Petra offered a stack of images with a steady outstretched hand.
Immediately Alder's eyes found Tally's face. It was blurry but there was no one else it could be. Alder frowned as she peered over the images.
Some were close-ups depicting just Tally's pixelated features and some were zoomed out showing Nicte very clearly holding Tally by her shoulder.
Alder's stomach twisted as she stared at the image of the two of them. We found you, Tally. We're going to get you out of there. I promise.
Almost overwhelmed by the prospect that this may be over soon, she barely registered that Anacostia had appeared at her side until she heard the relief in her daughter's voice, "Thank the Goddess."
Anacostia may have been relieved, but for her, Nicte's presence stopped any feeling of true relief dead in its tracks. At least they now had a real fighting chance to rescue her cadet, but Alder knew inescapably well that there was still a cost to be paid before Tally could return.
"Have you acted on this intel yet, General?" Alder asked quietly to Petra who was still standing before her.
"No ma'am, I've given no command other than to keep Tally in their sights." Alder couldn't help but release some of the tension in her jaw. Thank goodness Bellweather could do this one thing right. "The extraction team is standing by on the scene for your command."
She paused for a moment. "How far away are they?"
Petra rolled her eyes. "Does it matter? You couldn't seriously consider the possibility of going yourself? It is too risky."
She couldn't help clenching her jaw once more, though she wanted to go, she understood. Her reaction was instead to a sudden flurry of pain, as though a rod were being hammered into her skull. It was a blazing hot piercing pain that, had her biddies not taken it from her an instant later, she may have been unable to stay conscious. "Have a scry tablet brought in." Alder managed to say as the pain died down from all of them. Knowing that Tally was once again being physically tormented filled her with new rage. She regretted that she wouldn't be able to inflict her personal wrath on Nicte herself, for all of the pain she caused Tally.
Petra didn't linger, with a quick "yes ma'am" she turned and was gone.
"What about us?!" Raelle and Abigail argued from across the room. "Send us to meet the unit on the ground, ma'am, please."
Alder knew she couldn't allow it. "No, you will stay here. I want you to watch only because you know Tally very well and that knowledge could be of use, but you will remain silent as the grave unless you have something constructive to say, is that understood?" They both nodded, though Raelle appeared less enthusiastic. She paused, focused now on a new area of pain, radiating through her from no single identifiable point, as if Tally was being beaten across her whole body. "Now give me a few moments of peace while we wait for Petra's return."
The cadets honored her command and stepped out of the room, leaving Alder near paralyzed by her inability to process either her impromptu interaction with Tally or even the news that Tally had been found, but more so by the mix of pain and feelings being exuded by her biddies. Two were still ecstatic and beaming, while the others had already moved on from excitement to 'What's the worst thing that could be happening now?' Especially given the phantom pains they were all feeling a little more intensely by every passing second now. Even spread across seven, it was enough to be telling of the kind of state Tally was likely in. It did not bode well for any of them and the weight of it settled prominently in their connection.
She allowed them exactly two minutes to get their various feelings out, and Alder did her best to process each of their reactions, leaving her without a spare moment of silence to consider her own as she instead focused on keeping the pain at manageable levels. Good news, if this was even considered to be so, was not always as common as the bad so she was less practiced in sorting through it all, not to mention she was usually far further removed from situations such as this.
When they quieted again, she combed her mind for every possible way Nicte could be deceiving them. What did this woman expect to happen, how could they surprise her, and most importantly, how could they get Tally out of there alive?
While they waited for Petra, she allowed Anacostia and the two cadets to return and gather around her and the small desk. The images were splayed out in front of them. Each of them took a moment to examine every photo for anything useful and commit the details to memory.
The pain intensified, but she contained a grimace before it could cross her face.
In one of the pictures, Tally was looking over her shoulder past Nicte, as if she had sensed she was being watched. Her gaze transcended the image and struck Alder deep in her chest. The girl looked tired, but at the very least she looked physically unharmed. The wounds Tally had been inflicted with the day prior healed or were possibly masked in some way if they were ever real in the first place. The photos were taken less than an hour ago, though she knew that was more than enough time for that to change.
On the other hand, Tally had not reached out to her, so perhaps this pain was something else. If Tally were fine, why did she herself hurt so badly? Why did it feel as though her skin were on fire, like her breath was being constricted in her throat, and like her skull was being pierced all at the same time? If what Tally described during their conversation had been true, then Tally couldn't be fine.
Alder sighed, pushing through the pain that etched its way through her, and set that particular photo down in line with the rest of them. If their intel was still good and they hadn't let Nicte slip through their fingers yet again, they should be able to ambush them while they were still in this warehouse building. She knew this was a trap of some kind. Nicte wouldn't be so careless. She wanted them to find her.
