Chapter 59
The Cradle went into complete lockdown.
Some sisters began using the Cradle’s computer system to track down the group. The rest prepared for battle, doubling security. Hanna and the Crew went to work reviewing the security cameras. Kit and Addams taking the chairs facing the monitors. Cira taking the last chair, with her son sitting on her lap. Hanna paced between them starring unblinking at the monitors.
They watched the family walk into Superion’s office. They starred at the cameras surrounding the office. Watching the footage for any signs of intruders or disturbances.
There was nothing.
“This can’t be right” Hanna spoke, shaking her head. She stopped her anxious pacing behind Cira and Aaron. Their heads twisted up to face her. “They can’t just vanish into thin air”
“Shame these cameras don’t have audio” Kit spoke.
“It just doesn’t make sense” Hanna cursed, she threw her hands in the air and resumed her pacing. “If they didn’t physically leave, if no one entered the room before we did. If the Halo was the only thing left behind then we would have seen…”. The hybrid’s frustrated rant drifted to silence. Her eyes widen as she turned down the table to the Halo.
No. The Halo wouldn’t devour their souls, not them, not after all they been through.
The others looked up to Hanna. Worried for her sudden silence.
“what?” Kit asked, flickering her head back and forth between the recording security cameras and Hanna. “huh?”
Cira followed Hanna’s gaze to the Halo and sighed. She turned to Hanna and spoke “We don’t know for sure”
“What don’t we know?” Kit spoke confused, turning to Cira.
Addams took one look behind her to the Halo and leapt out of her chair. She strode to Hanna and took the frighten woman into her arms.
Kit turned to the Halo and groaned “Oh no”. She turned back to Hanna and insisted “there’s no way that thing did that to them”
“it’s the only option” Hanna muffled said.
“It’s not” Cira insisted. The others turned to her. Aaron hopped off his mother’s lap. Cira stood swiftly and walked to Hanna. Addam pulled away from Hanna, taking a step aside. “The leviathan wouldn’t turn on it’s master. We don’t know what happened, but we will” Cira closed the gap, taking Hanna’s face with both hands. Using her thumbs to wipe away the stray tears. “we will find them”
Hanna didn’t respond. She leaned down and took Cira into her arms. Cira quickly moved her hands to wrap around Hanna’s neck. Allow Hanna’s hands to wrap around her waist and pull her tight.
The tender moment was interrupted by the sounds of commotion outside. The girls pulled apart as the group turned to the door.
“now what” Cira groaned.
Hanna moved for the door, pulling Cira along with her. The others followed suit. They entered the hallway, turned to the left and followed the trail of voices.
The source was a group of warriors, standing in a circle in the middle of the hallway.
“We’ll split up, you two take the normal route she takes, the rest we will divide either side of the track” A sister warrior commanded, pointing to left and right. “Any signs of them, radio in”
“them?” Hanna whispered under her breath.
“Is there anyone missing?” Cira asked, turning to face Hanna. She watched the hybrid lower her head confused, eyes darting all over the place. Mentally calculating who was in the Cradle. “The only ones I could think that haven’t been seen in a while are-“ Cira didn’t get to finish her thoughts. Hanna suddenly shot passed her sprinting down the hallway. “Hanna! HANNA!” she yelled, but the hybrid didn’t slow down. Running past the group, down the end of the hallway and disappearing from sight. Cira rolled her eyes and cursed “For the Devil’s sake!”, then chased after her.
Kit groaned, shaking her head. “Oh this day couldn’t get any worse”
Addams shock her head. “Come on, lets help them find them” she said.
Down town
Sister Cara’s head was ringing, high pitch tone and blaring. Her world was spinning too fast, memories flashed before her mind before disappearing to darkness again.
She remembered guiding Persephone back home.
She remembered noticing a man following them, tall, dark and piecing eyes. Oh she remembered those eyes well. Haunting eyes, purple and glowing.
She remembered leading Persephone down the alley on a wild goose chase to loose their stalker.
She remembered the stalker appearing out of nowhere and taking her by surprise. Cara remembered the fight that followed.
“sister cara, sister cara….cara” Hanna’s voice begged in soft whispers.
Sister Cara tried to respond, but her stomach felt sick. The kind if she opened her mouth, her stomach will come pouring out.
The pressure of hands on her body suddenly caught her by surprised and her mind was transported back to the moment the stalker threw her against the wall. Plummeting his fists into her relentlessly. Those purple eyes bore into her soul, burned their image into her mind.
“Sister Cara, Sister Cara” Hanna’s voice echoed.
Sister Cara saw Persephone run away from the fight. She don’t know where the teenager went next, but she was glad the teenager could get away.
“Tell the Hybrid” the Stalker spoke, but it wasn’t his voice that came from the stalker’s mouth. It was Reya. “I’m coming and everything she ever loved, will die”
Suddenly the world went black.
“SISTER CARA!” Hanna yelled.
Sister Cara woke with a start. Hanna was kneeling in front of the wounded Sister Warrior. Holding the woman upright against the building. She looked at her niece confused, then around.
She was still in the same alleyway she fought the stalker in. Persephone was truly gone, but so was the stalker. The Sister Warrior shifted in her seat. Her body ached from the movement, but his disappearance was a pressing matter. “Hanna, we have to stop him he’s going to…” she looked up to her niece and saw her deep frown.
“I know, I stopped him”
Sister Cara frowned confused. She looked behind her niece and gasped at the blood splatter and scorch marks. The Sister looked back to her niece shocked.
