Chapter Text
"Mors stupebit et natura,
Cum resurget creatura,
Judicanti responsura." Dies Irae, fourth stanza
I only see machines.
I am tired, but I can not sleep.
I want to cry, but I have no more tears.
I wanted to wake up and see my room. Go down the stairs and listen to my mom ask if I want toast. Having to fight with my brother for the turn of using the bathroom, father has not finished renovating the other one, he never finishes it.
But now I only see machines, with their beeps and lights, keeping me alive, because my body is gone.
I am an anchor now and my family is holding on to me, sinking, sinking...
The same movie keeps going through my head, but with different endings. I find myself clinging to another branch, like a monkey or turning gracefully in the air and landing with my legs. I would break them, it would fucking hurt. I would become a celebrity at school, people would want to sign names on the cast and my brother would be screwed. So many times that someone walked on that branch, without problems, why did it break? I am not even heavy.
My left ear is itchy, but I do not want to wake my aunt. She is there, snoring in the chair, thinking that I am sleeping. In a few weeks it will be my fifteenth birthday, the whole family must come, it will be mandatory, sure. There will be balloons, there will be cake, I do not think I will have a dress... But there will be smiles. I have to smile too.
They will be talking about me being discharged from the hospital, continuing the physiotherapy... I think that even the doctor will be invited, just to say that I am 'doing well'. Meanwhile, when they wash me, I see my limbs getting thinner every day and with those terrible swollen wounds that they call 'bedsores'. Then they tell me they throw a jet of cold water in my anus to stimulate it and make me defecate. I do not feel anything, of course, just the smell...
Doing well? My body is rotting, I do not recognize it, it is gone. I should have died.
However, I can not turn off these machines, they are part of me, with their beeps and lights.
There is a pair of red lights staring at me, now.
Announcement
The windowless bathroom was full of girls taking a shower side by side. They were all young, but the most common thing among them was that they all had a silver ring on the middle finger of their left hands and a mark on their nail.
Among them there was one that was not feeling very comfortable. Not because they were all naked, but because almost all of them were complete strangers. A few weeks ago she was with her family, now she had no idea where she was with all those people.
These concerns were put aside when her light blue gaze captured the pink razor she was holding. The water from the shower came with pressure and irritated a little her dark skin, and it was always cold, not that it was bad, because the air was always hot and muggy. The biggest problem was that she could not avoid her dark brown hair getting wet, which was quite long and bulky, and this time there was a certain urgency.
It was time to hurry up. The girl decided to start with her armpits, but as soon as she used the razor, she felt and saw that the hair was not cut. Only then did she realize that she had not removed the protective cover from the blade. She brought the object closer to her eyes, in order to make the task easier, however, in doing so, her hand passed under the shower's water jet and it was enough to her drop it. "Ah!" That razor was the only one she had brought, and if anyone stepped on it... Anguish grew in her chest, but, fortunately, she discovered that the tool had fallen on the girl's foot beside her and that girl had already caught it.
While looking up, she examined the other girl. She had a taller, slimmer body, and virtually devoid of breasts. The skin was pale, a little gray, anemic. The hair was rather short, purple in color, but the roots and tips were red, they did not appear to be natural. Her eyes were also purple and they were examining the razor, but they soon exchanged glances.
"Ah..." Getting anxious again, the dark-skinned girl struggled to smile. "Thanks..."
Without showing any expression, the other girl returned her attention to the razor while her other hand passed over her own face. Then she took off the protective cap and turned to the shower, using the blade to remove the hair she had felt.
The owner of that object stopped smiling. "Eh... hmmm..."
The pale girl had already started shaving her armpits.
Had she not heard? She became more tense, she did not want to raise her voice and end up fighting with a strange, worse, a strange magical girl. Perhaps it would be better to wait for the turn to use.
"Won't ya give it back?!"
She recognized the voice and saw a blonde girl approaching, with fair skin, but not pale, her hair was very short and her eyes were full of anger. However, she was not frightened, because this was her friend Alice. Her best friend.
Alice did not wait long to get very close to the pale girl and raise her voice even more, "HEY IDIOT! D'ya have watah in yah eahrs?"
The girl slowly turned to the blonde. She was not angry, in fact she seemed to be bored.
"This belongs ta Maya!" Alice continued to speak loudly.
The pale girl exchanged glances with the dark-skinned girl.
Maya smiled apologetically.
Then the girl looked at both and finally changed her face to a sarcastic smile, "Ah, I get i-"
"Ya speak!" Alice interrupted, "how dardy... Now give it back!"
