REVOLUTION: A Rebel Among Monsters ✔

Thirty••One-Outer Space

The walk to the Eldian Headquarters was punctuated by a heavy silence that made Valnia uneasy. Lexa was mad, really mad, which meant the Monsters would be in poor moods too.

The glittering crystals on the walls knew. They glared at her. Pointed fingers at her. Screamed at her for daring to defy the Attendant Supervisor and disturbing the Monsters at a crucial time.

But Valnia knew she was correct. She might have believed Melaynia was a treacherous thing before, but after being seized and tortured, why would she agree with the Impians? Why would she choose them?

Not after all that.

Lexa's stern, stone-cold eyes were icier than the snow on the Forbidden Side when Valnia saw them. She opened the HQ doors, ushered Valnia in, and instructed her to wait as she hastened deeper inside.

Didn't Lexa trust her by now? As she tiptoed in, dizzy and distraught, she wondered why her boss didn't understand her faith in Melaynia. Valnia was always right about her. She'd been right about her rebellious tendencies. Right about her reluctance for the invasive procedure. And right to be against sending her off on her own.

I'm right now, too, to think she's wounded and needs urgent medical care.

Hushed grumbles and whispers accompanied Lexa as she reappeared, frowning. "Don't make them wait," she said, her tone low but turbulent and troublesome. She gestured Valnia towards the darkest point of the room, where Valnia spotted the outlines of two large blobs awaiting her.

She gulped, sighting their shimmering crystal-embedded bodies, squinting as she neared them. And despite her wobbly legs, she was ready to kneel at their mushy feet if necessary. Anything to save Melaynia.

One Monster cleared its throat. "Number one-hundred-and-eighty-eight," she said, her timbre arched and acrid. "We heard you retrieved number two-hundred and she's in a dire state, correct?"

Valnia nodded, afraid of speaking too soon, of interrupting.

"And is it true she needs our blood?" The female Monster's words cut through Valnia like the sharpest of knives. "Whatever for? Why would we give a rebel like her anything? We've offered shelter, that's more than sufficient."

She had to be careful with her response. Because no matter what, Melaynia betrayed the Eldians, and more than once. First, by wandering over to the rebellious cause, and second by trespassing into the Forbidden Side. "We... suspect Melaynia's captors might have... injected her with... cold Cerulean Crystal liquid. The Healer is... performing tests on her as we speak, to... confirm this."

The second Monster grunted and leaned forward. "Cold liquid? As in... the kind that eats internal organs and kills?" His eyes widened as he scanned Valnia. "And you bothered us before being sure? Why?" His posture wasn't threatening, but it still unsettled her.

The female muttered something in Eldian in a haughty, nasty tone.

"I... had to." Valnia shuffled her feet and fought not to stare at them. She had to be strong, stiff, stern as Lexa. "If they poisoned her, she only has a matter of days, maybe hours, to live. And she states she has information on the Impians and their... plans. Says she knows everything."

Beside her, Lexa's arms tensed. "Valnia," she murmured, warning her.

The Monsters eyed one another and debated in Eldian. As the female hissed and spat between sentences, Valnia regretted her pushing. Regretted being there.

What have I done? They'll punish me and leave my sister to die.

After a few excruciating moments, the male turned to her. "Did she ask for a cure in exchange for revealing these... plans to us?" He was calm, but there was an edge to his voice that Valnia disliked.