Miina sat at the table with both arms folded on top of it and her chin resting on them. She stared vacantly at the pistol lying on the table before her. Music was playing (very bad music) but she couldn’t hear it. All she could hear was the sound of panicked screams and staccato gun fire. A small boy was running before her and then was falling, his body kissing the ground.
*Miina, run!*
The lighting fixture above her flickered in its old age. Gun muzzles flickered like that.
*There was an orange flash and another body fell in a spurt of blood.*
*Run faster.*
A figure walked into the tavern, wearing a heavy cloak as a shield against the raging storm outside but Miina was blind to it. In her eyes, a woman was bursting out of the wreckage, hair dancing in the desert wind as she wielded a blaster in one hand and a pistol in the other, lips curled back in a manic grin. Uniformed men systematically pressed forward. The first wave of them collapsed under a barrage of invisible bullets and cackling bursts of energy.
*Remember this day, child! Survive and remember…*
Miina took a shuddering breath that brought her back to the here and now. An older man came up and sat down in front of her, baring two mugs, one of them steaming. He pushed the steaming one towards her.
“Y'should let me get ya something stronger,” he groaned as he sat.
“Don’t drink that, Xear,” she mumbled for the umpteenth time. “Not even today.”
“It dulls the pain,” he insisted.
“Well...I don't want to be dull,” she insisted right back.
He snorted a laugh. “Yer the only reason I keep that herbal stuff around anymore.” Xear motioned to her mug.
“Yeah well, you like me,” she mumbled into her mug as she took a swallow.
*I like you Miina, you’re smart. Tough…*
“Wanna tell me what’s banging around in that pot of yer’s?” Xear asked quietly. She stiffly shook her head. The older man shrugged.
“You’ll be needin to get that off yer chest some day.”
“And I’ll know who to come to now won’t I.” Miina smiled at him.
He winked then nodded at the pistol on the table. “You lose the blaster?”
“It… was stolen,” she admitted.
“Well, at least you have her pistol.”
A comfortable silence stretched out between the two old friends, the sort that you could sink into for hours. But that was Xear. The man wasn’t that old but his gray hair was thinning and he hadn’t cared about person appearance in years. He was the owner of this tavern and the kind of man you ended up owing your life to. At the very least, she owed him an explanation for her sullen mood.
“She was…” Miina had to stop and rearrange her thoughts but now she had Xears attention. “We had just found a pack of children in the ruined part of the city. None of them were pure bloods.”
*We need to help whoever we can Miina. You never know when you might need help yourself.*
“The Guard found us and decided that our group was… a nuisance to the population. They didn’t give us any warning, just started shooting.” Her voice was cold.
*Don’t look back! Just go!*
Miina closed her eyes, feeling the ache of sorrow. “Kate gave some of us a chance to run.”
“I knew her. She was a good woman,” Xear said softly.
She nodded dumbly.
“Miina, you come here on the same day every year, sit at my tables, and stare at my walls.”
“And?” she snapped. His eyes were smiling, a technique which she never quite understood.
“And…you’re always welcome here.” There seemed to be more he wanted to say but instead he just lifted his mug. “To Kate.”
“To Kate,” she mumbled. Xear pushed himself up with a comical groan.
“Thanks Xear,” she said as he walked past. He ruffled her hair then moved off to take care of other costumers. Miina watched him go with a sort of warmth seeping into her soul. And then her eyes caught a man walking to the bar, his long coat swishing back and forth on the floor. There was something off about this man. He looked around the room with fidgety eyes, catching her in a cold stare. She didn’t blink, holding his gaze with a quiet composure that was really only a carefully restrained composure. The man’s eyes narrowed.
“You part alien?” he asked. It was a fight begging to happen. She averted her gaze, saying nothing. The man put one hand on the back of her chair and the other on the table in front of her, leaning in so that his face was inches from hers. “What are you doing here half breed?” he hissed.
Miina kept her hands firmly planted on the table. She didn’t want to bring the Guard down on Xear.
“Look at me, freak,” the man ordered. “Let me see those pretty eyes - those alien eyes.” He drew out the word alien like it was obvious. People around the tavern were starting to glance their way. The music had stopped. Miina’s hands twitched.
“Get out.” Xears voice sliced across the room. The man craned his neck to look at the tavern owner.
“Shut up, freak lover. Only thing worse than an alien is a half breed. There ain’t nothing worse than a half breed.” The man’s voice was preachy. He turned back to Miina and snatched the gun that was on the table, leveling it at her head. Her eyes finally flicked up to fix him with a cold glare. Her jaw muscles were quivering.
“Hey!” Xear shouted. “I said, get out!” The man whipped the gun around and fired. Xear dropped. Miina snapped.
She sprang up from the chair, left hand clamping around the man’s throat, right hand firmly gripping the pistol. Her face was painted in a snarl. Air whisked noisily through her teeth. Miina squeezed. She could barely hear him gargling over the roar of blood in her ears. His face was turning blue…
“Miina!”
She turned her head sideways. Xear was leaning against the bar. His arm was bleeding. “Let him go Miina,” he commanded in a strong voice. “Let him go.”
*"You don’t always have to fight.” Kate sat on the ground and handed Miina the heavy blaster. “Most times, you can run. Sometimes it’s better that way.”*
“Miina…” Xears voice betrayed his pain. “Don’t you do it, girl.”
Miina realized she was shaking. She regarded the man in front of her. His lips were blue and he was terrified. She opened her hands, letting him fall to the ground.
Miina’s eyes rolled around the room. “I’m sorry,” she muttered.
They were all staring at her. The Guard was probably on their way, even now.
It’s better to run, sometimes.
Miina’s feet carried her out the door, down the street, pounding pounding pounding.
She ran.