| I looked at my body It was tattered and torn I was already dying Long before I was born |
The Past
Within her mind the line between sanity and insanity was a fragile, paper-thin border - ripped and torn and, in some places, barely existent at all. Her desire for revenge was satiated, for now, but her driving need to survive still controlled her. Her life, her very existence, might be painful but it was all she had and she would not give that up, she would survive at all costs.
She spent the next few years as far away from people as she could manage preferring the quiet vastness of the desert to the noisy enclosure of towns; the clear air of the wilderness to the acrid odor of people crowded in on each other.
She learned to survive, to live, all over again. Eventually the pain and rage faded into the background and a faint glimmer of the woman she could have been flickered to life in her vibrant blue eyes. She didn't spend the entire time devoid of human contact, occasionally meeting up with the odd traveller and even at one time living awhile on the outskirts of an Indian village. But she always maintained a distance between herself and others, both physically and emotionally.
That is until one summer about seven years after she left the city.
She'd come across a wagon train and for some reason she couldn't quite fathom became intensely curious of its inhabitants. She followed it for some distance, stopping when it stopped and hiding when they made camp. The families of the wagons fascinated the young woman, who hadn't known family since she was five years old. They were happy, excited at their future, and their happiness reached out to the woman in a way no other human contact had before.
One day, a group of the children were playing games, one of the children - a young boy - broke from the others running off, laughing and giggling daring the others to chase him. The boy paid no attention to where he was going and was quickly out of view of the others. Revelling in a new sense of freedom the child ran on - arms outstretched and face to the sky in one instant, flat on his back and sliding down a dried-up river embankment the next.
The fall stunned the child and when he came to a stop on the riverbed, lay unmoving. But she was watching, and as he lay there, not moving and with no one coming, she darted down to him.
The Present
When JD left to get some fresh air he got as far as the bench seat on the porch. He sank onto it and buried his face in his hands as the memory of the day assaulted his senses. The images and the smell flashed through his mind. He stood suddenly; sitting there thinking about it was definitely not helping. JD decided to go check the horses again.
Ezra was further up the street checking the buildings as he patrolled the town and wishing he were in the saloon instead. He'd seen JD come out and flop down onto the bench and started to walk towards his young friend. But, JD got up again and left. So, instead Ezra watched as the young man walked, shoulders slumped, to the livery.
Neither saw the shadow that darted out from beneath the stairs that led to Nathan's room to follow the younger man to the livery.+ + + + + + +
JD walked straight over to his horse to give it a welcoming scratch on the neck. He buried his head in its mane allowing its strong scent to invade his nostrils and drive away the stench of the dead men. Feeling slightly better he stroked the horse's nose then walked over to the wagon horses. The hostler had finished tending their various scrapes and they were now happily feeding.
The two horses suddenly lifted their heads and flattened their ears - the other horses in the stable following suit and becoming agitated.
JD looked around to see what caused the animals' alarm. He felt his own hackles go up when he heard a faint sound from behind him but before he could turn, his head exploded in pain and he felt himself falling, sinking into a black void.
The girl had no intention of harming JD further - her only goal was to escape the town and the people. The adrenalins that coursed through her battered body after her explosive awakening was beginning to slow and the pain and loss of blood was beginning to take over. She leant over the prone man at her feet and was about to roll him over when she felt another presence enter the barn.+ + + + + + +
Chris and Buck rushed to the unconscious healer, fearing the worst and relieved to find that he was still breathing. Together, they picked him up and lay him on the empty bed, quickly glancing at each other and then the bloody footprints leading to the door.
"That girl did this?" Buck was incredulous.
Chris didn't answer as he grabbed some bandages and put pressure on the knife wound in Nathan's shoulder.
"Get Josiah, Buck. We need him up here now!"
Ezra burst into the room just as Buck was leaving.
