Curse her soft heart, Atlantis thought, as another wave of agony rocked her body. She stumbled against the stone of a building and slid down until she sat on the ground. The tortured screams of her people rang in her ears as gunfire peppered the air. She clenched her teeth as the ground rumbled under her, sealing her fate. At the most, she had two hours to live. She took a deep breath and stood up. Her blonde hair, so carefully tied that morning, snapped the tie that held it together, and it came free, cascading down around her shoulders. She broke into a run, seeing the danger in staying behind.
What had caused her to come to this?
She had sunk to the bottom of the ocean once, long ago. Years had passed since her captors had fished her out, and spared her people…let them have a second chance at life, and yet that alone had led to her destruction. She had good friends, good friends who had sworn to protect her. Where had they all gone? Why was she facing them, of all people, alone? She still heard their voices in her head, the most painful one ripping at her heart.
It wasn't fair. LIFE wasn't fair. Atlantis heard pounding footsteps and ran into the alleyway, and hid in the shadows. She slumped against the wall and bit back tears she should've let fallen. She closed her tired eyes, maybe for the last time if someone found her, and looked back on her life, letting her mind slip into unconsciousness.