The world trembled around her,
sunlight flickering as demons, imagined and otherwise, raced across its
radiance. She curled upon the dying grass, only moments ago a lush green, and
squeezed her eyes shut.
Life was fleeing her body through the gash in her stomach, spilling into the
brown glass with her intestines and life-blood.
Around her lay the bodies of her friends - her family. Their deaths, slow and
agonizing ran through her fading mind.
Her mother had killed the little ones first, then moved on to the adults, and
finally to her. All the while, the elven lady laughed gleefully at the pain,
the carnage. She'd ranted about the purity of her bloodline and how the filth
of her lab-created daughter must be wiped from it.
Darkness filtered into the edges of her vision as she slowly, weakly pulled
the broken bodies of her infant sons and toddler daughter close with bloodied
arms, and laced her fingers with her dead husbands. A sob whispered from her
throat as her eyes wandered over the still bodies of those she came to know as
friends; sisters and brothers. Her gaze settled on the staring blue of her
husband's. He'd died fighting, as had they all. Her enraged scream was nothing
but a whimper as her body gave in, and her soul broke free of her body - a
bird flying away from its shattered cage.
Dim light shattered the darkness. She
sat up with a strangled gasp. Her gaze flitted around the darkened bedroom
just before she slipped out of bed, and raced to the nursery.
Her children slept peacefully. SLowly, she sank to the ground and covered her
face with trembling hands.
The young mother huddled there in nothing more than a tank-top and panties,
relieved and shaken tears flowing silently as otherwise strong shoulders
jerked with overpowering sobs.