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laugtherhyena · 2 years ago

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Tunnel 7

Wrote a fic about Karin following Abella into the bunker after seing her leave town in a hurry. She thinks this will be the perfect opportunity to catch Abella red handed and discover if her suspicions about the Oldegårian are right, however, what she actually learns is something she wasn't expecting, nor did she ever wanted to hear.

You can read it all under the cut :)

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Abella's footsteps echoed loudly through the long empty hallways of tunnel 7, it was perfect. Even from a distance Karin could make out where she was heading and stealthily follow her trail, carefully timing her steps with the ones from the mechanic to make sure the little noise she made would be drowned out by the sound of Abella's sturdy boots against the harsh floor.

The entrance to the bunker was the first place she saw the mechanic after they left the train, and there she was again, what is it with this place? What does she want from it?

…

There was something about Abella.

Something that kept making Karin's mind circle back to her like a moth to a flame.

Abella had been nothing but kind and helpful ever since they met at the train. She volunteered to take a look at the engine to see what could have gone wrong, she was sweet and nice to everyone she talked with.. Too nice, maybe? Too good to be true…

The journalist couldn't place a finger on why, but she could swear there was something more to that attractive Oldegårian than what meets the eye.. If this whole mess really was a sick army experiment they would need to have someone on the inside to look over everything, wouldn't they? Someone their little guinea pigs found reliable and trustworthy, someone they would never doubt..

Earlier when Karin was taking photos around town to document her findings she saw Abella rush into the woods, it was an odd sight coming from someone who was usually so calm. There were no twisted villagers or monstrous creatures chasing her, she was alone, what's the rush?

Carefully following her tracks it seemed like Abella picked a route different from the common ones, as if she didn't want to be seen, it didn't seem like she was returning to the train either. Eventually the path led Karin to the entrance of a tunnel and now she finds herself carefully navigating through them, making sure to keep an eye on where Abella is heading and take mental notes of the situation.

This is it, if she's getting anything out of this woman this is the time and place. If things went awry she could always rely on her trusty gun, she could feel it from the hand in her pocket, it would take her less than a second to grab, aim it and..

But she didn't want that. She didn't want to fight Abella.. For investigative reasons of course! She can't get any info out of her if she's dead on the floor.

Abella doesn't seem like the kind to start a fight unprovoked, but if she was right about her being a spy, perhaps it's all an act..?

Who could she be affiliated with? The Bremen army was an obvious candidate, Karin could swear she saw a man in a Bremen army uniform back in the train before it all went down, the Eastern union can't be left out of the table, the NLU as well.. Those people have been awfully quiet ever since they broke one of their agents out of prison-

*CLANG-CRASH!!*

The wrench whizzed through the air like a bullet and smashed into the ground with a loud crash, it was thrown with such force that it left a crack where it first hit the floor.

She didn't even see it be launched, all Karin could catch was the shadow of the wrench flying dangerously close to her face, in the next second the noise hit her ears and the tool lay on the floor. The sudden action made Karin grip the gun hard, finger in the trigger, but still on her pocket? Why!? She can't hesitate, not after almost having her head crushed by a flying wrench! She needs to pull it and point towards-

"..Abella?"

Through all of this pursuit Karin had not actually had a good look at Abella's face, obviously, she was following her from behind. But now they stood face to face.. It felt wrong.

Abella looked visibly distraught, her eyes were wide open and her gaze seemed lost, confused, scared. Was this the face of a spy who's about to have their cover blown..?

There was a considerable distance between them yet Karin could tell Abella was shaking slightly as she breathed heavily from her mouth. The mechanic let out a long grunt as she buried her face in her large hands.. It almost looked like she was in physical pain.

"By All-mer.. I'm sorry, Karin…"

"What is wrong with you, Abella?"

Karin's strong words echoed through the silent tunnel, Abella moved her hands down in response, her face still mostly covered but the journalist could see her eyes again.

"Uhhm.."

"..T-The wrench! Did it graze you? If it did i have some cloth pieces on me, you can-"

"Do not change the subject!" Karin exclaimed as she pointed a finger towards Abella and started making her way towards her as she continued her speech.

"I ask the questions and you answer. Don't think you can fool me, I saw you leave Prehevil in a hurry and take the most obscure path to this place, and now you've been wandering aimlessly through these hallways. Something is wrong, I know it."

"So tell me what's going on." She was right in front of Abella as she finished her sentence. The Oldegårian looked at her in shock as she stumbled upon her words.

"You saw me!? Did you-.. Did you see…"

Abella looked disturbed, her gaze jumped all over the bunker before shutting her eyes. She took a series of deep breaths before straightening herself, she opened her eyes, who stared directly at Karin's.

