End Of My World | Ms Venable x Cordelia Goode

Identity

Delia has practically memorised the order of books in the farthest bookshelf from the door, it's where she has spent the last eight months staring into the abyss, endlessly worrying for her girls. Myrtle, Maddison and Zoe are currently six feet under in Louisiana swamp mud, under a preservation spell, Cordelia prays that Myrtle will know the right time to get out. The earth is in a state of shambles, the air so potent with radioactive waste that one breath too deep would burn the inside of your lungs, all living things dead or dying with the occasional human found stumbling outside by the guards, and the other seven billion dead.

Delia turns her head toward the echoing steps of Ms Venable and Ms Mead. A sound she has become very familiar with.

"Dinner time." Venable muttered coldly, her body swayed briefly as she placed her cane down with a loud thud, she stood firmly in the doorway. Her silky red hair only being lit by a couple candles behind her in the hallway. The room sighed and stood slowly. There was no more enthusiasm left in the group's mannerisms, Coco's hair was frizzy and stiff in it's up-do from last week, Mr Gallant's swing in his step has long gone, the greys keep their heads down like sad mutts, and Dinah's attitude is souring. Its a sight for sore eyes. As the group sits in their usual seats, Cordelia far from Coco or Dinah and an empty seat where Stu had sat, Venable's cane can be heard from the hall.

Cordelia had placed Mallory and Coco under identity spells, so that they are unable to recognise who they really are, whereas Delia placed herself under a different kind of identity spell. She remembers completely who she is, but no one else does, keeping her identity as the supreme a secret. The whole thing is a waiting game, waiting for Micheal to show his face here. Cordelia would have liked for her plan to go differently, but this was the only way to keep the remainder of her girls alive long enough to fight Micheal Langdon.

The group picks at the cube on their plate, most of them playing with it for a while before eating it. Ms Venable sits at the head of the table, one hand resting on her cane as she sits tall, one leg over the other. She seems more smug than usual.

"Ms Mead, why don't you tell the post the good news?" Venable grins, cocking her head to the side slightly as she spoke. Ms Mead stood from where she leant against the wall and stood next to Venable's chair.

"Well," She cleared her throat, "the cooperative has kindly decided to send us our next years nutrition package early, of which, unexpectedly contained a gift." The room murmured and whispered, facing Ms Venable and Ms Mead. "We-"

She was interrupted by Ms Venable, "The cooperative are on our side, don't forget that." She lowered her head as she sat, glaring upwards slightly, her dark eyes piercing the table of people. "They have kindly sent us a months supply of coffee beans, one cup a day for each person." The room filled with excitement, Mr Gallant and Coco beaming with joy and squealing like little girls. Cordelia couldn't be less interested. There were far bigger problems on this planet than a warm cup of coffee. Venable noticed Cordelia's lack of interest, the rest of the room was enamoured with joy, even those who weren't previously coffee drinkers. Venable squinted across the table, gripping the head of her cane, her fingerless glove squeaking.

The group practically skipped into the main-room, Cordelia trailing behind just in-front of the greys. She noticed Mallory with her head down, a smile grazed her face before she quickly caught up with the other purples. She couldn't risk being close to Coco or Mallory, Dinah and her ignorance was never an issue, but Mallory and Coco were far closer to Delia before their spell, she cant become close with them or they might remember everything.

Just as the room settled into their chairs and conversation. One guard, a tall woman, barged into the room with Ms Mead. Cordelia's heart dropped. The tall woman grabbed Mr Gallant with one hand and threw him into the wall, Cordelia stood abruptly keeping one hand on her chair as she faced the situation. The whole group was stood and silent. Coco gasped loudly and covered her mouth at the sound of the impact, the skin on his temple has split slightly and was dripping red blood down the side of his face.

"What- Hey! What the f- what did I do!?" He yelled, being dragged up from the floor and pinned against the wall by the tall woman and another guard. Ms Mead finally walked over to him, a radiation detector in hand. Everyone knew where this was going, Cordelia glared at Venable, she knew it was a barefaced lie. With the clicking of the Geiger meter, Mr Gallant was shunned out of the room, they wouldn't see him again. In a fit of anger Cordelia stood and went to follow them out the room. Venable turned around abruptly at the sound of Delia's footsteps, her swift movement stopping Cordelia in her tracks;

"Where do you think you're going Miss Goode?" Venable furrowed her brows, looking sternly at Delia.

"He hasn't left the sight of the group in days, theres no way he's so heavily contaminated, he couldn't have left." Cordelia spoke quickly and with emotion as Mr Gallant's screams faded down the halls. Ms Venable just stared at Delia for a bit, looking her up and down, her eyes lingering for a while before she made eye contact again.

"What, are you going to miss him?" She asked teasingly, her voice deep and cold. Delia's jaw tensed as she contained herself, she couldn't expose herself over this. With her silence, Ms Venable turned slowly and walked down the hall.