The End of Summer - Part Three - Kidman

Kidman told no one about what had happened with the snake. Or the ants. Or the many other small fixes she relented to when they crossed her path. So long as no one knew, she was safe. That was the lovely thing about VILE, she realized. No one really knew anyone here, and the need to remain anonymous grew as the restless shadows of the night began to show her more of what lay within them. Scratches of things, flickers of white and grey, and a constant drone of fear threw her awake screaming night after night, only to forget what she had seen by morning. Her fellows, unaware that she no longer adhered to the explanation of psychotic break, continued to tease her about and Kidman did her best to laugh along as she had before. Their jokes had comforted her once, helping to make her fears more tolerably absurd. Now that it was undeniable, every fictional instance of scientific abduction they showed her in jest made her all the more fearful. As their sci-fi influence meshed with the terrors of her sleep Kidman's anxiety grew, and she pulled further and further away to hide it. *** "But I know what will make you feel better." Rum announced as Kidman dragged her way into the garage one sunny morning. "Guess who's coming here today? Guess?" A warm sparkle returned to her graying heart. "Carmen?" "Carmen, yeah! Come on, she'll be coming on at the airstrip to get that amphibious thing Bellum had us fixing." The grass was bright green below and the sun was hot. People were everywhere, yelling, laughing. There was a crowd, gathered around some beautiful machine. So much fanfare! "The leader is here! Our leader is here! Look, girl, look. Our leader!" In her year at VILE Kidman had never actually met her patron saint, a woman more legend than real. She could barely see her but she could feel her, hear her. Awe, and then, inexplicably, terror. Carmen would know. Carmen would know immediately what she was. Kidman didn't know how, but how was irrelevant when it came to this Master of all things. She would know, and then she would- "She's coming, she's coming!" They cried around her. The noise grew louder, the colours brighter, garish. For a moment their eyes met, and Kidman ran away. *** From that day on Kidman was almost never seen. What training she was involved with went by the wayside and she managed her duties to fall in such a way that she did them when most no one else was around. Her skin grew paler, her hair coarser, and her voice seldom heard. When the time came for promotions or positions that would expose her to scrutiny, she hid. Newer bases formed as Carmen's power grew, and slowly the outdated garage emptied until only she remained, its solitary keeper. Until the day the Lady called for her as well.