THE WORLD BELOW (VixCaitlyn) / a dive into season two

Bunny

"It's okay, Bunny. It's going to be alright."

Vi opened her eyes to familiar walls and the smell of home, clinging to a bright patchwork blanket. Wind was whistling through the fissures in the concrete, rattling the windows and tugging at the wooden beams above her.

"Can you try to take another big sip for me?"

A woman was sitting on the edge of her bed, holding a chipped cup of tea in her hands. Her long, dark hair was loosely collected into a braid, framing her round, friendly face. Her smile gave Vi a warm feeling of comfort, the long lost safety of being cared for.

"Mom?" she whispered, her voice breaking.

"Oh Bunny, don't be scared. It's just a fever.", her mother replied, stroking her forehead, "You're my strong girl, you will be fine."

Her hand was still hot from the cup. Vi leaned into that feeling as her eyes welled up with tears. Just as she reached her arms out to the woman, however, she suddenly started fading further and further away. Her once beautiful features contorted into a grimace of fear and horror as she screamed, disappearing into the empty, cold void.

Vi woke up in cold sweat, helplessly tangled in her bedsheets. The pictures of her childhood home had vanished but the screaming lingered, and soon she saw guards bursting through the doors of Caitlyn's room, shouting unintelligible commands as they hurried through the bathroom door with their weapons drawn. One of the enforcers noticed Vi and pointed his barrel at her face.

"What have you done to her?" he yelled. His knees were trembling and Vi could see he was very young, probably no older than sixteen.

"Put that thing down before you hurt yourself, kid." she said slowly, maintaining steady eye contact with him as she inched towards the edge of the bed and attempted to pull herself to a stand "Help me out a little, will ya?"

The boy lingered for a moment, struggling to keep his rifle steady. Caitlyn's screaming had turned to a silent whimpering that seeped through the open bathroom doors with a large cloud of steam. Finally, with one last frenzied look over his shoulder, he placed his weapon back into the holster and clumsily grabbed Vi's arm, leaning his bodyweight back so far that he almost fell over when she pulled herself up. He let Vi lean on him as she limped into the bathroom, her eyes frantically scanning every corner for a sign of Caitlyn.

Most of the enforcers were busy checking the locks and alarms as they shouted commands back and forth, running aimlessly back and forth in search of an intruder. Just one, an older man, was crouched over a trembling Caitlyn in a far corner of the room, wrapping a large, white towel around her shoulders as she hugged her knees and buried her face in them.

Vi stumbled towards her. "Caitlyn" she said softly as she approached her "What happened? Are you alright?". She let herself down onto her knees in front of her, reaching out for her face. Caitlyn opened her eyes and stared into Vi's in sheer panic. Tears were running down her lean face and dripping from her chin as she sobbed: "She was here...".

She pointed at the little window in her shower that had fogged up just enough to show the shape of what had previously been traced on it: a cupcake, sloppy but recognisable. Vi's eyes widened as she made the connection: "No, Cait, that was me. I made that."

"You're just saying that..." Caitlyn sobbed again.

"No, really! I drew that yesterday, when I showered..." Vi laid her strong arms around Caitlyn's trembling shoulders as she tried to soothe her: "Jinx is not here, Cupcake, you're safe." She nodded at the elderly guard who replied with an understanding nod before ordering his subordinates to leave the room. "False alarm", he said sternly, "Return to your positions immediately."