Chapter 88

ACHILLES. Claudia tries to reach out for the Rogue pup, but I stop her when I notice something. The little thing is bleeding from its side. From a graze. It's probably from Kiernan blindly shoving the poker all around the small hill of ashes, and now it’s causing so much pain. It keeps mewling, its little lips moving around like it's looking for something to suck on. I don't know if it's something wholesome like its mother's breast or if it's something more sinister, like an open wound that overflows with blood. The biggest conflict of whether or not we should help it hangs in the air like a poisonous fog. For what seems like forever, none of us says a word. I don't think any of us even moves, either. We just stare at the pup as it moves around on the carpet, spreading the ashes as well as its blood. "I... I think I wounded it," Kiernan mutters. "I'm sorry. I had no idea and I just..." His voice fades away with emotion and I can't blame him. It feels wrong to see such a little th