Merva woke up exhausted, her body sweating profusely.
She was sure she had dreamed about something important, but she could not recollect what it was about.
Was it a future possibility? She did not know.
She pushed it out her mind and looked to the side where saw Lena sleeping soundly on the couch by the window.
'She must have spent the whole night here.' Merva thought, smiling fondly.
She wondered if Zeus had come when she was asleep to see her, but decided not to wonder about him.
Merva raised her eyes and saw two officers waiting outside through the window above.
She knew they were seating outside waiting patiently for her to wake up so they could speak to her about the incident.
She pressed the button to adjust her bed, and then rung for a nurse because she did not want to disturb Lena, and then she told the nurse to let the officers in.
They knocked briefly, and opened it slightly to see if she was truly awake yet.
Merva noticed the way they both fidgeted, they were nervous. She smiled knowing that they were definitely new to the job.
"Come in." Merva beckoned them, looking at Lena who was stirring awake.
"What do they want?" Lena asked groggily, scrubbing her eyes like a child.
"They are officers." Merva replied her. "I think they are here because of the incident."
Lena got up and excused herself so that they could have privacy if it was needed.
"You may commence." Merva told them, pointing at stools in case they needed.
"No. Its fine." The bearded guy replied.
"So if it's comfortable with you, we would like you to tell us what you remember about how it began." The lady told her, her recorder at standby.
"To be honest, I remember nothing about it." Merva told them, watching their hope deflate like a balloon.
"But I was wondering if you could tell me any details you know about it, that way it might help me remember." She concluded.
They debated quietly amongst themselves for a while, and then agreed to her proposal.
Merva told them to wait out so that she could get cleaned up first before they will begin.
Getting off the bed was excruciatingly impossible, and she did not enjoy the idea of strangers touching her.
Lena came back in after the officers left. "Are you not done with them?" She asked looking through the window.
"No. I told them I had to get cleaned up first." Merva told her. "The caregiver is getting everything ready."
"I forgot to tell you that we brought Gina along. She was sure that you would not want to eat what they are offering here and went to buy food for you." Lena told Merva as she fell against the couch.
"Gosh, I am exhausted." Lena groaned as she adjusted her body.
"Then why didn't you go home?" Merva asked her, trying not to smile as Lena glared at her playfully.
Gina arrived shortly after and dropped the food on the table, smiling as she wiped a tear from her eyes.
She was happy that Merva was alright.
"Now everyone has forgotten I exist." Lena said, placing her hand over her heart in mock hurt.
"Tch. Drama queen." Merva scolded. "I am the younger one here."
Lena smiled at them and turned away, falling asleep almost immediately.
Merva and Gina shared a smile as they looked at Lena's already sleeping form.
"Lazy bum." Merva muttered, Gina's laughter ringing out. The caregiver came out of the bathroom with a bowl of hot water and white towels ready to help Merva out.
"Oh." Gina gasped realizing that Merva needed help cleaning up, she laughed softly, swiping away her tears that kept falling. "Sorry, I didn't think of that."
"It's fine. I didn't want to trouble you either, but I can't do it myself." Merva apologized to her.
Since she had learned to handle most things herself, she only ever let Gina prepare her bath and clothes when she was home, but she preferred handling the rest by herself.
Gina closed all the windows and shut the curtains before she took everything from the caregivers hand telling her that she will handle it herself.
They gossiped about school stuff and boys as she cleaned her up.
"What about Lord Zeus?" Gina asked in delight, but Merva shook her head disappointedly. "I don't know. He is probably in his home right now." Merva answered her, changing the topic.
She did not want to talk about him, but she knew that Gina had missed spending time talking with her, and she also did.
Gina took her time, changing Merva into fresh clothes after she was done.
"Do you want to rest a bit before you speak to them?" Gina asked her.
Merva nodded. "Yes." Being cleaned up had also taken strength from her that she did not know she had.
Merva forced herself to eat a little bit of what Gina fed her, but dozed off mid way, only waking up two hours later.
Merva had the officers invited back in, a while after she had woken up.
"Sorry for keeping you waiting." She apologized covering a yawn as they walked in.
"It is no problem. We are the ones who should be apologizing for disturbing your recovery." The lady apologized back.
Gina arranged the barely touched food and trashed it. She had dozed off along with Merva and had left it all open.
"Is it okay if they stay?" Merva asked the officers as she looked at Lena's sleeping form, and Gina who stood by her side looking innocent.
"That should be fine." The guy stated, "Right?" He asked, looking at the lady besides him.
"Yes, that is fine." She said.
Merva listened to all they had to say, but nothing about what they recounted brought back anything to mind.
"You say they were traces of powers of the dark?" She asked them again, trying to make sure she had heard them correctly.
"Yes." The guy answered, visibly upset that it was a dead end.
"But how did they say it started again?"
Merva asked them, hoping to get an answer.
"No body knows." The lady answered her, looking downcast.
Merva knew that if they really saw her as a suspect, they would not have sent these two to her and that made her relieved. But she felt uneasy knowing that no one remembered anything, and that Madeline was dead.
The fact that all this happened more than two weeks ago was something she could not wrap her head around.
"We should get going now." The lady told Merva, nudging the guy on his shoulder for them to leave.
"We wish you a swift recovery." They both said before leaving.
She stared at Gina not knowing if the guilt she felt was right or displaced.
Was she supposed to laugh or cry?
"It will be fine." Gina assured her. "They have already conducted the burials, but are working hard to find the perpetrators." Gina paused as she sat besides Merva.
"The council promised not to close the case until they give everyone a reasonable explanation."
Merva faked a smile at Gina, her mind reeling from all she had just said. It sounded like a threat to her, and she hated that.
She closed her eyes trying her best to remember everything, but nothing came to her.
"Merva." She heard Minerva call and opened her eyes.
Gina had just gone out.
"How are you?" Minerva asked smiling at her. "I came earlier but you were fast asleep, so I decided to check up on Erin for a while and then return."
Minerva was ecstatic about Merva's recovery that she did not notice how silent Merva was, or the strange way she was looking at her.
"What is wrong? Are you in pain?" Minerva asked as she reached out for her, but Merva turned her face away.
'Did you get satisfaction from killing them?' Merva asked her telepathically.
"It was necessary at that moment." Minerva answered, wondering why Merva was asking such questions.
'And so you killed them heartlessly. Did the blood not bother you?"
Minerva's brows furrowed in confusion. "What are you talking about Merv?" She asked drawing a Stoll to sit, hoping to get clarification from Merva but she did not.
'Why do you always do what I don't ask you to? Why do you always like killing and hurting others?' Minerva moved back like she had been stabbed, watching as tears fell of Merva's face.
'You keep acting like you own me and so you have to protect me in ways I never expect of you. I did not ask you to be a monster, and you do not own me, so why won't you stop?' She wailed in her head for Minerva to hear.
"Merva why would you say something like that? You won't even explain what you are talking about." Minerva asked gently, but all she got back was silence. "Do you really believe that I am a monster?"
'I don't want to see you right now.' Merva told her dismissively. 'Just go away.'
Minerva nodded and wanted to disappear, but then thought better of it.
"You always dismiss me like this when you feel like it, like it is not my body you are in right now." She started calmly. "So yes I more or less own you.
You must really think me a fool for going everywhere with you despite having my own freedom now right? But just so you know it was mother who made me promise her that I will protect you from the very beginning."
She watched as Merva turned to face her, propping her bed up and she smiled.
She was going to say everything she wanted to today.