The Girl From The Middle Of Somewhere

Part 1: The End

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

That was the cycle of life for snipers. Watching their targets through the safety of the scope, hoping that their aim wouldn't sway. A missed shot could mean death, and so steady breathing is one of the first things a professional sharpshooter has to learn. As long as their aim is true, they don't have to risk a follow-up shot, which could expose them.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

As she was doing this, Kinessa wished that she would be safely observing her next bounty from a bush or a building. Unseen, undetectable, only one shot and she would be off. But this time was different. At the moment her steady breathing wasn't to keep her shot steady. She was breathing, because they were going to be the last breaths of her life.

Eyes unfocused, Kinessa stared ahead. The poison was making it hard, but she could still see the vague outline of a person few meters ahead of her. Unmoving. Just the way she liked it. Pieces of falling debris were clouding her vision further, but still she kept looking, savouring every sight, not focusing on what they happened to be. Seeing was the most important thing, because soon even that would be taken away from her, just as a lot had already been.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Her vision was fading fast. Even the slightest of movement was causing massive amounts of pain, but even the pain was starting to go away. Her time was coming. Just as she knew it would in the end. She had lasted surprisingly long, considering her profession and past. But everything has to stop at some point, and Kinessa had used all of her momentum for this final rush. Now there was nothing left. No one to push her moving again. There was only one thing at the end of the road, and everyone knew all too well what it was.

"Was I successful?" She thought out loud.

"Could I have done something differently?"

Of course she could have. But there was no going back to the past. No matter what, those were walls that no one could go through. Even in this realm of magic and wonder, the mysteries of time were still unsolved. And she wouldn't be there to see the day they would be discovered.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

These were the final moments. All the pain, all the suffering, all the losses. All the happiness, all successes, all regrets, had led to this point, just as it was destined to be.

"I'm so sorry I couldn't help you, Mars."

These were some of the last words of Kinny Nessa Duskstalker. The famous bounty hunter, sharpshooter and adventurer.

"And thanks, S. I couldn't have done it without you."

She was also known as "The Survivor of Southwold", or "That scary-ass chick with a big gun and no time for nonsense". Though unofficial, the title had always amused her. And who wouldn't.

"I'll be seeing you soon", she said just as the final bits of her conciousness were starting to fade.

But to some people, though all of them deceased by now, she was known by another name. A name she left behind when she left the place she called home.

To them, she was "The Girl From The Middle Of Somewhere."

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.