Red and White, Black and Blue

Chapter 21: Parents' Day

She's back in Hosu. The city is aflame, and she's leading a group of civilians to safety. Her eyes dart around, searching for any further hint of trouble that might lurk in the darkness. "This way, the hospital isn't far."

A wave of smoke passes through the road, and there's a sharp pain in her arm. She swats at the spot, but there's nothing, just a buzzing sound that sets her on edge.

She keeps moving, guiding the group forward. It's just around the next corner.

But something changes. Her head starts pounding, and a sickness grips her stomach. She curls up, barely keeping to her feet.

The people turn to look at her. A couple of them ask something, but it sounds like they're underwater, and she can't make out the words.

A red haze inches into the edges of her vision, and lightning crawls across her limbs.

A part of her panics. She coughs as her body starts to shift.

The dragon roars, freezing the terrified crowd in place, at her mercy. Pain courses through her whole body. She only dimly registers what's happening as her claws tear through the petrified masses. The sickening crunch of bones breaking under the weight of her claws is distant, muffled, but still perfectly recognizable.

Blood soaks the pavement. Screams and pained gurgles echo dull and faint in her ears.

In seconds, it's over.

Her power runs dry, and she returns to normal. The haze fades from her eyes, but the pain wracks her body.

Everyone is dead.

All those she was supposed to protect. As she looks at them in horror, two faces stand out in the pile of twisted and mangled limbs.

Her parents are among the sea of shattered bodies.

She starts trembling, then shaking, uncontrollably and ever more severely. She falls to her knees, unable to stand. As her eyes blur with burning tears, she coughs. Blood splatters out, mixing with the river of crimson surrounding her.

Every breath only makes her cough up more blood. She can't stop. She wants to scream, but she can't even get enough air to try.

A voice from behind her. "It's no use pretending to be a hero now. A person's true nature is not so easily changed."

The hero killer.

She knows it's right. She doesn't resist.

The long blade pierces right through her, the tip emerging from her stomach.

She wakes up screaming.

Ryumi's eyes fly open and she frantically scans her room. Her hairline is damp with sweat, and she's shaking.

It wasn't real. It wasn't. I didn't... I never...

It takes a long time before she can convince herself that she's back in reality.

I... That wasn't how it happened. I never killed anyone... He wasn't there. Mom and dad aren't... they're just missing.

And then, with incredible effort she starts to slow her breathing from the panicked hyperventilation she's caught herself in.

I never killed anyone.

She takes a breath.