Katie woke up after seven hours of sleep, an extended time of two hours compared to her usual five. This she did every weekend since there was no school and also in an attempt to remedy any excess exhaustion her body might have been going through. The things one learns after years of training. They would live and breathe under a system. A warm bath, brushing of her teeth and dressing up later found her taking a warm cup of the ever-coffee in the kitchen.
She sipped her coffee whilst trying to decipher who might have been putting on an act in the students that had been interrogated the day before. Each interrogation played in her mind clear as day as though it was happening in that exact moment. Futile as this attempt at going through the useless information was, she still found herself going through it to find any clues of who the killer might have been.
Aunt Marie walked into the kitchen a few minutes later heading straight for the coffee machine, her hair still a mess and dressed in a bathrobe, "Good morning, sweetie."
"Good morning, Auntie," Katie replied.
Aunt Marie yawned while she poured herself a cup of the hot beverage, "Based on how prepared you look and the thoughtful expression on your face, I can tell you are eager to hear what it is that I have to say to you."
"Yes, that would be correct. You read me quite clearly that it feels scary sometimes…"
"I raised you, Katie. There's almost nothing you can do to surprise me," Aunt Marie said, taking a sip of coffee and savouring the taste as it rolled down her tongue. This was the true definition of a coffee addict and it was known by the entire household that getting between her and her coffee was a mistake of a lifetime.
Katie waited patiently as her aunt took her time to savour the flavours on her palate, "How can someone love a taste that long? Doesn't it get monotonous for you to slurp coffee every morning?" she said.
"How is it that mankind never gets tired of procreation through sex?"
"I rest my case... No need to get too graphic," Katie said, dodging the loose tongue her auntie was about to take advantage of.
"Okay then, let's get to the point now, shall we? Yesterday, we received various strings of information that were meant for you, but you didn't receive them because you were unreachable. The first one was about the autopsy report from the werewolf that died yesterday. There was nothing out of the ordinary from what they could already deduce from the crime scene. There were no signs of a struggle and the throat of the victim was skillfully slit before they realized they were in danger. This means that the person who committed this crime was someone who would not arouse any suspicion of such a heinous crime.
They did, however, find something that was peculiar considering everyone's method of addressing the victim. How well did you know Ash Myster?" she asked.
"Not that well… Just that he was someone he…"
"That pronoun… I guess they were right…" she stopped me mid-sentence.
"What do you mean by that?" Katie asked, her attention peaking.
"Ash… was not a boy…" Aunt Marie said, "It's been rare for female rogues to appear. Every single rogue that's been killed or captured was a male. Those that were female were found to be either infertile because of lack of a uterus or suffering from traumas of rape and sexual harassment. The rogues have a… how do I put this bluntly… disgusting practice of treating the females among them as nothing more than breeders," she explained.
"Disgusting is an understatement for that kind of thing, but then…"
"This does bring up a lot of questions indeed… It was found that in the uterus of fifteen-year-old Ash Myster was an immature foetus that had died not long after her own demise," she said.
"Ash was… pregnant?" the news kept getting more and more shocking. At the age of fifteen, what she was hearing felt like needles in her spine.
"Yes, she was pregnant and not to mention the signs of rape that were found on her. This girl had just escaped what must have been hell by simply pretending to be a boy," Aunt Marie said.
"Ash was still a newcomer in the school which probably meant she was raped before she got into the spy program the rogues are running. I already considered the rogues unforgivable for sending children to spy on hunters, but this is far worse…" Katie's wolf spurred from within her.
"Is there anything else they could tell about the condition of Ash's body and health by the time of his… I mean, her death?" it was difficult to switch between the two prepositions. Ash must have perfected her cover before she went into the mission, making it impossible to identify her gender.
