Tally woke to hushed voices nearby, but she did everything to stay still and keep her eyes closed. She was terribly curious to see who they were but at the same time she was afraid. To her surprise, the burning feeling in her throat was completely gone, she felt so much better. Uh-oh. That meant someone fixed her, further meaning someone linked with her. She had no way of knowing who it was, what they saw, or when it even happened. She didn't remember passing out, but then again she shouldn't have expected to. It was probably the result of whoever her captures were. She had so many questions racing through her mind, but she tried desperately to push them all away so she could focus on the voices.
"I did my best to fix her, but linking with her was incredibly difficult," She heard a woman speak harshly. "Did you know they were connected like that before we brought her here?!"
"No, but it will be an advantage, don't you think?" A different woman responded. It was her voice that was familiar to her, but she couldn't pinpoint from where. Where? Where had she heard this woman before?! For all of the questions she had, her head was still a little foggy, it was on the tip of her tongue, she was someone important but who?
"If she is so close to that wretch, don't you think we have just doomed ourselves?! And given away our location?! Surely they know by now that we have her! They probably know exactly where we are!" The first woman sounded panicky and more than a little skeptical of the familiar one's actions.
"Quiet down and remember your place, you might disturb her," It was the second woman. Tally managed to stop herself from nearly screaming as she felt a warm hand gently brush hair out of her face. Somehow, by the grace of the goddess, she was able to stay still for the most part. "Of course Alder knows by now, but whatever their connection is, clearly the mighty General does not think very highly of it, which is her loss," That stung a little even though Tally knew in her heart it was clearly true, and she had fought with herself long before this moment to accept it. The fact that some stranger knew that they were connected and that the General paid it no mind, well that was just salt on her proverbial wound.
It had been more days than she was able to keep track of since she last saw the General, and she had not heard, felt, or seen one sign that told her the General even realized she was gone.
Tally truthfully hadn't had a lot of time to think about the General's reaction to the fact they were still connected given she was shortly thereafter taken captive by who she had originally assumed was the spree. Here and now though as she lay there, she was reminded of that night. The General's expression had been, what she had no better word for than, simply horrified and maybe confused, and in all likelihood disgusted. She had never seen her show any of those emotions before however, so she was not entirely sure those assumptions were correct. In any case, the General hadn't known about their connection before that evening, and she hadn't done much of anything to recognize it afterwards. Meaning in short, that this familiar woman, whoever she was, was correct; the General did not think very highly of her or whatever connection they had or may still have.
"So she might be turned then, if she learned the truth," The first woman sounded hopeful.
She felt the soft hand remain on her cheek.
"I would not count on it being such a simple task! We must not underestimate her, the General has a way of instilling a sense of undying loyalty into her subjects," That woman continued stroking her face. "Isn't that right, Miss Craven? Open your eyes now, I know you are awake," The woman spoke knowingly and Tally couldn't help but open her eyes then. She was met with the cool brown menacing stare of the woman from the General's memories. Her first thought was wondering how she knew she was awake, then cursing herself for even bothering to question it because it didn't matter anymore. Now she didn't know what to do. She just let herself stare right back at this woman who smirked down at her as she removed her hand from her cheek so slowly that it almost hurt.
The General drummed her fingers on the surface of the desk that sat in the confines of the warding circle in the deepest darkest part of the base. In all of her years, they have only had to use this a number of times, and she was now regretting having not taken the time to make it a nicer space. She was used to the solitude and comfort of her office, well, with the biddies of course but their voices were white noise to her now. The sounds of soldiers coming and going, the sounds of their voices, and the sounds they made as they carried out their tasks, those she was not as used to. They were distracting her from the task at hand. Getting back the Cadet she had let down, as well as recovering the other two soldiers who were apparently taken hostage along with her. It was such a mess and she couldn't take it anymore.
Try as she might to focus on every possible detail they knew of the spree, nothing came to mind that was helpful. Besides being distracted by the noises around her, she still had a headache and it was difficult to keep her thoughts from drifting back to the girl. In her head she saw her bloodied face and heard her cries for help, it was maddening because she was having a hard time picturing her any other way. Before all of this, when she used to think of her, that bright infectious dimpled smile of hers was what she remembered first, then she would be reminded of how it felt to be truly connected to her, and then usually she would be drawn into sadness because she did miss the feeling of her. If only they were still connected, she could just talk to her and they would probably have her back already. Wait.