Alder leaned over the table, her fingers tracing the edges of another particularly clear photo. Her gaze was fixed on the redheaded woman, no matter how long she examined it, looking for any indication this was a mistake, there was no mistaking her. It had to be Tally. It was yet another image of Tally and Nicte walking together, though instead of a hand on Tally's shoulder, Nicte's hand appeared delicately placed on the small of Tally's back.
Tally had her head down, her expression a subtle blend of pain and defiance. It was a look Alder had seen on Tally's face before, a look that spoke volumes about her determination. She recalled seeing that exact expression, though with a lot more blood when Tally was being interrogated on base where all of this began.
Alder's heart ached, though she would not acknowledge it. She had been searching for Tally for what felt like an eternity but in reality was only a few days. This photo in particular, though it brought her a glimmer of hope, also continued to fill her with a deep sense of dread and rage. Tally wasn't even close to being out of this mess yet and this monster was keeping Tally out of her grasp.
Alder's fingers tightened around the photo, the edges of the paper crumpling in her grip. Nicte would pay dearly for all of this.
"...otherwise it looks like it should be straightforward. Don't you agree?" Anacostia's voice was quiet beside her, pulling her out of her thoughts. "General...Mother...did you hear me?"
"Yes, I did." She lied, but her biddies had heard so same thing. "It should be easy to penetrate, but there has to be another angle that made Nicte choose this place."
"It might be in an industrial area, but it is still fairly public. It will not be a good look to stage a military operation of any size out in the open like this. It will only benefit the Spree if the news gets ahold of it." Anacostia pointed out.
"The media be damned. They will be praising us for capturing this long-wanted criminal." Alder drawled. "That can't be it."
The doors flew open, Petra had returned. "I have the tablet General, and I have secure contact with the Sergeant on the ground."
Speculation time was over. Hopefully, all of this would be over within the hour. "Let's bring her home."
The cadets, Anacostia, Petra, and Alder sat around the desk and peered anxiously down at the tablet that appeared to be a first-person view of the scene. The biddies stood in support, in a half circle around them, silently watching over their shoulders.
"Give the order, General," Alder spoke slowly.
"Mission is a go, Sergeant." Petra relayed.
Commands from the Sergeant could be heard to her various teams. In a flurry of motion, the soldiers could be seen in their tactical gear running up to the large gray building, some stepping up to the front, others could be seen going around back.
The Sergeant stayed with the front team. They made short work of the rusty metal door and engaged with the three spree agents that stood waiting for them immediately inside. The soldiers overpowered them quickly.
The first room appeared to be an office, but it was void of any furniture or objects. The team moved slowly through the next rooms before they were dumped into a large dark open space. It was mostly empty except for a few pallets of construction material. The high ceilings and general vastness gave it an eerie ambiance even to those watching.
They came across four more agents in that main room, but again they subdued them swiftly.
They walked the whole rest of the floor, securing each room as they went until they met up with the team that had gone through the back. There was still an upper floor and a basement that needed to be checked. On Petra's order, because they were scrying the Sergeant's view, she was to do as much of the walking around herself as possible.
The Sergeant gave some commands and took two of her team to check the upper floor. There were only two offices up there, both of which were empty barring one Spree agent that they overpowered instantly.
Tally and Nicte were not among the individuals the Sergeant saw, and Alder could feel her palms sweating as this dragged on. "Where are you hiding her?" Alder mouthed, eyes never leaving the small screen. There was only one place left, the basement.
The pain became dulled but hadn't gone away. She dreaded seeing what shape the girl was in.
When she returned to the main floor, the Sergeant once again changed the configuration of her team. Now, she led most of the group downstairs toward the basement, leaving only a few officers remaining on the main floor.
The basement was dark and ominous as they descended the stairs.
The only noises they heard were their steps and the high-pitched scraping of smooth metal and a following click as if someone were playing with a Zippo lighter. It made Alder shudder. This has to be it. Tally had to be down here.
The team continued through the darkness. From what they could see using the light from the main floor, the basement was unfinished, the walls were mainly exposed pipes and wiring, and the floor a grey concrete.
With a blinding flash, the Sergeant and her team clicked on their flashlights. Slowly with intent, she scanned the room. As the light hit the smooth floor, shimmery drips of red glinted up into her eyes. She stopped walking, following the trail of crimson with her light and her gaze.
The drips grew closer and larger the further away they went. At the farthest-reaching edge of the light, the drops appeared to be mixed with some other liquid.
Alder filled with overwhelming dread, her heart rate skyrocketing, but there was no looking away. She loathed that she was not the one there.
The room was much larger than Alder anticipated. The lights didn't reach the other side.
