WARNING: Rape and torture is mentioned in this chapter.

A New Player

A rebel soldier named Michael maneuvered the halls of the Chicago base. He was nervous and uncomfortable after one of his operations took an unexpected turn.

He arrived outside the door to the Saint's room. He paused for a minute to collect his nerves then knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" Alex's voice came from the other side.

"It's Mike, my unit came back from Fort Stevens." Mike answered before the door opened to reveal the Saint's second-in-command.

"Good news?" Alex asked as leaned against the door frame.

Mike answered, "Depends on how she reacts to what I have to tell you both."

Alex glanced behind him at the slumbering Saint who laid on her bed that was surrounded by white curtains.

"I know she needs her rest right now, but it's important that she hears this." Mike urgently said to Alex who turned back to look at them to see something akin to fear in their eyes.

Before he could answer, the Saint's voice filled the room, "It's okay, I'm already awake." The silhouette of their holy leader sat up in bed with her back weakly hunched over as she stared at them from behind the curtains. "Send him in."

Alex nodded then turned to the soldier, "Come."

Mike released a slow breath in order to remain calm as he entered the Saint's bed chamber. He bowed his head in respect while Alex closed the door behind them. "Your Holiness." they greeted as the Saint shakily sat up.

"Forgive my disturbance, but we just returned from Fort Stevens...and I came to tell you that it has been successfully taken." Mike explained after a short pause.

"That's good news then." the Saint stated with a tired smile, "With the Guardians' training facility out of Gilead's hands, they won't be able to train anymore troops for the front lines."

"Yeah...that's the good news." Mike began with a look of discomfort. "But the thing is...someone else took the Fort, not the Rebellion."

"What?" Alex exclaimed from behind them, "I'm sorry, but did you just say that someone outside the Rebellion and Mayday got a hold of Fort Stevens?"

"Yes, it was taken right as we got there."

"Well who was it?" the Saint asked, still fatigued but interested in this development.

"They are an Anti-Gilead group called Purgatory."

Alex repeated, "'Purgatory'? Isn't that another word for Hell?"

"It is, and they crawled out of it to wreak vengeance on Gilead." Mike answered as memories of what he had seen done to the Guardians and Commanders still fresh in his mind.

"You are afraid." the Saint stated when she felt his emotions roll off of him. "Did you meet them?"

"More like she met me, their leader who calls herself 'Wrath'." At their silence, Mike then took a deep breath and explained, "The thing is, she has the same powers as you."

"What...What are you talking about?" the Saint exclaimed in surprise at this information after she fell into a coughing fit.

"I'm saying telekinesis, causing destruction, breaking bones kind of power." Mike answered, leaving out a couple of details that may cause her to feel even more sick.

"I don't break bones. I could, but I don't." the Saint added as Alex gave her a glass of water between the curtains to soothe her throat.

Alex's hand fell on Mike's shoulder and faced him, "Hold on, let me get this straight, you mean to tell us that there's another like the Saint?"

"Yes and no. That's what I need to tell you about. I only met her once, but I've seen what she and her Purgatory friends have done to their prisoners in Fort Stevens." Mike closed his eyes as he prepared himself to tell her the details regarding Wrath. "She tortures Gilead supporters, Commanders and Guardians, she snapped their legs and put them back together so she can break them again. For the Aunts and Wives who abused the Handmaids. Purgatory soldiers use them the same way Gilead uses women, only much worse." He swallowed his bile when he remembered that room where the prideful Wives and strict Aunts are bruised, whipped and raped repeatedly for their part in the enslavement of women.

By the end of his recount, Alex and the Saint looked ill. "She may have the same kind of powers like yours. But she is an angry bloodthirsty bitch."

"She is the opposite of me, the other side of the coin." the Saint whispered from where she sat on the bed.

"The same coin that wants to destroy Gilead." Alex could not help but add before he turned his attention back to Mike, "Was there something else she wanted when she met you?"

Mike nodded, "Yes. She requested a meeting with the Saint herself." he turned to the Saint, "Alone."

"Why?" Alex asked as an uneasy feeling rose up from inside him.

Mike sighed, "I don't know. I asked the same thing, but she only glared at me and said it was between you and her."

"I've never met this Wrathful Woman before, or anyone who has the same powers as I." The Saint stated in confusion yet fascination at the prospect of meeting someone like her.

"Well apparently she knows you. She kept talking about some massacre from a decade ago." The Saint and Alex tensed up when they heard that.

"Thank you Michael, you are dismissed. Take rest and recuperate." The Saint requested the soldier in her soft yet shaking voice.

Michael bowed his head in respect, "Thank you Your Holiness." He walked out of the room and closed the door behind him.

