Chapter Thirteen Faith

"Istill can't believe it." Robyn's face was bleak. "That Danforth would murder so many of her citizens just to–"

"Believe it." Madeleine cut her off. "She's capable of anything. All the more reason for us to get those girls out of the academy as soon as possible."

It was 8 a.m. and Madeleine had called the Resistance members together in the hub. After a disturbed night, Faith had reluctantly dragged herself away from dozing at Sophia's side to attend. Despite Anna devoting most of the night to examining her friend, they were no nearer to finding a reason for Sophia's sickness. Which meant they were no nearer to treating her.

In fact, she seemed sicker than ever.

As a sleepy-looking Olivia entered the room, Madeleine stood up.

"About time." She gestured to Olivia to sit down before turning to the others. "I know we're busy, but a lot of things have happened since the explosion. I want an update on all ongoing missions, so we can figure out our next steps." She turned back to Olivia. "Firstly, any sign of Flynn yesterday?"

The petite Resistance operative shook her head. "None at all." She glanced around at the others who had been assigned the task of searching for the Eremus leader. "We've combed the city… all the government buildings we're aware of. Any locations that Danforth is associated with. There's no evidence that he's in any of them."

Faith felt Diane stiffen beside her. She had been out for multiple hours the previous day with the search team, but they'd found nothing. It rankled that they had failed.

"She has to be keeping him somewhere off-grid." Madeleine sighed. "At the moment, it's looking more and more like the first time we'll actually be able to get to Flynn is at the memorial service itself." She held up a hand at the gasps which followed her words. "I know, it's not ideal. But as the service creeps closer it's what we're facing. We can't let Danforth murder him in cold blood without attempting a rescue."

Faith raised her hand. "Sophia had an idea."

After Madeleine's abrupt dismissal of the pendant idea, Faith was reluctant to make any bold new proposals, especially those which put her friend at risk, but Sophia had been insistent. Since it was the only idea her friend had shown any enthusiasm for since her near-collapse, Faith felt bound to offer her suggestion. She braced herself for further rejection as she opened her mouth.

But Madeleine raised an eyebrow. "Oh, yes?"

"We need hard evidence of something criminal that Danforth's done, right?" Faith glanced at the crowd around her. "And we're not having much luck finding any so far. Sophia suggested she could be the evidence. We record her – do an interview of sorts – and then–"

"Broadcast it during the memorial service!" Robyn's face lit up. "Like we did with your speech."

"That's right."

Robyn turned to Blake. "We could hack into Danforth's feed again, right?"

"I'm not sure whether…" Blake pulled a face. "It might be difficult to…" At the hopeful looks on the others' faces, she squared her shoulders. "Of course, I can try."

"Let's look into it, at least." Madeleine turned back to Faith. "Is Sophia feeling better, then?"

Faith's stomach lurched. After her initial examination of the patient, Anna had instructed Lily to increase the amount of fluids Sophia was being given. It had made little difference so far. Sophia still wasn't able to tolerate food without throwing up, and she'd developed even more disturbing symptoms overnight. Hot sweats, shivering, intense muscle pain. She'd also been having disturbing visions which made her cry out in terror.

"No." Faith choked out. "If anything, she's worse."

Faith had been horrified at her friend's deterioration, but the anguish on her friend's face during the hallucinations had cut her to the bone.

Madeleine glanced at Lily for confirmation. The unofficial-medic was nursing a cup of coffee, her face as pale as Sophia's. She was exhausted.

"'Fraid so." The young woman's usually bright features were drawn. "We're doing everything we can for her, but…"

"Shouldn't we be calling her a doctor?" Olivia asked. "I know taking her to the hospital is too risky, but don't we know anyone who could come here?"

Madeleine shook her head. "I'm sorry. There's no one that we'd trust. No good risking everything to rescue her just to have her fall straight back into Danforth's hands. Anna's our best bet, for the moment at least."

"Who's with her now?" Robyn's gaze glanced over Lily and Faith. "She's not alone, is she?"

"Of course not." Lily stiffened. "Anna's with her. Like Madeleine said, she knows a lot more about medicine than I do. And Rowan's in and out all the time." She gestured at her coffee cup. "I'll go back and check on her when we're done here."

Robyn's face softened. "Leave her with Anna for a while. Go get some rest yourself. You look shattered."

Nodding gratefully, Lily hunched over her coffee again.

