The Lost War (Hectic Series: Book One)

Chapters 21-25 (Finished)

A/N: finally done! I know the ending is rushed, I apologize for that, but I have some family issues going on that will prevent me from writing for a while,
And I would like to try and start a fresh, completely new story to take my
Mind off of things. I do plan on continuing the series, but I probably won't start the second book for a year or so. Thanks for those who stuck with it thus far :D

Chapter 21
It was all dead.
Kim could feel it in the air like electricity crackling through her veins. Something was wrong.
While traveling to Sarrin's capital everything had been quiet, desolate. The capital itself was in ruins. The palace was destroyed. The streets were littered with rotting bodies, both human and native. It froze her breath in her lungs.
Securing two Wryvex were easy enough, as many had hung around to pick at the carnage. Sam was more than thrilled to ride one of the 'dragons'. Mae was harder to convince. She thought it would eat her. Kim assured her that Wryvex would only go after her if she was mortally injured. For some reason that didn't seem to help.
Kim scanned the ground for survivors but saw none. "It's all gone," she said to herself, "everything. Everything's just...gone."
Sam and Mae didn't utter a word the entire first day. Kim pushed herself past  her breaking point. Her wing burned and by the time they landed she was falling apart, but she didn't care.
Mae was asleep before anyone else. She said her philosophy was "early to bed, late to rise," and advised Kim to try it out. She politely declined.
Sam was next. His soft snores echoed quietly through the trees.
Kim didn't sleep. There was no fire and the stars shone  clear above her head. They were indistinguishable from the stars on Earth; had she not known any better it might have been as if she was back on Earth.
The dewy grass, sparse trees around the field, dark blue sky overhead, cool midnight air, budding flowers that told her it was almost the warm season-it all reminded her of Earth.
Huddled on her blanket with her knees drawn up and her wings wrapped around her, she exhaled.
She was back home, so why didn't it feel like it?
And what was she doing here with them, of all people? The supposed enemy and yet also her friends. Her very first friends.
She stared numbly at the cross on her forearm until it began to blur, and it occurred to her that the line between desperation and insanity was even more indistinct than ever.
The demons...humans...what they were doing was unforgivable, and yet Kim knew she would give her life to protect two of them.
They weren't all bad. Kim was quickly learning that nothing was all bad.
They were just people, trying to do their best in a world where it was often far too easy to do wrong.
And so she stayed up all night, watching over them while they slept, because they had protected her in their world and it was time to return the favor.
...
Sam smiled at her when he woke up, his dark hair disheveled and his blue eyes droopy. The sun hadn't even glanced over the horizon yet, and the sky was just beginning to turn rosy. "Early riser"- he yawned-"huh?"
Kim slowly unfurled her wings and sat up straighter. "It's in the job description."
He nodded understandingly, disentangled himself from his blanket, and stood up. His feet were bare. "Yeah, sure. You didn't sleep last night."
She blinked, caught off guard by his bluntness but finding it familiar all the same.  "No."
He was balancing on one foot now, pulling his shoes on. "And why is that?"
"I kept watch."
"Which is very kind." He pulled on the other one, a brown leather flat. "But you're a skeleton, your one eye looks like someone splashed red ink in it, and I would imagine you'd want to look your best when you make your grand entrance." He stretched his back and Kim heard muscles pop. "Unless you think shambling into Tamera like a zombie and falling flat on your face will scare my people away."
Kim smirked and stood as she stretched her wings. "It just might. Your people seem to think everything is sinful."
"True," he said, "in fact you might not even have to do that much. Just waltz on in and shout 'I love Satan' and everyone will die of an aneurysm."
"Wouldn't that be convenient."
"It really would-" he twisted and a small object fell out of his pants pocket.
Kim bent and picked it up, but she found herself staring at it in wonder before she gave it back. "Wow," she breathed, turning the tiny wood statue around in her palm. "You carved this?"
The little bird was about as big as her second finger and amazingly detailed. She could see the stroke of each feather along its back. He had even managed to make it appear soft.
"Yeah." He took the statue back and tucked it in his pocket, blushing.
"You have true talent."
"I disagree." He smiled bashfully. "Just lots and lots of practice. I've sliced my hand open more times than I can count."
Kim glanced over at Mae. "Should we wake her?"
"Ooh." Sam turned and began rolling up his blanket. "You can do that. Last time I woke her up early she kicked me in the nards."
Kim squinted her eyes at his back, utterly confused. She nudged Mae's shoulder with her foot and jumped back when she stirred, just in case she decided to kick her 'in the nards.'
"It's not...it's not even daytime..." Mae whined, covering  her eyes with an arm.
"Yes it is." Kim smiled down at her. "Come on. I want you to meet a good friend of mine."
...