⚠️ Gore Warning ⚠️
He cradled Sophie's body in his arms, ignoring his mother's smug grin; ignoring the blood soaking through his clothes; ignoring the darkness pressing in on him. He didn't care anymore. None of it mattered. He had been doing all this to protect her... and now she was gone, just like that, taking all of his hope with her.

His mother chuckled. "That's it, son. Embrace the change."

He squeezed his eyes shut, as much as he wanted to, he couldn't block out her harsh, beckoning voice. He tightened his grip on Sophie, as if he could force some of his own life into her.

A fresh flood of tears poured from his eyes as he saw her pale lifeless face again.

His mother sighed. "I see that it will take more to break you."

He heard her snap her fingers and a soft, flickering orange glow ignited in the shadows. He knew what caused it even before he looked.

The fire was small and controlled, but that wasn't what made his heart stop.

Dead bodies, over a dozen of them were scattered across the field of darkness, illuminated by flames and saturated in blood.

The Collective in their various disguises lay closest to him, with ugly gashes in their backs, probably caused by an ogres sword.

Farther away, Grady, Edaline, Alden, Della, and his dad lay limp, lifeless, and...
He gagged.
Cut in half.
He hadn't noticed the separation until he focused on their bodies.

Looking away, didn't help.
Marella and Maruca lay with Stina on the cold dark ground, staring blankly into the harsh night.

Finally, his eyes settled on the corpses directly to his left.

Biana was on her stomach, literally laying ON her stomach. The rest of her disemboweled body was facing away from him and he was glad he couldn't see it.

Dex was next to her, a gadget still resting in his hand. Deep lacerations marred his throat, almost cutting clean through his neck.

Tam and Lihn's hands were still intertwined. They were soaked, as if someone had tried to drown them, but the dark finger-sized bruises on their necks showed how they had really died.

Then, Fitz... eyes staring at nothing, hands still clenched into tight fists, lay on his stomach with his head turned too far backwards. His neck was brutally broken, making him look like an owl. Blood stained his face, dripping from his nostrils and the corners of his mouth.

Tears blurred his vision and he looked away. "No." He whimpered. It couldn't be true. They couldn't be gone. Not all of them.

His mother strutted over, placing a hand on his head and stroking his hair gently. "This doesn't have to be their fate." She knelt beside him. "If you join us, if you join ME, you can protect them." She spoke in his ear. "Let go, Keefe. Embrace the change."

He looked up, his whole body shaking. What had she said? 'This doesn't have to be their fate.' Things clicked together in his mind. This isn't real. It never had been. He placed Sophie's fake body gently on the ground before him and clenched his fists. Jaw set, he glared at his mother, or the shade of her anyway. "You're... not... real."

She took a step back as if the words had harmed her.

"None of this is." He waved his hand wildly at the massacre before him.

It faded, lifting like a fog.

"Now, Keefe..." his mother tried.

"Get out." He seethed. "Go away!" He shouted into the darkness.

His mother disappeared and a bright light sparked behind him.

A/N
Yay! Another chapter!
I hope you are enjoying the story.
I put a header picture in this one, because it fit very well with the scene that was playing out. Also, that is the picture that gave me inspiration for this story. 😁
Until next time.
-Cheshire