She looked around her.

  Bodies.

  Bodies.

  Bodies.

  Silent. Still. Dead.

  No, not all were dead. A few were alive, but probably not for much longer. The thought brought a smile to her lips. Poor things, they should've run when they had the chance.

  They littered the ground like puddles after a rainstorm. She remembered their blood-curdling screams, delicious cries for mercy and for the dead ones, their enjoyable last breaths.

  For the ones alive and conscious, she listened to their ragged breaths and moans of pain. It all filled her with deep, dark satisfaction.

  The fire shed light on the wounds and burns of her victims, and the blood that drenched her from head to toe, forming pools of dark red. She didn't know much about art, but she did know one thing. This was art-raw, gruesome, and beautiful.

  So, so beautiful.

  She took in the burning buildings, big and small structures engulfed by the ever-raging flames. Her fire had done wonders.

  She grinned as she watched it consume the town hall, half of the huge building already collapsed. She looked up at the ash-and-smoke-filled night sky.

  Lovely.

  Her grin grew as she saw people flee, screaming at the top of their voices. How dramatic. A few were able to find functioning vehicles and sped off into the night. She wondered how far they would get, before she went after them-far since she wanted to give them a head start.

  It was far more fun that way. Create the appealing illusion of a chance to escape. Paint the bright lure of freedom in their vulnerable minds. Then shatter it, bringing them back to their painful reality.

  After all, freedom was only an illusion.

  Freedom was life's great lie. Fed to the weak to make them believe they could make their own choices, pave their own paths.

  But all it did was diminish their lives' joy, in a mad scramble for power, for identity. It only caused them pain and the feeling of being meaningless-because they were made to be ruled.

  In the end, they would always kneel.

  Her eyes landed on a blonde woman in the fleeing crowd. Her flowing green dress whipped around her ankles as she clutched a little boy to her chest. As if she sensed eyes on her, she froze and turned around. Their eyes locked and the world seemed to stand still.

  She observed the frail creature before her. Even though fear was the dominant emotion shining in her hazel eyes, there were others. There was disgust, helplessness, anger. And most of all... hate.

  Deep, intense, all-consuming hate.

  To her, it seemed the woman's greatest desire at that moment, was for her hate to leave her mind, manifest into some magical being and strangle her.

  If she were anything other than human, she could've faked concern but she wasn't. And that made her weak, useless, yet for some reason, forever fighting. How laughable.

  The woman, venom still in her eyes, mouthed a word: Abomination. She raised her eyebrows at that for a second, before she threw her head back and laughed.

  She laughed long and hard, tears streaming down her bloody face, her loud, hoarse cackle echoing through the nearly empty town.

  When she stopped, she fixed her gaze on the woman. Pure horror shone in her wide eyes and she shook, almost dropping the boy she held.

  Speaking of the child, he was finally looking at her. His big, brown innocent eyes bore directly into hers, and she was taken aback by what she saw in them.

  They held only curiosity.

  For some reason, he wasn't scared of her like everyone else was. In fact, he was smiling at her. That touched her-slightly but it did. It was a little nick in her armor. She cleared her throat and spoke, eyes still on the boy.

  "If I'm an abomination, you're a fool. A fool to speak to me and think this won't end with your blood splattering the walls of the diner beside you."

  Or at least what was left of it.

  "And under normal circumstances, it would have the moment you opened your mouth to spew filth. But let's say I'm in a merciful mood. Not cause I've suddenly had a change of heart... but because of the boy."

  She delighted in how the woman flinched and drew the child closer to her.

  "Because of him, I will let you and everyone else that makes it out of this wretched town live. Now get out, before I change my mind."

  The woman shakily nodded and turned to leave but she wasn't done yet.

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  "But know this. Do not let your foolish mind feed you lies of being free. You've not broken out of your cage, you've just been given a bigger one. So enjoy the extra room while you can, because it won't last. Your miserable life as well," she spat coldly.

  The woman trembled, and she thought she would pass out but she suddenly ran off, not once turning back.

  She watched as she went further, becoming a speck in the distance. Turning away, she took another look around the inferno she stood in.

  As much as she tried, she couldn't get the boy out of her head. She scoffed at this. Children, so easy for them to worm their way into someone's mind with their innocent eyes and harmless smiles. Such evil creatures.

  A small corpse near her feet caught her attention. The body lay face down but she knew it was a girl, from her brown pigtails and her red and white polka dot dress.

  She was... about the same age as that boy. Her eyes roamed and she began to count similar bodies. They weren't as many as the bigger ones, but they were all the same.

  They were all the same.

  A raspy cough made her pause. Looking down, she saw it was Pigtails, what she decided to call the girl. She'd rolled onto her back and was peering up at her. So, she wasn't dead-yet.

  Her countless wounds were evidence that she wouldn't last much longer, and she was surprised that she still clung to life. Alas, it was all in vain.

