The fall

Chapter 18

Blake

I'd just gotten back to district eight's camp, the heavy silence after being at my father's house was still hanging over me. I try to think through the remnants of the relationship we have left. He may call himself a father but he certainly doesn't act the part. I just need a break from that man. He's been draining my energy.
But now, I was back in the place I knew best, with the soldiers who had become my family even though we didn't always get along.

The air was thicker than the usual hum of the camp—yet there were voices shouting commands, boots on the ground, the sound of metal clanking. I spotted Kaede first, his figure obviously towering over most others because of his height. He hunched over as he sharpened a knife with practiced precision. A man full of sarcasm yet serious at work.
Misha was also nearby, her eyes scanning the area as she cleaned her weapons with quick, efficient movements. They both looked up when I walked over to them and I felt the tension in my chest starting to ease..

"You're back, Blakey boy," Kaede says, immediately as his serious expression he had a moment ago turns into his usual aloof self. Yet he still has a warm and gentle tone.

I give him a small nod.
"First of all, It's commander to you. Second, yeah, I just got in."

Misha gives me a tight smile, her gaze flickering over me, as though making sure I wasn't carrying any injuries from the trip.
"Good to see you," She says, her voice steady and calm per usual.

The conversation drifted into the usual banter—who had failed the last weapons check, whether Kaede started taking bets on the next training session. But in the middle of the noise something felt...off. A part of me kept scanning through the camp, looking for a flash of red hair, a familiar bright smile.
Penelope should have been here by now. I hadn't seen her in hours, and I expected that the moment I stepped foot back in camp, she'd come running over, pulling me into one of those tight hug, breathless hugs she always gave me.
But there was nothing.

I felt my pulse quicken. Where is she?

My eyes swept over the soldiers moving around us, but there was no sign of her.
Normally, she would've been hanging around somewhere—making jokes with the others, checking up on the supply lines, maybe even trying to drag me into one of her training sessions. But I saw no sign of her.

I try to ignore the strange, hollow feeling creeping up in my chest, but it doesn't go away.
Something's wrong.

I turn back to Kaede, my voice accidentally coming out sharper than I intended.
"Have you seen Penelope?"

Both Kaede and Misha exchange a look, Kaede's face was unreadable, while Misha frowns slightly.

"She's...not around right now," Kaede says, practically struggling as If it was no big deal, but the edge of his voice made me pause. "Haven't seen her since this morning, Blake."

My stomach twists. This wasn't like her. She was reckless, but not unwilling to do her work. She is always in the middle of things, always around. "You sure?" I ask, trying to keep myself calm.

Misha speaks up this time, her tone more neutral. "She's  probably just busy with something. She's been pulling extra shifts at the supply lines after all."
She says that, but I could hear the uncertainty in her voice.

I nod in confirmation, but It doesn't sit well with me. I had a bad feeling gnawing at me now, one I couldn't ignore. Penelope was always here, always finding her way to me somehow, no matter how chaotic things got.
The fact that she hadn't come to greet me made me feel like something was slipping through my fingers, something important.

I clenched my jaw. Where the hell are you, Penelope Dorothea?