Face It
Hiding
There once was a little girl who was
afraid of monsters.
The breathing was quick and hurried, but quiet. She had to be quiet. She couldn't be found. No, that wasn't right, this couldn't be happening. This was a bad dream. It had to be.
Her hands were shaking, the shotgun in them was a bit uncomfortable. It was hot, it made loud noises, and it was absolutely the only reason she was still alive. It was not a happy thought. Shepard peeked out from her hiding spot. There were uglies all over the place. She couldn't even see the street sign.
The flames permeated her nose, but she refused to acknowledge what the smell was. It was just rotting meat- not her family. Not people she knew. Just meat.
One of them started hissing. Shepard didn't understand what was being said, but by the motions, she assumed that they were loading people up. Loading like cattle. Like meat. Shepard wasn't going to stand for it. She could see a few human heads hung low between the four eyed aliens.
She said another prayer- probably the eleven thousandth prayer tonight- and took a few shots. The one who had been ordering around caught a round in the leg. They looked around for her, panicked. Shepard knew that shotguns were close combat weapons, did more damage the closer you were, but she wasn't sure how stable she would be if she tried to approach the enemy.
Footsteps barely passed her. She was hiding behind a trashcan, and she barely fit. The legs stopped outside of her alleyway. For two seconds, Shepard couldn't breathe. She shook it off, and stood. The alien seemed to...smile at her. Then he made motions to come with him. Three seconds to aim, and she shot.
The aliens were all around her in an instant. She kept shooting until she was alone again. There was a pile of- Shepard shied away from it, though her mind had already registered the fourteen bodies. She couldn't think about what she'd done. When she exited, she tried to find the humans who she'd seen earlier. Her eyes were only scanning from her height and up. She found none.
Don't look down, she told herself. Her eyes didn't listen. They found three bodies, a fourth melted beyond recognition. One of them had been her next door neighbor. She put her hand on her heart and ran into another building. It wasn't safe out in the street.
…
"Search every building! There has to be someone!" a voice shouted.
It was the first one Shepard could understand. Even so, she didn't trust it. She moved under the desk in the office she'd taken residence in. The only source of light was coming from the cracks in the curtains. It was enough to see what had happened in this room. Just barely enough that she could make out the glassy set of four eyes staring at her, unseeing, from across the floor. There was blood smeared on the wall. None of it red. Burn holes, from their weapons, but no blood.
The door opened, and Shepard curled into herself.
"Hello? Is there anyone here? Alliance navy, please." the voice sounded sick, broken.
Shepard considered for a moment. Alliance meant human, right? But...what if they weren't? What if they were just waiting for her to pop out of cover to take her out. She'd been through too much to even considering showing herself.
"There's a lot of batarian bodies in here. I think someone's still alive." There was relief- though it was still grim. Batarians. That's what those four eyed things were called. Shepard made a note, though it didn't seem important anymore.
The steps around her were so heavy that Shepard found herself whimpering. When the movement stopped, Shepard tried to force herself to be quiet. It didn't work.
There were bright eyes in front of her. Only two. The person began to reach for her, but then pulled back when Shepard winced away.
"My name is Riley. I'm human. You're safe." The woman backed away, but not far enough where she couldn't touch Shepard.
Shepard's hands shook, for an entirely different reason. She was trying to let go of the shotgun- her dad used to call it Susan- but she couldn't. She was dehydrated, so her eyes couldn't make any tears, but it sure stung.
"Can you put the shotgun down? Sweetie, you're safe." As she said it, the woman put her hands out to receive Susan.
"Are there anymore?" She whispered. She could feel her finger tightening on the trigger. All she had to do was pull it for two seconds, and she would be alone again. It would be quiet, and there would be no reason to be afraid. Shepard shook her head slightly, she didn't want to kill the woman. She didn't want to be just like those..those batarians. Killing because she could.
"No, no more." The woman said sympathetically.
Shepard was trying to find the words. She couldn't begin to express the horror she felt. The relief that she was alive- but at the same time, saddened. The sixteen year old couldn't say anything. Her throat was so dry, breathing hurt.
"Come with me, sweetie. We'll get you out of here."
The shotgun fell to the ground and Shepard nearly tackled the woman.
Later on, Shepard would realize that the strange raspy sound was actually her.
She had grasped the woman crying, "Help me."
In her place,
grew a woman who was afraid
of becoming a monster
A/N:
Okay, I know you're all getting tired of the angst and depression. I'm getting around to the happy stuff (I hope) It's just a matter of how the letters work out. I had some really good ones, but they just weren't coming out correctly. I hope I'll get to write some shakarian fluff soon. I enjoy it. (Which is probably why 'food' was the best one so far...)