Slumping into my school chair, I rubbed my eyes, foggy and wrung out. My sleep clock was all off after sleeping for a few hours before sunrise. I had my hair down to cover my temple where a band-aid covered a cut I received from the monster attack and a decent amount of makeup to cover the bruise on my cheek from the monster's slap. I felt like bull— well Hank's crap. 

The warning bell rang, inspiring most of the missing students into their seats. My eyes flittered to the window, trying to wake up enough to process class information as everyone settled in. 

A shadow passed behind the glass. A Destrocomet? 

Shaking my head, I looked again. Nothing. No one was outside. Just a normal school parking lot. I bit my lip, fingers brushing against the bruise on my cheek. I have to be sure. I was running on two hours of sleep but I trusted my gut. 

Standing, I left the classroom as the final bell rang.

I bumped into Orion on the way out of the room and pulled him down the hall behind me. He squeezed my hand as we moved. "Where are we going? Ditching? I've never done that."

I pushed through the front doors of the school and picked up speed, all business. Determined to put my fears to rest. Please be an illusion. Please don't be real. Please just be sleep deprivation.

"Destrocomet in the parking lot," I said. 

Orion spun me around, making me dizzy. Apparently I still had some concussion side effects to work through.

His eyes were wide. "What are you doing? Get back inside! If it's here you shouldn't be outside."

I stifled a yawn. "No way. That thing could run down the hallway, leaving a lot of damage. Better we take it on out here." I pointed at myself. "Beacon of trouble should be outside, remember? You taught me that. I don't want anyone getting hurt."

I pulled my hand free and continued walking, scanning the parking lot as I went. I spotted Ashley running towards the front door of our school building. "Oh my gosh! I am so late for class!" 

She paused when she saw us, confusion clouding her expression. "Why are you two out here?" 

Before I could answer, Ashley looked above us and screamed.

Spinning, I spotted a Destrocomet perched on top of the school building. It launch itself towards us in a flash of fire and rock. I shoved Ashely aside and quickly pulled out my comet whip that was resting around my neck, in a makeshift necklace. I refused to go anywhere without it. 

I snapped it in the air and missed. The Destrocomet hit me and Orion, throwing us backwards across the asphalt.

"Alina!" 

Ashley scrambled over to me but only made it a few feet before the Destrocomet slammed into her, sending Ashley flying towards a nearby car. Orion launched to his feet and in a flash, caught her. But the force of the Destrocomet's blow flung them both backwards into the car. I scrambled to my feet and snapped my whip at the Destrocomet to keep it away from them. 

The whip cracked in victory, meeting its mark. The Destrocomet's arm was signed off but it kept moving, dashing towards me. I rolled to the side and snapped my whip again and missed. 

Orion gingerly laid Ashely behind a car and sprinted towards the Destrocomet, punching it in the jaw, sending the its head exploding into crystalized ash all over the parking lot. The body fell and collapsed into a pile of ash before hitting the ground, sending the parking lot into silence.

Orion was breathing heavily as he looked at me, concern filling his face. We did this. This was our fault. We tracked one to school.

"Are you okay?" he asked. I nodded numbly, shock washing over me. 

Hearing a groan, we both turned. Ashley. 

I ran to her side and gasped. Her head was bleeding. I put away my whip and knelt next to her, shaking. "Orion, get the school nurse." Orion took off. 

I turned back to Ashley as her eyes fluttered open. "What happened?" she asked, attempting to lean up.

"Whoa. Stay down," I cautioned, my voice strangely calm. She groaned again clutching her head, blood brushing across her fingers. Guilt spread through me as I watched her face scrunch in pain.

"What do you remember?" I asked.

"I was walking towards you and Orion and..." She groaned again. "Something hit me." She looked into my eyes, her own a little glassy. "I think it was a car..." 

Relief filled me. And then guilt. I did this. It's my fault.