"Moving on." Madeleine turned to Evelyn. "We've heard nothing from the academy, but if things are as bad as Kemp said, we have to be ready to act soon. How are the plans coming along?"

"Alright, I suppose." Evelyn sat forward. "We have a fresh batch of placebos to replace the first ones, but even if we can get them inside with the increased security, I'm concerned someone will figure out they're fakes. As for the long-term effects of femgazipane, or the fact that Anderson has been instructed to give it to the juniors now…" She shrugged. "Basically, Robyn's been looking into getting the girls out as fast as possible."

"We're concerned the girls won't be able to walk far in their current condition." Robyn took over from Evelyn seamlessly. "I've arranged a number of comcars which we can use without much warning."

"The biggest issue," Evelyn interrupted, "is where we hide them once we get them out."

Robyn sighed. "We don't have a suitable solution to that yet. We considered the safehouses, but even if we use them all, there isn't enough space to house that many people."

"Not to mention," Evelyn warned, "the disaster that would occur if any of them were spotted within city limits by Danforth's guards."

"It would be so much better if we could keep them together." Robyn added. "Somewhere on the outskirts of the city, where there's less chance of them being seen."

"Keep looking." Madeleine frowned. "I'm sure we can come up with something." She peered at the other faces around the room. "Where's Ella? I wanted feedback on what's going on at Matriarch House."

Diane and Faith exchanged glances. "Did you–?" "I didn't–"

In all the worry about Sophia, Faith had forgotten about the young Eremus woman.

Madeleine's face paled. "Are you telling me she didn't make it back last night? Did no one notice?"

"I guess…" Faith searched for the right words, terror over her friend's second disappearance freezing her brain. "Maybe she… She must've–"

A noise at the tunnel exit made them all jump. They froze as the door began to open. When Ella emerged, Faith sagged back in her seat.

"Where have you been?" Madeleine's tone was accusing. "You should've been back hours ago."

Ella shrugged. "I had to make a detour on my way home."

Robyn raised an eyebrow. "Did you go via Eremus?"

The Resistance operative was smiling, but Madeleine looked anything but amused. Rummaging in her bag, Ella took a step towards her.

"They're relocating the staff from Matriarch House over the next couple of days. I managed to get a role in the offices this time. Might help me get closer to Danforth. I also spent a lot of time helping with the clean-up operation. There's a lot of damage." Pulling some papers from her bag, she held them out with a flourish. "No hard evidence against the chancellor yet, but I did find these."

Madeleine eyed the papers suspiciously. "What are they?"

"Records. Something to do with the establishment of the academy." Ella flipped through them. "They were being thrown out, but I rescued them when no one was looking. Figured they might be revealing."

Madeleine's expression had softened, no doubt because of the potentially damning information Ella proffered. Faith had a sneaky feeling that the presentation of the documents was a deliberate move to distract the Resistance leader from her questions. Where had Ella been all night?

"Can you make it a priority to look over them today?" Madeleine's eyes were bright. Ella's ruse had worked. "Take Diane and Faith up to the library. Go through them with a fine toothcomb." She glanced at Faith. "Maybe there'll be something in there about the pendants you mentioned?"

"Um... maybe." Faith blinked.

Madeleine had paid attention to her suggestion after all. But going through the documents would take her away from Sophia.

"Faith?" Madeleine's tone was sharp.

"Yes. Of course we'll look the documents over." Faith glanced at her friends. "Right?"

"Sure thing." Ella and Diane exchanged glances. "We'll get started right away."

With Sophia so sick, Faith was reluctant to join them, but she didn't dare argue, especially when it appeared that Madeleine was actually considering her idea from the previous day.

"Does anyone else have relevant information to contribute?" Madeleine ran her eyes around the room. When no one spoke, she waved a hand. "Alright, meeting dismissed. You know your assigned tasks. Get on with them and report back anything of relevance immediately." She gestured to Robyn and Blake. "We will be in the office if anyone needs us. We have other matters to discuss."

As Madeleine swept out of the hub with her two lieutenants behind her, the hub emptied quickly. Faith trailed along the hallway behind Ella and Diane. At the door to Sophia's room, she stopped.

"I might just…" she gestured.

"Sure." Ella nodded her understanding. "Give her our best, will you? But come up soon. I've lots to fill you in on."

"Will do."

