Warrior Nun: The aftermath

Chapter 41

As if they had been doing it for years. Like an old couple who had kissed or hugged each other countless times. That's exactly how it was for Ava. Lying in this bed, with Beatrice in her arms, is how she wanted to spend every other day, until the end of her life. This idea made Ava smile.

"What are you thinking about?" asked Beatrice with her head resting on Ava's chest.

Slowly, she stroked Bea's back with her fingertips. The feeling of her warm and soft skin was electrifying.

"Have you ever wondered why we don't just run away and start a new life in the middle of nowhere? Where no one knows us and no one expects anything from us?"

"Why are you thinking about this? It doesn't matter where we are, as long as we're with each other."

"You're right," Ava replied.

Beatrice lifted her head and began to kiss Ava. Slowly at first, then faster and more intensely. Quickly Ava's hands wandered over her bare back into her long brown hair. Excitement flooded Ava's body and she couldn't wait to explore more of Bea. With a deft manoeuvre, she turned Beatrice onto her back and underneath her. Sitting on top of her, Ava continued to kiss her. But suddenly Beatrice broke the kiss and began to choke. She pulled away from her and leaned back to see Bea fully. Two hands were wrapped around her neck, pressing tighter and tighter. Startled, Ava followed with her eyes from the hands up to the arms and to the person the hands belong to. She recognized to who the hands belonged. Herself. Ava saw her hands choking Beatrice further, squeezing tighter and tighter.

"A-Ava, stop!" cried Beatrice.

Ava tried with all her power, but it didn't work. She had to see how Bea's face turned more and more of a blue color.

"Ava, stop! Stop it!" was all Beatrice whimpered.

"I'm trying!"

Desperately, she tried to stop. Instead, Beatrice's gaze became rigid and unfocused. The kicking and wriggling underneath her stopped abruptly, as did the attempts to gasp for air. Beatrice was dead. For a long moment, Ava looked down and the image burned itself into her memory.

Suddenly, it was bright and she couldn't see anything. She had to blink several times before she could see anything. Beatrice was gone. Instead, she looked into the face of Mother Superior, who shook her like crazy. Behind her, Ava could vaguely see Dora clinging to the door frame.

"Ava? Can you hear me? You have to stop!" Mother Superior yelled at her.

What to stop? Confused, she looked around and saw how everything was shaking. Suddenly, it was no longer silent but noisy. A loud rumble, objects rattling and falling over. An earthquake. But what did that have to do with her?

"What?" Ava asked, still clueless.

"The earthquake is you! You have to stop!" Mother Superior screamed, trying to fight the noise.

As if she had still been asleep and was only now really waking up, Ava understood what Mother Superior wanted from her. This was exactly like her very first visit to the monastery back then. If you could even call it a "visit". Beatrice had drugged her with something in Jillian's lab and taken her with the others. She had woken up in a small room, tied to a bed. Completely frightened and unaware of the newfound power behind her, she had also caused an earthquake. With a few deep breaths, she tried to calm down and relax. It had just been a nightmare. That's exactly what Ava kept telling herself in her mind. The slower her pulse became and more of her muscles relaxed, the less and weaker the earthquake became before it subsided completely.

"What happened, Ava?" asked Mother Superior as she brushed off the dust from her clothes.

"I-I had a nightmare," Ava stammered softly but audibly.

"Since I know you and have been through something similar, I can imagine that it happens more often. What was different this time?"

Ava knew full well that Mother Superior wanted to know more, but she wasn't ready to talk about what she had dreamed.

"It was just worse than usual."

"What were you dreaming?" Dora said as long as she came from the door to her bed.

"I don't remember," Ava lied and sat down on the edge of the bed. "Excuse me, I'm getting sick."

A good excuse to disappear quickly. She needed time for herself to process her dream.

All day, Ava had retreated to the roof of the building, watching the horizon. If she hadn't been able to heal herself, she probably would have died of sunburn and heat stroke a long time ago. The days were much too hot and difficult for everyone to bear. But Ava was fine with it. No one had the idea of keeping her company. In the meantime, the horizon slowly turned orange and the temperature became a little lower. Nevertheless, the air still shimmered in the distance. She had lived through all her thoughts and feelings in the past few hours. Out of frustration, anger and sadness, she would have liked to put everything down. Since it wouldn't change anything, and if Bea were there, she would scold her for lack of control, she decided not to do anything of the sort. Everything in her head revolved around Beatrice. How she was lying in a coma, down in her makeshift little hospital. That it was her fault and Ava should have listened to Beatrice and protected her. Unspoken things and things she still wanted to do with Bea. A future together that was already at stake again because of something. Anger about it and everything else. Suddenly, Ava's hand began to tremble. She quickly reached for it with the other to keep her hand quiet. Then her legs, feet, and finally her whole body began. Out of nowhere, everything began to cramp and her head was flooded with a hellish pain. Ava was no longer in control of her body, so she fell backwards and had a seizure on the roof, shrouded in the light of the sunset. Unable to form a thought, she screamed, hoping it would stop.