previous chapter: Abetment [19]: 3.5: 2089, June 21st, Tuesday. 23:05
1030 words
The car drives over the bumpy dirt road, away from the compound. Ellie isn’t sure how fast they are going, but she is sure it would take long before the Redbarrels would give chase, and this armoured vehicle was everything but fast.
At the end of the road, a silver-white blocks the road. Ellie recognises it immediately. She stops the armoured vehicle and gets out with both her hands raised, walking towards the van.
“Sophia, it’s us. Do not open fire.”
The door of the car opens, and Sophia gets out, dressing in an army outfit, a giant railgun strapped to her shoulders.
The moment she sees Ellie and Sarah, she runs over and tries to hug Ellie. Ellie pushes her away.
“They are still following us, we have to be fast.”
Sophia scrambles back to the car. “What the hell happened there?”
Ellie helps Sarah in the van and enters herself. She notices Lucas is sitting in the passenger seat, next to Sophia.
“What the hell are you guys doing here?” Ellie asks when the van starts driving.
“Vicky told us you two were taken by the Redbarrels,” Sophia explains. “So we watched around for a bit of chatter and discovered where you guys were held, so I thought I’ll break you out.”
“By storming the compound?” Ellie asks.
“The security is quite light and mostly automatic. I considered my chances to be quite good.”
Ellie turns to Lucas. “And you were ok with this?”
Lucas shrugs. “It was either coming along with Sophia or letting her go alone. And no way I am gonna let Sophia have all the fun.”
Sarag looks out of the rear window. “Are they still following us?”
Sophia laughs. “Don’t worry sweetheart, this van is way faster than any armoured vehicle.”
After half an hour, they arrive at Ellie’s mansion. The car automatically parks in front, and everyone leaves the vehicle.
As they walk inside, Sophia breaks the silence. “So, Ellie, what happened when you were held prisoner there?”
Ellie sighs. “Sophia. Please, it is very late, I will debrief you tomorrow. I first need sleep.”
Sophia shrugs. “Ok, talk to you in the morning.”
Ellie walks up as the words spoken by Stephany haunt her head. Was it true what the president said? Was she an accessory to her mother’s death? Ellie fought back tears when she thought about it. Why did Sophia keep it a secret all these years?
Ellie enters her bedroom and slowly undresses. Her metal arm is really not helping. She can’t feel with it, or move it. Her T-shirt doesn’t want to come off, and she rips it on some metal bolts. Never mind, she didn’t like that T-shirt anyways.
Ellie puts on her pyjama pants and top. After she got herself ready to sleep, she hears a knock on her door. She ignores the knocking.
After a while, the knocking stops, and the door opens. Sophia walks in carrying a metal tray with a glass of water, two pills, and some small tools, like a screwdriver and Allen wrench.
“Hey Ellie, I saw your arm was damaged, so I brought you some immunosuppressants and some tools to help you repair it. Want me to take a look?”
Ellie picks up her pillow with her good arm and throws it at Sophia. The tray drops to the ground, making a loud noise, and the glass of water spills over Sophia’s clothes.
“Stay away from me, Sophia,” Ellie yells at her.
Sophia picks up the tray and carefully places it on Ellie’s nightstand. She doesn’t look scared or angry, if anything, Sophia looks worried. She slowly sits down next to Ellie on her bed and puts her hand on Ellie’s shoulder.
“What is going on, Ellie? What is upsetting you?”
Ellie wants to yell at Sophia, but strangely enough, she seems unable to. All she seems to be able to do is break out in tears. She sobs for quite a while, while Sophia keeps her hand on Ellie’s shoulder.
After a while, she forces out some words between her sobs.
“Why did you never tell me everything that happened the night my Mom died? Why did you hide things from me?”
Sophia sighs. “I am sorry Ellie. I am sorry I texted my dad. I was merely a child, and I was very scared. I didn’t know what to do. And I wanted to tell you, really, but I was so ashamed. I couldn’t. I never could bring myself to tell you.”
Ellie shakes her head. “I am not talking about that.” She lifts her head and looks Sophia in the eyes. She notices tears welling up in Sophia’s eyes too.
“The body you and Mom found. You never told me he died because someone messed with his prescription.”
Sophia looks confused. “I guess I never did. But why is that so important? I don’t think we ever found out who did force his prescription.”
Ellie falls over and rests her head on Sophia’s lap. “I did. I hacked the hospital records. It is my fault he died. And everything else that happened that night, it was all because of me. If I hadn’t stuck my nose in business it didn’t belong, Mom would still be alive.”
Ellie keeps crying, her head pressed against Sophia’s lap. “It’s alright Ellie” Sophia says while stroking Ellie’s hair. It is not your fault.
Ellie keeps crying for a while, hugging Sophia tightly. After a while, Sophia softly pushes her away. She picks up the glass from the nightstand and looks into it.
“There is still a splash of water in the glass, can you take your pills?” Sophia asks. “And remove your pyjama top, so I can take a look at your arm. I promise I will repair it as well as I can.”
Ellie picks up the pills from the tray and swallows them with the help of the glass of water. Then she looks pleadingly at Sophia.
“I, can’t take it off without help. My arm doesn’t want to move and is way too heavy.”
Sophia smiles lovingly. “Don’t worry Ellie, I will help you.”
next chapter: Abetment [21]: 3.7: 2089, June 23rd, Thursday. 18:55
all chapters: Abetment