“You can be whatever you want, darling. Anything,” she softly whispered, speaking in chilled bursts of breath.
“I’m sure you’ll do fine; I–I’ll support y–you…” Stammers slowed like reluctant snow. At last, Sonia hung her head, squeezed painful tears, and spread her pallid hands over the fresh corpse before which she kneeled. She focused. Eyes wide open, quivering pupils, a statue with chiselled marble skin.
Moments passed.
Then, a pale white serpent surfaced through the dead man’s chest, coaxed by her dancing fingertips which trembled and spun; and paused, and clicked, sending the phantom to the heavens like a snowflake falling upwards.
The body, which had been straining towards her in mute supplication, collapsed, spread across the ground. Time suspended began running; deep, thick blood began flowing from the gaping wound the soul-dragon had left behind. Sonia fell backwards, gasped, stared in horror.
“N–No! That’s not meant to happen,” she emitted in a child-like cry of surprise, and after a brief shiver of anticipation, flung herself around the man, breast against bleeding breast and arms clasped tightly around his neck, a human bandage quickly soaked in scarlet.
A jolt of astonishment: Sonia felt a frantic thumping begin beneath her; pushing, pulsing, a precious heartbeat. Her tears were joined by nervous laughter, and shouts of encouragement which defied her low hopes.
The body shook with life anew; eyelids fluttered, lungs filled–
“This will not do at all,” said a suited figure, firmly. “We want her ability, yes, but this woman’s relentless empathy – that simply must go.” He drummed the edge of the sterile table where Sonia lay; prone, lightly breathing, pinned down with thin tubes running from her face, arms and torso to a featureless structure above her.
With a loud sigh, he looked up from Sonia’s still face towards another man sitting at a flickering console, who shook his head. “Surely we can work around it. I feel quite uncomfortable… breaking the arm to use the hand…” He trailed off under the bright gaze of superior eyes.
There was a loaded pause.
“Run the simulation again. And if she shows weakness once more, repeat the procedure. She will learn.”
