The wooden door swung wide to reveal what lay within – a large penthouse apartment. A gaping living room occupied the majority of the space before her with ceilings that soared at least two stories above her head. Grand floor to ceiling windows covered the entirety of the far wall, revealing a massive balcony that overlooked the city beyond. The setting sun illuminated the large room in warm tones of orange and gold. A gigantic beige sectional couch ringed the living room, a white marble coffee table situated in the center covered in dated magazines. On the far wall, against the windows sat an absolutely massive grand piano, the sunlight glinting off of its polished surface.
Off to her left, Kate observed the open concept kitchen – counters, cabinets, and appliances all situated up against the wall with a massive island occupied by 4 bar stools, two empty wine glasses sitting on the white marble surface. In the far left corner, just beyond the kitchen, sat a small dining area occupied by an intimate round wooden table with four chairs and a large outdated chandelier hanging just overhead. On the right side of the room, a hallway led off to the right, assumedly to the bedrooms.
Midnight's Shadow took a few cautious steps into the room, taking everything in. This was it. This was her home. This was where her parents raised her – at least, for the short time they were together. She took in everything, every minute detail, searching for some memory associated with the apartment that was supposedly her childhood. But nothing came to her. It was a blank slate – like the rest of her life.
The dark haired woman was lost in her thoughts, only vaguely aware of the rest of the Joes entering the apartment behind her. "Look at this," she heard Breaker say behind her with surprise evident in his voice. Kate turned around to look just in time to see the Moroccan finish dragging his finger along a console table to the left of the main entrance. He rubbed his index and thumb together slowly, making Kate wonder what he was trying to draw attention to. "No dust," Breaker clarified, glancing between his comrades.
Heavy nodded knowingly. "If this place really was abandoned since you lived here as a kid, you'd imagine the place would be more like a tomb: more dust and cobwebs. But its absolutely spotless," the British man stated, casting his eyes about the room.
Scarlett shrugged. "Maybe the apartment complex provides its own cleaning service? In a place this nice, I'm sure the building management want to keep everything neat and orderly. Plus, I wouldn't doubt residents would pay through the nose for something like that."
Kate Moon nodded. "That's possible," she acknowledged. "But, if our theory is correct, and there's something here that the terrorists might want, wouldn't you have expected them to have been here by now? Why isn't this place torn apart? I refuse to believe they were so delicate in their search." She gestured behind her to the immaculately preserved room to further prove her point.
"She has a point," Breaker agreed, exchanging glances with Heavy Duty and Scarlett. Out of the corner of her eye, Kate saw Snake Eyes nod in agreement as well.
"Hence why I said we should be on our guard," Heavy said pointedly, proceeding to walk past the rest of the team to begin investigating the kitchen.
"Since when do you say hence?" Breaker prodded, beginning to follow him into the kitchen.
"Don't push it, Frenchie," the other man warned in his deep baritone voice.
Midnight's Shadow smiled at the interaction between the two comrades before her gaze turned to Scarlett as the other woman came to stand beside her. She offered a small smile. "Ready? Let's start in here," Scarlett offered, gesturing with an 'after you' motion.
Shadow nodded and proceeded into the living room. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a flash of black entering the nearby hallway on her right. The dark haired woman glanced behind her. Snake Eyes was gone. She returned her gaze forward. "He doesn't waste any time, does he?" she commented dryly.
"Well, we don't exactly know how much time we'll get here. He's just being…thorough," Scarlett answered, choosing the last word carefully. Her hand was gently placed on Midnight's Shadow's back, urging her to continue into the room. As she began to move forward, Scarlett dropped her hand and followed her.
Kate proceeded further into the living room, heading along the right wall towards the windows, her eyes scanning the entirety of the room. She wasn't even sure what she was looking for.
Her thoughts were interrupted by Scarlett. "Do we need to pull the curtains closed?" she inquired carefully.
