FALTER

CHAPTER 41: The crater we left.

As the black SUV pulled into the sidewalk, the crowd surrounding the Falter Mission seemed to be rejuvenated. The click of camera flashes rolled over the street like the overbearing waves of the ocean, getting louder as a gruff, bald bodyguard stepped out to open the back door.A slender leg wearing short heels snaked out, followed by the rest of Deepti. She paid no attention to the masses as they hollered questions at her. Her outfit was simple - a white, traditional dress, adorned with a ghostly blue floral pattern. To match, she had wrapped a blue orna around her shoulder. She sported her usual scowl underneathe her large, square sunglasses, and her wavy hair, styled in layers, seemed as bouncy as ever, despite the situation. With a curt nod to her bodyguard, she stepped into the building with confident strides, only to be stifled by an unfamiliar discomfort.

The reception was empty, an unusual sight. There was still the murmur of residents coming from further down the hall, but there was still something missing. As if to decorate the scene, the light directly above the front desk flickered intermittently.

Deepti ignored the crawling on her skin, took a right, and strolled down the corridor that housed the temporary rooms. Her shoes thudded on the red carpet as she reached the back office, and she pushed through with purpose.

Inside, as expected, she found Marci and Imti, though the intimacy of the state she found them in caused a moment of embarrassment, However, seeing the grim look on Imti's face, she grounded herself.

A long strip of gauze wrapped around her brother's torso. Marci sat close to him, her face a hair's breadth from his, as she held cotton with a pair of tongs and was massaging scratches on Imti's shoulders. Imti's eyes were closed; he winced every time the antiseptic touched him. The strands of hair that had come undone from Marci's bun hung over his lips but he didn't blow them away.

"I see the news has not missed your attention," Deepti said, her eyes shifting to the small TV precariously situated on top of a pile of binders.

Imti took an audible inhale. He shot an extremely dirty look at Deepti, who was now intentionally avoiding eye contact. "Wish someone had told me before I had reporters at my door."

A burst of anger crackled across Deepti's head, making her feel dizzy momentarily. "Maybe this juvenile privacy runs in the family.."

Imti balled his fist, before unclenching it with a sigh. Marci moved back, gave her lover a once-over before packing her things back into the first-aid kit. She grabbed the box, looking up and giving Deepti a very weary smile as she did so. Suddenly, the woman realized the full gravity of what she was seeing.

"Wait, why aren't you-" Deepti furrowed her sharp eyebrows. "Wh-

"It's gone. It- Someone broke in. They took it. It's gone." Imti's voice broke on the last word, which in turn caused Deepti's heart to take a nose-dive.

Suddenly, the floor beneath her seemed to be spinning and an awful ringing filled the woman's ears. The bravado she had been putting up ever since the announcement against the Church started tearing at the seams. How? How was it possible that the siblings' main symbol of defiance against the ones who had destroyed their lives had gone missing as soon as she had finally stepped out of her cage? Was this the divine punishment she had been dreading, behind all the walls she had built, her whole life?