"I wasn't so inclined to how this investigation was going by the time I heard of it and was thinking more of your safety at the point, but… now that I know what Ash went through, I would like you to put more effort into finding the killer and make sure you capture him alive. I have no doubt that once this information reaches the ears of the werewolves, they will be even more vicious than they already were, so be careful when you proceed with this case," Aunt Marie said.
"I will be careful… You mentioned having received a string of messages that were meant for me… Is that all that you were told?" Katie asked, her mind storing the information on the deceased werewolf.
"Oh yeah, there is one more. I was hoping it would help you find out some clues on who the killer might be," she said, "The werewolf that you captured finally woke up. His limbs were rendered useless and he was put through some interrogation to try and get information out of him. He was also a student from the school although he was seventeen and was more experienced than Ash. Interrogating him seemed impossible at first until he said something…
'I won't say much, but I do have a message that I'd like to personally deliver to the pride and Joy of the Hunter Agency, Katie Chase. The look on her face when I tell her… Makes my mouth water just trying to imagine what it would be like…' after that he was laughing hysterically with a maniacal look on his face. Further interrogation and torture methods proved to be useless against him."
This information gave Katie chills as she heard it. "Well then, I guess my first stop will be the Hunter's Agency."
"You're still going even when you know that the information might be useless," she said.
"It might be useless, but as you said, there might be a clue that could lead me to find out who the killer is," she said, grabbing a denim jacket from the rack by the door and slipping it on. "I'll get going. Are the werewolves going to be informed about this?"
"Yes, they have been briefed as well. Don't be surprised when you find them waiting by the Hunter's Agency," Aunt Marie said, "Godspeed, Katie." A reassuring smile in reply to the blessing was the last thing the two shared before Katie left the house. 'I'll find your killer, Ash. You can count on that,' her resolve burned bright as the thought ran through her mind spurring her to get moving faster and find the killer before they had the chance to make a clean getaway.
Aunt Marie was starting to feel sad as she felt the time she'd been living in come to an end. She watched Katie run out of the house, oblivious to what was happening. She hadn't even asked where her husband had been the whole time. It wasn't surprising for Katie to think that Tom was simply sleeping. The truth was… her husband hadn't stepped into their house since the morning the day before. 'Oh, Katie, you never asked why we never let you refer to us as mother and father… It was simply because… we didn't want you to anger your true parents, on the day when they came for you.
.........…..
"Cole, did you wash your face as I asked you to?" Jason's voice cut through Cole's sharp hearing stirring him awake as he dosed at the dinner table in the dining room. He'd been rudely awoken at six in the morning by his subordinate for something that was supposedly important. The lack of clues to what it was was still unknown to him which made it hard to take the guy seriously. After having struggled to find sleep the night before trying to figure out what Katie couldn't tell her, he had fallen asleep quite late and was currently sleep-deprived.
He'd washed his face to try and wipe the sleep from it, but the moment the last drop of water dried, sleep was back to haunt him. "We received information yesterday that you might want to listen to. The Hunter's Association reported what it is that they found out from the autopsy," this was enough to chase all the last remnants of sleep from the Royal's eyes.
"Is there something we didn't know about the way Ash was killed?" Cole asked.
"No, not really," Caden said, taking a seat opposite from him, placing a cup of tea in front of him, "but there were some other disturbing bits of information that they were able to discover that we did not know about Ash."
"Oh, and what would that be?"
"The starting point of all that commotion would be that Ash was not a boy and rather was a girl…" the information resounded in Cole's mind after hearing it. Ash must have trained hard to be able to conceal her gender all that well, but the reasons for going to such great lengths were the ones that he now wanted to know. His wolf growled at the number of possibilities that one would have had to conceal their gender.
It was known that finding a female rogue was next to impossible and that if they were ever found, they were either infertile or on the brink of death from rape. On very rare occasions, sterile female rogues were found, but their bodies would be toned and littered with battle scars all over from the intense training they no doubt had to go through to pull their weight. There was no doubt in Cole's mind that he was about to hear the news that would rank among the most disturbing bits of information that his mind could fathom.
