Quote Originally Posted by PhoeKun View Post
The only sounds that follow Stephanie's admission are a quiet shuffle of elbows on the surface of the table, and Kalina's breathing - deep and slow and deliberate. It permeates the room. It is the only answer Stephanie receives, the only one that can be given. And then,

"...You're all instincts at this point, aren't you? You don't think." There's no accusation in her tone, for once. Instead, realization. "Why did you kill them? Was there a reason for it all?"
The first sentence sounded too close to thoughts she'd had herself for comfort. She swallowed and nodded.

"A lot of them were shooting at me," she said. "Or trying to kill me in some other way. Like, they were doing bad things and working for bad people but I didn't think about that at the time. It was just action, reaction."