

I scoff and feed my buddy his meal of the day as he roars happily.

At the end of the hallway I see a figure peak out from my bedroom door. I drag my hand down my face and make my way to my room.

"Go back to sleep." I walk to my closet not looking at her yet as I change my clothes.

"I'm sorry for yesterday." Cara mutters lowly and I hear her footsteps fading away.

Opening the closet door I look at my bed to see it empty and my bedroom door shuts close.

I walk out of my room and see her shadow disappearing into her own room. After a couple of seconds I hear cries coming from there and decide to let her have her space.