The dark haired woman glanced up at the floor to ceiling windows that occupied the entire wall before her. Her gaze drifted beyond the glass panes, past the balcony terrace, to the city that stretched away beyond. For a moment, she braced herself, ready to suddenly feel faint and dizzy. Kate focused intensely on her own hand, trying to listen to see if her hand involuntarily started snapping again. But she didn't. She did still quickly think she could feel the building swaying and imagine it toppling over into the city below with her on the topmost floor. But she felt fine.
She shrugged and looked at Scarlett, who had taken up residence by the coffee table, flipping through old magazines and digging through the couch. "I feel fine. Maybe its only when I'm near the edge," she offered thoughtfully. "I don't think we need to do anything. I'm okay."
Scarlett nodded her understanding and directed her gaze downward once more, continuing her task. Kate turned back around, casting one more glance out the windows before looking elsewhere. Her eyes were immediately draw to the large grand piano just in front of her. Its glossy black finish glinted in the light of the setting sun. Her pale fingers extended to lift the fall board and reveal the ivory keys within, now colored a muted shade of orange. The tips of her fingers dragged slowly along the smooth surface of the keys, not daring to press down and make a sound.
"Do you play?" she heard Breaker yell from across the room.
Without turning around, Kate shrugged. "I don't know," she responded, more to herself than in answer. "Maybe?" She pulled out the bench and took a seat at the piano. She placed her fingers on the keys, not feeling confident about their placement.
Suddenly, an image flashed through her mind of her sitting at this very piano. She must have been very little because her head felt like it was only just above the keyboard. Small hands were placed upon the keys with the same lack of confidence she had now. From out of the corner of her vision, there emerged a large, more elegant hand. It gently wrapped around her tiny wrist, moving it slightly to the left and adjusting her finger placement.
"There you go. That looks better, now doesn't it," a distinctly British woman asked. Her voice was soft and gentle. It was filled with such warmth as it spoke to Kate that it made her heart ache. The hand delicately lifted from her wrist and brushed a dark lock of hair from her face, filling a hole in Kate's heart she hadn't known was there until now. "Now, do you want to try again?" the disembodied voice asked.
Kate's small head turned to her left. Sitting beside her was a tall, lean blond woman a loving smile on her face. The sun seemed to be streaming through the windows behind her so brightly that the rays obscured her face. Or perhaps, she couldn't remember her face. But deep down, Shadow knew exactly who this was. Her little head nodded. "Yes, mommy," her childish voice answered.
Even though she had her suspicions, Midnight's Shadow still felt a punch to the gut at the confirmation. Mom? She was really here? Sitting beside her? Smiling at her with such warmth? She knew it was an illusion – a trick of her memory – but despite herself, a hand reached out intending to touch her to make sure she wasn't real. "Mom?" she asked, the word escaping her mouth as barely a whisper. But as soon as she moved, the memory dissipated into the air. She was suddenly back sitting on the bench, her mother gone, and the rest of the Joes rifling through her childhood.
"Shadow? You okay?" Kate barely registered Breaker asking her the question. She realized that she had never answered his question audibly enough for him to hear. The other Joes momentarily stopped in their searches to look at her, a clear wariness in their gazes.
Snapping herself from her momentary lapse of awareness, Kate visibly shook her head and cleared her throat as she dropped her raised hand to her side. "Yeah, I'm fine," she answered, turning back to the piano. "It's just…..I remembered my mom teaching me to play on this piano. I don't think she actually got to teach me anything that stuck before….you know."
There was a moment of uncomfortable silence as the Joes clearly didn't know what to say. Luckily, Scarlett was the first to hop up. "Why don't we go look at the bedrooms next?" she offered, gesturing to the hallway Snake Eyes had disappeared down a few moments before.
The dark haired woman nodded stiffly in response and moved to follow Scarlett down the adjoining hallway. Midnight's Shadow felt a growing pit in her stomach. She couldn't shake the feeling that she shouldn't be here. And the longer they stayed and the deeper they explored, the more powerful that feeling became.
