Tracy's heart sank.
"I killed them?" Kallee nodded.
"Did you do anything differently than you usually do?" Tracy contemplated the question. She searched her memory for what had happened before the birds dropped.
"I was angry, furious. Alex had just passed out and... and." Her voice stopped working, it was no accident that the liows were dead. She had wanted to kill them.
"Then what?" Tracy gulped.
"Then I put my mind to killing them, my vision started to grow dark." She whispered hoarsely. Guilt bloomed in her chest like a weed growing in a garden. She had let Alex save her, making him pass out. Then she had killed hundreds without a second thought. What had happened to her? Kallee rested a hand on her shoulder.
"You aren't the first person to kill monsters." Tracy was only half listening.
"Others have done worse, one killed half the dragon population. You only killed like point zero zero zero zero one percent of the liows." Tracy looked up, she felt a little better but not much.
"I'll let you rest." Kallee said, then she ventured out of the room to give Tracy the space she wanted. Sadly want and need are two completely different things. By leaving her alone Kallee had insured one thing, that the next few days would be the most miserable of Tracy's entire life.
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Tracy spent the next few days sulking in her room. She couldn't sleep the guilt was to strong. Her brain said fight it, her heart told her that she deserved every second of it. On this particular morning Tracy's heart won the battle. She wandered over to the mirror and looked at herself. Except she didn't she herself in the mirror. In front of her was a girl with long greasy hair, under her eyes were dark circles from lack of sleep. The girl's face looked older, like a family member had died. Then there were the eyes, the sad sad eyes. The usual light and movement that had been in her eyes was gone. Almost like it had evaporated out of them. She looked away, she knew deep down she couldn't live like this it had been an accident her brain reminded her. You wanted to do it though, you meant it her heart said in replied. Tracy broke down again, her eyes filled with tears. She let them fall silently, running down her cheeks and falling off her chin. She knew that everyone was counting on her, she couldn't let them down now. Knowing that only made it worse, she didn't have time to let the wound heal. She would have to get through it for her friends sake. For the world's sake.
Latter on that day Tracy heard a knock on the door. She didn't want visitors, but before she could respond they burst through the door. Kallee looked at her and gave her a good look over.
"Here take these." She said handing her some pills.
"They will help you sleep, and keep the dreams away." Tracy thanked her, but Kallee wouldn't meet her eyes. Tracy shrugged off the feeling that she was letting people down and popped one of the pills into her mouth. Soon her eyelids were heavy, they then drooped closed finally giving Tracy some peace.
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The next evening Tracy couldn't sleep. She couldn't even bring herself to take the sleeping pills on her bedside table. She kept thinking about the liows. She wondered if any of them had had families, she could have killed a child's parents, it would be like her lonely. She cried into her pillow. There was a knock at the door. She whipped her eyes.
"Come on in." She said trying to sound upbeat, but she knew her appearance would give her away. Ethan slipped into the room.
"Someone asked me to give you this." He said looking at his shoes, he looked up at her.
"Gosh you look terrible, I mean not terrible but.." Tracy laughed, oh how it felt good to laugh.
"Go ahead, I saw myself in the mirror this morning." Ethan looked at her warily.
"I didn't mean it like that, I meant that you normally look good, and now you look less good.. Oh I give up, at least you look better than you did a few minutes ago." Tracy smiled the two of them talked for a while more, soon Tracy even felt like they were friends. After Ethan left Tracy opened the letter, Alex's perfect script filled the page.

Dear Trace,

I'm sorry I haven't come to visit personally, I plan to soon (I would have come already if Kallee hadn't decided to go through more training sessions). Anyways I miss you more than you can imagine, I want to be with you through this tough time, to hold you. I'll be over as soon as I can.

Love

Alex

Tracy smiled and got out of bed she went to the bathroom and had a bath. She pulled her hair into a french braid. She also got changed pulling one a fiery orange to and a pair of blue jeans. When Tracy heard the knock on the door she knew exactly who it was.
"Come in." She called trying to mask her excitement. When Alex opened the door she let him get a few steps into the room before she ran towards him, she flung herself into his arms. Caught off guard he spun her in a circle to keep his balance. Then he stood there holding her rocking back and forward.
"Hey." He whispered into her ear.
"Hey." She whispered back.
"So I thought I was coming to cheer up a depressed girl, but it looks like that job has already been done."
"Not completely, I left some cheering up for you to do." Alex smiled.
"Last I heard you looked like a mess, but if this is what a mess looks like than I have a feeling that it's not the worst you could be." Alex's hand came to rest on the small of her back, pushing her closer to him. Tracy laced her hands around his neck and leaned back to look into his eyes.
"I'm surprised you still come this close to me, I mean knowing that I could kill you and all." Tracy admitted.
"That doesn't bother me, we could all probably kill someone if we put our minds to it, no pun intended." He tilted her chin up,
"Gosh Trace, why do you think that way, you'd have to kill me to keep me away." He planted a kiss on her forehead, running his hands over her carefully braided hair. He moved from her forehead to her lips, and kissed her a long and slow. When they stopped for a breath Tracy whispered.
"Do you really think I can do it, lead everyone to the lab I mean." Alex looked at her.
"Of course, you're a natural born leader, your determined, and you're the most powerful out of all of us." He looked into her eyes.
"Besides you're the most amazing girl in the world, want can't you do Miss. Tracy Sparrow."
Tracy smiled at him again, they kissed for a while more until Alex decided that they should both get some sleep.
"Goodnight." He whispered as he left the room.
"Goodnight." She said back softly.
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One of the black birds was perched on Tracy's shoulder. Tracy walked over the empty ground past the waterfall. She looked up at the fog covered sky of The Landing. Her thoughts wandered to how they were going to get back up, so that they could find the lab. The bird on her shoulder rubbed its head on her face, and flew ahead, Tracy followed it. The bird flew to where the fog covered the land and it was impossible to see. The bird turned to her.
"Stay here, I'll be right back." It said. When it came back it had a large flock with it.
"We'll help, five of us should be able to take one of you." The bird looked at her anxiously.
"You have to hurry, you're running out of time." Tracy started to panic, she wasn't ready to go yet.