"After I looked around town I went to check the Mayor's manor. Huge place, there's even a food storage, I told Henryk about that."

"There was a bed in one of the rooms. I was tired I.. I wasn't going to sleep for long, it was just gonna be a quick nap and then I'd go back to searching."

"..But I fell asleep.. I slept like a log…"

Abella took a pause and rubbed her face before continuing. Her gaze now fixated on her own hands.

"When I woke up, he was there. The guy in the white suit, He... H-He had his pants down and-and he-.. He was going to-!.. To-.. T-To.."

Abella's eyes watered as she struggles to utter those damned words, as if her body physically refused, far too repulsed to say it.

"I-I know… I know he wo-would!.."

She angrily tapped her feet as she finished speaking. Tears rolled down her face as Abella couldn't hold it in anymore and started crying, Karin never thought she'd see her like this.. So distressed, terrified and uncomfortable. That woman was in so much pain, yet, her sobbing was quiet. Hardly louder than a whimper.

This is not what Karin wanted to hear.

Not in a million years would she have guessed the root of Abella's turmoil was an attempted rape.

She was ready for her to admit being a part of a dangerous army, a terrorist organization, a secret society or some obscure conspiracy group even the great Karin Sauer had never heard of.

But now, there she was. Kneeling on the floor, silently weeping with her hands covering her face. Right in front of Karin.

What are you even meant to do in this situation? What are you meant to say to someone who just escaped from such a sickening form of abuse? She was used to covering wars, not comforting people!

She was furious.. Furious at that disgusting mobster, but also herself.. She shouldn't have worded things that way, she was so rude and ignorant! Sure, she didn't know the reason behind Abella's unusual behavior when she said it but still..

She felt like shit, what kind of renowned journalist mistakes a woman’s trauma for her sneaking around!

But that doesn't matter now, this isn't about her. She needs to help Abella!.. Somehow.

Karin was never good at showing physical affection, let alone comforting people. Her work field and career made her even worse at that. But she can't just leave Abella crying, she has to do something, anything will be better than just watching.

Karin crouched next to her and hesitantly reached for her shoulder with a hand, Abella flinched slightly upon the touch and looked back at the journalist.

"I-I! Nothing-.."

"Nothing actually happened! I got him away from me before!- Before he could take off my clothes.."

"B-But i.. I-I…"

Abella's breathing became more irregular as she tried to finish the sentence, her eyes avoided contact as she looked at the bunker floor stained by her fallen tear drops. That's it, no more just standing there! Karin closed her eyes and embraced Abella. She had no idea if this was a good move, maybe it would just make things worse..

Luckily for her, after a few seconds of being startled by Karin's sudden action Abella slowly hugged her back, resting her head on the journalist's shoulders, she took a moment to steady her breathing before speaking again.

"I keep thinking, you know.. If I hadn't woken up when I did. If i wasn't strong enough to kick him away.. What would have happened to me… Where would I even be now…"

A few more tears rolled down her eyes as she tightened her embrace, She was tense, Karin could tell. Her muscles were far from relaxed, if anything they looked kinda swollen..? Her skin had an odd look as well, but Karin's just going to assume that's the poorly lit tunnel's doing.

"Abella, I'm so sorry you had to go through this. It's not something anyone should ever have to experience, let alone someone like you."

"You smile and lend a hand to everyone you come across, regardless of how long you know them for.. Only a true monster would even think of hurting you this way."

"It's over now. He's not here, you're safe. And I am here with you, I won't leave until I know you're well again."

Afterwards, the journalist tightened her embrace. She could feel Abella's body shake slightly as she let a couple more tears roll down her cheeks.

The two women stayed like that for the next couple minutes, not a single word was uttered between them during this time, they simply held each other. A tight yet gentle embrace.

Karin thought about the last words she told Abella, were they good enough? Or should she have worded anything differently? Maybe she should have said more. She thought about other things to say but none of them felt right, staying quiet didn't feel right for her either.. She felt like what she did wasn't enough, that she should comfort her in a better way, even if she had no idea what that way was.

But perhaps it was enough. Overtime Abella's breathing returned to normal and her crying had stopped, her muscles seemed to become less tense as well. Karin felt so relieved, perhaps now was the right time to open her mouth again.

She was unsure if now was the right place to ask this, but she needed to know, not only for Abella's safety but for everyone else from the train..!

"Abella, do you know where he could be? Did you see where he ran off to?"

If this man was still in town they couldn't just leave him free to wander around, they had to capture him, tie him up with a rope or chain and leave him to rot somewhere far away from everyone until they could contact the authorities. That was the right thing to do, but not what Karin wanted to do.

