The sprawling island of Smallsvile as they knew it while growing up had turned overnight into Badlands surrounded by the ocean. The breeze wasn't fresh again. Everywhere you turn you'll see a dead person, animal or someone dying.
Damien held his gun to his forehead, Catherine and Sam were at a corner looking at him. They thought if they rushed him to stop him he might shoot at them. They were scouting around to see if they could find leftovers to take back with them. Everything was briskly hot. They back down glancing at him.
"Sam, do something. We can't watch him die."
"Wait. He should focus before anything. He'll think about things first before taking his life. That'll buy us time."
"Alright."
"We need to be relaxed and out of his mind." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a firearm. He reached for a closer spot with the right range and set aside the bag he carried.
"I'm going to shoot his hand. He's a werewolf. He will heal faster. Without that, he might kill himself."
"Just do it." She said and closed her eyes. Sam aimed directly for his hand which held the gun to his forehead and boom he shot at him. The bullet pierced through his palms breaking away his metacarpals and splashing out blood. Damien shouted and wobbled to the dark-coated ground whimpering. His eyes flickered and found that they were coming. He didn't know who they were until they stood over his head. He looked closely but started feeling dizzy after a needle pierced his right hand and he fell fast asleep.
"The injection is necessary," Sam said. He stood up and looked around.
"We need to get him to the bower."
"Sure. We can get to try the new solution on him. I hope it works."
"I hope so too. Damien is too good to be lost in this."
"Agreed," she nodded.
Right there she couldn't express her freedom of expression of missing Alpha. She always saw him with Damien and somehow she now thinks that they've become one. If Damien dies again, Alpha is gone forever and it'll be harder for her to deal with. She thought it would be better if he was around.
"Let's carry him back, Sam." She pulled at his collar and his head fell backwards like a scat into her hands.
"I have to back him down. You'll help lift him."
"Sure," Catherine said.
***
When they got to the bower and entered the bunker, Sarah had taken the hound down with her. She went up to get some water but saw the hound outside patched close to the doorway of the bunker. Damien hadn't opened his eyes and Sam was sweating. He placed him on a makeshift bed and quickly used some locks on him.
"It's better like this. He could wake up, run or fight back."
"Are you doubting the experiment?" Catherine said anxiously.
"Not really. We are in this together. He might turn out to be something else. We might die if that happens."
"I knew but then this stuff was measured, right? But it's fine if you think he needs to be locked up in chains." She retorted.
"Catherine, this will be the best for us. I know you…"
"Just do it! Stop talking and do the needful."
Her eyes became red and she walked away from them to the room she shares with Sarah and the woman. She knows she's breaking down. She has been thinking and things have been getting worse. She sat in bed with her hands covering her face crying slowly.
"If I hadn't come here, perhaps this wouldn't have been happening. Father would still be alive and Aunt Jen wouldn't have turned."
She lay there for two hours without speaking to anyone. Sarah walked up to her afterwards and lay beside her looking at the walled ceiling above them. She smirked.
"Catherine, you remember when we used to play at the park collecting fossils of sea animals? I feel like going back in time to do that now. I feel like sitting at the shore looking at boats and fishermen going about their thing. I wish to be out of this place but I love you and that's why I'm here. You aren't just a friend but a sister."
She held Catherine's hand. She was still curled up thinking about everything and nothing.
"Catherine, we are here because of you. We need to be strong to see things through. The target or we have to solve this problem alone if followed well, might make us heroes forever."
"Sarah, sometimes I just wanna sleep and not wake up. I understand your concern but it's just spooky and all these shits happening."
"I know right, but then we need to be stronger. Yeah, entropy is out there to mess us up and to throw us away anytime but you and I know the calculation."
"Yeah. Damn entropy! It does use its power against us." She snickered and placed her head on Sarah's stomach.
"I missed the plays too." She whispered. "I want to become a kid again."
"I guess life is nicer being a kid but those kids are out there and life is toiling with them. They never asked to be here."
"Hmm, they never asked to be here. We never asked for that too but we are here and right now it's getting out of hand."
"The thing is, we can always change our state with a leap. You know this and that's what we should continue doing. I refused to support you guys with the first trial on Damien when I knew FMRI could help but it turned me down. You are the leader here."
"What do you want me to do now?" She asked.
"You know what to do bitch," Sarah laughed. "Be a leader and let's move things forward. Elvira is out there and you know she's out there to see your downfall."
"Elvira, my twin sister," Catherine said. "Where will she be now? Though her plots were clear to us then but not anymore. We don't even know if she's alive."
"She was alive some hours ago."
