Gisha couldn’t hear her own footsteps over the emotional weight that hung on her neck. In fact, she could hardly hear anything as she ran recklessly through the pipped alleyways. Although she had known grief in the past, it was hardly comparable to the anguishing image that had been burned into her psyche.
Not minutes before, she had stood amidst a large group of those she considered her peers. Membership among their ranks was all she sought, as she had yet to solidify her position in any particular gang. A sense of belonging was something that was rare to her, and it was an opportunity she gladly accepted. But that was before the final trial. That was before they demanded a kill.
Despite all of her practice, all of the conditioning and experience on the streets, nothing could have prepared her for that. Vuscen, one of the few friends she had, bloodied and bruised for execution… and Gisha refused. Not once, but many times before her comrades to be pulled the trigger and abruptly ended the initiation ritual… and Vuscen.
Now here she was, attempting to flee this city but getting no where. The image of her friend’s fresh corpse still burned in her mind even as the gray clouded her path. So distracted was she that she never saw the pipe spanning the alley until her foot had already struck it. The young girl fell face first, a burst of fire forming upon her breath in surprise. Although she caught herself on her hands, she still tumbled into the wall and came to rest there. Unwilling to even stand up, she started to sob quietly to herself, unable to come to terms with what she had just witnessed.
As tears streamed from her face, she searched her memories for anything. Anything that might sate her guilt. All the could think of was her childhood with Vuscen. Games, walks, talks and stories… stories about heroes and villians and myths and spirits. What was that one that she loved to talk about? Janna?
That was Vuscen’s favorite and a frequent request amongst younger children at the orphanage. They were always stories with happy endings where orphans found wealth, riches, family and fame. How naive she had been… Gisha couldn’t imagine a crueler irony than the fact that Vuscen had suffered and died by Zaunite orphans. Her childish whims had done nothing to quell the violence in these children’s lives.
Gisha continued to sob in the dank, secluded alleyway. Hot tears streamed down her cheeks as she whispered whatever came to her mind. “Janna… how could I allow this… to happen?