FAVOURITE CRIME, kaz brekker.

01. WHAT IS DEAD MAY NEVER DIE

trigger warning:
mentions of assault, graphic
descriptions of violence, blood.

    "Get her in here! On the bed, quickly." Darya barked, pulling back the sheer curtain to reveal what was probably the only available bed for the night.

The other girls did as they were asked, with another bleeding girl in their arms they weren't left with much choice.

    "Saints, what happened to her?" She asked as she pulled the bobble off of her wrist and tied her hair up, out of the way of her face whilst she shrugged off her nightgown.

The girls shrugged at first, but a stern look from Darya caused the weakest the break.

    "Found her in the alley. She went for a smoke and never came back. Dimitri's out there chasing the guy, all I saw was him kicking her. He stood on her as well."

    "Stood on her?" She repeated in utter disgust. "Fucking hell."

An acidic substance seemed to boil in the pits of her stomach and the back of her throat as she shooed them out of the way. It was a sight that had she had sadly grown accustomed to, another sweet girl laying on a old mattress, bleeding out. The worst was last week, Milana had been practically seizing on the bed beneath her and Darya had to call the men on the door to help hold her still.

She could still recall the noises her ribs made as they were put back in to place, some popped, others cracked, and she feared that poor Galina was about to experience the same thing.

The worst were the screams, that she was sure of. The painful, bloodcurdling screams of innocent girls who had fallen victims to men all because their day had been shit and the girls where in the right place at the wrong time.

"Lina? Lina, can you hear me, darling?"

Nothing. There were whimpers, trapped sobs and slight moans as she tossed and turned in panic but nothing else.

Listening to her gut, Darya bent down beside Galina and looked at her ears. Blood. She'd been kicked in the side of the head and probably burst her eardrums.

"What?" One of the girls asked.

"That bastard got her ears, if you don't help me hold her down she could go deaf, and I'm Grisha, not a miracle worker."

She pointed to where she need the girls and they obliged, holding Galina down by her arms and legs whilst Darya shoved a piece of cloth in her mouth.

    "Galina, honey, this is going to hurt, but I need you to stay with me okay?"

She exhaled slowly, her hands crossed in front of her, creating the almost kite like shape they had all grown to understand that she was using her powers. Darya pushed her hands down and they hovered over Galina's chest for a moment. Like magic, her ribs were restored (and she was thankful that her screams were loud enough to cover up the sound of the bones re-connecting).

    She would see to her face later, Darya decided. She hurried around the girls so that she was looking down at Galina's face.

Such pain filled her eyes, fear. Was it fear of her and her powers or the fear that she couldn't survive? Perhaps Darya was too late and Galina was too far gone, her eardrum's too far past the point of saving. None of that mattered, she reminded herself, Darya Belova does not give up.

    "Galina?"

The girl nodded, and it was only then that Darya seemed to remember. Galina was young, far too young to be in such a business and far too young to have almost lost her life tonight, they had celebrated her nineteenth birthday last month.

"Scream for me."

The girl drowned slightly, but when her eyes ground Darya's she nodded. To the unfortunate passers by, it sounded as though a young girl was being murdered from the outside.

    Focus. She reminded herself, holding her hands over Galina's ears as she tried her best to drown out the screams. They were heartbreaking and Darya wasn't sure how much longer she could take working there, she wanted to help the girls but she wasn't a hero. She simply couldn't save everyone.

The more she focused, the louder the screams got, until it all built up to one final screech from Galina and Darya's hands dropped back to her side.

Both girls were gasping by the end of it, but Galina soon drifted out of consciousness and Darya took a moment to regain her breath. As soon as she did, she once again shooed the girls out of the room and covered the blonde haired girl with a blanket.

When the room quietened down, Darya found herself slipping out and hurrying along to her own room. When she felt the door lock behind her, she dropped her facade.

She fell to her knees, finally letting exhaustion consume her whole. The wooden panels beneath her helped to cool her down, as did her terrace window which she found to wide open. Something she never did.

Giving herself a moment, she wiped her cheeks dry of any tears that had fallen and brushed off the dirt from her knees. Hugging her nightgown tightly around her, she walked out to the balcony. Empty. With a sign, she stepped backwards and closed the doors.

    "Darya."

She let out a shriek as she spun around, almost falling to the floor in shock. "Are you mad? Who ever let you believe sneaking up on people like that was a good idea? It's evil."

"It's nice to see you too." She hummed.

Darya looked up.

"Inej. You look well."

    "Well, all thanks to you, as always." She pulled down her hood.

Darya waved her hands in front of her, dismissing her words. "Don't be silly. I do the easy part, recovery is the worst, and you did that all by yourself."

Inej smiled. "Darya..."

"Inej, please. Not tonight. Didn't you hear those screams?"

"I'm pretty sure all of Ketterdam heard them." She replied. "Look, you know I wouldn't ask you if it wasn't serious. Besides it's not some random person off the street this time, it's my friend."

Darya paused, letting a small sigh escape her lips.

"Please, D. I need you."

authors note!
inej & darya may be one of
my favourite friendships i
have ever written *evil laughter*