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.