AN: So, a little extra for you before the next arc starts. You can thank the folks at the SpaceBattles forums, in the style of Worm I asked for "donations" for this interlude. The donations took the acceptable form of Cutenid pics from around the net, so here you are! Donation Interlude 1 is go!
Donation Interlude: A Missing Child
She screamed awake, jerking upright in the cot. Another nightmare that she couldn't remember. All she knew was that it was bad, worse than any before.
She wracked her brain. There was something she was supposed to know, to do, but the thought slipped away from her. Maybe it wasn't so bad, forgetting. At least the dreams disappeared when she woke.
Her head was so fuzzy. She needed … something. It felt like hunger, like thirst, but not for food or water.
"Hello my pet," rumbled a voice behind her.
She spun around in shock, scooting up the cot and pressing herself against the wall. There was a shape in the darkness, he was there. She remembered now. This wasn't her room, it wasn't her bed.
The nightmares didn't go away when she woke up.
"Candy," she requested weakly.
He chuckled, a deep mellifluous sound. "Soon my pet, soon. First, a few questions."
She looked, and saw. She would gain nothing by denying him. The one possibility that meant anything to her disappeared if she resisted.
She nodded.
"Very good child. Now tell me, my friend is leaving soon to take care of an unexpected problem. Will he succeed?"
She looked, and saw. The probabilities converged. She nodded again.
He shifted in the darkness, leaning closer. "Are you sure pet?"
She didn't need to look, didn't want to see it again. She already knew the answer. Dinah Alcott spoke.
"One hundred percent certain. The girl in the bug suit dies."