Thank you all so much for the continued support on this story! Just an FYI, I will not be adding Emily and Timothy in this story so don't go looking for them, haha
CHAPTER EIGHT
Isabel wished she were a robot, so that she had nerves of steel. Instead, she was human and had nerves of… whatever nerves were made of. With nerves of steel, she wouldn't feel like she was going to vomit from stress.
She radiated nervous energy, and Ms. Venable was thriving from seeing her in such a state. She didn't say anything for the longest time, as if she were feeding off of Isabel's nervousness and didn't wish to disturb her meal. Finally, Ms. Venable cocked her head to the side. "I had assumed you wouldn't be trouble. Are you so intent on proving me wrong?"
"I didn't think there would be anything wrong with wearing my PJs," Isabel said, trying to act casual. She felt like a high schooler called into the principal's office for a dress code violation: skirt too short, bra straps visible, neckline too low; your ankles are distracting the boys from learning!
Sure enough: "We have a strict dress code. I made that very clear," Ms. Venable said.
"If it's so offensive, maybe don't make it part of the wardrobe." Was her voice shaking? Isabel felt like her voice was shaking.
"You are determined to be a thorn in my side, aren't you?"
"Maybe I just want you to pay attention to me."
Isabel's words made both of them freeze. Ms. Venable was in disbelief that she had heard them. Isabel was in disbelief that she had said them. Was she truly so bold? Where was all of this coming from? The end of the world seemed to affect her more than she realized.
Ms. Venable was having none of it.
"Go to your room, and change your goddamn clothes," she snapped.
There was not venom in her voice. No, there was something much more powerful. If Venable could have written her words on a brick and thrown it at Isabel's face, Isabel had no doubt she would do just that. But the punch of the words alone was agonizing, sans brick.
Isabel bit her lower lip, and then immediately stopped. She needed to quit that clichéd habit. She watched Ms. Venable part her lips to speak again, and Isabel left before anything else could be said. She kept her eyes down on the ground as she navigated her way to her room.
What was wrong with her?
That was a stupid question. Isabel knew exactly what was wrong with her. History was repeating itself; she was making the same mistake she made with Fiona: falling for someone vaguely attractive who offered protection.
Okay, more than vaguely attractive.
That didn't matter. It couldn't matter. She would not let herself fall back into this trap. Venable didn't have anything to offer except fear and strict policy. Isabel was the powerful one, she needed to remember that. She was a witch.
A witch without a coven.
"Fuck," Isabel groaned as she flopped down on her bed.
She hadn't even thought about her coven. Cordelia, Myrtle, the girls… were any of them at the other outposts? Were any of them still alive? Her heart ached.
No, she couldn't think about them. And she couldn't think about Ms. Venable either. She just wouldn't allow herself to think at all. She would keep her head low, not think; she would blend right in with everyone. Just a mindless slave to her wealth, hardly concerned with the fact that the world beyond the outpost was gone.
Keeping her head down did the trick. Only a day passed and Isabel noticed that she wasn't picked on by Ms. Venable. Her sadness still consumed her, but paying it no mind got somewhat easier over time.
Two weeks went by without any trouble.
Then came the breach.
Everyone was seated at the dining table, but it wasn't mealtime yet. Ms. Venable called for a meeting, and now stood at the head of the table. All of the Purples seemed unfazed by this change in routine, though it was a welcomed change of pace.
There was pleasant chatter between everyone except for Isabel. Something was off, she could tell. Nothing good would come out of this.
"It seems that we have had a breach in our facility," Ms. Venable announced, hushing the chatter. "One of you decided that you were above the rules, and went outside." Though she addressed everyone, her gaze was trained on Isabel, whose stomach dropped and heart seized.
There was a murmur amongst the Purples. Who could have done it?
"Well I know that blondes aren't terribly bright, but I didn't think you would be stupid enough to put us all at risk for radiation poisoning," Evie said to Coco, eyes narrowed.
