"Doctor, my child isn't normal," a voice muttered, deep, angry. "You told me she would be fine, that it was nothing major."
Across the room, a girl sat on a small hospital bed, a piece of candy resting in her palm—courtesy of the nurses.
"She developed a minor mutation during birth," the doctor replied. "Your wife conceived her within the depths, after all. But it doesn't affect her physically or mentally. She's just fine."
Except she wasn't.
Her bones had grown with immense density, the sheer weight making it hard to walk, hard to hold onto anything. If she tried hard enough, her fingers could crush steel. It was only natural that her father would be afraid.
After all, she had killed her mother the day she was born.
No one told her. But that was the truth behind her mother's death. And the reason her father, the former owner of Dead End Solutions, stepped down.
Elendira.
She was named after her mother—a grade two exterminator who had worn the overcoat with pride, saving havens with a smile. Admired by many. Loved by many.
And she had killed her.
The curtains barely shielding her from her father's outburst fluttered as the wind slipped through the window. She met his eyes—burning, hateful. Hatred for her, though he'd never admit it.
"Is there any way we can fix her?" he whispered. "She killed her dog the other day. Just by hugging him too hard. She's... she's a demon, doctor. She's not normal."
"Sir, it's a minor mutation. Rare, but still documented." The doctor kept his voice calm. "Her bone density is beyond the norm, yes, but she's still young. She likely doesn't understand her own strength."
"Doctor..."
"It's not as if she wanted to kill the dog." The doctor chuckled lightly. "It was an accident—"
"You weren't there," her father interrupted, "She was smiling."
"That can't be right," the doctor said, waving it off. "You must be mistaken."
"I'm not." His voice dropped lower. "There was blood all over her body. The dog's head in her hands."
He swallowed.
"She was smiling ear to ear."
The doctor sighed, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Get some rest. She can stay here for tonight. Clear your head and pick her up tomorrow."
Her father turned slightly, his gaze settling on Elendira. She stared back, silent. Then he turned away and walked down the hall.
That was the last time she saw him.
By the next day, she had been transferred somewhere else. And now, standing in the halls of Dead End Solutions, she found herself looking up at a woman with an eyepatch, her long coat draped over one shoulder.
Sabrina Khusanov.
"Leaving your own kid because you're scared of her," Sabrina said, voice casual. "Your dad's a hell of a nut job."
Elendira didn't respond. She only glanced up as Sabrina approached, crouching slightly to meet her gaze. Instinctively, Elendira stumbled back, keeping her hands behind her—afraid of what they could do.
"Hm?" Sabrina tilted her head as the girl retreated.
"I don't want to hurt you," Elendira finally whispered, her voice small. "I hurt Rufus. I hurt Mommy. I hurt Dad. I don't want to—"
Sabrina pulled her into a hug, arms wrapping around the little girl's shoulders. She ran a hand through the soft blue of her hair. "Of course you don't," she murmured. "Your dad is hurt, and I can't blame him for that. But neither will I blame you."
"But Daddy said..." Elendira's head lifted slightly, her nose burning, eyes stinging. "He said I was a demon."
"And I say you're just a little girl affected by the pollution," Sabrina said, pulling back to meet her eyes. "If anything, he's the demon—with the way he looks. I mean, have you seen that hairdo? That is not the haircut for a middle-aged man."
Elendira blinked.
Then laughed.
Then cried.
Tears hit the ground as Sabrina pulled her back into an embrace.
Her father had looked at her like a disaster, a weapon destined to destroy everyone she touched. But Sabrina didn't. She looked at her with warmth. With softness.
"I told him to cut it," Elendira sniffled, voice shaky. "He said... he said he looked good."
Sabrina chuckled. "Well, then he is a demon—for lying to himself like that."
And just like that, they both burst into laughter. Uncontrolled. Genuine.
———————
Elendira woke with a sharp breath, rising from the sand. Blood ran down her face, dripping onto the dry earth. Slowly, she turned back.
The recruits were on the ground.
And next to them—still chatting as if nothing had happened—stood the Jackal and Haj.
They spoke, their voices floating through the air, but she couldn't hear them.
Her ears rang.
Her vision blurred, pulsating with every beat of her skull.
The bullet to the head had hurt.
Slowly, however, Haj turned toward her. His finger lifted. He pointed.
Sound rushed back in. The vultures circling above. The wind shifting the sand beneath her feet. Even the near-silent hum of the sun's rays pressing down on them.
