16_Shattered

I was still seated unmoving five minutes after Cathy dropped the news.

My heart had never beaten as fast as it was doing now. I looked at Cathy's still smiling face. With a voice that sounded nothing like mine, I held her hands and said

"Take me to her"

She wasted no time getting up on her feet and walking briskly towards the elevator.

We walked towards the elevator that would take us to the middle floor where she was waiting, no longer a dream but a reality.

Cathy pushed the button for the middle floor as soon as we stepped in, she looked more eager than I did. The elevator door was about to slide close when someone's hand disrupted it and it came sliding back open.

I looked up to see Kate's PA looking directly at me; his nerdy glasses perched on his nose.

"Miss Katherine would like to see you in her office now"

He said in a robotic voice

"What does she want now? Normal people are already in bed by this time"

I couldn't even mask my disgust.

He shrugged his shoulders and walked away

I exchanged a look with Cathy, who looked ready to follow the young man and snap his neck clean off his body.

"Don't worry we'll be waiting for you"

She whispered.

I walked out of the elevator and started my short walk towards Katherine's office.

I didn't bother to knock on the door, I just walked in.

Her head was bent over some papers in front of her. She looked up as soon as I walked in.

She smiled but it didn't quite reach her eyes.

"What is it this time" I wasted no time asking.

She took off her reading glasses and the smile was gone from her face.

"Have a seat"

"I would rather stand"

"That was an order"

I rolled my eyes, cursed under my breath and took a seat in front of her.

There was a brief pause before she finally spoke

"Why am I looking at these papers and seeing the exact same ingredients used in this antidote as the exact same ones used in the last one?"

My heart didn't even skip a beat; I was as relaxed as I could be.

"Because there is obviously nothing to work with to produce another antidote, if you want a different antidote then you should be willing to show me those documents"

"So you want to be a willing murderer?"

"You don't pay me to be otherwise?"

She smiled tightly.

"How many times do I have to tell you that those documents are not in my possession?"

"How many times do I have to tell you that you are a liar?"

We stood looking at each other no one saying anything. If she thinks I'm a fool, I've got something different in store for her.

"Can I go now?"

She hesitated before waving me off.

As I came out of her office, I saw a shaky Amara walking towards her office, her face down.

She looked up at me and I gave her an encouraging smile.

She looked down again.

I had to get to my daughter.

I walked briskly towards the elevator the second time around refusing to let anything stop me.

I punched in the button for the middle floor. It was a slow ride for me.

As soon as the door opened, I ran towards Cathy's room and knocked on her door a little too loud.

She opened the door a little and peeped through it, when she saw it was me, she opened it wide and I walked inside.

"Where is she?" I asked.

Cathy immediately placed her forefinger over her lips hushing me, she pointed towards her bed where a body was curled up sound asleep.

My heart melted at the sight. I couldn't see her face because she had her back turned towards us. I sat down on the couch and let the tears of relieve flow uncontrollably. I sobbed silently as Cathy rubbed a comforting hand on my back.

I've found my daughter now, that's all that matters.

I'm never letting her go again.

=========

As soon as Cathy left, I went back to being lonely. I looked around her mildly large room, I noticed one thing, her boss definitely loved the colour white, and too bad her heart chose the contrast.

There was a medium sized bed opposite the door, a single couch by the left and a large television opposite the couch.

I went to the small fridge placed at a corner of the room and pulled out a bag of chips and started munching on it immediately.

It had been long I watched anything on a television screen; I decided to try it out.

Every station was showing reports about mutant attacks, reminding everyone to put their masks on before they stepped out of their houses and giving updates about the recent antidote. I flipped through different channels and decided to settle on one showing 'Justice League', there is just something about wonder woman that inspires me.

While I watched I kept glancing at the clock above the bed, any time I heard footsteps approaching I muted the TV and sat still till the person passed by. The movie ended and I got bored.

I turned it off and made myself comfortable on the medium sized bed. My heart skipped a beat with each passing second, I could meet my mother anytime soon, I was still skeptical about her recognizing me.

My mind quickly drifted back to Amara, I wondered how she was doing. She offered to switch places with me after telling me that each room had sensors that notify the security when it becomes empty. She told me she could deactivate it from inside that she just needed few minutes to do that. She double tapped a side of the wall and it slid open to reveal a key pad with numbers, all she had to do was input the code and deactivate the sensor.

I kept wondering if she ever did it or if she got caught in the process.

I said a prayer for her; I didn't want to be responsible for costing her the only job she has.

My mind became blank after a while and I stared dozing off, I tried my best to be awake but I couldn't stay up. The last thing I remembered before I slipped into unconsciousness was someone unlocking the door.

"Are you awake?" I recognized Cathy's voice asking. I mumbled incoherently and I felt something warm being wrapped around me.

"Ma…" I managed to say through my dazed state.

"She got caught up, she would be here soon"

I must stay awake, I kept on telling myself, but my body had other plans.

The darkness claimed me as soon as I heard the door click open again.