Smoke – dark smoke raised up in the sky. It’s all she can see from Cansu. “What the fuck is that?” Her voice was soft, and she raised a hand to her forehead, to block out the sun. Evie was a curious creature, and she wanted to go check it out, but the threat kept her from moving. The threat of getting in trouble, and the threat of trouble. Her phone buzzed at her hip, and she took her phone out.
‘Stay where you are. I’m on my way to take you home.’ From Summer.
She didn’t respond, but her fingers worked hard to text Eden – ‘Are you okay?’
Home was where she wanted to be, but now that she’s there, she’s irritated. She’s worried. She’s scared. Where is Eden. “I need to go find her. “ Summer is immediately against the idea until a shrill sound fills the walls of the home, sending them both to their knees. Evie feels it – she feels her skin ripping open, her body morphing until she stood as a wolf – snarling and angry, her eyes wild and her teeth baring white and hungry… at Summer. Summer was older than her, she knew that, but in the moment, it didn’t matter. Evie rushed her, her mouth open to snap at her, as Summer’s arm looped around her neck, and the two began to fight.
She still rattled her brain trying to remember exactly what had happened between her and Summer. She didn’t remember much of it, but had woken up outside of her home, naked and covered in blood. She’d taken it upon herself to now look fore her Client. She had not seen her, had not heard from her, and with the city in destruction, she could slip through without being noticed as long as she kept her cool. At night, it was easier – or so she thought.
The sky seemed so much darker. It was as if night flooded down, pouring a black paint over everything it touched until…
“I can’t see…” her voice shook. It wasn’t the night – it was her. “I can’t see.”
It was three days since she’d lost her vision, and she was still blind. Another girl from Cansu had found her, and she had brought her back to Cansu and tried to calm her. They had been hiding out there. “I need to find her,” Evie whispered. At least she’d been able to wash the blood off her. The lingering scent remained – she didn’t have to see it.
The other girl shook her head before speaking, “You cannot find her if you get yourself killed, Evie. You must stay here. When it’s safe, I’ll take you back to your house. Maybe she will be there.”
She’s not in the West side – or even in Cansu anymore. She and the other girl have made their way back to the East side, and she’s in the home that is familiar to her -- but even Evie hears of the news of what happened there. Her anxiety is sent to a new level. She has friends there, and Eden does, too. This was not good. A feeling of despair sinks into her bones. Life after this, if she lived at all after this, would not be the same. She felt helpless. She couldn’t help others, couldn’t help her Client, and couldn’t help herself. At least… however… she hadn’t killed her chaperone.
They left at the right time, it seemed. The girls had considered leaving Cansu and going to her coworker’s downtown apartment, but Evie’s anxiety and inability to be consoled and swayed redirected them back to the East side before the West side burned and before the bomb left mangled bodies and buildings in its wake.
She’s sitting in Eden’s office, with Summer by the doorway, and her coworker sitting beside her. “Who hated the City so much that… that they just didn’t care who they hurt.” The stench of death in the air, even from the East side alone, was nauseating.
“Who could do something like this?”
