The Time I Bought a Demi-Human

Amongst the Smoke

I come awake with a weight on my chest. My head is pounding and my body is sore. I can't quite remember what happened or where I am.

Cracking an eye, I look around and everything comes flooding back all at once. Ms. Steele's speech, Sweety, and the explosion. Panic floods me and I try to sit up. The heavy weight on my chest falls off and makes me look down.

I can't focus past all the blood I see on my chest. My first reaction is to feel myself over and look for damage in a panic. Surprisingly, I don't feel anything other than a few bruises, a couple of small cuts, and the lump that's swelling on my head. Nothing that can explain how much I'm covered in.

Once I force myself to calm down a bit, I examine the weight that fell off me. It's a body and I remember Sweety tackling me. It is her. She looks much paler than she did, which is saying a lot.

I reach down and touch her. "Sweety." I feel her skin and throat, looking for signs of life. She is covered in blood and isn't moving. However, she is warm and breathing, barely. "Sweety," I repeat, tapping her gently.

One of her eyes opens unsteadily as she takes shallow breaths. She can't seem to focus on my face and her ears are flat to her head. Blood is pooling beneath her as she struggles to try and move. I would stop her, but I don't think she'll last much longer.

I feel something break inside me.

"Oh, Meowster Stone. Are...are you ok?" She asks weakly.

She looks concerned which is more expression from her than I have seen. I can barely hear her as my ears are ringing and everything is muted, but I did understand what she said, I think.

I choke but respond. "I am Sweety. I think I'm fine. All because of you. You're such a good girl." I smile as my eyes begin to burn. I pat her head gently.

Her expression changes to a soft smile. "That...that's good. More Demies need Masters like you. I wish I..." Sweety says softly before she goes limp.

Watching the light fade from her eyes takes a lifetime and only a moment. Before I can react, she's gone. A different humming builds in my ears as I process what I am seeing.

"Sweety?" I call out. I shake her. There is no response. I deny that she's actually gone, thinking she can be saved for almost a minute. After I stop fooling myself, I gently roll her over to see what had happened to her even though I'm pretty sure I already know. Glass and metal sticking out of her back in places. Some had fallen out when I rolled her off of me.

She had taken the brunt of the projectiles that had flown at me. We were far enough away that nothing passed through her body either. She should have stayed in the crowd then she may have only been injured. Instead, she saved my life.

Sweety lived her entire life as a slave, treated like less than dirt; used as the current sexual plaything, a carnal toy until Brandon was bored. Yet, she still saved a Pure. I didn't deserve that. Does any "Master"?

For a long time, I am lost. The explosion replays in my mind over and over again, followed by the light leaving Sweety's eyes. So many emotions roil through me, I only feel numb.

The sound of the room coming back into focus finally snaps me out of my flashback loop. People are screaming, crying, and yelling. I look up and truly see what is around me for the first time.

Amongst the smoke that is still billowing through the room, I see bodies milling about. There is debris everywhere, along with unmoving people and Demies. More dead and dying. Just by a cursory glance, more people are dead than in the previous bombings.

I pull Sweety's body over to the side where it won't be stepped on and feel the panic rise in me once more.

Isabelle. Is she dead or hurt? That's all I can think about as I scan for platinum hair. I try to position myself so I can relive where she was before the blast. Following where the blast came from, the Demie-only drinks bar, I trace her possible locations with my eyes.