Buried in the wreckage of a Compound meant to imprison her, Faine awakens a shell of her former self. With no memories and a growing taste for revenge, she is given the ultimate decision.
She must save the city, or herself.
Round One 》✅️ 2k 》✅️
R...
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"Operation Crimion was supposed to be simple," Karras began, peering at her from the corner of his eye. "We'd been staking out the building for nearly a month, memorizing and cataloging the routines within the Compound. We picked the perfect date and time, a significant portion of the staff were going to be away due to some conference Trace was holding..."
Faine felt her knees pressing together, her entire body locking up. She could tell Karras was either afraid or uncomfortable looking at her, keeping his gaze fixed on Saesin when he wasn't trying to gauge her reaction. Those tiny side glances revealed a pained expression cloaked in shadow, hidden from her.
They'd been sitting in strange silence for the last five minutes, waiting as Karras attempted to find the words. He'd begin and trail off without fully forming a thought, until the facts started pouring out of him.
"The plan was so simple... Faine, you and I were assigned an extraction team. We were supposed to break in through the left gate and storm through the Compound's Medical Bays, our team would rescue as many Shifter's as possible and evacuate before the next team arrived..."
Saesin hummed to herself softly and flicked something off the end of her nail, examining it further. Despite her split focus, Faine could tell she was lingering on every word Karras spoke, as if she was giving him the privacy to continue at his own speed. She found it admirable in a way.
Karras began to rake a hand over his head, pausing only to realize he was not touching hair. A bitter laugh escaped him.
"It was a trap," he explained, leaning back in his chair. "They were waiting for us. Every prisoner had been left detained, leaving an ambush of armed Physicians to take us down. A few were able to escape, you were even holding your own until someone detained me– They captured me from your six, incapacitating me. The rest is murky..."'
Faine blinked, swallowing back the heat of pain and sadness burning in her throat. "But the collapse... The fire..."
He nodded, his head tilting to see her. "For the next several months we were... examined... From what I understand, Naisene bombed the facility. I heard some of the hospital staff whispering about the decision, how they concluded the loss of life was expendable compared to the threat."
Saesin finally lifted her gaze and dropped her hands into her lap. "Yes, I can confirm as much. Though, the local news is providing a cover up. Something about a gas leak."
"A gas leak?" Faine snapped. "What, they sacrifice hundreds of lives? Their own men? Without a modicum of honor?"
Her outburst sent the lights flickering throughout the room. Karras tensed, one hand reaching out to grab hers before stopping. Faine stared down at the slim space between their fingers, knowing if she lifted one up she'd graze through his shadows.
"So how did you escape, Karras?" Saesin asked, propping her elbows on her knees. "Not without some difficulties it would seem."
If darkness drained warmth, the room would've become arctic. The shadows wreathing his frame began uncoiling and lapping off his body like stoked flames, ebbing and flowing with a control he clung to desperately.