She wanted to put a bullet through his skull. She wanted to keep shooting his disgusting face over and over until it was nothing but a mangled mess of bloody bullet holes. She wanted to-

"In the sewer."

"Huh?" The mechanic's words took Karin by surprise, as they pulled away from their long hug Karin took a good look at her face. She no longer looked distraught just.. Utterly exhausted, which is expected after all this. Her eyebags looked more prominent and her eyes were devoid of any shine.

"The sewer. I threw his body in the sewer."

"Oh.. I see."

"Look. Karin, i didn't-"

"No, no." Karin held Abella's hands as she looked into her eyes. "You don't have to explain yourself. You were in danger, and defended yourself accordingly. Don't ever think of you as some heartless murderer."

"..Alright." Abella replied with a tired smile on her face as she intertwined her fingers with Karin's, it made her blush a little, as much as she didn't want to admit it. It was strange, Abella's hands were big, bulky and calloused, yet her grip was nothing but gentle.

"So, you didn't see me hide the body..? I thought that's why you were after me."

"No I didn't, you were already on your own when I spotted you."

Karin paused, there was something else she needed to say to Abella.

"I'm sorry, about me, I shouldn't have been so harsh with you earlier."

"It's fine. You didn't know.."

After that, the room fell quiet, it was awkward. Karin quickly took upon herself to break the silence.

"Well, I think we should be going. You're in no condition to be running around a bunker."

Abella simply nodded in response. The two women got up from the dusty floor hand in hand, and remained that way as they left tunnel 7.

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Hours later Karin found herself in the secret hideout underneath Prehevil bop. She brought Abella to the pub so that she could have some water and eat something before resting, she had no idea when was the last time she had eaten or drank anything. There were others at the bar, some had worried looks and asked what had happened, to which Karin simply said she found Abella unwell and couldn't just leave her be.

It wasn't in her place to disclose what had happened, that's something Abella should decide if and when she wants to share it once she's better.

At last, Karin had time to organize her thoughts and theories about the situation they were all currently in, the Termina festival. The day hadn't been nearly as productive as she initially intended, but she wasn't mad, helping Abella was.. Important as well, it made her happy to know she was ok now.

The hideout was an interesting place, it clearly belonged to some kind of organization, the NLU most likely. It had an area in one of it's corners that reminded Karin a bit of her own workspace back at the Midnight gazette, it had a decently sized table with a nice comfortable armchair, there was even a board on the back which she could use to lay out her photos and organize things in a presentable way.

But she wasn't there. Instead, Karin sat on the cold wooden floor quietly documenting her findings in a notebook supported by her legs folded in fetal position. She was sitting right next to the hideout's bunk beds, specifically the one which Abella was sleeping in.

She could see the armchair and table from the corner of her eye, yet she didn't want to go there even if it was the more comfortable option. She wanted to stay close to Abella, make sure she's safe in her peaceful slumber, she said she'd stay by her side after all!

…

Karin looked at the sleeping Oldegårian, she had a sweet little smile on her face, the sight made the journalist's heart flutter. For the first time today Abella looked genuinely calm and relaxed, perhaps a little too relaxed, one of her arms was hanging over the edge of the bed, touching the floor… It would be cruel to leave her like this.

She gently moved Abella's arm back on the bed. She didn't want to disturb her, not now when she was finally getting some good sleep. Abella moved slightly after the touch but remained asleep.

Karin found herself staring at Abella's long red hair.. It was beautiful, luscious and tied with a cute little ribbon near the end. So soft too, it was-.. Wait!

"...Huhm..?" The motion of the woman stroking Abella's hair awakened the Oldegårian. Her sleepy eyes looked at Karin, who still had a hand on the top of her head! She swiftly removed it but the movement was so awkward it looked almost robotic, her arm now loomed over Abella's head as she avoided looking at her eyes completely, the one look she gave her upon opening them was already enough to make the journalist's face red.

"U-Umm.. Do you mind..?"

"Ehehe, it's alright. It feels good." Abella replied, before closing her eyes again. Her words made Karin's heart skip a beat and caused a shy smile to appear on her face as she placed her hand back on Abella's hair.

And there she stayed, tenderly caressing Abella's hair as she fell asleep once more.

How nice.

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#cw attempted rape #tw attempted rape #THIS DOES NOT HAPPEN IN THE FIC ITSELF it's just described by Abella #basically the Caligura scene has just happened like maybe 20 or 30 minutes before the story starts #this whole thing is just hurt/comfort #fear and hunger #fear and hunger termina #fear and hunger 2: termina #fear and hunger Abella #fear and hunger Karin #bro how you tag fics??#writting #fanfic #fic

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