Sonnia walked towards the east side of the city, her staff tight in hand. Her bottle booze was nearly gone. Her jar of petals tucked under her arm while she whistled and. She walked in uncoordinated zig zags towards the quarantine zone. The moonlight flowed onto her uneven hair as the air dried it. Her eyes had light bags under them, but she didn’t stop. A few thoughts surged through her head.

  “Freeg, why waste so much time helping people when you know you are gonna die? It makes no sense. You could sell the flowers to become rich and comfortable. Yet boom in jail for possibly being sick by evil roots. She is as foolish as Sonnia. It’s odd.”

  She shook her head and continued walking down. Until she saw it, tucked between houses, a series of stone statues made of various bricks. They were tucked in between houses, then in more wide open areas, standing next to each other, forming an uneven wall that went around. Carving the city into two distinct zones. Sonnia looked at the wall with glee in her eyes.

  Looking around for an opening, she walked alongside it. She slowly stumbled while drinking the rest of her alcohol before casting the bottle aside. The noise of glass shattering filled the empty city night. Sonnia stood in place, doing a small jump, only lightly going off the ground and barely past a golem’s knee. Then, looming at the wall with determination, she put her staff in her mouth. Looking for uneven gaps to put her feet in, she tried ascending the wall slowly while clutching the jar with one hand.

  “Stop, get down from there, that part is off limits.”

  Two men approached; they both wore masks that hid their faces from prying eyes, along with black suits that covered them from head to toe, like tar. Sonnia hopped down, smiling and waving at them.

  “Hello, I need to get in, the mayor's orders or caretaker or whoever he is. My friend, Homeless Derrick said it’s important I get in…..I think.”

  Her mouth started to salivate, and she vomited towards the wall. Then, wiping her mouth, she approached the guards, smiling.

  “Perhaps you can show me how to get in?”

  The two men stared at her, then walked forward silently. One pulled a club, and the other's hands glowed as a will o' the wisp formed.

  “You are under arrest, you can tell us all about your mission in the morning when the alcohol has passed through, come on now.”

  Sonnia tilted her head to the side, looking at them with a more gleeful smile.

  “Chester hired me. I’m the woman who fought the golem. Ring any bells? I’m trying to get into the sick place. OH want a petal? I heard they are expensive.”

  Holding out her jar, she took a few and offered them to them. The light purple glow filled. Yet her antagonizers remained unfazed, still wielding their weapons. The man with his club walked forward and turned Sonnia around to cuff her hands. Getting closer, he adopted a smug tone.

  “You are the one who fought the golem? Doubt it, but I do know that you are holding contraband. Now come on and give yourself up, you are not getting in. We can’t have the plague spreading.”

  The moment he said ‘doubt’, Sonnia stumbled forward, giggling. He paused briefly before moving again, trying more quickly to catch her. Again, she stumbled forward, then in a slurred voice.

  “If I can’t climb it, then how do I even get in?”

  The man stayed silent, letting her question fall

  On deaf ears. The silence fed Sonnia, and she turned around smiling. It didn’t look like her earlier playful smile, more like a smile hungry to dominate.

  She asked again, her tone getting lower pitched.

  “How do I get in? Don’t ignore me as if I don’t exist. I’m trying to help you all.”

  She then shoved the man back and moved forward, even yanking the cuffs away from him. The will o’ wisp from the other guard smacked against her, leaving an ectoplasm residue on her face. From a distance, the guard's hand glowed faintly while the will o'wisp flew back over his hands.

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  “If you wanna die, you are free to go in. I’ll open the way in. You are not worth the trouble.”

  The will o’ wisp shot into a golem, its eyes glowed blue as it rose. Rocks creaked as it moved its joints, and it stumbled slowly out of the way. Each step it took vibrated the ground, now opening the path into the city. The gap revealed a town in disrepair. It was unkept, dirty, with shattered windows of buildings seen in the distance. Sidewalks had weeds growing through and trash scattered in the streets. Along the wall of golems were bodies of people cast away. Some of the bodies had saplings growing from them, forming into vibrant plants. Most of the bodies, though, seemed normal, with no signs of infestation.

  One body caught Sonnia’s eyes, a baby. It appeared to be unconscious at first, but its limp body told Sonnia all she needed to know. No abnormalities or any sprouts were seen from it. only bones pressing against skin, along with a gaping bruise on its head. She sat there, stunned for a second, staring at it in disbelief.

  The sight made her breath quicken. Her playful persona vanished; it sounded more serious and stern. She turned back to the gatekeepers and sprinted towards them with an evil glare in her eyes. Before they could say anything, she punched the one who controlled the golem in the face. The impact dented his mask and knocked him to the floor. Sonnia recollected herself, although shaking.

  “A baby? A baby? What is wrong with you all? Do you have no shame? No infection. Did you throw it over the wall? You couldn’t even set it down.”

  She felt a sharp smack in the back of her neck from a club strike. She took a knee, looking down at the man she just assaulted. Waiting for an answer, her anger overpowered any feeling of pain happening in the moment.

  “Hey, hey, I’m just doing my job. I protect the gate and ditch the sick. Why question orders? I didn’t know it was sick.”