"What hap …." He stopped mid-sentence when he saw Nathan laying on the bed covered in blood, the color draining from his face as his eyes dropped to the blood stained floor. He saw a faint glint of light reflecting from under the bed and knelt down to withdraw the object, looking with disgust at the knife he held before placing it on the cabinet. He looked to Larabee then quietly reached for a clean cloth to replace the now blood-soaked bandages in the gunfighter's hands. "What is his condition?" he asked, trying to keep as much control over his voice as he could.
"One stab wound, lost a lot of blood, and a head wound but that ain't bleedin'. He's out cold."
"Might I inquire as to who, and why, someone would attack Mr. Jackson in this manner?"
"That girl that Vin and JD brought in earlier - you heard about it?" Ezra nodded that he had.
"Some of it but I presume by this incident that there is more to tell?"
"Quite a bit but we gotta get this bleedin' stopped first. Hand me another cloth."
Ezra looked around for some more cloths and passed them over just as Josiah clambered up the stairs.
"Buck told me what happened," he said as he walked into the room, "What d'ya need me to do?"
"Can ya stitch this wound up?" Chris asked. Josiah nodded.
"Good. You take over here - the bleedin's about stopped and he's got a head wound. We'll have to search the town for this girl before she gets real creative."
"Girl? A girl did this?" Josiah hadn't heard the story, he'd been busy in the church and Buck had only told him the barest details of the attack on Nathan.
"Tell ya 'bout it later, Josiah, right now we've got work to do." Chris turned and walked out, Ezra following. They met up with Buck in the street.+ + + + + + +
Vin Tanner was bone tired - the whisky he'd consumed at the saloon should have had him asleep by now but he just couldn't relax, couldn't stay still. Something was wrong; he could feel it in his bones. He decided a quick walk around town to check on things might help put his jangling nerves to rest. As he left the saloon he looked up and down the main street - he could just make out the form of Ezra Standish amongst the shadows thrown by the buildings in the moonlight, Chris and Buck were heading towards Nathan's rooms to check on the prisoner. He couldn't see JD or Josiah anywhere but figured as it was still early the former preacher was probably over at the church, and JD could be anywhere. The quiet tracker thought a moment about the youngest of the group, the youth had been pretty upset, he headed towards the livery, JD usually went there to think things through.
Vin reached the stable door just as Chris reached for the door to Nathan's room. He paused before entering when he heard a low grunt and then a thud as something, or someone, fell to the ground. Warily, he peered in to see the bloodied figure of the girl they'd brought in not so long ago leaning over the motionless form of JD Dunne.
| Let me sing you the devil’s song, I wanna sing you the devil's song It’s a real tragedy Yes, a real tragedy. Diabolique Diabolo |
The Past
The young woman wasn't sure what she should do for the stunned boy. She reached out one hand to move his head a little pulling it back when she felt a wet sticky patch. She wiped the blood on her clothes, there wasn't much so she gently checked the rest of him, the boy wiggled when her hands brushed along his ribcage.
"That tickles," he mumbled before opening his eyes to see the stranger leaning over him. "Hey! Who are you?"
The woman was just as startled as the boy and jumped back when she heard his voice, almost falling herself in the process. The boy lifted his hands to his head and began to sniffle. "Owww! My head hurts."
The woman was undecided about what to do, she wanted to help but an overpowering need to flee was growing in the pit of her stomach. She started to move away, jerking her head around to listen for danger. Flee! The thought filled her head and panic started to rise - she stood to run.
The little boy, dirty and hurt, started to cry. "Mommy! Mommy!"
The woman stopped. Mommy? She turned back to the boy and watched him cry - hugging his knees to his chest his sobs racking his body. The sight and sound of the child cut through the woman's barriers and instead of running she knelt by his side and tentatively put one hand on his shoulder.
