"Where did she go?" a troubled Killion probed the oblivious pair that had settled down in the seats before him. The two, his mother and his grandmother, shook their heads in denial.
"We have no idea Killion." his mother told him. "We sent her out only because we did not want her to cause any more damage,more than she had already done that is. So none of us went out after her."
"Mother..." the Captain groaned out in frustration. The duo were in his office, the place that they had retreated to right after ensuring that Selene Barrageway was safe as she could be in the hands of the Hub's team of specialised doctors. "I do not know if I told you this before, but Havillah was the one who saved my life and I am so ashamed that you both treated her that way!"
"Do not scold us Killion! It is not entirely our fault. You were too secretive about the attack and could not divulge the details to us!" his mother decried his hurtful statements.
"Fine, mother!" the captain ground out in irritation. "She healed me mother. She has all these powers and she can do a lot of amazing things. She calls them virtues-"
"Virtues!" Both women shouted in unison.
"-what? Why? What do you know about them?" The emotions in Killion's eyes were palpable. His confusion being at the fore front. Then there was anger, fear and shame. They all threatened to overwhelm him, but he kept his cool, bidding his time until the two could fully explain themselves to him.
"But it can't be!" Neema, his mother, exploded with disbelief, paying no heed to the frustration that was preying on his face. "But they're gone. They're long gone, that's what grandmother told me and you know it mother." she said turning to address her statements at her ageing mother.
"In this world, nothing is ever too farfetched to be reality. Haven't the terrors taught us that much?" the old lady responded, as a stern and thoughtful expression clouded her features.
"Wait! Wait! I'm sorry. What on earth are you two going on about?" A baffled Killion waved his hands between them, hoping to cut in and catch a glimpse at their befuddling conversation.
"Your friend Havillah? Are you sure that that was what she told you? Were those really her exact words?" The man's brows furrowed, frowning at his mother's skeptical expression and not at the uncertainty that the woman expected him to feel.
"Of course I know what I heard. She's always going on about her Virtues. About her first virtue, the second virtue...if you do not believe me you can ask the crew."
"In that case, we have to find her." she said to her mother. "I cannot believe that we could not see it before!" she cried out with angst, berating herself for what she now felt was a stupid mistake on their part.
"Speak for yourself, daughter." The old lady admonished. "I suspected it all along." she added with a pompous look that brought a smile to Killion's worrying face. "The design and the embroidery on that fabric was too distinct to belong to anyone other than those in the priesthood."
"Now that you mention it, I felt like they reminded me of something, but I could not quite put a finger on it." his mother responded thoughtfully.
"Duh! The temples!" Grandma Kezzia rolled her eyes at the younger woman.
"Okay... okay... well and good! What are we waiting for then?" Killion disrupted their colloquy, shifting from behind his desk to approach the two women. "As it is, we've wasted enough time when we should have been out there looking for her! I am going out." he added as he took several more steps towards his office doors, his mind already drifting to all the places he would go out to look for her. Even as he did so, his worry and agitation seeped out of him in waves, so much that he turned to glare at the arm that had dared to stop him from accomplishing that mission.
"Urm...Killion, you seem to be forgetting something." his mother addressed him, her gaze drifting to the female soldier who could be seen even now, through the glass walls that surrounded the office, pacing the length of clinic's waiting room in a nervous frenzy.
"What?" Killion barked out and his mother pointed him in the direction of the clinic. His eyes followed her gaze before landing on the woman. After seeing her, his eyes softened before hardening up again as he steeled himself with renewed resolve. "I do not care. Calla can do whatever she wants, but she will not pull me from this mission. I am going after Havillah and I will bring her back.She alone can help Selene and I wish that you had let her do so, when she had wanted to."
"We're sorry Lion." his grandmother tried to mollify him. She called him by his childhood nickname, one that seemed to fit his present mood perfectly. "We're sorry, we really are, but we can't change what has happened. That said, what can we do to help you?"
Killion stopped and thought for a moment.
"Since it's already getting dark, I'll go out and look for her myself. You two on the other hand should stay here and support the family." The women nodded in agreement even as the Captain set out to contract some extra hands to help him in the search for the missing girl.
"Gabriel," he called out, drawing out the young man from the crowd of techguys that had gathered around the Hub's central command system.
"Captain, what is this I hear about Havillah attacking Sergeant Barrageway's mother?" the young man asked him, his eyes shifting to stare at the still pacing form of Calla Barrageway. "She's furious you know and at the rate she's going, I'm afraid that she'll wear out the linoleum." Gabriel added and Killion found himself smiling despite his roiling emotions.
"Despite being warned not to do so, Selene Barrageway grabbed at Havillah's robes and they zapped her. I am now enlisting your help to go out and search for Havillah, so that we can try and bring back Selene too." Killion told him.
"If she ran away, won't she refuse to come back? Better still, isn't that supposed to be some sort of admission of guilt?" Gabriel slated him.
"No, dummy!" an irritated Killion snapped back. "She wanted to help, but my mum and grandma told her to leave!"
"Oh, okay. I see now. In that case, I'll help you. Not that I have any choice in the matter, but I will be happy to help. She's grown quite attachrled to me and despite all her irritating tendencies, I would hate to see her go."
"Connors!" Killion scolded even as a smile formed at the insinuation that Havillah had a crush on Gabriel. It was not true though but Gabriel would say anything to try and lighten up the mood. "Suit up and we'll get going."
As the pair left the Hub, a brown pair of angry, but curious eyes followed them. The woman nudged the young man that was standing guard beside her and whispered something in his ear. The young soldier nodded and all of a sudden, an animalistic growl left the female sergeant's mouth before she stormed out, leaving in her wake, a trail of panicking soldiers that were inclined to stop her.