Everything was burning. The homes, the people, and even the great bridge, which had once been a symbol of unity between the two factions that had just massacred each other, had been turned to ash. Death was everywhere.

As Abby looked at the destruction from her tiny raft, floating far away from the island, she couldn’t help but feel utter despair. There was no returning now.

The causes she had once thought were noble had created all this death. She realized, not for the first time, how misguided those causes were. All those paths led to was destruction.

The flickering flames danced as they consumed the island, glittering off the turbulent water in an ever changing mosaic. In a twisted way it was mesmerizing. She couldn’t turn her eyes away as a ringing filled her ears and her mind went blank. The image seared itself into her mind so she’ll never forget.

She startled as she felt shifting in her arms. She glanced down at the sleeping baby she had escaped with. He was burrowing himself deeper into her chest, eyebrows furrowed and goosebumps raised along his exposed arms.

She wished she had something to swaddle him in but she’d only escaped with the clothes on her back so she adjusted her arms and body to try and shield him from the biting wind.

It appeared to work at least a bit because his face relaxed and he nuzzled her shirt.

She wasn’t sure which faction he belonged to, but it didn’t matter. All that mattered was that a child would get the chance to live.

He was stuck with her as a parent though.

That prospect somewhat terrified Abby. All she knew was death and destruction. She never knew her parents. How could she be a good parent to this baby? He was so soft and fragile unlike Abby who was all scars and rough edges. When she looked down at him there was an odd warmth that bloomed in her chest that thawed some of the cold, jittery panic that threatened to overcome her.

The baby was so small he seemed to weigh nothing. There’s no way he was heavier than five pounds. At that thought a protective urge surged within her.

She had been powerless to stop the destruction behind them so she wanted more than anything to protect his innocence at least a little longer. He shouldn’t have to brave the harshness of their world or situation.

Not yet. Hopefully not for a long time.

She chuckled a bit when she realized the irony of her own thoughts. The old her would have hated how soft she’s become. She would have helped perpetuate the death and destruction amongst the flames but she couldn’t do that anymore. She tore herself apart for a cause that never wanted the peace she fought for in the first place. She wants to finally protect rather than avenge.

Abby looked back up one last time to the island she spent the last ten years fighting and killing for before taking a deep breath and turning towards the distant shore of the mainland.

Moving forward was all she had to hold onto. The past was unreachable, burned to the ground and covered in corpses. She didn’t know what would happen or how, but she hoped beyond hope that it wasn’t more of the destruction that they had run from.