Happily Ever After (The Lunar Chronicles story continuation)

Chapter 11: White Walls

When Scarlet opened her eyes, everything was white, the ceiling, the walls, the bed she woke up in, the furniture, the clothes she was put in, even the floor. She turned her head to see Wolf, sitting on a white chair next to her.
She had absolutely no clue why she was in this way too white room, but when she tried to move, her body wouldn't let her. What was the point of having limbs if they didn't work when you wanted them to?
Wolf jolted when he saw her move, "Scarlet," he breathed while he stroked the back of her hand.
Deciding that the room was too bright, she closed her eyes. "What happened?"
Wolf squeezed her hand, but stopped immediately when she flinched. "There was an attack on Rieux."
"Attack?" Scarlet could only whisper. Why would anyone attack Rieux? So small and insignificant to others, unless...
"It's a long story. Don't worry, you're safe now, we're safe now," Wolf said, but Scarlet felt her heartbeat quicken.
"Cas?... casiltis?"
"Casualties?" Scarlet tried and failed to nod "last time it was updated, 58 people," Wolf said calmly.
It felt as if a dagger pierced her lungs and stopped her from breathing. 58 people in Rieux. So, so many. She probably knew all those people, she had grown up with them. She couldn't help wondering who they were. How many of them were her close friends? How many were children?
Scarlet felt fatigue creep in and take over her body just before she fell asleep.

Wolf didn't know how long he had been watching Scarlet sleep when someone knocked on the door. Thorne and Cress came in. Wolf had to blink a few times before he realised that he wasn't imagining that their hair colour had changed, something in their eyes too.
"We come bearing cake," Cress said, Thorne standing right behind her.
"We flew the Rampion over here as soon as we heard what happened" Thorne said, slightly more serious.
Wolf nodded. "She's still asleep."
Few words were needed to express one's emotions.
"You're the first to visit," Wolf said dryly. Wolf hadn't expected anything else, that was the catch of having a bunch of world leaders as your friends, but it wasn't as if they had ignored what had happened. Kai had called to make sure everything was all right. Winter had promised to do everything in her power to find the ones responsible and punish them.
They sat in silence for a while, looking at the red-headed girl in the hospital bed, but the silence was broken by Thorne's portscreen.
Thorne flinched when he saw what was on the screen. "Sorry, I have to take this." Thorne left the room, leaving behind Cress, Wolf and a sleeping Scarlet.

Thorne had seen Commander Kobe's name on the display and had exited the room. He answered.
The lines around his eyes were slightly more visible, and he had dark rims under his eyes. His lips formed a thin, but completely straight line, creating a stern expression. He didn't look pleased in any way.
"Commander Kobe, so nice to talk to you again, how are the kids?"
The video feed remained unaltered and Thorne was completely ignored.
"I imagine you heard about the attack in the European Federation yesterday."
Thorne swallowed. "Of course we did."
"Well?"
Thorne didn't really understand what he wanted to hear. "It was an unexpected turn of events."
His lips became thinner than humanly possible. "An unexpected turn of events?" Commander Kobe said like he couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"Well, we had managed to evacuate the entire New Beijing Palace, we didn't know where the missile was headed."
"And you didn't notify anyone, you didn't for one second consider another target?"
"We were pressed for time and..."
"I don't want excuses, I want results. Lives were lost because of you, you listen to me? You are going to go to the camp, dismantle it and make this right, or I'll make sure you never fly a ship again!"
Thorne knew this, though he wasn't sure he could be held one hundred percent accountable. "Certainly Sir," Thorne said as he ended the conversation.

Wolf had been left behind with Cress and Scarlet when Thorne had left the room.
"What was that about?" Wolf asked, but Cress only shrugged.
"Why the new hair colour?"
"Thorne claims he can't keep women away if they realise he's famous." Cress said, but it seemed too mechanical and rehearsed.
Wolf forces a small laugh, but soon an awkward silence formed.
"She looks so peaceful" Cress said, referring to Scarlet.
She was right. At a first glance, it didn't look like there was anything wrong with her. That was until you got close enough to see the scars and bruises all over her body.
"I don't know when she'll be back on her feet, it'll be a few days I guess."
"I still feel really guilty about what happened." Cress said.
Wolf frowned, "you didn't have anything to do with this."
Cress seemed to remember something and turned her gaze towards the floor, her shoulders hunched forward.
Thorne walked back in.
"Cress? What aren't you telling me?" Wolf asked.
Cress looked up at Thorne with pleading eyes, begging for help.
So they told him, told Wolf about this secret service called the ICA, which they had been working for, told him about a group with Levana's last sympathisers, and that they were the group who had been responsible for the attack on Rieux.
"So we're going to go to Luna to dismantle the camp." Thorne finished.
"I'm going with you," Wolf said without a moment of hesitation.
"Wolf," Cress said as she tilted her head.
"I need to go" Wolf insisted, but Thorne's eyebrows doubted this. "Look at her," Wolf said pointing to Scarlet, "they hurt her, she could have died. I can't, I need to do something. They killed I don't even know how many people in the town, they destroyed the entire farm. Can you imagine what Rieux looks like now? It's just heaps of debris. I can't just sit here, Thorne, I need to come with you, I need to do something."
"Wolf, I'm sorry, but it's a two-manned mission, letting you join would force us to reevaluate the entire mission and make a bunch of changes, and we don't have time. Cress and I need to go as quickly as possible."
Cress put a hand on Thorne's arm, "I'll stay with Scarlet," she said.
Thorne looked at her a little bewildered, like he was trying to figure out if she were serious or not. "Sure?" He asked.
Cress nodded. "Don't worry, you can still reach me."
Wolf kissed Scarlet's forehead before he left with Thorne.
Just like that, Wolf and Thorne were off to Luna while Cress stayed behind with Scarlet.