The fight ended. Kalli was walking towards the school bus behind her friends and Simon. Her eyes were moving with an angry yet satisfied rhythm. It had been a long time since she had kicked some asses. Man, that felt good, she thought to herself. However, the trance broke because of the voices that came from her classmates, who had gathered near the bus.
"Is she bleeding?"
The crowd was just staring at her like she was some thug or criminal. That stare, she knew that stare too well. Blood - dripping down her fists, marking the road as she moved forward. But it wasn't hers - someone else's. The last fight definitely made her heart remember some sort of primal feeling. It just felt too right. Her left hand was still gripping that red lighter like some lethal weapon.
The rest of her class stood frozen in the crowd. Their eyes were flicking to her and then looking away. Shaken to their core, as if they were afraid of her.
"Yeah, they are," She smiled at them. She felt like she could never have everything. And as a matter of fact, she didn't blame them or anyone for it. She instilled that fear within her surroundings herself. No one moved from their position until-
He stepped forward. Lys. Broke the stillness and that uneasiness among the people completely. He rested his hand on Kalli's shoulder. And before Kalli's head could even process what was happening, Lys pulled that girl into one tight embrace.
For a second, she went stiff.
Soon, it sank within her - that warmth. Lys's strong arms wrapped around her as they belonged there, right with her. And Kalli felt something inside her tough shell just twist and soften. Her hands moved behind his back, almost instinctively. It was strange; she never let anyone get this close. Foreign, yet it felt right. Home.
When Lys finally let go of her, there was a softness in his gaze. "You alright?" Lys asked. His eyes searched her arms, her face, checking for signs of injury, of damage.
Kalli nodded. She blinked a few times. "I'm fine." She rubbed her left eye, as if she had just woken up from a pleasant dream. "Those bitches got what they deserved."
Lys sighed. He knew her sister could act like some actual bloodthirsty maniac, but this time she went too far with the violence. Before Lys could give her some brotherly advice-
"Oh, Sia!" Sofia came rushing up to them. Her tone and posture, they all felt far too carefree for the tension that lingered among people. She was wearing that smile. The type of smile that Kalli hated the most. She was waving at Sia,
"You got the ice cream, right? The one I told you to bring?"
Wrong words at the wrong time. Two sentences. Those two sentences that came from Sofia just made Kalli catch her breath in her damn throat. They ended up hitting her guts harder than any punch ever could. Her blood cells were running cold in her veins. As if they were about to freeze. Oh god, she sure hated Sofia. That smile.
"So that's exactly why she went there, huh? To that freaking shop?" Kalli shook her head, bitter laughter escaping her, "To buy your damn ice cream? Do you have any idea-"
Sia knew what was about to go down. She knew of the dangers Kalli was about to tap into. Her eyes flicked nervously between them, unsure of how to handle Kalli's anger. "Kalli, it's fine. It's not her faul-"
Kalli immediately cut her off. "You crossed a limit there, dude." Her eyes weren't moving from Sofia's. And her patience wore thin. She walked toward Sofia's face with her hard fists clenched. She was about to let it all out, "You spoiled little bi-"
But in the end, she couldn't even finish the sentence or the punch. Lys stopped her, grabbing Kalli's wrist mid-air, before she could bring any harm to Sofia. Everyone just gasped. The birds that were sitting so casually on the bus just flew away. And Kalli could feel Lys's grip, too firm.
"Kalli, just don't," he warned with his eyes locked into hers, "I really don't want you to do something that you will end up regretting."
Kalli's pulse raced. This really wasn't the first time they had clashed like this over Sofia. And something within Kalli knew, it definitely wouldn't be the last. They'd been like this for months now. Since Lys's parents died. Before that, Lys was different. Those memories, Kalli would never get back. She got her hand free from his grasp. "Even after what she did, you'd really defend her over your own sister?"
Lys's response came without hesitation and with a cold look, "Yeah. I'd defend her. You know why? It is easier to defend a composed person than someone who loses control every damn time. Fix it as soon as possible."
Everyone around them seemed to hold their breath. "Time just froze, I guess." They all knew in the crowd that Kalli, out of everyone, wouldn't like this comparison that Lys made. And an explosion was about to happen. And just as Kalli opened her mouth to retaliate-
"Enough."
Simon's voice interrupted them. Came out like some commanding drum set. He stood by the open door of the vehicle. One hand on his hip and the other clearly gesturing toward the bus.
"You want to fight? Do it in front of your school, not in front of my damn bus." His busy ass was really irritated by all of these dramas. "Get in. All of you."
The command was final. And after a few seconds of silence, the group began to file themselves inside one by one. Kalli didn't move until the last of them, Sofia included, disappeared into the bus. Lys stayed back for a moment; the tension in his posture was so evident. Then, after taking one last glance at Kalli, he also went back into the bus, leaving only Kalli behind.
Kalli just watched them all go as she ground her teeth. That urge to lash out was still burning in her heart. The satisfaction she earned by beating those thugs just disappeared into the air. Finally, Simon looked over at Kalli, waiting, still standing by the door, "Are you done with your goddamn soap opera, ma'am?"
