A young girl opened her eyes to darkness. She blinked, once, trying to see if she could discern anything in the shadows.

Outside the pod, stars glimmered in the far depths of space, though it didn't do much with the lighting. Groaning in pain, she tried to roll over onto her stomach, hoping to pull herself to her feet.

Intense pain bloomed in her chest, and she gasped. The sharp inhale of breath only made the pain more severe and she nearly cried out, biting her lip and wincing.

She clenched her eyes shut, breath becoming shorter and shorter as time went by. She tasted blood from her lip, and dragged her fangs along the cut. It was something to distract her from the burning in her chest, though it did nearly nothing.

She slowed her breathing, trying to take a deep breath.

The action made it feel so much worse.

She curled up into herself as best she could, trying to find the position that caused the least amount of pain.

The pain wasn't subsiding, but she risked placing a hand over the spot. Fire burst through her side as she lifted her arm, causing her to immediately drop it again and try her other arm.

It was her arm that brought on the next wave of pain when she moved it, and she swore under her breath as she caught sight of the odd angle it was bent at.

Her arm was broken, and she suspected a rib or two as well, though there was no way of being certain yet.

Every movement hurt like hell, and she gave up after trying once more to find a more comfortable position.

She could do nothing but try to keep her breaths shallow and her movement to a minimum.

She clenched her one good hand into a fist, claws digging into her palm as she focused on keeping still.

The next time she came to, the pain was no less than it had been.

But the dim red lights of emergency power was on, so she considered it a plus.

From the corner of her eye, she could see a shadow in the corner. She refused to turn and look, knowing if she did, she would want to crawl over, regardless on the injuries she had sustained.

She had been warned for years that an event such as this would happen, and had spent nearly her entire life preparing.

Nothing could ever prepare someone for the reality of the situation, and it still hadn't settled in that this was actually happening.

She let her head roll back so she could take in her surroundings, the only lights on the console active being the oxygen supply and emergency reserves, both fading in and out gently, casting the occasional glow over her face.

It was enough to stay alive, but she didn't know for how long.

The girl sighed, before yelping as the breath made the pain in her chest flare up again. She coughed, and it swelled into an inferno.

Tears streamed down her cheeks, but she was unable to lift her arms high enough to brush them away.

She stared at the ceiling of the pod, eyes watering and blurring her vision so it became nothing but a dull smudge in front of her.

She was tired, so tired.

Her eyes fluttered closed, and she fell into a fitful sleep.

"I'm scared."

"I know sweetie, I know."

"Maman, where are we going?"

There was no reply, and the girl looked up to her mother.

"Maman?"

An explosion sounded in the distance, a deep thrum that shook the ship end to end. The girl stumbled as she tried to keep up with her mother's hurried pace.

There was another boom, closer this time. She stumbled again, unable to catch herself as she fell onto her arm.

There was a snap, and she immediately felt tears pricking at the corners of her eyes. She refused to let them fall though, pulling herself back to her feet and holding her arm to her chest as she ran to catch up to her mother.

They burst out of the hallway into an open area on the ship, and the girl hissed in pain as she ran headlong into her mother's back, the woman having stopped in her tracks.

"Halt." A sentry stood before them, gun aimed at her mother's chest.

Slowly, they raised their hands above their heads. She could only raise one, still holding her broken one to her chest.

"Hands up." The sentry insisted, and she raised her chin in defiance.

The barrel of the gun was still trained on her mother. She glanced backwards at the girl, if only for a moment, an unspoken wish.

There was a purple flash, then darkness.

The girl woke up with a scream, flinging herself into an upright position. Immediately, pain shot through her chest and she groaned, slumping just enough to take the strain off it.

The nightmare was fading away, but some parts remained.

Her mother's glance, the silent plea.

She knew what the wish was.

Take care of your sister.

She refused to look to the darkened corner, bile threatening to form in her throat. Instead, she worked on getting to her feet.

Her ribs still hurt to hell and back, but without a healer, it would continue to be that way.

She inched forwards, pulling herself up one-handed, using the console as support. She stood on shaky legs, leaning on the controls as much as possible without aggravating her wounds or pressing any buttons. Even with the power out, she was worried that a touch could activate anything.

She let her eyes close for a moment, swaying in a short bout of wooziness. No, she wouldn't fall unconscious again. She was determined not to.

Steadying herself, the girl started to search the controls.

Only two things were on, due to the emergency power- oxygen, and the distress signal, currently inactive.

She stuck out her good arm, slamming it onto the distress signal, which let out a soft beep as it started up.

She let out a sigh of relief, before hissing at the pain again. She ought to have expected that.

Collapsing back onto the floor of the pod, the girl stared out at the distant stars.

There were too many of them to count, and yet she feared nobody would help.

She rolled onto her back letting her good arm flop over her eyes, long lashes brushing against it.

There was nothing more she could do, but hope.