Lexa dreamed of quiet warmth, her family sitting together in the living room. Her parents were reading together on the couch, Papa sitting upright as he flipped through a romance novel, Maman draped sideways, her legs hanging over Papa's as she read a crime thriller. Elio was sprawled out on the floor as he played some video game. And Lexa was curled up like a cat, napping on the couch in the corner. It could've been any day of their lives, before their murders.

[hr]
She woke up in a fog, consciousness trickling back to her. She was warm. She was on something soft. Everything [i]hurt[/i]. She ached all over, she was still [i]exhausted[/i] and there was a sharp throbbing pane centered on her shoulder and spreading through her arm and back. 

What the hell had she [i]done[/i] to herself? 

Lexa cracked an eye open, blinking in the harsh sunlight. After her eyes finally adjusted, she opened them fully. She had no idea where she was. 

Shock rang through her and for a moment she was fully awake. Lexa shot up to a sitting position – only to immediately regret it. Exhaustion rammed back into her like a freight train, turning her limbs leaden and sending her head spinning. Pain ricocheted along her bones and muscles in her shoulder, blinding with its intensity. Lexa curled in on herself, eyes squeezed shut against the pain and her right hand clamped down around her hurting shoulder.

A bullet wound. She'd been shot, she recalled distantly. 

[color=crimson]"Damnit,"[/color] she hissed out. It'd be healed in a day or two, but it would still hurt like a [i]bitch[/i] until then. And she'd have one more scar she couldn't explain.

Lexa forced her eyes open, and released her white-knuckled grip on her shoulder to run a hand through her hair. Her head was still pounding. She froze when her palm came back stained black with hair dye. Looking down, she saw she was still in her dirty, bloody Trick outfit. But her mask was gone. Her heart pounded in her chest. What the hell had happened last night? Was she finally caught? 

Her eyes shot up to look around for answers.