Changing Fate

A Fatal Ending

The rain blurred her sight, or maybe it was the tears running down her face. Either way, it did nothing to block out the sight of another beam of light taking another piece of her family.  A wounded sound left her as she fell to her knees. Her thin fingers dug into the mud beneath her, as she wordlessly screamed out her furry and sorrow. Why? Why had this happened? Why did these creatures take her family?

Raelynn didn't know much about the world outside the Amazon jungle, but she knew that maybe the creation that Leo called a TeeVee might be able to tell her something. But she was miles away from what her family called civilization. It would take days of walking to get to where she needed. 

Breathing in harshly the flame-haired woman struggled to get herself to stand, still sobbing and knees wobbling. Storm-cloud grey eyes flickered about the area, her body trembled as she spotted a canoe that her brothers and sisters had used to get to the edges of the jungle. Moaning softly as she stumbled forward, the hope building in her chest only to be crushed seconds later when she found it to be in disrepair. 

She knew there would be no other choice, only a snake could go through these waters uncontested. Her flame-colored tail lashed with thought. Only one snake can go uncontested. Letting her body relax Raelynn allowed the change to overtake her body, as bones and muscles snapped and tore. It wasn't a painless experience, but with decades of experience and already overloaded with emotional pain, she didn't feel much of anything.

Opening her eyes once more, this time at a much lower place, the woman-turned-snake slithered towards the water. The rain continued to fall onto her scales, which her family had once told her looked like the starry night sky. The cool waters of one of the many amazon rivers did nothing for her temper, it only made her miss her family more. 

The warmth of her family hugs, the kindness of their smiles, and the joy in their laughter. It was all gone now. The raids had happened weekly, and those monsters had taken the heart of their family first. Raelynn remembered the first time they had discovered the body of the littlest of her brothers. He'd only been a few years old, only just beginning to speak, even if it was just nonsense. 

His skin had been pale and cold like ice, death had already had his soul for a great deal of time. It had looked like decades had passed, his once youthful features wrinkled with old age, yet he still was the same size he'd been when he'd been taken. Raelynn had not been included in the meeting that the elders held, but she had not been expected to. No matter how long she'd lived in these lands, she was still an outsider. They were human and she... She was something else.

That had not mattered to her little family though. She had been raised with Leo's grandmother and helped raised Leo's father. By all rights, Raelynn was Leo's great aunt. Leo who was now dead, a husk of his former self. Her body shuddered as she remembered the terror of his face when he was taken. And the look that would be forever etched onto his face when those thugs dropped his corpse down on the ground. 

Lynn had not taken his death well and retreated into her snake form before diving into the river. She'd returned just a month later to find only two of the elders remained. They had tried to banish her, to tell her to leave and take her evil with her. She had not understood. But she had not left, even with their harsh words, and raised voices. Raelynn had remained and taken care of the two until those deathless abominations had taken them as well.

At the edge of the river bend, Raelynn paused, before making her way up a tree near the water's edge and slithering her way up. Fire. The red, orange and yellow flames leaped up everywhere. A farm in the distance was up in flames, and the scent of burnt flesh made her gag even in this form. Unable to handle the stench, Raelynn abruptly shifted back into her base form. Causing her to fall from her perch and land roughly on the riverbank. Slick mud dirtying her now naked body. 

The hard ground made her bones, ache, and part of her just wanted to lie there. But she had to push on. Shivering as she got to her feet, the wild-haired woman took a few moments to breathe before setting off towards the blaze, hoping that she'd be able to find a road. The sound of her footfalls against the earth reverberated in her ears. Her body trembling with terror, excitement, and a whole jumble of emotions that she could not name.

Passing the burning farm, and the charred corpses - human and animal alike. Raelynn's lips twitched upwards as her success became clear to her. Though they quickly downturned once more. She still had a long way to go, many miles to travel, and many struggles ahead. But she would make it. She had to. If she could find other people, she could find out what happened. 

And maybe. Just maybe she could find a new home? A new family? She shook her head and looked up into the night sky. The sky that her scales often reflected.  Something trembled in her as a new heat began to surround her. It was not the blaze behind her, nor the heat she generated on her own. In fact, it was safe to say she'd never felt a heat like this before. 

Before she could question it much, a dazzling white light shimmered in front of her, and in it stood a being. Her chest constricted. A soft and feminine voice spoke in her mind, which strangely reminded her of a wind chime ringing.

"Come child. And your family will be saved."

Raeylnn blinked then nervously glanced around her, before turning back to the strange and bright being. "Me? Voice talk to me?"

The being nodded, "A chance, to change everything. to save your family. To find more family." The voice spoke once again, making her shiver.

"Not be alone anymore?" Lynn asked softly, eyes wide with hope and wonder much like a small child.

"Yes, Little one. You won't be alone any longer. I promise." The being replied hold out a hand, as if offering to shake in greeting.

Raelynn blinked, and for a long moment thought about it hard. She didn't know what she'd find no matter what happened if she took the being's offer or not. But a chance of having a family again was too much to pass up. Without any second thought, Rae leaned forward and clasped her hand in the beings. 

The light surrounding the being brightened, and in no time blinded her. Then there was just darkness.