Chapter 19
Ithump back down the stairs, mentally making a list of where I should go, and who I should talk to. I'm not sure if rolling up and demanding the commanding officers tell me where Farra is, or trying to hunt down Captain Kethler is my best bet. At this point, what option do I have?
There's not a soul in the courtyard, which I take as a good sign. If she was being disciplined, it would most likely be public, right?
Sweat beads on my neck as my mind reels.
I pass the classrooms and the hallways. I head down, not even sure where I'm going.
The offices? I bank left in the maze of hallways and come to the front entrance, the one Leo and I first came through, and there's a small group of new cadets standing by the main entrance.
They all look miserable and malnourished. Did we look like that when we got here?
I see Wesley stooped over the front desk, and I rush towards him.
"Can I help you?" he says pompously. I glare at the recruit currently giving his information and his eyes widen, quickly taking his forms to another table to fill out.
"Yeah, where's Captain Kethler?" I spit out through short breaths, leaning over him so I don't have to speak loudly.
"How should I know? You know, you really shouldn't be barging in here like this. I have a lot to do" he grumbles.
"What do you mean, ‘how should I know?’ You're his little shadow. Where would he go to interrogate someone?"
His eyes expand.
"I don't know, but I do know that's above your clearance level. Now get out of here and I won't report you," he says, losing some of his previous bravado.
Little does he know I don't actually care about him reporting me. I need to find Farra.
"Where?" I say again with enough venom in my voice that he gawks.
"Head down past the library, there are offices down there. But you didn't hear it from me. Now let's forget this conversation ever happened, so I can get back to work." He cocks his head at the new cadets all lined up and shifting on their feet, watching our interaction.
I bound out of the room without another glance, once again thankful I've built up my stamina.
I push my legs faster, flying past people who yell various versions of slow the hell down, all which I ignore. Passing the mess hall, I don't see the blur of a person step out in front of me until it's too late. We collide.
"Where's the fire, kid?" Berkley grunts.
"I... Farra… Gotta go," I manage to get out between sharp breaths as I scurry to my feet. I turn to run, but he grabs my arm.
"Wait… Maple, wait! What's going on?" He must see the panic on my face because his expression hardens.
"They took Farra for questioning. I have to find her," I grit out.
He blanches.
"I know what rooms they use." Before I can protest, he's pulling me down another hall.
I feel sick. It's only been a few hours, but they wouldn't need long to break her. There are a thousand horrible things you can do to someone in that time.
Berk slows and I start to question why, when I see what's in his line of sight.
Captain Kethler walks towards us with several other officers in his wake. Farra is propped between two of them. I worry for a moment that one of the officers supporting her is Fallon, but feel a rush of relief when I see it's just some lower-level officer.
Farra looks awful, her hair slicked with sweat, and there's no colour to her face. Her eyes are squinted, like the dim lanterns lighting the dark halls are offensive.
I immediately run towards her, but Kethler moves in front of her, putting his hand up, Berkley grabs my arm. I glare at him and then turn my gaze to the Captain.
"Ahh just the cadet we were looking for.
We had some intel that cadets were collecting contraband, and other unsavoury activities, and your room came up.
Your bunkmate here volunteered for questioning, but I do wonder, Ms. Treow, where you've been all day?
" He cocks his head like an animal, running his eyes over me.
I will my breath to come out even as fury folds over me in unrelenting waves. I glance at Farra and she widens her eyes just slightly, willing me to behave. She's barely conscious, and she's trying to protect me. My heart constricts in my chest. I begin to answer, but Berkley pipes up.
"She was with me, sir. We went into town, we were supposed to meet up with Cadet Denver and Cadet Solano in the square. When they never arrived, we came back." Berkley is standing tall, but submissive, and the look he gives has me grinding my teeth.
Kethler blinks, his thick, white moustache twitching slightly, and his eyes narrow. He doesn't fully buy the explanation. Berkley must see this, and slinks his hand down my arm to entwine our fingers in an intimate display.
What in the ever-loving fuck? I think, as I look at Berkley, about to rip my hand away but as I turn back to Kethler, recognition simmers on his face. Just perfect.
"Interesting. Well, I got what I needed to get today.
But let me make this very clear, anything of note should be reported to officials immediately.
If I find out cadets are harbouring illegal information, supplies, or taking part in prohibited activities, there will be worse consequences than that which were dealt today. "
Berkley gives a gruff, "Yes, sir," but I stay silent.
My fingers itch, wanting to clench and connect with this beady-eyed, poisonous human. I will my feet to stay planted where they are, imagining roots taking hold from below the earth and keeping me in place, so I don't rush to get to Farra.
The Captain gives a quick nod, and the officers all move out. The one on the left that I vaguely recognize, has a smirk on his face. He lets go of Farra's arms roughly, not waiting for her to find her balance, and she slumps.
I watch her wobble as I lunge forward, scooping Farra up before she hits the ground.
She lets out a little hiss of pain as I wrap my arm around her, the only indication that she's actually hurt.
Berkley is there in another breath, on her other side, as we watch the officers all march off, like this is just another day in the office for them.
Once I'm sure they're out of earshot, I push back her hair so I can see her face.
"Are you ok? What did they do? Gods, I'm so sorry."
She gives a slight shake of her head.
I look at Berkley for guidance, silently questioning where to take her. I have no idea how bad her injuries are, but this doesn't seem like the time or place to investigate.
"Just take me back to our room," she mumbles, barely keeping her eyes open.
We both nod and start moving towards the dorms, careful to keep her steady.
We walk for some time before I hear chatter, and I pick up my speed, willing Berkley to move a little faster, so Farra doesn't have to bear seeing other cadets like this.
We turn the corner and, just our luck, we find Tane and his legionary best bud, Vera.
