Mary Sutherland stood gripping the rail of the balcony looking down at the empty factory floor. Seventy nine years, long years had passed since she had revived herself from the mirror but she hadn’t aged a day. She still looked like a young woman, like the twenty three year old woman she had replaced and cast off into the shackles of that Godless existence. ‘Mary’, that wasn’t even her name. She had a real name, O’Sphena, but it hadn’t been used by her or anyone else for all these years.
Instead she’d used a stolen name to live this life. To her own people she was lost whilst here in the present she never existed, she was known as Mary a ghost of a life never to be lived. She had to put all this to one side, forget about the girl whose life she stole. This was much bigger than just a girl’s life. So what did her life matter? She hadn’t lived. She had no intention of living; she’d seen that in her mind when she had replaced her. She had no idea how precious life was, she didn’t appreciate it.
The real Mary Sutherland was content playing the doting wife even though she had almost lost everything through other people’s decisions. She wasn’t prepared to take her own future in hand and say “I decide, no more”. She would still allow her life to be dictated by a man. She had no life, no true path or equality. In fact O’Sphena had done her a favour by saving her from this dictatorship of others.
This was all too much, she had to focus and prepare herself for the coming events but before she could Mr Willis joined her. “Who is this man? “She spoke without turning to face him. It was the question that had been beating in her brain for the last three days. The more she thought about it the more brooding she was doing. The more anxious and concerned she was becoming of something ruining her plans. “How can he know of us? Of who we are?” she was calm on the surface trying to maintain the authority she had.
“I don’t know,” admitted Mr Willis. “But the man poses a very serious threat. If it wasn’t for the woman’s intervention -“
“This woman, this Hazel is she his ally?” Mary interrupted.
“I’m unsure,” conceded Mr Willis irritated with himself for appearing so incapable in front of a leader he didn’t fully believe in. “She trusted him to help her escape but she knew nothing of his actions against me,” he added feeling his anger rising when he thought of being overcome by a man who could have passed for his granddad. It hurt his pride and in his previous life he had murdered trained killers now he was nursing a damaged ego beaten by a bold has been leaving him to answer to a leader he perceived as weak.
He was only loyal to her because of the plan but that loyalty was wearing very thin. One thing he was certain of, this man wouldn’t be so lucky again. “But it’s possible they are connected,” pondered Mary. “She is our best chance of finding this nameless man. We have waited too long for this and I will not be denied by a phantom,” she defied turning to face him. “ Find the girl and we will find the man,” she instructed.
“And then?” Mr Willis asked with an eager malice.
“Then?” Mary turned away. “We kill them. Kill them both”.
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