He frowned, carefully following her. "Where are we going?" *** (Yoop!) Rory had packed, and knocked on Emerson's door. *** He reached up a dabbed away the blood. "Hrm.. That's close. Thank you." He went to stand, but had a limp as he looked around the wreckage, beginning to salvage from the crates. *** She offered him one. "Yeah, but I got it."
"I'm... I'm not quite sure," she said with a small frown. "I think... I think this is where I ran." * * * His low voice sounded. "Come in." * * * She frowned, glancing at Jaz uncertainly. "What are you doing?" * * * "I'm good, thanks. We have a visitor, apparently."
"What do you mean? Ran like scouting?" *** She opened the door, looking in. *** "I have to go to my lab," he said distractedly, shoving things into his bag. "It's incredibly important." *** She looked up curiously. "A visitor? Who?"
"No," she replied, distressed. "The other girls and I. There was this... this mass exodus. I think this is where we crossed the lines." * * * He was sealing up his bag, looking up at her. "Hey." * * * "Why? Where's your lab?" * * * "I don't know. Some traveling salesman or something."
He touched her shoulder. "What are you talking about?" *** There was a strange look on her face. A sort of hesitant resignation and unwillingness to accept what happened. "Hi." *** "That's top secret," he said slowly. "And the reasons of my being here.. could be life changing." *** She frowned slightly. "Huh. Weird."
She tensed, looking over at him with furrowed eyebrows. She gestured to the city, evidently lost in her own thoughts. "The... the..." She sighed, shaking her head before looking towards the city. "There's a lot you don't know about me, Di. I'll explain, I just... I need to look at this. Give me a sec." * * * He came over to her, kissing her forehead gently. "I need to talk to Ellis. Would you mind waiting here?" * * * Lucy didn't seem impressed, but raised an eyebrow. "I see. Do you require assistance?" * * * "I wonder what he's selling."
He pulled his hand away with a frown. "Alright.." *** "Sure," she said quietly. "I'll be here." *** He went back to where he emerged, shuffling through a few things before pulling out a duffel bag. He opened it, and they would see a few guns inside. He pulled out a shotgun with a frown. "I'll be fine on my own, young lady." *** "Dunno. Think we should ask?"
She nodded tightly, moving through some weeds and old grain, heading to the city. He would see that she was muttering to herself, pointing at various things; a tree stump, a fence, a nearby building. "That's it. That's it, right there," she said, sounding shaken. She backed up and shook her head, returning to him, her eyes glistening slightly. She took a shaky breath, heading to the care. "Let's go." * * * He brushed her hair back before heading to the door. * * * She eyed the gun, stepping back nervously. "Your... your head looks pretty bad..." * * * "It depends. Are you curious?"
He followed with a slight frown, saying nothing. *** She sighed, going inside and waiting for him to return. *** He looked over at them. "A plane crash will do that. I'll be just fine." *** "Sorta. Are you?"
She got in the car and turned on the engine. When he got in, they sped off. * * * She frowned but returned to Jaz, taking his hand. "If you're sure." * * * "Always." Emerson approached them, his brows furrowed.
He looked over at her with a frown. "What was that?" *** "Mm," he muttered. "Don't worry too much. Hopefully, soon there won't be much more to worry about at all!" *** Blaise looked up, her head tilted slightly. "Emerson?"
Her lower lip was trembling and she shook her head, taking a moment to gather herself. "Before... before I met up with Empire, I was a part of a Lupanar."' Dion would have heard of Lupanars, but mostly in discussions of security. They were large camps that were established within mere years after the Plague had broken out. Scouts from the camps would go out and bring back young girls, kidnapped and stolen from their homes from the ages of seven and older, and train them under duress to give their bodies to the public. Broken, corrupt individuals would enter the Lupanars in the late evening and leave after having conducted their businesses in the early hours of the morning. The girls who had been taken were never allowed to leave and often had to stay up for days on end. In this gross corner of humanity, Lupanars flourished. * * * Lucy tilted her head curiously. "What do you mean?" * * * He looked like he had aged decades in a day, quiet for a moment before replying. "Rory has been exposed to the Plague," he said heavily. "I think... I think we can avoid it, but I'm taking her out of the camp and staying with her until we're sure. Ellis, I need you to take charge for a while." Ellis looked at Emerson with a frown. "Yeah, yeah, of course."
He frowned, immediately looking upset. "Lupanar..? I had no idea, Ash. But you managed to escape?" *** He turned to her. "What I mean is the possibility of a cure." *** Blaise tilted her head, her brows furrowed. "But it's not certain, so that's good.."
She hesitated before shrugging slightly, the casual action counteracted by the stiffness of her jaw and how tightly she clutched at the steering wheel. "They took me there when I was six," she said, frowning, her voice smooth but terribly soft. "I grew up there. When I was 12, though, there was a situation where I realized there was an attack coming. I had been climbing the side of the building and saw an invasion. I knew that the Masters would kill us if we were invaded; it was always their final threat. If we tried to get help from the outside, they would make sure that the last thing they did would be to kill us all. So I told them about the attack. With the extra warning, they managed to fend off the invaders. I remember that the girls and I got soup with chunks of vegetables in it that night instead of the broth we normally got. After that, my duties with the public were reduced. They realized I had a knack for scouting and trained me to protect the institution. I would still be forced to... to do what I had been brought there to do, but not nearly as much. I got to go outside. I got to breathe fresh air. I was allowed to run." She shook her head slowly, biting her lip. "But I still knew it was bad. I still wanted to get out. So when I turned 13, I arranged an escape. All of us. All the girls would get out. I had certain privileges that the others didn't get and using them, we would escape. That night..." She paused, tears spilling over her bottom lashes. She pressed her lips together, trying to keep herself from crying. * * * Lucy's eyes widened and she looked at Jaz. "A... a cure? Is that even possible?" * * * He sighed, nodding slowly. "Yeah. At least there's that. We're leaving now. Take care of everything for me, please."
He wanted to hug her, but figured that wouldn't help. "Aisling, it's alright.. You're okay." *** "Planes don't fly for nothing, young lady. Now, I have lots of work to do, so if you'll excuse me." *** Blaise said nothing more, a slight frown on her face.
She shook her head, pressing her lips together. “No, I’m... I’m not, Di. I did some really bad things. We ran and they opened fire on us and... and I kept running. I’m the only one who made it out because I left them all behind.” *** She frowned but fell silent, returning to Jaz. *** Ellis nodded. “Good luck, Emerson.” Emerson nodded, leaving and heading for his study.
He observed her for a moment, his gaze gentle. *** He got out of the wreckage a bit shakily, checked his watch, and started on his way. *** Rory was still waiting, her brows furrowed slightly.
She didn’t look at him, clearly ashamed. “I killed them, Dion. It was my plan and I wasn’t brave enough to stay with them. I was... I was a coward.” *** Lucy studied him before turning to Jaz. “Want to follow him?” she asked quietly. *** He pushed open the door, stepping through. “Rory?”
"You didn't kill them," he said, his voice somewhat stern. "It was Lupanar. And you had to fight for your survival against them." *** He looked over at her. "That sounds unsafe." *** She looked up. "Hey, Aidan.."
She pulled over to the side of the road, slowing to a stop and resting her head back against the chair, the motor rumbling soothingly. “It was my plan that got them killed,” she said quietly. “If I hadn’t had them run for it, they wouldn’t have died.” *** She gave him a small smile. *** He came over to her, taking her hand. “You okay? You know... despite the obvious.”
