Episode 30

Dark. Everything was so dark, a face taking shape in front of hers. Its haggard appearance was one she'd seen before.

'The scavenger that gave me the nail…? Why are you here?'

"Because we are the same," it hissed in response to her inner question.

'The same?'

"We're not the same."

"Oh, but we are." She felt a cold hand on her cheek. "That's why we let you live, 'cause we knew that you were one of us."

The air around her was filling with more and more hissing while the face before her drew closer and closer, seeming to absorb into her own until it no longer existed. Suddenly, the darkness began to wash into a room she felt she'd seen before. The walls were lined with vertical tubes, holding people in liquid. Their faces caught her attention.

'These are…'

The faces of the scavengers she'd met flashed through her mind.

A noise in the next room caught her attention, and she felt pulled to see what lay on the other side of the doors. Gripping the handle, she pulled the heavy door open. Lying on a metal table naked, cut open, and hooked up to a matter of machines, was none other than herself. The sight made her feel hollow.

"What made you choose her?" Came the voice of a man she'd never heard before.

"Call it a hunch." The voice that answered was that of a woman. Scarlet's eyes instantly found her standing next to the table, looking down at the body that lay there. She was tall and slender, clothed in an expensive suit and lab coat, her straight blonde hair pulled back into a bun.

"It doesn't look like the ones from before are going to turn out right," the man continued.

The woman gave a sigh. "Just put them with the others on the ground. And bring that crazy old bat back with you. Maybe he's finally figured out where we've been going wrong."

The man nodded and left the room, leaving the woman alone with Scarlet. She leaned close to the body on the table, an unsettling smile spreading across her thin face.

"I'm going to make you my masterpiece."

---

When Scarlet woke, it was to the sensation of someone lightly touching her face. Her eyes fluttered open to find Helfeirch propped up on an elbow, staring down at her with an unreadable expression.

"You know you talk in your sleep?" he said, still looking down at her.

"Do I?" Scarlet gave her face a good rubbing.

Helfeirch hummed and nodded in response. "You have ever since I met you."

Scarlet heaved a sigh. She didn't know if she wanted to know what she had said in her sleep, given the content of her dreams.

"I would have let you sleep longer, but that old man came by saying the people you need to talk to have arranged to see you. He said he'd have the details for you downstairs."

This quickly woke Scarlet up, and she got up from the bed.

"I don't think he trusts me," Helfeirch continued.

Scarlet paused. "I think he suspects where you came from."

"Hence his comment about the food." Helfeirch was now standing, heading for the door. "You know, people don't get to choose where they're born, just like you didn't get to choose what those people did to you. And in this world, getting to choose what you eat is a luxury." He pulled the door open. "Shall we?"

Scarlet only took a moment to look at him, considering his words. Nothing he said was untrue. Her mind passed to the dream she'd just had. She knew it was more than a dream, and she suspected none of those people in the tubes had a choice, either.

'Are we all just products of a life we have no control over?'

They quickly made their way downstairs, where Pops gave them the information about where the rebels wanted to meet. He then placed a familiar bag on the counter.

"Figured you might need these," he stated.

"Is this…?" Scarlet opened the bag. It was full of her tools, weapons, and supplies. She'd always left extra with the older man. "I can't believe you kept all this. You could have sold it and made a small fortune."

Pops smiled. "Call me a sentimental old fool."

Scarlet smiled warmly, leaning across the counter to kiss him on the cheek. "You really are the best."

"Oh, pish-posh." He gave a bashful smile, which quickly turned serious. "Now, I don't have to tell you to be careful."

"You don't, but you will anyways," Scarlet said, still smiling.

Pops nodded.

"I'll be careful. Besides, I'm not going in all by myself for once."

The older man smiled lightly as his eyes shifted to Helfeirch. Scarlet quickly placed some of the items from the bag on her person and handed a few others to Helfeirch. She then zipped up the bag, leaving it on the counter. "See you soon, Pops."

He said nothing, only waving. Scarlet caught the sadness and worry that overshadowed his smile. She knew that the last time she said that, she had vanished for four years.

'That's not going to happen this time.'

Resolve settled into her bones as she crossed the threshold of the hotel.