Fate: Opression

13

Planet: Earth
Date: May 25 2020
Location: Unnamed district – Butte aux Cailles (Paris - France)
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"M-M-Mommy, get up, please."
It was useless.
"M-Mommy, I-I beg you... we have to g-go home!"
It was utterly useless.
Laeticia looked with wide eyes dripping with tears at the lifeless body in front of her. Her mother lay in pool of red, with a hole at the center of her chest. Her face was blank, with lifeless eyes and expression, and she was missing her right arm. The same red liquid that had soaked the asphalt gushed from her missing limb and the hole in her chest. She didn't understand. It had all happened in a second. A moment before the two of them were running to escape from those monstrous creatures, and the next something wet and sudden had snapped in the air, and her mother had dropped to the ground, no longer moving.
Laeticia was scared.
A desperate sob escaped from her lips, followed by a fit of incessant hiccups. The five-year-old child gave another tug on her mother's body. "M-Mommy! Please!" she begged with a broken voice.
Again, no response. An explosion rang out in the distance, and the earth shook slightly for a couple of seconds. She could hear other people's screams of panic and fright as her hands gripped her mother's arm in an attempt to lift her up and run. Somewhere beyond the alley, a building blew up and the air filled with dust and smoke.
There was no hope around her.
A gruesome screech echoed suddenly. Laeticia spun around, still clinging to her mother's arm. Her tear-filled eyes could barely see the threat. Another hideous creature had appeared at the entrance of the narrow alley. It did not possess a discernible torso nor appendages, but was best described as a confused mass of tentacles with circular mouth-like openings marked with shark teeth-like blades. It was creepy and revolting to watch, and too confusing to describe. Laeticia had to restrain her urge to vomit as she watched it in horror and fear.
Still, terror got the better of horror. The little girl burst into tears, sobbing frantically as she reacted instinctively. She ran, abandoning her mother and fleeing even deeper into the alley. Without even turning, out of the corner of her eye, she could barely see that monstrous creature multiplying with a hiss and a screech, moving grotesquely in an attempt to chase her. The sheer fear and instinct gripping her stomach were the only things that allowed her to forget everything and keep running.
She bumped into a garbage can, but kept running despite the yelp of pain and fear. She came out of the alley, panting and crying, and ran without ever stopping. She reached a side street in the neighborhood, with no idea of where she was, but she kept running nontheless. There was no one in sight, and the screams and explosions still echoed in the city. Behind her, the creature had now multiplied. There were ten of them, and they were still chasing her relentlessly. Their horrifying screech almost made her ears bleed. Laeticia wept as she kept running in despair.
Eventually, she tripped over something. She fell to the ground, grazing her knees and legs. She hissed with a sob, trying to hold back the pain as she struggled to get back on her feet. But it was too late. The monsters were a few feet away from her now, their tentacles flapping wildly in the air and their toothed mouths moving closer and closer. There was nothing to do. Nowhere to escape. She was finished.
Laeticia let out a helpless cry and shut her eyes as she waited for her incoming end.
But it didn't came.
A dull thud echoed around her, followed by the sound of something tearing and breaking apart. The hissing of the monsters grew louder and more gruesome, before dropping completely after a couple of seconds. Something heavy and metallic hissed through the air, followed by the monster's screams. Finally, silence and darkness surrounded her again, and the child remained motionless on the ground, trembling and frightened, covering her face with her arms. She didn't even dare to open her eyes in terror.
"Are you ok, child?"
An angelic voice broke the silence around her.
The little girl slowly opened her eyes.
Amidst the tears, a luminous and reassuring figure stood before her. A woman, a young girl, with long golden hair and amethyst-colored eyes that were pure and clear as water. She possessed a wondrous beauty that scarcely felt real, a mixture of precise and molded beauty of a maiden and a kind of cuteness that made one's heart flutter just by being nearby. She also wore a purple armored battle-dress and a silver head-piece, making her look like a warrior of some kind.
Laeticia's eyes widened and she held her breath in shock and awe.
The girl knelt in front of her, offering her a hand and a sweet smile. "Come, child, do not be afraid. I won't hurt you. I promise," she said in a soft, warm voice, extremely reassuring.
With no small hesitation, the little girl took her hand and stood up, still shaken and frightened. Her eyes darted in all directions in fear, wary of any possible threat.
"Don't worry, the monsters are gone now," the mysterious heroine spoke again, putting a hand on her head. "But you shouldn't be here. It's too dangerous. Tell me, where are your parents?"
Laeticia's only reaction was bursting into tears and sobbing.
"...I see."
Suddenly, the child found herself held in a hug, wrapped in the arms of the young girl as she continued to cry and despair. Laeticia clung to her for dear life, crying and shedding tears on the girl's dress as she buried her face against her shoulder. She didn't seem to care. Something warm and reassuring began to well inside her as she remained wrapped in the stranger's arms. Between tears and sobs, the child vaguely realized that the girl smelled of roses and water, and that smell served to calm her down slightly.
"I'm sorry for your loss, dear. I'm so very sorry," she whispered softly to her in a sweet, understanding voice filled with compassion.
When they broke the embrace after an indefinite amount of time, Laeticia hiccupped one last time and tried to wipe away the tears. It was useless, though. She didn't even realize that the grazes on her legs and knees were completely gone, healed in some mysterious way.
The girl offered her a sad smile. "What's your name, sweetie?"
She sniffled a little. "L-Laeticia..."
The girl nodded reassuringly. She stroked her cheeks and wiped away another tear. "Let's get you somewhere safe, Laeticia," she said with a determined smile.
The little girl nodded shyly. She didn't even try to protest as the young girl picked her up and held her in her arms. There was something warm, and reassuring, and comfortable about her. Something the little girl couldn't make out. How could she, after all? She was but a child. A terrified child who had lost her family. She couldn't have any idea about what was going on.
The only thing she understood was that as soon as the mysterious heroine lifted her into her arms, for some strange reason, a sudden feeling of total relief washed over her like a wave. Her mind became blurred after that overwhelming train of emotions, her eyelids growing heavier and heavier.
And then, the little girl fell into an induced sleep, letting herself be lulled by the girl's gentle embrace.