"I shot her in the head," Haj muttered, voice etched with fear. He raised the gun again, grip tightening. "Humans don't just stand up from that."
"Did you miss any important parts of her brain?" the Jackal asked, stepping forward, now standing just beside him.
Elendira swayed slightly, vision swimming. Her hand lifted to her head, fingers brushing over the wound. She felt something solid beneath her touch—metal, crushed and warped from the impact.
She pulled the bullet free.
The casing had collapsed in on itself.
With barely a glance, she tossed it aside.
Haj stumbled back as the Jackal strode past him, head tilting as he peered down at her. "So little, yet so unnaturally strong. What are you?"
Elendira barely acknowledged him, her gaze dropping to the ground where Ansel and Dahlia lay motionless, blood soaking their coats.
"Sabrina liked those recruits," she murmured.
The Jackal glanced over his shoulder at the bodies, a chuckle already forming on his lips. "Were they important to you?"
"Elendira won't be happy." Her voice was quiet, almost distant. Then she smiled, a wide, unnatural grin.
"I like you," he admitted, eyes locked on Elendira. "What's your name? You can call me Ethan, but then again, you probably already—"
Elendira swung.
Ethan's head tore clean from his shoulders, flung into the air before slamming into the sand. His body dropped instantly.
Then—just as quickly—he reappeared beside Haj, feet scraping against the sand, panting like he had just sprinted for his life.
He had.
If that attack had landed... he'd be dead.
"Shoot her," he ordered.
"What?" Haj turned to him, confused.
Ethan didn't wait. He snatched the gun from Haj's hands, firing until only hollow clicks echoed through the depths. The vultures above shrieked and scattered.
Elendira didn't fall.
Two shots to the head—three to the body.
Elendira staggered, reaching for her head, plucking the bullets free one by one. Blood trickled down her face, streaking her already-red coat.
"More bullets!" Ethan roared, hand outstretched as Elendira inched toward them.
"I don't have any more," Haj snapped, turning toward him—
A loud crack.
His head burst like an overripe fruit, blood splattering across Ethan's face.
For a moment, he just stood there, staring—watching as Haj's body crumpled to the sand, a broken spike of bone protruding from his ruined neck.
Slowly, he turned back.
Elendira was right in front of him now, her coat drenched in red. She smiled, the whites of her teeth a stark contrast to the rest of her.
"Elendira is going to be so mad—"
She swung.
Ethan flew, his body whipping through the air before he crashed into the sand, meters away, gasping for breath.
He barely dodged that.
Elendira barely spared him a glance. She looked down at her bloodstained hands, then turned slightly, as if remembering something.
"Sabrina said I shouldn't use my hands," she muttered. Her gaze went to the ground, to the weapon lying beside her. She bent down, gripping the hilt. The crimson sheen of the blade blended seamlessly with the blood coating her palms. "She's going to be so mad at me."
Ethan exhaled sharply. Being near her—it didn't feel like standing next to a human. It felt worse. Something in his gut twisted violently, but still—
"At the end of the day," he muttered.
He moved.
Legs grinding against the sand, he lunged forward, closing the distance in seconds.
Elendira's blade lashed out, splitting apart mid-air, its sections linked by a chain. The sharpened edges coiled around his torso, stabbing deep into his back.
But he didn't stop.
With sheer momentum, he barreled into her, driving a powerful kick into her chest.
The impact sent Elendira hurtling backward—smashing through the carriage, splintering wood and steel. The entire structure collapsed in on itself, burying her beneath a heap of debris.
"You're just a child." Ethan murmured, yanking the tip of the chained sword from his back and tossing it aside.
The weapon reeled back, its red-tipped segments retracting toward the ruined carriage. He knew that wouldn't have been enough. If a bullet couldn't kill her, he had no idea what could. But still, he sure as hell hoped.
Elendira rose from the wreckage, splinters embedded in her clothes. She stepped forward, gaze lowering to the bodies of Ansel and Dahlia.
"They're Massiah's recruits, aren't they..." she muttered. "I was supposed to protect them, wasn't I?"
Ethan's fingers curled around the fallen chains from the carriage, wrapping them tightly around his fists. She was strong, terrifyingly so. But at the end of the day, she was still human—
He barely saw her move.
In a blink, she was beside him.
Ethan gasped, instinctively retreating, but she seized the chain midair, yanking him back. He stumbled, and her sword came down in a brutal arc.
With a sharp swing, he intercepted—whipping the other end of the chain to knock her blade off course. Sparks flashed as steel met steel.