The school nurse arrived and the hospital was called. Students began to spill out into the parking lot, watching as Ashley was lifted in a gurney and driven away in an ambulance. The guilt in me grew and grew until I could barely breathe. 

I couldn't look at Orion as we were all ushered back to class, the guilt continuing to grow, making it hard to hear anything over the sound of blood roaring in my ears. 

As soon as we broke for lunch I ran to my truck and peeled out of the parking lot and towards the hospital, unable to sit still anymore.

I ran inside and quickly found Ashley. She was sitting alone in a check-up room, her legs swinging back and forth on the edge of the examination table. Her head was bandaged. Ashley looked pleasantly surprised to see me. "Alina! Hi!"

I hugged her fiercely, doing my best to keep the tears from my eyes. "Oh Ashley, are you okay? How's your head?" I asked, leaning back.

She smiled at me reassuringly. "I'm fine. A small concussion. And a few bruised ribs. Nothing's broken though." She winced as she adjusted her position on the check-up table.

My eyes welled up with tears. "I am so sorry Ashely."

She looked at me bewildered, laughing, and then winced when it hurt. "This isn't your fault. A car hit me. You weren't driving it."

Guilt washed over me again as my mouth opened and then closed when I couldn't tell the truth. That I was a walking target for danger. "I was worried," I admitted. 

It's my fault. I drove the Destrocomet right to her.

"Well, I'm okay." She smiled warmly. "You didn't do anything wrong."

I did my best to smile back. I knew how wrong she was. I need to find a way to fix this. I need to remove my mark.

...

I walked out of the hospital in a daze. I didn't even see Orion leaning against my truck until I stood in front of it. "How is she?"

"Concussion, and bruised ribs," I said, feeling hollow, grinding my foot into a pebble, staring down at it as I crushed the rock into nothing. 

I looked up at Orion. "She doesn't remember what happened. She thinks she got hit by a car..." He nodded, his eyes unreadable. I searched his face. "Did... did you erase her memory?" I asked, afraid to know the answer.

He shook his head. "No. I wouldn't do that without talking to you first."

I leaned against the truck next to him, slumping slightly. "This is all my fault," I said, running my fingers through my hair.

"No. It's mine," he said quietly, his voice taking on a dark tone.

I looked away. "You can't stay here. You need to go."

He sighed, running his hand down his face. "That was a fast week. I don't want to leave you in danger." He tipped my chin up and brought my eyes to his.

"This is bigger than both of us. People keep getting hurt. And it's..." I began to cry, the guilt finally crumbling what little composure I had left.

Orion pulled me into his arms, holding me together while I wept. He ran his fingers through my hair comfortingly, silent as I cried. We stood in the parking lot for a long time, quiet as I tried to fight my fear and guilt over what I had done, what I had caused.

Leaning back, Orion looked down at me. "Don't do that." He brushed away the wrinkle in my brow. "I can see it in your eyes. You are full of guilt and I can't stand the idea of you hating yourself." 

The look on his face broke me. His eyes held a grief so deep and full of sorrow that it carved into my soul, threatening to drown me in his pain. Orion kissed my forehead and looked down at me thoughtfully, tucking the pain away as he took me in. 

"There's something we can do to remove our marks, but I don't know how well it will work," he admitted. "I've only seen it work on a small scale."

"We need to try," I said, touching his cheek. "We need to fix this. I can't watch anyone else get hurt."

His eyes softened. "I know." 

---

Thank you for reading chapter twenty three! I hope you are enjoying the story! Or are at least curious to see where it goes!

UPDATE DAYS - A NEW CHAPTER EVERY MONDAY AND WEDNESDAY!

What does Orion have in mind to get rid of their marks? Will it work?

Will Ashley remember what attacked her?

What will happen next?

CHAPTER QUESTION - Alina blames herself for the Destrocomet attack and Orion wants her to show herself grace. Is there anything in your life than you need to be kinder on yourself for?