As the overbearing sound of military commands grew louder, a moment of worry overcame the woman. She lay prone, chest pressed against the floor in an attempt to stay out of the sight of the rifle that had taken her previous prey's life. His lifeless corpse lay beside her, eyes lost in the abyss known as death. The woman counted her options, she had two.

Stay and die

Run and live.

A sour taste filled her mouth at the thought of running from these dogs, to her the military were the most despicable humans currently lucky enough to stain this post apocalyptic hell. They preached justice, and honor, yet so clearly did not give a rats' ass about either. Her hate began to seethe as she forced herself to slide along the floor and take cover behind and overturned office desk.

The woman closed her eyes, focusing what remained of her spiritual energy to enter a state of limbo. Reemerging in the body of the shadow child, she hid within the darkness of the rooms' far corner, away from what the human eye could perceive. Up until now, the woman's anger had caused her too overlook one of the situations most important variables. She chuckled silently at the irony as the woman she had maimed, apparently the wife of the now dead man, awoke the moment the military overran the fifth floor. Guns blazing, and ego's to big for their own good, the men surrounded the disoriented girl.

~~

"Uh... what the..." Joanna muttered as she tried to grasp the situation in a brief moment of ignorant bliss, suddenly her senses were assaulted. First, by the sudden force of a large male fist lifting her by her shirt neck, and the smell of garlic as breath more vile then a mutated beasts' assaulted her inflamed nostrils. Vision returned to her then, and she could see boots, with ... men attached to them. A sudden headache assaulted her as she noticed they were dressed in military gear and carried rifles. As sound returned, she soon gathered that the beast man was demanding answers.. Answers' for wh-

and that was when her Bliss ended...

Her eyes widened as they locked with Johnny's corpse. Breath came in short gasps, and the assault on her other senses faded into the background. All she could seem to focus on were those eyes... those distant... lifeless eyes... "wh... Wh...-" Before she could finish a sharp pain reeled her back into reality. Fear overcame her as the man who had hit her began demanding answers. "Where's the other one!?" "How did you know about the Shuttle!?" "Are you the only survivor here!?" Each demand becoming more accusing, and less requesting as the man slowly lost his patience with the babbling woman.

But instead of answering him, for Joanna found herself unable to speak, she wept. The Sergeant cursed and tossed her aside, "Do what you will with her men, she ain't worth our time."

All while the woman in the shadows watched, strangely unable to bring herself to use this opportunity to escape. Something held her here, forced her eyes on the helpless Joanna as the soldiers surrounded her and she began to scream as they beat her. Slowly, the screams weened off as the Sergeant gave the 'all clear through his head set. The Sergeant then looked to Joanna, with a look so detached, so uncaring...

It was then that time froze.

no longer were they in sovereign, fighting for their lives in a post apocalyptic world. No, they were in the forests of South Western Arcarus, and the woman was still watching on. The same scene repeated, yet different. The slave drivers kicked, not Joanna, but a young childs' mother, who, for the life of her, could only protect her daughter in the warmth of her chest. 

First there were screams...

And then cries...

and finally whimpers as the mothers' life faded and the woman began to boil with rage..

It was then that the man in charge, a larger slave driver then the rest, glanced at the scene.

His look was uncaring... So completely detached...

Ariela's rage blinded her as reality returned. The Sergeant looked at her with utter shock as the woman who seemed to be the void itself impaled him with a blade of darkness. She then ripped the blade from his corpse and let it fall to the ground, the mans' spirit absorbing into her own as his life passed. Before the other four even knew what had happened two of them were dead, fallen to the same fate as their leader. Ariela decapitated the third as he reached for his weapon, and caught the fourth with a back hand as he struggled to grasp what had happened.

His body fell to the ground and the Womans' blade followed in suite, piercing his heart in moments.

Ariela then grabbed the one responsible for her outburst and threw her into the shuttle that hung out over the street below. The beaten woman could barely comprehend reality, yet somehow the demon who stood before her spoke clear as day.

"Fly it."

...and Joanna knew what she had to do...