“I know” Hanna said. “Where is Persephone?”
“she ran away”
“Where?”
Cira walked around the bend and entered the alleyway. Striding towards the family with purpose in her steps. “She’s not here” Cira spoke. The ladies turned to her, Sister Cara, startled by her appearance. Cira didn’t take the fright to heart. “She’s a clever one, she made sure no one will follow her” she comment. Cira knelt by their sides and informed with a confident smirk. “But don’t worry, I’ll bring her back”
Hanna gave Cira a grateful smile.
“Then you better go, both of you, before she finds you” Sister Cara urged.
The teenagers focused on her.
“I’m not leaving you here” Hanna informed.
“You got to, you don’t have time”
“Doesn’t matter, you’re injured, you need help!” Hanna insisted.
Cira leaned forward and grabbed Hanna’s shoulder. “Hang on a second” she turned to the Sister Warrior. “She? Who’s this she?”
Sister Cara starred at the teenagers terrified as she answered “Reya”
Despite Sister Cara’s wish they find Persephone first. The Teenagers took her straight back to the Cradle, to the infirmary. Cira left to track down any further traces of Reya’s soul haunting the town. Hanna went to find Persephone.
She searched the town all over, but Persephone was nowhere to be found.
Defeated, Hanna returned back to the Cradle.
Walking up the road to the front gates, she found Cira standing outside. Waiting for her. Hanna sped up her pace. “Hey” she called as she approached. “Why are you out here?”
“Waiting for you of course”
“Any signs of Reya”
“None” Cira assured. “She’s not here”
“Yeah but she will be” Hanna sighed.
“hey” Cira moved closer, grasping both of Hanna’s hands tight. The touch made Hanna look up at the woman. “She’s nothing to be afraid of. We, are more powerful then her”
“yeah but isn’t she a god”
“No” Cira scoffed. “She’s a cunt, not a god. But I have a plan to fix this”
“Fix this?” Hanna asked concerned.
“Yes” she answered. “She came to us and threaten us. She wants us to be afraid, do what you ladies did last time. Raise an army and prepare to fight her. She’s expecting us to wait, but we’re not going to do that this time. This time, you and I are taking the fight to her”
“what?”
“She won’t see it coming. We’ll kill her and everything will be better”
Hanna’s eyes widen. She shock her head violently. “No, no we can’t”
“Why not?”
“Why Not!” Hanna pulled her hands away, the movement surprised Cira. “Persephone is missing, my parents and family are missing. We go after Reya right now and we will lose everything we worked for”
“We’re not going to lose!” Cira scoffed, then tension rising in her voice.
“No we can’t do this!”
“We have to”
“It’s a Suicide Mission”
“IT’S THE ONLY CHOICE WE GOT!” Cira roared.
Loud enough for the Sister Warriors on patrol stopped and focused on the girls. Even Hanna stepped back, surprised by her friend’s outburst.
Unfortunately, her friend was not done just yet. Cira saw the threat as opportunity and not a warning. “She took my father away from me!” Abyss stated. “She has tried to kill your family multiple times and almost succeeded twice. She needs to be stopped and only way to do that is to kill her”. Cira stepped forward. “You and I are the only ones who can stop this!”
Hanna’s eyes darken, the colour red flared in her eyes. “I know”
“Then let’s kill the cunt”
“No!”
“Why Not!”
“Because I’m not going to risk my life to take away hers, not when my family and friend are missing. I’m not going along with this, not this time, not ever again” Hanna ordered. “If you want to throw away your life for this stupid idea, then go ahead. See if I care!” Hanna turned around and began proceeding back to town.
The rage subsided from Cira. She watched Hanna walk away from her with trembling body. With disbelief this was happening right now, to them, of all people.
“so you’re choosing her over me” Cira spoke, pained.
Hanna stopped, turning back to Cira sharply while stating “Yes!”
Hanna didn’t mean to be so harsh. She didn’t want Cira to recoil from her words. She stepped forward and Cira stepped back. She frowned, her crimson eyes melted to deep underwater blue. This was not how she wanted things to go between them. “I’m sorry. I can’t lose anyone else” Hanna whispered.
“I know” Abyss turned and started to walk away.
“No Cira wait!” Hanna begged.
Cira stopped briefly, turned her head over her shoulder, but not enough to look Hanna in the eye. “I hope you find her”
“cira”
Cira turned to her head on. Blood trickled down from her glasses and she mouthed three words.
Hanna frowned, what was it Cira was trying to tell her. “Cira…Please don’t do this”
Cira turned back and disappeared in a sudden puff of shadow.
“ABYSS!” Hanna shouted, but it was no use. The woman was gone. “GOD FUCKING DAMMIT!” she cursed angrily. She transformed into her angelic form, blood splattered outward along pavement. She flew upward, then shot forward soaring up into the heavens.
She had to find Cira. Before her friend could risk
Down on the ship, Abyss stormed to the portal.
Casting off her glasses, she shed her human appearance and took on her true form. Her shadow form. She looked up at the portal and glared with tearful eyes. “Okay Reya, you want death. Okay, you shall have it!”
Cira kicked started the portal. It whirled and struggled to remain on, as per normal. This time, she turned to the portal and gave the machine a portion of her powers. Red energy beamed from her hand and struck the portal. Filling it with the power it craved. She pulled her hand back, ceasing the connection. The struggle disappeared; the portal was functioning perfectly.
There was only one thing left to do.
Cira took a deep breath and marched straight for the portal. Disappearing inside the energy field.