She looked around the room. Where was that damn scientist when she needed her.
"General Bellwether! Here. Now." She barked roughly, her throat still a little sore.
Petra looked over her shoulder from where she was discussing with her officers. Alder couldn't hold back the sneer from forming on her lips. Her patience was still thin with her.
"Yes, ma'am?" Petra asked when she stepped up to her desk.
"Find Izadora, send her to me, now, that's all," Alder waved her off but Petra didn't move.
"What is the matter? Hopefully, something important enough that it's worth interrupting my work to fix this blunder of yours," Petra questioned indignantly.
Alder clenched her fists. "Do not question me, Petra. Find Izadora, and get me an eta on your daughter's return. You are dismissed," Alder practically snarled. That woman had some nerve.
Petra sighed and nodded before turning away.
Alder only had to wait a few more minutes before the scientist was present before her.
"General, General Bellwether indicated you might be feeling unwell or experiencing some other adverse effects, can you describe them?" The woman's expression was stoic as always, but Alder knew that this was her compassionate voice.
Of course Petra would make things up. "No she was mistaken, however, perhaps you may be able to help me regardless," Alder knew that other than herself, the only other officer knowledgeable of the biddy links and associated magic was Izadora. "The link. Before I got us into this situation we are now facing, I informed you of the remaining link between Cadet Craven and I,"
"Yes, you were adamant you wanted it severed completely, however, yes, you were correct there are still some remnants of it. Are you concerned they will use this remaining connection physically against you? If so, rest assured, it should not be strong enough to pass through the warding circle," Izadora explained matter of factly.
For all of Alder's experience and knowledge she hadn't thought of that. It's impossible. There were only a few people who knew of it and that list didn't include anyone off the base. There should have been no way for the spree to know. But if they did…if they somehow had that information it could mean grave danger for the girl. That though made finding the cadet even more urgent and it deepened the feeling of guilt that had settled in her chest.
"No," Alder said as calmly as possible. "I was not concerned . However, I do need to know if it is possible to strengthen it temporarily. If I could communicate with her through it somehow, she could give us information about her whereabouts and more importantly, intel on her captors,"
The Necro was silent for a few moments while she considered the General's questions. "It might be possible, however, I will need time to research viability of such possibilities,"
Petra walked back in and Alder caught her gaze. "ETA?"
"One and a half hours," She reported as she made herself busy again before the General could ask her to do anything else.
Alder looked back at the scientist who waited for her approval. "You have three hours," She hoped that would be enough time for Izadora to find anything that could be of use, but not too long as to hurt Tally's chances of surviving this. Since when did she call her Tally. Ugh. Her investment in this singular cadet was becoming an issue. So far it was a benign problem to have at the moment while their link was virtually non-existent, but she feared the side effect of her play for information would lead them to be connected far closer than they had been before, and that would not bode well for her emotionally. That being the case, part of her conflicting feelings wanted the scientist to return with news that it was impossible. Just that thought made her feel guilty though, why would she not want to fix this at any cost. The girl had saved her without consideration for herself, why could she not be confident in doing this one thing for her, even if it meant being connected to her again. What was wrong with her. She knew she missed the girl's presence, it wouldn't be a bad thing to feel her again. She was more than a little conflicted about this whole thing.
"Yes ma'am, right away," The Necro hurried off, leaving Alder sitting alone with her thoughts of the red haired girl, waiting for the two cadets to return.
