twenty-six

1.8K 180 50
                                    

The three days following the attack were strange. Everyone pretended like everything was okay, but the façade was thinner than a plastic-surgeon constructed waist. Emily could see the tension in the air. She could taste the fear around her. People tried to disguise their nerves. They tried putting on a brave face.

They couldn't fool her. Everyone was terrified, and rightly so.

After she was discharged from the infirmary, she holed herself in the shooting range and fired arrows at unsuspecting dummies until her fingers developed callouses. Well, deeper callouses, as she'd already had them from her years of archery and piano practice.

She craved for a distraction, anything to take her mind off the lingering threat in the distance that was Kismet. Everyone else was just sitting around and feeling sorry for themselves—namely Oscar. He'd barely come out his room after leaving the medical ward.

Chase was still there. Though, his injuries were healing nicely. Along with his hyper-strength and durable skin, his cells were capable of regenerating at a faster rate than usual. He'd be back to his normal self in no time.

She wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing yet.

Ten minutes ago, a messenger told her Director Shaw requested her presence in his office. She was surprised the man was in any shape to be calling a meeting. Despite being at the brunt of the explosion in The Grid, he only suffered a fractured leg and a grade-two concussion. The man took no days off and got right back to work after receiving his cast. He was probably scouring his databases now in search for Kane and his terrorists.

Sighing, Emily turned the corner to his office. Turning the handle and stepping through the door, she noticed the others were already inside. They took up chairs around the room. Her usual seat by the window was left unoccupied, much to her delight. After taking her seat, Director Shaw began.

''Thank you all for coming,'' he said. A bandage was wrapped around his head and a new pair of spectacles sat atop his nose. ''As you know, we've been doing everything in our power to locate Kismet.''

Emily snorted. They'd all heard that before; the director had been telling them that since they arrived at The Acropolis. The words were as empty as ever. He had no idea where Kismet was. No one did.

''Is that all you called us here for?'' she asked, a twinge of irritation in her tone. ''Because I'd really like to get back to what I was doing.''

That was a lie. She hadn't been doing much of anything before she was summoned to the man's office. She just wanted to get out of there sooner rather than later.

Stella shot her a dirty look. She ignored it.

Director Shaw adjusted his tie while clearing his throat. ''Er, no. There is something else that I need to bring to your attention.''

Theo, who was sitting towards the back of room, groaned and threw his head back. ''Please don't be any more bad news. I can't take anymore.'' Emily had to agree with him there. They could've used something to lift their spirits.

The director sighed. ''Sorry, but I don't think you'll see this as good news.'' As he typed on his touchscreen keyboard, she noticed the brace around his left wrist. Seconds later, the television screen on the other side of the office switched on.

The large display projected a paused video. Water-stained concrete walls served as the backdrop, giving no indication of where the video was filmed. Mask soldiers stood in a line behind a man clad in a suit whiter than snow. A grin stretched his snake-like lips. The look in his icy eyes chilled Emily to the bone.

She faced Director Shaw, her pupils dilated with fear. ''What is this?''

''This video surfaced on the internet last night. Before you ask, we've already tried tracing it—we got nowhere,'' he said. ''It's already gone viral.'' He ran a hand down his face. ''Social media is a powerful thing.''

Red Skies | The Prime Archives #1 ✓Where stories live. Discover now