The boy looked up and saw only concern on the woman's face as she took him into her arms and picked him up. Cradling him before her, she walked in the direction of the wagons.+ + + + + + +
The woman spent two years living with the boy's family. The people of the wagon train had taken her in after she'd brought the injured child back and when the train had broken up the boy's family insisted she stay with them. She felt safe with these people and with them she began to grow, though she still rarely spoke. Her hard life and irregularity of meals had stunted her physical growth somewhat but the change in circumstances saw her body finally start to mature and the mother of the family soon realised that she was older than her appearance. She still looked much younger than she was, until you looked in her eyes and then you saw a level of knowing that was way beyond her years. An age old knowing of pain that weighed you down if you looked too long.
The little boy, and his sisters, became inseparable from the woman. She looked out for them in a way no one had ever done for her and they in turn included her in their family as if she was indeed one of them.
The mother never asked the woman about her past but she could see the signs of it in her face and in every hesitant movement she made. She was always wary and ready to run. She slept fitfully and what sleep she did manage to get was always peppered with nightmares. The mother didn't ask, but she suspected, and did what she could to ease her young friend's pain.
At the end of the second summer since the boy's fall, when the heat was oppressive and black clouds rolled across the sky threatening storms that never came, a stranger rode up to the family's small farm. He was a traveller, he said, on his way to the nearby town - just wanted to stop and water his horse before continuing on.
He was given permission to set awhile and offered some refreshment himself, which he gladly accepted. He sipped at the lemonade the mother gave him as he watched the children play, stealing glances from time to time at the older girls and the mother herself. He smiled and licked his lips then handed the cup back, politely thanking the woman before leaving.
The stranger rode off, past the quiet young woman who stared after him until he faded from view. Her feet felt cold even though the ground beneath them was baked hard in the heat. A small, fluttering feeling began in her stomach and travelled up her spine to blossom in her head. Flee!
The woman had learned some control over the past months and put a mental cap on the feeling before it took over. But she couldn't move, she stood there and stared into the distance until the mother came out and gently pulled her back to the house.+ + + + + + +
That night, the stranger returned and in the morning, when he rode away, he left behind him the ruins of a once happy home and a lone voice screaming in the wind.
The mother gathered her tattered dress around her and crawled to the young woman, embracing her, holding her tight until the screams became hoarse cries and finally fell silent. The women stayed, sitting in the middle of the room surrounded by demolished furniture, shattered plates and the broken bodies of the children. The devastation was complete and when the mother looked into the other woman's eyes she understood the pain and torment that lived there. Understood it and knew that it was reflected in her own eyes, etched into her soul for eternity.
The mother was dying, she welcomed it, longed for it and the young woman knew it. She helped her friend to the bed and sat beside her. She could find no words of comfort - she knew none -sorrow and grief filled her heart. She touched her face. "I love you", she whispered. The tears rolled down her face as she watched death take her friend away. She felt herself grow numb as, one by one, her emotions shut down and only the anger and the pain remained.
In a daze, she gathered the bodies of the children and lay them beside their mother then pulled a still-glowing log from the fire. She blew gently on the fading embers until they sparked with new life then laid the burning log on the bed. Turning her back on the growing fire she stumbled to the kitchen and shuffled through the drawers till she found what she was looking for then stood by the doorway watching the fire as it held her family in its warm embrace. She turned then and left. Walking into the sunrise, she didn't once look back.+ + + + + + +
Two days later, just on dusk, the woman walked into the town. She hadn't stopped at all on her trek - not for food, not for water, not for rest. She was dirty and her clothes were ragged. Her eyes were wild as she looked about her, it had been a long time since she'd been in a town but she still kept the feelings of dread and suffocation buried within her. As she stood in the growing shadows of the dark buildings, those old feelings began to bubble to the surface once more to mingle with the screams in her head. She waited until full dark then slowly began to search the town for the stranger. She knew he was here, she could feel his presence drawing her to him.
She peered through the dirty window of the saloon, her eyes flaring when she picked his dark figure out from the crowd, her fingers caressing the object she'd taken from the house. Silently, she slipped back into the shadows and waited.