As Diane and Ella disappeared up the library steps, Faith said a silent prayer that her friend would be sitting up in bed eating a bowl of stew. The moment she stepped inside the room, her hopes were dashed.

Sophia lay in bed. Her eyes were closed and her face waxy and pale. At least she was no longer in the throes of some horrific hallucination.

Rowan was nowhere to be seen. But sitting by Sophia's side, her hands resting gently over Sophia's, was Anna. She smiled as she spotted Faith and beckoned her closer.

"How is she?" Faith glanced at the bowl of cold soup which sat on the nightstand. "No better, I suppose?"

"I'm sorry." Anna shook her head. "I would have expected the fluids to have picked her up a little by now, but she doesn't seem to be improving. She's in quite a lot of pain too."

"Pain?"

Anna nodded. "Cramps in her stomach. Possibly linked to the vomiting, but they seem to be worsening."

Faith stared down at her friend. "Has she been awake?"

"Not much." Anna picked up a bottle of pills from the nightstand. "I've had to give her a couple of these over the last few hours. They're pretty strong."

"Are they painkillers?"

"Yes, but not standard-strength ones. These are powerful. Strictly speaking, I can only give her one or two per day, and I have to space them out carefully. Any more could kill her. But nothing else will touch the pain."

"That's how bad it is?" Faith recoiled. "What's wrong with her, Anna?"

Noah's mother shook her head. "I've never seen anything like this."

Refusing to let Anna's assessment get to her, Faith gestured at the bedside. "Want me to take over? Lily went to get some sleep, but I can sit with her, if you–"

"It's fine. I'm happy to watch over her." Anna came around the bed and took her hand. "I promise I'll come get you if she wakes. Lily tells me you've barely left this room over the past few days. Give yourself a break."

"Alright. I'll be in the library. Ella came back from Matriarch House with some documents. Madeleine wants us to look them over."

"Sounds like it might take your mind off things here." Anna grasped Faith's hand. "Just for a little while. It doesn't mean you don't care."

"If you say so."

"How was the meeting?"

Faith shrugged. "It was fine. There's a lot going on, but… honestly? It feels pretty hopeless right now." She dropped her gaze. "They didn't find Flynn yet."

A dark shadow crossed Anna's face. "What else was discussed?"

"The memorial service. I told them about Sophia's idea." Faith glanced at her sleeping friend. "If we record her looking like this the Bellator women will have no choice but to believe us." She bit back a sob and forced her gaze back to Anna. "We talked about the girls at the academy. There are plans to get them out as soon as Kemp makes contact, but they're struggling to find somewhere for the girls to go."

"I suppose they can't bring them all here." Anna's eyes lit with a spark of interest. "I wonder… How many of them are there likely to be?"

"I'm not sure, but we definitely wouldn't have the facilities to host them all here. And we want to keep them together, if possible." Faith shrugged. "I'm sure they'll think of something."

"I'm sure they will. Maybe we could look at taking them to the caves."

"Really? You think…" Faith chewed her lip. "I mean… would the Eremus people be okay with it?"

"They might. I mean… it's worth a try." Anna gestured to the door. "Anyway, you go. Give yourself a break. I'll take good care of her."

Faith turned to leave, but turned back and flung her arms around Anna. For a moment, the older woman didn't respond, but then her arms tightened around Faith, pulling her close. When they let go, Anna's eyes were also filled with tears.

"What was that for?"

"A thank you. For knowing what I need." Faith cast an arm around the room. "For being prepared to sit here with her when it's all I can do to…"

"I know. This is your hell." The older woman shrugged. "But sitting with Sophia makes me feel useful. It gives me something to do. To keep my mind–"

She broke off, but Faith knew what she meant. The two people she was closest to in the world were in danger. And she couldn't help them. That was her hell. Anna needed distracting too.

Nodding her understanding, Faith turned to go. The light in the hallway was brighter than inside the sick room, where the curtains were permanently drawn to keep Sophia comfortable. Faith paused for a moment, allowing her eyes time to adjust. When she could see again, she set off in the direction of the library.

She found Diane and Ella seated at one of the desks in the Records Room. Their heads were bent close together; the folder of papers was lying ignored on the table. Clearly, whatever Ella had to say was more interesting than their contents.

At the sound of Faith's footsteps, Diane turned. "Ella's so-called detour took her to the hospital."

Faith hurried to join the pair. "What?"

