We were in a small city square, standing on cobblestone instead of sand. In the center of the square was a fountain and, around that, stood several people in red and black uniforms. Along with that there was a stream of red tape reading: Crime Scene: Do Not Cross that blocked off a part of the square. There was a vehicle too, smaller than the ones in Ki, blocking the view of any body. “C’mon, Sterling.” Dante started for the fountain, ducking under the tape. I followed him closely, eyeing the keepers as they milled around the area, some interviewing witnesses, others keeping the civilians in check. One woman with short, vibrant orange hair was comforting a petite teenager who had tears streaming from her face and a steaming styrofoam mug in hand. As we …show more content…
“Um… you can handle seeing dead bodies, right? I mean, I would think so, considering you were in Desolation and all, but sometimes that doesn’t really mean anything and I don’t really want to assume—” “I can handle dead bodies.” “Right. Well, then, there’s a guy over there with the body. Looks like Nova,” he pointed toward the orange haired keeper. “He’ll fill you in on what’s happening.” Following his instructions, I found myself staring down at the body of a bloody, mutilated teenager. To keep her dry, the keepers had placed a tarp overhead, one end tied to the vehicle and the other to a building. Kneeling beside her, mindless of the blood, was a guy that, like Dante said, looked startlingly like Nova. His hair was shorter, though, and less vibrant. Instead of a keeper’s uniform, he wore a medic’s with a red bandanna tied around his neck. He was examining the girl’s body with a disturbingly detached attentivness, prying her mouth open with glove adorned hands. “Can you hand me that?” He asked, nodding his head toward a table adorned with medical tools. At my blank look he added, “the tweezers, please.” I handed him a pair of long, metalic