The Hunt Pt. 1

"I'm sorry Illia… It was my fault, please don't be mad. I didn't mean to look at you like that."

Cress rubbed her fish-lip eyes and blew her nose in a dirty tissue laying next to her. She felt like she'd been trapped in a dryer, tossed and dried out. Everything hurt and she pulled her blanket over her mouth before staring into the void of the ceiling trying to remember what happened after Illia had freed her from… She avoided thinking about that part.

"I treated her like a monster and wouldn't even say anything. Then I slammed my door in her face. I remember crying after that, but where did my blanket…"

The answer was so obvious Cress slapped herself. Even after she'd rejected Illia so cruelly, her lover had cared enough to make sure she was alright. Of course she did. Illia loved her so much it made Cress's heart want to sing hymns from the rooftops before throwing itself over the edge. She didn't deserve Illia.

"Illia?" Cress called, poking her head out of her room after washing her face in her adjoined bathroom.

Silence.

"Maybe she stepped out to clear her thoughts. Or is she in her… Still, I need to find her so I can apologize. I overreacted and it was my fault for going into her room without asking."

"Illia, if you're here, can you come out so we can talk?" A tired chirp from William answered her, but she ignored it. That little menace was the source of all the drama. But other than William, she was met with silence, so she walked down the hallway only to freeze in front of Illia's door.

The door was wide open and stark bare. All the webs had been cleaned away and the only things that remained inside were the battered desk in the middle of the room and the chair against the wall. It was exactly as it had been when Cress first cleaned it out for Illia; it was hard to believe anyone had been living there for several months.

"She's gone," Cress whispered to herself, sinking to her knees beside the desk. She let her head fall forward and hit against the warped MDF board. "She's gone and it's my fault."

Her already swollen eyes moistened with tears again and her chest shuddered when she tried to breathe in. Just like that. Illia was gone like she'd never existed. Maybe she never had? Part of her wanted to believe that, to pretend their time together had been a dream or a hallucination. Then she wouldn't have to feel the crushing guilt bearing down on her.

"Maybe she left a note?"

A spark of hope flashed in Cress's heart and she leaned on the desk to pull herself to her feet. She opened all the drawers, even lifting it to check underneath in case a piece of paper had been blown underneath. When her search came up empty, she moved on to the rest of the house, tearing apart the kitchen and living room. By the time she was done even her bedroom was in ruins and she leaned against the wall, tired and empty handed.

"The only place left is the second bathroom, though that seems unlikely. Still, it's worth a shot."

With a heavy heart she trudged her way back down the hall. To her surprise, the sink was empty and the blouse Illia had given her for Christmas was hanging on the shower curtain rod. It was pristine, looking better than new, and Cress could tell by the soft gleam of the previously stained spots that Illia had replaced the threads rather than cleaned them.

"You dumb idiot!" She said, yanking the blouse from its hangar and burying her face in it. "Don't be so considerate if you're just going to abandon me!"

Falling back against the bathroom wall, she let herself slide to the floor as she sobbed into the shirt. She didn't know how long she sat there, but by the time she had calmed down, the sun was already dimming.

"Are you doing alright, Vi?" Cress asked. She'd called Vianna partly to check on her and partly to probe whether or not she'd heard from Illia. "I'm sorry I didn't call last night."

"I'm doing fine, all things considered. It was fairly traumatizing to watch a man's head implode. I can still see it when I close my eyes, but it's not as bad when I just pretend I was watching a movie."

"What did Ian say?"

"I haven't told him the details. I wanted to discuss it with you first. I don't blame Illia for what happened and I'm honestly a little relieved. It was gory, but those bastards deserved what happened to them."

"They did. And you can tell Ian everything if you want, though maybe spare the serial killer bits. He already dislikes Illia… but that was also part of why I called."

"What? Did something happen with Illia?"

"…Yeah. There was an incident this morning and she disappeared."

"Disappeared? I wouldn't worry too much. It's clear she thinks the world of you, she probably—"

"She ghosted me."

"Oh." A silence lingered that lasted long enough that Cress wondered if the call had dropped until Vianna finally spoke again. "Do you know where she went?"

"Not a clue. I tore the place apart hoping she left a note, but I think… I think she's really gone, Vi." Cress's voice cracked as she spoke and she bit her lip to stay composed. "I won't get into the details, but it was really bad. I said some horrible things and even slammed my door in her face."

"Don't be too hard on yourself. Honestly I'm surprised you two made it as far as you did given your phobia. I guess she's why it's gotten better though."

"She was," Cress choked. "And now she's gone, and I don't think she's coming back Vi! I fucked it all up and she's gone because she hates me!"

"Stop that," Vianna said crossly. "You're going too far. You know damn well she's crazy about you. She literally killed for you. I bet she only left because she thought you wouldn't want to see her anymore. So you need to find her and clear this mess up."

"I don't even know where to start looking. She could be anywhere and I keep wondering, what if she's hurt or something?"

"I can't imagine there's anything on Earth that could hurt someone like her."

Cress sighed, leaning onto the kitchen counter. She could still see Illia standing on the balcony, her seemingly expressionless face scanning the city. "That was probably true a month ago, but lately she's been looking under the weather."

"I shouldn't tell Vi about her skin or her coughing up blood on Christmas Eve."

"Have you talked to Kir? Maybe she can help."

"Not yet, I wanted to check on you first. What happened after I left?"

Vianna summarized what happened between the time Cress and Illia left and Ian came to pick her up. Kirian had taken charge and the bodies had been cleaned up within minutes. Then they'd made an announcement to those still lingering outside that some of the drugs being passed around had been laced with hallucinogens. People were skeptical, but Kirian's domineering presence had settled the matter and her people ensured the story wouldn't spread.

"It's still hard to believe Kirian's dad is a criminal overlord."

"Yeah," Vianna laughed. "It was hard for me to believe at first, too. It only sank in when someone tried to kidnap her at dinner one night."

"Kidnapped? That's wild! I guess she's more reliable than I thought. I love her, but I honestly thought she was just a ditsy, flirty, rich girl."

"She is. That's what makes her so lovable. So talk to her. She adores both you and Illia. There's no way she won't have her dad's entire organization searching."

Sure enough, Vianna was right. After calling Kirian and having a similar conversation, Kirian immediately told her father and the hunt began. Yet even after two weeks had passed, not a trace of Illia could be found.