A Light After Endless Darkness

Chapter 12

"Bit early to leave, girls," Sydney pointed out as he straightened his trench coat.

¨We gotta feed the chickens," Elizabeth told him. "We'll meet you there."

"Very well," he shrugged. "See you soon, children."

Aynna didn't even seem to care that she was wearing shoes as they made their way to the Poultry Grove, (as Zarix had called it). She picked up a basket of feed and led Elizabeth into the green spot that had always been so safe, and moved the curtain of foliage back.

Just like always.

"Aynna, slow down!" Elizabeth called, stumbling up the path in her beautiful, but cumbersome, ball gown.

There was silence. Thick, dead silence.

Then Aynna screamed.

Elizabeth only had one second of surprise before she found herself sprinting up the path, crashing through the weeping willow. "Aynna?! Are you okay, what-?"

And then she froze, too.

All the chickens, all of them, were dead. But not as if they had suffered a peaceful sort of death, like if they had all just gotten sick and keeled over at once. No, these chickens had been slaughtered. Feathers had been thrown everywhere, entire pieces of them were mangled or just missing, and their bodies lay, haphazardly thrown about, and looking as if they had been through some sort of machinery.

And the blood...

... the blood...

...

Aynna. Focus on Aynna.

Because indeed, Aynna needed her; she was screaming louder, releasing her rage and pain in a siren blare that called for justice for these poor, stupid birds.

"Aynna," Elizabeth said, grasping her shoulder. No response, just more screaming. "Aynna!" She gave her shoulder a little shake. Still, nothing. "Aynna!!"

Finally, she stopped. Perhaps she had finally realized her screams could not call her precious Poultry pals back from that dark place that claims souls forever. Or maybe she had just run out of air. Either way, she looked at Elizabeth, eyes brimming with tears as she said, "e-e-Eliza..." unable to finish even that simple word before collapsing into her, sobbing.

Elizabeth just held the wailing child, uncertain of what to do. "Ssh," she said, fishing in her memories for words of comfort she'd heard in her brief time in Gardenia. "It's okay. It's gonna be okay."

"Th-the- the chickens!!" The odd little girl choked hoarsely.

"I know. I know. Everything will be alright. Let's just, let's get outta here," she said, half dragging Aynna out of this grisly place of death as she simply screamed with misery.

It took awhile to calm Aynna down. It was nearly an hour later when the last of her tears slipped away.

"... I guess we don't have to feed them anymore," she said matter-of-factly as the last of her tears rested on her face.

"I'm so sorry, Aynna," Elizabeth said, and she meant it. Whoever, whatever did this, they had no right to. No right to steal Aynna's birds in the worst way possible. No right to bring their lives to such a terrifying, painful conclusion. No right to hurt such stupid, innocent animals. "... look, there's nothing we can do right now," she told her, wiping her tears away. "I need to appear at the ball-" she winced internally, knowing full well this was not the time to even think about parties, "-but if you want, I'll take you home and you can just-"