Page 50 of The Divide that Binds Us

Chapter 11

Worthiness

Ultima: Katarzyna

––––––––

Katarzyna lies in theinfirmary bed, hovering her hands so she can stare at them in awe.She’s shaken up from the petrification, but more so from the phantom feeling of her skin hard as stone.Every part of her aches; she should’ve stayed hidden, but she wanted to prove herself to everyone.

A nurse quickly pulls back the curtain, startling her.

“It’s been three hours, honey.You’re the only one still in here.”

Really?Katarzyna wonders.Has everyone resumed life as if the attack never happened?

The nurses worked hard to cure the victims with their entire antidote supply, but it’s still traumatizing.What’s worse is she heard Rio jet off shortly after.

“S-Sorry,” Katarzyna mumbles, sitting up and inching toward the edge of the bed.She rubs her face and shudders.The last memory was her eyes burning when she met the girl’s gaze.Everything went black, leaving Katarzyna stuck in the darkest corners of her mind.The places she fights hard to never end up in.

The nurse pats her shoulder with a sympathetic smile.“We’ve set up some counselors to come onsite tonight for everyone affected by this.You also have a visitor right now.”

“Thank you.”Katarzyna smiles as the nurse leaves, bringing Lynn into full view with her arms crossed and a deep scowl.Her violin is hooked to her back.“Lynn?”

“Rio asked me to check on you.”

“Oh, is he back?”

Lynn wrinkles her nose.“No?”

“Sorry.”Katarzyna gets herself up and leaves, but Lynn walks beside her.“Um...are you escorting me to my room?Or following me?”

“Neither.”

They reach the lobby, and it’s as clear as the sky.The floors are polished with no evidence of streaks of stone or wheels dragging across, and members are passing through in busy foot traffic.Security appears to be turning away non-members at the door.

Katarzyna checks her phone, but her queue is empty.Ideally, it gives her free time to visit her grandmother, but she’s more eager to see how everyone here is doing.

“So, it was Elite who attacked us?”Katarzyna looks up at a stoic Lynn, who’s heightened by her large combat boots.“What are we doing about it?”

Lynn stares absently at everyone passing through the lobby.Katarzyna is tempted to ask again in case she didn’t hear, but Lynn presses her lips together and looks at her.Her eyes are aggressive and agitated.

“Rio assembled a recruiting squad, pending approval.You are obviously not part of it due to your...restrictions.So,weare doing something about this.”

The bitterness some members feel toward her never seems to fade away.

“Gotcha.Well, thanks for checking on me,” Katarzyna whispers.She swallows hard, trying to hold back the tears welling up as she sprints to her room.

---