The Message and the Martha

"Sister?!" Alexander exclaimed in complete shock after listening to Carrie's recount in the last hour after he came back from a meeting to see her return to her chambers hours before him.

Carrie nodded, standing in her long sleeve shirt and jeans, both white. "Same father, different mothers. Though we are half, we share the same blood that grants us these powers."

"I heard your dad was a spooky-looking bastard, but to have passed on something like this..." Alex paced back and forth in the Saint's Chambers. "Is Wrath-or Rachel-the only other offspring your father created?" He worriedly asked as he turned to Carrie who leaned her elbows on the table with her forehead in her hands.

"By God's mercy, I hope so." Carrie whispered, emotionally exhausted after meeting her long lost sister and retelling Alexander about it.

Alex sat diagonally from her with hands clasped together as he contemplated this turn of events. "So what now? Are you really gonna leave her to her own devices?" he turned to Carrie as she lifted her head up and stared ahead of her.

Carrie nodded solemnly, "I have to. No matter how much I disagree with her twisted methods, I have to put the Rebellion first lest I make a new enemy out of her."

Alex let out an exasperated breath. "From how you described her..." he shook his head, "...no wonder she's called Wrath. Not that I can blame her. Harsh environments turn the most decent people into their worst nightmare. But at least she's channeling that hate and anger at Gilead. That's a good thing."

"Is committing vengeful acts in the name of God really a good thing?" Carrie asked, her conversation with Rachel still fresh in her mind. "Does this make us any different from our enemies?" Even now, she can remember the twisted pleasure that came from Rachel when she talked about mutilating Commanders and their Wives.

"I wish I had the right answer for that." Alex responded as he tapped his fingers on the wooden table. "I've heard stories about some of the Gilead families that adopted the stolen children. Very few of them are warm and loving, while the rest..." He sighed mournfully. "...they already destroyed their "daughters'" innocence. If the Commander she was living with slapped her, who knows what other unforgivable acts he committed towards her that made her the way she is."

Carrie's heart broke at the thought of such a thing happening to her only sister. For a moment, she felt bloodlust inside her that wanted to be unleashed on every Commander in the nation. But as soon as it came, she stomped it right down and locked it back inside that box in the corner of her mind. She doesn't-no, can't go back to that again.

"All the tragedy that befell her, all that sorrow and pain. I know that feeling." Carrie whispered as tears glistened in her eyes. "I too have killed and maimed my victims, but I never enjoyed it. Or rather, I hate how good it felt to hurt them back." She bowed her head in shame. "All that blood, the screams, the fire, all that fear...maybe she and I aren't so different."

Alex placed a hand on her shoulder and watched her intensely. "Carrie, listen to me, you're not like that, you're different. You're better and stronger than that. No matter tempting it is to hurt them, you prove that you are not like, and you will never be like them." He firmly and determinedly said to her as way to give her strength. "If she wants to literally rip Gilead's balls off, then we have no choice but to let her. This gives Gilead something else to worry about while we free as many slaves as possible."

Carrie nodded as she wiped her tears away. "Yes. Those were the conditions of our truce. She plays her part as the Wrath of God, and I'll continue as the Saint. We stick to our roles, stay out of each others' way."

"Do you like your sister?" Alex had to ask since this is something entirely new to Carrie.

Carrie was silent as she thought of that question. "I don't hate her. I'm glad she's alive and was able to experience some degree of happiness. I don't know how to feel about all this right now. I want her to be safe, but she doesn't need me for that. I want to have a relationship with her. I just don't know how to go about it with all the chaos around us."

"Well, you both hate Gilead and you don't want to hurt the innocent, so that is a good starting point." Alex pointed out, seeing how this is the only thing they have in common.

Carrie stared off into space, contemplating something, or rather someone. "There's something else we have in common."

"What would that be?" Alex asked when he caught the look in her eye.

"Not what, who, Sue Snell." Carrie spoke the name of her sister's adoptive mother. "Gilead took her and turned her into a Handmaid. I have to find her. Sue and her daughter Amelia."

Alex was silent before he nodded, "I'll check the network, see what they can dig up." He swallowed, his expression filled with doubt. "But there's a possibility that they may not have survived."

"They have to. For Rachel's sake. She says she lost her soul when Gilead took away Sue and Amelia. If I could find any trace of them, they can heal her the way they did like before." Carrie persistently said, determined to find the two most important people in Rachel's life.

"But what if you're wrong, what if it's a grave you're looking for?" Alex said, not wanting to get her hopes up for fear she will be heartbroken.