The haunting click of the lighter echoed off the walls, and the Sergeant and team crept forward still following the trail of blood.
A shattering of glass on the floor rang out. In an instant, the whole team got to the floor and covered their ears in anticipation of more dire consequences like they had come to expect from the Spree. The only result however was that their lights went out, and without them, the tablet Alder watched was now all black.
The Sergeant gave some hushed commands for the team to continue with caution through the blackness, but once again the clicking of the lighter sounded around them. Only now, the Sergeant's eyes focused on the faint orange glow that came and went from existence maybe twenty feet ahead of them.
With every step closer and every flicker of orange light, they could barely make out the dark shapes of a person.
"Allow me to get that for you." A chilling voice came from the darkness in the moments between clicks of the lighter, as a single uncovered lightbulb flickered weakly to life revealing the speaker before them.
Everyone leaning over the small tablet gasped and jumped, but Alder was still.
Nicte stood under the light, a lighter in her hands. The inconsitant flashing of the bulb only added to the horror of the scene casting haunting shadows over her toothy grin and dark eyes.
Alder didn't even notice though, her eyes had already moved on to the most horrifying part of it all, the reason for her pain was brutally clear.
In front of Nicte, Tally was on her knees tied to the ground with chains on her ankles, soaked head to toe with what Alder already knew wasn't water. In each hand, Tally held a line of rope that wrapped around her neck. Her head and body were leaned slightly forward, her face not visible to the Sergeant. Her red hair was in disarray, mottled with what Alder could only guess was dried blood and dirt. The dripping wet messy red locks were held mostly out of the girl's face by a whitish cloth tied over her eyes and behind her head.
The visible skin of her arms was covered in splotchy purple bruises and deep jagged cuts framed by dried streaks of blood. Her clothes were stained with dark crimson as well. So much blood.
Alder recognized the bloodied fabric as the outfit Tally was wearing while she was still in Army custody, the same she was wearing in those photos. It only confirmed further in her mind that this was not a trick, this without a doubt was Tally.
Amidst the lingering pain, her stomach was uneasy with the sight of it all. She barely noticed that beside her, Abigail had looked away, Raelle's fists were tight even as she now held Abigail, Anacostia's hand covered her mouth in shock, and Petra just shook her head.
Alder did none of those things, she took in every detail that she could see of the girl. Tally hadn't been in good spirits during their talk this afternoon per se but surely she would have given away if she had been tormented like this. Tally was strong but not that strong. It didn't seem possible that all this damage could have been done only in the last half hour, but then again, she felt the pain herself.
The girl hadn't lifted her head or moved a muscle in the few seconds they sat watching her. Alder would know if she was dead, right? She would feel it just as clearly as she felt the pain. She had been so confident in her declaration of that fact earlier, but her resolve was shaken by the sight. If only she could see Tally's eyes, she would feel better because at least there would be hope. The thought that she may not get to, tore at her almost more than any physical pain she felt.
Nicte's hand was placed on the girl's shoulder, still, the girl didn't move, and the Sergeant had made no moves either. "I know you're watching, Sarah. Couldn't bother to face me yourself, could you?" Nicte sighed dramatically. "Ah well. For the best, these children don't stand a chance against us, do they?" She leaned down a little closer to Tally, still keeping her eyes on the Sergeant.
Alder clenched her fists.
"Step Away from her!" The Sergeant finally commanded firmly.
"Tsk tsk. You have no more power here than she does." Nicte admonished, stroking a hand over the back of Tally's head. Still no reaction. "Shall I show you your pet, Sarah? Do you want to see my handy work? It is a shame, she was so pretty too. You surely remember those chocolatey brown eyes of hers? Too bad you just couldn't leave us alone, had to mess with that connection of yours. She is more dedicated to you than I thought, even after everything. Look where it got her." Nicte grabbed the back of Tally's head so roughly Tally groaned weakly in pain.
"Goddess." Petra gasped.
Raelle too looked away now.
"Oh my..." Anacostia trailed off. "Come on, let's go." She grabbed the cadets and ushered them quickly away.
Alder ignored all of their reactions, too caught up in her own. "Tally..." She breathed.
It wasn't a blindfold wrapped around her head. It was a bandage and it only covered one eye. Where her left eye was hidden, the fabric was no longer white. Blood coated the left side of her face, though whatever she'd been doused in had washed some of it away.
Her lip was split, swollen, and still actively bleeding. Her right eye was ringed with dark purple.
She blinked slowly. The rope around her neck strained and visibly tightened as Nicte pulled her head further away from her hands. Tally let out a labored cough.
"You should have come to get her yourself, Sarah, that would have been your only chance to see her alive again." Nicte leaned down again and whispered something indistinguishable into Tally's ear.