When he finally came out of the saloon she stepped into a pool of light that fell from the dirty window. He noticed the movement out of the corner of his eye and looked towards her smiling to himself when he saw her own shy, beckoning smile. The smile didn't reach her eyes - but he didn't notice that as he walked toward her, stopping when she slipped back into the shadows. He followed her into the dark alley and found her waiting for him just a few feet away, still smiling her hands hidden behind her back. He grabbed her shoulders and drew her small body towards him.+ + + + + + +
The deputy sheriff of the town found them the next morning on his routine patrol.
The man sat in a pool of his own drying blood, his limbs stiff in death, his face contorted in agony. The deputy didn't see the woman until after he'd finished throwing up in the dirt and, at first, he thought she was dead too. She was covered in blood, but when he stepped closer he could see she was very much alive. She started slightly when he touched her arm but continued to stare vacantly at the sky. Her arms and clothes were stained a deep rusty brown but he could see no major injuries.
He gulped audibly when he found the large kitchen knife dangling in her loose grip and glanced back at the dead man fighting the bile that was making its way back up his throat. Nervously, the deputy reached for the knife and removed it from her cold fingers. The woman sat, unmoving and silent in the early morning light. The young deputy left her there and ran for the sheriff.
The Present
With the sound of Chris' voice floating up the street, Vin charged into the livery and threw himself at the girl. Images of the horribly mutilated prison guards flashed before him as he pushed the girl away, slamming her against the barn wall. She let out a hiss of breath as she connected to the hard surface then, stunned, slowly sank to the floor. Vin started to check JD for injuries, relieved when he felt a pulse. JD moaned slightly and the girl moved, trying to get back to her feet, confused. Vin noticed her movement and drew his gun to point it directly at her.
"If you've cut him, I'll kill ya myself," he threatened.
She stopped moving, mouth slightly agape, one hand on her wounded side. Her vision was blurry and there was a loud pounding sound in her ears making her head throb with added pain but she couldn't stop. She had to get out, to flee.
The smell of the desert tantalised her fading senses and beckoned her on. She could see the heat shimmering on the sand before her, burning hot on her skin. She pulled herself fully upright.
Vin fired a warning shot that splintered the wall barely an inch from her head. She flinched at the sudden noise but did not feel the splinters embed into her face. The desert breeze blew across her body and through her hair. It felt so good. She smiled and stepped forward.
The events of the day came crashing in on Vin then as he saw the madness in the girl's gaze. He smelled not the desert, but the stench of decaying bodies. He saw again the remains of the fire, the buzzards feeding and JD lying on the ground beneath a figure drenched in blood.
"NOOO!" he yelled and fired his weapon again.
The impact of the bullet threw the girl back against the wall and held her there for a moment before she collapsed to the ground once more - her legs folding beneath her, her arms hanging limp by her sides.
Buck found them there an instant later, a frozen tabloid of fear and shock.
"VIN? Vin, ya okay?"
Vin didn't answer he just stared at the girl's body as it sat weakly leaning against the wall. She looked … relieved.
JD moaned again and Buck rushed to his side, rolling him over in one quick movement and lightly patting him on the face.
"JD? C'mon now, wake up kid"
JD, on the edge of consciousness, heard his friend's voice and dragged himself back from the void. His head ached terribly. "Buck? What happened? Shit, that hurts!" one hand felt the large bump on the back of his head and he turned his head towards Vin, "Vin?"
Buck followed his gaze and saw that Vin had still not moved. He put one hand on the tracker's shoulder. "It's over pard, put the gun down"
Vin heard his voice as if at a distance but did as he was told allowing the gun to hang loosely before returning it to its holster. "JD okay?" he whispered.
"Feel like I been hit by a stampede a wild horses, but I'm okay," JD assured his friend. "What the hell happened?"
Vin didn't answer; instead he slowly stood and walked over to the girl.
Chris and Ezra came running into the stable their concern for what they'd find etched into their faces.
