Linked Souls

4

As soon as she realized, she sat on top of her mother, Sarah released her grip. Her eyes widened even more and through the tears she noticed the crimson liquid on her hands. She scrambled back and her eyes darted across the room. What she saw could only be described as carnage. It was more reminiscent of a battlefield than a living room. Blood pooled on the floor and splatters of it decorated the walls. Corpses were strewn across the room. So many thoughts flooded her mind. Sarah couldn't get a grip on any though.

She tore her eyes away from the carnage and looked at her mother. Her clothes had been ripped to shreds. Various wounds covered her body. A sad smile appeared on her face as she crawled to Sarah. The redhead didn't know what to do. She couldn't even think.

Once again, she felt a hand on her cheek. Her mother now knelt directly in front of her. "I'm sorry", she said, her voice brittle but strong at the same time. Sarah asked herself why her mother would apologize. The blood on Sarah's hands showed, she was at fault. The body of her father supported this thesis. Just then she realized, she had killed her own father. It hit her like a bag of bricks. Tears ran down her face as her gaze switched to her hands again. The scent of her father's blood made her nauseous. At the same time she felt the urge to run over to his body and eat it. How she was able to fight against it; Sarah didn't know.

Screams tore through the silence. Sarah sobbed, burying her face in her hands. When her mother pulled her into an embrace, she tried to protest. She didn't deserve it, for she had done the one thing she never wanted to do. But since her mother didn't let go of her, Sarah gave up. Instead she cried into the shoulder of her mother.

Over and over she apologized while her mum just listened and rubbed circles on her back. Her hands weaved through Sarah's disheveled hair. More and more tears streamed down her face. No matter how hard she tried to hold them back, they didn't stop. A whirlwind of emotions swirled inside her, ravaging her soul.

"It's okay. It will all be okay", her mother whispered to her. Something inside her wanted to lash out at her mother for saying this. It wouldn't be. Nothing would be okay. But she held back because she knew her mother just tried to calm her down.

After what felt like an eternity, the sobs turned to sniffles. Sarah pulled back from the embrace and looked into her mother's eyes. They sparkled with an emotion she wasn't able to identify. "I'm sorry", Sarah mumbled once again. Her mother shook her head. "You don't need to apologize. You simply lost control." Sarah didn't know what to answer to that. Her head still processed the events, but at the same time it was like an empty room. Pain itched beneath her skin while she tried to block out the scent of blood and flesh.

All of the sudden, she realized a faint light coming from her left hand. The wide eyes of her mother showed that it wasn't just her imagination.

She turned her hand. Through the blood shone a light. It formed a symbol, reminiscent of flames. Sarah blinked a couple of times. She furrowed her brows and narrowed her eyes as if it would help her understand what this meant. With her other hand she grazed over the symbol. It didn't hurt. Instead it exuded some kind of warmth, like a real fire would. Her gaze turned back to her mother whose eyes were fixated on the crest. Then she looked into Sarah's eyes. "Get upstairs", she ordered, catching Sarah off-guard, "Shower, get new clothes. I'll wait outside." Sarah's first emotion was confusion. Before she could ask however, her mother said, she should hurry. "I'll explain it to you once we're in the car."

Sarah didn't like the direction in which this situation went. But she complied with her mother's orders.

Once she reached her room she took some clothes out of her closet before running to the bathroom. She stepped into the shower and washed off all the blood. The water turned crimson, making it look worse than it had already been. A glance to her left hand showed, the mark remained. While she was confused, she reminded herself, her mother would explain it all. Sarah jumped out and dried herself. Then she slipped into new clothes. After it was done, she rushed downstairs again. In the hallway she stepped into her shoes.