Maya looked around. Seeing that some girls were paying attention to that scene, she felt her heart grow heavy.
The girl with the razor was now visibly annoyed, but her voice still sounded calm, resembled a whisper, "Ya two ahre the new refugees."
"I'm Alice 'n this is my friend Maya, from wom ya stole it." The blonde gritted her teeth. "Get it now?"
She raised her eyebrows and her face was listless again. Then she turned away and brought the razor to shave her groin area.
Outraged, Alice grabbed her arm to stop her, but when she tried to pull, she was unable to move it by an inch.
"A-Alice..." Maya wanted to put an end to that, however a feeling of selfishness and guilt washed over her spirit. Perhaps that anemic girl deserved punishment.
Certain of what it was, Alice focused and let the yellow gem in her ring shine. Almost immediately, she was managing to pull the arm, but only a little.
The slender girl glanced back.
At the same time, Alice was making no further progress. "NNNnggg!" She tried to pull harder, but the arm slipped from her hands. "Ahhh!" Had it not been for Maya to have held her, she would have fallen on the cold floor. It had become personal, she would get her friend's razor even if she had to cut off that arm.
All showers stopped. That sudden event diverted the attention of all girls present.
Even her friend's attention, Maya was grateful for that. She saw that there was a woman beside the bathroom's general tap. Her hair was red and pulled up in a bun, her skin was fair and her eyes were gray. She wore a long-sleeved white shirt with high collar, it seemed to be uncomfortable, and a very long black skirt, she could not see her feet. A red rosary was wrapped around her right hand, while her left hand had the ring that everyone who made contract with Kyuubey had. Her smile was polite, from someone who was waiting patiently.
Without questioning or complaining, the girls went to the lockers. This included the pale girl, who returned the razor to Maya, saying before going, "Nothin' heah is yours..."
With clenched fists and lips, Alice followed her with her eyes, murmuring, " Ah, this one wants ta get punched in the fuckin' face..."
Maya tried to calm her down, "Nah, no worries..." However, the razor was full of hair and there was no water and time to wash it. "C'mon, we don't wanna irritate Madre, do we?"
Alice glanced at the woman with the rosary, she was still smiling, but it would not be for long. "Yeah, let's get movin'."
At the lockers, Maya dried off and put on her underwear, then her uniform: a white short-sleeved shirt and beige pants printed with military camouflage. The worst was putting on the sock and the black boot, she had wide feet for those shoes and the laces were very thin, difficult to handle.
"Giiiirls, we have an appointment."
Hearing Madre's voice reminded Maya of her mother, her family. It was not something she wanted, not only because of the longing, but also to imagine how desperate they must be after any whereabouts of her. Was accepting the Sisterhood's solidarity a good choice? At that time, it seemed to have been the only one.
"Yo, Maya. You ready? They'ah already formin' the line." Alice was already properly dressed.
"Y-Yeah!" She ended up improvising a knot in the shoelace, to at least not let the shoes slip off.
Madre led the girls out of the bathroom, through a concrete tunnel with wide pipes in the ceiling. After a curve, they arrived in a large room with many beds, forming rows, all with the same and simple design, with thin, white mattresses and pillows.
Despite this, Maya easily located her bed, she had already memorized it. Her few personal belongings were under it, she still did not trust the lockers, and the best part was that Alice was using the bed next to hers.
They left the room, following another claustrophobic tunnel.
Alice wondered who had built that place, as she guided herself through the colored strips painted on the wall. Each color represented a place and it was enough to follow the respective strip to reach it.
When they arrived at a fork, Madre went through the tunnel where only the red strip remained.
Alice made use of her telepathy. [Then it'll be in the refectory.]
[Yes.] Maya replied.
They entered another room, with a kitchen and plenty of space, as the tables and chairs were stacked close to the wall. Now Alice and Maya understood the purpose for that, as that space was also used for exceptional events.
"I want ya ta form two rows." Madre held some girls and guided them to set up the formation. "The tallest ones should be in the back row, but I don't want one girl behind the othah, front row must spread more. Quickly, she already warned that she's comin'."
Maya and Alice were in the same row and opened more space between them. Both were a little anxious, even though they already knew who was coming.
However, the surprise was greater when Maya saw that there were three people who had arrived through the tunnel. A strong woman, with skin that looked tanned, with dark pink hair and eyes, and her hair was relatively short. She was known as 'Generalíssima' and she was the leader, and she was the person Maya was waiting for to appear. Behind her was another woman even stronger, with all those muscles she looked like a man, and her skin was very dark. Only the left half of the top of her head had hair, of dark brown color, while the eyes were light brown like honey. Her physiognomy was as intimidating as the way she was called: 'Revenant'.
