Chapter Text
Jinx’s mind went blank. She felt like she could see everything and nothing all at once. She saw Claggor and Mylo spread out on the ground. She saw a river of red flowing from Vander’s skull. But worst of all she saw Isha.
The blue dye in the young girl's hair had turned a deep and disturbing purple. Blood seemed to flow from every inch of her. Jinx wondered how someone so small could harbor so much blood.
Jinx sprinted over to her. When she got close she flung herself to her feet and gripped at Isha’s barely intact shoulders. Blood pooled at her feet and dripped onto her tattered vest as she lifted the young girl into her arms.
It was only then that Jinx realized she had been screaming the whole time. Her mouth snapped shut as she held the young girl and she ignored the burning in her lungs. Isha never liked it when Jinx yelled too much, it seemed to remind her of her past. So Jinx kept quiet, even though she wanted to slam her head into the floor and scream until blood spilled from her lips.
Isha looked so small in her arms, so young, and so much like Powder. It made Jinx feel dizzy. Flashes of Claggor, Mylo, and Vander spilled across her mind.
But it all came back to Isha. Her Isha. She had one responsibility: to care for this little kid and keep her safe. And she had failed. Miserably.
Before she could even register it, sobs tore themselves from her throat. A strangled scream soon followed as her head dropped onto Isha's ripped chest.
She muttered words she couldn’t even comprehend herself. A futile attempt at apologizing to a corpse. She begged for life to come back into this little body that she clutched tight in her arms.
Jinx’s forehead was covered in blood and tears. She hadn’t even realized that she was bleeding as well. Her own blood danced down her face onto Isha. Jinx watched with a still mind for once, as her deep blood seemed to swirl and mix with Isha’s.
Jinx cursed herself for not taking better care of Isha. She should’ve told her to stay back and made her stay with someone else.
It was at that moment that Jinx understood Vi. It was never meant to limit her, it was to protect her. Otherwise, Jinx would’ve been buried in that rubble, just like Isha. Jinx should’ve been a better sister, like Vi was. Maybe then Isha would be alive.
Jinx refused to let go of Isha. With shaking legs, she willed herself to her feet. She held onto Isha tight, putting the little girl's head in the crook of her neck.
Jinx frantically looked around for a quiet place. She found no such spot. She trudged through bodies, the smell of blood and burnt skin filling her nose. She tried to ignore it and pushed some bodies over with her free hand.
Eventually, she found a little spot, one with a flower that had somehow survived it all. It would do for now.
She dropped to her knees with a thud, clutching Isha's head tightly to not disturb the girl. Slowly, and with more care than she knew she had in her, Jinx laid the little body down next to the flower.
She scrambled out of her vest, only now realizing how much her body hurt. Still, Jinx ignored it, she had things to do. She draped the vest over Isha, trying to keep her little body warm.
With sobs wrecking her body even more, Jinx plucked the little flower and pushed it into Isha's palms. She leaned forward to place a gentle kiss on top of Isha's head and gave her blood-stained cheeks one last pinch.
Jinx stood up, and turned on her heels, not having the heart to look back at Isha. She’d tell herself Isha had just fallen asleep playing in the mud. Jinx ignored the tears that didn’t stop streaming down her face and headed for Caitlyn.