Stafford Corporations (Trinity Central Book #2)

Chapter 7

CASTELLE

Chapter 7

"And where have you two been?"

Our little detour took a bit longer than expected, but I'd much rather be berated for being late than risk exposing whatever it was Emiko was trying to protect; I just smile and brush it off as getting sidetracked by Kent's unnecessary exploration. He seemed less than appreciative about my explanation, but smiled along nonetheless.

"Yeah, my bad, there was a...a tree that I just had to climb," he lies with an exaggerated grimace to solidify his yearning. I jab him in the side, frustrated by his either purposely layered levels of sarcasm or horrible acting. I'm not sure how much Eden believed exactly, but she dismisses us into the cafeteria, clearly too tired to deal with whatever we were trying to hide.

The clock in front of us blinked 1902, enveloping us with a quick glow of red as we passed by into the nearly empty room of scouts.

"The others were already dismissed, but I wanted to talk to the rest of you about your special assignments." She paces behind us, a clipboard brushing her leg as she walks swiftly. Cynthia, Aster, Fray, and Scarlett all congregate around a single table, the latter two playing some sort of clapping game with their older counterparts seem to be lost in the midst of a conversation. I scan the room for Aria, and furrow my brow in concern when I don't spot her pale figure anywhere.

"Scout Bucannon wasn't feeling well," Eden says, seemingly reading my mind. "She's resting in the infirmary right now with an upset stomach." She juts out her lip into a pity pout, tilting her head in pseudo sorrow. "Poor thing came back and told me something was wrong. Our doctors suspect it's just a simple stomach virus. She'll be back on the field in a weeks time."

"Can we go see her?" Scarlett asks, pulling away from her game with Fray. "She went away for a minute and came back looking kinda pale. Wouldn't say anything for the rest of the trip. Even when we went up to climb this really pretty tree. Wasn't it pretty Fray?"

The reserved one stares at her friend for a beat, clearly not wanting to respond. "Scarlett," she starts in a precocious, stern voice, unfitting of such a small person, "I don't think we should go visit your sister."

Scarlett looks at her upset, "Why not?" Her hair starts to glow into a bright shade of crimson, reflecting the sadness in her words. I watch as Fray closes her left hand, ready to extinguish any flames that might come from Scarlett's warranted shift in mood.

"I just," she shifts her gaze to me for a second, only long enough for me to notice, "I just don't think it's the best idea, okay? She's probably got something you can catch too." Scarlett doesn't seem at all satisfied, but Kent walks over to pat down the locks of hair starting to raise from her shoulders. He winces a bit at the heat, but other than that he maintains a friendly demeanor, patting Scarlett's shoulder playfully.

"Let's take a seat?" he says, guiding her to the table where Cynthia and Aster were listening to our conversation. Eden has already situated herself in the chair at the middle, separating Scarlett and Cynthia. I go to join her when I feel a small hand grip onto my sleeve, tugging ever so lightly.

"Can I talk to you after?" she asks, her eyes fixed on Scarlett's pouting face. There's a seriousness in her voice, and I just sort of nod before she finds a seat across from Kent.

Aside from the other specialized scouts and Eden, the room is unsettlingly empty. Normally, the scraping of plates and the laughter of peers fills my ears with more than enough tiresome noises, but the silence today is somehow louder than that of any other day. There's so much to say, yet nothing to tell.

Eden takes her spot at the front of the table while everyone else fills the vacant seats. Aster and Cynthia sit beside each other across from me and Kent, and we separated the children for the fear of their bickering interrupting our discussion. Fray's still gripping my sleeve, and Scarlett still pouts for her sister when Eden begins the conversation.

"The time is 1905 hours, let's all get settled. The normal scouting groups reported close to nothing, except those in North perimeter 5 whom happened to have witnessed some ill-fitting movement on the west side of their scouting sector. I believe that area was closest to you, Scarlett and Fray." Eden looks over at them expectantly, but they seem too engrossed in their own problems. "I hope what you have to tell me regarding Aria's condition may help us in our investigation. We'll go down the groups to report what each of you might have observed in your respective perimeters."

Cynthia begins, describing her trip in detail. She's sure to mention any abnormal happenings they may have stumbled across, most of which was not even remotely any form of substantial evidence. Aster just nods along and repeats what she says every now and then. One peculiar detailed they mentioned, however, is a clue they encountered towards the end of their trip on their way back.

"There was a strip of blue cloth on the ground, like navy blue, like the kind our uniforms are made of. It looked like it was ripped off right around this section," she motions to the side of her uniform, where the dark blue fabric becomes black around the waist. "There was the seam where the two colors meet."

"We believe that this is a clear indication of struggle," Aster mentions, "We couldn't conclude much more after that since the swatch was so small, but we figured that the uniform was made to accommodate to a female's body structure, and so we can assumed that it also possibly belonged to Emiko."

Eden's face follows along, but her eyes grow stiff. "Well done Scouting team seven, I'll look into that tomorrow. As of today, you are relieved from this mission. Tomorrow, you may return to your previously assigned sectors. I'll ask a team of trusted agents to investigate in your stead."

Cynthia nods in understanding, but Aster seems a bit disappointed. What they just said, I can't just ignore it.

"Scouting team two?" She asks looking at Scarlett who was sitting on their side of the table. "Anything you would like to report?"

"Well," Scarlett starts, seeming to have a lot she wants to say, "We saw the same piece of cloth that Cynthia said, but we thought ours was from someone's arm, it was on a tree branch so it looked like they were running away or something. Then we looked at the bush in front of it, and there was a dent in the middle of it. So Aria went past the bush and-"

It seems as though Scarlett wanted to say something else, but Fray speaks up before she has the chance to say anything. "We stopped for lunch. There was probably something in that part of the forest because now Aria's sick. Aside from that, our area was clear." Scarlett looks at her counterpart confused, but doesn't say anything further. Fray's eyes are fixed on Eden's, a commanding aura releasing from her stare. After a bit, Eden just simply smiles and pats her head, "If that's the case, then well done Scouting team two. This mission concludes for you as well. You will continue your previous assignment tomorrow."

"Understood, Ms.Kennedy," Fray breaks eye contact, and turns to Scarlett. The latter is visibly confused, but the former maintains her composure, willing her friend to stay silent.

"Finally, Scouting team six? Did you happen to find anything that's worth to mention?" Depending what I say right now, would mean I'm conceding to a suspicion I had. If that's true, then I could possibly be relinquishing the only haven I have at the moment. The only thing in my life that I knew was true. The only thing in my life that I thought was true.

I look at Kent, trying to decide what I should say, but he's just staring at his palms, running them together to mask his clear distraught and anxiety.

I'm picking sides even if there might not be a side to pick, but it doesn't matter. The words I speak leave my mouth before I realize the consequences they may have.

"Scouting team six reports that North perimeter 11 is clear."