Unknown Society

Souls

Bene did a headcount of everyone, including the children who were freed and the girl she kept. Everyone seemed to be here, but Bene still had that feeling of something horrible. She turned around and saw that the headquarters was nothing but a large pile of cracked stone, glass, and discarded weapons. She looked down at her child, "Stay here, kid. Momma's gonna be right back." She sprinted over to the destroyed headquarters, scanning the area for any signs of life.

Her heart began to sink, but she hadn't given up hope just yet. Purple had followed her to make sure Bene wouldn't get hurt. "What happened?" Purple looks at her, her eyes filled with concern.

"I..." Bene's eyes began to dart around frantically, "Valarie...I think she was still in this mess..."

Purple frowned. "Bene, I don't think anyone could've survived something like this," she says, putting her paw on her shoulder.

"Valarie's the strongest girl I know, okay?" Bene tried not to sound distraught, but she sounded more angry, "She's probably still alive, just let me look around."

"Bene, think about this for a minute," Purple said firmly, "Would anyone possibly survive after being crushed by something that's more than five times your weight?"

"Valarie's strong, you know?" Bene had tears in her eyes as she stubbornly replied, "And besides, she wouldn't do this to herself." She jumped down and pushed large boulders around, looking for signs of Martinez all while her sister did everything she could to try to calm her down. Bene wasn't the kind to think rationally, always believing what others told her about themselves. In this case, she was confident that Martinez survived being crushed by a thousand boulders and heavy stones.

Bene's heartbeat grew faster as she kept moving large boulders only to find no one underneath. "Val! Valarie!" She cried, only her echoes responding to her call.

Purple stood beside her, "Bene, listen to me—"

"Quit tellin' me what I don't wanna hear!" Bene snapped at her, "Valarie's still alive! She wouldn't kill herself like this!"

"Bene—"

"She has a kid now, two kids! So she wouldn't leave them alone!" Bene said through tears, "She's come such a long way, and she wouldn't do this to us! Any of us!"

"Bene," Purple rested her paw on her shoulder once more, "sit down for a minute." She says softly, knowing Bene would respond well to a soft voice.

"But what if she's still out there?" Bene kept going, "I know she's still out there! Just let me—"

"Bene," Purple says with a firm voice, "sit down."

Surprisingly, Bene lowered herself onto a stone, tears flowing down her cheeks.

Purple sat beside her. "I know it's hard to understand what happened in front of your own eyes, but eventually, you have to come to terms with reality."

"Pixel died in that fire..." Bene sobbed softly, "I knew how much Valarie loved her, and I remember her making a promise to never let herself get hurt. I know Valarie well enough, she wouldn't break any promises."

"Maybe it was meant to be, Bene," Purple looks at her, wiping Bene's tears from her cheek, "We can't always predict what happens next."

"She ain't dead, Purple," Bene gently lowers her sister's paw, "She's probably somewhere 'round here limping. I just gotta think..."

Purple leans gently on Bene's shoulder. "Just calm down, Bene," she whispers, "That's all I want."

Bene looked at her. "I thought you never cared about me?" She sniffles.