Misfortune (Vi x OC)

|13| To ashes and blood

The tunnels felt endless, the smoke thick and clinging to everything. My mask did little to block the stench, and the weight of my sword over my shoulder was starting to drag. We'd been walking for hours—still nothing. No sign of Jinx. Just dead ends and a foul stench.

Vi was quiet behind me. Too quiet. I didn't dare look back at her, but I could feel the tension hanging between us. After last night, she was probably afraid I'd snap again. Maybe I would.

"This is a waste of time," I muttered, mostly to myself. But I kept moving. I couldn't stop now. Even if it felt pointless, I had to try.

"I'm sure something will turn up—" Maddie says next to me, her pistol swinging in her hand. "You know," she began, her tone light but laced with something sharper, "it's always so inspiring to hear your unwavering optimism, Mona."

I glanced at her, narrowing my eyes. "I'm just being realistic. We've been wandering for hours, and we're no closer to finding her."

"Sure," Maddie replied, a smile tugging at her lips that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Because muttering about how pointless this is really helps boost morale." She gave a casual shrug

I sighed and adjusted the grip on my sword, biting back a retort. "I'm just saying, this doesn't feel like progress."

"And yet," Maddie said, tilting her head, "here we are, still walking. Funny how that works."

I scoffed as I rolled my eyes at her, she only gave me that sickeningly sweet smile in return.

The arena was eerily silent, the propeller at its center marked with Jinx's neon scrawls. We approached cautiously. My eyes locked on a ragdoll hanging from one of the ropes, resembling a noose. 

It was me. 

The scarf, the boots—it was all there, every detail of my old clothes. My stomach churned. 

Then came the ropes, falling all around us. Figures descended quickly, the plunges causing Maddie to startle

In the corner of he room a loud sneeze could be heard from the ground, Heenot, an old informant of Silco's associates. I grabbed a gas mask from my pouch and tossed over, he frantically took it "Thanks. I thought I was a goner." he says, breathing deeply "You're Smeech's man." Vi replied "Was. Not anymore. Name's Heenot. I—"

He paused and double-checked the rest of us "You—you're that girl, Silco's assistant. What are you doing down here?" he shot a worried stare at me

"None of your concern, now, what brings you all the way down here?" I asked calmly "Oh, I decided it was time for me to retire." he sneezed again "Looks more like someone decided to retire you." Caitlyn said

"Yeah, well, timing was never my strong..." he sneezes again "Sorry. Sorry, it's... It's the Grey. It gives me the..." another

"We'll ask you again. How did you wound up here?" Caitlyn demanded, her voice sharp.

"Hey, wait, wait," the man stammered, holding up his hands defensively. "Jinx—she's off the rails. Even for her. She's got a real fire lit under her ass, planning something big right here in the pipeworks." He sniffled, glancing nervously between us.

"This is a pretty big place," Vi said flatly, crossing her arms.

"She was heading toward the old tunnels," he added hastily. "Said something about rerouting the vents."

Caitlyn's jaw tightened. "That's all we need. Cuff him."

"Hey, come on! I told you everything I know!" he protested, his voice rising.