The elk's antlers claw to the pine tops, coloured like the earth beneath the white expanse of snow. The elk's ears twitch as he raises his head and sniffs at the air, wary of predators amongst the dense trees. His dark eyes flicker with unease as he senses something approaching, creeping closer to his serenity in the thick snow.
Alicia aims the gun above the elk's front legs and hopes to make a clean kill. Such a beautiful creature doesn't deserve a painful death. She won't let the animal suffer from a messy shot.
She lets out a breath, the air fogging before her face. She tightens her finger on the trigger. There's a shot. The gun jolts against her shoulder. A flurry of squawking crows burst into the air with rustling leaves. Something is knocked loose inside of her.
Filling the ensuing silence is the gurgle of someone choking on their own blood.
A scream is wrenched from Alicia's lips as crimson splashes down Kathryn's front and her hands leap to her throat, trying to stop the flow of blood.
The heavy weight of the rifle drops from her hands and Alicia stumbles forward, the deep snow sucking at her boots like a thousand hands drag her away from her aunt.
Kathryn's dark eyes meet Alicia's, pain a vibrant flame within them. "You killed me," she splutters, blood staining her lips to drip from her chin. Then she falls to her knees and Alicia can't stand to look anymore.
She closes her eyes. Her legs give out. She can't seem to even her ragged breathing as she kneels in the cold. Rough cries scrape from her throat, torn from some broken part within her.
How many times does she need to watch Kathryn die before it finally destroys her? How many times must she watch those she cares about suffer before the Reaper decides to take her instead?
The snap of a stick startles Alicia's eyes open. The elk leaps, bounding into the trees with a snort, hooves pounding the snow in a desperate attempt to escape, leaving Alicia alone.
She's dropped her gun. Her knees are soaked with snow. She still can't breathe.
Alicia buries her hands in the white and brings clumps of ice to her face. The shock of the cold yanks her from the memories and she leaves the ice pressed to her flesh until it begins to burn.
Once her heart settles and her teeth chatter from the frigid air and her damp clothes, Alicia stands, slinging the strap of her rifle over her shoulder.
Panting like a wounded animal, she remembers where she is. The forest in the north, far from the capital, far from her aunt's cabin. She's not an exile anymore, not exactly. She's out here for a reason and it's not just for survival.
The ache in her chest ceases and feeling begins to return to her hands as she shakes them out.
She'll just have to settle for what little game her snares have managed to catch. Again.
Alicia walks, trudging through the snow with her shoulders hitched up to her ears. She's barely aware of her own movements as she finds her snares and the small amount of game caught within them. She's barely aware of putting one foot in front of the other until she reaches the familiar cabin in the sparse trees.
Shoving her way into the small cabin—a wave of snowflakes following her inside—she leaves behind the memories that drag at the corners of her mind like sandpaper against wood.
She kicks the snow off her boots before closing the door. The rifle finds its way onto a hook on the wall, her coat tossed beside it. She makes her way to the kitchen tucked into the corner of the cabin with a rattling stove and cupboards without glass. Putting a kettle of water on to boil, Alicia dumps the lifeless animals on the wooden bench, and looks out through the small window to the snow beyond.
YOU ARE READING
The Grey Blood #2
Fantasy❝ We must be prepared to sacrifice the few to save the many that will come after us. ❞ [book 2] The Grey Bloods may have dwindled in number, but the creatures still gnaw at Muovea, threatening the small measure of peace that was won when the Grand D...