"You know what it's like to be separated from someone you love, right? You understand?" Ella raised an eyebrow and Faith felt herself blushing. "I knew I wouldn't be able to rest until I saw Helen was alright for myself, so…"

"You saw her?" Faith pulled out a chair on the opposite side of the desk. "How did you–?"

"Faked an issue with my heart. Got myself admitted overnight." Ella frowned. "Madeleine won't be happy when she finds out, but I figured it was worth it."

"How were things at the hospital?" Faith sat down. "Did you–"

Ella anticipated Faith's question. "I saw Noah. He's okay. Keeping an eye on Helen, as best he can. Apparently, there are some suspicions about drudge involvement in Sophia's rescue, but no one has pointed the finger at him yet."

Faith felt a surge of relief. "What about Helen?"

"She's okay. No injuries, and she's not sick." Ella's face darkened. "In fact, they're considering sending her back to the academy."

"Really?"

Ella nodded. "I figured I'd have to try and persuade Madeleine to sign off on a rescue, but now that we're planning to bring the girls out of the academy, I guess I can wait til then."

"I'm guessing you'd like to be part of the group on the rescue mission?" Diane leaned back in her chair. "Be Helen's hero?"

Now it was Ella's turn to blush. "I'm not sure she'll let me after the stunt I just pulled."

"How about you try to get back into her good graces?" Faith elbowed Ella. "Let's get looking over this stuff you found, like she asked us to." Leaning forward, she grasped the folder of papers. "Where did you say you found it?"

"It was in a waste bin at the back of Matriarch House. They were dumping stuff that had been damaged in the explosion, but a lot of the papers looked perfectly readable."

"There'll be digital versions of all this stuff now..." Diane picked up the pile and began sifting through it. "Looks a little smoke-damaged, but it's definitely legible." Dividing it into three equal piles, she passed one to Faith and one to Ella. "Let's get started."

Two hours later, they were still reading. The documents were mostly reports: applications to the government gaining permission for the academy's set up, mission statements, endless pages of information about the academy's purpose and lists of the regulations Danforth planned to follow as it developed. Faith had scanned page after page of text, many of which were composed in extremely complex legal terminology. Her eyes hurt. She was considering suggesting that they take a break when Diane stiffened beside her.

"Wait… No!"

Startled from her reverie, Faith bolted upright. "What?"

"Look." Diane jabbed a finger at the page in front of her. "This is a catalogue of specific requirements of the girls chosen for the academy. We're not specially selected because of our intellect or promise. It's purely down to genetic make-up. They pick us because we're more likely to produce strong babies." She grunted with disgust. "And this describes the ways the academy ensures that every girl stays in tiptop condition. To maximise the chance of pregnancy."

"So it's been about the fertility experiments from the very start." Faith felt sick.

"There's something else." Diane squinted at the page. "Weren't you and Sophia wondering about the pendants?" Faith nodded, and Diane moved the page closer. "Resources the academy will provide every student upon entrance to the school." She jabbed her finger at the list. "Academic equipment, numerous items of uniform, full sports kit for a range of different activities and…" she pointed to an item at the bottom of the list, "the Danforth Academy Pendant."

Faith leaned closer, reading aloud. "Pendant will be given to all students on entry at the age of ten. Made from a special porous alloy, the pendant contains a slow-release pellet of hormones intended to enhance the girls' fertility." She turned back to Diane. "What?"

Diane's face was dark. "The pendants aren't about school pride. They tell us they're to unite us as one proud body of Danforth Academy students." Diane hadn't worn her pendant since the moment she'd become part of the Resistance, but her hand went to her throat all the same. "It's bullshit! They were a way of getting drugs into our systems without us even knowing."

"So… the hormones in these necklaces…" Ella was frowning as she spoke, "they do something to your body… something which makes it easier for you to get pregnant?"

Diane sighed. "That's the idea."

"But…" Faith burst out, "it doesn't work! The only two people the femgazipane has ever worked on are me and Sophia."

"And neither of you were wearing the pendants when you were given it." Diane's eyes glittered with fury. "They got it wrong."

"So you're saying," Ella's tone was incredulous, "that the pendants are preventing the femgazipane from working. That, unless they remove the pendants, the other drugs will never work."

Faith shook her head. "That's exactly what we're saying."

"We have to tell Madeleine. Now." Diane pushed her chair back from the desk. "And we'd better hope the medics at the school don't make the same connection before we can get the girls out."