Home-Bound: Broken Ties

14 - Poisonous Memories

wow... 4.9k this time. this is my apology for updating late lmao.
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There was a raid.

Nothing like what the island had previously seen. Hundreds of dragons circled overhead and every single one was visible due to the sheer amount of buildings lit on fire. The sky was a bright orange, stars replaced with burning embers and clouds turned to smoke and dust. The moon was a faded yellow, ashy and upset by the destruction.

Bodies laid scattered around the village, either burnt to a crisp or in a pool of their own blood. The air smelled of heat and something metallic.

Luneah scrambled about the main streets, weaving in between the ruins and hiding at the faintest hint of a dragon nearby. No one paid any attention to her—they were too busy fighting for their own lives.

Coming to the edge of one of the streets, Luneah barely stopped in time before she slipped over the edge of a cliff, some pebbles unfortunately not as lucky as she was. They clattered towards the bottom and Luneah never heard them hit the sea.

Which street had a cliff?

Pine Lane? No. Courage Avenue? Nope. Was she on Corpus Street?

How fitting.

Luneah, now with a newfound sense of direction, turned around completely and ran the other way. She realized that she was heading towards the deadly burning buildings and scary dragons, but that was unimportant. What was important was finding Midnight and getting to safety.

Midnight usually escaped the house at night and hid in the town square. That was on the way to the bunkers. Luneah would pick up Midnight and they would get to safety together.

Passing a collapsed building, Luneah peered around the darkness before looking to the skies. There were no dragons flying overhead. It seemed they had focused on the west side of the island and not the town square. Good.

"Midnight!" Luneah whispered, unwilling to move from the spot she had deemed safe, not even for the animal she loved the most. "Get over here!"

Her only answer was a rustle from one of the hay bales packed in between a barrel of wine and a pot of flowers. That must be where Midnight was!

Luneah once again scanned the area for dragons. You could never be too sure when it came to those unmerciful beasts. After hearing no disturbances in the air, she began to step forward into the open square. It was only until she was in the very center that she realized just how dangerous this situation was.

There was nothing for her to run to in case a dragon somehow showed up. There were no soldiers around to protect her. It may have been dark, but Luneah's green nightgown would be blatantly obvious to anything flying above.

Stopping immediately in her tracks, Luneah finally snapped. "Midnight, you stupid cat, get over here!"

There was a meek meow from the hay bale and suddenly, the black cat burst from the pile and ran into Luneah's outstretched arms. Luneah pressed her face into the soft fur and held the cat tightly. Midnight was technically a kitten but she held herself with such grace and had an air of maturity and elegance around her that could only come with age. She was not a kitten. She was a cat.

Luneah stood up and surveyed the area, thankful for her father's training. The bunkers were west of her location, or through the burning buildings and scary dragons. But the bunkers were infinitely safer than any house that Luneah could fortify herself in.

Bunkers it was.

She held the cat closer to her chest and began a silent jog through the streets towards the inferno. She could hear yelling from the distance in the direction of the dragons and danger. But Luneah was a warrior-in-training (at least that was what her dad called it) and danger came with the job. An occupational hazard. Luneah was no longer a 6-year-old girl, she was a brave soldier who willingly put her life on the line for innocent citizens like Midnight the kitten.