Kate rounded the corner into a short, plain hallway with 4 doors – two on the left, one on the right, and one at the end of the hall. The door closest to her on the left was slightly ajar, sunlight pouring into the windowless hall. From within, she could hear the distinct sound of rustling papers. She extended her hand and pushed the door open a little more so she could peer inside.
Inside was an office, no doubt her father's. As with the living room, tall windows occupied the entirety of the far wall. Bookshelves lined the walls on every available surface, their contents ranging from chemistry, to theoretical physics, to advanced mathematics – subjects far out of her reach. In the center of the room sat a large oaken desk. A stack of a few books sat upon its surface with assorted papers scattered across the rest of it. Intricate carvings wove themselves across the grain of the desk – landscapes, floral, fauna – as if it was trying to tell some kind of a mystical story.
For a moment, as she entered the room, Midnight's Shadow's eyes blurred. She was suddenly small again, peering through the crack in the door into the office. It was night, with only the lamp on the desk illuminating the room. She sat hunched just on the other side of the door, quietly holding something soft in her hands – perhaps a blanket or a stuffed animal – as she watched. A man was bent over the desk, one large hand propping his face up with a single finger extended to massage his temple. His black hair was messy and unkempt, the longer strands falling into his face. His sharp eyes were focused downwards, looking directly through his large reading glasses that sat upon the tip of his nose. His lips were pursed into a thin line as he surveyed some kind of a large sheet – perhaps a map or blueprint – very closely.
Suddenly, his eyes snapped up as he just then noticed she was sitting there watching him. A warmth spread across his features but there was no smile. His hand extended to remove his reading glasses and run a hand through his messy locks, sweeping them out of his face. "What are you still doing up?" he asked, his accent clearly American but still with a slight British lilt to it.
And then, as quick as it had come, the mirage dissipated. Standing in place of her father was Snake Eyes, digging through the drawers of the desk. The black clad ninja briefly stopped in his movements as the women peered in. "Find anything?" she heard Scarlett ask from behind her. Snake Eyes shook his head and resumed his rummaging. "Alright. We're going into the other rooms. Let us know if you find something."
With that, Scarlett began ushering Kate down the hall once more, but she barely registered the new movement. She felt so out of it, like she was in a daze. The pit in her stomach was getting worse and started to make her worry she was going to be sick with how it was roiling inside of her. She felt like her blood was pumping faster, her heart getting louder. She felt like her entire body was beginning to shake as she neared the end of the hallway. A voice kept getting louder and louder in the back of her head – you shouldn't be here. You NEED to get OUT. Get OUT. GET OUT!
Kate was startled out of her thoughts by a casual tap on her shoulder. Her head immediately whipped around to see Scarlett. The other woman looked a little surprised by the dramatic reaction but seemed to choose not to say anything. "It's so weird," she commented slowly. "This is supposed to be where you grew up – you and your family."
The dark haired woman swallowed thickly, still working to calm her erratic heart beat and quell the voice in the back of her mind. "What do you mean?" she asked as steadily as she could.
Scarlett gestured to what she surmised to be the penthouse in general. "If this is where you lived, why aren't there any pictures? Where's the cheap family vacation memorabilia? Where's the crappy art projects you would make in school and give to your parents? Where is even one photo of you guys together as a family?" She scoffed, placing her hands on her slender hips. "It's like even this house has been scrubbed clean. No dust. No occupants. No past." Kate's expression grew somber in response to this which Scarlett immediately noticed. A disarming smile instantly appeared on his face. "Don't mind me. Just thinking aloud. You started remembering some memories here. That's all that matters for now, 'kay?"
Kate nodded stiffly and turned around to begin walking down the hallway once more. Memories of her parents weren't the only things that she was remembering. Something innate – something instinctual was warning her away from this place. She was never supposed to return here. But the reason still remained a mystery.
