Mental Case - A Zodiac Story

Storming the Base

Capricorn

The journey to the Silver Sickles' secret hideout was painful. Apart from the murmuring of the strategists, comprising of Virgo, Aquarius and Pisces, the bus was noiseless. Capricorn twiddled her thumbs nervously. The group had trained relentlessly for the past week, so the control they had over their powers had greatly improved. Yet she and the other earth signs lacked the finesse the others had achieved. A paranoid part of her worried that their version of the experiment had not gone so well.

Capricorn glanced at Sagittarius, who was sat next to her, sleep uncomfortably. She noticed his almost pained expression as he dozed. She wondered what he was dreaming about. He opened his eyes with a start and let out a stifled gasp. Sweat beaded his forehead and his hands shook.

"Are you okay?" Capricorn asked, her brows furrowed.

It seemed to take a moment for him to fall back to reality. "I... yeah." He replied, not meeting her eyes. "Are we there yet?"

Capricorn studied his panicked expression for a while longer before answering. "A quarter of an hour, I think I heard them say."

"Okay." He said. His breathing had slowed to just about normal. "Are you nervous?" He asked.

Capricorn nodded. "You'd be stupid if you weren't." She showed him her trembling hand. "See?"

Sagittarius seemed relieved. "Good, I thought I was being a coward or something."

"Don't be an idiot." Capricorn snorted.

"That's a bit of a longshot." Aries replied from the seat behind. "He's always an idiot."

She glanced behind at her friend. "Who gave you permission to listen in?" She scolded in mock annoyance.

"I did." Aries smirked. "It was very cute."

"What part of that was cute?!" Sagittarius said defensively. He hadn't realised Aries was only teasing them. "We hardly said more than-"

"Sag, she's joking." Capricorn interrupted him to put him out of his misery.

Sagittarius glanced between her and Aries. "Oh."

The bus came to a jolting stop. Capricorn glanced outside, trying to make out shapes in the darkness of the night. She could make out the giant, bulging shadows of trees, but not much else.

"You said fifteen minutes!" Sagittarius hissed from next to her. "It's been, like, two! I'm not mentally prepared for this!"

Before she had time to reply, Doctor Orion got up from the driver's seat to address the group. "The entrance is five-hundred meters South East from here." He stated. "We are out of range of their security cameras, but keep your guard up. All should go well if you stick to the plan. I wish you all good luck."

Capricorn studied the Doctor for a moment before getting up and exiting the bus. His dark eyes were tense, and she noticed his hands were clenched into tight fist. Could it be possible he was scared for them? Capricorn pushed that thought from her head, knowing she could dwell on it for a good couple of hours if she tried.

She patted Sagittarius' shoulder comfortingly before joining up with her team: Aquarius, Aries and Cancer. They all carried dark looks, and the light feeling from the previous week had vanished. The reality of the situation was sinking in.

Aquarius

Although the mission was dangerous and could potentially be deadly, Aquarius' heart couldn't help but flutter with excitement. As the groups moved silently South Eastwards, a small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. Despite this, he was still able to keep a clear mind, and his sharp eyes scanned the surroundings for cameras.