Freaks

44 • eye of the storm

❝hell is empty. all the devils are here❞
ｓｈａｋｅｓｐｅａｒｅ

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   ＶＡＬＥＲＩＥ. The moment I say her name, the memories come rushing in.

This girl in the robot suit, who saved my life mere moments ago is the same Valerie who befriended me all those months ago, when I first joined the DA. The one who had been my partner in neutrality, a fellow spectator while the rest of our team squabbled over their secrets. Now, Valerie's head is rested on my leg, her hair splaying out of the opening in her suit as she gasps for air.

I contort myself so I can get a better look at her face. Her eyes are closed but a glance at her face is enough to confirm my suspicion.

"It's you, isn't it?" I say. "You're back."

It's been almost six months since I last saw Valerie, yet I don't recall ever even thinking about her. How is that possible?

My mind is reeling with a dozen possibilities but then it occurs to me there are more urgent matters at hand.

"We need to get you out of this suit. You need treatment. You're bleeding." I reach out to place my hand over her bloody one, which is clamped to her side, shielding the wound from my sight. The moment I reach out, Valerie's hand shoots out to grab mine and a pair of vibrant indigo eyes flare at me.

"No," she replies hoarsely. "Leave it. I'll die faster if you try to get me out of here. I just need to say... to say... something."

I gently pull away from her so I am sat on my knees, looking down at her. "Whatever you need to say can wait till you're better," I reply. "I'm not leaving you here like this."

Valerie's hand finds my arm again, gripping it tightly. "Listen, Emma. This is important. We don't have much time." She groans, turning away from me. "This is a mess. It wasn't supposed to be like this. You always all sounded so unhappy. Everyone did. I thought they'd help. They said they could help..."

"Valerie, calm down. It's okay. I won't take it off," I respond quickly, alarmed by her sudden change in mood. "But what are you talking about? Where have you been all this time? Why are you back now?" I look down again to her rapidly worsening wound. "Why... did you save me?"

"I had to find you."

"Me? But—"

"I had to see if you still—" Suddenly, Valerie's hand flies up, latching onto the necklace around my neck. Her whole body relaxes instantly. "You still have it," she murmurs. "You still have it..."

"You mean my mom's necklace?" I ask, slowly prying Valerie's hands off my necklace. A vague memory plays at the back of my mind from the last time I saw Valerie: she had had an odd fixation with my necklace. For the longest time, I had a feeling she had something to do with the off way it felt since then. I'd forgotten about that.

"They wanted me to get it, to take the formula inside. But I couldn't... not properly. Only you can..."

There's something inside the necklace? Instinctively, my hand reaches for the heart shaped locket at the end of the silver chain. What did Valerie mean by 'formula'?

"Valerie, you're not making any sense. Please, let me contact the others. They'll be able to help."

"It's too late for me, Emma. Just like it's too late for her." Valerie gestures to someone behind me. I turn to find the healer girl I was trying to save. My heart skips a beat. Her body is eerily still. It can't be too late, can it? I almost leap to her aid but Valerie starts talking again. "I'm better off forgotten, but someone needs to know. Unless you'll never be able to stop them."