Mishaps and Wolves (OLD VERSION)

Chapter 25 - Let's Play The Elimination Game

Chapter 25 - Let's Play the Elimination Game

Marissa was just hugging Vera goodbye when the door to her room opened and Laura stepped back into the room. Marissa smiled at the woman as she left and made sure to shut the door softly on the mother and daughter.

She spun around to face Roman once she'd shut the door, "Vera was asleep so she didn't catch see anything. By the time she woke up, Cinna was trying to get her out of her room."

Roman nodded as he lead her back towards his office. "Laura was pretty much the same. She couldn't have done it either otherwise she would have made sure that her daughter was completely out of harms way and that there was nothing that could touch her."

Marissa nodded, knowing the emotions she'd seen swimming in Laura's eyes since they'd first met, "There's no chance that she could have done this at all."

"I agree."

Marissa nodded, "Whilst we're down here, I think we should talk to Cinna too. She probably saw something that Vera and Laura didn't manage to see."

Roman nodded and lead her down another corridor of similar doors before stopping in front of one and knocking on it. It was a few seconds before Doctor Andrew, according to the white coat and the name 'Andrew' stitched into it, came out of the room holding a medical chart in his hands. Marissa hadn't actually seen him before, so the surfer and laid-back air that he had about him was a nice shock.

He nodded to Roman in respect before his eyes flicked to her, assessing something about her. His gaze flashed back to Roman quickly, who just blinked silently at him, before it returned to her. Marissa felt the silence was slightly awkward so she stuck her hand out for a handshake, "Hi, I don't think we've actually met whilst I was conscious. I'm Marissa."

He accepted the handshake, "Andrew." He looked to Roman, "You here to see Cinna?"

Roman nodded, "Yeah. Need to ask her a few things about the fire. Won't take long."

Andrew nodded as he looked at the chart in his hands, "Ok. She's still pretty weak but she should be alright to speak with you for a few moments."

"Thanks," Roman said. Andrew smiled and walked back down the hallway  whilst Roman opened the door that Andrew had just shut. They stepped into a room that looked exactly like Vera's had. Bare walls, a window that was open and letting a breath of fresh air in. A small door led to a small bathroom and by the doorway was a small chest of drawers.

Marissa looked to the bed and saw a familiar looking woman. She looked a lot prettier without the soot caking her face, and despite the oxygen mask covering a large part of her face, Marissa could still see her beauty.

Cinna was awake when they came in to her room. Roman came forward and patted her hand, a move that had Marissa feeling curiously jealous of. She tried shrugging the feeling off, but it stayed at the back of her mind. She moved to the end of the bed and Cinna's eyes moved to her.

"Hi," she said softly to the girl.

Cinna didn't say a word but she did nod her head in acknowledgement.

"Cinna, we need to ask you some things about the fire," Roman said to her softly. Again, the stab of jealousy hit her in the chest but she just tried to shove it down.

Roman is not mine and I should not be feeling like this, she rationalized. It seemed to work for a few seconds but when Cinna smiled at Roman like she knew him very well, it was difficult for her not to let it rise up and almost drown her.

"We need to know what you saw just before the fire and the alert."

Cinna cleared her throat before she spoke, "I didn't see much before the fire. I just sounded the alert and then when I realized that they were in the house, I went in to help."

"What were you even doing there?" Marissa asked, trying to keep her emotions out of her voice.

"I went to return a pie dish to Laura that I'd borrowed when I smelt the smoke," she began, breathing in deeply. "I called for help but when I realized that Vera was still inside with Laura, I went in to try and find them." She let out a hacking cough then and Marissa saw as Roman tightened his grip on Cinna's hand before he got up.

"Alright, we won't bug you any longer," Roman said. He put her hand back down beside her on the bed before getting up and hustling Marissa out of the door with him.

They walked down the corridor in silence for a while before they got to the stairs. He led her up and to his office. When she asked him why, he told her, "We have to get started with the attack plans to retrieve the orb so I told the Sentinels to meet me at my office over lunch."

"Oh," was all she could say in response. "Why now?" she asked, the question slipping out before she had a chance to censor it. It sounded like she was angry at him, like she thought that he was doing this to get the orb back quickly so he could get her out of his hair. She mentally sighed at how stupid she was.

"We need to get the orb back so that nobody else gets hurt. If the pack believes that losing the orb brought on the bad luck, when we get it back the traitor won't have a chance to do anything without anyone getting suspicious."

Roman's point was logical and Marissa felt the whispers of heat across her cheeks as she thought about how she'd completely misinterpreted what he'd said. "What's the plan then?"

He looked at her with a slight glint in his eyes, "We need to make a map of Regan's town."

She looked at him, confused by that, "Don't you already have one if you've been at this war for a while now?"

His lips twisted into a mocking smile, "Whilst it would have been a good idea, we've never actually gone near the other town so we just never saw the need to have one."

"Yeah, I guess I can see the stupidity in that plan." He smiled at her answer as they turned round the corner and headed to his office.

Another question popped into her head, "Where's Randy?"

Roman's jaw seemed to become more defined, as thought he was grinding his teeth, before he answered, "One of the Sentinels is keeping an eye on him and will bring him to the meeting. He might have seen something you missed."

She smiled and continued on silently, thankful that her friend was safe and that she would get to see him, but also thankful that she'd finally catch him and make him pay for his little stunt this morning.