Always

She's A Thorn In My Throat, Pricking At Suff'ring Seams

The rain fell in relentless sheets, casting an almost ethereal gloom over the city as Freen sat on her desk, chatting with her lover, whining about the fact that she left before waking up. The moment she placed her phone on the table, she began working on the tasks that needed her attention. The muted sound of the raindrops against the vast windows accompanied her thoughts, creating almost rhythmic patterns that contrasted sharply with the chaos about to unfold. The distant rumble of thunder became a harbinger of what was to come.

Upon checking her latest designs that she has secretly created with BETA, her mind wasn't entirely clear about everything. She actually felt uneasy, uncomfortable and unsure. This particular day, among the rest of the week, casts an unsettling energy permeated in her office. It was an unwelcome disturbance that felt palpable, almost as if the atmosphere itself was warning her of impending doom.

-BETA her long companion had noticed her sudden change of energy. Literally few minutes ago she was a child whining to her mother, now she's an adult who doesn't know how to overcome her own fears. "Freen" BETA softly called, snapping Freen out of her thoughts "are you alright?..you seem off today". Freen adjusted her position, and cleared her throat. "Y..yes" she responded with a voice filled with hesitation. "Freen..share with me, what you're feeling?" she queried "I don't think that something had happened between you and Rebecca"

-"n..no nothing happened..if it's actually something had happened, you know me..I wouldn't be sitting here at all". BETA remained silent, observing and watching her working on her project. A mind like her always calculate, always draw different possibilities and outcomes. She's on the there side chilling with Freen's friends. They are gathered at Rebecca's office, while the latter is sitting on her desk, brushing off the fear that she held. But still, her sole attention is on Freen, she wants to know how to ease her anxiety, she wants to help, but doesn't know how.

-"how's Nita's mother?" A question threw out of the blue, which took BETA a second to respond. "Everything is going according to plan, she'll have her surgery tomorrow morning with doctor Woods" Freen hummed, as she continued to work. "Make sure that all of my meetings tomorrow will be postponed until the next day" she commanded "I can hold virtual meetings, phone calls and such..no more than that"

-Once again, the silence took over the office, but this time around it wasn't eternal. As she was about to finalize her new project, BETA panicked as she yelled in fear. "FREEN" she called once more, with voice that her creator didn't heard before. "Quinn!..Quinn is here!..she's holding a gun Freen!..she's, she's coming!..g..go hide in your room..I..I've informed Heng..he's coming now!". Freen remained silent as she didn't pay any attention to the matter at hand. BETA wondered, questioned her sudden reaction. She was cold like a snowflake, she was calm as if she had surrendered to her fate.

-She was nothing like the person she grew to know, but that didn't stop her from repeating the warnings. "Freen!..pl-" Freen motioned her to stop, in which she complied without hesitation. "Calm down BETA" she said "I was anticipating her arrival..sooner or later she will be a bitch and sniff under my shadows like a fool to find Rebecca"

-As she continued on her work, it was in that tense solitude that she first heard the noise, a soft creaking of the office door, too deliberate to be a mere gust of wind. She slowly raised her head, glancing towards the entrance that swung open slowly, revealing a shadow cloaked in darkness, a figure that seemed to emerge from the depths of the storm itself. "Busy, are we?" Quinn taunted, stepping into the light that filled the room.