  Pigtails reminded her of someone... Peggy. The girl started to violently cough up something-blood. She wheezed for some time, then suddenly stilled. She thought the girl had died, until she spoke, her voice a broken whisper.

  "Please... help ...me."

  The girl took sharp breaths, her chest rising and falling with difficulty. She knew she'd soon meet her end if nothing was done.

  The boy's face flashed in her mind again and she felt something. This time, instead of a nick at her armor it felt like it had been cut through.

  She crouched down and was about to touch Pigtails, but a voice behind her made her pause.

  "A beautiful sight, isn't it?"

  "I knew you'd like it," she replied, but didn't turn around.

  "Ah, you know me well. I must say you outdid yourself, surpassed my wildest expectations. Though I do wonder why you're letting the survivors escape. Or are you playing a game with them?" She could taste the glee in the voice.

  "Well, that was the plan."

  "Was?" There was mild confusion now.

  She nodded. "Yes. But plans change, don't they? The new plan is that they get to live for a little longer."

  "Aw, but that's no fun."

  She rolled her eyes at this. What a child.

  "I don't care if it's fun or not for you, it's the plan," she snapped, noticing Pigtails' breathing was beginning to slow.

  A low chuckle sounded behind her. "Very well, it even works in our favor. We need to leave though. They're coming and I'm sure you'd prefer to not deal with another bloodbath. But you've probably already sensed their approach."

  "I did. But you go ahead, I'll catch up. I have something to do first."

  There was silence for a while before she heard a reply. "Alright, be quick."

  She waited till the footsteps faded before turning to the girl. She was alive, though barely. She stepped back and knelt on the charred ground.

  Ignoring how the hot soil bit into her knees, she placed her palms on either side of her. She took a deep breath and waited.

  Slowly, the ground underneath her sweaty palms began to glow a pale white. The mystical glow spread from where she knelt, until it formed a huge circle under her. As its light bounced off buildings, illuminating the night, she focused harder.

  Thin streams of white light began to leave the circle. They spread and wrapped around the bodies of those still alive and their wounds, bruises and burns began to heal. The ones who were conscious gasped as they saw and felt their flesh seal up and their burns disappear.

  She looked on as an old man whose arm was broken, the bone jutting out at an odd angle, blinked in disbelief as his arm straightened, becoming normal.

  A woman hurriedly sat up and gasped as her horrible burns vanished, leaving behind unblemished dark skin. All around there were cries of delight and relief.

  When the last person was healed, she lifted her hands and the streams and glow dissipated. She stood up and dusted herself, watching as some people still touched where their injuries were in shock. They were all dirty and covered in blood, but they were whole.

  Pigtails got up, examined herself and gazed at her in awe. Others stood as well, though most did cautiously. She saw fear in many faces and smirked. They'd better be afraid, but just to avoid any false impressions...

  "Do not dare think of me as your savior, or as someone who healed you out of the goodness of her heart. I have no good left in my black heart, and I've made it very clear since I'm the reason why your lives nearly ended in the first place."

  She heard some sharp intakes of breath, reveled in them for a second, then continued.

  "I'm responsible for every single corpse around you and every drop of blood on the ground. So if you don't want to end up at death's door twice in one night, take those who are unconscious and leave my sight. And for your own good, do not think your lives have been spared-at most you've been given a few months."

  Once she finished speaking, those who could carry the unconscious ones scrambled to do so and they left. All except Pigtails.

  When she saw the look of admiration in her eyes she sighed inwardly. What was it with her and these pests today?

  "Thank you for saving us. No one with a black heart would've done so," Pigtails whispered shyly.

  She actually had the guts to talk to her. This little...

  "I don't know why you killed all these people or burnt our home, but you're not bad. I know it and I'll tell anyone who'll listen to me. I promise," she babbled, her brown eyes shining with determination.

  She kept her face blank, hiding her irritation. "Don't test my patience, girl. Your little friends decorating the ground prove that I'm not above killing children. Don't mistake my mercy for kindness."

  There was tense silence for a moment before Pigtails smiled fearfully, turned and ran off. She watched her red dress and brown hair till she disappeared, then she turned and walked away, her hands in the pockets of her thick coat.

  As she reached the end of the burning, crumbling town she heard the sirens, but didn't pick up her pace. They'd never be able to catch her, try as they might. That didn't stop them from wasting their time though.

  As she flicked her hand, sweeping aside a pile of wreckage in her way, she felt a tug deep within her that made her stop.

  It was faint... but it was there. She stood still for a moment, the world around her briefly blurring, then she went on.

  Even that couldn't stop her.

  Her mind inadvertently went back to Pigtails. The child was going to try to convince people that she wasn't what they thought, had promised it. How idiotic, just like children. It was funny how they always looked for the good in people.

  Even when that good was only a figment of their imagination.