My demons: Healing (book 3)

The aftermath

Shots rang into the night and the dark figures fell to the ground one after another, leaving the battle scene silent, eerie. Nathan Forbes put away his rifle and rushed from the roof he had been situated on. 

He had to reach his friends. They couldn't all be dead, could they? 

He shook his head before running outside, reaching the spot in what felt like hours but could be mere seconds. He kneeled down in front of Claire who was lying face down on the ground. He reached down to check for a pulse when he heard his name being yelled, followed by something that sounded a lot like a dagger rippling through the air and then a sound thud letting him know it hit its mark. 

He looked up in time to see a dark figure falling to the ground. 

"Careful," he heard Manuel North's voice from behind him and sighed in relief. "Is there a pulse?" Manuel asked, kneeling down next to Claire. He brushed away a stray strand of hair from her face, delicately touching her skin. She was cold. Too cold. He knew the answer before even looking at Nathan who looked at him with a sad expression, guilt etched to his features. "I wasn't fast enough."

Manuel hung his head, willing his hand to move to his oldest friend's pulse point, desperate to prove Nathan wrong. 

"Please," he whispered, his voice shaking uncontrollably. "Claire, no," he croaked out before a sob wrecked his body. He cradled her lifeless body in his arms, crying with reckless abandon. His upper body and shoulders wracked with every sob that forced its' way out, chest rising and falling unevenly as he gasped for breath. He squeezed his eyes shut, balling his hands into fists as he threw his head back to let out a blood curdling scream. He didn't care that he was on an exposed terrain, he didn't care there might be more of the shadows lurking around the area, itching to kill. He couldn't hear hushed whispers when Aisha and Fabian reached them, couldn't hear as they both fell to their knees in front of him, despair threatening to swallow them whole as they wept for their fallen friend.

Meanwhile, Nathan lifted himself off the ground, deciding to give them some privacy. Terror shot through his veins when he remembered why Claire was gone. Alex. He started looking around, desperate to find his friend, his sister. 

She was lying not far away from where he was standing and he was by her side in seconds, shaking her lightly. When she grunted in response, he felt his eyes watering with relief. He knew she would be okay, he just needed to get her inside and tend to her wounds. He lifted her up effortlessly, getting her to their infirmary without any trouble. 

That was, until a certain blonde was situated in front of him, eyes wild with concern. "She will be okay," he tried to smile reassuringly but he failed miserably, the knowledge that the girl she loved was gone gnawing at his insides. 

"The others?" Sky asked, noting his sorrowful eyes. She felt her chest tightening and she knew right away that something was wrong. Someone was dead. When he shook his head, she felt her heart stop. 

"Claire?" she whispered, her eyes begging for him to say her girl was okay. He hung his head and she knew. She rushed past him, her tears already blinding her as she reached her friends, her family who were all on the ground, crying over her girlfriend's lifeless body.

She felt her legs give out as she reached them, unable to handle the intense ache in her chest for much longer and she let out a pained sob. Her knees dug into the earth as she hit the ground, her hands unsteady as they silently clawed at the dirt. She opened her mouth, but not a sound came out, her head violently quivering as if there was a drill to the back of her skull. And she cried. She cried like her spirit needed to break loose from her skin, desperate to release an elemental rage on the world. Fabian's soothing words made no difference at all. Sky was beyond all reason, beyond all natural methods of calming.

Sky's pained scream had seemingly penetrated Alex' mind and forced her to regain consciousness. She bolted upwards, her eyes searching the infirmary for the hurting blonde. She couldn't find her, but before she could get up and rush to wherever she was, Nathan was next to her, placing a firm hand on her shoulder. 

His face said more than his words ever could and she suddenly felt sick. "Claire..." she whispered and Nathan sat down on her bed next to her, squeezing her shoulder in a silent apology. 

Claire was gone. 

Alex brought her hands up to her face, covering her eyes as she felt tears prickling at the corners of her eyes. 

Claire died so Alex could live. 

She drew her knees up, ignoring the pain that shot through her entire body at the action, wrapping her arms around them tightly. She then rested her forehead against them, trying to calm her breathing. After a few seconds, however, a choked sob escaped her throat and with vocalization of her pain, she began to cry, tears stinging like acid on her cheeks. 

Claire was gone.