Carrie sighed through her nose and nodded, "Then it will give us closure. Whether they're dead or alive, I need to find them."

Alex nodded, "I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you." Carrie said before a knock sounded at the door. She quickly called her mask to her and concealed her face. "Enter."

The door opened to reveal a Rebellion soldier and a Martha. The soldier bowed in respect to his superior. "Forgive the disturbance Your Holiness. But this woman wanted to talk to you in person, says she has a message from Wrath."

"Wrath? You met her?" Carrie asked as she rose from her seat to approach the Martha.

"Yes. She saved me and a dozen of us that were sentenced to be hanged." The Martha explained, sweating despite the cold air around them. "She broke the bones of the Eyes that were taking us to our execution. I saw it happen. It was horrifying." She swallowed her saliva as she controlled her sickness. "We were given a choice on where we can go. Join the Rebellion and rescue as many slaves from Gilead, or join Purgatory and exact revenge on any and all who abused and terrorized us."

Carrie's eyes widened, "How long ago was this?"

"Five hours ago." The Martha answered.

'She did this straight after our meeting.' Carrie widened as she did the quick math in her head. "Then what happened?"

"A few of them chose Purgatory while the rest of us chose to come here." She took out an envelope with a letter 'W' wax seal on it. "She told me to give this to you."

Carrie took the envelope from the Martha and opened it to read the contents...

Dearest Holy Saint,

I hope this finds you well. While the efforts you take to save lives is admirable, you can't always be there to rescue them. Which is why I do you this favor. Any and all I rescue from execution will be given a choice between Purgatory's quest for vengeance and the Rebellion's mission for salvation. We both need as many soldiers as possible in this war, consider these new recruits my gift to you.

Your dearest sister,

The Wrath of God

Carrie let out an exasperated laugh after she read the letter.

"What does it say?" Alex asked as they watched Carrie's expression through eye hole of her mask.

Carrie folded up the paper. "Just a friendly hello." She turned to the Martha again and asked, "May I please know your name?"

"My name is Frances, I am - was - a Martha serving the Mackenzie household."

"Why were you sentenced?"

Frances clenched her eyes to keep her tears from falling. "For 'endangering a sacred child.'"

Alex scoffed, "They're own clouded point of view."

"What really happened?" Carrie urged as she took Frances' hands in her own, "You're not capable of endangering any child. I sense your soul is too pure and motherly to do such things."

Frances let a tear roll down her cheek as she remembered the child she wanted to protect from Gilead. "I tried to arrange a visit between a child and her real mother. Someone caught on and reported me to the Eyes." She sniffled and gasped. "And now the Mackenzies fled and took that little girl farther away from her mother. She doesn't have me to protect her anymore in her mother's place." She was full out crying now, mourning the loss of the only daughter she'll ever have in this hellish world.

Carrie wrapped her arms around the heartbroken woman and held her tightly and comfortingly. "It's okay, God knows you've done your best." She sighed as Frances cried into her shoulder, releasing all the pent up anger and sadness Gilead caused her. "What you did was truly brave and selfless. You've got a good heart. Something God praises you for, and what Gilead will never understand." She pulled away to wipe Frances' tears with the pads of her thumbs.

Frances sniffled as she nodded. "Thank you. Hannah's heard so much about you, or at least as much as she could hear." She smiled tearfully. "She said, she prays the Saint will come and save her and her mother."

"Hannah." Carrie smiled, "Is that her real name?"

Frances nodded, "Yes. Her replacement parents called her Agnes Mackenzie. But her real name is Hannah Bankole. Her parents are Luke Bankole and June Osborne."

Carrie's eyes widened, "June? Handmaid for Commander Lawrence."

"Yes. You know her?" Frances asked in surprise.

"I got her newborn daughter to Canada." The Saint turned to Alexander who nodded at the unspoken command before he walked out of the room with the soldier.

Carrie guided Frances to sit in a chair and fixed her a cup of tea she had brewing. "Tell me about yourself Ms. Frances. What did you do before Gilead?" she asked as she handed her the tea which she gratefully took and began to talk about her life. This is the first time anyone ever wanted to speak about life prior to Gilead. Aside from spending time with Hannah, this is the first time she felt at peace, and most of all, hopeful for a better future for Hannah.

I've got my groove back. I like Frances, she deserves to live. Fuck you to Aunt Lydia and her little snitch. This chapter helps bridge over to what happens in the next chapter. Trust me, you'll enjoy it. Thank you.