Harm and Harmony

-Chapter 79-

Day: 97

Days Left: 5383

Lives Saved: 0

They fought through the storm with Harmony leading the charge, dragging Corinna by the arm, her blunt claws scratching her skin as they clasped around her wrist.

Corinna struggled to keep up, her knees buckling under the force of the wind, leading to Harmony hauling her off the ground.

Reaching the front door, Harmony let go of Corinna and retrieved the key on her belt then attempted to unlock the door but failing due to her impatience.

"Here, let me-"

Harmony snarled when Corinna offered to help, eventually unlocking the door, slamming it open, then shoved Corinna inside. With her now safe, Harmony whipped around and stomped back to the door.

"You can't escape, Harmony!"

The chimaera froze, almost through the doorway.

"You'll never escape! It's impossible..." Corinna's voice croaked and faded away.

The stifled silence lingered in the air. It tightened and strained, ready to break, ready to be released but neither Harmony nor Corinna spoke.

Harmony fought the urge to look back at the young woman, knowing that if she did, she would never leave. Instead, she focused on the rock tower in the distance.

"Harmony?"

Do not look.

"Harm?"

Go outside.

"Harmony?"

And close the door behind you.

"Harmony. Look at me."

She'll leave you.

"Please, look at me..."

She'll be gone by the time you're back.

"Please..."

No more distractions.

"...please..."

Harmony looked up. Her eyes could not escape it now, they would not focus on anything else apart from her.

Corinna's face became blank and vacant, void of emotion and unreadable. It was like she was a porcelain doll.

"Don't leave." Her voice was flat and monotonous. It frightened Harmony, hearing her Corinna like this. That tone and that expression were not her but rather a mask that she adorned to prevent her mental state from collapsing any further.

The wind slammed the front door shut.

They both looked at it before returning back to each other. Harmony was the first one to avert her eyes to the floor. She stared down at her legs, unsure if they were shaking or perhaps her vision grew blurry, maybe even both. Knees buckling, she slumped onto the floor, her paws cradling her snout.

"I need to go, Corinna," mumbled Harmony. Her talons gripped at her fur. "I have to get out of here."

Even from this distance, Corinna could hear the chimaera's breathing, its irregular and rasping gasps of air, her rib-cage showing whenever Harmony breathed in.

"Harmony...?" Corinna's gaze lingered on the chimaera, travelling down from the jackal face to the visible rib-cage through the skin, to the three-fingered hands, the black-feathered wings on her back, then finally to the snake tail that hid underneath the green cloak.