Apocalyptic Rebirth: With a repairman system space, she rises again.-Chapter 705: Clearing the air.

Her mother looked up. Her eyes, usually so warm, were like chips of ice. She stood up, her back straightening with a dignity that the apocalypse usually stripped away from people. She seemed to have aged ten years more than when Paula had last seen her.

"Let me try, Mom," Paula said, reaching for the door. "Give me the bowl, I will make him eat it."

Her mother swatted her hand away with surprising force. "Don’t touch me," she hissed. "And don’t talk to your brother. You’ve made your choice, Paula. You’ve crawled into bed with that monster of a father you have. You’re a traitor to me and everything good I ever tried to teach you. I always knew that one of you will end up like him but you. I am surprised because I raised you to be better than this...how can you bite the hand of people that welcomed you into their home and treated you well? How can you accept your father’s greedy ways which have no end? You....You disgust me."

The words cut deeper than any of Heath’s lashes ever could. Paula felt the sting in her eyes, she wanted to run and tell her mother everything, why she had done what she had done, but she couldn’t break character. Not yet. She watched her mother walk away, the silence between them heavier than the earth above the basement.

Paula took a deep breath, inserted the key, and pushed open the door.

The room was dim and smelled of damp stone and despair. Arwin was sitting in the far corner, his wrists and ankles bound by heavy chains that rattled as he looked up. His face was pale, his eyes sunken, but when he saw Paula, they ignited with a fierce, burning hatred.

"Get out," he croaked, his voice raw from disuse. "You are the last person that I want to see."

"Arwin, listen to what I_"

"I said get out! Go back to your father! Go help him plan his little coups and his murders," Arwin spat, struggling against the chains. The metal bit into his skin, but he didn’t seem to care. "I’m not joining you. I’d rather rot here than betray the Quinn’s or help that man take another step toward such immerse power. You’re a monster too, Paula. A treacherous, lying monster."

Paula kicked the door shut and locked it from the inside. She dropped the tough girl act instantly, her shoulders sagging as she rushed over to him.

"Shut up you jerk. On the contrary, Arwin," she whispered, her voice trembling with relief. "You’re going to join me in taking our father down. For good this time." 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Arwin froze. The anger in his eyes didn’t vanish, but it was joined by a massive confusion. "What?" The chains rattled. "What?" he repeated out loud. "But the aircraft... the grain... the blueprints... I heard your conversation through the vents. He is bragging about it right now to one of those loose women he is calling concubines. I can hear him calling you his sharp-witted daughter."

Paula could hear the muffled sounds too, but nothing too clear. She wondered how Arwin’s hearing had become so good that he could isolate and break down real words from that!

"It’s a setup," Paula said, pulling a small lock pick set from her boot. She began working on his wrist shackles with practiced speed. "Why are you still in these? You could have melted them if you wanted to."

Arwin lowered his eyes, "And then what? Was I supposed to go out there in the darkness with mother? That is like a death sentence for her. She is weak, father has been beating her more often lately. He doesn’t hide it and she doesn’t have the make-up to hide the bruises."

Paula winced. Her heart twisted with all the dark fantasies of what she would do to Heath Burton when she had him in prison.

Meanwhile, she explained herself, "Anyway, the blueprints are fake, I had to give him something, there was no way I was coming back here empty handed. The recruits I told him about do not exist_ everything was a lie."

Arwin’s face brightened so fast it was almost comical. "Wait, so you didn’t actually sell your soul to the devil?"

"Arwin, I have a soul," she muttered, finally hearing the click of the first lock. "And I have a plan. But I need you to stop wallowing in self-pity and get with the flow."

"So, what is the plan?" Arwin said, rubbing his chafed wrists as the chains fell away. "You know that he’s got guards everywhere."

"I drugged his wine when he was not looking so he has probably passed out right now. All we have to do is put him in chains and carry him to the aircraft." Paula said, her eyes gleaming. "I also came with back up, do not worry. Just follow me, grab mom and anyone you think should come with us and then we are out of here in thirty minutes."

Arwin stood up, his legs shaky but his spirit restored. "I cannot wait to see his face when he finally finds out that his favorite daughter betrayed him, that he is not going to get his hungry paws on fortress four."

Paula smiled, a real one this time. "Eat something first. You can’t overthrow a dictator on an empty stomach." She fished out bread from her bag. She also handed him a weapon.

"Watch your back," Paula said, heading back to the door. "We are only taking important people. If there are others you want to save, return for them another time."

The Drift lands were mostly quiet, especially in the darkness. The only sounds loud enough to draw attention was the creepy howling of mutated animals in the distance. Almost everyone in this building was fast asleep, having been gassed by the invincible team from fortress four.

Paula whispered softly, "I am about to grab Heath Burton. I need an empty container to stuff him inside so that the mercenaries outside will assume he is just another supply."

Commander Grayson’s voice replied, "Hadrian is on his way to you. Hurry, we have twenty-seven minutes left. The supplies being moved are almost over. We are going to shoot the mercenaries and pyrokinetics outside with tranquilizers. Chop-chop Paula. Chop-chop."