The earth is careening straight down the tracks to hell and the humans are at fault.
Trapped in the dungeons of an ancient burial grounds and tortured to the brink of insanity, the God and Goddess of balance have been separated, unleashing a terrib...
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Idle hands run through thick clumps of frizzy hair in the morning light, golden morning light ebbing off the wild strands. Remi sits up alone, everyone else passed out and snoring in the heavy silence of sleep.
Arching my back up slowly, I take a breath. Her eyes slowly land on me and she smiles. Raising a finger over her lips, the beauty gestures to her dosing friends.
Nodding, I scoot my weight over quietly and brush arms with her. "Did you sleep well?" I whisper.
She looks at me and then back at Theron, heavy concern draping over the gentle features. Her lips part for a second and then close again.
He's dreadfully pale, skin fading from any natural pink to a sicker grey. By noon, I wouldn't be able to tell if he could make it another step at all. Every time Theron managed to convince me he was well enough on his own, I'd listened out of respect.
Perhaps Daniel is the better companion, fighting with and forcing him to make it through the next day.
Even with force, I'm useless at keeping anyone alive longer than five minutes.
Being pestilence, being death.
"You're worried," I say again, leaning closer to her for a soft delivery.
She nods, lips wobbling ever so slightly until she chomps down on the bottom one hard. "Theron didn't have the same experience of life as the rest of us, he didn't have a family or sense of communion, I don't even know what he considers us. I do know one thing though..." Remi kneads at her fingers before resting one delicate hand on my knee. "We only have what we take in this world, this place... I've only ever had the chance to care for a few people and I don't know what I would do if..."
Her voice breaks and a small tear breaks from her lashes.
I pull her small frame into my arms and hold her away from the sleeping beings around us. Remi's tiny cries are soul crushing. Even without volume or length, she makes one of the most heartbreaking sounds I've heard through all my years.
Love.
Real love.
She quiets down after a time, clinging to me tightly even with deep, controlled breaths returning to her. Shivers run through her, the pent up and repressed trauma shaking her to the core.
I frown.
Perhaps I'm not the best for consolation. Everything about my aura brings fear, sadness, and pain to the surface. Though she may feel safe, it will be months before I've drained every ounce from her.
Remi will never truly recover in my arms.
I take a deep breath, petting her hair down and watching over the others calmly.
Theron only had today.
"We're going to get him into the city, okay? I won't tolerate another outcome."
