A/N: Hey guys! So sorry for the delay, I haven't been feeling great these last couple of weeks, but I am much better now and ready to give you the next chapter!
Helena and Aliya walked through the field until they reached the main road, which felt as though it had taken hours, and it very well could have been since they had to trudge through waist high grass. Once they had reached the main road, the two stopped to rest for Helena, who had started to get sick again. The two needed to find shelter and fast because the sky was turning an ominous gray color, telling them that a storm was arriving. Once Helena felt well enough to continue, the two walked down the abandoned street and turned down a dirt road. The place seemed abandoned, not a soul in sight as they walked, wincing at the feel of the dirt under their bare feet.
Eventually, they found an abandoned cabin, Helena forcing the door open and stumbling inside. Helena groaned, putting a hand on her stomach as she willed the nausea to go away, looking around the cabin that had a rustic feel to it. The walls were made of polished wood with various animal heads decorating them. The kitchen had a 1960's look to it in a disgusting yellow color with laminate counter tops; the wood on the cabinets noticeably worn. The bedrooms had no doors, only curtains in place of doors apart from what Helena assumed was the master bedroom that had a partition type of door.
Helena rushed into the master bedroom and grabbed the first outfit that she came across, consisting of a navy-blue V-neck shirt with a red and black flannel with black leggings. The next thing she did was look for a pair of shoes, finding a pair of black moccasins that were a little snug, but it would have to do. Helena looked up as Aliya joined her, having found herself an outfit in another bedroom consisting of a dark green blouse and jeans that seemed to be a little big on her with a similar pair of moccasins.
"What's the plan?" Aliya asks, sitting at the foot of the bed.
"We need to find a way to reach HQ, let them know that we're okay and that we need to find Leon," she says, Aliya going out the sliding door in the bedroom and onto the back porch.
"Hey, what about that radio tower?" she asks, pointing across the lake to a radio tower in the distance.
"That's far but it'll have to do," Helena says, joining her and following her gaze across the horizon.
"Okay, let's wait for this rain to let up and then we can go," Aliya says as the two went back inside, leaving the master bedroom and going into the main sitting area, Helena groaning as she sat on the couch.
Helena knew that they needed to get out of there, but she was exhausted and run down, just wanting to get some rest first. At some point, Helena ended up falling asleep on the old, worn couch. Aliya found a blanket to cover her with and went to one of the bedrooms, watching the rain fall and then falling asleep herself.
Aliya didn't stay asleep for long, being jolted awake with the worst headache of her life, curling up into the fetal position.
Kill her. Just do it. The voice in her head kept telling her, tears streaming down her face as she willed the voice and the pain to go away.
"No. They're just intrusive thoughts, people get them all the time. It's okay." Aliya tried to tell herself, only for it to fail, the voice in her head becoming more aggressive the more she resisted. The teen sat upright in the bed, a dark look suddenly crossing her features as she knew what she had to do. Aliya left the bedroom; the whole cabin dark now and only being lit up by a clap of thunder and lightning from the raging storm outside.
The teen looked over where she now saw Helena fast asleep, the events of the day having exhausted her. Aliya walked into the kitchen, grabbing the biggest knife that she could find, feeling the cold, steel blade in her hand and turning it over in her hands and walking over to where Helena slept.
Helena's eyes snapped open as she felt a presence over her, seeing Aliya with the knife and she immediately got up just in time, the blade only managing to slice her side. Aliya stabbed the knife into the couch, quickly pulling it out and causing stuffing to fly everywhere.
"Aliya, what are you doing!?" Helena yells, dodging the flailing knife and the teen letting out a feral scream as she charged at Helena, managing to stab Helena's thigh.
Helena ran to the kitchen, trying to find anything that she could use to defend herself. She didn't want to kill Aliya, she just wanted to get her to snap out of it. The agent turned upon hearing Aliya screech again and held her hands up, stopping the blade with her hands. She could feel the blade slicing into her hands as she struggled to hold Aliya at bay, surprised at the sudden strength the teen had. Helena looked at Aliya, whose eyes were now as black as coal and her face noticeably paler.
As quickly as the assault began, it ceased, Aliya's eyes returning to their normal burgundy, her eyes widening and immediately dropping the bloody knife, the weapon falling to the floor with a clatter.