"That's right, show me those pretty brown eyes of yours," The woman smirked but there was a hint of curiosity in her expression. "So you are the Tally Craven. We finally meet in person,"
Tally squirmed and tried to sit up. She was not surprised to be tied up, only inches away from the woman who now sat by her. "You- you're Nicte Batan,"
She stood up with a flourish and gave a dramatic bow. "The one and only. You are much more beautiful in person, I must say. No wonder you are the General's new favorite,"
Tally scoffed with a humorless chuckle. "I don't know what you mean, the General and I don't speak,"
"Is that so?" She stepped right up to the edge of the table, and traced one finger up Tally's arm, across her shoulder, and up to the middle of her neck. Tally couldn't see it, but she could feel it. It still felt hot, though significantly less so than before. "Because it appears to me, that you two are connected, and what's more, I would bet her life, that both of you already know that, so don't come here and try to tell me that you two don't 'speak',"
Tally looked away. "There is nothing you can say or do to make me talk to you about her, even about something as meaningless as this. I will not,"
"We'll see how true that really is," Nicte nodded, though her vicious smirk struck Tally with fear. "I'm not sure you'll be able to withstand my charm," She said sarcastically with a tilt of her head. "I will win you over, miss Craven, I have not doubts about that,"
"So why tie me up in the first place if you plan to 'win me over'?"
The older witch just laughed, an almost maniacal laugh. "Answer this Red, have I won you over yet?"
"Maybe when Hell freezes over," Tally growled roughly, thrashing against the restraints.
"And there is your answer. You may be a Cadet, but if there is one thing I know, it's not to underestimate even those that appear weakest," Nicte explained, turning her back to her and gazing out the cabin window. "But if hell freezing over is the key to your cooperation, that can be arranged," Tally watched her close her eyes for a moment and mutter something under her breath.
The change was instant. The building started to creek, Tally felt the air around her cool and her heavy breath became white puffs in front of her. She shivered involuntarily and her restraints stiffened and chafed against her skin.
"What do you want from me?!" Tally yelled through the shivers that racked her body.
"All in due time," Nicte said cryptically. "See you in a few hours, Red," With that she slammed the door to the small room shut, leaving Tally alone once again, only now instead of the feeling of burning, she was freezing.
Alder shivered. She was never cold and she didn't get sick. It was odd. A sense of dread flooded her senses but she tried to push it away, to focus on the overwhelming guilt instead.
"General," Anacostia approached her, making her jump, startled from her thoughts. "Is something the matter?"
Alder glared up at her, as if it were obvious. Of course something was the matter. The Cadet was nowhere to be found. Any attempts to locate her had been unsuccessful thus far. Granted it had only been a day, but her patience was wearing thin, and she knew, as she had been told by the drill sergeant herself, that this was all her fault.
"Tell me you have good news," She forced over her seared vocal cords.
"Collar and Bellwether have arrived at the base and have requested an audience with you, ma'am," Anacostia's tone was firm.
Alder had not yet been given the opportunity to explain the entirety of the situation, however, nor did she desire to. It was a matter of national security and she didn't need to justify her actions to anyone, not even to the goddess herself. The only exception may be that she would have to explain to the girl, should she be recovered safely.
In her time waiting, she had come to the conclusion that whatever remaining connection they shared was not something she wanted to acknowledge until the Necro came back with more concrete information. Though she told herself that, the prospect of recovering it to a higher potential was intriguing and maybe something she wanted, now even more so with the knowledge that it might be severed indefinitely by the girl's untimely death should she not be found promptly.
Alder nodded, considering how she wanted to handle this. She was aware that no one would be more dedicated to finding the missing soldier than her own unit, with the exception of herself should she be capable of leaving this goddess forsaken room. She tried to weigh the tactical advantage of allowing these two inexperienced cadets to take part in the search in her stead. "Send them to me,"
"Good idea," Anacostia muttered with a small smile of support for the decision to allow the two girls to help.
The two cadets were brought in by the drill sergeant. Both looked a little worse for wear, but what else could be expected when they show up expecting to find their sister only to miss her by a matter of hours.
"General," They both stood at attention, and Anacostia stood at Alder's side.
The General nodded in acknowledgment and they both relaxed marginally. "Report," She looked to Abigail to start speaking first but Collar was quicker.
"She was gone by the time we got there," Her tone was terse, and her glare was unforgiving, not that Sarah was expecting any forgiveness. "But that wasn't part of your plan was it? You don't have her anymore," It wasn't a question. Raelle knew very well from what she saw when she linked with the General, that this was not her doing, but it didn't stop her from being distrustful of her nonetheless.
Alder shook her head. "No, we have no new information,"
Abigail clenched her fists and gritted her teeth and Raelle scoffed. "Of course not,"
"Control yourself, Cadet," Anacostia warned.
