F*ck My Battle Scars

Chapter 7

Kay is sitting on one of those puffy chairs, you see in old-fashioned houses, full of colors and flowery patterns. God, she hates them! They make her brain go numb if that is even a thing. And among those colors, you have Kay, the Demon of the Night, the Grim Reaper, the Spirit of any graveyard. With her black hair, pale skin, slim figure, and dark clothes, she would startle anyone without even trying. There is another girl present in the massive dressing room, where countless clothes of all kinds are hung. There are ball dresses and suits, pants, tops, mission gear, training clothes, shoes of all sorts, and countless accessories. The girl, dressed in a crimson red top, black pants, and a brown apron, with a rule pending from her neck, intensely rummages in the dresses. Kay observes her from her seat, paying close attention to whatever the girl gazes at for longer than a slip-second. Just like now, she's been holding onto the same slim and back-opened pink dress for a while. Kay clicks with her tongue, saying, "Forget about it! Pink is an abomination." The girl chuckles, letting go of the attire. "At least you can say it. When talking about Vladimir, only names come out of his mouth." Kay plays around with one of her daggers as she stares outside the window. Far away, she sees people walking, chatting, laughing. Further in the training grounds, she sees how the big buff alphas have fun, fighting each other and then giving friendly hugs. Despite refusing to admit it, Kay is jealous. She wished she was still able to laugh, to make friends, to chat about something else than her mutations or missions. But, after what happened with Mae, Kay knows she might never make friends again, which is why she cherishes Aster. With Mae and Aster, they were an inseparable trio, at least until the Incident...

It is evening, and there is no more noise outside. All cars are parked, all pets are inside, and all families are in their homes. It is no exception for little Kay, Aster, and Mae. The three kids are gathered in the living room by the warm fireplace, playing with toy cars and dinosaurs, while their parents are in the kitchen, chatting over some red. Kay, from time to time, looks outside into the darkness. Even she ignores why, but something about the night, this particular night, felt different. As they continued having fun, imitating the grumping sound of cars and the roars of the ancient predators, the house began to shake. Everyone is confused. The parents join the kids. While the fathers check the windows, the mothers grab the children. "What is it?" "Hard to tell. We can barely see a thing." As one of the men says so, a sudden white flash illuminates the whole place. Everyone is blinded, and loud bangs and crashes start to resonate. With the flash, an explosion follows, breaking all windows. Crouching beside the wall, Kay's father yells, "Get the kids out! Now!" No one objects. The three mothers grab all three and leave the building. Outside is pure chaos; people are running and screaming, fire is spreading around town, explosions are everywhere, and some eerie-looking men are shouting while pointing guns. There is a massive truck flipped over with a horrible smell striking from it. Kay covers her nose, but it doesn't help. She can barely breathe. As they pass by the vehicle, her mother suddenly collapses, coughing and holding her chest. Her eyes are flipped over, and her breathing is heavy, like the one of a heavy smoker. The same happens with Mae and Aster's mothers. All collapse and die within a few minutes. The kids are terrified and left alone. They remain frozen on the spot for a while, ignoring what to do, breathing in this unbearable smell. Suddenly, a group of masked and armed men notice them and approach. The kids tight up into a hug, with Kay holding her friends to protect them. She observes the men without budging or shedding a tear. One of them points his gun at her and, through the heavy suit, yells, "What are you doing here? Show us your faces!" Seeing Kay won't move, the guy yells harder, threatening her with the weapon. Another man speaks up, grabbing his companion by the shoulder, "Stop it! They are just kids!" "The fuck does that change? You saw what happened to their mothers! Everyone who approaches that fucked up alien thing will die anyway! Let's spare them the pain of a slow death!" These words fascinated Kay. Why? She cannot answer, ever today. She just stared at the soldiers, then back at the corpses of their mothers. Aster and Mae shake in her arms, quietly crying. The first soldier visibly gets impatient, shaking his gun more and more, while the other one tries to calm him. As the two men fight over their guns, Kay quietly gets up, holding the others tightly, and all slowly walk away. The mad soldier notices them, and he gets even angrier. He points his gun at Kay, yelling for them to stop, but doesn't even wait. He opens fire. Kay covers Aster and Mae and takes several bullets in the back. She collapses dead on the cement, with blood spreading around her. Aster is in tears, and Mae shakes Kay's shoulders, calling her. "What did you do?!!" yells the second soldier, punching the other in the face, and runs up to Aster and Mae. He grabs them, trying to take them away, but the kids fight back. Doing so, a slight movement from the corpse. Seems like twitching. The soldier looks back, hesitant, to see a scene that makes him frozen. The corpse of the girl, which was dead a second ago, is now standing up, completely still. Her inky black hair drips over her pale face, her clothes are ripped, and her arms bathe in blood. What's even scarier it's that she is older, much older. The kid they had killed was barely seven years old, yet the one standing before them wasn't a kid but a young woman dressed in clothes too small for her. She stares at them like a killer, a psychopath. In her blood hand is what looks like a spine. The first soldier gags, while the second one is immobile, still firmly holding young Aster. "Take your hands off him..." the girl says. Even her voice has changed. The soldier obeys and lets go of Aster. He keeps his hands up as a sign of peace while the boy runs up to the girl. Kay is like a statue, a predator keeping an eye on her prey, her predator, and frightened kids. But she won't let it go easily. She isn't a pup anymore but a grown-up wolf. A motherly instinct has taken over her, and all she wants is to punish the ones who harm her friends. And she will succeed, even if she needs to become a demon...