1.
In the vast reaches of a forest in Washington, amid a ring of tall conifers, was located a pristine laboratory that was teeming with activity. There were workers in starched white lab coats bustling about, working on notecard thin computer screens, and preparing chemical concoctions in its various sanitized, deodorized chambers. And yet none of their faces were human or fae, their pale scaled skins stretched across their faces endlessly atop where they should have had features: eyes, noses, mouths. On the top floor of the futuristic building sat a man with dark blonde hair. His muscular face was strained in concentration and his gash of a mouth was dead straight.
"The succubus killed our spy. I had thought that at the very least you would strengthen Nadia to fight off a mere knife attack. She was killed too easily… Now, is the time to strike. We cannot let them gain any advantage over us or find out any more than they have to. I do not expect any more mistakes from you," the man narrowed his smokey gray eyes and spoke gruffly. He was clearly the boss here.
"Michail, I did strengthen Nadia," spoke the Garuda. "She had all the impulses to kill. But then that human doctor pulled some trick and broke my hold on her and she let herself be killed. Really, she invited it. It was her stupid human choice."
"Yes. She was not a creature, Nadia. She was human and humans are harder to control…unlike the fae species…dangle a bone in front of a dog and the dog will follow it. Fae are mere animals, determined by their appetite, their carnal desires, their anatomies. I regret that humans must be sacrificed for our purpose, but what's a little bit of collateral damaged, eh?" his voice veered off momentarily. And then he ordered, "Go feed Garuda, start their little civil war. Ours is a mutually beneficial agreement… even if I hold you in my fist."
The wings of fire appeared and with a single flap, the eagle took flight from a large window…soaring like a shooting star into a silent night sky looming over the forest.
2.
After Bo left with the Naga venom that night, Lauren continued to devise creative ways to keep herself busy and her hands occupied. But filling syringes with tranquilizers and other paralyzing toxins for her little arsenal for battle was not much of a challenge for the Doctor. Soon she found herself with little to do but wait. Wait for the night to fade. Wait for battle. Wait, alone.
She walked out into the garden before her lab and stood under the stars. Lauren felt cold loneliness grip her heart as she gazed at the starry sky. This sky had gifted her a conforting sense of wonder when she was a young girl. How beautifully a vivid childish imagination can conjure companions in a distant sky, Lauren thought. How she wished she could return to that state of infinite possibilities. Before her, now, lay an endless stretch of emptiness. Only one cinder raked some hope still in her wintry heart, Bo. The wind rustled leaves in the black oak next to her. The only other sound there was, was the Doctor's deep belabored breath.
She stood perhaps for hours, listening to the wind, with a hand thoughtlessly tousling her blonde hair.
3.
Kenzi was grateful for Bo's presence that night, more than she would ever verbally acknowledge. She sat with Bo on their couch.
"You know if this really is the faepocalypse, you shouldn't be alone. You should go be with your girl."
"I'm not alone," Bo laid a reassuring hand on Kenzi's knee, "I'm with you."
A part of her winced though that whilst she was with her family, with Kenzi, in the warmth of her apartment, Lauren was spending the night alone. Perhaps Dyson was too. Bo smiled at the thought of the beautiful Doctor, so strong and so compassionate, always there for everyone, sparing no time for herself. Lauren was really the bravest, strongest person she knew. Her thoughts briefly lingered on Lauren's hand on her face earlier that day. She would do anything but let that caress down. She had to make the Garuda suffer.
"Bo Bo! Let's drink up then! To you kicking the Garuda's feathery ass!" Kenzi raised her glass of red wine.
"Cheers Kenz. Let's just hope we all survive tomorrow and that bird is shoved back into its nest or wherever the hell it belongs. It's caused too much pain already."
They clinked their wine glasses and drank deeply.
