The Wastelands

Headmistress's Office.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?" shouted Headmistress Weatherly. "You are lucky that you came back alive." After they arrived at Compound 8, the Lumey, while Statson and Rachel were waiting outside the office, was rushed into Headmistress Weatherly's office.

The six of them stood at attention, army style, back straight and hands linked behind their backs. Other than that, they all looked like a mess. Even the neat and proper Bryson looked like death warmed over. While Headmistress Weatherly's appearance was so pristine and tidy, it was hard not to be intimidated.

It wasn't an act; the woman was ruthless, always looking for an angle, and she had the guts to back it up. That made her unpredictable and very scary, specifically if she focused her anger on someone.

"First, Lilia, you separated from your partner: that is a big no-no! Always work in pairs no matter the situation." Headmistress Weatherly was pretty much in her face at this point, but Lilia tried to keep her face forward. She winced. Her ears were ringing. "Your idea to be the bait was an inspired one, but unnecessary, and it had too many risks. You should have returned to the compound as soon as you had any inkling of something going wrong." Headmistress Weatherly poked her manicured blood-red nail pointedly into Lilia's c.h.e.s.t. Lilia winced silently."You have good instincts, so use them. What good are you if you are dead, hmm?"

Being in similar situations upon numerous occasions, Lilia knew that she would only accept one answer.

"Yes, Ma'am." But she gritted her teeth, not because of the lecture but, because of Bryson. He was purposely triggering her telepathy with smirking messages.

'The guy's a tool.'

Lilia's attention turned back to the headmistress. "This will not go unpunished," she promised. Lilia paled.

The last time she was punished, she was peeling potatoes and washing dishes like no tomorrow and her sister was right there beside her. Whenever Lilia had gotten punished, Stella was, as well. So she had not only Headmistress Weatherly's wrath to endure, but Stella's.

Headmistress Weatherly stalked towards her next prey. This time it was Bryson's turn.

"Ma'am, I…" Bryson started, but she held out her hand in silence.

"I have chosen you two not only because you look good together, and that's great for my image. Um, I mean the Compound's image," the headmistress coughed out, "but I needed you to keep Druid in line when she has one of her episodes. Not to follow her around like a lost puppy." Headmistress Weatherly waved her hand to the door, where Rachel and Statson were sitting in the lobby. "You're the reason why I have two police inspectors who know way too much now."

Even though Lilia liked to see Bryson squirm, she still felt the need to speak up on his behalf. "Ma'am, ignoring Druid's visions has proven disastrous in the past."

"Yes," Headmistress Weatherly gave Lilia a hard stare before turning to continue to speak with Bryson, "I know that, and I will keep that under consideration when deciding on your punishment. But the fundamental facts are that when you have a mission, you must concentrate on the mission. Not on irrelevant details. I have half a mind to separate you," She paused, letting the words sink in before returning to her desk. "This is just a warning, but if this happens again…Let's move on, shall we?"

Headmistress Weatherly picked up the folder on her desk before staring down the six teenagers still standing as still as statues.

"Well, the mission wasn't a total failure. Shadow managed to acquire evidence of scandalous and very illegal activities. Even though Major Hetton is dead, his contacts are not so that opportunities will arise. The biggest issue was the unknown backer that Major had. He was giving Major Hetton financial support. There is still data to comb through, but he covered his tracks well. Our main priority is to identify him as quickly as possible."

"Other than Shadow's good work, Heather and Terran did especially well," she added it like it was an afterthought. "They actually did what they were told."

The twins high-fived before returning to attention.

"Now go, and get your wounds treated, and for God's sake, change your clothes!" The headmistress waved them away, reaching for the coffee on her desk. "Lilia, stay. Let's chat some more."

The headmistress placed the pictures that Lilia took on her desk. Lilia didn't want to look at them."Lilia, you've seen the underbelly of the compound and had some interesting experiences, thoughts?"

Lilia paused, deciding she might as well get it over with, before speaking bluntly, "It was a dumping ground for the trash, the bodies, the experiment, the files...."

"The people at the party," Headmistress Weatherly pressed.

"The way that the explosives were set up on the cliffside, the full outpost would slide into the sea. And all the outside exits were either blocked or locked. Yes, they were lured there to be killed off," Lilia confirmed.

The headmistress smiled, which chilled Lilia to the core.

"I might have a use for those inspectors, after all."

***

After Headmistress Weatherly gave her permission to leave, Lilia passed the two WMP police inspectors in the waiting room, with two guards on either side of them.

Lilia nodded towards Miss Andres, who was handling the front desk.

She barely glanced at the waiting inspectors. Especially not at Rachel. Lilia didn't know how to deal with her. It brought memories she rather not deal with.

Rachel stood up. The guards tensed, and Assistant Andres' eyes sprang up. Assistant Andres asked, "Miss Liu, please sit down, you're making the guards nervous.

Rachel put up her hands. "I want to talk to Lilia for a second. Please?" she pleaded.

Miss Andres considered it for a moment before agreeing. "Okay, but only for a few seconds." She signalled for the guards to stand down. "Headmistress Weatherly doesn't like to wait."

"Lilia…" she began.

"I don't think this is a good time."

"Lilia just listen to me, okay?" she breathed out. Her hazel eyes were insistent. "I have a million questions. About what happened when you disappeared. What happened earlier? I was looking for you and your family for a long time." Lilia was unresponsive, and she felt Rachel's frustration, but she didn't know what to say. "Please give me something."

"Stella is here," Lilia offered, before turning her back and walking away. 'Please don't look back. Just walk away. It's best for her this way.'

Lilia followed the others, who were quite a bit ahead of her. She didn't want to think how much seeing Rachel meant to her. How it brought back memories that she didn't want to think about how much Rachel helped her when she most needed after her breakdown.

'Now it was time to not think about the past; I need to think about what I can do right now.'

First, go to the medical wing to get treated. Then get some much-needed sleep. Then in the morning, going back to class, and all the crowds. Lilia sighed again. How stressful, how tiring. All she wanted to do was go to sleep. Forget everything else.

Catching up to the others, she found Heather, who was bouncing excitedly. She was telling anyone that could hear about how she had gotten engine parts she needed to finish her experimental engine. Lilia smiled; this was her new normal. Anything more was just too much.

Lilia's thoughts were interrupted by a gloved hand, shoving her against the wall. She resisted the urge to shove back.

'Oh well, it's not like I didn't see this coming,' she thought, rolling her eyes up to see Bryson's angry face.