Aftermath || Sequel to The World Without Them [HIATUS]

06 | Dire Assistance

 It took days for Sage to get through to the elusive woman known as Corinne Roman. During that time, the Iris had been watching broadcasts obsessively, desperate for any update on the hostile situation in Brightwood City where her comrade resided. However, doing so only proved to be a source of frustration, and it got to the point where she had to force herself away from the television screen in order not to send her fist through it when the reporters provided little valuable information, or any at all.

 In fact, the Valcoast native was on her way to a meeting about that very subject when her cellphone began to vibrate aggressively in her pocket. She immediately grabbed the device from its confines and brought it into view. It took her a moment to process who was trying to reach her but, when it finally sunk in, Sage came to a screeching halt. She then proceeded to make sure no one was around to watch her as she hurried into the nearest corridor and lifted the phone to her ear.

 "What took you so long?" The greenette hissed.

 "Well well, it's nice to finally talk to you too," came the hollow voice on the other end. "I thought you'd be glad that I even bothered to give you a call."

 Sage let out a short sigh and leaned back against the wall. "I know, I'm sorry. I am glad to hear from you. I've been wanting to get in touch for ages."

 "Same here, kid." There was a pause. "I'm sure you're wondering about what's been happening here in Brightwood."

 The Iris nodded before realizing Corinne couldn't see her.

 "Yeah, we haven't been able to get any kind of information since the news broke. What's going on?"

 "I swear there's no end to it. It's like when one thing finally gets under control, something else pops up to take its place," the woman growled. "Ever since the attack on the museum, Brightwood has been in chaos. People are scared to leave their homes, and the police have only been able to take a few people into custody for starting the fire, and they don't even know if they were the ones who did it. It's likely that the real suspects fled or are hiding out somewhere. On top of that, we lost a lot of valuable historical pieces in that blaze. It's all a mess."

 Sage could hear the frustration in Corinne's tone. The former government official was obviously burnt out from working around the clock. The girl frowned.

 "Alright, I understand that, but what about you? I thought you were still in hiding yourself."

 "As long as no one knows that I'm in contact with you and Frost, then I have no reason to hide anymore. Chloris isn't in power, and the remaining officials and officers are too busy dealing with everything else to take the time to come after me. And besides, I've only been on the front lines to take a look at the museum."

 Sage let out a deep breath. There were a million things running through her mind, but a question she had been meaning to ask for a while was at the forefront. It was something she had talked extensively about with her mother over the last couple days.

 "Is there something wrong?"

 Corinne's voice cut through the greenette's thoughts. Sage ran a hand through her hair.

 "Yeah, kind of. I'm just worried." She paused. "We're spreading ourselves really thin over here, Corinne, and it's concerning. We haven't even started our agenda yet and we're already unorganized. There's only so much Frost, Acacia, and I can do right now. We can't find any remaining members of the Tanna Society, and most of Acacia's people are here already. That's why I wanted to ask-"

 "You want me to come to Niska, don't you?"

 Sage blinked in surprise before biting the inside of her lip nervously. "I do. We need you here, but it's probably bad timing, isn't it?"

 "It's definitely not the best that's for sure." 

Corinne went quiet for a moment. Sage gritted her teeth.

 "But I think I can manage."

 The Iris sighed and couldn't help the smile that appeared on her face.

 "You're the best, thank you so much," she said.

 "Don't get all sappy on me now, Iris. We have work to do." Sage could hear the subtle amusement in Corinne's tone. "I'm going to get in contact with some of my people and see if they can come as well. I'll be in Niska as soon as I get everything together."

 "Copy that. I'll see you on the flip side."

 "Indeed. Talk to you soon, Sage."

 A beeping noise signaled that the call was over. The Valcoast native dropped the hand holding the phone to her side and pressed the back of her head to the cool metal of the wall. She closed her eyes.

 Finally, something is going our way.

~~~~~~

 Sage walked into the conference room a couple minutes later. Frost, Acacia, Mana, and her mother were already seated, obviously awaiting her arrival. As soon as she opened the door to enter, they all snapped their heads up to look at her.

 "Where have you been?" Acacia inquired with a raised eyebrow. "It's not like you to be late."

 The greenette didn't respond immediately and instead sat herself down in the chair next to Tatiana. Her parent also gave her a questioning look that she ignored. She briefly made eye contact with Frost, whose expression held only curiosity.

 "Corinne called me."

 Tatiana and Acacia's eyes widened slightly and Frost blinked. Mana gazed around, confused, and Sage simply nodded.

 "She told me that Brightwood residents are panicked and the police have suspects in custody related to the fire but nothing is for sure until the investigation concludes. She's been doing what she can to gather information, which is why I couldn't contact her until now; she's been too busy."

 "What will she do while the investigation happens? If she gets too involved then they might figure out who she's affiliated with," Tatiana asked.

 Sage shook her head. "We don't have to worry about that."

 Frost furrowed his eyebrows. "We don't?"

 "No, because Corinne is on her way to Niska as we speak."