Lost Beneath the Stars

Alyss

What do you do when a chapter ends?

Do you close the book and never read it again?‬

‪Where do you go when your story's done?‬

‪You can be who you were or who you'll become.

So what do you want them to say when you're gone?‬

‪That you gave up or that you kept going on?

- "Just Hold On" by Steve Aoki and Louis Tomlinson

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"Here you go, Indigo," Aqua said, shoving a tray in my hands. It contained orange juice, scrambled eggs, and toast- quite a meager meal. "And don't forget to report back anything."

I grumbled a low "yes, sir" and made my way towards the basement of the headquarters, the same way I had been going every morning, noon, and evening for the past month. Somehow, as the "spy", I had gotten the wonderful assignment of bringing our one and only prisoner, White, three meals a day. Aqua also wanted me to try and get something out of the boy- any information at all- about the Monochromes.

Chatter from the cafeteria died away as I made my way down the dim stairway. It was cold and smelled like metals. My footsteps echoed, and one event kept pushing itself towards the front of my mind.

He promised me it was going to be okay. 

No, Indigo. He was just defending his stupid friend. What he said means nothing.

I reached the bottom of the stairs. The tray shook in my hands as I trembled with anger. Every single day I made my way down these stairs, every single day I tried to push away the feelings of hurt and sadness and grief, only because Scarlett would have wanted me to be happy. Scarlett would have been the one to notice if I was upset. Would she have noticed that I kept glancing at her bedroom every time I walked by? Would she have noticed that I sometimes walked into her room and wrapped myself in her blankets simply because it still radiated with her warmth? If she were here now, in spirit, would she have seen how much her absence had affected me, no matter how hard I tried to hide it?

Lilac didn't talk much anymore. Not that she talked very much anyway. Lilac always had this sort of grace around her, this aura of complete calm and complete neutrality and peace and serenity. She was naturally quiet, and through the many days and weeks of being here and being near her, I've never heard her speak in a volume above a mouse's squeak.

Quickly, I fast-walked down the feet between myself and White's prison cell. I opened the metal slot and pushed the tray inside, and turned to walk away.

"Wait."

I stopped in my tracks, not turning to face the voice.

"I-indigo, I just wanted to say I'm sorry," came the small reply. 

I scoffed, muttering, "Sorry doesn't bring her back."

He sighed in defeat, taking his tray and sitting on the bed, all of which I gathered from the screeching of metal and the sound of the spring mattress as he sunk into it. "You're right. But there is something about her death that irks me-"

"Maybe the stain of her blood on your hands?" I hissed.

"Indigo, just listen to me, for a second, please. When Scarlett was- when she died, her body didn't just drop. It disappeared! Doesn't that seem off?" White seemed to be pleading with me to understand.

But it didn't make sense. Nothing he was saying made any sense to me, and it all just sounded like a bunch of excuses to make what he did slightly less wrong. "I wasn't there, I wouldn't know."

"But Teal was. Ask him." Was he so desperate that I agree with him that he would want me to talk to his brother? The very same person he had originally aimed for killing?

"No," I said without hesitation. "You're a murderer and I never liked Teal, anyway."

Once again, I began to make my way up the stairs, not stopping until I made it to the top and into the light of the cafeteria again.

"Oh, Indigo! You're back." Violet rushed towards me, wrapping her arms around my waist in a hug. 

"Hmm? Oh, yeah," I replied, returning the hug. "What's up?" I tried to shake off the previous feelings of frustration and anger I had accumulated in the basement. 

"I was wondering if we'd go for a walk?" Violet asked, her smile brightening up her face. 

"What about your training? And mine? I can't just ditch my duties to play with you, Violet," I said, with immediate regret. Maybe I hadn't shaken my mood well enough. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that."

"That's ok, Indigo. Must be hard having to talk to him everyday," Violet said, waving away my moody comment with a hand. "Maybe we could train together?"

"A spy and a warrior? I don't know..."

"Oh come on! We could totally spy on the Monochromes! Steal their weapons or something," Violet suggested, her eyes lighting up with excitement. 

"Are you out of your mind?" I looked around us to see if anyone had heard her. People were bustling around, grouping up for team missions or training groups. 

"Indi, just think what Aqua would think if we did get our hands on a weapon of theirs," Violet continued. 

He'd think we were crazy and stupid!

"We could defeat them before the first battle even began! We'd be heroes, Indigo. Violet and Indigo, the Bitters Sisters Heroes!"

"Well, that'd be nice, but..." I was actually contemplating this. This was absolutely the worst idea, knowing the two of us, but Violet was right. 

"Come on, we've got to leave before Aqua stops us!" Violet took my hand and pulled me after her towards the door. 

We headed out the door and stopped outside by the edge of the forest. "So, Violet, do you have a plan?"

"Plan for what?"

Both of us turned our heads toward the voice. Sky.

"Sky, what are you doing out here?" Suddenly I felt our plan was very much screwed.

"Well, following you guys, of course! You two just dropped everything and ran! I wanted to know what was going on."

I exchanged a look with Violet, and she shrugged. "We're going on an adventure."

Sky's eyes lit up, much in the same way Violet's did. Great, I've gotta make sure these two don't get their heads blown off. 

"Really? Where?"

"Promise you won't tell?" Violet pleaded, her purple eyes getting big.

"I promise!" 

"We're going to the Monochrome base to steal some weapons," Violet whispered. "You can come with us, but you have to listen to me."

"Ah, no, no, no, Violet. You two are listening to me," I said. "I'm older than both of you."

Violet rolled her eyes. "Whatever, Indigo."

"Okay, you two, we need to transform into our animals for this mission," I said, feeling my body tighten and stretch as it morphed into a small, lithe black cat. Violet was a butterfly and Sky a bluebird. "Good, we're ready!"

I took the lead and dashed into the forest, leaves and twigs crunching beneath my paws. Sky and Violet flew above me, far above the trees. I took in the scents of the forest: the tall birch trees and their stark, white trunks. The yellow leaves fluttering down towards the ground... the chirping of birds and the chatter of squirrels. 

But suddenly, everything fell silent. Something was wrong.