Upon Changes - A Short Novel

Chapter 1

Covered in filth She made her way towards the bathroom, already thinking about the warm water sliding down her battered body, relieving her from her stress. After closing the door behind her, a deep sigh escaped her lips as she stood for a moment, reality dawning upon her again, trying to wrap her mind around everything that had occurred. She couldn't seem to make sense of the mess her mind was in currently and tried her hardest to oppress her troubled thoughts away. She directed her mind to the unbuttoning of her blouse and undoing of her protective gear. Her eyes briefly met her own when she glanced into the mirror, meeting her immense fatigued appearance. Her gaze travelled across her battered body, her injuries reminding her of the impact she had endured. She denied almost not being able to recognize herself, and pulled her glance away from the mirror and slid down her pants, throwing the ripped piece of clothing to the side. The bandages around her wounds were soaked, the blood seeping through the thin cloth, the wounds eagerly calling out for care. As her fingers lingered across the side of the bandage a sudden knock was heard upon the door. Her eyes looked up to the door, for a moment in confusion as to who could be knocking at her door before calling out a questioning yes. Her voice sounded more distressed and burnt out than she had expected, she slightly clenched her jaw. As the door slightly opened, a figure appeared in the door opening. As the shadows retreated and the soft light hit the figures face, it was clear that Sevika was the person standing in the doorframe. Their gaze's met each other and Alaina's lips parted as she felt Sevika's eyes slipping across her exposed body for a split second, inspecting her condition. With her eyes locked onto the visitor, she noticed worry growing in Sevika's dark eyes. She was indeed worried, Alaina didn't look too well, not at all actually, her body had endured such damage that it surprised her that she could still get a hold on herself like this. She shifted her weight, pressing her weight on the doorframe before she spoke, trying to direct her mind to the matter again.

'Do you mind if I join? I'll be in and out in a second.' Her voice was low and almost raspy. Alaina's eyes wandered across her filthy clothes, noticing she too was completely soaked in blood. But it wasn't Sevika's, it was hers. A remembrance of Sevika carrying her broken body back to the lodge flashed before her eyes. Alaina blinked, briefly glancing over to the shower, her mind was slow, still trying to process what she had just said and the memory that had just surfaced again. Her thoughts wandered for a second before she almost unnoticeably shook her head, clearing her mind. She almost stumbled over her words as she spoke.

'Oh, yes...go on.'

At her approval, Sevika made her way in, turning her back to her as she closed the door behind her. Alaina's realisation kicked in and she suddenly felt herself getting nervous about sharing this small space with her, and felt her nerves play up even more considering she was about to share a shower with her. She quickly cleared her irrational thoughts, not making a single thought slip to Sevika and directed her focus again to the sudden remembrance. With her fingers carefully unbounding the bandages she tried to remember more information about the previous events. She couldn't exactly recall what had happened in the square, she could vaguely get an image of everything that went down before the bombing, but after...it's all a mess. Everything got so messed up, only in the span of a few days her past had shattered, with no remains to be found. She tried not to get carried away by the emotions that the memories of her past stirred up but still found an aching feeling in her chest, begging for it to fade away quickly. With trying to ground herself back into reality, she met her painful present. Her head pounding from the pain she had pushed away, not being courageous enough to confront the agony she had to endure.

Sevika undid her body of the heavy gear she wore, shortly indulging in the relief of the weight that literally and figuratively got lifted from her shoulders. As she rolled her shoulders, her muscles contracted painfully, painting a contorted grimace on her face. She had a hunger for relief, begging that the heath of the shower would do her any good. After taking of her shirt and pants, she stood solely in her underwear, directing herself to detaching her mechanical arm, a grunt of alleviation filling the silence in the room as the mechanic was elevated from her heavy shoulder. As she stood leaning on the sink, she inspected her injuries that had carved themselves in the surface of her face. Her finger lightly grazing the scar on her lip that had opened up again, sending a stinging feeling up her nerve system, making her upper lip pull up in response to the sensitivity. She was going to make them pay for what they caused, they went to far this time, there was no possible denial. It had brought anger upon her, frustration and an insurmountable hate, not only because they had already destroyed and taken charge of so much but because this time, they had almost destroyed someone she loved.