"It's over," Buck told them hooking one thumb towards where Vin stood looking down at the girl
Vin ignored them all as he squatted down by the body. Incredibly, she wasn't dead - yet. Her breath was coming in short raspy gasps and Vin knew that he'd killed her, it was only a matter of time. Her body was too weak to fight the loss of blood and damage she'd suffered. He pulled his bandanna from around his neck and pressed it against the bullet wound just below her collarbone. She looked up into his eyes when he touched her and for just a split second he was looking directly into her soul at the pain and torment that held her, and at something else. Something he thought he recognised in himself.
"Get Nathan," he called to the others. He suddenly had a terrible feeling in his gut as he looked down at the dying girl. She reminded him somehow, of a wild animal trapped and lashing out at those who tried to hold her. He couldn't begin to understand why she'd done the things she had but he could understand that much.
"Nathan's at the clinic - unconscious. She damn near killed him," Chris told him. Vin looked at his friend, shocked, then back at the girl.
"Why?" he whispered to her and once again he could see the wild animal trapped inside the girl.
He brushed dirty hair from her pale face and her lips curled up in a slight, futile smile. She recognised something in his eyes too and wondered at it as the darkness carried her away, the hot desert breeze calling her softly homeward.+ + + + + + +
The unconscious girl was taken to the jailhouse and placed carefully on one of the cots. No one expected her to survive the night but they weren't taking chances either and handcuffed one wrist to the iron framework of the bed. Vin stayed with her throughout the night while the others went to either the saloon or back to the clinic to check on Nathan and fix JD's head.
Nathan woke up the next day to a throbbing headache and painful shoulder. Ezra was with him at the time and explained what had happened.
Nathan tried to get up. "I gotta go to her," he started to say but he was too weak and dizzy, and collapsed back onto the bed.
"Physician take thine own advice," Ezra told him. Nathan forced his eyes back open and tried to glare at the gambler but that made his head hurt worse so he let them close again, defeated.
"Ezra!" he mumbled already falling back into the void where he felt no pain.
"Stay in bed, rest, and don't even think about getting' up till I tell ya," Ezra said in a fairly good imitation of the healer.
When Nathan woke again it was dark and he could just make out the still form of Chris Larabee looking out the window.
"How is she?" he asked, his dry throat making his voice rough.
Chris turned and went over to the bed in two easy steps reaching for a glass of water at the same time. He sat on the edge of the bed and lifted Nathan's head to meet the glass allowing him to drink without spilling any water on himself or the bedclothes.
Nathan drank as much as he could before asking again. "How is she? Is she dead?"
"Not yet," Chris replied.
"And JD?" Nathan remembered most of what Ezra had told him earlier.
"He'll be fine. Got a thick head!" Chris smiled.
"It wasn't her fault," Nathan said then.
"That's what Vin thinks too," Chris said running his hand through his hair. He couldn't understand his friend at the moment, caring for the girl as if she weren't some murdering bitch. Hell, she'd tried to kill Nathan and JD but Vin didn't see it that way at all, though it was he that shot her, and now Nathan himself was saying the same thing.
Nathan could see that Chris thought otherwise so he continued on. "She'd been raped Chris, bad, she woke up when I was examining her and probably thought I was one of them that did it," Nathan recalled the look on her face right before she'd jumped him - stark terror mixed with absolute fury. "Reckon she just wanted it to stop, wanted to escape and saw me as someone tryin' to stop her."
Chris watched Nathan as he spoke, Vin had mentioned something about her being treated bad but he hadn't been listening - too angry at the near loss of two of his friends.
Nathan went on, "… and she ain't no girl either. She don't look it but she's a full grown woman. Whatever trouble she's had, she's had it a long time."
"None of that's any excuse for what she did," Chris stated.
"Ain't tryin' to excuse her, jus' tryin' ta understand," Nathan replied before lying back down, energy spent.+ + + + + + +
Early the next morning Nathan gingerly rose from his bed pausing occasionally to let the dizziness settle down. He'd hated being stuck there but he, of all people, knew the importance of rest, and he sure wasn't going to admit his restlessness to the others. He took his time getting dressed then slowly made his way to the jail.
