Nakita and the Forces of Darkness

I didn't want to believe it.

I felt the warmth of the burning fire in my face as it cast its orange glow. The crackling of the flames, like a chorus of whispered secrets, echoed all around me. The heat soothed my bones as I sat upon the floor with my back against the wall. My legs were drawn up and my head was cocked backwards to revel in the dancing shadows that fell upon the ceiling. The room was silent but for the sound of my own breathing. I could hear it, a low rumble that rose and fell in pitch as I inhaled and exhaled.

I wanted to stay there forever, staring into the flames and trying to forget what had been said. But it wasn't possible. I couldn't ignore it any longer and finally turned to look across at where my mother sat on her bed. Her eyes were closed as if she were sleeping but I knew better than to be fooled by this ruse. Only those who were truly asleep would sleep so deeply, so soundly, without ever waking or shifting position or even opening their eyes during the night. This had always worried me about her but I was too afraid to ask the reasons for it, and she never offered any explanation for this behaviour beyond saying that she was weary from a long day's work at the inn where she worked as a barmaid.

"You have to go," she said softly without opening her eyes. "They've made their decision."

"What?" I gasped in disbelief. "But... why don't we speak on this further? There must be another way out of this!"

"There is no other way," she replied calmly, her voice barely louder than a whisper. "Only death awaits us here."

I looked around helplessly at our humble home which had been our sanctuary for so many years now since my father's death had left us alone in this world. It wasn't much but it was home and I hadn't realised until now how much I valued having somewhere where I could call mine and rest safe from harm and danger whenever I chose to do so. Now even that was being taken away from me and my heart broke at this realisation as it always did whenever someone told me that something precious to me was about to be lost forever. It hurt more then anything else ever could because leaving something behind meant that you were dying yourself somehow, either by your own hand or through some other means such as old age or loss of health - whichever one happened first - which would lead inexorably to your death soon after from whatever brought you down in the first place or you simply decide to take matters into your own hands if you're brave enough or foolish enough to do so instead of waiting for nature to run its course however long that might take you before you finally expire when your body has used up all its energy stores leaving nothing left within it which can keep you alive any longer beyond your natural lifespan which you are not permitted by law to extend beyond those allotted years no matter what measures you take once they end up being less than what you expected them to be when they start counting down until they expire leaving you with nothing more than a few decades of life at most making your life feel incredibly short lived despite living an expected eighty something years plus an extra three hundred days while everyone else who managed to live past eighty five plus another two thousand eight hundred days will have enjoyed over twice as much time on Earth then you did before they get called away by whatever higher power watches over us all which makes their lives seem far longer lived than yours despite the fact that both groups will have died exactly the same amount of time once their time runs out so why does one group seem to enjoy so much more time than others when they're supposed to spend exactly the same amount of time on Earth like all other mortals before them who only got fifty years less due to bad luck when they were born? Why does one group get treated better than others when they should have all been treated equally from birth from God or whoever is meant to watch over us all? Is there really a point in living if we're going to be treated like second class citizens by some higher power who decides how long we can live based on whether we're born healthy or sickly? Shouldn't we all be given equal rights regardless of our situation when we're born instead of being judged like animals by some deity who thinks he knows better than everyone else what's best for each person regardless of their situation? Or is life itself nothing more than a cosmic joke played on each one of us whose sole purpose is just enough time spent doing whatever we need done during our limited time on Earth before going off into oblivion never knowing if there's anything after we die?)

My thoughts continued spiralling downward until depression began consuming me from within until tears began streaming down my face threatening to overflow my eyes with salty water threatening me with blindness just like blindness had threatened me last year when the doctor told me that I needed an operation on my eyesight which threatened me with blindness unless I went ahead with his advice which gave me hope that one day things might return back to normal again although this seemed unlikely right now since everything seemed hopeless right now thanks mostly due to what the elders had said earlier tonight before sending me here alone while they decided whether or not they should kill both myself and my mother in order to save our small town from an ancient evil which threatened us all from whatever dark corner of our world it had risen from during these recent months without warning leaving everyone terrified without knowing whether or not anyone could stop it once it arrived here ? No wonder people were desperate for help! Thank goodness for them sending young Nakita on such a perilous journey alone! An inexperienced girl like her would surely perish during her quest! She didn't stand a chance against such powerful forces! Not only did she not have any experience fighting demons or evil spirits but she would also have limited magical powers compared to those who fought alongside her during previous quests leaving her vulnerable without any allies nearby who could help her fight off whatever monsters came charging out of nowhere at her unexpectedly while she slept thinking she was safe while resting between tasks during her quest! Maybe that's what happened earlier today! Maybe one of those terrifying demons swooped down out-of-nowhere at her while she slept unaware that danger approached until its teeth sunk deep into her flesh tearing away chunks of muscle tissue making wounds worse while its fangs tore chunks out of her flesh leaving ugly scars once they healed leaving scars worse than those left by previous injuries suffered during previous quests when monsters attacked unexpectedly! They say most unexpected attacks occur when you least expect them! Fortunately for Nakita nobody else was there tonight who could die protecting her from whatever demon attacked earlier tonight leaving her dead because nobody else knew about this attack until after it occurred making them realise too late what had happened making them wish they could have done something instead of arriving too late during whatever battle took place between monster and woman resulting in Nakita becoming injured instead! What's worse is that nobody knows exactly why this happened either besides some vague rumours that demons sometimes attack humans without reason nor warning for reasons unknown except for maybe boredom making them think about attacking anybody simply because they can make somebody bleed out blood using their sharp teeth tearing away chunks of flesh whenever somebody gets close enough not realising just how dangerous demons can be especially since nobody knows if demons are intelligent enough themselves meaning they might attack everybody indiscriminately meaning nobody is safe no matter how innocent somebody might appear looking since nobody knows when one might decide suddenly attacking somebody else looking innocent enough while walking down Main Street minding their own business surrounded by family friends neighbours etc wondering why life suddenly ended before returning back home never knowing what hit them until seeing themselves bleeding out blood onto their clothes watching helplessly while others stood around staring at them unable hoping somebody might rush over helping them out but nobody ever does except maybe Nakita if she happens along while passing through town stopping briefly wondering why somebody appeared lifeless lying in front of him wondering whether or not he should interrupt his travels wondering whether or not he has anything important waiting for him elsewhere hoping he doesn't wind up getting attacked himself wondering whether or not he should leave town before feeling guilty about doing so turning back deciding instead helping out whoever lay motionless dying in front of him wondering whether or not he'll be attacked himself once he helps dress wounds bandage cuts cleanse skin etc hoping he doesn't suffer an unexpected attack himself hoping someone will arrive soon saving him from dying whilst trying saving someone else from dying wishing he'd helped sooner saving somebody else first but finding he couldn't go any further carrying wounds too severe killing him instantly before dying himself still holding onto his victim unable giving up hope prematurely giving up hope prematurely dying forever never knowing whether or not anybody ever arrived afterwards wishing he'd stayed behind taking watch waiting patiently hoping somebody showed up eventually caring enough seeing him try helping people already injured already dead already dead already dead)