Punishment

Dislcaimer: We do not own the Night World series. All original work is credited to L.J. Smith.

Okay, so some of you might not like this first chapter. It has ruthlessness and unnecessary cruelty. (Well, we think that but it goes along with the story quite nicely). So thanks for reading our first chapter! And sorry it's so short, we'll try to make it longer next time! Review ^^ - Rayne


Aurora walked forward slowly, letting her shoes skid across the ground noisily. She stared absentmindedly at the ground; her thick, blond bangs hung in front of her face. She remembered what she saw before: all the blood, the feeling of bones being crushed under her feet. She sighed, shaking her head and looking around her; remembering where she was. Minnesota. The park.

"Don't worry, Kate, I'll get the marble, promise." The high pitched, sweet voice came from a small girl. She knelt by a fast moving creek, reaching her arm into the water. "Almost… There." She bent over farther and farther, trying to reach for the marble. She yelped loudly as she fell forward into the creek.

Aurora's eyes widened, she could almost see the face… see her face again. And the blood…so much blood. She gasped, mentally shaking herself and coming back to the present. She watched as the girl thrashed, carried by the creek. Aurora ran after the girl. Once she had caught up she jumped into the water, not thinking.

She ignored the cold, and quickly swam after the girl. It seemed like forever, but she finally was able to wrap her arms around her then bring her to shore. Aurora listened for a heartbeat. By then she knew it was too late. She had taken too long, her efforts were useless.

"I'm sorry, Nicole, I failed again." Aurora hung her head, tears steadily flowing down her pale face. She looked at the girl's innocent face, it was unbearable. Those big brown eyes stared back her, it was all too familiar, and it scared her. It terrified her. Knowing she was dead and it was all her fault.

"Is she… ?" The other girl - Kate - stood beside the little girl's body. Shaking, crying silently over her best friend.

"I'm sor- -" Aurora stopped herself in the middle of her sentence; her light green eyes were fixed on the marble resting in the cold, dead hand of the girl. She slowly reached for it, picking it up with the utmost care. She stood up slowly, moving inch by inch. Her blond hair like a curtain hiding her face. Suddenly she looked up. giving Kate a terrible, cold glare. "You dumb, foolish girl. You stupid humans just never learn, do you? You never force people to do your work, especially your friends."

"But, I…" Kate took a step back, she shook even harder.

"Your friend, she's dead. Why? Because you made her get that worthless marble for your selfish, greedy reasons. All you humans are the same! You never change!" Aurora walked right up to Kate, grabbing her arm. "You disgust me. Filth." She squeezed hard on her arm, Kate screeched loudly. She dropped the girl once she heard a loud snap, which a long time ago used to sicken her.

"Please, I'm sorry" Kate grabbed her arm, screaming loudly in pain.

"I'm sorry this, I'm sorry that. Once you're faced with death, that's all you humans say! You're not really sorry about anything, you're all think the same!" She stepped on the girl's chest making her give a gasp of breath as she pressed it out of her. Aurora smirked as she heard several bones breaking underneath her. She took her foot off Kate, and turned her back to the human. She listened to the gurgling, shallow breaths the girl was taking. Aurora dropped the marble on the ground, "You just never learn. I swear, you'll get what you deserve. Every last of you roaches. No matter who comes to help you'll be dead in an hour."

Aurora went back to her slow saunter, as if nothing had happened at all. People ran to the children, and when a man tried to stop her, she simply grabbed him by the collar, throwing him into the nearest tree. The man fell to the ground with a gasping cry and started shaking all over. She watched with a satisfied grin as others went to him. Everyone stared at her in horror.

"What?" she called to the mothers and fathers, clutching protectively at their children, and the people walking their pets, keeping them away. "Don't you think they deserve it? Don't you think they all deserve it? Don't you think all of you deserve it?" No one answered her, though it wasn't like she cared at all what any of them thought of themselves.

"Idiots! You all only care about yourselves!" Aurora screamed. Next to her sat a bench. She pulled it up from the ground and aimed it carefully at a woman who stood, cowering away from her.

She was pregnant.

And the way she stared at Aurora reminded me of her again. Aurora sat the bench down and grabbed at her head. "Why!" she screamed. "Why did you have to die? Why couldn't you stay with me?"

And she ran. And ran. And ran. Tears streamed form her eyes effortlessly. She didn't know why some pregnant human made her remember, but it did. Aurora hated feeling so miserable, so weak… and as much as she hated to say it, she was scared. She collapsed in a dark alley, burying her head in her hands. She could hear the soft laughter, remembering her again.

"What have I become? I'm so sorry, so sorry. Please forgive me." Aurora waited for some answer, but only silence answered her pleas. She tore at her own hair, frustration and agony taking over. Every part of her was screaming on the inside. Suddenly it was too much for her to handle. She began to sob uncontrollably, loosing herself.


Yay, finished our first chapter. Originally we were going to go with a boring chapter about the heroine in this story, but decided this would be better, and you would probably like this more. Hope you enjoyed this, at least a little. Please leave us some constructive criticism! (: - Roselle