Vin sat by the woman's cot staring into space, thinking, but he jumped up when Nathan walked in. "What're ya doin' down here Nate, Ya should be in bed."
"I know it," Nathan agreed. "Wanted to see the gir … the woman," he said softly. "How's she doin'?"
Vin shook his head and rubbed his chin with his hand. "I dunno what's keepin' her alive, Nate. She's lost more blood than I've ever seen."
"Maybe she's waitin' on somethin," Nathan replied as he stepped closer to the cell. "Heard anythin' more about her yet?"
Vin nodded, "Got a telegram late yesterday sayin' the wagon'd been on its way to some place where they keep people like that locked up. She'd murdered a fella - cut him up like the guards."
"They say why they didn't just hang her?" Nathan asked though he already suspected the answer - probably for the same reason he didn't want to see her hanged now.
"Reckoned she'd lost her mind, wouldn't speak. Some doc looked at her and said she'd been … well, you know Nathan … and the killing was because of that."
Vin took a deep breath; it had been a long telegram - long and so very sad.
"They went out to the farm she was livin' at - it was burnt to the ground, everyone dead."
The message had gone on to describe how the bodies had been layed out, lovingly, the adult's arms around the little one's - sent on to the next world together. Vin roughly wiped one arm across his face; the story had affected him deeply. He looked across at Nathan who was watching him in silence.
"Reckon she deserves a little peace now, Nate," Vin spoke so softly that Nathan could barely hear him but he nodded his assent. The tracker turned and strode out of the room to the livery.
Nathan went to the woman and knelt on the floor beside her. Vin had cleaned her up and she looked even younger, and more innocent, than before. He touched her forehead and gently stroked the smooth pale skin.
"What's keepin' ya here?" he softly asked. Her eyes opened briefly at his touch and the gentle man gazed into their blue depths for an answer and, when they closed again, he thought he knew.+ + + + + + +
Vin brought the wagon round to the back door of the jailhouse then quietly climbed down and slipped through the partially open door. Nathan was still with the woman - talking quietly to her and stroking her brow and face. Her pulse was weaker now, her breathing so shallow it had almost stopped. He looked up at Vin standing in the doorway of the cell. Their eyes locked, both men in agreeance on what they would do.
"It won't be long now," Nathan told the other man.
Vin stepped forward to kneel by the bed and carefully push his arms under the woman's body. As gently as he could he drew her to him, Nathan cradling her head to rest it comfortably on Vin's shoulder. One arm fell back towards the bed; Nathan reached for it and placed it across her bruised and battered body.
Vin looked down at her to make sure she was secure in his grip. He held his breath a moment before letting it out in one long steady exhalation. Her skin was like alabaster and there was the faintest tinge of blue around her lips. Nathan's right, not long to go now.
He stood slowly, though she was barely a weight in his arms, and turned to walk out of the cell.
Chris Larabee stood in the doorway, his hands on his hips, his features tense. Vin froze and started to open his mouth to remonstrate with his friend, but it was Nathan that spoke. "Chris, she ain't got much time left. This is the right thing to do. Stand outta Vin's way."
Larabee glared at them both before letting his eyes rest on the figure in Vin's arms. Without a word, he stepped back, turned and walked away. Vin and Nathan both breathed a sigh of relief then quickly continued on with their mission, Nathan holding the door open wide for the tracker and guiding him out and down the step. With great care they placed the woman in the back of the wagon and covered her with blankets.
"I may be a couple of days," Vin told Nathan.
The two men clasped hands in a solid handshake and Vin climbed back onto the wagon. He gave the reins a single flick and the horses started forward. Nathan stood in the street and watched them go, waiting till they were a bare speck in the distance before turning towards the saloon. His shoulder ached and he rubbed it absently as he pushed his way through the batwing doors and walked over to where Chris Larabee sat drinking coffee.
