Chapter 5 - A Dangerous Haven?
Clinical.
Cold.
"You can call me Theon." The man said as he shut the door of the laboratory behind them. "What is your name?"
"Julie. Julie Summers." The practiced lie rolled off her tongue and the man frowned slightly before he nodded.
His presence was a sharp contrast against the ambiance of the laboratory. Tattoos, a suit, and the rugged look of a killer.
"And the child?"
"Arik." It was an instinctive answer.
Theon hummed, adjusted his suit and pointed at the lone stool by the table that was completely cut off from the tables full with chemicals and other scientific apparatus on them.
At the other side, he stood.
The hospital gown felt like a piece of paper around and Idalia pulled the jacket closer, desperate for warmth.
She wondered why Theon hadn't taken it from her yet.
"And his father?"
Her hands tightened around Arik. "Dead. He was a nobody from Cedar."' Her voice fell into a pleading whisper, as she looked up at the man with teary eyes. "We are nobodys from Ceder. Please let us go."
"I'm sorry, I don't have the power to do that." His eyes softened with sympathy for only a moment. "The Grand General, however, has an offer for you."
The Grand General?
That must be another title for the Silver Hunter's name.
"You can either agree and walk out of here alive, with your son in your arms."
Idalia's heart was beginning to speed up. The crisp air, drying up her lungs.
Theon stepped closer, and placed his briefcase on the table.
"Or you can decline and lose everything, including your son."
Idalia let out a shaky breath. The silence in the lab— deafening.
Her hands trembled around Arik and she nodded in defeat. "What must I do?"
—-
—-
Idalia had been driven to a humongous and greatly lit mansion next. There she had been dropped off in front of the stairs leading to the tall doors. Some women ran towards her and began to usher her into the building along with the other people who had been rescued from the auction.
She looked around wearily in expectation of what was to come. She watched every face with suspicion, her body rigid with tension, her arms firm around Arik. Although the shawl was already strapping him closely to her; after the experience of losing him, nothing felt close enough.
The rescued people were divided into sections. They were given food, clothes, footwear and led into different rooms; each room consisted of the same gender. Idalia did not touch any of the things she had been offered. Instead, she made use of the things she had packed in her emergency bag to meet hers and Arik's needs. Theon had given it to her when he had collected the jacket and tossed it into a furnace.
"You are not special," he had said.
Which was strange. She never thought she was special. If anything, she thought she was very unfortunate.
Idalia ended up in a room with three others. No one spoke to the other that night; they all stayed in silence, probably from the shock of what they had all experienced.
Finally, she laid on the bed, with Arik by her side, her back turned to the room, and her eyes fixed on the door.
Expectant.
She could feel the way the blood in her veins rushed with fear at every passing moment, her heart drumming at the beat of every second.
They were not humans.
They were not werewolves either.
What were they and why were they keeping them here?
These questions made her feel on edge and even more protective of Arik.
Prepared to spring out of bed and run at the slightest movement, she kept on watching the door. Waiting for the wooden obstacle to be pushed open and for a monster to emerge from behind it. Waiting for the guardians to show their true faces and attack them. For the Silver Hunter to appear and kill her and her son like he had killed that rogue on the train. Waiting for Alpha Kalio's searchers to, by some unfortunate event, appear in Echelon and claim them.
Waiting for something to happen.
But the door stayed shut and the night rolled into dawn.
The day came and they were given food, water and a change of clothes. They permitted them to keep the ones they had been given yesterday. Some doctors and nurses were sent to them, to take their complaints, take care of them and ensure they were all healthy.
The medical personnel had smiles too wide and words too kind, that Idalia was convinced they were up to no good.
She rejected their offer of a checkup for her and her son, even though her eyes ached terribly with deprived sleep.
Surprisingly, they let her be.
And so the second day passed.
Everything was too calm.
Too quiet.
Too kind.
It made Idalia even more agitated. There was no kindness here, it must all be an act. Besides, her hands still stung with pain from what had been done to her in the lab, and she could still feel the tremble that ran through her fingers as she had appended her signature on a piece of document that now controlled hers and her son's fate.
There was much to worry about, much to fear but sleep was the greater warrior the second night and in her dreams she saw nothing but the hateful look of the Silver Hunter, and heard nothing but Alpha Kalio's rageful voice.
She had woken up with a jolt, terrified by her nightmare and disappointed that she had fallen asleep.
"Are you alright?" Someone had asked. When she felt a hand on her, she flinched and jumped out of bed with Arik in her arms.
His cries filled the room and the woman's face soured with an apology. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry I—-"
"What do you want?" Idalia snapped, her voice breathy.
"I—-" she shook her head. "It's orientation day and everyone must go for orientation."
Orientation day?
—-
—-
They were all ushered into a large hall for orientation. Idalia hardly listened to any words that were spoken, they were for the ears of those whose fates hadn't been decided for them already.
Not her and her son.
While the programme went on, Idalia couldn't help looking around the hall in suspicion. She watched for any trace of silver hair or eyes that lingered on her for too long. Her feet tapped against the floor rapidly, waiting for a slaughter to happen, and planning all the possible ways for an escape.
It wasn't until someone had asked the question on her mind that Idalia had straightened up in her chair and listened.
"So what really are you then? You are certainly not humans."
The woman on the stage smiled, revealing her fangs. "We are vampires."
"Vampires?" The crowd murmured amongst one another.
"We are better than humans in every way." She took a step further on the stage. "To you, we are your superior and to us?"
Idalia watched her with fearful expectation.
"You are food."