They both turned their attention to Quartermaine now. "And why should I? You didn't see what they did to Tally! What she ordered them to do!" Raelle growled, pointing a finger in Alder's direction.
"I'm sure there was some reason for it," Even Anacostia's tone was a little tense as she glanced down at the General who was seemingly not phased by any of this. "And I have no doubt that that reason will be made clear sooner rather than later, at least to the ones who need to hear it," She continued pointedly. "But in the present moment, she and the others are still missing. Standing here arguing over who is to blame will not bring them back any faster,"
That got Raelle to quiet down, but she redirected her glare to be locked on Alder once again, who was looking back at her with the same intensity, neither backing down.
"The Spree are ruthless, but what are they going to do with a Cadet? Why take Tally of all of the people?" Abigail questioned, looking between Anacostia and Alder, not sure who should be directing the question to.
"It is still unclear-" Alder began but she was rapidly interrupted.
"It's because of her, Abs, I told you already. Tally told us she was still having the General's memories," Raelle muttered lowly. "They are still connected on some level,"
Alder cleared her throat, albeit painfully. "Clearly the spree discovered that unfortunate fact, though I don't know how -" Alder had to work hard to get that phrasing out of her mouth without changing her mind. Admitting to having that connection was one thing, admitting that it was not a hindrance to her, was something else entirely and she was not about to do that.
Both Raelle and Abigail stiffened at the General's word choice. Even Anacostia seemed put off by it, but it was Abigail who spoke up this time, stepping forward. "She saved your life, General, do not forget that thanks to her, you can sit there alive and breathing while calling your connection to her unfortunate. As inconvenient as it may be for you, you and the rest of this country will be in her debt forever! Who knows what would have happened if she hadn't done what she did! Not to mention that as you are connected to her, she is connected to you, and from what I have seen so far, despite her heroics, she's gotten the worse end of this deal by far,"
Anacostia looked between the girls and Alder, a somewhat confused expression on her face.
Alder didn't have anything to say. The girl wasn't wrong by any measure, but neither was she about to give Abigail the satisfaction of being right.
Instead, during the silence, Anacostia made the connection in her head and spoke. "So they abducted her in an effort to use this connection to get to you?" Anacostia asked, to which Alder answered with a nod of her head. Raelle and Abigail cast curious glances at each other at the fact that clearly this was news to Anacostia as well. "Oh Sarah, what did you do?" Anacostia sounded beyond disappointed.
Alder avoided her gaze, but that left her staring into the eyes of the cadets that stood before her. "I will not sit here and be judged by the likes of you three," She hissed roughly. "You will either assist in retrieving the missing soldiers or I will have you removed and ordered to stand down until they are either found or returned to base,"
There was silence. "Found? As in found dead?!" Raelle yelled, stepping closer to the General's desk now. "No! We will find her alive! You, General Alder, are personally responsible for everything that has happened to her! This is all your fault! You better pray to the goddess we find her alive,"
"Do. Not. Threaten. Me. Cadet." Alder stood now, towering over them all.
"Then you better be doing everything in your power to find her," Abigail chimed in.
"Do not think I would not retrieve her myself, knowing full well she is currently being held against her will by one of the most dangerous witches in the world. If I were able, I would be searching for her as we speak! Instead, I am stuck here," She motioned flippantly to the grey room around them. "arguing with you, wasting time that could be better spent formulating a plan to bring her home,"
"What I don't understand is…" Anacostia started and they all looked at her. "If the army had her first, under your orders posing as the spree, how did the real spree know? How did they know when and where she would be?"
The silence that followed was deafening. It was an eerie thought. Someone on the base obviously had to tell them. Alder rubbed her temples. She did not need this. Her, Petra, and Izadora were the only ones that knew the full scope of the operation. Even the other soldiers involved weren't given all of the information, that didn't leave many options.
Alder lowered her voice. "Quartermaine, no one goes in or out without my approval,"
"Goddess," Anacostia muttered under her breath, understanding the implications. "Yes ma'am,"
When she left, Alder turned back to the cadets. "You two are now on this task force. Your classes are suspended until further notice. You will report directly to me with any new information, is that understood?"
They both nodded and scurried off without another word.
What is your game Nicte? Where are you hiding her?