As she continued down the hall, Kate noticed that the door directly on the end was a bathroom, the door slightly ajar with the light on. Nothing noteworthy seemed to be inside. Judging by how the light was already on, Kate felt she could safely assume Snake Eyes had already thoroughly searched it. The next door came up on her right – Well, two doors she should say. A set of double doors stood before her, one partially open. Kate pressed lightly on the wood and the door squeaked open.
She emerged into the biggest bedroom she had ever seen. Massive vaulted ceilings equivalent to the living room soared upwards, revealing skylights that illuminated the room in colors of orange and red. A gigantic canopy bed sat against the far wall, its covers neatly made. A dresser sat against the wall immediately to Kate's left and another – a makeup table – sat against the wall to her right. A pair of armchairs rested in a corner, directly under one of the skylights, basking in its warmth. On the far right wall, an open archway gave way to a massive walk in closest still filled to the brim with clothes. And beyond that, Kate could glimpse the signs of a grand master bathroom. Truly, this was the master suite.
Unlike the other rooms, no memory immediately came to mind and played before her eyes. Instead, she had a feeling – a feeling of happiness. Of pillow fights and late night stories. Of disappointment as she was sent to her own bed. Of safety when her parents relented and let her stay in their bed. All these feelings rushed through her at once, not attached to any specific memory. Just a hint that they all had the possibility of being true. She was very young when she lived here after all. Kate couldn't be expected to remember everything.
The two women moved slowly into the room as they surveyed their surroundings carefully. "Well," she heard Scarlett begin, "it's clear that you certainly weren't pinching pennies. Although I suppose we should have expected as much from the owner of such a successful company like Moon Industries." Kate nodded and began to move over to the walk through closet. It was seemed clear that Scarlett was just trying to make small talk to fill the silence. While she appreciated the effort, it wasn't going to help anything.
Kate moved to the closet, still filled with racks upon racks of clothes. She quickly noted that all the clothes on her left were women's – blouses, skirts, dresses, high heels, flats, and a shelf containing a jewelry box and hanger that held a wide variety of rings, bracelets, and necklaces. On her right were all the men's clothes – neatly pressed pants, suits, button down shirts, well worn leather dress shoes, ties, and a shelf that held a wide array of different expensive watches. Her hand slowly extended to touch a nearby shirt, feeling the fabric between her fingertips. These were her parent's clothes. This was how they looked to her.
She could feel Scarlett approach behind her as she began to survey the clothes as well. Kate could feel the other woman's eyes glancing from the clothes to her and back again. The red head seemed to be mulling something over in her mind before she finally said, "You could take something with you, you know." That caught her by surprise. Midnight's Shadow's head immediately turned in her direction, not even bothering to hide her incredulity from her expression. Scarlett didn't even look at her and just gestured to the closet. "Neither of them are coming back for any of this. It's just sitting here. You could take something…as a memento. I feel like this is all technically yours anyways," she finished, turning to look at Kate with a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips.
Midnight's Shadow looked back at the contents of the closet with renewed interest – as if suddenly seeing them for the first time in a whole new light. A memento? She could really take something with her to remember her parent's by? But what would she take? Surely she didn't want her father's old suit jacket or her mother's well used high heels. That's when her mother's jewelry box and hanger caught her eye. Moving in for a closer look, Kate opened the jewelry box and began to rifle through its contents. She wasn't sure what she was looking for? Something familiar? Something that just simply caught her eye?
That's when she noticed it. Dangling from the hanger was a necklace. It was much more plain that the diamond and jeweled necklaces around it. This was simply a jade pearl on a brown leather string, its smooth green surface glinting in the light of setting sun streaming through the skylights above. Her eyes locked upon the necklace, her hand extending towards it as if in a trace. Kate delicately removed it from its perch, letting the smooth stone rest between her fingertips. She rolled the pearl over and over in between the pads of her fingers, the movement feeling familiar somehow…
Her thoughts were interrupted by Scarlett. "I take it we have a winner?" Kate nodded, her eyes not straying from the necklace as she continued to roll it between her fingers. She had a vague image in her mind of her mother wearing this necklace but she wasn't sure if it was a memory or not. Just a feeling that her mother treasured this piece above all others. "Here." Scarlett gingerly removed the necklace from Midnight's Shadow's grasp and gestured for her to turn around. Wordlessly, she complied as Scarlett delicately swept her messy obsidian locks away from her pale neck. Wrapping it around her neck, the other woman clasped the necklace together and let it fall. "There you go."