"Me? Go outside and risk ruining this complexion?" Coco retorted, gesturing to said complexion. "Why the fuck would I do that?"
The murmuring grew louder as accusations were thrown out in hopes that something would stick.
"I bet it's her," Stu said, pointing a finger across the table to Isabel. "She's so quiet all the time; probably didn't want to risk telling anyone she broke the rules."
"You guys literally see me all the time. When the fuck would I have had the chance?" Isabel shot back. The accusation made her nervous, though. She absolutely did not like the way Ms. Venable was looking at her.
"You're always sneaking off to the library. How do we know you aren't actually going outside?" Stu folded his arms across his chest, triumph gleaming in his eyes as André put an arm around his shoulders.
"Because I'm not a dumbass!" While that was debatable at times, Isabel knew it to be true in this case. She would never! If she was going to go outside, it would be to succumb to radiation poisoning and then death. She wouldn't have come back inside.
Ms. Venable sliced through the commotion. "We will see who among us is guilty. Ms. Meade, if you would."
Ms. Meade came forward with a Geiger counter, and Isabel's stomach plummeted another thirty feet. She tried to tell herself that she didn't go outside and therefore had nothing to worry about. But something in Ms. Venable's gaze told her that she ought to worry very, very much.
The crackling of the Geiger counter sent chills down Isabel's arms. She couldn't convince herself that machines couldn't lie, because this one could. She couldn't convince herself that there was no way to rig the counter to accuse her, because surely it had been and was going to. She didn't know how, but it could and Venable or even Ms. Meade somehow managed to do it.
She braced herself as Ms. Meade started making her way around the table, eyeing everyone as if she could smell the radiation. The wand of the counter hovered over innocent bodies, and as it came closer and closer, Isabel's heart went from being completely still to beating faster than the wings of a hummingbird. Would throwing up from nervousness make her seem guilty?
The wand was right over her shoulder, the crackling starting to become erratic. Then it calmed down.
Ms. Venable's expression, which teetered between passive and eager, became blatantly disappointed. That wasn't meant to happen. She thought she made the plan very clear to Ms. Meade: make sure the sensitivity on the Geiger counter was on the highest setting when she reached Miss Noble. And for a moment, it seemed that the plan was going smoothly. But then the machine crackled normally, not giving off any readings for radiation.
Ms. Meade dared to share a glance with Ms. Venable, and then continued around the table.
Neither of them noticed that Isabel was concentrating intently. Her heart still fluttered, but no longer from nervousness. The magic within her unfurled and stretched like a cat waking up from a lengthy nap. Her fingertips tingled as she tapped into a power she hadn't accessed since she fought for her life in the Hotel Cortez, when she had made her first kills….
Isabel looked to the Geiger counter, watching Ms. Meade wave the wand over everyone like a perverted fairy godmother. When Ms. Meade reached Gallant, the crackling increased; the sensitivity was still set on high. There were shouts of protests as Gallant was dragged away by two of Ms. Venable's minions, but Isabel didn't hear them as she moved her focus to Stu.
Ms. Meade waved the wand over Stu. As she did, Isabel held Stu's gaze and mouthed, "I'm sorry."
The Geiger counter freaked out.
"What the fuck!" Stu shouted, pulling away from the machine. "I didn't go outside! I swear I didn't! What the actual fuck?" His claims were ignored as two minions grabbed each arm. "This is bullshit! I didn't go outside! It's her! She did this! That fucking cunt did this!"
Stu was yanked away with Gallant, their screams echoing throughout Outpost 3.
Ms. Venable watched until they were both out of sight. When the screams faded and silence settled, she looked back to Isabel, trying to figure the girl out. She didn't know why her plan went wrong, but it did. Blood and tears would be shed regardless, just not the blood and tears she wanted.
"Dismissed," Ms. Venable muttered, walking away from the table.