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~Allegro-Decrescendo~
Jigsaw Dirge
Charred, burned, and devastated were three words that came to Aurelia's mind as she bleakly examined the base's remains. It was all that was left.
The looming walls had once been strong and forboding. Now they were pallid and ghostly, exposed to the world, timid; but those walls that whispered death from every crack could yet sustain life.
Tears rolled down the stoat's cheeks as she tried to clear the pain from her mind. She had not yet been even remotely successful. Lindsay Frawley was one of only three of her Cornerians that had made it through alive. I was lucky, Aurelia thought bitterly to herself. Sure, lucky. That's the reason I'm still around to carry this despair with me the rest of my damned life. Lucky.
Aurelia had always been optimistic. About everything. But now that she thought back, it was largely because nothing had ever been bad for her. She had pranced, starry-eyed, along the highway of life, stopping occasionally so people could hand things to her, and she had been blind to those who were right next to her on the highway, using every ounce of strength they had left to drag themselves on.
Life, she sighed inwardly. Yes, life is a wonderful thing, especially when I can help to destroy it. Another nail in the coffin for everything good and wholesome, another giant step forward for hatred and despair.
She stopped thinking and mechanically began to pick her way down the hillside to get a closer look at the base. A rock crumbled under her foot, and her attempts to steady herself sent stabs of pain up her legs. Wincing, she sat down and waited for the hurt to go away. But it wouldn't. Somehow in the back of her mind she knew it never would.
* * *
Log Book: Aurelia Javensen
Rank: Major
Squadron: N/A
Mission: "Scottish Rebellion"
Day Two
Catastrophe.
Javensen out
* * *
"Miranda," someone wailed pitifully. "Mirandaaaaa...."
The young zebu was crouched in a dark corner of the Venomian base, hiding her eyes. Something about her position made her seem that she were dead or dying.
"Mirandaaaa..."
The cry was haunting and ghostly, floating through the hallways and vents like thin reed music. Nobody was around to hear it, least of all Miranda-- whoever she was.
The zebu struggled to her feet and shuffled morbidly down the corridors. The sight of her walking was somehow repulsive and ghastly, as if she were a walking corpse. Her gait was slow and painful, as she appeared to be mortally wounded, but within five minutes it had taken her to the main entry. Two seconds before she reached the doors herself, they creaked hesitantly open. The zebu hid.
Light poured into the dark, musty hall, outlining five figures in the doorway.
"It's like a mausoleum," a voice said in a hushed tone.
"It is a mausoleum," said another in a heavy tone that spoke of death.
"Miiirandaaaaa...."
"NO!" the second voice shrieked. "They've come already! I told you not to bring me back in here! They've come!"
A third voice entered the discussion. "Who's there? Show yourself!"
The zebu emerged from the shadows. Five identical gasps of horror were heard. It was revilingly odd; there was no deformation or gaping wound, nothing that the eye could really identify as being disgusting; yet somehow the creature was horrifying. Zebus were not, as a rule, very intimidating creatures. In fact, they were somewhat funny-looking, at least generally. But there was nothing funny at all about this one. The zebu's mouth moved, an action that seemed physically wrong. "Miranda....."
Tears flooded Miranda's eyes. It was an action she had repeated far too many times in the past days. The former Venomian commander had fallen from glory and nothing would ever restore her.
Miranda reached out a scaled arm hesitantly. "Isabel.... I can never... You'll never know... I can never tell you how sorry I am. I will do my best to help you in any way I can, but it won't ever be enough. I'm so sorry...."
Isabel's eyes remained empty and hollow. She spoke two words that were chilling, but somehow infinitely relieving. "I know," the zebu almost whispered. Then her large brown eyes closed, and when they opened there was a spark of life. "I understand," she said then, and somehow she truly did.
Though many lives may be lost, life itself will always goes on.
* * *
"So what do we do now?" Lindsay Frawley, a young marmot, inquired quietly.
"I guess we do whatever we can," Aurelia replied, head bowed.
"The first thing we should do is execute that piece of Venomian trash," the marmot said acidly, but softly enough so that only Aurelia could hear. "And that cow girl, too. Cornerians like us have no business associating with their kind."
Aurelia's eyelids fluttered. "I used to feel the same way."
Lindsay waited for Aurelia to go on, but she said nothing else. "You mean you don't anymore?"
"I've learned a lot in 24 hours, Lindsay," the stoat sighed. "I've learned lots of things I never wanted to learn. However, regardless of whether knowing them made me happy, they're still the truth."
"What do you mean?"
Aurelia did not answer. She simply stared out the window at the barren night.
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