Now, they were face to face.
She was bleeding. A deep gash trailed from her forehead, blood leaking into her eyes, dyeing them red. And yet—
She smiled.
Ethan's breath hitched. "You're a demon," he whispered, trying to loosen his grip on the chains.
Elendira didn't respond to him. She was mumbling to herself, voice barely above a whisper.
"W-what am I going to do?" Elendira murmured. "Sabrina is going to scold me... she might dock my pay. She might not give me another mission again."
Ethan's eyebrow rose. "What are you on about?"
Elendira turned to him, her bloodied face unreadable. "She might not trust me again..." Her grip on her weapon tightened. "And it's all your fault."
Ethan instinctively stepped back, but the chain wrapped around his hand held firm. The tension in the air shifted—her smile, albeit eerie had just been her way of expressing her nervousness, but now it had changed into something else. Something dangerous.
Anger.
He yanked at the chain, trying to create distance, to slip out of her grasp—but it wouldn't budge. It felt like pulling against a mountainside, unyielding, unmoving.
Elendira's hand traced the chain, her fingers wrapping over his own. And then—the metal folded like tin foil.
Along with his hand.
Ethan's scream ripped through the dunes, louder than any gunshot. He collapsed to his knees, blood pouring from his mangled fingers, pooling beneath him.
Elendira stood over him, her sword raised high. The segmented chain had snapped back into place, reforging itself into a solid blade.
"Wait, wait!" Ethan gasped, raising his trembling hands in surrender. Blood dripped from his fingertips, staining the sand. "I'm sorry—I didn't know—"
Elendira paused, her blade still poised in the air. "You didn't know what?"
Ethan met her gaze, his teeth clenched in pain. "I didn't know they were important to you," he said, voice strained. "If I had, I wouldn't have hurt them."
She didn't respond, but she also didn't move.
Ethan allowed himself the smallest smile. At the end of the day, she's still just a kid. Children were easy to manipulate, easy to sway. All he had to do was keep talking, make her hesitate—then, when she least expected it, he'd finish this.
"I swear," he said, voice gentle. "I'm sorry my actions hurt you, that they'll make Sabrina—"
His head exploded.
Brain matter and shattered bone splattered across the sand.
Elendira stood over what remained, her fist still outstretched, blood dripping from her knuckles. "You don't get to say her name."
Ethan's body slumped to the ground. The desert returned to its usual quiet—the scorching sun, the whistling gust, the circling vultures. The wet squelch of blood soaking into the earth.
Elendira exhaled, glancing at her hands, at her bloodstained coat.
Her father had abandoned her. That was fine.
Sabrina had taken her in, had made her the youngest member of Dead End Solutions, had given her a purpose.
And while she loved Sabrina—she was equally terrified of her.
How was she going to explain this?
Massiah scolding her didn't matter. But Sabrina?
Elendira began pacing, hands clasped behind her back, a nervous grin stretched ear to ear.
Elendira's breath hitched. "What do I do."
She stared at Haj's body, then at the Jackal's.
Sabrina had drilled it into her during the briefing—this mission was critical. Failure wouldn't just be a setback, it could be the spark that ignited a war between havens.
And as she looked at the corpses before her, failure was exactly what it felt like.
"What do I do?"
She turned toward the recruits, at the blood soaking into the sand beneath them.
"What do I do."
She dashed forward, dropping to her knees beside them, hands trembling as she pressed her ear against Dahlia's chest. A heartbeat. Weak. She did the same to Ansel. Weak, but still there.
"What the fuck do I do?!"
She pulled them closer, her hands pressing over their wounds. Ethan had punctured their chests, but their coats had absorbed some of the impact. He hadn't gone all the way through.
But it didn't matter.
They had lost too much blood. And out here, with nothing but miles of sand between them and the nearest haven.
They were going to die.
Static crackled in her ear.
Then—Sabrina's voice.
"I have good news," she said, lighthearted, unaware. "Massiah and Gran are awake, so if you guys are done with the transfer, you can come back and meet them."
The relay tower was fixed.
Ofcourseitwas.
Fuck.
Elendira sat frozen, staring blankly into the sky, wishing for some massive sand worm to burst from the dunes and swallow her whole.
Noting a lack of a response, Sabrina spoke again.
"Elendira, status report."
Her hand flew to her earpiece. "Two recruits near dead. Prisoner dead. Haven leader dead."
Silence.
The line cut.
Elendira exhaled shakily, staring at nothing. "Fuck me."