Purified by Fire

Chapter 6: Desperate (II)

"Steve! What the hell are you doing in there?!" Mina yells through the bathroom door at her husband who's been inside for the better part of half an hour. She knows he sometimes gets lost in his showers, something about the hot water just lulls him and he gets caught up in the feeling, but this is ridiculous. "Steve!" she screams once more, this time banging with her fist on the door. She waits next, a few breaths' worth of silence until she hears movement inside the room. She sighs, shakes her head and smiles ruefully when a curse hits her ears. She doesn't know what he managed to do this time, but last time he got lost in the moment and she had to bring him back, he had hit his head on the top shelf in their bathroom and ended up with a soft cut on his forehead. It healed fast though.

"Mina..." he begins once the door opens and the woman sees him leaning against the frame. "... can you please, please, not scream like that. You nearly gave me a heart attack." He isn't the type to raise his voice, but he can carry so much emotion in his tone that she feels truly chastised by the time he squeezes past her. She doesn't realize he's played her until they have put everything they'd taken out back in her bag.

"Steve, sweetheart?" His answer is a mumble. "If you end up late for work one more time, I'll just leave you be." She nods to herself when she sees him stiffen, halfway bent to pick up his shoes. He turns his blue eyes at her, shining with mock betrayal.

"Yes, dear." He says this time, voice amused and lips curving into a smile.

"I mean it." She warns, but his smile is as disarming as it has always been and she can't even believe her own words. Steve works in construction. Plus he and his best friend own their own firm, so even if he does end up late for work, he won't face much repercussion. Unlike her. Last time, screaming at him to get out of the bathroom cost her at least a quarter of an hour and her boss yelled at her. She never thought that petit woman could have such a powerful pair of lungs in her life until that day. Admittedly, they had had an emergency – one of her colleagues had managed to cut herself and had to go to the hospital and they had needed Mina to replace her.

"Sure, dear." He jumps to his feet as soon as he laces his shoes and walks to her, bending slightly to kiss her lips. She turns away and his lips connect with her cheek.

"I mean it." It's not about being late though that she has a problem with. It's the fact that she doesn't know whether he slipped and cracked his head or whether he's just lost in the haze of a heady shower. It terrifies her that he could be dead and she would never know because he just does this on a nearly daily basis. He seems to read her concern on her face this time since he nods seriously and promises.

"Let go!" Victoria screams, throwing her right elbow backward and hitting Anthony in his shoulder. He does let go then, yelping in pain, and she swims away, frantically looking back to see if he's following. Sadly, this means she is not paying attention to which direction she is swimming towards and when she reaches shore, grass and earth inside the palms of her hands, she is met with the cold amusement of one of them, humans that aren't human. The Others are then hauling her up and out of the cold river and the sun shines glaringly into her eyes and she suddenly realizes it's morning. She's spent the whole night fighting the Scalpel.

"Hello." She mutters to the one pulling her up. A young woman, no more than 22 years old, stares blankly back and Victoria feels tears gathering in her eyes. Doctor M. has outdone himself with this one. So young and so completely under their control. The youngest Victoria has ever seen in their ranks. M had wanted Victoria to be like this too, she thinks, and the shiver has more to do with apprehension than the cold breeze sweeping past her. The sun is behind her now, shaded by the roof of the mansion on the other shore. The mansion...? Maybe if I... at the very least it would buy me some time... she muses.

"You are to return to your training." Another one of them speaks with his voice robotic despite the softness of the human he had once been. He's older, at least in his mid forties. Victoria shakes her head. She isn't returning anywhere with them!

"I don't think so, darling." she decides. "Hey, Scalpel!" she yells when she sees Anthony being pulled out of the river as well. She wastes no time now, rounded quickly with one arm out and knocking out the ones surrounding her. Her arm hits every one of their heads with force and then she is jumping over one of them, diving back in the water before Anthony even thinks to move.

She swims fast, her arms and legs catching momentum, the water rushing past her ears, but she can't hear it because her heart is pounding as well, whether excitement or fear she isn't even certain anymore. Anthony watches her go, satisfaction in his eyes, and a grin on his lips. The scar on his cheek burns, the skin keeping it closed straining against the wide smile on his face. The scar had been a gift from the woman currently swimming away from him, a gift he had received under the desert sun, sand clogging his senses as he screamed and blood pooled from his face. He had been proud of her then, proud of her fighting skills – which she had gotten from him – and of her resilience – which is and always has been her own.

"Sir!" one of his soldiers draws his focus. "Should we pursue?" the man continues.

A loud caw of a bird makes his eyes shift to the sky. He frowns. It is a vulture, he notes as the bird swivels around the air, as if circling them. No, not quite. It is a condor. What is it doing here? Anthony watches as the bird circles again, sees the white feathers around its neck, sees the black wings, sees the bronze tips of the feathers, sees the red of its skin and the whiteness of its beak. He is puzzled. For a vulture it is strange, for a condor it is even more odd. He wonders again what it wants when the bird tries to fly over the river only to swivel back again. It caws and that's when Anthony realizes it. It is trying to protect Victoria. How intriguing. Anthony wonders if the woman knows the significance of a condor, if she knows what it represents - freedom. He is laughing by the time he tells the Others to leave her be. The Others don't know this house, but he does. He's been prepared for this.

Welcome to Midnight, Vicky. He thinks when he watches the light brown haired woman climb the shore and break into a sprint. She looks back once, whether to assure herself she's escaping or to see how long it will take them to follow. His grin widens when the shock on her face pales into fear and her run slows to a brisk walk. She stops in front of the massive wooden doors and searches his eyes again. His amber orbs widen to mimic worry and she does as he'd hoped, swinging the door open as soon as she can and rushing inside. He knows there is an inscription on the door, but she had failed to say it. He turns to his soldiers. They have a long wait ahead. She will return to them. Soon, Vicky, I'll have you again.

Mina is walking down the stairs, Steve behind her when the door swings open and a woman bursts inside, slamming the door closed behind her. The woman closes her eyes and exhales deeply, her fists clenching and unclenching. Steve stops his descent down the stairs, but Mina does not and reaches a hand. The moment her hand touches the woman's shoulder, startled red eyes catch Mina's green ones and silence fills Midnight Mansion.

Well the adventure is over for now. I might post one last chapter - an epilogue if you'd like - but I might not. Let me know if anyone's interested.