Helena fell to her knees, holding her bleeding thigh and side, breathing heavily as she looked at the teen.
"Aliya, what_" she starts, only for Aliya to turn tail and run, "Aliya!" Helena called, getting up and stumbling after her, only getting to the porch and collapsing to the ground, her energy depleted as she faded into unconsciousness.
Aliya ran into the woods, her feet squishing into the mud, tripping, and falling but quickly recovering. She couldn't believe that she had hurt Helena; she had never dreamed of hurting anyone before, not even her own mother, who she had only killed to save Helena not because she had wanted to. Aliya suddenly became aware when she ran into someone, looking up at the figure clad in a yellow raincoat and rain boots to see that it was Matthew. She didn't know why, but she felt comforted by his presence and threw her arms around him in a hug.
"Woah there, what happened?" Matthew says, holding her at arm's length as he took in her muddy appearance, wiping some of it away with the sleeve of his raincoat.
"I-I hurt Helena!" She sobbed, hugging him, and burying her face in his shoulder.
"Shh it's all right my child. Come back with me and you can tell me all about it," he says, putting an arm around her and beginning to lead her out of the woods.
"What about Helena?"
"Don't worry. I will send some of my men to collect her and make sure she's all right. You have my word."
Aliya just nodded, not wanting to trust him completely but having no choice as they made their way back. Matthew led Aliya down the various paths, taking notice of how fragile the teen currently was. He had her right where he wanted: vulnerable and easily manipulated. Aliya looked up as they left the woods, seeing a huge mansion, Matthew opening the big oak doors and leading her inside.
"Lida? Are you here?" He called, leading Aliya into the mansion, mud and water dripping onto the marble floors, her dark hair clinging to her face.
Aliya looked up as a fair skinned woman wearing a white lab coat over a navy-blue dress came into the foyer. The woman, Lida, looked at Aliya with kind green eyes, her blonde hair pulled back into a bun.
"Aliya, this is Lida. She's my right hand and our head scientist," he starts, looking from Aliya to Lida, "Lida, please bring my niece to get her cleaned up and send someone to the cabin on Ivy Lane to collect Helena."
Lida nodded and gestured for Aliya to follow her, leading her up the spiral staircase to the nearest bathroom, closing the door behind them. Aliya looked around the bathroom, the room having too much white for her liking, from the white sink and bathtub to the white walls. The amount of white would hurt her head if she were being completely honest.
"Alright, undress," Lida says, bringing her out of her thoughts.
"In front of you? Can I have privacy?
"Unfortunately, no, we have to monitor everyone so that no one attempts to flee," she says, smiling apologetically, sighing as she noticed Aliya's face fall and got an idea, opening the linen closet in the bathroom and pulling out a partition, "How about I put this up? I will be on one side and you on the other, this way you have your privacy?"
"That works," Aliya shrugs, letting Lida put the partition up and feeling comfortable enough to undress, throwing her soiled clothes to the other side for the woman to take and dispose of.
Aliya got into the shower, letting the hot water run over her body, washing all the mud away and going down the drain, noticing some blood mixed in from her fight with Helena. Aliya heard the closet door open and close again as she washed her hair and ran soap over her body to get the last of the mud and blood off.
The teen got out of the shower to see that Lida had hung a bathrobe over the partition for her and she quickly grabbed it, wrapping it around her body and meeting the older woman on the other side of it.
"All set?"
Aliya nodded, following Lida out of the bathroom and down the hall to a bedroom that was bigger than the one Aliya had at her own house. At one end of the bedroom was a queen-sized bed with a dark red down comforter that matched the creamy white walls. Across from the bed was a fireplace with a fire going to keep the room warm with a picture of Matthew and Natalia right above it.
"You're not going to put me in one of those cells?"
"Not yet, Matthew would like to speak with you once he's ready. There are some clothes that should be your size in the closet over there and I'll come collect you once he's ready."
Aliya nodded as Lida left the room, closing it and Aliya could hear her lock the door behind her, effectively making her a prisoner once more.
All Aliya could do at this moment was fall to her knees and cry.
A/N: Let me know what y'all think! Kudos, hits, and reviews are always welcome!