Helena woke to a rough texture rubbing against her lips. Her eyes snapped open to blackness, but she sensed the bioelectrical activity of a creature right in front of her. Quickly scooting backward into a dirt wall, she broadened her active reception and examined the creature. It was staring at her and now that she was more lucent, she found it resembled a fox. It’s been licking my mouth. Imagining what kind of bacteria could be on its course tongue, she sighed. It’s most likely removing leftover food particles.

Searching through her pack, she found the HCID lying across the ground with several pieces of food. Lifting the HCID, she activated the holographic display, lighting the area with its bright images. She shielded her eyes and slowly opened them, waiting for her vision to adjust. Her eyes finally adapted and she surveyed the hovel through squinted eyes. Her wrappers had been licked clean and several more had been dug out of her pack from the Fox, their metallic appearance reflecting the HCID’s image.

The time on the device showed twelve-five. Helena yawned. The storm should be over by now. She noticed that her body felt a little better. At least her muscles weren’t screaming, although, in all reality, she knew she was still tired.

Feeling at her ears and ankle, she found her jewelry still in place. She sighed with relief, experiencing the shape and pressure under her suit leg and the texture at her ears. She didn’t know why she wanted to keep them, but Drake thought they were important enough to mention as a negotiation term. She couldn’t get rid of them until she found their purpose.

She sat down and relaxed against the wall, staring at the white fur fox and it started back. Helena broke contact as she stretched her muscles, feeling the sharp burn they left. Relaxing her muscles, she rotated her neck; it cracked several times with the motion. Her back tingled with the motions and her bundled hair pressing against the back of the suit.

Finished, she moved past the creature and opened up the backpack. Extracting two more bars of freeze-dried food, she opened them and started eating one, tossing the other to the fox. The creature caught it in its sharp fangs and collapsed to its belly, nibbling at the food. I need to keep it satisfied with something.

Grabbing the canteen, she took another gulp of water and replaced the lid. I should get moving soon, but I don’t think I can get far before having to bunker down again, even with electro-stimulation.

Grabbing the HCID from the hard dried leaf covered ground; she brought up the terrain map and followed the path she’d taken. I’m probably halfway to the Reaper Settlement. She frowned. It’ll take me days on foot. I have to find a new route. WITCH will be looking for me now with their Trackers and probably from the air.

Zooming in on her area, she was shocked to find something nearby. It wasn’t pinned on the map as a human settlement, but the satellite imaging clearly showed ruins of some kind. It wasn’t small but was covered by a mix of foliage and snow, which was why she didn’t catch it before. It could provide temporary shelter from WITCH.

Stretching again, she leaned back and stared at her pack. Most of it is filled with food, clothing, and the blanket takes up a large portion of it. Helena lifted her hand and examined it. She concentrated and sharp sparks of electricity traced around the outer edges of her palm. The fox’s head darted up. Its ears pointed high with alarm, its blue eyes examining her warily.

At least my Focus is topped off. If I keep a small electrical current running through my body, I can push my muscles harder and it should even keep me warm. It’ll take approximately thirty minutes to reach the ruins on foot. I can manage that.

Glancing down at her pack, she noted the extra weight. I only need one knife and canteen. The wiring has a purpose and I did over pack on food. I’ll keep the blanket, but dump the other items. While awake I can keep myself warm with electricity, but I’ll need the blanket when I settle down.

Stuffing the blanket in the bag and stabbed the extra knives into the hovel. She then began to take out half her food supply. The fox watched her with curious eyes. Opening half the food, she tossed them on the floor. The fox shifted its position to lie next to the food to eat the dried bars.

Lining the canteens in the corner, she put away the HCID and replaced her gear. She crawled to the opening, hoisting the backpack over her shoulders and forced her way through the snow-covered entrance. The night was dark and only slightly lit by spotted stars as clouds covered the moon, but she knew exactly where to go from the earth’s magnetic field. She needed to go to the bathroom, but she held it as she began her journey.

It took her twenty minutes to arrive at the structure’s base. Surprisingly, constant electro-stimulation to her muscles had eased the journey and kept her completely warm. However, as she released the feed, she felt the weight of the pack intensify tenfold. Gasping, Helena resumed the flow of electricity. The pack gradually lessened its strain on her back and legs. Control, I need to control the flow!

Sighing, she observed what little of the structure she could. It was dark and looming. A part of the building was collapsed and frost covered trees sprouted out of random openings. This will do. I should be able to rest here with relative safety. She tentatively entered the structure, keeping her reception active. I’m surprised most the inner structure is still intact.

