Deep into Darkness
Posted on Wed Oct 6th, 2021 @ 5:44pm by Lieutenant JG Vespa Kale & Lieutenant Adora (Addie) Hart
Mission:
Buyer's Beware
Location: Somewhere
Addie groaned softly, eyelids flickering as she started to wake. She could feel her head throbbing, her mouth felt like it had been stuffed with cotton wool. Even before her eyes had fully opened she knew something was very wrong. The air around her felt heavier, thick with damp. There was a distinct chill in the air that made her shiver, the shiver making her bound wrists hurt.
She whimpered as she opened her eyes quickly, looking around, blinking to adjust to the low light around her. There were no windows around them, the only source of light coming from what looking like an old gas lamp on the other side of the space they were in.
Her hands were bound behind her back with what felt like shackles, shackles that were too tight.
"Ves.." Addie coughed, her throat scratchy as she tried to speak. "Vespa?" she whispered as her gaze fell on the forms of her fellow officer. When there was no answer she shuffled awkwardly across the dirt floor. "Lieutenant Kale? Vespa?"
With her hands behind her back, Addie realised she couldn't do much. Awkwardly she twisted herself, shuffling her hands under her bottom and pulling her feet through. Once her hands were in front of her she crawled forward, pressing fingertips to one of the pulse points of Vespa's body. She could already see the crimson stain on the light fur of one of the forms and Addie knew she'd been seriously hurt. "Please wake up," she whispered urgently.
Chest rose, chest fell. Both of them were breathing. A groan. Movement. Movement from one of the twin forms of Vespa. Just the one.
Her eyes shot open, and then the rapid breathing started. Panic was building inside the Dalacari's heart. She gulped down air, she looked around frantic, her eyes falling upon her other body. Movement. Breathing. Nothing else. Then her eyes moved up to Addie.
"My head hurts." she started, taking a breath deep enough to speak with. "Not mine. Mine." another pause. "Not stranded. Just out. Can't move my hands." she paused, and gave a weird wiggle. "Held... no, no... tied?" Multiple graduations under her belts. Today she struggled with a word.
Without her other half to essentially help her process, she was frantic, seriously hindered and effectively rooted to the spot without even needing to really bind her. Whoever did this, they knew how to handle a Dalacari. Vespa paused, "Where are we?" she looked around. "Smells bad. Feels bad. Alone. No no, not alone. Glad you're here." she paused again, looking at Addie, then herself, then her other self. "You did that thing with your feet to get the cuffs in front."
A pause. Vespa was doing that a lot now. When normally there'd be a shift in focus, now there was just silence. Her thoughts were jumbled, rushing for the door when she wanted to speak. The confusion and inability to fully speak were apparent just on her face. "My legs don't work like that. Can't do it."
"The cuffs are metal," Addie whispered quietly. "I can't open them..." she could feel her own panic rising in her. "Ssshhh..." she paused, listening for any signs of noise before she crawled forward toward Vespa's other form, again, pressing fingertips to a pulse point. "I think we're underground," she whispered again. "The lantern is some kind of fuel, we'll need to be careful," she winced, lifting her hands up to touch her fingertips gently against the side of her head. She could feel the warm stickiness in her hair and drawing her hand away she could see blood on her fingertips. "My mouth feels funny, dry, yucky..." Her voice was starting to shake as she spoke. "I can't wake you... other you.... I mean..." she stopped speaking and drew in a shaky breath. "Please don't die..."
Vespa's conscious form scooted over to Addie's side, as quietly as she could manage before essentially leaning up against the counselor. A gesture, reassurance, trust. "I won't." Vespa tried to talk tough, but Tough for a Dalacari was a low bar. She took a breath, held it for a moment, then gently let it out. "We'll get out of this. You and I. I'll..." she paused again, another shaky breath, "I'll need you to be clever. I ... I can't..." oh man Vespa was on the verge of tears. Puffy eyes, short breaths... but she took a breath, held it, and then let it out shaky.
"I'm scared." she whispered. "Captain. Looking for us, right?"
The physical contact was reassuring, comforting. Addie drew in a shaky breath. "I don't know how long we were unconscious for, there's no windows so I don't know what time it is." She reached for her pockets, patting them. "My hypospray is missing," she whispered, feeling the panic starting to well again, her breathing coming quicker. "Okay, we need to think..." she tried to calm herself down. She could feel Vespa's fear and anxiety, something that was already starting to trigger her own. "What's the last thing you remember?"
Vespa thought. Missing half of her memories was tough. "I... I remember... I remember a bogus sale." she sounded disappointed. "Should have known. Never get a twelve percent trend from Ama.. A ... Ammmar... Amaranth." she was so proud of her recollection, but mindful not to scream her memory. "I remembered." her other form stirred a bit. Still not in a rush to wake up, but a sign of life was comforting. "Got to the booth. Bogus product. Headache. Garbled words. Maybe a Trilark."
Addie put her fingers against her head again. "I don't remember... I..." another deep breath. "There was someone." She tried to shake her head but it hurt too much. "The Captain will find us, as soon as they realise we're missing, the Captain will find us." It wasn't obvious if she was trying to reassure Vespa or herself.