Kalli took a shaky breath. "Coming. Just shut up."
As she began to climb the steps, Simon's voice softened. Just a little, "You two are supposed to be siblings, right? Why fight like this? Chill out, mate."
Kalli stopped with her hand still gripping the rail.
She looked at her hand and then turned back to meet Simon's eyes. "As if I wanna fight." She scoffed. "He's just obsessed with that one girl. He was never like this. Whatever. I couldn't care less. He's fucking adopted." Her voice hardened again, "Fuck his girlfriend."
Simon didn't respond, just shook his head slowly. Kalli climbed onto the bus; her eyes were still burning. She moved past Sofia and Lys to take her seat in the back, with Jenna and Sia.
It was only then that Mr. Detori Atropa appeared on the scene with a sweaty face. He was the instructor sent by the school committee to guide the students. And then bring them home, safely and without any trouble. Atropa asked, "Everyone already here?" as he wiped the stinky sweat from his bald head.
Simon gave a nod to him, "Yeah. You can check if you don't believe me."
Atropa grunted in acknowledgment and moved toward the bus, but Simon's eyes drifted downward, catching something odd beneath the vehicle. The front wheel. There was something... off about it. The metal bar, just behind the tire, was bent. Cracked at the joint where it met the wheel. Simon's expression tightened. "Our axle's got a fracture."
Atropa paused, hearing that. His gaze snapped at Simon, "What? No no no no.... no way. What the fuck. Can it still move?"
"It'll hold for now," Simon muttered, crouching to get a better look. "But not for long. We can make it to the station two clicks out, but that's it. After that? She's done."
Atropa scowled, adjusting his glasses. "Can she really make it?"
"Yeah," Simon replied. "It has to. We'll get it to the repair station." He straightened, giving the wheel a final glance. "Okay, shall we move now?"
-----
Far away, back in Sector 5, the sky glowed with the same dying light. It was nearly evening. Alena and Kamala still stood side by side, talking about daily life.
"About that announcement earlier…" Alena said. "Kostas sounded serious. Any update on that rogue?"
Kamala adjusted her earpiece, her brow creasing. "Yeah. We're still on lockdown. They want every patrol alert. Apparently, some spies said they saw him crossing from Sector 5 into Sector 7, but no confirmation yet."
Alena frowned. "So we're stuck until they find him."
Kamala nodded. "Pretty much. So keep your eyes open. Kostas thinks he's dangerous enough to warrant a full sweep. You don't want to run into that kind of thing alone."
Alena gave out a small, dry laugh. "Great. Just what I needed on Lys's birthday."
Kamala nearly wheezed, "It's his birthday?"
"Yeah," Alena smiled faintly. "His first one with us, actually. New family, new start. I was supposed to set up the decorations before sunset. Kate's waiting at home."
Kamala smirked. "Tell the kid I said happy birthday."
"Oh, sure." Alena laughed softly, giving her a playful shove. "You take care."
They exchanged a brief wave before parting ways. Kamala looked so happy while talking about Alena's life. She was speaking like she was proud of Alena. Getting such appreciation from time to time was really rare for her. The only normal trooper in this sector, she thought. Last time, she got such praises - they came from a man she once loved.
Alena shrugged all the negative thoughts away and then started walking down the road. She was humming again. The same tune that she heard before on the radio. She tried to remember where the melody left off. The lyrics - she just couldn't finish it. And the road ahead was eerily empty. Those laughs and chatters - everything behind her faded so fast. As if they were swallowed by the still nature of the woods.
"Maybe this is better."
But as she moved deeper along the path, that calm started to thin. The air kind of felt heavier here. The whole world was holding its breath. Alena's shoes crunched on the road as she finally reached her front gate.
The sunlight was about to die out, but that dying light still ended up bleeding orange through the leaves and woods. She looked at the sky and admired the view. But then she noticed, at the gate-
There were some footprints.
There were footprints.
There were-
"Oh god.. who-"
Some Deep and uneven footprints in the dirt. She knew Kate couldn't walk. So these couldn't be hers. They led straight to her front door. And -
No prints leading away. Alena's stomach twisted. "No. Not again, I can't-"
Lys and Kalli were supposed to be out at the picnic. They shouldn't be here by now. Alena's hands began to shake. She felt like her heart was beating faster than ever. She, relying on her instincts, immediately reached for the handle of her axe.
The radio warning of Kostas started echoing in her head - "There's a rogue and dangerous cult member on the loose."
The timing. The tracks. The silence. They all fit so perfectly in this scene. A plot too perfect to be true. Time was about to repeat itself. Then, faintly, really faintly... she heard it.
A melody.
The same one she'd been humming - only now it wasn't coming from her. It was drifting through the half-open window of her house. Soft. Slow. A voice threading through the tune, cracked and uneven.
"Don't you make me feel guilty…"
Alena's whole body went numb.
"…and suffer the pain."
She took one slow step forward.
"Fuck," a small scream came out of her throat unintentionally.