Large stone pillars were standing firm, holding the ruin’s massive weight. Walking to one, she examined its surface with her ability. It’s rough, but there’s something etched across the stone, some kind of design. It’s too decayed to identify, but it must have held some kind of meaning to this constructs purpose. With its location, it was likely a Reaper Sanctum, but for what?

Helena’s eyes snapped open with alarm as a light hum caught her attention. It’s impossible. How did they track me to this location? I wasn’t even sure about this structure until recently. There could be multiple search parties looking for me in every habitable place. Does Ventre have that many people at his disposal? Maybe he’s called in some kind of reserve? They could have also mapped out my best directional cause from the stop.

Quickly removing her boots, she moved along the walls swiftly, keeping her heel up to cause fewer disturbances in the dust. Exploring the interior, she found the building was surprisingly huge in contrast to what the map showed and extended underground. They shouldn’t be able to track my exact movements … unless they brought a sensory type esper, which of course they would.

Grinding her teeth, she berated herself. Who am I fooling? They could have followed my footprints from the foxhole. I’m not away from WITCH’s eye yet. I have to find a good place to hide and hope to listen in on their grid layout. If they brought a sensory type, I’ll be found eventually anyway, so it’s better to try and see who’s looking for me.

Scanning each room she came into, her scans found a broken down section of wall that had uncovered a small hole in the floor at the far left of the space. There was also a half broken, but still spacious stone bench in the middle of the room, surrounded by three stone pillars. It’s a good resting point, but I doubt they’ll need any if they took a Hoverfly.

It was small enough for her to squeeze through and shove the pack in. After getting into the hole, she set her pack further beyond in the room ahead if she needed to run. Bunkering down, she released her stimulation and sighed as the tingling left. She felt her body lag slightly, but she sighed with relief as the electric pressure left. She reduced her static field as much as possible.

If Kara’s with them it’ll do little good, but I at least have to try and elude her vision. If I can sense her manipulations again, I might be able to alternate her refractions to escape detection. Helena felt cold sweat start to cover her body as Kara’s brown eyes came into mind and her body started to quiver. Taking several deep breaths, she tried calming herself. I really am frightened of her. Drake said the day would come and the only thing I can do is fight through it. It’s natural to panic over an overwhelming force. I just need to learn to control that feeling.

She counted for five minutes before hearing voices. They were both male. “Why do we have to scout out the building first? Isn’t he just using us as bait.”

“It seems so, but Ventre told us to follow his every word or he might kill us. It also gives us first dibs.” Those voices … the twins? Why send them?

Mike huffed angrily. “We wouldn’t be in this mess if you would’ve listened to me in the Black Box.”

Helena sat as still as she could while listening. She could see the faint outlines of light from the floor above as their voices echoed around the area. They must have brought flashlights. If they call it a Black Box then it must be inside WITCH’s facility and not some cave they hijacked for their purposes. Their base could also be above or worked into a cavernous system. They were arguing something in the testing room. Hew was against whatever Mike had suggested.

Hew made a sound of exasperation. “Look, if we pushed Helena into action, the positions we’ve been working for would’ve been lost anyway. We had direct orders to keep everything discreet and to keep Helena alive, not test her.” They were ordered to keep me alive? They couldn’t have lied to Peter’s Telepathy, so they are a part of WITCH, which means Ventre didn’t want my death in the Black Box.

Mike spat angrily. “I never said to kill her! I just said to push the waters a bit. See what she can really do and why Ventre was making such a big deal out of her.”

Hew sounded heavily annoyed now. “It didn’t matter in any case. We saw what she could do when she snuck up behind both of us and took us out. Didn’t we?”

Mike scoffed, but their voices were moving further into the building, so it was harder to make out. “I would have noticed her if we’d followed my plan and were looking for her.”

Hew sounded like he was done with the conversation. “It doesn’t matter, it’s over Mike. We have a second chance, and we were even hinted to kill her this time, happy?” Their voices became unintelligible as they moved further into the building.

The twins are defiantly after me, but why send them? Ventre seemed to have a multitude of trained OP’s teams at his disposal, so why send a few low ranking espers that didn’t even have the capacity to enter WITCH’s ranks? They do have a grudge against me and it seems it’s on their mind. Maybe I got further under Ventre’s skin than I intended. Enough to warrant a possible execution than initiation or Ventre was just short on people and sent them to an unlikely isolated area.

There also seems to be more people with the twins. Will they take the same path? It’s a good place to stop with the bench... She waited another two minutes, before light filled the space above, much more light. Helena tucked down deeper into the hole.