"What? You saw her?"
"No. A friend did. He works in the airport. He saw her come down from a plane that came in from Bàjok."
"You don't mean it. She's probably in here."
"Yeah, I thought about that too. We should look for a way to get her. She should be questioned."
"She has more supporters among the factions…"
"We can bridge that. There are few people around now. So it should be easier to nab her."
"Let's see what unfolds. Things are unpredictable these days. I don't know…"
"I know but I am optimistic about this. It's a necessary action to take. Those elites, if they are the ones behind these, are mad. My mother was once under house arrest. Since she went out of it, she hasn't told me why she was placed on one."
"You are serious about this?" Catherine asked puzzled.
"Yeah. We've not just come around to talk about it since I came here. I think she's in danger and that is throwing us apart. You know if she could tell me what happened and why they arrested them, we might be able to solve this."
"He probably had answers already. Your grandparent knew about the research my grandfather did at the lab over there, right?"
"Yeah," Sarah said.
"They might be using your mother as bait. They know you are here. They use her to push you out to seek solutions while they are watching your every move."
"Then mum will know what happened to Jenn."
"Probably. We might be wrong but the lines of thought might be right too."
"Yeah. That's why we are scientists, right? Open to possibilities. The Dikkorps are extreme in their quest for domination. We look out for them too. That news is spiked."
" I have learned not to trust the media since we were kids. They are buying into what goes online these days too."
"Glad you guys got Damien. Hope he's back soon. And I hope he does retain his poetic side." She smiled.
"Oh, that," Catherine chuckled and tapped Sarah on her shoulder. "He was sweet with that. Damien has been a lover of literature since I knew him. You know that too."
"Yeah. His poetic sense is hyper to me. Though he looked lovely and fluffier in it."
"What are you saying?" Catherine smiled. "Are you sure you are not crushing on him?"
"What if I do?" she chuckled and stood up from the bed. "He's amazing with poetry. And that bartender boy, hopes he's safe?"
"Oh! We found Damien closer to the pub about to kill himself. Sam had to shoot him."
"I was going to ask but…" she cringed and sounded anxious. "I hope the boy is safe. "
"He might have gone out there to save him or rather found him dead then he decided to kill himself."
"Probably. They are closer. Poor Damien."
"Sam found another way to bring him back. It's not science. I'm still wondering how Aunty Jenn could control minds."
***********
Elvira had wanted to get to the airport before the missile landed. The traffic on the road won't allow her. People are running away too and families want to get away from the island. They have been pissed off and know not even Bartok nor Figma P could save them. It was a tussle and she had to abandon her car to get to where she was going. Dikkorp's call came in again. She swerved to her right hoping she'll get an exit. The woman beside her yelled.
"What do you think you are doing? Move the hell to the left, mate." She said and faced her front. She doesn't know she's very important and lives on the island.
"Hello.," John Dikkorp's voice came in.
"Hello, sir. This thing is dropping sooner. What should I do?" Did she say? Her voice was shaking and she ran leaving the car behind.
"Elvira, move north of the airport faster. The helicopter will be waiting for you. Run please." John Dikkorp said. He has become fond of her and her quest for knowledge. She's like his son, Allen, who was killed with the entirety of his family.
She ran towards the north of the airport panting. Her heart was beating like it would plunge into the road and get swallowed by its pores. It was hard on her and that was the first time he'll be running from death because he has things to achieve.
The werewolves and she-wolves were still killing humans when she ran by some of them. Some followed her but couldn't meet up with her. She ran faster like she was a she-wolf herself. Though she started having that conviction that she carried some of the blood she hadn't turned into her she-wolf form once.
She got to the northern section of the airport just before the missile hits Smallavile.
"Come on in, ma'am," F12 yelled. He pulled her into the helicopter and they wafted away before the missile touched the ground. She sat quietly touching her head. Knowing she could have died there.
"Hello, sir, we have her."
"Great. Give her the phone." John Dikkorp said. You'll know he's happy when he hears her voice.
"Elvira! Glad you are good. It could have been hard if you were there."
"Oh. I'm fine here. Nearly got caught up in it."
"I know. Sorry about that. We are still searching for who triggered the missile. They used Jenn for that. You know about her recent power."
"The person who used her most has none about her power too."
"When you get here, we talk. It's an insider job and I'm going to bring that person down." He grinned and said, "See you soon."
After the call ended, Elvira touched her forehead thinking that something was missing but then she turned out the thought and focused on her phone. She flipped it to her notes and read slowly. The news came up from the radio attached to the pilot's seat.
