She walked calmly through the crowded city streets. She was heading back to her apartment, which she still couldn’t bring herself to call home, even in her own thoughts. Images churned in her mind, each uglier than the last.

  How was she supposed to respect people when so much filth surrounded her? When she looked into their eyes and saw nothing but decay? They hurt each other. They maimed. They pushed blindly forward without caring who they trampled.

  How could she not despise them?

  As if summoned by that very thought, a man walking a dog stepped directly into her path. He moved quickly, irritation radiating from him. The dog trotted obediently at his side, though the owner kept jerking the leash for no reason. Alice felt anger stir inside her but resisted the urge to interfere. The bastard put a spiked choke collar on him, she thought, watching the metal dig into the animal’s skin. If the dog had been aggressive, she might have understood. But this one was pure submission. Large. Gentle. Loyal. He didn’t even need a muzzle.

  Her anger swelled.

  She didn’t know when it happened, but suddenly she found herself following the man. Something pulled her forward. Something insisted she witness this. She didn’t argue with the impulse. After a few minutes, the man turned a corner, still yanking the leash. He didn’t notice he was leading the dog straight toward a pole. The animal edged closer to avoid the obstacle. The man tripped over one of its paws. The dog crouched instantly. The owner erupted into curses and kicked it hard in the stomach. The animal curled up and whimpered.

  That was enough.

  Alice didn’t consciously decide. She simply pushed. And she pushed hard. The man released the leash as the invisible force slammed into him. He staggered backward, lost his footing on the curb, and tumbled into the street. Perfect timing, she thought coldly, watching his skull land beneath the wheels of an oncoming car.

  She felt nothing.

  No guilt.

  She approached the dog and gently stroked its head. The animal shrank away at first, then growled softly. Animals sensed what she was. She did not resent them for it. They saw her true nature. They knew she was a killer. And yet she loved all animals, fiercely and without condition, in a way she had never been able to love humans.

  She adjusted the frequency of her energy, shaping it into a simple message.

  I am a friend.

  The dog continued staring at her, uncertain. But it stopped growling. That’s something, she thought. She shifted her energy again.

  I love you.

  The dog whimpered softly and allowed her touch.

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  How she wanted to take it with her. But she couldn’t. It had someone. Somewhere. Someone who had engraved the name Prince and a phone number onto a tag. Someone who brushed it, bathed it, cared for it. She had no right to steal that person’s companion. Especially since she had possibly just killed their husband. Or father.

  Adulthood meant foresight. Responsibility. Accountability.

  Besides, she knew what entered her apartment. She knew who visited. She could not risk finding the animal torn apart one day because of her. No. This was better. Even if it wasn’t what she wanted.

  She did not wait for the police. She did not call an ambulance. She told the dog to sit and stay. She considered giving her number to the driver as a witness, but a small crowd had already gathered, confirming it had been an accident.

  Good. No more wasted time.

  She resumed walking. What a pointless day. One heavy, unpleasant scene after another. Each reinforcing how little humanity deserved. Each whispering that perhaps the species truly deserved extinction.

  To hell with all of it.

  She stopped at a crosswalk and stared at the red pedestrian light, sinking into her bitterness. Then she heard it. A whisper.

  Kill me.

  She glanced around. No one.

  Kill me. I can’t stand the pain anymore.

  Her gaze shifted again, until she saw her: a disabled girl in a wheelchair, staring straight at her.

  Alice looked closer.

  The child was horribly deformed. Bones twisted. Joints malformed. Her spine barely functional. Her limbs useless. A stoma bag hung at her side. A feeding tube protruded from irritated skin. Even her palate seemed wrong. There wasn’t a single healthy system in that body.

  Holy shit, Alice thought.

  And yet she lived. Sustained by machines. By effort. By resources. Why?

  The light changed. Alice followed the wheelchair across the street.

  It hurts. It always hurts. Kill me.

  No one else heard it. The injustice of it made her vision blur. This was monstrous. In the name of what? Protecting life? That wasn’t the girl’s belief. It was someone else’s. Shouldn’t she have the right to decide? The right to die with dignity?

  Alice felt tears gather.

  Enough for today.I just want to go home. I want to forget the world exists.

  Please, the girl whispered again.

  If that is what you want…

  Alice had not intended to interfere again that day. But she could not refuse this. Whatever her flaws, whatever her twisted morality, she never acted against her own will. Never in a way she would later regret. So she focused her energy, compressed it, Shaped it into a razor-thin beam, and released it. Straight into the brain. Precise. Centered.

  It took seconds, no more.

  A hemorrhage began. The girl’s head slumped gently to one side. No one noticed.

  Thank you. Thank you so much.

  From that ruined body rose the soul of a healthy child. Whole. Unbroken. The girl smiled at her. Alice smiled back. She asked no questions. Instead, selfishly, she opened a passage into the light. Wide. Stable. Certain. She let the child go. For peace. And perhaps, just a little, for herself.

  She returned to her apartment. She tried not to relive the day, but it replayed anyway. Coffee.

  Armchair. Cigarette. She went through it all again, step by step.

  She had gone too far.

  She felt it. Killing the man had crossed a line. But releasing the child… That had been the breaking point. After long minutes of unease, she exhaled slowly. This is what He wants, she thought. To draw attention. He cannot blame me for that. Can he?