Dimidium - 1

An apocalyptic world with a raging war between humans and the dimidiums--mutated humans with special powers. Nyx Blackwood spends her life killing humans, until she meets a strange boy, Wren.

Gasoline. The overwhelming stench of it mixed with a flurry of ashes dizzied Nyx's mind as the tiny five year old scrambled out of bed. Due to sheer misfortune, the isolated house was made of wood-wooden frames, supports, flooring-even most of the furniture was made of some sort of tree. Bright flames were already licking at her running feet as she dashed into her parents' bedroom.

"Mommy, Daddy!" she screeched as she crashed through the door. But they were nowhere to be found. Agitated and fighting tears, the nearly colorless eyed child headed outside, her pale skin and thin nightgown covered with dark, heavy soot. By then, her lungs were filled with ash and it was hard to get oxygen. Every few seconds, she paused to cough violently, and attempt to heave in another breath. Nyx's consciousness was slipping, and through dumb luck, she made it out the front door.

The scene in front of her made her freeze. It was a chaotic blur of uniformed bodies, bustling about and yelling commands. Fire was prominent, and was spreading from the house she just escaped to the dead, dry grass that her feet seemed to glide over as she made her way to the heart of the commotion. Everything seemed to be going in slow motion. Her line of sight cleared, and revealed her parents, clutching at each other in some pitiful attempt to hold onto hope. But it was clearly too late.

Even then, they were being dragged apart. Her mother was screaming and sobbing. Her father, stoic and staring at his love, wondering if it were the last time he would see her. At the same time, their gazes turned to Nyx, who stood, knees shaking and lips blue. Desperately, her mother called out to her, to which Nyx responded. She began to take a few running steps towards her parents, but a pair of strong arms lifted her off the ground as if she were weightless.

Frenziedly looking at her parents, she saw her father, blood dripping down his face, meet her gaze with pale eyes that reflected her own. Slowly, he lifted his left hand, and she understood. Weaving her left hand out of her thick black hair, she slapped it onto the hand that was clamping over her face.

Immediately, she felt the sweet flow of life energy pouring into her. Despite her consequences, Nyx felt giddy as the life force of the man holding her was added to her own. The power high always made her feel unstoppable, and she lightly slipped out of his arms as he collapsed on the ground. The uniformed man's body was already crumbling in on itself. There was no smell, no bugs. Just a dried up skeleton, as if they had died centuries ago.

"Daddy, I did it," she beamed, turning towards him, but her words got stuck in her throat. Her father was blindfolded and handcuffed, and her mother bound with countless plastic zip ties. "No!" Her voice pierced the dark autumn night, and she was soon surrounded by dozens of towering uniforms. A quick blow to the head, and she was out.

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She first noticed the tingling sensation in her legs and arms. After a moment, she realized the awkward positioning of her legs, and tried to stretch them out. It was impossible. Panic and adrenaline coursing through her veins, Nyx tried to sit up, and immediately regretted it after her head hit the roof of... wherever she was. Her vision cleared, and she was dumbfounded with the coarse iron bars that kept her in. She was in a cage. Like an animal.

In front of her, in the middle of the small, dank room, laid her parents. Their blindfolds were still on, but any sort of fabric on them was drenched in blood, a dark shade of mahogany as it dried and flaked. Every few moments, her mother let out a quiet moan of pain, whilst her father lay nearly motionless. Only the miniscule rise and fall of his chest indicated any source of life.

"Mommy? Daddy?" she inquired softly. Her own voice seemed alien to her from many hours of disuse. There was no response. Nyx's young mind was confused. What had really happened, and why were Mommy and Daddy hurting? How could she stop the hurt? She never wanted anything bad to happen to them. Was this her fault?

There was a small movement from her mother. "Mommy!" she whispered excitedly. More stirring. "Mommy, Mommy! Wake up! Let me out of here!" By now, her thin arms were protruding out from between the thick metal bars.

Her mother's right eye opened. The other was shut tight, encircled by a ring of deep purple. From her barely open mouth came a croak. It sounded like Nyx's name. She was okay! She was alive and well, and she and Nyx and Daddy would get out and go back to living on the great big hill she called home.

Painfully, her mother dragged her body over to Nyx, leaving a trail of blood and excrement behind her. "Nyx," she tried to say again, this time sounding more like a wheeze than anything.

"Yes, Mommy! Help me!" Nyx was excited now, her tiny body devoid of nutrients and food, but heart longing to have her mother hold her in her arms and comfort her-to tell her that everything would be okay. Then Daddy would make some of her favorite chocolate chip cookies that he gave her whenever she was sad. Something about the smooth milk chocolate and moist dough warmed her inside and brought a beaming smile to her face.

With a sudden burst of energy, Nyx's mother grabbed hold of one of the iron bars and broke it free. What made her different from humans was her incredible strength, but being the soft hearted and caring woman she was, it was never used for violence. She couldn't fight against those who took her and her family into this tiny shack to be tortured and starved.

When her mother took hold of another bar, Nyx noticed that her mother's nails were missing from her hand. Instead, rough patches of ripped and bloodied skin remained. The bar came free.

By now, there was enough space for Nyx to climb out. She immediately crawled into her mother's lap, expecting to be held. Instead, the arms that were supposed to embrace her collapsed and her mother fell into a heap near her father.

"No!" Nyx screamed in anguish. However, her mother wasn't lifeless just yet. Her mother grabbed Nyx's left hand, and before she knew what was happening, placed it on her father's neck. A prominent energy channel. In an instant, her father's life force was drained and entered Nyx's own system. There was so little of it.

She was screaming now. A scream of pure distress and sorrow. Nyx had taken the life of her father. Her mother, still holding onto her tiny wrist, was crying too.

"Nyx," she whispered, her voice like gravel. "After that door opens, I need you to run." Each word seemed like an effort. "I need you to run and never try to come back for us. Do you understand?" The child's face was covered with snot and tears, her cries echoing in the tin shack. Her mother's other hand grabbed her chin and made her look at her stern face. "Do you understand?"

Choking back another sob, Nyx nodded. Her mother's face softened, and an expression of love and grief took over. "I love you, Nyx Blackwood. May our paths cross again, my child." She placed Nyx's hand on her own neck, instigating another round of screams.

There she kneeled, her mother's head in her lap, quickly deteriorating into a mere skull, and her father's body beside her. Her shrill shrieks bounced off the tin walls and hurt her ears, but she continued. The next moment, the door burst open, and a bewildered young man, only around eighteen, stumbled in. Nyx's anger overflowed, and she leapt to her feet and charged at the man. He was one of those. A human, who were the ones that hunted down her kind, merely because they were different.

With a strength that she had never experienced before, Nyx jumped onto the man's chest and grabbed his neck. She could feel the energy channeling into her body, but she squeezed his throat with savagery. The stunned man fell like an unsteady tower and his bones bounced across the room. Then, she remembered her mother's words.

Run.

Taking one look back at her parents through tear filled eyes, Nyx ran as fast as her short legs could take her. That day, she had lost her innocence. The day where she saw the pain her parents endured due to being born differently, where she had to put them out of their misery in order to get away herself. She ran, and ran; there wasn't any feeling in her legs, no burning in her chest. She was just numb.