Shadow

Terminator 2.0

Artwork above by xXAzure_AngelXx 

Isn't it gorgeous?

_________________________

I woke up screaming.

           It wasn't the first time that had happened. I've done it on more than one occasion since I became Shadow. Nightmares took over my mind. Monsters haunted me, whether I was sleeping or awake. But when I was awake, that monster was reality.

           "Kiera! Kiera, it's okay, I'm here!" I felt arms wrap around me.

           I immediately struggled to get away. Carp. The Agency. The gloves. I pushed him hard and teleported to the other side of the room, only to shriek and fall over. Pain shot through my left leg. Someone ran over to me and leaned forward. I grabbed their hand and pulled them down onto the floor next to me, then flipped over with my elbow digging into their windpipe.

           My harsh glare made contact with wide blue eyes. I've always loved those eyes.

           I jumped away fast, as if he'd burned me. In all honesty, he could have. Cole rubbed his throat and rushed over to me. "Kiera, it's okay, you're safe."

           I didn't notice I was crying until tears fell on my hand. I didn't bother wiping them away. "Wh-where am I? Cole, what happened?"

           He held me in his arms, patiently waiting for me to calm down a little. He held my face to his shoulder, not letting me go. I recognized my surroundings as my room. My home. My room. My Cole. I'm safe. "Kiera . . . they did it," he whispered, sounding on the verge of tears himself. "They did it."

           My heart leapt. "Did what?"

           He pulled away and gently turned my chin down to my feet.

           Or foot.

           My gasp of air stuck in my throat. I couldn't breathe. My left foot was . . . gone. Replaced by some metal contraption that reminded me of Terminator. They amputated my foot.

           For a minute, two minutes, all I could do was stare. Then, I choked on the oxygen in my lungs and broke down in sobs. Heartbreaking sobs that made tears slip down Cole's cheeks. He grabbed me and pulled me into him, holding me so closely I couldn't see my foot. Or lack thereof.

           "I'm sorry, Kiera. I'm so, so sorry. I couldn't stop him. I'm not strong enough. I can't . . . I can't do this." He buried his face in my shoulder and I sobbed into his. "I'm sorry," he kept whispering, over and over. "I'm sorry."

           I felt like I wasn't taking in air anymore. This couldn't be real. This was just another one of my nightmares. It had to be. I couldn't have lost my foot.

           I remembered all the times when I was little, when Cole used to play dress up with me even though he said it was girly.

           "Here, Cinderella," he said. "I found your slipper!"

           I gasped in surprise. I loved playing dress up with Cole. He was always the prince, and I was always the damsel in distress. "My slipper! You found it! Thank you, Prince Charming!" He sat me down on one of the stools in my room and I giggled. He slipped the shoe onto my left foot.

           "And Cinderella lived happily ever after!" he shouted. I whooped and danced around with him, my high heeled plastic shoes making me stumble. But Cole's grip kept me standing. I giggled when he took my hands and we spun around and around until we both collapsed, dizzy and happy.