Kaia felt the weight of her body crash against the cold, hard floor. Each breath felt as if it were drawn through a tight, constricting hole in her chest. Her body burned with the memory of the violence she had endured only hours earlier. She could feel the blood from her wounds sticking to her clothes, the ache of her ribs bruised from the struggle, the sharp pain in her shoulder where the man's grip had crushed her. But none of that compared to the emotional toll—the shame, the fear, and the confusion that kept swirling in her mind like a storm that wouldn't stop.
The man had been more than an attacker. He had been a reminder of the danger lurking in every corner of this strange, lawless place. The assault, the fight for her life, was only the beginning. She had killed him—self-defense, yes, but something deeper gnawed at her soul. Had she killed him because he had hurt her, or had she killed him because she wanted his time?
The thoughts circled relentlessly in her mind as she dragged her weakened body along the floor. She needed to move. She had to get to the others. She couldn't die here, alone and bleeding. Kaia pushed herself forward, each inch of progress costing her a small piece of strength.
Her limbs felt heavy as if they belonged to someone else. Every movement was sluggish, as though her body were weighed down by an invisible force. Her mind swam with fragments of the past—of her life before this nightmare. She had been happy once. She had been strong. But now, she was nothing more than a broken survivor, clawing her way through this new world.
She crawled, inch by painful inch, until the world around her seemed to fade, leaving only the sharp edge of her reality. Her vision blurred, the edges of the room twisting and warping like a distortion in space and time. She could feel her pulse, her heart thudding against her chest, but it was becoming more and more distant, as though her body was preparing to leave it behind.
Suddenly, a pair of hands were there, lifting her up. The familiar voice of Elias cut through the haze. "Kaia! Kaia, you're going to be okay." He held her close, his arms strong around her. He wasn't going to let her fall. Not this time.
She looked up at him through tired eyes, her vision still swimming. "Elias… I… I killed him," she whispered, as though confessing the weight of the world. "I killed him."
Elias's face tightened, his eyes filled with concern. "I know. But you were defending yourself. You had no choice. You did what you had to do."
"Did I?" Kaia asked, her voice hollow. She wanted to believe him, wanted to trust that her actions were justified, but doubt clouded her thoughts. "I… I'm not sure anymore. I don't know if I killed him because I had to, or because I wanted what he had. His time…"
Elias shook his head, his hands gripping hers gently but firmly. "You're alive, Kaia. That's what matters. You're alive. That's all that matters right now."
Kaia nodded weakly, not sure if she believed him, but at least his presence offered some comfort.
Elias didn't say another word as he carefully helped her to her feet. Her legs wobbled beneath her, her knees threatening to give way, but Elias was there, holding her steady. He was always there.
"Let's get you to the others," Elias said, his voice quiet but determined. He guided her slowly through the darkened corridors of the makeshift shelter, his hand never leaving her back, steadying her as they moved.
Kaia's head swam with exhaustion, the pain in her side a constant reminder of what she had just been through. Every breath felt like a struggle, but she pushed forward, knowing that she needed to face what came next. She needed to face the others.
The group was sitting around a fire, talking in hushed voices when Elias and Kaia arrived. The firelight cast long shadows across their faces, and Kaia could see the looks of concern and disbelief in their eyes. Leon was the first to stand, his brow furrowed as he looked at Kaia, his eyes filled with suspicion.
"What happened to you?" he asked, his voice colder than usual. "What's going on, Kaia?"
Kaia swallowed hard, the weight of the question pressing down on her. She wanted to explain, to tell them what had happened, but the words were tangled in her throat. She was tired. So tired.
"I… I was attacked," Kaia said, her voice shaky. "In the storeroom… He—he tried to—" She stopped herself, the memories of the struggle too fresh, too raw. The images of him, grabbing her, tearing at her clothes, the panic that had flooded her as she fought him off. The feeling of his weight pressing down on her, suffocating her. The memory of the knife in her hand, her desperation to survive.
"They tried to rape me," Kaia finally managed to say. "I fought back. I killed him." Her words were weak, but they carried the truth. The horrible, undeniable truth.
The room went quiet. The others exchanged looks, their faces unreadable, the silence stretching between them. Leon stepped forward, his eyes narrowing, and Kaia felt her stomach twist in anxiety.
"Let me get this straight," Leon said slowly, his gaze hard. "You killed a man in self-defense, but then your timer increased?"
Kaia's heart sank. She had feared this moment. She had known it was coming. The doubt. The suspicion.
"I didn't kill him for his time," Kaia said, her voice cracking. "I killed him because I had no choice. He was going to kill me."
Leon didn't seem convinced. His gaze remained icy, distant. "So you're telling me that you killed him, but it had nothing to do with getting more time?"
Kaia shook her head desperately. "No! It was self-defense. Please, you have to believe me."
But Leon wasn't finished. He stepped closer, his eyes narrowing as he looked down at her. "Your timer increased, Kaia," he said coldly. "That means you did it for his time. You killed him for what he had. You're no better than Zane."
Kaia recoiled, his words hitting her like a slap. The accusation stung, sharper than anything she'd felt before. "I'm not like him," she whispered, her voice barely audible.
"Then what do you call it?" Leon pressed, his tone unyielding. "You took someone's life to save your own. And now, because your timer's increased, you're a danger. You're a threat. And I'm the sheriff here. I have to make an example of you."
Elias stepped forward, his face a mask of frustration and disbelief. "You can't be serious, Leon," he said sharply. "She was attacked. She didn't kill him out of malice. She did it to survive. How can you just ignore that?"
Leon's gaze flicked to Elias, and for a moment, there was a flicker of something in his eyes—something almost regretful. But it was gone as quickly as it appeared, replaced by the cold, hard edge of authority. "The rules are clear," Leon said, his voice stern. "Killing is not to be tolerated. Kaia's actions are no different from Zane's. She's a threat to this group."
Elias screamed furiously,"Are you kidding me?! Zane takes out Kul and walks away scot-free, but Kaia defends herself and suddenly she's the one facing judgment? This double standard is outrageous! How can you justify letting Zane off the hook while Kaia is being crucified for acting in self-defense?"
Kaia's breath caught in her throat, and her eyes filled with tears. "No… Please…" She couldn't take it anymore. The weight of everything, the pain of the struggle, the doubt, the fear—it was too much. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't think.
Leon's eyes softened, but only for a moment. He turned away, as though the decision had already been made. "I've made my decision," he said quietly. "Kaia is to be locked up for two months. No contact with anyone. She'll be given only one meal a day. That's the only way to ensure the rest of us understand the consequences of her actions."
The words hit Kaia like a physical blow. Two months. Two months in isolation. Two months without anyone. Without Elias. Without the people who had become her family in this strange new world.
"No," Elias said, stepping forward, his voice low and furious. "This is wrong, Leon. You can't do this to her."
"I have to," Leon said flatly. "She's dangerous now. If we let her off easy, others will think it's okay to kill for time. We can't afford that. Not in this world."
Kaia looked at Elias, her heart breaking. She had hoped—she had clung to the belief that Elias would be able to stop this, that he would protect her. But in the end, even he couldn't change Leon's mind.
She was alone again.
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