She stands, shivering, in the winter dawn. Sore. She aches from the inside out. It feels like her entire life has been pain in one form or another. Physically, mentally. Certainly she was cursed – ill fated from birth, destined to be alone and miserable. It was the only explanation for the direction her life had taken. She sought refuge amongst the Angels, and even they haven’t been able to keep her safe. So there’s nothing she can do. There is no escape from it.
When he’d found her, foolishly alone, she had expected him to kill her. She had turned to face him, brave in the face of his nameless horror, and he had…watched her. For some time, they stood and stared at each other without speaking. She waited. When he finally made his move, overpowering her, the situation had taken a painful, horrifying turn. She had never…and without warning or consent… Her muscles throb from their pathetic efforts to escape the inevitable. She had resisted until he swore to kill her, and then merely accepted. Stared blankly ahead until it was over, he was spent, and he was gone.
The blood from his grip on her neck is still there, stiff in her dark fur. But she’s beyond it now. Her green eyes, dull in her malaise, settle hesitantly on the rock beneath her feet, then on the rock some distance below where she stands. It would be an easy thing – to simply walk off the edge. The Western part of the crater was a dangerous place: loose footing and steep drops abound. It could happen to anyone.
It could happen to her.
It’s too early to know if anything has taken in her womb, but deep down, she feels it is already happening. A gut instinct tells her that, yes, she has conceived, and will give bloody, screaming birth to the monster’s spawn. A gust of wind blows back the fur on her face, digging in and clawing at her skin, making her eyes water. She blinks and takes a hesitant step toward the edge, letting her claws hang over the edge, testing her luck. An accident. It could happen to anyone…
|