My dear Sparks. Hello there!
I hope you are well and happy and that life is treating you kindly.
I went to visit my sister yesterday. It had been two months since our last sisterly hug and the time and distance was starting to wear. It was just time.
We had tea and koeksisters, which for those who don’t know, are knots of fried dough soaked in syrup, and served chilled. It’s a very South African thing. And as I’m writing this letter, I’m listening to the soft pitter patter of the first decent shower of rain we’ve had in six weeks. This El Nino thing is brutal. Our soya harvest will be disappointing, but at least we can bargain on something. Tehre’s a lot of people who won’t be so lucky this year.
I suppose what I’m saying is I’m grateful for the many blessings in my life.
Anyway… Misty is in a bit of a tight spot here. Let’s see how it plays out.
INDEX | Chapter 7 | Scenes 1 & 2 | Scenes 3 & 4 | Scene 5 | Scene 6 | Scene 7 | Scene 8 | Scene 9 | Scene 10 | Scenes 11 & 12 | Scene 13 | Next Scene → Coming soon.
Previously: It’s been two years since Misty beat Logan half to death and he has finally pulled himself together and moved on with his life. Misty has found her place in the PG where she can just be, with no responsibilities or expectations, but when she puts on her new service uniform provided by Cathy, she has to go meet General Morgan’s boss.
General Morgan approaches the woman in a blue satin halterneck gown standig near a round table. She is stunning, not so much beautiful as striking, and severe. An older woman, a lady, like a formidable grandma. Her hair is silver, twisted up into a tight roll behind her head. She has dark brown eyes and thin ruby-red lips with a string of gemstones around her neck that match the ones on the wrist she extends for the General to kiss. He shows her an unusual deference.
I hide behind Cathy, while they exchange pleasantries, feeling a lot more nervous than I should be. Cathy is here, and this lady is clearly human. Her two bodyguards don’t even seem that special, aside from the weapons on their belts, some kind of energy pistols with fancy blinking lights on the handles. It’s something in the way she carries herself. The way she smiles with a little tilt of the head, lifting her top lip too much, almost sneering at General Morgan, while he seems to fawn over her. She’s powerful in other ways.
Watching them makes me want to cringe, so instead I look around at this room that feels so far removed from the rest of the world, like a small island of its own. It is full of flowers. The huge buds of delicate pink and white petals are clustered in shiny vases on every surface, and their floral scent delicately perfumes the air, disguising outside smells. There is soft instrumental music playing, to cover the sounds the white paneled walls can’t, and the tan carpeted floor is soft and springy and the chairs have cushions built into them. Even the table decor is slightly different from the main floor’s, more opulent.
After a moment, the General stops talking and they both look at Cathy, and then, when she steps aside, at me. “Minister Liebenberg, this is Elle.” General Morgan says with a hint of pride. I blush, wishing the floor would swallow me, while the Minister beckons me closer. I don't like her, but I don't want to disappoint Cathy. Last time I disobeyed an instruction she came back with a broken arm.
“Oh my dear, you are still so young, aren’t you?” the Minister says with a warmth that hints at sadness. Only her eyes show her predatory hunger. She reaches out a hand and pulls me closer. Her nails are the same color as her dress, extending far beyond her fingertip in a blunt little arrowhead and her teeth glint at me from between those red lips. I give her a shy, half-smile, not sure what the protocol is while she leads me to my seat between her and Cathy and then they all start talking business and seem to pretend that I'm not there anymore, because they're discussing me without including me in the conversation. Not that I care to participate.
The food is sublime. The steak is bursting with flavor and all but melts in my mouth. I've been eating MRE's for so long, I've almost forgotten that there is such a thing as real food. There’s also chocolate milkshake and crispy potato wedges and a crunchy salad to round it off. Their disregard and the cluttered table, hide me well enough from view while I stuff my face with the delicious food, and they talk and talk and talk.
I'm starting to get restless. Penance was making me grumpy while I was sparring before all this formal dinner stuff, and it was still light out, but the icecream on my too big chocolate brownie has melted to soup by the time they have all finished their drinks and finally decide I am worthy of their attention.
Cathy takes my hand and we all go back to the rooftop shuttle pad, and I'm so hot with too much energy that I'm grateful for even that short walk. When we get there it's a different shuttle than the one we came in. It's stone grey and blue, and much bigger, and inside there are large wingback bucket seats for each of us.
The Minister steps up first and once again seats me between Cathy and herself, and the General is left on his own in the second row.
* * *
Where are we?
I feel sleepy, and hot, and sore when we finally disembark at a strange place. It's a tiny little shed in a large empty field. The door opens to a concrete floor with a control panel. One of the bodyguards, keys in the code and a section of the ground slides away with a hiss to reveal a long staircase. Bunker.
I hesitate, walking into murky depths is not that different from strapping into a harness. Cathy once again pauses to offer encouragement, and I get the feeling her nervousness has kicked up a few notches since dinner ended. I try not to freeze up. The Minister waits patiently, but I can see the stiffness in her stance, and General Morgan looks downright irritated with Cathy. I remember the welt on her cheek after the first time I disappointed their expectations, and take the next step and the next, descending deeper and deeper into the belly of this secret facility.
An instinctive energy pulse illuminates the hidden network of tunnels and halls. This place is massive. There are people everywhere. Dangerous people. I follow along blindly, not looking where I’m going, not even hearing the conversation as I try to map out, numbers and races and how each relates to the rest. I don’t notice the way the white walls change from plaster and paint to tiled energy absorbent nets like the one in my old bedroom in Luke’s house. Suddenly I can’t sense anything outside of the room I’m in, a long narrow hall, flooded with light bouncing off of the small white tiles. Suddenly the doors close and I’m all alone.
I can see Cathy, General Morgan, and Minister Liebenberg through the large window into the next room. They are all looking at me.
“This is a safe place my dear.” The minister says with confidence. “The facility will absorb any energy you release, and no one will get hurt.” I regard her quizzically, not quite understanding her meaning.
“Elle, what the Minister means, is she wants a demonstration.” Cathy clarifies, and that’s when my heart really starts pounding.
Even though I’m sweating, already burning up from the amount of energy concentrating within my body, and no matter how good it would feel to just let it all go, if I go into regen, it’ll be that much harder to get it under control again afterward and it’s been so long since my last episode… I don’t know if I will wake up from another one.
Next Time: Misty finds herself inside some kind of facility able to absorb released energy and must now demonstrate her power for the Authority, little do they know about her self imposed limitations on how much energy she can release outside of a life and death situation.
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Oh poor Elle. I have this feeling that she's gonna wish she was still with Luke and his boys.
Having the attention of a minister is not a good thing, ever.
I already don't like the PG, and I don't trust this hungry looking minister.
like the man said, "I have a bad feeling about this."
You are killing me with this cliffhanger lady!