Kate reached up a hand to touch the jade pearl which now rested securely just below her collar bone. She felt a warmth emanating from her skin where the round jewel made contact, its presence oddly comforting. "Thanks," she said gratefully, offering a small smile as best she could.
Scarlett's smile widened. "You're welcome. Now, why don't you leave this room to me and you can search the last one yourself? Okay?" Not even waiting for a response, Scarlett clapped her on the should and walked past her into the master bathroom to begin her search.
The last room. By process of elimination, that meant it was a bedroom. Her bedroom. It suddenly felt hard to swallow and Kate felt as if her heart beat was elevating even further than it already was. The voice screamed louder: YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE HERE! GET OUT! GET OUT NOW!
Every fiber of her being wanted to run – to run out of the apartment and the building completely. Her body was treating this like a fight or flight moment. And right now, it was choosing flight. Kate had no idea what was wrong, why something so innate and instinctual was warning her away from her childhood home. But what she did know is that it got worse the deeper into the apartment she went. And her room was last on the list.
Her legs suddenly felt heavy, but Kate forced them to move, not wanting to alert Scarlett that something was wrong. She stiffly strode over to the bedroom door, emerged into the hallway, and stood before her bedroom door. She knew that it was the same as all the other doors in the apartment but it somehow felt larger – more intimidating as it loomed before her. Midnight's Shadow extended her hand toward the door handle.
GET…OUT! NOW! HURRY!
Kate visibly shook her head and steeled herself. She wouldn't be intimidated by some voice in her head. So, gritting her teeth, Kate Moon gripped the door handle and swung the door wide.
With the way the voice had been screeching at her, Kate hadn't been sure what to expect on the other side of the door. But, to be perfectly honest, it was nothing but a plain kid's bedroom. The walls were painted a muted shade of purple, dotted with different pieces of artwork clearly drawn by a child's hand. As with the office and living room, her bedroom had the giant floor to ceiling windows that seemed to be characteristic to this side of the apartment. A tall standing dresser sat against the wall to Kate's immediate left, its top decorated in assorted knick knacks. An ornate dollhouse sat in the corner on the other side of the dresser, its furniture neatly arranged and dolls strewn on the floor before it – as if someone had only recently finished playing. A twin bed sat against the wall to Kate's right, the bedding decorated in hues of purple and pink as it faced the picturesque windows before it. She certainly was girly when she was younger, wasn't she? Lastly, a wall of doors occupied the entirety of the far right wall – assumedly closet space.
Midnight's Shadow slowly crept into the room, as if worried she would startle something upon entering. Her boots sunk into the plush carpeting that covered the room. There was no sound in the room save for Kate's pounding heart beat in her ears. She felt like she was going to be sick. Her hands were clasped into fists so tightly at her sides that her nails threatened to pierce the skin of her palm. What about this room put her so on edge? Nothing about this made any sense to her. Unlike the other rooms, no memories played before her eyes. This room was a blank slate…and yet, there was definitely something here. Something that was causing sweat to form on the back of her neck and her stomach to churn in knots.
Kate slowly walked across the room, her blue eyes scanning everything as she made her way over to the closet doors on the far wall. When she stood before them, Midnight's Shadow took a visible deep breath and reached out to grip the door handles. In one swift move, she tugged open the doors to view what lay within. She didn't know what she was expecting or why her body tensed up so much before opening the doors. There were a few hangars with small child's clothing – dresses, shirts, sweaters, skirts. Shelves containing varying containers filled with more toys, each neatly organized and categorized by the kind of toy it was. Clearly somebody in her family was a neat freak.
