Beyond Our Control

Epilogue

 The smoke of the explosion from Circumstantial Captivity stretched so high and clear that it was impossible no one in the city couldn't see it.

Miss Lady Priya sent out all of her search teams to look for survivors in the ruins. But even to oblivious eyes, it was obvious there wouldn't be any survivors.

Several days passed and the search still continues. The fires from the explosion had been cleared by the search teams, and yet the smoke itself stayed and lingered.

The highest ranks of officials and guards climb the several ladders that have been let down deep into the giant hole of the ruin. Flashlights and tools all over, looking for any signs of movement.

"Miss Lady Priya needs to stop the search, there's no possible way anyone could have survived this." One of the impatient guards calls out to his buddy while climbing down the ladders.

"Well, I can understand why she wouldn't give up the search so easily. Dr. Mazarine Novak has been a mentor to her ever since she was elected Leader. And she was in here," he points at the big hole they're in, "when the explosion happened."

"Really? Wow, I didn't realize that."

"Stop the chit chat and get to work!" Their higher ranked boss commanded and they quickly hushed and obeyed.

One of the guards, his ladder dangling close to the edge of the hole, spots a small area of a wall, in perfect condition, covered by the explosion dirt. He uses his tool and shoves off more of the dirt. And soon, he realized the wall was bigger than he could dig up alone.

"Hey! I think I found something!" He shouts, and the sound of his news echoes throughout the whole gigantic hole, everyone turning up, left, right, down, to see where he is.

After a few hours of clearing the rest of the dirt, they realized there was no door.

"We'll have to blast it open." Someone suggests.

Someone near him scuffs. "Even the explosion didn't harm this damn wall, you think we can possibly blast it open?"

"And how do you know it might not just be a piece of wall and there would just be more dirt on the other side?" Someone else adds.

One of the highest ranked officials here dangles her ladder closer to the wall. "I contacted Miss Lady Priya, and she said to make an opening to the wall. And she insisted to be careful, so no bombs or any of that. We don't want to hurt the possibility of survivors on the other side."

"But how will we make an opening? If this wall really did survive that explosion, there's no way we'll be able to just cut an opening through it."

The highest ranked official smiles. "Miss Lady Priya allowed us to use the Narvaez Rocks to open it."

People gasp a little but nod their heads immediately and get back to work.

The sharp electricity powered knife, the Narvaez Rock carved sharp into the blade, works its way to make a big circle around the wall. And it works, the knife digging deep into the strong material of the wall.

When it's finally finished, a giant circle that almost looks drawn on, is carved into the wall. The guards work their way carefully to take out the circle piece of the wall that has been cut, and harshly, they let it fall down deep into the hole.

It's abrupt Thump! and the the blast of wind it caused makes people on their dangling ladders swing back and forth, they hold on tightly so they won't fall with that piece of the wall.

But when they finally stop swinging, their attention focuses back to the wall. And now jaw drops and gapes are on everyone's faces as they stare into the opening they had made.

Inside, small things are shattered but other than that the place barely has a scratch. Tenths of glowing blue tanks with bodies in them stand firmly, unmoved nor broken.

The highest ranked Official speaks into her contact device, her eyes never leaving the astonishing view of the almost untouched place. "Miss Lady Priya, I-I think we found the lab you mentioned."

The lab remains in perfect shape.

One by one, search teams make their way into the lab. Their voices echoing into the once quiet place, everyone looking for survivors.

On the other side of the lab, because this wall never shattered from the explosion, the other side of the lab is only burned but not destroyed completely. And on that other side, which the guards and officials will soon discover, in that ruined hall lays three bodies.

The first body is burned completely and unrecognizable, and they have stopped breathing for a long time and they don't have a pulse.

The second body's face is burned and so is their hair, also unrecognizable. But their chest rises and falls the tiniest bit, a pulse pumping faintly, fighting to survive.

The third body, who had been in the lab when the explosion happened had survived without the faintest scratch. She had gone into the lab to check if anything were ruined and then the explosion blasted, causing her to faint on spot. But after a while, she comes out into that side of the hall where it wasn't ruined completely, and there she finds fire burning and ashes of stones. And she finds the two bodies.

And she knew, in her heart, so deep down because she gave birth to her, that her daughter is one of the two.

She pulls the two bodies of the unrecognizable girls close to her, and she cries and hugs them tightly. One of the bodies was dead. One wasn't. And she was too scared to look further to see which one really is her daughter. So she holds the two girls closely to her and hums herself, and the struggling to survive girl, to sleep.

The highest ranked Official and a few other guards finally finds the hall, and there, they see the once confident woman in her weakest point, hugging two completely burnt up bodies.

The highest ranked Official clears her throat from all the smoke and astonishing view, and she speaks into her contacting device. "Miss Lady Priya, we found one survivor. No, maybe three."

One of the guards makes her way closer toward the three of them, and she asks, almost too kindly, at the third body without a scratch; "Ma'am, may I ask what exactly happened?"

She stops looking at the two burnt bodies and matches her gaze with the guard. The guard flinches immediately after seeing the terrifying look of grey eyes upon her own.

She doesn't talk but only stares at her. The guard clears her throat and speaks again. "May I ask for your name?"

And finally, her cruel and confident look returns to her face.

"Dr. Mazarine Novak."

After a few minutes, the guards tending to the burnt bodies—mostly the one who still has a pulse but Dr. Novak insisted that the dead one needs to be tended too—and the higher ranked Officials asking her a thousand questions about what had happened; when she finally responds, her answer is confusing to everyone except herself.

A cold smile stretches across her thin lips.

"Kenna Fletcher, a girl from female youth dorms 134, is now enlisted as the top most wanted. She is what happened, and I want her dead."

The Officials look warily at each other.

She leaves them in their own doubts and confusion and she walks back toward the burnt bodies.

She lets a tear drop roll down her cheek as she slides her hands across the two girls' burnt arms. The guards tell her that they're not done tending to them yet but she ignores all of them.

She pulls the two bodies tight into her, and she hums a lullaby to them. And as she hums, she hisses the same sentence over and over again under her breath, only her and one of the girls in her arms can hear it. And she hisses it again, and again, until she feels an uncomfortable twitch from one of the girls in her arms. She hisses it one last time before getting up.

I'm coming for you, Kenna Fletcher.