Unlike the two women, who were in the same uniform as the girls who were waiting for them, the third person was wearing her magical girl outfit, which was somewhat peculiar, resembling a sexy bunny costume, but... more innocent? Her hair was reddish brown, reaching to her shoulders and a little further, her eyes were blue like Maya's, but the color was darker and more intense. The fair skin had many freckles. She was popular with the girls, known as 'Lucky', and Maya suspected this was because she was not an adult like the other sisters, at least she did not act like one.
Lucky came jumping, smiling and waving. "G'day, novices!"
Alice frowned as some girls answered back.
"G'day, Lucky!"
Maya was already aware that those nicknames were 'sister's names', like 'Madre', but she was not sure about that in this case. She and the other girls who formed the ranks were novices, aspiring to become sisters one day, being able to choose a name and have other privileges, such as a private room. The problem is that she had no idea what this process was like and its requirements.
Generalíssima stopped and looked at the novices and then at Madre.
She replied with a smile.
Revenant waited for Generalíssima to nod. Then she took a deep breath and shouted, "SISTERS! Show your souls!"
Maya still found it curious that they used only the term 'sisters', because in fact that meant that everyone present needed to extend their left arm forward and show their soul gem.
This was one of the first things that was taught in the Souls' Sisterhood, but Alice was not comfortable doing that, now that she had learned about what that jewel really contained.
Following the rest, Lucky took her transparent gem in the shape of a rabbit's foot, over her white jacket, and extended her arm, while her gem acquired its egg shape.
Generalíssima made her pink gem shine more. "May our united lights guide our hopes..."
"SINCE THESE LAMPS OF LIFE ARE THE PROOF OF GOD'S WILL!"
Maya and Alice did not participate in that energetic response, they had not yet memorized these sentences and both noticed that they were not the only novices in this situation.
"It's true, it's true..." Generalíssima brought her arm back to herself.
That was the signal for everyone to rest their arms and transform their gems back into their rings.
However, Generalíssima had not done that last part. Sliding her finger over the details of her precious jewel, she continued, "The novices who have been here the longest know that I call you when it matters, but with this crisis involving this new kind of witches, we welcome with open arms many magical girls who still don't comprehend our purpose."
[Bullcrap.] Alice frowned a little. [We didn't come here for this.]
Maya did not answer her friend's message, but she had to agree what had led them to make that difficult choice was something else.
"That's why I'll tell you the origin of our Sisterhood."
The two friends heard some sighs of discontent from some novices, probably from those who had already heard that story.
"Incubator, or Kyuubey for those who still prefer to call him that, didn't tell you that, of course he wouldn't..." Generalíssima raised her eyebrows while smiling slightly. "But great unions of magical girls are commonplace in the history of humankind, in fact it was shaped by them. For a common cause, such as nation, ethnicity or religion, these groups appeared especially in great conflicts, including here the two great world wars. However, none of these groups withstood the passage of time and the winds of change that it brings, however big they could be." She again reached out, showing her gem. "Do you know why this doesn't apply to the Sisterhood?" Her gem evaporated, reforming in her ring, while her hand closed into a firm fist. "Because our cause is you, yes, all of you, magical girls. We share our strengths and knowledge, our courage and spirit, not to survive, but to have a prosperous future."
Madre, Lucky and Revenant nodded, agreeing with what was said.
"This was all the vision of our founder, Matriarch, even before accepting Incubator's contract. She asked the right questions and understood what a life of fight meant, as her family had a long military record and tradition. The inspiration came when she became aware of the development of Arpanet, a precursor to the Internet. The world was getting smaller, the borders were closer, the idea of a global union of magical girls, previously inconceivable, now it was possible to dream." Generalíssima lowered her arm and raised her head, looking at something far away. "In 1986, when I joined the Sisterhood, they're already spread across the North American territory. I was a refugee like many of you are today, I had no shelter or food, I only knew a few words in English. My cause up to that point was to survive at the expense of others, and yet they welcomed me and trusted me. I became a novice, then a sister and now I'm here talking to you all." She looked back at the novices. "As a sister and leader of these important facilities."
[Now I understand the other girls' dismay.] Alice pressed her lips together and took a deep breath. [It's just heaps of cheap propaganda.]
Maya tried hard not to laugh at her friend's comment, but ended up letting out a smile.
