No • Second • Chances - Fanart

Instructions

Experiment. Creation. Mistake. Monster. They say it’s not natural. Should never have existed. Should have never been created. And the worst thing is maybe they are right. Cadence. That’s my name. If it even matters. We don’t go by names often. Abomination. Demon. That’s all they call us. As if we aren’t human. But we are. Sort of. ᯽No • Second • Chances᯽ ⚠︎︎WARNING: mentions of guns⚠︎︎ •Chapter 1• •ONCE• •Cadence• A cold breeze runs through the trees, making golden leaves scatter the wind-swept grass and ripples appear in the tide, a quiet song of water eating away at sand. We have to be quiet or the hunters will hear us. I slow my breathing until it’s soundless. Footsteps crush the grass. I stand still, frozen behind the trunk of a tree, not daring to even draw breath. I hold in a shiver, cold, despite my heavy denim jacket, navy blue, and ripped along the sleeves. Sharp bark jabs at my back and my shoes grow wet with dew. Sunlight shines bright in my sensitive eyes. I shut them, feeling the light warm my eyelids. Soon, as the sun reaches the top of the grey sky, the footsteps begin to recede and silence falls over the forest again, broken by nothing but the quiet song of water eating away at sand. The wind seems to sigh through the trees with relief. The morning seemed so far away, the sky black as the murky lake-water, stars like sprinkled snow. I sit at the top of an oak tree, its branches curled with age. I trace my fingers over the veins in my palm trying to relax. I can’t. The moon is only a slit of white, meaning the month is almost over. August. Nearly Spring. “Cadence,” “Did you sleep at all last night?” Alice gives me a concerned look, smiling gently, twisting a strand of her short hair so blond it was nearly white around a finger. In a single, graceful movement, Alice leapt up the trunk of the tree, her fingers finding indents in the bark and climbing through the sharp twisted branches with many years of practice. In a moment, she was up on the branch beside me. The sun was soon to be rising, but the sky was still a protective blanket of navy blue. We had to wake up early. Every day. “Cady you have to sleep eventually,” Alice gives me a disapproving look, picking golden winter leaves off the tree. “Yeah, and you have to eat eventually” I say teasingly, poking her in the ribs. “You know I’m just trying to help Ajax get better,” Alice looked away. “Yeah but starving yourself won’t help. Jax can heal by himself; he doesn't need you to give him all your share of food,” I told her, putting my hands up behind my head and leaning against the tree’s dented trunk, “besides, Olive said he’s healing. It wasn’t the worst infection he’s ever healed,” “He got shot, Cadence. He could have died,” Alice whispered, not meeting my eyes. I was silent. I didn’t know what to say. There wasn’t anything I could have said to help. “After Rose died… I don’t want to lose Jax too. He’s the only family I have left,” Alice spoke quietly, her hands playing absent-mindedly with a leaf, tearing it down the middle, letting it fall apart, “his in danger by just being related to me.” “Alice. It’s not your fault. It’s none of our fault,” I sighed. I had thought the same thoughts over and over again. Anyone you ever talk to is in danger. •To be continued•