Repeal

Chapter 10

Sound comes to Kiera first, the soft whine of wind through trees, branches that creak and sway, probing at the throb behind her eyes, til even the softest sounds cause a spike of pain through her skull. She hardly realizes her eyes are open. The worlds grey, and everything is a blob in the distant. Not long after her vision starts to clear, the pain spreads, taking up residence of ever part of her body, til she can feel everything from nose to tail.

On jellylike legs, Kiera stands up. The earth wobbles under her, threatening to tip her sideways. Despite her disagreeing mind, she lays down in the snow, waiting for the dizziness to pass, and the headache to ebb.

After a minute she reopens her eyes, looking around her again. The light stings, but everything is in focus again, from the tree’s rugged bark, to the lumps in the snow. With a shock she notices footprint in front of her face, deep and heavy, from a pair of boots. Kiera jerks back without thinking, mind spitting off a million responses to the new knowledge. With a crash she land on her side, but is too busy spinning around to care.

Her growl putters out, and her fur lays flat as she realizes she’s alone. The chill of night had seeped into her body, soaked into her veins, her bones, infecting her very being. On stiff limps she forces herself to stand again, this time squashing the fear.

The dart is gone, and only trampled snow can be found anywhere near her.

In a futile attempt, Kiera shakes her pelt out. Water flings from her fur, freezing in the night air instantly.

Grumbling to herself, she turns towards home, listening for sounds of life. The party had dispersed, leaving only traces of smoke and alcohol on the frigid air. The wind stirs the trees and bend the branches, dead of life.

Kiera’s paw prints leave a lonely trail through the ankle deep snow. Not far from where Kiera had been passed out, blood paints the ground in long streaks of red. She hardly glances at the crimson image, where a story lays, holding the memories of fights, one tiny war of many.

Kiera growls to herself; tail flicking in annoyance. Frustration boils hot through her blood. She tries to smother the annoyance, but it doesn’t work. That’s the second fight she’s been useless in. That’s the second fight where she’s been unconscious. The second time she’s be vulnerable. The second time she’s been spared. Anyone could have killed her. And no one died.

 

She almost wished someone had killed her. Then maybe she wouldn’t feel like a failure.

Kiera always considered this war as life or death. If you didn’t fight properly, you died. End of story. But, like a total idiot, she was always winding up drooling in the snow unconscious like a stupid pup.

She growls her annoyance to the night.

It takes longer than normal for her to get to her house. Her muscles still refuse to work properly, and she’s sure if she tried to run she’s face plant into the ice.

She shifts at the door, feeling numbness eating her body while anger eats her mind to nothing but a clouded, hazy world of annoyance and anger. Kiera doesn’t even realize the house is dark and empty as she storms through the hallway. Blood hangs on the air, thick and stale, but she doesn’t notice it until she steps into her bedroom, the haze drifting away, replaced with unease and worry. “Cody?”