Tally continued her slow melodic blinking with her good eye and nodded ever so slightly. "This must be uncomfortable. Let me take this." She gently took the ropes out of Tally's hands and unraveled them, revealing thick purple lines around her neck.
Alder tuned out everything Petra was telling the team on the ground and focused everything she had on reaching out to Tally. It is going to be okay. We will get you out of there and we will fix you. I promise. I promise you, Tally. Open and close your left hand if you can hear me.
She narrowed her eyes at the screen to discern if Tally had heard her thoughts. Ever so slowly, she watched as the cadet managed to curl her fingers just barely before she appeared to grimace in pain and stopped. Just that tiny gesture was enough for Sarah though. She had heard her.
"What are you going to do, Sergeant? Time's ticking." Nicte asked, flipping her lighter open and closed again in her hand, releasing Tally with her other. Tally's head fell forward again and she elicited another small groan.
She flicked the lighter on one more time. "Sit up." She commanded Tally. The girl straightened out, but her limbs visibly trembled as she did so. "Hold this." She gave Tally the lighter. The faint orange glow reflected in her good eye as she focused on it. Her bloody hand shook violently as she held it.
"I tend to believe that no witch deserves to be burned, but if I cannot get to you Sarah, this is the next best thing." Nicte hissed wickedly. "Red will join meet the goddess if anything happens. How do you feel about that?"
"...move. Now." Petra commanded, Alder catching only the last of it.
In an instant, the lightbulb above Tally shattered, and the room was dark again but for the lighter in Tally's hands.
They could hear shouting and what sounded like a small explosion. Nicte was gone from their view for a moment but the Sergeant quickly found her again.
Sarah knew they shouldn't have enough energy to overpower Nicte, but she considered their enemy could be using some amount of power to keep Tally at her mercy. If that were the case, they could take her on as long as they could outsmart her as well. That was where the real problem was.
She had never had an issue watching her operations from afar. Of course this time it bothered her but she couldn't show it. Between her and Petra both watching this op go down, she was feeling like she'd much rather have Petra tell her the news when it was done, in whichever way that was.
Alder leaned away from the tablet on the desk and rubbed her eyes.
"You should watch it. For her. She got your message, we know you are worried for her, but is it not better to know and support her?" Danny proposed, placing her hand gently on the General's shoulder.
"You may be right, Danny, but I don't know if I can watch her... I do not think I am that strong." Sarah responded slowly through their minds.
"You have love for her. It does not make you weak to want to look away, it simply means you care." Danny answered knowingly.
"I don't..." Sarah started but Danny interrupted.
"...want to admit it or anything of the like, and that is okay. We just ask that you try to be strong for her. This will all be over soon in one way or another." Danny finished and faded to the back of her mind.
Opening her eyes again, the screen was still a dark black, people and objects were coming and going from view. The team was clearly throwing their best work at Nicte, it was just hard to tell from the small view they had if any of it was working. She squinted to catch glimpses of the orange flame amidst the commotion, but it wasn't always in view.
All of a sudden, the small orange glow erupted into a massive ball of light and flame. Her heart stopped and everything went silent for a moment.
"What happened?!" She turned sharply to Petra. "What is happening over there?"
"Give me a moment, I am trying to get a clear answer," Petra stated tersely. Alder's eyes flipped between the other General's face and the small screen which was now black again.
"You're certain, Sergeant?" Petra asked over far speech. ... "Yes. Yes. Understood. Yes. Bring her home."
Those words could apply in either scenario.
"They got her, General. Nicte is in their custody."
"And Tally?" Alder dared to ask.
"Alive. Severely wounded but she's coming home, Sarah." The words hit her like a freight train and she fell back into her chair as the weight of all this was finally beginning to lessen.
"Thank the goddess." She muttered under her breath.
In her head, the biddies were cheering and she was making all attempts to contain her emotions from them, not wanting to get carried away in their elation.
"You all should calm down, they might have Tally, but what makes you think we can trust her?" And there it was, April voiced her greatest fear that she had not wanted to recognize in so many words.
"Lacking the ability to trust got us all into this mess in the first place, remember?" Jamie stated.
"But we have no idea if Nicte did get to her or not." April rebutted.
"Based on Sarah's talk with her earlier, isn't it clear that she's trustworthy? That is the second time we observed her actively trying to protect Sarah still. What more do you need?" Rosa pointed out.
"Could have been for show. Or not her at all?" Devon added.
Alder caught Danny watching her intently. " There's no use in worrying about it right now. We will cross that bridge when Tally is back."
Suddenly the anxiety that had only just been alleviated, returned in full force. She had spent so much time worrying if Tally would return at all, that she hadn't considered how she would handle it if she did.