At first, my earlier breakdown seemed to have frightened them into silence. But now, seeing me drained of strength, nothing left but bloodshot eyes, they grew bold again. Contempt crept across their faces. One of them curled his lip and let out a low, mocking snort.
"Tch. What a hassle." The leader spat on the floor, his gaze sweeping over me with open disdain. His voice dripped with cold deflection. "Maybe if you'd done your job as a mother and raised them right? Spoiled rotten at that age, no respect for their elders—that's exactly why they were sent to our school. A little discipline never hurt anyone."
Another man chimed in, his tone even more vicious: "Our school has always believed in 'spare the rod, spoil the child.' Other kids can take it just fine. How were we supposed to know your two little girls were so fragile? One day of training and they gave out. Rotten luck, that's what this is—and now we're the ones dealing with the fallout!"
"What did you just say?!" My head snapped up. My fingers curled so tight my nails dug into my palms, drawing blood I couldn't feel. Fragile. Hassle. Each word was a poisoned blade, plunging into my heart, shredding what little sanity I had left. Rage and hatred detonated inside me, flooding through my veins, burning through every limb until my whole body felt like it was on fire. I wanted to lunge at them, tear the flesh from their bones, grind their skeletons to dust.
"You... you animals!" My voice came out shredded, like a broken bell. Every word was soaked in blood and tears. My body shook like a candle guttering in the wind. "My children were five years old. Five. What could they possibly understand? They were just babies! How could you do this to them? How dare you! I'll kill you—I'll make you pay for their lives!"
I tried to claw my way up, but Ramona held me down. Then a violent surge of copper flooded my throat, choking me. My chest seized like a boulder had been dropped on it, the pain blinding. The next second, my mouth opened and a spray of bright red blood burst out, spattering across the cold floor like blossoms of desperate, blood-red plum flowers, searing to look at.
My vision blurred. I could still hear Ramona's anguished screams, the men's panicked whispers—but I couldn't hold on anymore. My eyes fell shut, and I plunged into endless darkness, where even hatred became a distant thing.