Seeking a Refuge (29)

There was a knock at the door, and she hurried to wipe her eyes, thinking it might be Steve. 1

“Come in,” her own voice sounded forced and far away. 2

In spite of the girl’s expectations, Geraldine entered the room with feline moves. 3

“Am I bothering you?” she asked, mildly. 4

“No, of course not, please, sit down,” Stephanie told her, looking at her palms reddened because of the long amount of time she had spent pressing them against her aching forehead.5

“Hey...” the young woman whispered, patting Stephanie on the back. “I saw you were quite upset when you came home today... Problems about Chris?”6

Stephanie raised her face and watched her friend. She stayed like that for a few moments, and then answered:7

“It’s ok... Well, actually... Chris just made me a nice shocking love declaration,” said she burying her face once again in the darkness of her palms. “I said we could still be friends, but...”8

“You made the right choice,” Geraldine muttered, hugging her fellow fighter. “I think you could tell him you need a few days alone to clear your mind after this.” 9

Stephanie agreed and then remained silent. 10

“I’ve been thinking about this a lot,” Geraldine tried to change the subject, “what do you think Ares is doing? I mean, we killed five of them, but the question is: what if he finds himself other allies?”11

“I don’t know,” Stephanie shrugged, even less comfortably than before. “Guess we’ll have to stay prepared for the worst. All the time. As for me, personally, I think this Chris problem is the last thing I needed in these circumstances.”12

“You’re probably right,” the woman said, kindness flooding her soft voice. 13

All of a sudden, Geraldine screamed as she attempted to stand up. The girl looked at her and saw something like thin gelatin pieces that stuck them to the carpet. Stephanie immediately became aware that she was confronted with the same situation. 14

“W-What’s happening?” she stuttered, trying to at least stand up.15

“I’m not sure,” her friend answered, “but this kind of creatures are in the Darkness Crew. And, in case you need a reminder, we haven’t met all the members...”16

They both remained quiet, as the recently arrived unidentified thing was sucking pure energy out of them.17