"You already understood that we're a family, we share our grief seeds. Do you need a safe place? We have several around the world. Money? We can borrow a little. Work and study? We have sisters within traditional corporations and schools, we can arrange that. A spell? If it's morally fair... We can heal someone dear to you. Do you need spiritual help? We have Madre here. Know that you are not alone, the Lord is with us." Generalíssima looked down and showed a brief smile. "For us, becoming a witch is just a different way of dying. We all here are liable to die one day, but what matters is whether our lives were worth more than that alien bastard thinks!"
Alice and Maya held their breath a little with that sudden anger in the woman's voice.
"This is what you should be asking yourselves. That's what we can offer." Generalíssima brought both hands to her chest. "Please be loyal to us. Become my sisters, sisters of Revenant, sisters of Lucky, sisters of Madre... We have already gone through many tribulations, some that could extinguish humanity and even the entire life of this planet, and we overcame it and continue to grow, building a girl's dream."
Silence took over the room, save for the sound of the ventilation system.
Alice and Maya exchanged looks, each hoping that the other had a suggestion of what they were supposed to do. Clapping hands, perhaps?
Generalíssima opened a bigger smile, it looked like she was about to laugh. "The more experienced novices must still be wondering why I didn't just call only the newcomers to tell this." However, she became serious, even more than when she entered the room. "It's just that it's good for you to hear that, because I have news about the current crisis that we're going through and it's not good."
Madre and Revenant became more tense, not making a single movement. Even Lucky was no longer smiling, only nodding.
Maya swallowed hard, praying it was not something about her family or her friend's family.
With an intense gaze, as if she had to force herself to open her lips, Generalíssima said, "We have lost contact with Washington."
Alice felt nothing, of course, because that meant nothing, but she was startled by the commotion of other novices.
"NO!" "Oh my God…" "THIS IS THE END?!"
"SILENCE!" Revenant ordered.
Maya did not know what Washington was and saw that some novices did not know either, they looked confused, while others were crying and holding their heads.
"It can't be!" "We didn't receive any warnin'..." "THE SISTAHHOOD IS OVAH!"
"CALM DOWN!" Generalíssima shouted with all her might and authority, managing to attract attention. "I didn't say Washington fell. They must have relocated the base of operations as a precaution and can re-establish contact with us at any time. Remember that this is where Matriarch and other very competent sisters are, such as Sunbird and Moonlynx."
"When was the last time you had contact with them?"
Alice recognized the voice and looked back, seeing that pale girl from the bathroom was very angry.
Generalíssima exhaled before answering, "The last report we were able to send successfully was about two months ago..."
The principle of a new commotion. Maya covered her ears as she approached her friend with wide eyes.
"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Revenant took a step forward. "LET GENERALÍSSIMA SPEAK!"
The latina woman extended her hand to the black one, gesturing for her to calm down too. Then she addressed the novices again. "It seems that you didn't hear the story I told you just now. While you're here, safe and whining, we have members of the Sisterhood, with whom we still have direct contact, on American soil, looking for Washington. In addition, we continue to investigate the phenomenon of these new witches who pretend to be humans and we found more clues. It's too early to ensure that damned Incubator is involved in this, but you can bet your souls that they are." She gritted her teeth. "Souls' Sisterhood is still alive and working hard. Therefore, I no longer want to hear rumors that the world will end and that everyone will die. Our activities here will continue normally and we will overcome this as we always have. Oh God, we will."
A new silence in the room, with everyone watching the leader's determined face.
"You can have your breakfast now..." With that, Generalíssima left the room, accompanied by Revenant and Lucky.
"Hmmm..." Madre waited for them to disappear from view before joining hands and saying, "Girls, we've milk and cookies in the kitchen. Please put the tables and chairs while I brin' them."
The novices obeyed, although some were downcast.
Meanwhile, Maya remained beside her friend, who had not left her position and with a lost gaze. She stroked her back, trying to comfort her. "It looks like bad news, but ouahr families must still be safe 'n so ahre we, right?"
"They knew."
Maya frowned.
Alice looked at her, the voice was bitter. "They fuckin' knew the boat was sinkin' 'n they still put us on boahrd."
／人 ◕‿‿◕ 人＼
Jumping beside Generalíssima, Lucky was unable to contain herself. "Ya weah ripsnortah! That's yah best speech."
"And very optimistic," Revenant added, but not as a compliment, " we only know one person wo is lookin' fawr Washington."