Katie made it to the Hunter's Agency in a matter of minutes after taking the long route, a run through the forest. The twelve-mile run that was made longer by taking the long route through the forest proved refreshing for her. The tall metallic grey gates that led to the large compound that was Hunter's Agency soon came into view, but so did the three werewolves that she'd been warned about along with her best friend that she'd called before starting her run.
The werewolves had been held back by the guards and were causing quite the commotion at the entrance. Sandra stood back and watched the chaos before her as there was no reasoning with this trio. They all held high ranks and weren't used to taking orders from anyone. At the same time, the guards at the gates were simply following orders and barring their entrance. This didn't bode well with any of them, however, considering how important they took themselves to be. A simple acceptance to enter the Hunter's Association should not have been a problem, but orders were orders and these three could not get in unless they had a professional hunter with them.
Katie sneaked up on Sandra, "What seems to be the problem?" she asked her friend.
"Well, these guys won't be let in unless they have a pro hunter with them. I've tried getting them to calm down, but they choose to throw a tantrum at the poor guards," she flinched on hearing one of the insults Jason threw at the guards, "They really have enough energy to spare."
"Yeah, there is no doubt about that," Katie replied right before the boys noticed her and stopped their noise all at once except for Jason who was still wrapped up in his antics. 'Foolish clowns who don't ask questions before getting answers… Mindless peasants that would jump on a spike with their butts first if they were ordered to… Rancid monkeys that…'
"Jason, Jason…" Cole tapped his comrade in a rush to shut him up, a look of horror on his face in reaction to the words that were being uttered.
"What is it, Cole?" he asked, following Cole's signs to meet Katie's face.
"Someone's got a rotten tongue…" she commented, her face still stuck in the shocked expression. Cole's face went red with embarrassment as he face-palmed. Caden couldn't contain his laughter even though the two had been involved in this ritual ceremony of roasting the guards. Jason, however, had not held back on the insults and had said a lot of unspeakable words while he got creative with his insults.
"My image is forever tarnished by one of my best friends," Cole groaned.
"Hey, don't act like I'm that much of a disappointment. You were with me the entire time and even encouraged me," Jason complained.
"That was before I heard the drivel that was coming out of that loose tongue of yours..." turning to the guards, "I'm sorry for anything excessive that he might have said. I do not deny, however, how frustrating it is for you to hold us here when we should be interrogating the scoundrel that could lead us to find the killer of our comrade."
"So that's how this all began…" Katie said, cutting Cole off before he spiralled into a fit that would start the whole cussing charade all over again. The more Cole was made to think about this, the more he would spiral out of control.
"Is your presence a sign that we are finally going to be let in?" Caden asked.
"Yeah, that might be the case if you promise to behave yourselves. You can't go in there cussing hunters as well," Katie told them folding her hands across her chest.
"Fine then, you have our word that we won't cause any trouble in there. Well, I can vouch for Caden… Jason will have to give you his personally…"
"Seriously, dude, that's rich coming from you…"
"It is what it is, brother. You need help," Cole replied, his eyes flashing back on the words he heard Jason say.
"Jason, will you behave yourself?" Katie asked, breaking up the childish bickering.
"Behave? That's not exactly my forte," this was true, although it wasn't going to be a reason for him to pass through with a mere slap on the wrist. The questioning look on Katie's face had him rethinking his words, "Fine, I'll also behave."
The guards opened the gates almost instantly allowing them into the Hunter's Agency. Footsteps on the other side of the gate caught their attention as someone from the inside came to greet them. Dressed in black fitting leather from top to bottom with a white undershirt beneath his unbuttoned leather jacket, Anthony, the Director of the Hunter's Agency came to receive them. "You certainly took your time getting here."
The werewolves covered their ears once more, having forgotten the man's tendency to speak in the normally required volume of speech. "Why was I stopped at the gates?"
