no way out of this dark place

Ode hadn’t even hesitated in leaping to action, something was wrong, nothing was right. She was in mortal peril and her daddy… She pushed the thought aside as she and the Akita ran the opposite direction her Koi father had gone. Odette didn’t know what kept her from going back, to go find her Dad, but the look on the dog’s face as she approached. The winged girl just knew that she would only find despair.

So wrapped up in just running, Odette almost just blew past the boy that raced to meet her. His voice drowned out by the sound of her heart pounding in her ears and the air being sucked out of her lungs. Even Sashimi had given him almost no thought, but the pale dog stopped Odette, they couldn’t let the boy go further and face certain doom. The akita had seen everything happen, but even she hadn’t told Odette the full extent, nor could she. Her voice was stuck in her throat.

"Death.” Odette managed to croak. Her muscles tensed, her heart ached, and she wished deeply that all of this was just a dream that she could run from.

"Odette"