Tempered by Britt Ringel

Author:Britt Ringel
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: thriller, supernatural, science fiction, amnesia, dystopia, dystopian, female protagonist
Publisher: Britt Ringel

Chapter 17

Tabitha Carter’s apartment mirrored Sadler’s layout. The pair stood in the foyer, dripping water onto the white tiles by the door.

“Do you trust me enough to let me get some towels?” Tabitha asked as she ran her fingers through her drenched hair. The long locks had darkened into a honeyed-blonde. She pulled her hands free and shook them toward the floor.

Kat considered the request as she inspected the apartment. While clean, it was surprisingly cluttered. A crumpled blouse lay over the arm of a sofa. Three pairs of shoes were piled haphazardly near the door. A lightweight jacket hung over the single stool in front of the counter separating the living room from the kitchen. There were dirty dishes in the sink. Her eyes caught on a picture frame resting on an end table. Tabitha’s smiling face and a younger doppleganger were pressed cheek to cheek in the image.

More thunder cracked outside as rain pelted the windows. Tabitha wrung her hands. “What do Trodden do when it storms?”

Kat looked away from the photograph of Tabitha and her sister. “We get out of it.”

Tabitha stalked into the living room and made way for the hallway past the kitchen. Kat followed her part of the way, making sure she wasn’t heading for the apartment’s master controls on the low counter between the kitchen and living room. The embedded comm unit beckoned to her. I need to talk to Sadler. This posed a problem. His handheld wouldn’t receive a signal deep in the mine. It was the reason foremen carried the special walkie-talkies that relied on repeaters placed in the tunnels to communicate with each other and to the Vox devices in the offices. The Vox at her desk was far out of reach.

Tabitha reentered the kitchen with a towel wrapped around her head. A second one landed on the counter near Kat. “There.”

Kat draped the towel over her head and scrubbed. Her wet hair came away smooth and clean. The ends curled under the dampness and strands clung to her jawline. Kat felt Tabitha’s intense gaze burning into her. “What?”

The woman looked away angrily. “Nothing.” She patted her own hair dry and removed the towel.

Kat attempted to gather her hair behind her head. “Do you have a ponytail holder I can borrow?”

Tabitha huffed loudly as she stomped to the bathroom down the short hall. “It’s not going to stay in on the right side,” she declared, her voice echoing from the hall. She returned with a black band. “Why’d you do that to your hair anyway? It would look… nice otherwise. Is that what they call fashion in Shantytown?”

Kat tried to capture her dark strands but Tabitha’s prediction proved correct. The right side was still too short to gather. Without the added restraint of her old miner’s hardhat, the ponytail became unbalanced and fell to her left shoulder. She pulled the band out and dropped it onto the counter by the comm unit. I really need to talk to Sad— “Hey! Did you just compliment me?”

Tabitha slumped onto the stool.

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