Chapter 120 - Perspectives
Smoke trailed up into the dark red sky around Scarlett as she and Rosa walked through the ruins of Freymeadow. They passed body after body—the charred remains of the people that had lived here—and what traces were left of the villagers’ daily lives. Burnt tools, hammers, clothes, toys, and much more were strewn around the streets.
No matter the ambivalence Scarlett felt regarding the horror of the scene itself, this would never grow to be a pleasant sight.
The two of them moved quietly this time, as they proceeded deeper into the dying village. Rosa’s hard expression spoke magnitudes of her thoughts at witnessing all of this once more. Yet she had still chosen to join her, despite that.
It spoke of an impressive determination in and of its own. Probably more than Scarlett would have had, were their positions reversed.
Eventually, they reached the village center. The same sight as the previous time they’d been here met them, with piles of scorched corpses spread around the area like a scene from a nightmare. In the middle of this was the burning wooden platform with the strange black stand on top of it, falling into the broken planks beneath it.
Arlene was kneeling on the ground close to the platform, back turned towards them as her raven-black hair covered her trembling shoulders.
Rosa sent Scarlett a wordless look, and the two of them started walking over towards the woman, sidestepping the bodies that blocked the way. Arlene didn’t notice them at first, head aimed down at the ground. Scarlett circled and stopped in front of her.
“…Is there really nothing we can do?” Rosa almost whispered as she halted next to Scarlett. She gazed down at the woman.
“There is not,” Scarlett answered.
Arlene’s shoulders stilled. Slowly, she turned up to look at them, tears streaming down her face. Her eyes locked on to Scarlett, filled with a mix of rage and anguish.
Several silent seconds passed, and soon, red embers bloomed into existence around them, floating gently through the air. A faint haze followed, spreading across the square and moving to envelop the three of them. As it neared, it turned denser, like a fog, and their surroundings morphed. Soon, strokes of colors and shapes filled the world as things changed.
Just like last time, the square and all the bodies were soon gone, leaving only Arlene with them. The woman’s gaze was locked on Scarlett until the very last second, then she, too, was absorbed into the web of colors that inched in around them.