"About 500 people have been confirmed dead from the missile attack on Smallsvile and the elites aren't saying anything yet. We hope something will be done. Smallsvile has been going through so much.."
She sat back resting her head close to the window. Thoughts were running through her head but she is determined to keep moving with her initial plans.
***
John Dikkorps Office
"This must be sorted out before noon," John said. He sat down. The other elites sat around him. The office is large enough to seat hundred people but he's not gotten such many people in it after the loss of his family. Back then humans and werewolves used to gather around him. He let out a lot then.
"They just confirmed, some minutes another 300 casualties." One of the eliges said. His eyes seemed larger than the others and he sat closer to Maddie who was going through a file.
"Saw that too. The fire won't stop burning anytime soon." John said. "That missile is among the strongest we have." He stood up and paced around the room looking at everyone.
"Did anyone among you have anything to do with it?" He stared hard into their faces.
"You should talk now before it is too late for you. Maddie, you've got anything?"
"Yeah, just reading through the list of our enemies. They are pretty much, John."
The elites became suspicious. Some of them started looking for ways to run out of the office and escape forever. They don't want to get caught up in this.
"They know what they've been plotting, right?" John said laughing. He walked back to his seat looking at the elite eyes while he continued speaking.
"It's better they come out clean before it starts burning." He sat down and sipped from his grape wine.
"Nobody knows you are here, folks. What do you know about the attack?" He faced them again but now stern and directly.
"You better talk." Maddie stood up. He walked towards John and whispered something in his left ear. John grinned and looked up at the elites. They got more agitated and uncomfortable.
"You don't want to talk, right?" He smiled and walked to the door. The elites became more sceptical and one was about to stand up when Maddie's men came in and opened fire on all of them.
"Unserious folks. Call F12 when you get out." He told the leader. Maddie walked to him holding out the file.
"Their names are here. Look."
"They used someone to get the job done. I don't see any of these flaccid people doing anything of such themselves."
"That's what it is. They used someone closer to us."
"But who else knows about the missiles, that particular missile?"
"I don't think aside from the two of us there is someone else." He nodded and grabbed a glass of wine. "Or you hinted about it to her?"
"Elvira is new here. Told her nothing about the missiles. But we'll find out sooner. Have those folks lucked up?"
"Alright," Maddie said.
John Dikkorp walked out of the office with thoughts heavier than when he went in. He mumbled to himself.
"Why is it hard pinning who did it? Or is she evolving? But the culture used wouldn't allow that." He strolled past the soldiers and got into his car.
"Elvira should be back now." He flipped through his phone and saw two missed calls from her.
"She's back."
***
He found her seated in his library reading a book. She has been thinking about her death, her mission and what to do next. She couldn't talk to anyone about her plans, not even Dikkorp. It's like having an epiphany and she wanted to bury herself but she doesn't know how to do that. She looked up from the book and smiled.
"You are here," John Dikkorp said. He took a chair and sat opposite her.
"It feels really nice here."
"Yeah, right? You get to think and read."
"Here's what I'm trying to read." She pushed the book across to him.
"Conquer, conquest and why we fight." He smiled and asked. "Why are you reading this? Are you consumed by what happened?"
"Sort of. Right now I don't know what to think."
"I understand. Been there myself. Probably you will like me to read to you. Is that okay?"
"Yes, and it's just like an epiphany. I don't know but at the same time I think I know."
John smiled.
"I understand your feelings. I've been there. Was nearly there today when I thought I might lose you. I guess that's an epiphany too. You know what I do whenever I feel that way?"
"How?" Elvira closed the second book and pushed it aside.
"I let it be. Though it was hard when I was your age. I lost my young family when I was only 24."
"Sorry about that," she said.
"It's fine. That was an epiphany for me and for a long time I couldn't forgive myself for letting them down. Such is life."
"So, it's normal after a sad experience or..?"
"Probably. It's different from person to person. I know we feel it more since we are somehow telepathic."
"That's a wolf thing. I knew I wasn't a normal human since I was a kid. I have always been different. I guess Alex knew."
"He knew. That's why he sent Catherine to his sister's. He and Nicholas have been friends far too long."
"So, it's possible he knew that I am a Dikkorp?"
"Nicholas told him. It was like a play between them."
"Hmm." She sighed.
"I know you know it happens. History is full of strange stories and that's why we are all right. One is wrong and at the same time, everyone is wrong. Morality is just a construct."
"That's why one should focus on one's goal, right?"
"Exactly. The world is full of choices. Make yours and enjoy it while it lasts. You can't be here and there at the same time. It's draining.