The ethereal woman who looks like she could take on ten soldiers at once.
His eyes sweep over us, assessing the situation with no emotion, and marking Farra's worn face, but doesn't stop walking.
I swear to all the Gods, past and present, if he had anything to do with this... I'll kill him myself.
I'm leaning against the wall, staring at the floor, when a knock comes at our door.
My head snaps to Leo, who is propped up beside Farra on the bed like a watchdog.
She's face down, with her wet hair sprawled across the pillow.
We managed to convince her to shower to clean the wounds on her back, but she refused to go down to the infirmary, saying she just wanted to sleep.
Berkley left right after we got up here, and Leo had eventually calmed down.
Berk had been heading to a shift in the kitchen when I'd run into him, and he said it was probably for the best if all of us weren't huddled up here, looking like we were conspiring for the next rebellion.
I open the door hesitantly, glancing around, but the hall is empty. There's a small package plopped down by the door, and I bend to pick it up. Inside is medical supplies; wraps, antiseptic cream, pain relievers. Maybe Berkley sent it up. Odd though, because he didn't leave that long ago.
I cringe when I think about Farra's back again.
They had used a strap, leaving lesions of various sizes all over her back.
I sit beside her on the bed and pull down the light sheet we covered her upper body with.
Leo and I work silently, gently working the ointment onto her puckered and angrily split skin.
He follows my lead, and I'm thankful my nerdy brother taught me a little before I left.
Farra barely wakes; moaning in both agony and relief as we cover her up.
I ask Leo to grab a glass of water and then whisper for Farra to sit up slightly so she can take the pills; she does so without opening her eyes.
She's utterly exhausted. I tried to ask what happened, what they got out of her, and who did it, after we got back.
I felt bad, forcing her to answer questions in her condition, but I needed to know what to prepare for while she heals.
She gave very short answers, but it was enough. She'd kept us safe, and it had cost her.
Apparently, it was mostly Kethler who doled out the questions and punishments, with the help of another officer, Callen Skiver. A name I commit to memory.
What's more concerning is how they figured out something was happening here to begin with. We had been so careful, and other than the plant and a few borrowed books, we hadn't really done anything. And, of course, the visits with Sibs.
I gasp. The herbs, I think, pulling out the crushed roots from my pocket frantically. I am lucky––so fucking lucky ––they didn't search me.
Leo tiptoes over to me. "What is that, Maple?"
My eyes bounce to our unconscious friend laying on the bed. I pull Leo over to the small bathroom and shut the door, not wanting to wake her.
"Sibs gave these to me. They help with memory loss, she said. She insinuated that the food here is dulling our senses, or maybe our memories? She said to crush this up and sprinkle some in our food and it would help keep us sharp..." I trail off, my voice barely above a whisper.
"Flush it," he demands, without hesitation.
I look at him, and we don't move. I don't know if that's the right call. But the agony on Leo's face when we brought Farra through the door flits through my memory, and I understand.
"It's not your fault, Leo," I say, because he needs to hear it.
He shakes his head, stepping back and avoiding my eyes.
"Leo, look at me. It's not your fault."
He just continues shaking his head, tears welling in his eyes.
"She just took it. She didn't argue, or fight them, or sell me out, like she should have. I shouldn't have let them. I should've said something. I mean, I did eventually, but it was already too late. They were already taking her."
He's still shaking his head, and I put the herbs down on the counter and pull him in for a hug, rubbing soothing circles on his back, while he breathes through the chaos of his brain. Once he's calmed down, I head into the main room again, grabbing the med kit and coming back into the bathroom.
I close the door and lock it, before spilling the supplies onto the ground. I hold up the pain pills to the light seeping through the tiny round window. They're a milky, dark yellow powder in a capsule––that should work.
"Grab my notebook and the envelopes on my dresser," I whisper without explanation.
I grab the mug holding our toothbrushes by the sink and dump them, sitting on the floor with my legs crossed.
Leo comes back in and I snatch the notebook, ripping out a page and throwing it on the ground.
This isn't exactly hygienic, but at this point it will have to do.
I use the paper as a clean base and place the herbs on it, then using the mug as a rolling pin, I begin to grind up the herbs from Sibs up.
Leo looks bewildered, and I hand over the job to him, instructing him to grind it down as best he can. He frowns, but does it.
While he does that, I rip out more paper and create a funnel.
Taking the envelopes, I open up the capsules, carefully dump each capsule into individual envelopes, closing them, and placing them between the pages of my notebook.
We might lose a bit of the powder, but I can always ask for more for her if she needs it.
Pain medication is one thing they seem to hand out generously.
"What are we doing, Maple? This seems like a bad time for experiments." Ignoring him, I examine his work. It's pretty good, the herbs crushed enough to work with. The texture is off, but not enough to suspect anything at first glance.
After I'm done loading the envelopes into the notebook, I move it aside and instruct Leo to help me dump the herbs into the empty capsules.
The powder gets everywhere; despite the funnel.
Leo rips out a piece of paper from the book and slips it beneath my hand as a drop sheet to collect the rogue herbs. I smirk at him. He really is clever.
"Maple?"
I sigh.
"This way if someone finds the pills they won't question it, and we don’t have to dump it. I think it's worth a shot."
"And if someone sacks the room again and finds the pain powder hidden?"
"I'll tell them it's an old trick we used for my mom when she was sick, which is true. We used to pull apart and dissolve her meds in water so they absorbed quicker and the pill form was too hard for her to swallow."
He says nothing, and I take that as a solemn agreement. We work silently, until all the capsules are carefully locked together with the mystery herbs.
I hold one up to the light streaming in the window, doubt sneaking in that this is, in fact, a horrible idea. I pop one in my mouth, swallowing it dry before I can think better of it.