The injury nearly killed Holly Short. She had been walking through the city, a typical round of making sure everything thing was as it should be when a bomb went off.
She smelled the scent of explosives and dived for the children playing a few feet away. Wrapping her arms around them, she screwed her eyes shut.
Her ears ringing, she didn't see anything but the dirt in her eyes and the blood on the ground in front of her face. She could only hope that it was her own and not one of the children's. That was Holly's job after all; praying that she would be the one to die.
The earth settled, and she did not rise even when the other elves swarmed. Some were simply nosy citizens who had yet to make it back to their homes and others were officers like her, worried for their fellow rookie.
"Everyone clear the hell out before I make you. Citizens, return to your homes. And anyone else?Don't you have something better to do than gawk?"
Everyone but Root scrambled away with the weeping children in tow, and he knelt before his protégée. She looked broken, like a doll that had been tossed out the window and been stomped on a couple of times by a human.
"You did well, Short," he said softly. The stretcher arrived, and she was lifted on.
A/N: It's been a while since I read the books, so sorry if the characters are a tiny bit OOC. Critiques are accepted, and you may comment or PM them if you see fit. Thanks for reading.