quick,” he said,
loading the weapon. “Now, Pup’s going to die slowly.” He pulled
back the slide and released it. Taking his stance, he aimed…
“Dad, please,” Shade screamed. “Please. We
have—”
…and fired.
All three sisters covered their ears as three
jarring cracks filled the barn.
Chapter 2: “The world’s dead. I don’t think
it’s coming back.”
Shade lay in bed staring up at the ceiling.
Dried blood caked her hands from her battle with death. After her
father shot Puppy, she ran across the baron grazing pastures and
tried to stop the bleeding. She couldn’t. And her dad was
right—Puppy did die slowly. She watched the life fade from his eyes
and knew she would never be able to forget it.
Her dad entered the room and sat on the foot
of her bed. He didn’t say anything for a long moment, so Shade knew
he was in ‘Dad mode’. Gently lifting one of her hands, he ran a
warm, damp rag along her palm and fingers to clean off the blood.
Shade snatched it away and turned her back to him.
“Sooner or later, they would have died—”
“We have enough hay to last a while, Dad.”
She spat his name with all the scorn she could muster. “That was
just a lesson to you. Shouldn’t you be congratulating Rikka? She
passed.”
“If we didn’t kill them, someone else would
have. Food is growing more and more scarce, Bug. A month and a half
in and martial law is declared… Meat is a commodity that people
will start killing for...”
“Everything you taught us, was it just to
survive?” Shade turned to her father. “Or was it to survive and
protect the ones we love?” By the look in his eyes, she knew the
answer. “Let me tell you something, once the world runs out of its
meat and plants reserves, what do you think they’re going to turn
to? I guess I should just kill you, Mom, Lou, and Rikka now before
someone else comes to do it.”
Her father opened his mouth to speak but she
shouted for him to leave. He paused for another moment, and then
stood and walked towards the door. Before he exited, Shade called
out to him.
“Did you kill her foal?” She didn’t want to
know the answer, but she needed to.
He responded by closing the door behind
him.
Tears of anger and sadness streamed down
Shade’s cheek as she hammered her pillow. It was moments like these
that she hated her father. Everything was a test or a mind game to
him. She understood why Rikka killed Delilah and Shadowless Night.
It was out of duty, and Shade could forgive that. But her father...
He could have shot Puppy in the head. She would have understood
that. A clean, quick death. But he didn’t. He wanted him to suffer.
He wanted to teach his daughters a lesson. And she was tired of
learning lessons.
The door opened again. This time Lou emerged.
Shade hid her hands under her pillow and smiled through her tears.
“Hey, Lugia,” she greeted with a shaky voice. Lou smiled
broadly.
Lou was obsessed with Pokémon and loved being
called one. Shade was the only one patient enough to learn
everything she could about the game and series. When she found out
about the Pokémon Lugia, she gave the nickname to her sister.
As a sixteen year old, Lou stood at an
unassuming five-eight. A perfect blend of both Shade and Rikka, she
sported long hair and a lighter skin tone. She had the slight
angular face and curvaceous build of her oldest sister, but Shade’s
freckles and temperament…mostly.
“Thank you for trying to save Your
Not-So-Ordinary Enigmatic Puppy.” She never used his nickname. “Dad
says we need them for meat.” The dejection in her voice was
evident.
Shade wanted to tell her sister how much of
an idiotic jerk their dad was, but she held her tongue. Rikka had
just finished easing Lou out of her isolation. The last thing Shade
wanted to do was to say something that got her riled up. “He’s
doing what he thinks is right,” she said instead.
Lou meekly glanced around the room. Nothing
had changed since
loading the weapon. “Now, Pup’s going to die slowly.” He pulled
back the slide and released it. Taking his stance, he aimed…
“Dad, please,” Shade screamed. “Please. We
have—”
…and fired.
All three sisters covered their ears as three
jarring cracks filled the barn.
Chapter 2: “The world’s dead. I don’t think
it’s coming back.”
Shade lay in bed staring up at the ceiling.
Dried blood caked her hands from her battle with death. After her
father shot Puppy, she ran across the baron grazing pastures and
tried to stop the bleeding. She couldn’t. And her dad was
right—Puppy did die slowly. She watched the life fade from his eyes
and knew she would never be able to forget it.
Her dad entered the room and sat on the foot
of her bed. He didn’t say anything for a long moment, so Shade knew
he was in ‘Dad mode’. Gently lifting one of her hands, he ran a
warm, damp rag along her palm and fingers to clean off the blood.
Shade snatched it away and turned her back to him.
“Sooner or later, they would have died—”
“We have enough hay to last a while, Dad.”
She spat his name with all the scorn she could muster. “That was
just a lesson to you. Shouldn’t you be congratulating Rikka? She
passed.”
“If we didn’t kill them, someone else would
have. Food is growing more and more scarce, Bug. A month and a half
in and martial law is declared… Meat is a commodity that people
will start killing for...”
“Everything you taught us, was it just to
survive?” Shade turned to her father. “Or was it to survive and
protect the ones we love?” By the look in his eyes, she knew the
answer. “Let me tell you something, once the world runs out of its
meat and plants reserves, what do you think they’re going to turn
to? I guess I should just kill you, Mom, Lou, and Rikka now before
someone else comes to do it.”
Her father opened his mouth to speak but she
shouted for him to leave. He paused for another moment, and then
stood and walked towards the door. Before he exited, Shade called
out to him.
“Did you kill her foal?” She didn’t want to
know the answer, but she needed to.
He responded by closing the door behind
him.
Tears of anger and sadness streamed down
Shade’s cheek as she hammered her pillow. It was moments like these
that she hated her father. Everything was a test or a mind game to
him. She understood why Rikka killed Delilah and Shadowless Night.
It was out of duty, and Shade could forgive that. But her father...
He could have shot Puppy in the head. She would have understood
that. A clean, quick death. But he didn’t. He wanted him to suffer.
He wanted to teach his daughters a lesson. And she was tired of
learning lessons.
The door opened again. This time Lou emerged.
Shade hid her hands under her pillow and smiled through her tears.
“Hey, Lugia,” she greeted with a shaky voice. Lou smiled
broadly.
Lou was obsessed with Pokémon and loved being
called one. Shade was the only one patient enough to learn
everything she could about the game and series. When she found out
about the Pokémon Lugia, she gave the nickname to her sister.
As a sixteen year old, Lou stood at an
unassuming five-eight. A perfect blend of both Shade and Rikka, she
sported long hair and a lighter skin tone. She had the slight
angular face and curvaceous build of her oldest sister, but Shade’s
freckles and temperament…mostly.
“Thank you for trying to save Your
Not-So-Ordinary Enigmatic Puppy.” She never used his nickname. “Dad
says we need them for meat.” The dejection in her voice was
evident.
Shade wanted to tell her sister how much of
an idiotic jerk their dad was, but she held her tongue. Rikka had
just finished easing Lou out of her isolation. The last thing Shade
wanted to do was to say something that got her riled up. “He’s
doing what he thinks is right,” she said instead.
Lou meekly glanced around the room. Nothing
had changed since