Miriam's scream tore through the air as the men stormed in, their boots heavy on the worn floorboards. Shadows leaped across the walls, twisting the day into a nightmare. The twins cried out, clinging to Miriam, but rough hands yanked them away.
Mel felt fingers like iron clamp down on her arms, lifting her off her feet. She kicked and thrashed, her screams wild and wordless, but the man holding her hardly flinched. Max bit down on another knight's gloved hand, only to be slapped hard across the cheek.
"Max!" Mel shrieked, her voice breaking as she sobbed. "Miri! ... Let go!"
Miriam swung at the nearest intruder, fury blazing in her eyes. Her fist connected with the man's face, a sickening crack splitting the air as his nose broke. He cursed, stumbling back, blood streaming down his face, but another knight slammed the butt of a rifle into her stomach.
She gasped, collapsing onto one knee, clutching her side. Her breath came in sharp, pained gasps, but her gaze never wavered from her siblings.
"Let them go," she rasped, struggling to rise, blood dripping from her split lip.
"Enough of this," the man with the broken nose snarled, cradling his injury. He jerked his head towards Max, who kept protesting, yelling, kicking wildly at their captors. "Make that one shut up,"
A heavy blow landed on the back of Max's head, and he crumbled instantly, his eyes rolling back. Mel's heart clenched as her brother went limp, his arms dangling uselessly. She kicked harder, her sobs growing desperate.
"Max!... Miri… please! Let go of me,"
But the knights tightened their grip, dragging her towards the door, her feet barely touching the ground. Miriam pushed herself up, stumbling after them, blood smeared across her chin. She caught Mel's wild gaze and for a moment, their eyes locked- Mel's wide with terror, Miriam's desperate and pained.
"Wait! - Stop! I'll-" Miriam reached out, her voice breaking, but one of the knights seized her by the collar yanking her back. A heavy-looking pouch clinked as it hit the floorboards between them, spilling a few golden glints.
Miriam froze, her gaze darting between the coins, the intruder, and then Mel's tear-streaked face. Her fingers trembled. As they reached the pouch, Mel's crying trailed off, confusion cutting through her fear.
What?
Miriam's grip tightened around the bag, her shoulders slumping. Blood dripped onto the coins, staining the gold as she clutched it to her chest. Her face twisted with something Mel couldn't understand.
What?
Everything around Mel blurred, sounds and sights blending into a hazy smear. She tried to piece together the scene, to make sense of it- the rough hands, Miriam's hand, and coins on the floor. But her mind felt unsteady like a wheel slipping on wet stones. Nothing fit.
Now the intruder hoisted Mel higher, like she weighted nothing. Her limbs went off, then numb, her body giving up its fight as the shock settled in. The intruder's armor was cold against her chest.
What is happening?
Miriam's lips moved soundlessly, her voice swallowed by the wind that whistled through the broken doorway as the intruders walked away. She pressed a shaking hand to the gash on her cheek, her other hand clutching the money bag as if it might burn her fingers. Tears streamed down her face, mingling with the blood.
The chill air bit at Mel's cheek as they hauled her across the streets, the city's smog-heavy sky swirling above. She stared past the intruder's shoulder, her gaze trailing over the foggy streets receding behind them.
And there she was- Miriam, stumbling after them, her face bruised and empty hands smeared with blood. Her steps faltered as they neared the bridge, the one that marked the boundaries. She clutched her side, pain bending her double, but she kept moving, one foot in front of the other.
Miriam
Miri
My Miri
The intruders passed the fountain. After some time Mel watched her older sister collapsing there. Miriam propped herself against the edge of the fountain that did not bubble anymore. Her shoulders slumped. Her face twisted with something Mel couldn't understand. She who was the giant in Mel's life, looked so small there framed against the distant lights of the undercity.
The intruder carrying Max paused to exchange words with a group of men in dark cloaks at the bridge's entrance. Mel kept watching Miriam, her breaths catching as if even her insides were drying up.
Even then, Miriam did not stand up, did not stop the intruders, did not fight them.
Mel's thoughts scattered, spinning out in all directions.
Hurt, broken, bleeding Miriam.
My Miriam
Money holding Miriam.
A picture storybook with torn pages, and missing pages. A fractured and incomplete story.
Then they began to move again. The first intruder stepped onto the bridge and out of the Solisra when Mel saw a distant flame blooming in the shadows far behind Miriam over the intruder's shoulder. Small at first but growing fast, a blaze that devoured the darkness.
The fire's glow flickered over Mel's face, her eyes widening as they locked with Miriam's across the distance. Something raw and terrible passed between them, a silent realization that made Mel's blood grow cold. Flames leaped higher, licking the Crossreach like a hungry beast.
Miriam!
Mel's words stuck in her throat. She tried to draw breath, to scream, but nothing came out. Her lungs squeezed empty, leaving her with nothing but a hollow. She stayed still.
The explosion ripped through the night, a deafening roar that swallowed everything else. The bridge trembled beneath them, the stones groaning and shuddering. The fire engulfed the building behind Miriam, swallowing it whole in a wall of flames. For a moment, Miriam was outlined against the inferno, just a silhouette of a girl against the burning sky.
And then the bridge itself buckled.
A second explosion rocked at the other end, sending cracks racing through the stone. Men screamed. Men ran. Men burnt. Mel glanced at Max, his limp body bobbing against the shoulder of the man who carried him. Ahead, flames surged into the night sky, a fire cloud blooming like a red sun in the darkness. The wreckage of the bridge loomed closer, the air thick with smoke.
Mel clung to the intruder's neck, the scent of him like damp earth after rain—the same smell as the muddy Highspire garden where the twins used to sneak in. Her mind drifted, slipping between waking and something deeper.
The ground beneath her quivered, a low, distant groan as the stones gave way.
She felt weightless now, as if floating—adrift like the piggy clouds they once chased, caught in a wind too strong to fight.
Only this time, there was no ground or a hand to catch her when she fell.