Generalíssima nodded. "It was necessary to reveal something to end the rumors, but see how they reacted. We must not threaten their faith, the Sisterhood needs to maintain its unity."
"Ya shoulda talked about Willa," Lucky suggested, "they would sympathize with heah being a novice too 'nd with such an impawrtant task."
Generalíssima shook her head. "I'm sure they would doubt that she would be able to complete the mission for that very reason."
They walked through the tunnel until they reached a staircase, which spiraled down for dozens of meters.
As they descended the hundreds of steps, Generalíssima commented, "What worries me now is Inquisitor."
"No sign of him. Did he really say he's gonna attend the meetin' with the novices?" Revenant asked.
"Yes, and he didn't warn me of any change of plans."
"Ya shoulda sent a telepathic message." Lucky stopped to concentrate. [Inquisitor? Yuuuhuuu~!]
"It's the first thing I did." Generalíssima sighed and murmured, "what're you up to..."
Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs, the trio found themselves at an intersection. One of the paths was a tunnel much wider than the others and it was a ramp that went up, but it was completely dark while the other three paths were well lit. There was yet another entrance with a staircase that also further spiraled downwards.
"Okay, let's check if he's in his room." Generalíssima led them along one of the illuminated paths. It was a tunnel with metal doors, each numbered and with an electronic panel for entering a password.
They stopped in front of door number 05 and there was no sign of life coming from inside. Generalíssima soon called, "Inquisitor, are you there?" Without an answer, she punched the door, making a loud noise.
Convinced, Revenant said with disgust, "He lied ta ya and I'm not gobsmacked. He's always tryin' ta stay outta yah sight."
Generalíssima rubbed her face and looked at the ceiling, more specifically at the camera pointed at her. "I'm going to see Invader. You can go rest, I'll take care of that."
Lucky saluted. "Rogeah that, my kywte general!"
"Stop that, drongo." Revenant pushed her. "Let's go."
Lucky did not even get angry, in fact, she smiled while she accompanied her. "Hey Revah, wat'ah ya gonna do now?"
"Hmmm... I reckon I'm going to the gym."
With the help of her hands, she stretched out her pair of fluffy ears, taking the opportunity to stretch her arms as well. "Ah... Don't ya wanna go ta the trainin' room with me?"
Revenant narrowed her gaze at the freckled woman. "I don't feel like bein' a guinea pig."
"It's not an experiment!" Lucky gestured a 'no' with her index finger. "It's just a simple duel, the first one that bleeds loses."
"I know how it ends..." Revenant quickened her pace, leaving the other magical girl behind. "Go play alone."
"Boohoo..." Lucky puffed out her cheeks. "How mean ya ahre sometimes. Yah skills will get rusty!"
Generalíssima had gone in the opposite direction, going back through the intersection. She stopped at an unnumbered metal door and entered the password on the panel. Soon the door slid into the wall, allowing passage.
Inside the room it was partially dark, the only light source being numerous screens showing images from the cameras scattered around the base. In a modern ergonomic chair, however large for her stature, there was an Asian girl wearing a blue ballerina outfit, with half her tutu crumpled up against the seat. Her icy eyes did not even blink, watching the screens, while her hand covered by long sleeves played with the tip of her thin black ponytail. As soon as the woman got closer, she asked, "What can I do for you?"
Generalíssima replied, "I'm looking for a person."
Invader glanced at her. "Inquisitor..."
"You saw that he wasn't in the refectory with us."
"Yes, but I didn't think it would worry you that much." She turned the chair to face the visitor. "Why didn't you use telepathy? I would have informed you where he is."
"You know I'm the type of person who likes to see with their own eyes."
Invader smiled slightly and turned back to the screens. "Let's see..." Her bluish gem, shaped like a wing and attached to the red hair clip that held the ponytail, flashed as the images on the screens changed frantically.
It was very difficult for Generalíssima to find the Inquisitor like that, but she knew that the same did not apply to the girl in the chair.
However, Invader squinted. "I'm not finding him, he must be in a place where there are no cameras."
Generalíssima heard that, but her attention had caught something else. "Why did this screen go black?"
Invader replied, without being surprised, "This is the camera that shows the entrance to the purification room, it broke recently."
"And only now am I aware of this?!" Generalíssima widened her eyes. "Did a witch escape by any chance?"
"About this, Inquisitor said he'll investigate, but he has already rejected that idea. He also rejected it when I suggested that his magic might have overheated the camera."
"Sure." Generalíssima made a tired face. "The 'mister right' never make mistakes."
"I already called Nano to repair the camera," smiling, Invader said, "now let's find out what 'mister right' was doing as soon as he woke up."