After a few moments of silence, Alex finally spoke, "You can't possibly be thinking of meeting with her."

"She knows who I am and what I've done." Carrie said as she parted the white curtains and sat on the edge of the bed with her head hung down. Her body was still weakened from the overuse of her powers at Washington.

"But how? As far as anyone was concerned Carrie White died that night. I made sure of it." Alex said as he watched the telekinetic's pale form move under the long sleeved night gown.

"Doesn't matter right now." Carrie raised her head, her disheveled strawberry-blonde hair covered half of her tired face. "She has the same powers as I, and she's using it for violent purposes against Gilead."

"From what Mike described, this one seeks vengeance and payback if she is willing to have her men rape and brutalize Commanders, Wives, Aunts, and Guardians." Alex stated, not too keen on returning the favor with the same kind of violence but understood why a victim of such abuse would want to get even like that.

"I fear there is more to it than that." Carrie looked up at Alex, uncertainty written on her face. "Wrath wants to meet with me face-to-face. She and I both share a common enemy. It's possible she may want an alliance."

Alex nodded at the possibility, "That may be so. But you know that saying, 'An enemy of my enemy is my friend'. Purgatory may not be our enemy, but I don't think they're our friends either." he added, unsure if he could trust such a violent Anti-Gilead group.

Carrie released a quiet sigh. "You're right about that. Which is why I must meet with Wrath to see for myself."

"What if it's a trap?" Alex asked as Carrie stood up and went behind the changing screen where her Saint apparel hung.

"Anything can be a trap. You taught me to think five steps ahead." Carrie said as she changed out of her sleepwear.

"I taught you how to play chess." Alex deadpanned.

"Chess, war; either way, 'strategy is key' as you say." Carrie quoted as she brushed her hair and tied it back from her face.

"And what if you don't come back?" Alex asked, unable to keep the worry out of his voice. Over and over he has seen Carrie off to battle against Gilead. He always had faith and confidence in her victory because of her powers. Gileadean soldiers were never a match for her and they lost every time. But whoever this Wrath is? If this one is ruthless with her powers, he feared Carrie would not survive the encounter.

Carrie stepped out from behind the screen in her white long-sleeved shirt and pants with her cloak bundled in her arms and mask in her hand. "You're afraid." she stated in a calm and gentle tone as she stared at Alex.

"I am. For you and for our people." Alex said as he stared at the young girl who looked fragile but was much stronger than people believe. "I know this may sound self-serving, but we all count on you, rely on you to the point where we feel lost at the thought of you not being here." he admitted, unable to deny how he felt for using her powers to fight Gilead.

Carrie stepped forward, not breaking eye contact as she rested a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I made my choice the day you awakened me. I'm not gonna die, not until I'm sure that Gilead is gone and will never rise again. Even with my powers alone, it is not enough. But with you and all who have fought beside us, every battle we won brings us closer to Gilead's end. The whole world sees what Gilead's done, and that has crippled them just long enough to give us an edge." Her hand fell from Alex's shoulder, "I'm not sure what Wrath wants with me, but I won't let her kill me. If Purgatory wants Gilead brought down, we need all the help we can get."

Alex asked, "And what about their violent methods?"

"I'll try to work my way around it." Carrie made her way to the window as her cloak floated around her before it wrapped itself onto her person and fastened at her front. Her mask rose above her then gently placed itself on her face.

She opened the window telekinetically as the wind brushed through her cloak. She glanced at Alex and said, "I'll come back as fast as I can." Then she floated out of the base towards where Fort Stevens was located as Alex watched her leave.

Fort Stevens

Blue eyes opened as she stared out the office window towards the horizon. A smile crawled onto her face, "Soon, Carrie. Very soon." she whispered, before she returned her attention to the screaming Commander who is now bleeding from his crotch as her dogs ate the piece she happily took from the rapist.

"Forgive me for ignoring you like that, I was just thinking about someone really nice." she apologized with a sickly-sweet smile as she approached the gagged man. "Now, where was I before I started daydreaming?" she pretended to ponder, "Oh, that's right, I need to make sure you stay alive through this." she smiled as she laid a hand on his head and manipulated his brain to stay conscious of the agony.

Her hand extended to the fireplace where she called hot poker she left in the flames to her hand and kept it just a hairsbreadth away from her palm. With a gleeful smile, she crouched down between the Commander's bloody thighs and brought the fire to his fresh wound.

"Now, let's begin." the sound of flesh sizzling and high pitched screams filled Fort Stevens as she cauterized him.

AN: To anyone who is a Carrie fan should be able to figure who this woman is.