Daughters of Darkness [Blink]

[GoblinFae]

Life was rather surreal. Heather still woke up in the middle of the night with Aspen tucked in against her side and found herself wondering if this was all real. A pinch never lied though. She wasn’t dreaming at least. Candidacy was over and she was a proper Pilot now rather than a failed experiment-to-be. That thought still caught her off guard in those dark hours when the silence was so powerful and oppressive that it made her heart beat like a drum.

She had come really close to walking right off the precipice with her poor behavior. Perhaps in the beginning days she would have welcomed it too. Now though...now was harder. Heather had never expected to find people to care about. Matt had forced his way into her heart whether she liked it or not. He had demanded a friendship and in the end that’s exactly what he had gotten from her. Then, there was Aspen. They had clicked together faster than the Bitch of ATC would have cared to admit either. The fact that they were now Seekers and work partners just seemed to solidify the strength of their bond. But, if you had told Heather six months ago she would be practically living with Aspen of her own free will she would have laughed and tried to stab you with a knitting needle.

She had made it though and with Aspen to boot. Heather had thought she would hate it all: hate being a Seeker, hate working with Aspen, hate being stuck in Margad. Truth be told there were certainly parts she did not enjoy about it but, that was greatly outweighed by the sense of peace that came with starting to find her place in life.

Today was one of those moments. The pair of Cardinal Seekers had been outfitted with a new mission. After months of pushing paperwork and running about from office to office both girls finally had some fieldwork to be doing and Heather could not have been happier. Sure, it was only a small matter of connecting with an informant and collecting the information they had. But, it was a start and she damn well was going to seize the moment with both hands.

It was the reason she was standing near an alley in a seedier part of the dome. She was dressed casually and snapping chewing gum with all the apparent boredom in the world. Her eyes though were sharp and on the lookout for their contact. She and Aspen were early and in position already though. They had both agreed if only to themselves that they would execute this mission perfectly. They were still a pair of low totem pole Pilots and had much to prove. If they could do this then perhaps their next field mission would not be another handful of months of waiting and waiting.

Heather blew a bright yellow bubble before letting it snap loudly. Aspen was further down from her and fiddling with her com though Heather knew the other Pilot was just as alert as she was. It was all going according to plan. Well, most of it at least was. Heather rubbed her hand along her browline, wincing slightly at the dull ache that was forming behind her eyes. She could already tell that she was getting one hell of a headache coming and coffee likely wasn’t going to be something to fix it either.

She turned head, feeling an unsatisfying pop that did nothing to relieve the tension there. Movement in the corner of her eye made her pause. Something about it set the hair on the back of her neck on end. She did not understand why but she was not about to ignore her instincts on this one.

Wordlessly she reached her mind out to Aspen’s and gave a mental tug. “Saw something to my 7o’clock. Going to investigate. Cover me but hang back. It’s probably nothing.”

Heather casually stretched her arms over her head before pushing off the wall she was leaning on and heading further into the alley. It was darker in the narrowed space making it harder to see but Heather pressed on as if nothing was amiss. Her headache was only getting worse though as a heavy cloud seemed to press in against her skull. She cursed herself for having a migraine right then of all times. It left her feeling foggy and lethargic in ways she really didn’t wish to be while in the middle of a mission.

‘When this is over I am definitely ordering extra veggies with the curry noodles tonight. Gotta keep healthy, Heather. Don’t want to turn into the pizza monster like Aspen now.’

Her thoughts were broken as movement once more caught her attention. She could not make out any specific details, only the outline of a rather tall individual making their way towards her. Muscles coiled, ready to spring defensively if needed when a soft voice reached her ears, making her blood run cold.

“What a pretty kitten you are. Yes I think you’ll do nicely,” he grinned toothily moments before coming at her with inhuman speed.

