2170 CE - Mindoir
Snap.
The irrepressible sound of burning wood swiftly shook her from her daze - Autumn screwed her eyes shut for a brief moment to assess her situation. The last thing she remembered was the explosion, her mother screaming and the unexpected hit from the butt of an assault rifle across her cheek.
Then it was just... darkness.
She shifted slightly, testing the binds on her hands. 'Tight', she thought to herself, 'but not tight enough,' she smirked but something catches on her lip - dirt. She realised that she's face down into the ground and the ache of her eye catches her off guard, forcing her to bite down into her lower lip to repress the wanton scream of agony that desperately wants out. She tries to open her eyes but one is swollen shut - she's sure the socket is broken.
"What are you doing?"
The male voice stilled her, her breath caught deep in her throat as her father's voice boomed across the empty space above her. Hope swelled inside her chest, tears make themselves known as she believed he has come to save her from this incessant hell.
"Where are you taking him? Answer me, damn it!"
Fear.
She hears it now, in her father's voice. Her smile of relief shifted into a tight worried line, she stopped moving again to try and grasp what is happening around her. The aliens spoke harshly to her father, none of it makes sense - odd ticks and clicks but the tone of their voice suggest that his questions were pointless.
"Answer me!"
Crack.
The sound of her father's body falling to the ground startled her - the batarian laughed, feet shuffling around before one of them kicked the large human into the gut to make sure he wasn't going to get up again.
Autumn held her breath, her father wasn't grunting in pain, he wasn't moving.
There was no sound.
She didn't want to think what that meant, she couldn't.
"Get rid of them, they're too combative."
Cold fear spread from her gut to her toes - that voice, she understood it - it was human. The batarians answer him back, as though they understand and she's confused. Why is there a human helping them? She wanted to look, she wanted to twist her head and see but she doesn't want to bring attention to herself so she remains still.
"I don't give a shit if entire Shepard family brings in good creds, the rest of them are going to cause problems. We got the boy chipped and subdued. Get. Rid. Of. Them."
Shepard frowned, the words playing over in her mind, distracting her from the sound of the batarian dragging the body of her father towards her. His limp arm dropped heavily against her shoulder, forcing a gush of breath out of her lungs. She kept still, careful not to bring attention.
Still in denial.
Pop.
The sound of the pistol shot didn't register at first, it was too... quiet. There was a huff of air that fluttered against her hair, her father's arm twitched against her own but she kept still.
Still hoping.
There was warmth that seeped through her shirt - she frowned again. It wasn't a sensation she was imagining, it was really warm against her skin. She wanted to nudge her father back, let him know she could feel him trying to get her attention or at least, get him moving again but she could feel the eyes of the batarian on her.
Watching.
Her face felt sticky, liquid gathered around her face and she couldn't quite figure out where it was coming from. Her nose tickled with it, and it crossed her mind that if she didn't at least move her face, she could potentially drown in the liquid gathering in the dirt.
She shifted her face, just enough to hurt the socket and force her to pull her lips back in a silent hiss, the liquid smearing her lips in the process. The smell hit her first, before the coppery taste filled her mouth.
Blood .
She was face down in a pool of it.
Her father's hand twitched again, this time she knew it wasn't because he was trying to get her attention delicately but it was nothing more than a body reflex, the brain still firing empty commands to the limbs as the blood starved itself of oxygen.
He was dead, she realised, and his blood was in her mouth.
She screamed.
Her knees pushed at her father's body next to her, no longer caring if her captors thought her unconscious. Her voice rose higher, pitching to deafening decibels with panic as her boots dug into the dirt, rolling her into the unknown. Tears spilled from her one good eye when she finally opened them.
His listless eyes stared blankly towards her, his jaw slack in death. His skin was far too pale and there was so much blood.
It was everywhere.
A thick gulp of air squeezed into her lungs painfully, her eyes sweeping the damage before the stark realisation dawned on her that half his face was gone.
"Oh maker... daddy!" Autumn was screeching again, bile rose from the depths of her stomach and spilled from between her lips. A rough hand snatched at her long black hair, pulling the scalp painfully as the slaver tugged her head back, shouting at her to shut up, she was sure.
She couldn't look away from her father, she wouldn't.
The blood was cooling on her face, she could feel the thick liquid against her teeth and dripping down her neck. It was sticky as it seeped through her tank top. Autumn winced as the batarian pulled back her head again, her spine curving unnaturally to the point she was sure he was trying to snap her in half. The motion forced her to look at him but she wouldn't stop screaming. His thin brows were tightly knitted between his four eyes, his lips were moving in conjunction to clicks and shouts but she couldn't understand him.
She kicked out with all her might, striking the slaver at the apex of his thighs - he yelped, pulling her hair but didn't let go. He kicked her, successfully shutting her up and raised one hand up high, pistol set to strike her hard into welcomed oblivion but there was a bright blue light that filled the room and distracted him.
There was a new scream, but it wasn't from the subdued Shepard on the ground.
The batarian was knocked away, clear off his feet and into a wall. Autumn blinked in surprise for a moment, her eyes still watering from the painful grip of the slaver before she managed to clear up her sight and focused on the dimming glow.
"Autumn, thank the maker."
Ember stumbled towards her youngest sister, exhaustion apparent with each step. Autumn sobbed, her lips unable to move to express her relief to see someone alive, openly weeping when her sister collapsed on all fours mere feet away from her, crawling to her.
"Listen to me," her sister whispered, her bloody fingers untying the bindings. Autumn can't help but notice how painfully slow her sister moves. The youngest girl blinked rapidly, trying to keep her tears from falling, trying to focus on her sister's words. "Dayton... he didn't survive the chip they put in him. He's dead."
"Wh-what?" She stuttered, her hands massaging the wrists as her eldest sister rubbed her forehead, she notices the fresh blood coming from her nose in a thick gush, her palms push hard against her eyes, as though a headache has anchored itself and won't let go.
"You need to get to the fox hole." Ember continues, leaning against her sister. She's become far too tired to keep up the charade that she's fine.
"Ok, let's go then." Autumn stood, her body protesting but she pulled at her sister's sleeve - Ember shook her head.
"I can't go with you," she sighed knowing her sister will argue, wasting precious time.
"No! I'm not leaving you here."
"I can't fit in the hole anymore, Autumn." Blue eyes meets green, one filled with stubborn pig-headedness, the other is resigned to the reality of the situation. She won't let her die here, she won't allow her sister to become a slave to the aliens. "Go. I can hold them off a little longer," Ember looks up from where she sits on the ground and Autumn notices how pale she is. For the first time she notices the blood dripping from her nose, from the corners of her eyes and the dried blood that trails from her ears.
Over-used her biotics, trying to save them, no - her.
"They're coming," there was a plea in Ember's voice that struck Autumn to the core. "Don't argue - run, hide - stay quiet and don't let them see you. Hide in the dark, don't speak, don't make a noise. Be invisible and save yourself."
The younger girl opens her mouth to argue once more but Ember pulled back her lips in a hiss, glows blue and Shepard felt herself lifted from the ground and thrown clear across the way.
"GO!"
The sound of her oldest sister's voice echoed in the night, drowned out by the shot guns and the quick shots of the assault rifles. Dark energy amasses, she can feel the thick prickle of it in the air and she has to fight the urge to look back.
Run.
Hide.
Don't let them see you.
An explosion, her sister's screams sputter into silence.
Be invisible.
Autumn runs, but her heart broke with every breath.
