Hydra Heart

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter 19: Get Up

Ozzy crept towards Shay's door. I am the leader of the organization, he reminded himself. Rules are rules. I can do this. He knocked once.

No response. He knocked again. His foot tapped the floor several times in waiting, but there was no response. Fuck it, he thought.

He swung open the door, ready to lay down the law. The room was empty. It looked recently inhabited, but no one was home. He slowly exited and closed the door behind him.

Her Kit! He realized. Shay could only use her power for so long, but something stopped Ozzy. I kicked her out of the organization! She can't just come back here! He let out a sigh. Oh, who am I kidding. The girl's grieving. I can't let her stay here and break the rules, but I definitely can't evict an orphan.

On his way out through the hallway, he passed Vesta, who he was afraid to evict for other reasons. He kept his head down and mouth shut this time, but it didn't make a difference.

"Beat it, nerd." Vesta said, before shoving him into the wall. Ozzy fell to the ground, then scampered back to his office.

Vesta walked into Shay's room. It was a filthy mess. Food containers filled the shelves and the air was painfully stale. Vesta half expected to see clothing strewn all over the floor, but instead the only dirty clothes were the ones that had been on Shay for two weeks in a row. The young lady was laying down on her bed with her headphones in. Surprisingly, Shay took them out to address Vesta.

"Hi," she said, her voice weak.

Vesta felt a twinge of pity at seeing Shay so stripped of herself. "I just stopped by to let you know that I'm packing up my stuff. Bullying Ozzy has lost its appeal for me, so I am leaving."

"Oh," Shay squeaked.

"Yup," Vesta replied. Then, she slinked out of the doorway.

--

Shay breathed deeply. Her joints ached with exhaustion as she pulled herself out of bed. She felt paralyzed, both by her mind and her body that had been in poor condition for so long. Still, she rose, stood up, and reached for the door.

It opened, and she found herself disoriented by her surroundings. It was day outside, and the sunlight made her skin tingle. The light and warmth on her skin felt like an entirely new sensation, and she realized her whole body was cold to the touch, but she had become numb to the feeling. She continued on her way.

Outside, Vesta was revving up to leave. Shay opened the door and ran to her. The rough impact of root knolls and tall grass on Shay's feet made it seem like she was returning to the world around her. "Wait!" She said, voice cracking. She cleared her throat and tried again. "Wait! Vesta!"

The woman turned to Shay. "What?"

"I have an idea! Let me come with you!"

Vesta walked over to her, and they met fifty feet from the house. "Hm." About time. "So, the orphan squad is finally teaming up?"

"I-" Shay began, too shocked to say anything coherent. She was jarred, and felt as if Vesta's words had snapped her out of whatever trance she was in. "I, um..."

"Yeah?"

"I didn't know you..."

"Had a personality?" Vesta suggested, clearly amused.

"Yeah," Shay admitted.

Vesta sighed. She checked the time displayed on her bike and then returned her attention to Shay. "Alright, you have thirty minutes. Go shower and get your stuff, I'll be out here."

Shay ran back inside, feeling energetic for the first time in forever. She is going to be useful, Vesta thought.

--

"... Oh, yes, the man was a much better parent than I ever was." Violet said. Her stories of tragedy were told lightly now that she had a better audience. "If it had been me that died, Vesta would have done a lot better. My husband was an upstanding person. He knew how to do things that didn't involve politically agitating groups of people. Parenting was one of many things he had to teach me: how to boil water, how to say no to people, how to hold a cat. Things like that."

Molly commented, "Such a romantic story oddly makes me think about Vesta. Actually, I've been thinking about Vesta a lot lately..." Violet gave Molly her silent, unwavering attention.

"Well, I guess I've always been taking a backseat to this job. I kind of..." Molly rubbed her forehead, digesting her own thoughts. "I feel bad about this, but I kind of envy Vesta. I always fought with the organization because I knew, on paper, that it was the right thing. But Vesta... she fights with that ferocity because she's, y'know, personally involved. Until Tenra's death... I wasn't. At all.

"I don't think Vesta's revenge quest is good for her... but it is good for the world. Damn, this sounds so wrong to say, but I think everyone should lose someone to Hirudinea." Molly started speaking with clarity and confidence.

"Seeing it happen to other people isn't enough, or at least it wasn't for me. I pulled punches for so long, and I'm only just starting to understand that that's not going to work. I guess that's why I kind of admire Vesta... she's very straightforward, and it's very badass. She's driven and doesn't hold back like I do. Only now am I getting that we don't have the room to negotiate, and my insistence on sparing lives doesn't seem so important anymore. I..." Molly tapped her foot, and Violet continued to wait patiently.

"We need everyone to learn what I realized just weeks ago. Nothing's off the table, and nobody will ever live a life unaffected by this conflict. Whatever brings this reality to them is a tragedy with a silver lining."

Molly felt power surge within her. A wave of SOLE crashed over her, or perhaps sprang forth from her. It was an unfamiliar, yet satisfying sensation.