Chapter 26

-EDITED-

When Ember came to, she awoke to find herself not on the icy gravel as she had expected, instead; She woke in the nurses' ward, covered by blankets and much better pillows. A nurse rushed to her side as she spoke.

"Good, you're awake. You're lucky he brought you in. If they had left you out there, I'm sure if you weren't brought here, you would have been-." The nurse stopped, propping Ember up by a pillow.

"What do you mean?" Ember asked, "Who even are you?" She asked.

"Oh, I'm Nurse Honey. And what I mean is that you would have been violated." She stated. Ember swallowed as she thought back to the General.

"Thanks for helping me, who brought me in?" She asked.

"Oh, it was Officer Damian. Such a sweet boy he is." Honey smiled before grabbing a sheet and checking things off. "Looks like you are great to go. Just avoid positions of extreme stress and you should be safe." She said.

Ember looked at her with a weird face. "I'm in the military, it's hard to avoid stress." She said.

"Then quit." Honey stated, "Sorry if that's harsh, but you have to live with stress or let it swallow you whole. Which will you choose?" She asked as she walked off.

Ember gaped at the nurse as she walked off. Ember shook her head as she got up from the bed and walked out. She looked around the camp; The moon was shining upon the tents and the gravel. The summer wind blew her hair as her chocolate eyes looked around. She loved nights like this; it was an elegance to behold. The stars twinkled off in the sky as Ember walked down the path towards her tent, the moonlighting her way.

Ember walked into her tent and saw her things waiting for her on the floor as she had left them. Ember yawned and laid down the ground with her things. She pulled the thin piece of fabric around her body as she closed her eyes. Searching for the sweet release from reality that was dreaming.

Ember looked around the golden field, the wind blowing the grass from side to side as she tied the final flower to the rest, placing the crown on her head. Ember turned to her mother was but found herself back in the graveyard. The distant thunder from a storm cloud a sign they should leave.

Tears ran down Ember's face as they lowered her mother's casket into the ground. Knowing that the casket held, nobody made her stomach twist. The waves might have drowned her, but the fish destroyed her. Ember held onto her father's arm as she let her tears flow down her cheeks as she held her mother's flower crown. As Ember tossed the crown onto the top of the casket before they buried her. The world turned back to a familiar dark as Ember watched the fireworks go off from her favorite tree. She wasn't very high up, just up to two branches. Just enough to see the fireworks go off in the distance and the cheering that followed shortly after. Ember cheered as she watched all the different colors flood the sky.

Often Ember wished that Neko's were allowed into events like this. Even though she was a Neko, she deserved to celebrate the city that sheltered her from the outside by its river. The night slowly turned to day as Ember found herself in the schoolyard, watching her peers run around, playing tag and swinging on the swing set. Ember sat on the stairs with the other species, being forced to watch the humans playing on the things they could never. While the few ones who stayed inside hid the bathrooms to avoid their bully's.

A shadow cast over her as a larger female smirked down at the young Ember, "Well, well. What do we have here? I thought I told you to never come out here! You stupid motherless child!" The girl pushed down Ember onto the stairs. "Do I have to beat you up again for you understand?"

"I-I'm not afraid of you Angelina! Y-You, don't scare me!" Ember yelled at the girl. Trying to convince herself more than the bully.

"Oh, really kitty? I don't, then tell me," the girl growled, placing a foot on Ember's face. "Why do you stutter around me?" She hissed. "Come on tell me, your mommy can't protect you or clean your wounds anymore."

"I-I don't." Ember defended.

"Liar! Not only are you a filthy Neko, but a dirty liar. Your mother made a mistake, keeping you." Angelina hissed, "Kiss my shoe, you stupid cat." She growled. Angelina pressed her foot further down on Ember's face, pressing her cheek into the harsh concrete.

Ember whimpered as Angelina continued to walk down to her. Suddenly one of the other Neko's piped up in Ember's favor.

"Stop it, Angelina!" A weak voice squeaked out.

Angelina growled, "Who was that? Stand and face me."

A girl about Angelina's height stood, "I-It was me. And I told you to stop it!" She yelled, "Stop hurting Ember."

"Make me, you litter box user!" Angelina yelled. Suddenly a crowd started to form around the scene, the crowd shouting for them to fight, that Angelina could take her down. Ember growled and scratched the leg of Angelina. She cried out in pain as she held her leg as it bled.

Ember hissed at Angelina, tackling her down to the ground, pulling and grabbing her hair as the kids on the steps cheered in Embers' favor. The crowd of humans began to start yelling at Angelina to fight back. Ember bit down on Angelina's arm, causing her to scream out in pain as Ember's growing canines sank into her skin. As her teeth broke the skin and caused her arm to bleed, Ember pulled away. Ember raised a fist and punched Angelina in the face. Ember ignored the pain coursing through her arm as she punched Angelina again as she yelled.

"Don't touch me again! Stop it!" Ember screamed as her developing claws dug into Angelina's shoulders. Angelina tried to struggle only to slapped by Ember. "You hear me! Don't bully me or them! Leave us alone!" Ember screamed, tears rolling down her face.

The sound of a bell ringing throughout the playground as the crowd parted to make room for a teacher running in. Ember ignored her as she continued to pull and bite Angelina. The teacher tried to pull Ember off Angelina, only for her to latch onto her hair. With each tug, Angelina screamed out in pain. With a final tug, Ember ripped out a good chunk of hair from Angelina's scalp as Ember hissed.

"Let me go! Let me at her!" Ember screamed, scratching the teacher's arms, which refused to loosen their grip. Angelina lay on the ground, breathing heavily as she bled on the ground and her group of friends surrounded her with worry and care. "I will ruin you, Angelina! I swear!" Ember screeched.

As they tied Ember down the chair in the office, her father walked in. Looking at his daughter, whose fingertips and mouth were covered in dried blood. Each attempt to wipe away the blood on her body resulted in an attempted bite so the teachers gave up. "Mr. Fulton, glad to see you showed up." The principal said.

"Yes, sorry for taking so long, it takes a long while to walk from home to here." He stated, "What did Ember do?" Her father asked meekly. Afraid of what his daughter could have done to one student here.

"I don't right now. Why don't we bring in Angelina?" The principal said as the door opened to show Angelina. A blonde hair chunk was missing, she had bandages and band-aids covering her arms and her leg was wrapped in bandages from the massive scratch Ember had caused. Angelina's fearful blue eyes look at Ember as Ember growled and snapped at her.

"Your daughter caused this. Would you mind telling me why she would harm our student here." He asked.

Her father stared at her with fear, disappointment, and confusion before turning to the principal. "I don't rightly know. Maybe she said something she shouldn't have or bullied Ember."

"Nonsense. Angelina is beloved by all of her classmates." The principal said.

"By all the human ones." Ember muttered, "She insulted me and my mother!" She shouted, "I just gave her a taste of her own medicine. One of her own beatings." Ember growled and Angelina stepped back.

"Mr. Fulton, I'm afraid the only punishment big enough other than expulsion is, the collar." He said somberly and snapped for the secretary to come in. A lady stepped in and snapped a collar around Ember's neck, "She will wear with for three months and will endure all the shame and humiliation that comes with it."

Ember woke up as the bell rang throughout the camp as she looked around. She felt around her neck, relieved when she did not feel the collar.