The young Pilot only had a chance to take one precious breath of air before a crushing grip was applied to her tender throat and she felt her strength bleeding from her rapidly. Heather fought for all that she was worth, kicking and flailing as with each heartbeat she got weaker and weaker. Try as she might she could not break free though. Nor could she manage to reach out telepathically to Aspen or even Levi. That final realization terrified her. In one last ditch effort, heather swung her head back to try and club her assailant. A satisfying crack was the last thing she heard though as dark spots swam before her eyes and her body became still and heavy. As she finally passed out, her head lolled back limply and her black Hellion beanie slid off to reveal her shock of amethyst hair beneath it.

“Oh yes, little Pilot. You will do nicely indeed.” The figure purred as he dragged her deeper into the alley and out of sight.

[Blink]

So much had happened, so many things that led Aspen to where she was now. At first, it was just grunt work, filing papers and doing whatever the higher ups needed. But now, the majority were in Adstreia dealing with whatever it was going on over there. Aspen still wasn't sure on the details, just knowing that something big had happened which required them to call in everyone.
"I bet Soleas and Matt are super busy", she thought as she scrolled past their names on her Com. "I wonder how Viktor is feeling today..." Why she was looking at her contacts she still wasn't sure, but being out following up on some leads for the first time was already nerve-wracking enough. Maybe just seeing their names, the names of those who had helped get her here would help ground her in a way.

To Viktor: Hey! How are you feeling today? I sent you some more medical books I found here!Something about plants and health, of course, Margad would have them lol. Hopefully, you get them soon! Maybe after all this crazy stuff in Adstreia is over I can come to visit! I'll bring flashcards and help you catch up on your medical stuff if you want. Or we can just talk... it's up to you. Anywho just let me know!

-Aspen Brookes"

 
-Sent-
None of it was helping with the headache that was pressing on every nerve in her head as it progressed. Maybe it wasn't nerves, maybe it was something else causing her to feel so shitty. In a last-ditch effort, she pulled up the browser on her com, typing into Floogle her symptoms while slipping her heel in and out of her one size too big flats.

Headache, Pressure, Fatigue...
Searching...
Searching....
Searching.....
Results: Pregnancy, Low Blood Sugar, Low Blood Pressure, Anemia, Arrhythmia, Vestibular Neuronitis, Dehydration.

Just as she had finished reading her results Aspen thought she felt Heather trying to say something but the dizziness caused by her headache muffled it all. She had been in front of her this entire time but was now turning and Aspen wasn't sure whether to follow or hang back. Now was not the time to be Floogling her death and so she tucked her Com back into her pocket.

"Want me to follow?" Immediately Aspen felt the emptiness on the other side of the message and even worse her headache was quickly becoming unbearable. Something wasn't right... something was happening and Aspen felt every muscle in her body growing weaker by the second.

"Heather?" she whispered as she turned into the alley trying to pinpoint her friend's location.

"Here kitty kitty..." a soft voice called from deeper in, cloaked by the shadows. The voice alone was enough to send a chill down her spine, enough so that she stepped back, momentarily afraid to go in any further. The old Aspen probably would have run, turned on her heel and bolted while crying about how unfair all of this was. The old Aspen would not have gone back, the old Aspen would not be pressing forwards because her partner and friend was somewhere in that darkness with whatever it was taunting her at the end.

"Yes, that's right... Here kitty kitty..." the soft voice beckoned again, calling Aspen in further.

She wanted to run so badly, every muscle in her legs shaking and screaming at her to turn around... yet she did not. She continued to press forwards, her eyes burning as she fought back the tears of fear to try and just see where Heather was.

And then she saw it...

Heather's beanie, laying on the ground without the girl it belonged to in sight. The sight of the beanie was enough to stop Aspen right in her tracks, her legs refusing to move forwards anymore as her knees quivered barely able to even hold her weight. She tried to take another step, only to lose one of her flats as she misstepped and fell to her knees.

There was no more time to react, no energy left to scream, nothing even as she tried to reach out to Thaen. At first, Aspen thought it was fear that kept her from going, but it was far from it. All she could comprehend was how quickly the figure got to her, how quickly and effortlessly he picked her up simply by grabbing her arm, and how hard it was becoming to even breathe. The young Pilot was now sharing the same fate as her partner: held at the mercy of the figure dragging her lifeless body deeper into the alley until there was nothing left to be seen.