Kate let her muscles relax – or at least as much as she could make them – and let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. Her eyes surveyed the closet with a scrutinizing eye. What was she even looking for? Something out of place? Something that triggered a memory? It wasn't like she was going to find the blueprints for some kind of super weapon sitting in her childhood closet.
"You won't find anything there," a small voice said behind her with a slight English lilt.
Kate's heart nearly jumped out of her chest as she whirled around to see where the voice had come from. Sitting on her childhood bed was a little girl. She appeared to be maybe 5 or 6 years old. She had long black tresses falling wildly down around her small round face. Sharp blue eyes peered at her beneath the shadow of dark bangs that covered her forehead. She wore a dark blue t-shirt and khaki pants with black and white tennis shoes. Her thin arms were crossed over her chest, her hands holding her forearms. The girl's face was blank as she looked at Kate.
Midnight's Shadow's heart was leaping wildly out of her chest, the drumming drowning out any coherent thoughts she could possibly have in that moment. How was there a child in here? Was this a memory? Was she hallucinating? What was happening?! She stood there, eyes wide and frozen, unsure of what to do next. She waited to hear the sound of hurried footsteps after the others heard the sudden appearance of a new voice but there was nothing. Her entire body was rigid as she realized she had taken a couple steps backward, her back pressed firmly against on the closet doors.
"He wouldn't have left it somewhere so easy," the strange girl continued, clearly unbothered by Kate's alarmed appearance. "I followed him one night. He went across the rising bridge. He didn't want anyone to see but I did."
Kate remained frozen, every muscle tensed as it readied for a fight or flight moment. Everything inside her screamed to get out of that room. Her blue eyes briefly flicked over to the still open bedroom door and the hallway beyond. She needed to get there. She needed to get out. So, with as much willpower as she could muster, Midnight's Shadow began to force her limbs to move. Her legs moved slowly to the side as she crept along the edge of the room, keeping a wall against her and her eyes on the girl.
For a moment, she hesitated as she reached the window wall but forced herself to move on. Her mind projected pictures in her mind – flashes of the windows suddenly being gone and her shimmying along the edge of a high rise so far up in the air. But she was able to force the majority of those thoughts from her mind. The situation now took priority.
The girl's eyes never left Midnight's Shadow as she watched the other woman slowly walk around the edge of the room. "He snuck out in the night and went to the hidden place in the walls."
Kate was almost completely around the room and nearly to the door. She was out of eye shot of the girl and she made no move to look at her. Her head was turned to the side where she last had Kate within eyeshot, her sheen of dark hair preventing her from seeing the other woman out of the corner of her eye. It was even more unsettling how still she sat upon the bed, quiet and making no moves.
Suddenly, the girl whirled around on Midnight's Shadow. She swiftly came around the side of the bed to face Kate who was frozen once more only mere feet from the open doorway. Her small face was contorted into one of anger, her arms still crossed over her chest. "How can you still care about him?! HOW?!" she screamed at her. "LOOK AT WHAT HE DID TO US!" Then she unfurled her arms and her hands released their hold on her forearms. Blood came spilling forth from deep lacerations and puncture wounds all over her arms. It flowed from the cuts, quickly spilling over her blue shirt, shoes and the carpet, staining the room red. The girl held up her forearms so that Kate could see them better, her face only showing immense anger and none of the pain those wounds should be causing. "LOOK AT WHAT HE DID!" she shrieked.
Kate felt like she wanted to scream but it caught in her throat as all the color drained from her face. She stumbled backwards, falling into the dresser behind her, her eyes wide in terror at the girl before her. The dresser wobbled from the power of the blow, the knick knacks on its surface flying about and onto the carpet. Midnight's Shadow fell to the ground, her legs no longer able to support her as her entire shook violently. She squeezed her eyes shut and drew her knees to her chest. This wasn't real. This wasn't real. It couldn't be real…
But she could still hear the girl screaming and the wet pat, pat, pat as the blood poured from her wrist onto the carpet. "HE DID THIS! HE DID THIS!"