"We wanted all of you to come in at the same time. Besides, the werewolf asked for Katie, so we want that to be the face of the next person that they meet," he said, turning to lead them to the prison.
This was the first time that Cole and his friends were actually getting to walk through the place. Most of the buildings were kept to a plain white, a colour that would have been boring, but its maintenance was outstanding. There wasn't a sign of dust or dirt on any of the walls as though they were scrubbed clean on a daily basis. Green compounds and decorative plants decorated the wide compound, surrounding the pathways and clearly demarcating them.
At the centre of the entire compound stood a statue of a man holding a sword facing off against a werewolf thrice his size. The detail of the statue was astounding as it even captured the sheer determination that showed in the man's face as he faced off against an enemy that was clearly stronger than him.
Just by seeing this statue, one could already tell who the victor of the story behind it was meant to be. "That would be Damien, the first hunter to ever be granted a Prometheus gift," the director said as they walked past the statue.
"From the size of that wolf, I would say he was facing an alpha. Did he have his Prometheus gift by the time he went through that fight?" Cole asked.
"No, he didn't have one. He was the most skilled fighter of his generation of trained hunters. This was back when victory against the werewolves was only but a dream. A test of the hope that Prometheus is so proud of," he explained, leading them past the statue without sparing it a second glance. For someone who was the director of the facility, he probably had each curving in it to the last detail committed to memory.
"That's quite a feat for someone to pull off," Cole mused, keeping up with the group.
"Anthony…" Katie called, jogging up to him till she was side by side.
"Do you not care about the hierarchy anymore?" he asked her, his voice low for the first time, "I know what you want to talk to me about. I have nothing to say about it except offer you my thanks. I know his heart was in the right place, but he put the lives of many civilians at risk. That is something even I cannot overlook," he said.
"But still, would you rather he hadn't done it then. What about?"
"She knows the cost of becoming a hunter… as do you. Now drop the subject," Anthony yelled this time, not allowing room for Katie to try and reason with him. Cole noticed Sandra look away from the two as though she had already deciphered what the conversation was about.
"Very well," Katie spoke, falling back behind with the other as they left the main premises. They left the neat and tended path straight through all the white buildings and further into what seemed like part of the forest. The only difference was that someone could know that this part was still fenced in within the Hunter's Agency. Walking through the forestlike part of the premises, they came upon what seemed to be an entrance to an underground bunker.
A large mound of earth that looked more like a tiny hill, camouflaged well with just one side cut clean to make an entrance. The guards stood well hidden on that side. Someone from the outside would have no idea what it was. On the flat side of the small structure was a heavy stone door that looked practically immovable. Cole was familiar with these kinds of structures, dungeons that were used to detain rogues like this were used by hunters all over the world.
Two guards dressed in leather jackets that contained weapons stood at the door, each of them brandishing a dagger casually. They casually bowed in respect to the Director and opened the large stone door. Their strength suggested they were using the Prometheus gift of strength. Both of them heaved as the door slowly slid open revealing a dark staircase that started to light up.
Bulbs lit up the staircase heading down, the walls also a stainless white. They followed the director into the dungeon. This was the first time Cole was entering one and had no idea what to expect when he did. For once he saw bulbs in a dungeon, it became clear that this wasn't one of the dungeons he'd read about in medieval-set novels.
The corridor at the bottom was fully lit and bordered with cells built of concrete. "Try not to linger with what you see," Anthony said.
The walk began normally for the first few seconds before the scent of wolfsbane mixed with blood hit their noses. Katie fell back and ran back to the corridor, palming a wall on the side and waiting as it slid open unexpectedly. She walked into the room and came out with three gas masks, palming the side of the new door once more and watching it close seamlessly like it never existed. She jogged up to the three werewolves and offered them the masks. "Doors like that exist all over the place for a variety of reasons… I hope this helps with tolerance with the scent."
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