The screens now showed images from a few hours ago. Generalíssima was paying special attention to the camera at door 05, until it opened. "There you are..."
"It looks like he's walking in a hurry," Invader commented as she followed Inquisitor's movement on another camera.
"It's for not to be seen." Generalíssima came closer to the screens, anxious for the decisive moment.
The image was from the intersection camera, where Inquisitor chose one of the paths with light.
The only one of the three that Generalíssima had not gone yet. She stepped back, almost like a jump. "Damn it, I know where he went!"
／人 ◕‿‿◕ 人＼
"Beato l'uomo che non segue il consiglio degli empi, non indugia nella via dei peccatori e non siede in compagnia degli stolti."
The room was cold and cramped, mainly because of stacks of black boxes that flashed lights and emitted the constant sound of fans.
Aa si compiace della legge del Signore, la sua legge medita giorno e notte."
But the man there was distracted by his own voice and a task.
"Sarà come albero piantato lungo corsi d'acqua, che darà frutto a suo tempo e le sue foglie non cadranno mai; riusciranno tutte le sue opere."
The terminal showed an extensive list of numbers, names and descriptions, while he nimbly sent new commands to the servers.
"Non così, non così gli empi; ma come pula che il vento disperde."
No one would say that he had such skill, as his white robes resembled a priest. His faithful silver cross, fastened under his belt.
"Perciò non reggeranno gli empi nel giudizio, né i peccatori nell'assemblea dei giusti."
And the red cross, of the gem in the right golden clasp of his also red mantle.
"Il Signore veglia sul cammino dei giusti, ma la via degli empi andrà in rovina."
The sound of the sliding of the metal door came. He promptly turned off the terminal and turned around, with a good idea of who it was.
Generalíssima entered, already questioning, "Inquisitor, what are you doing?"
"My job," he replied, raising his eyebrows, "didn't you say to me that you were going to tell the novices that our activities would go on normally?"
A little angrier, Generalíssima rephrased the question, "What are you doing here?"
He crossed his arms and spoke with a tone of obviousness, "I'm making queries at the data center. I found something," adjusting the mantle over his shoulders, he inquired, "can you tell me who is responsible for providing food and other supplies for this cell?"
The woman was silent for a moment, blinking her eyes. She had come with questions and now she was already being interrogated. "It's me, you should know that."
Inquisitor nodded. "It's a rhetorical question, because I looked at the list that says what and when each supplies came in, and I found nothing."
Generalíssima held her breath and shook her head a little. "It must be corrupted."
"I highly doubt it, as I also consulted the data center's log and it appears that there is no write action on that list." The man got more serious. "You can say that the log is corrupted too, but I have a more plausible theory..."
She closed her eyes and exhaled, then looked away, saying, "Okay, I admit, I didn't know that I needed to register every single thing I brought here."
"And that's very odd." Inquisitor raised his finger to emphasize. "Because you've been sending reports to Washington all this time, including this empty list. However, when they assigned me to oversee operations here, they reported that everything was right."
Generalíssima shrugged. "Perhaps they didn't care about that detail."
"Detail..." The man grimaced and approached the woman, looking deep into her eyes. "Detail?"
She turned and rubbed her face, making a sigh. "Look... We're in a crisis. I understand your job, what Sunbird may have said, but-"
"Matriarch!"
She was startled. That man, always with a polite and controlled voice, now exasperated.
"It's Matriarch's will, sister!"
She nodded quickly, several times. "Right, right, Matriarch..."
Inquisitor calmed down, but there was still a hint of anger when he examined her from head to toe. "Know that, when we reestablish contact with Washington, I'll report this 'detail'. " Then he put his hands to rest behind his back and passed beside Generalíssima, towards the exit. "I'll be watching and it'll be good for both of us that I no longer find more 'details'."
Frustrated, she pressed her lips together and took a deep breath, but a flash came to her mind. It was one of the questions she intended to ask and it fits perfectly in a rebuttal. "Details like the camera at the entrance to the purification room?" She smiled, expecting a long silence.
The sound of the metal door opening was followed by the man's voice. "Ah, good thing you seek to inform yourself, it's the least a leader should do."
Her smile faded. "Why didn't you inform me?"
"Because I'm here to solve problems, instead of pretending they don't exist."
The door closed and Generalíssima had nothing more to say. Her body shuddered, not from the cold in the room, and her hand was heavy, compelled to punch something. Her victim this time was her own thigh. "¡Hijo de perra!"