Alliance || 1 || ✔️ mature

50 | Eleven

How can it be that my memories are more alive than I am?

A crash echoes in the silence, the clang of metal against metal grating on my eardrums.

I slow my walk, peeking around the corner of the wall I lean against.

Nothing jumps out but the sound echoes along the walls again.

This time its origin is obvious, my eyes on the door further down the hallway.

I bring my gun up, aiming it in front of me and take a deep breath, walking around the corner and towards the room.

My steps are silent on the ground and my breathing is calm. My heart spiking in my chest before abruptly slowing again, the only sign of my nerves.

I take in everything I can, the glass crunching underfoot, dirt and dust coating the walls.

The lights are off. The only thing brightening the darkness is the moonlight shining through a porthole window.

"Finally." A husky voice pierces the tenseness from behind me. I spin, gun aimed at the blonde woman leaning against one of the open doorways.

"Scarlett." I say, my fingers tightening on my gun, feeling its comforting warmth.

"Hey babe." She giggles and stands upright. She holds a gun in hand, the barrel facing my way before she uses the same hand to scratch at her elbow. "Miss me?"

I grit my teeth and don't answer, taking a step toward her.

"Oh, come on now, I need some conversation. I've been stuck in this mangy dump all by myself waiting for you, took you long enough." She pouts with a slump of her slender shoulders, a sneer rising on her pale and gaunt cheeks. Her eyes are hollow, blank. Her face withdrawn with darkening bags under her dull blue eyes.

"And that is my problem, how? You should have brought company." I mutter before pausing, thinking of the dead bodies we'd just found, "Oh wait."

"They weren't worth even a glance in their direction, just puppets for their master." She smirks before it drops. "They overstayed their usefulness."

"Finished tying up loose ends?"

"Almost." She purrs before lifting the gun and firing at me.

I duck and move out of the way, my back slamming into the wall at my side.

"Pretty things shouldn't move so fast." Scarlett snarls in my direction.

"Aww you think I'm pretty?"

"Like a dog."

"Why thank you." I rush around the corner and fire at her before ducking into one of the open doorways. Finding myself in an empty room.

I hear her footsteps follow me towards the room before she finally makes an appearance.

"Can you stop moving?" She murmurs with a sly smirk towards me, she fires again.

"I have a question." The bullet misses and a chuckle escapes my lips.

Scarlett blinks. "Well go on."

"Doctor Jefferson, you killed her, why?"

"I tried." She says, "Because she deserved it."

"But why?"

"Because she killed me."

I blink, my eyes lingering down her very alive form.

"86 fairwater-"

"How do you know about that place?" Scarlett croaks, her gun dropping slightly. Blue eyes shuttering.

"I found a box."

She scoffs, "I knew he kept records." The gun tightens in her grip. "You know your father wouldn't be very happy to know you have them?"

I don't reply.

"I'm assuming he doesn't know. Otherwise, you wouldn't be here."

His blue eyes shutter once more, blanking.

A laugh escapes her lips before she sneers with a twisted growl.

The gun in her hand ricochets. A bullet lodging itself in the wall behind me as I move out of the way.

I hear footsteps rushing this way, the team hearing the bullets and finding their way to me.

"What has Director got to do with the subjects?"

Scarlett flinches.

"Enough talking." She spits, eyes wild. She flinches again and her back slams into the wall behind her, eyes murderous and intent on mine. Her head twitches.

I narrow my eyes, trying to figure her out.

Her hand lifts, scratching at her inner elbow.

"He'll kill you, just like he did me."

"Scarlett."

"Shut up!"

"I can help you."

"No, you can't."

"If you let me."

"I told you to shut up!" She screams, hand lifting, finger twitching on the trigger.

"Scarlett!" I try one last time, lifting my own gun.

The door slams open, Clay, Cleo and Archer entering.

Scarletts head whips to them, eyes softening, like a piece of her returns when she looks at them.

"Are you here to kill me?"

Clay comes to a stuttered stop, eyes on Scarlett.

"We're here to help you, Scarlett."

Her gaze goes to Cleo, staring the other woman down. "What about you, are you here to kill me?"

Scarlet lifts her gun, keeping it aimed at me even as she looks at her old team.

Cleo's dark eyes swim, her gaze intent on Scarletts, "You're my best friend and I want to help you, but I won't let you kill her."

"You can't help me." Scarlett croaks, "Not if you want her alive."

"Scarlett, this isn't you." Clay says, stepping forward.

Her head snaps to his, "You don't know me anymore, Clay. I'm not going to stop."

He takes another step forward and Scarlett waves her gun in warning.

"I'm not stopping until he gets what he deserves."

A door slams further away from us, and my eyes look for Liam, finding him missing.

"Killing Holland will not give you that." Clay says calmly, taking another step even as her eyes narrow.

"You don't understand." She mutters. "She shouldn't have chosen you."

Her eyes swing to me, "You shouldn't have chosen them, I didn't even know you existed until you chose them."

"Scarlett." Cleo says, stepping up beside Clay, gaining Scarlett's attention.

"She shouldn't have chosen my team." Her crazed eyes shift to me, and I know we've lost her. I squeeze the trigger on my gun, hearing the echo of three shots fired.

"No!" Clay screams.

"Holland!" I hear Archer before my body falls backwards, stomach screaming in pain.