A breathless female voice said. “Wait a second.” There was no response, but the light didn’t fade as she heard the girl unscrewing some kind of metal container. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been out of that oppressive facility.” The female said. “So, we’re searching for that little blonde girl I saw yesterday?”

Helena waited with bated breath. The silence stretched on for a minute. The other person doesn’t seem to want a conversation, someone with the mission more on their mind than anything else?

“You aren’t the sociable one, are you?” The girl asked with a light laugh. “Most of you aren’t … I find that once you actually get through the SSOP program you guys tend to lighten up.”

Helena felt a shiver run up her spin. This guy’s a part of the SSOP program? I guess I’ll have the opportunity to see what they can do.

The girl continued her one-sided chat. “I guess it has something to do with less pressure and more action. You also get some nice fri...”

She was cut off by a low gruff voice, it sounded like a man, not the tone of a boy. “You can track the girl, right?”

There was a slight hesitation before the girl’s disappointed voice answered. “Yes, I am a part of the Tracking Unit after all. Our training is much different from you action types. The more she uses her ability the more precise I can pinpoint her location.”

Helena felt cold as a shiver run down her spine and sweat gather at her brow. How can she track my Focus usage? I’ve never heard of an esper being aware of other’s Focus use … wait, is that what West could do? Even more, she can triangulate an esper’s position based on how much Focus they use. Is she even an esper or some kind of WITCH product to keep espers in check? There’s no way I can escape if they have people like her. They can find me anywhere and never using my ability is a ridiculous idea.

What Kara said earlier burst to the surface of her mind with a shudder that stimulated her spine. Kara said to give her the specifics when I’m captured, not if. Kara knew I could be tracked anywhere and just wanted to see how far I could make it. If that’s the case then the male in the next room is strong. Strong enough that Ventre thinks I won’t stand a chance. Those Trackers must be rare as well. He’d have to send adequate protection.

Helena’s mind worked frantically. How can I escape this situation? I first need to get rid of the Tracker, but how can I get close with that bodyguard. I have to assume he’s powerful. I need to find a way to separate them … without using my ability, is it even possible? I’m already completely blind without using active electroreception.

“Orders said to wait in the Hoverfly and give updates through radio transmission, we’re heading back and I’m dropping you off.”

“C’mon, I rarely ever get to go out. The only time I get to see the rest of the world is when they’re moving me to a new base or tracking an escapee.” The girl protested.

“Besides, isn’t she an Electro Master? Can’t she intercept the radio frequency and listen in without even using her ability—much? At least … I think I heard that somewhere? Maybe she can even take over the computer on the Hoverfly from the ground and kidnap me! Then what will you do?”

“No, Kara could do those things, but this girl isn’t even in the same universe as her in ability.”

A plan started to formulate in Helena’s mind. Drake taught me the basics, but the big problem is my vision. How much Focus can I use without her being able to track me?

The girl huffed with annoyance. “I just want to...”

Helena extended her static field two meters and then quickly retracted it. “Wait, I just sensed her using her ability.” The girl said with what seemed to be alarm.

“Where?” The male asked in a collected tone.

“I don’t know. It was very weak. I know she’s in the general area.”

The man started to sound slightly annoyed. “What encompasses a general area?” He must be familiar with more professional units.

“Maybe, thirty-three meters?” The girl questioned her own statement and Helena could almost see the shrug she must have given the man.

“Can you tell the general direction?”

“No, it was only for a second.” She stated defensively.

Helena pursed her lips. If I use my ability continually at that level, she’ll be able to locate me, even if I’m just extending my static field a few meters. She expanded her field one meter and then back again.

“Again!” The girl exclaimed. “This time … it was way too weak for me to judge a location.” So, I can extend my field one meter without much worry of detection, but maybe continual use will draw a more accurate direction.

She extended her field one meter and held it, waiting with bated breath. “She’s keeping her ability at the absolute minimum.” She sounded frustrated. “I can’t get a clear fix on her.”

The man snorted with an amused tone. “She’s close enough to listen to you babble.” Helena heard the rustle of clothing from above.

Her heart skipped a beat. I have to move. Keeping her senses at their meter maximum, she carefully walked to her pack. I now need to find the twins and cause a distraction so I can backtrack to the Tracker.

Softly picking up the backpack, she repressed a grunt at the weight and began moving along the wall further into the building. Ventre should have sent more sensory types to capture me. This seems like the only unit because he thinks the Tracker will completely pin me down, all I need to do is get on that Hoverfly with the Tracker.