Nightclaw: Blood Moon Apex

Chapter 26: What Do We Do Now?

That afternoon, Remus, Jet, Percy, Boris II, and the rest of the Order had already retreated back to their camp following their pyrrhic success in defending Darkveil Manor from the forces of the C.L.A.W.

However, it had come at a massive price.

Carla could only watch in immense sadness as her father's dead body was loaded onto a gurney by a team of EMTs and rolled into an ambulance. As the ambulance drove away, Esther then approached her, bowing courteously.

"Carla......I offer you my deepest comfort for your loss," he said quietly.

But Carla didn't respond at first. So, he kept going.

"There is still much to do. Might I suggest that we—"

"Why are you here?" Carla asked him, interrupting his sentence.

"I was never given the honor of raising a family of my own. Instead, I have dedicated my life to the service of Alfred Rosenblood and everyone from his lineage. But I had hoped to provide you with adequate counsel and protection during this difficult time."

"There's nothing you can say that will help me," she insisted. "You heard Vultur; I'm all alone now."

"No, you are not," Esther countered. "You have Brian Banks, your best friend. You have Valeria, the countess. You have the vampires Lily and Theo. You have Remus, your alpha. You have Jet, Percy, Boris II, and the Order. .....You have me. We are not meant to go through life alone. It's important to treasure and cherish the relationships we do have."

"No one should be made to go through life alone.....especially at my age," Carla said. "But.....I guess this is my path now."

Esther nodded while giving a conceding frown. "When you first came to Darkveil in 2019, I first thought of you as nothing more than Alfred's granddaughter. But I watched you grow into a hero in your own right, even becoming on par with The Viper. In fact, I seem to recall you being quite a fan of her."

"I still am.....but after all of this, I don't feel like I can relate anymore," she confessed. "Now, more than ever, her path and mine are completely different. The Viper still has.....her family....."

Carla's words held true. Just three years ago, she was a completely different person. An upbeat, cheerful podcast host with a penchant for dark humor, threats, and jokes who had a near-obsessive fascination with The Viper.....and although she had a rather standoffish attitude towards her younger brother Murray due to his constant pranks, she genuinely did love him as a sibling.

Now, after being hit with a triple punch—Murray's death, the revelation that General Vultur murdered him, and now her father Dave's death—her outlook had changed drastically. She made significantly fewer jokes, and had become more straight-laced and serious. Though she still loved The Viper unconditionally, she now acknowledged that she was not her. Her experience had taught her that she was her own person on her own walk through life; someone who was not intent on being excessively compared to anyone else.

"I no longer consider you to be a child, Carla," Esther said. "You have lost so much to only be thought of as that. Right now, though.....I am curious to know something."

Carla turned to the scientist. "What is it?"

"Your heart. What is it feeling after all of this?"

The thoroughly-broken heroine sniffled. "I've just said my final goodbyes to the last person whom I thought I could truly confide in. And I feel as though my heart has died alongside him."