Part 4

Ava couldn't sleep. After her little meltdown, Beatrice had made plans for the next few days, ordering their 'to-do' list by priorities. They had waited a couple of hours for the tablet to come to life, it hadn't. Eventually Beatrice had called it a day. As per her announcement she had let the bed to Ava and was now lying on the couch.

Ava glanced at Beatrice again. She was lying still, her hands intertwined over her stomach, but Ava knew she wasn't sleeping either because her thumbs were silently beating the seconds away.

"I keep thinking about what you said earlier."

Ava's voice was a whisper but in the thick silence of the small room, it echoed like a shout.

"And I wonder what would happen if Lilith and Camilla shared a bed."

"Well, believe it or not, they cancelled each other out," Beatrice replied almost immediately, amusement clear in her voice.

"Really?"

"Yup. Camilla immobilized Lilith with one of her rolls so there were no flailing and everybody was safe."

Ava laughed softly picturing the scene. "Sounds like you guys had some fun."

"Yeah, it's not always about fighting demons, sometimes we have trips to small towns to provide some help on one thing or another."

Beatrice spoke about the trip that had led them to share beds in the first place. Ava saw clear pictures in her mind, she felt the affection and the bond between the girls. When Beatrice fell quiet, Ava also felt a smidge of envy, wishing she had that kind of bond, of community. In a way she'd had a very shirt taste of it, for a short while, first with JC and his friends, then with Beatrice and the others.

The light mood dimmed a little at the thought. The unspoken worry about the fate of the other sisters hanging in the air. Ava wanted to ask Beatrice if she thought they were okay, but kept quiet.

As if the universe had decided to answer her silent query, the tablet came to life with an electronic tune. Beatrice sat up immediately to take the device, Ava came to sit by her sides in seconds.

After a few manipulations a window popped up and Camilla's battered face appeared on screen. Beatrice and Ava both sucked in a small breath in surprise and relief.

Camilla's face was marred with bruised and cuts, her left eye blackened. In spite of her appearance her calm and soft grin was there, still in place. "Hey guys, it's good to see you," she spoke with obvious relief.

"Are you alright?" Beatrice asked.

"Yeah… it's not as bad as it looks," Camilla dismissed her concerned with a wave of her right hand which was in what appeared to be a soft cast. "I'll be good as new in a few days. What about you?"

"We're fine, don't worry. In a safe hideout," it was about all Beatrice could say as far as their location went.

"Good," Camilla nodded. "Good. We're on the move as well. I'm not sure where we'll settle yet."

There was a pause then Camilla launched into the tale of what had happened on her end. She had managed to reach Lilith again, by then Mother Superion had joined the fight as well as some much needed back up. It had taken many hours to get the situation somewhat contained.

"It was bedlam… right now they're trying to spin a plausible narrative of the events. There are still possessed out there but they're managing…"

"I'm sorry, we couldn't help…" Beatrice said. She knew that they didn't have the choice as their first mission was to keep the Halo and the Halo bearer safe, still, she couldn't help the guilt she felt at leaving her sisters behind.

"I'm just glad you two are safe."

Silence fell upon them and Beatrice felt ice settled in the pit of her stomach. Something was wrong and her suspicions were only confirmed when Camilla bit her cut bottom lip.

"Camilla, what is it?"

"We… we've lost track of Mary."

Beatrice and Ava glanced at each other; both felt the new set on their shoulders like a lead chap.

"She hasn't reached out yet… with all the commotion… there were so many… we just… lost track…"

"I'm sure she put herself to safety," Beatrice said with all the conviction she could muster, trying to be reassuring. "She's resourceful, you know that."

Camilla nodded, but the worry etched on her face did not recede.

"We'll go look for her as soon as Lilith is back on her feet," Camilla added. "She has never disclosed where she was living when she wasn't staying with us and ever since Shannon…"

Camilla didn't finish her sentence but Beatrice knew what she meant. Mary had always been private when it came to her whereabouts, she had always valued having something just for herself. Shannon was probably the only one to have been let in into her sanctuary. After losing Shannon, Mary had retreated to herself a little more and there had been many days when she'd disappear, whenever she was back it was as if the previous days hadn't happened.

Mary would reach out when she was ready, as she always did, Beatrice knew it. She just hoped that she wasn't too badly hurt.

"She'll get in touch in her own time," Beatrice voiced her thoughts.

"Yeah…" Camilla chose to believe her; it was better than thinking about the alternative. "I shouldn't stay too long, just in case. I'll get in touch again soon. We might need to keep the contact to a minimum for now, like once a week…"

"You're right."

"You two keep each other safe."

"You as well."

Camilla waved goodbye before cutting the feed.

Ava let out a heavy sigh as she buried her face in her hands. On the one hand she was relieved because they finally had news and most of them were okay, on the other, Mary was MIA and that… that didn't sit well with her. She felt like she was going to be sick. All of this was her fault and now, someone she cared about was probably hurt and nowhere to be found.

Beatrice opened her mouth to say something, but remained silent in the end, not certain to have the right words. She put a comforting hand on Ava's back instead.

After a couple of minutes, Ava raised her head to look at Beatrice; "Do you really believe Mary is okay?"

"Yes," Beatrice said firmly without any hesitation. "It won't do us any good to think otherwise."

It may not be the words Ava needed to hear, but it was the truth. Beatrice had to believe everything was alright for Mary. Faith was all they had right now and she'd hang onto it just like she always had in the bleakest moments of her life.

Ava bobbed her head in acceptance, but she was clearly still upset at the situation.

"We should try to get some rest."

Ava accepted Beatrice's order without resistance and quietly went back to bed, turning on her side so her back was to Beatrice. She clenched her jaw not to let out the sob that had bubbled up in her throat. She let tears fall silently on her cheeks though.

She wasn't sure where she stood as far as faith went but at this moment, she was praying that Mary was indeed okay, hoping that someone or something was listening.

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