There are times a person teeters on the edge of a cliff, so blissfully enjoying the world about them that they never see their pending doom until it's too late. Whether such ignorance enhances the beauty of a tranquil moment or brings a bitter tang to its memory is a choice one must make for themselves.
On a planet inhabited by cold, calloused creatures, a blue-skinned little girl who'd been playing mere moments before clung to her mother like a lifeline as the consuming sounds of forceful stomps and shouted threats swirled through the air like leaves in a storm. Her mother's strong grasp became even tighter, one arm suddenly rushing to cradle her daughter's small head out of instinct- a mother's instinct- to protect her from the horrible scene that a child could never forget. But it was too late. The girl saw them throw her father to the ground despite his every effort to save his family from them. She didn't know at the time that the distinctive 'thunk' reverberating through the floorboards as his body collided with them would anchor permanently into her brain like the clutch of an evil hand.
“Don't let what happens here today change you.” Saliah eased her grip just enough to look into her little girl's eyes for the last time, a serene smile on her features even as tears tracked down her cheeks in an endless stream. “Don't let them make you like they are. Always choose to see beauty in life, Avaria.” Her mother's voice was so calm and powerful that the girl felt almost secure for an instant. Saliah pressed her lips to Avaria's forehead tenderly, a loving goodbye forming in her heart but never managing to reach her tongue.
Then the moment ended. A powerful grip enclosed Avaria's rib cage, ripping her away. She heard awful screaming; she was barely aware that it was her own voice tearing through the night. The same door that once kept her safely tucked within her home slammed shut, concluding her last view of her parents.
The screaming stopped, and shocked gasps took its place. She felt completely numb, like something so terrible couldn't really be happening, and she was only spectating the horrible fate of someone else.
She always knew this could happen, but somehow she never imagined it could actually happen. Within minutes, she was rattling along in a rickety transport, an Enforcer holding each of her shoulders firmly into place. The next thing she registered was the inescapable grip of a calloused hand around her bicep as it tugged her into a vast facility, which she would soon learn felt smaller every day.
The Enforcers pushed her into a chair and fastened her forearms and ankles to it with thick leather straps that they could barely tighten small enough to secure her seven-year-old wrist. Her mind was far too absent to even consider resistance. She simply sat, staring wide-eyed as she waited for whatever would happen next.
A burning sensation zapped across her left outer wrist, and a pained hiss that resembled a whistle sounded through her elongated, fang-like teeth. As they moved the device away, three interlocking black rings glared up at her, etched into their place on her skin forever. This harrowing mark branded her as fundamentally flawed. Then a tight pinch seized her ear lobe and sent a series of prickles surging up and down her neck, but before she could fully process the feeling, she was being loosened and herded through another door. She was barely all the way through when it clanged shut with a resounding thud, as chillingly final as the closing of a casket.
Right in front of her was a sign, standing alone in the middle of a dingy hallway like it was the only thing in the world. The sign only held four words, and that was all it needed to seal the fear in her sinking heart. She felt like her insides were folding in on themselves, her eyes felt heavy, she barely had the courage to whisper the words that so rudely stared up at her.
“Facility of the Marred.”