It was late afternoon when the wagon made its final stop of the day at the edge of the great desert. It had been a slow and arduous trip with many stops to check and care for the prone figure in back.
Vin prepared to make camp for the night setting everything as close to the wagon as he could and making sure the still figure had enough blankets. He cooked up a quick meal over the small fire he'd built and sat down to eat before letting the fire go out - it would not be needed by either of them again that night.
As the darkness deepened Vin climbed into the wagon and layed beside the still unconscious woman spreading his coat over the both of them for extra warmth, desert nights were cold. He pushed one arm under the woman's head and lay the other across her and held her in a firm but gentle embrace through the night. He awoke the next day in the dim light of early morning and carefully extricated himself from the woman. She had turned to him slightly during the night, secure in his arms - safe. But now, Vin's arm was numb from lack of use and he had to shake and rub it to get some feeling back. He jumped down from the wagon and stretched as hard as he could feeling the joints pop in relief and satisfaction.
He looked around him. First light in the desert was an amazing sight as small animals scuttled about before the heat of the day and the sunlight cast a weak light over everything. The sparse bushes looked fresh their leaves glistening with tiny droplets of dew. He breathed deep; he loved this time of day the best.
Vin pulled his coat from the sleeping woman and put it back on then climbed back onto the wagon. He knew she was still with him though her lips were a pale shade of blue, her hands and feet cold to the touch. He picked her up again then awkwardly climbed back down to the ground and set off into the desert.
Vin walked on, not knowing where he was going but sure that something was ahead, following a trail he could feel but not see and eventually stopping at a small rise.
Huge boulders jutted out from the sand as if some unknown giant had placed them there at the beginning of time to balance precariously against each other and form a natural throne overlooking a desert kingdom. Vin smiled. This was it. He carried the woman over to the boulders, a narrow trail of sorts led a way to the top, and he followed it up, legs and arms aching from the strain of his journey.
Once at the top he stopped in awe of the view the height of the rocks allowed. It was magnificent - he could see for miles in every direction from the rolling crests of sand behind him to the distant mountain ranges. The sun shone down on it all, bathing it in its rays and making everything appear sharp and clear before the shimmer of heat haze rose from the ground to blur and distort nature's masterpiece.
"Can you see it?" he asked the woman looking down to see her eyes open and staring up at him.
She weakly turned her head to look around and moved against his grip. He put her down then and helped her stand. She leant against him, allowing him to hold her upright, and smiled. Vin could feel all the tension leave her body as she breathed in the desert air and, finally free, gave up her struggle.
The smell of the sand and the clean crisp air of the desert filled her failing senses.
"Home," she whispered.
In the distance, she could hear someone calling her. She turned to see before her a small, dark tunnel. She could feel the warmth and security of that place reaching out to her, calling her in, calling her home. She went to it willingly, crawling into the tight space and letting it cocoon around her. Mother? she whispered. Daughter, she heard in a familiar muffled voice. She was happy again at last - her sojourn in hell was over.+ + + + + + +
Vin felt her body go limp in his arms, her head roll lifelessly against his chest, and he held her tightly, not ready to let her go.
"Peaceful journey," he whispered and kissed the top of her head.
He guided her body down to the ground and half propped her up against the rock. He looked into her blue eyes - the pain in life he'd seen there was gone, replaced by wonder and happiness in death. He left her there, sitting on her desert throne; eyes open to the morning sun.THE END
| I was born in the gutter With a spear in my heart Crawled out on my belly I was already smart. I raised hell before me I made hunger and greed The reaper of plenty Can satisfy need I looked at my body It was tattered and torn I was already dying Long before I was born I'm surrounded by darkness Full of tension and fear Crawled out on my belly With a tongue for an ear. Let me sing you the devil's song I wanna sing you the devil's song Let me sing you the devil's song It’s a real tragedy. Yeah, it’s a real tragedy. Diabolique, diabolo |
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