The last to go

6

A cry sounded in the distance. Kyra's eyes snapped open. Her vision was perforated with black holes. The cry came again, to her left she guessed, revealed after another wall fell. The sound carried far and there was no telling whether it was her imagination. It bounced against the ruins of houses.  She waited for a moment, contemplating her best options and found that there weren't many left. Ignoring, investigating or just waiting for it to come closer. Kyra could do anything and it still wouldn't matter. The outcome was already thought out and set in stone. Might as well check on the sound.

"Just keep walking." she grumbled, more to check her own state of wakefulness than anything else. Her voice sounded nasally and hoarse to her own ears. Her throat hurt. Blood mixed with saliva and slowly dripped down her chin. Kyra made a halfhearted attempt to wipe it off, to present herself properly as an intergalactic soldier, but in a while there would be nothing left, so she gave up. 

Her legs seemed to weigh as much as logs. She shuffled slowly through the street, navigating by pure instinct. Bits of glass and pulverized gems shimmered in between the cobblestones. Kyra kept her eyes down to save herself from the brightness and the dust. 

The dust was swept up by the wind and made golden in the sun. It smelled of hot caramel close to burning. She stumbled through the clouds, letting dust cling to her uniform and skin until the wind died and she reached a narrow alley. The cry came again, shrill and loud. Kyra ducked behind a wall. The sound was very close to her.  She panted, air feeling like sandpaper to her lungs and pressed herself to the wall. Carefully, she peeked her head out and stared in the alley. 

The sun couldn't reach here and the dust was gray. It seemed abandoned, like everything else. It had a different feel compared to the rest of the city. The alley led to the corporate buildings that were all pushed together. It wasn't a pretty part of Xanbu, but it made all the money in all the currencies. She pushed herself off the rubble she was leaning on and stepped in the shadow. It was blissfully cool here and she sighed in relief.

Kyra traced the cracked walls as she inspected the alley. It wasn't on the maps of Xanbu. An office building had simply fallen against another one, creating a narrow passage. If she had spread her arms, Kyra would have been able to press her palms flat against the walls. Furniture threatened to fall out of a gap in the right wall. The ground was fairly empty, though lined with rubble. White, flickering light managed to filter through a frosted window above and shone directly on a red dress. Red with pink blossoms. A pale hand clutched the silky fabric while the other was clenched near a small face. The little girl stood amidst the mess and cried.

Kyra watched with sorrowful eyes. The kid was barely four. Round cheeks, mono-lidded eyes and straight, black hair. Her clothes seemed to absorb all the color from around her. A beacon of light among the grey destruction. She belonged to the Mashui, a nomadic tribe that traveled across the planet. Playful and carefree people who didn't have a lot of enemies. They lived in floating bubbles that reflected rainbows on the grass, whole families in one translucent sphere. According to an urban legend, they made these bubbles out of the webs from the Giant Tartula Spider. 

Mashui kept large herds of dragons in all sizes and the popular Cloud sheep, a small creature  with a thick layer of fine pearly white hairs. The sheep have the uncanny ability to fly, which is rather unfortunate since they have a terrible eyesight and have to be kept on a leash like balloons. Mashui were like much like them. Free from everything, yet always together in large groups.

This child was alone.

"Hey..." Kyra whispered, voice rough and barely audible. She took a step closer. "Hey!"

The cries hushed, swallowed in fear of the looming shadow against the light. The girl hid her face behind chubby hands and froze. Kyra huffed and stepped closer to her. She imagined she looked terrifying, emerging from the shadows and covered in blood. The little girl was dwarfed by her height, hardly reaching her hip. Kyra grunted and managed to crouch in front of her. Her wounds protested, as did her muscles but she could barely feel the pain anymore. Distantly she recalled that it was a bad sign but she couldn't be bothered anymore. Kyra cleared her throat.