  Sonnia stared at him and then at his hands, which still glowed. Another smack aimed at her neck distracted her momentarily. Leaving an opening for the pinned man. His fingers moved, seemingly issuing a command. The golem obeyed, walking towards them, readying a punch. Slowly lifting its arms like slow gears in a machine, it dropped its fist down hard.

  Sonnia dodged out of the way, using the man’s neck as a jumping pad. Coughing hard and clutching his neck, the last thing he saw was a fist of stone going towards him.

  Crush

  He lay limp on the ground with bits of blood dripping off the stone fist. The golem's eyes died out, going unresponsive. The will o' wisp left its body whirling around, flying in a circle pattern, lost like it didn’t know what to do. It went back into the golem, but instead of glowing blue, the eyes were red. The remaining guard looked in horror.

  “Oh no. No, no, no, that isn’t good.”

  He blew a whistle and loudly screamed as hard as he could.

  “GOLEM GOING RAMPANT GET A THANOMANCER HERE ASAP! EVERYONE ELSE RETREAT!”

  He got up and ran back a few feet. Watching the stone golem with fear as it collided into a nearby house, going through, as distant shouts were heard. He then looked at Sonnia with an angry look as he got his club ready.

  “You idiot! Lady, you just caused a lot of issues. Without a Thanomancer, the soul can’t act fully on its own.”

  A path of destruction lay out in front of Sonnia and the man towards the city, away from the wall. Sounds of broken buildings and screams in the distance piled up. Sonnia still looked at him with hate in her eyes.

  “I don’t care….you think you can excuse so casually throwing away people like that.”

  She points at the gap in the wall. The guard backs off, aiming his weapon at her.

  “That’s not my concern. I'd rather stay healthy than question orders. If you suspect a sick person, then ditch it. Now get in there before we seal it up.”

  She walked towards him slowly. Her eyes shifted as an idea popped into her head.

  “You are on the wrong side, it seems as well.”

  Her staff glowed, and she smacked the ground; a purple portal opened, and out came Kaelith.

  “Sonnia, what would you have me do? My lady is grieving and needs me. I hope you can make it quick.”

  Sonnia looked at Kaelith with an evil look. She used her staff and pointed at the man, who now broke into a sprint, running away, casting aside his weapon.

  “Catch him and bring him to me. I’ll be waiting. Don’t let him escape; he needs to be punished. I’m sure she agrees.”

  Kaelith nodded his head. Wielding his war hammer, he gave chase, running in a calm jog down the street. He heard a distant scream.

  “DEVILS! DEVILS HAVE INVADED!”

  The man ran, just trying to create distance, looking for anywhere to hide from the creature, while thoughts flew through his head. Terrified and breathing hard, he continued to run until a hammer thrown from behind hit his ankle. He screamed as pain shot up through his body. He felt rough, burning hands pick him up. Kaelith caught up; a smooth laugh came from the demon.

  “Once upon a time, there was a woman who tried doing good by others’ standards. She was hated and cast away, left with herself. The end result was me, my lady, and Sonnia. You met the wrong one. That woman isn’t nearly as forgiving.”

  The man tried struggling, punching Kaelith’s face and neck. At the same time, Kaelith treated him like a harmless fly that didn’t deserve to be swatted at.

  “Let me go, I refuse to die like this. I am too important to go. Let me go, devil, I command you.”

  He walked back to Sonnia, who waited, tapping her feet quickly on the ground. Kaelith returned with her prey, keeping a tight grip on the squirming man.

  “Bring him into the zone with me. Now. And you, you said it’s just your job to protect the healthy from the sick. Keep that sentiment.”

  The man tried to protest and struggle as Kaelith carried him to the sick side of town. Following Kaelith, Sonnia's eyes focused on the baby. Her voice got low again as she set down her jar.

  “Kaelith, don’t let him leave this area. Set him down now and block the entrance.”

  The demon obeyed, hurling the man onto the ground and walking to the gap in the wall that separated the parts of the city. Sonnia walked over to the man and picked him up, she got punched clean in her nose as blood drew down, still unfazed by the pain, she hurled him into a stray body lying against the wall.

  The guard felt it; he landed on soft plants. He realized what happened. He tried getting up, but Sonnia pinned him down with her foot planted firmly on his chest, and she stared at him calmly.

  “You appear to have been in contact with the plague now. You have to stay in the quarantine zone, or you’ll infect others. It’s a good thing I already brought you in here, isn’t it?”

  He squirmed as tears ran down his face, trying to free himself. He looked up at Sonnia, the darkness shrouded her face. For a few moments her face was illuminated by the red energy from her hands as she healed herself. The man uttered out one final plea.

  “I’m sorry, please let me go. I don’t wanna die like this.”

  Sonnia pressed her foot harder against him, nearly caving in his leather armor. She crouched down next to him, looking into his face and eyes.

  “You are only sorry because it’s happened to you. You are ugly, your voice is ugly, and your job is ugly. I hope the flowers that spawn out of you are at least pretty.”

  She then punched his face, knocking him out cold, letting him sleep with the corpse he lay on.

  “That’s it, Kaelith, you can go back to her now.”