Kate brought her hands up to cover her ears, her nails digging tortuously into her scalp. She felt like she couldn't breath, her lungs not able to properly fill with air. Kate took quick short gasps, struggling for air. She squeezed her eyes shut as hard as she could, willing the girl to disappear. She's not real. She's not real. She's not real.
Midnight's Shadow visibly shivered as she suddenly felt a pressure on her shoulders, fingers digging firmly into her skin. Oh god, she was touching her! She was real! The dark haired woman shook and her breathing became more frantic as she refused to open her eyes. She pictured the girl standing over her, gripping her shoulders, blood pouring from her wrists onto Kate as she held her. She was going to be covered in her blood!
Then, through her covered ears, raging heartbeat, and hyperventilation, Kate began to hear something. It was faint, like someone calling to her from far away or maybe even underwater. She focused on it and became aware that the hands that held her in their vice like grip were gently shaking her, trying to draw her out of her panic. No, it wasn't real. She was still there. She didn't want to open her eyes to see her standing there. The blood still dripping on the carpet and all over her. She had to be drenched in blood by now. It was a trap!
The voice came more into focus. "Kate! Kate! C'mon Kate! I need you to focus! Kate!" It was Scarlett's voice. "Focus on my voice, Kate. Come back," she called in a firm yet soothing voice. "We're right here."
Midnight's Shadow slowly opened her eyes. It took them a moment to focus due to how tightly she had them shut a moment ago. When they did, she saw Scarlett kneeling on the ground in front of her. A worried look was on the other woman's face and she held her shoulders steady. Behind her, she saw the dark shadow of Snake Eyes glancing briefly at her over his shoulder before moving into the room to investigate. Kate caught the glint of his sword, drawn and at the ready at his side. They were both the closest so they were probably the first ones to react to whatever they heard.
Kate struggled to breathe, her breaths coming short and fast as her heart raced. This feeling only heightened her panic, causing her heart to beat faster and further hindering any efforts to calm down. Her nails still dug into her scalp over the stress, her hands rattling against her head as adrenaline coursed through her veins.
"I need you to breathe, okay?" Scarlett asked gently but with an urgent firmness to her voice. "Like this." She demonstrated a nice, deep, even breath – in through the nose and out through the mouth. "Just try to mimic me, Kate. C'mon." She demonstrated again.
Midnight's Shadow tried to mimic her, doing her best to focus on her breathing, but to no avail. She wasn't able to calm down and this only caused further panic. "I – can – 't – stop," she managed to say between sharp gasps for air.
"Yes, you can. Just focus. Focus on your breathing. Think about nothing but that. Just give it a minute," Scarlett said in an even voice, still gripping her shoulders.
"The – re – wa – s – a – gi – rl," Kate choked out.
The other woman's brows furrowed. "What girl?"
"Sh – e – wa – s -righ – t – th – ere." Kate detached one of her hands from her head and pointed a trembling finger towards the bed. The memory of the bleeding girl screaming at her came rushing back into her head. Kate immediately clamped her hand back over ears, as if she would reappear and start yelling at her any moment. "Oh – go – d! Sh – she – was – blee – ding! Oh – go -d! It – wa – s -eve – ry -whe – re!" she exclaimed, her panic rising again as she squeezed her eyes shut.
The grip on her shoulders tightened. "Kate," Scarlett began, drawing her attention as she looked up at the other woman. "There is no girl."
A/N: Sorry for the delay again! Was hoping to post a chapter a week but I wasn't able to manage it. I do have to write these chapters while I'm at work so it really depends on how busy I am! But at least I made up for it by making this one a bit longer...right?
I'm so glad I was finally able to write this chapter though. It's been playing over and over in my head since I dropped off of this story a few years ago. Haha. So please let me know what you think! Leave some amazing reviews or even a PM about what you think and where you think the story will go next. I do love reading a good fan theory!
Thanks for sticking around! 😊