by Hickory Mack
“Well, show me around, Thomas. Do not attempt to touch me or my companions. I’ll break your hands if you do.” She offered him nothing but a flat stare, driving home the seriousness of her threat. There were already two people tugging at her heart. She didn’t need to accidentally pick up a third, especially not among the hunters.
“Yes, ma’am,” he stammered, then cleared his throat. “This floor holds the central gate and is mostly used for intakes. There’s an exam station through the next door, and temporary holding cells take up nearly half of the floor.”
He led the way, showing Elsie the cells. All of them were empty, but it was clear they weren’t made for comfort. The memory of the stall they’d held Saint in burned in her mind. The walls in his stall had been electrified so he’d receive a shock if he hit them, and there was only about two inches on any side of him while standing in his hound form. They’d done everything they could think of to keep him controlled.
These cells looked similar. She slowly walked among them, noting that they were all the same. The only variance was the occasional cell with more space, used to hold larger creatures. The floors were sloped concrete, with a drain in the center, and heavy metal circles hung from different heights on every wall. Another two were drilled into the floor, chains still attached, ready for the next inhabitant. Elsie shivered. It was barbaric.
“Is there any kind of selection process for what kind of demons are brought in here?” she asked, noticing she’d placed her hand on Frost again without even thinking about it.
“I do not believe so. I’ve seen all kinds of demons here. The field agents stationed in this facility are given bonuses for taking in a certain quota each month. Each demon is brought here to be evaluated, and any who were considered too weak or useless were disposed of. Those who could be used were brought to other levels based on their evaluation,” Thomas said. “The research that comes out of this facility is unmatched by any other.”
Elsie chewed the inside of her lip. The hunters were taking demons indiscriminately, and rather than tell them what they should search for, Angus Cornick’s team simply euthanized those who didn’t fit their criteria. She wondered how many had died because he hadn’t bothered to give guidelines as to what he wanted.
“What happens to the demons that are disposed of?” she asked, but she was pretty sure she already knew the answer.
“They’re used to feed the ones we keep. It’s a pretty efficient system since every part of the demon is used,” Thomas said, sounding pleased with their killing methods. She wasn’t surprised. These assholes had never seen demons or other magical creatures as actual people. It was how they justified their brutality, and the indoctrination into such thinking started at a young age.
“What is the primary focus of the research?” Elsie questioned, but Thomas shook his head.
“Unfortunately, information regarding the experiments is classified. I am not privy to that knowledge, so I cannot share it with you. All I do know is that the research happening here will help humanity reach new heights!” he answered, looking every bit as cheery as before. Elsie accepted that answer in silence. It had always bothered her that the hunters were so blindly devoted to the advancement of human society.
“How long have you worked at this facility?” she asked.
“I had only arrived a few weeks before the exit was permanently closed. I was out on a capture when it happened.”
“When what happened?” Elsie pushed.
“Well, you know, when the reaper lost her mind and started killing everyone.”
Elsie stopped, whirling around to stare at Thomas. That wasn’t anything like the story Callum had given her, but she didn’t have to guess why he’d lied.
“What made her do that?”
“Well, the rumor is she was a demon lover. She fell in love with one of the experiments but didn’t tell anyone. When he was slated for disposal, she lost her mind,” Thomas said, stealing a glance at Frost and his chain. “Grant told us there was a reaper who was one of us, that you’d have your head on straight when it comes to them. We’ve been waiting so long for them to find you.”
Elsie’s skin flashed with heat, and the image of flames danced before her eyes. She gave the wolf a fleeting look and nodded her head, agreeing with him entirely. This entire place needed to burn to the ground. But not before she took what she needed.
“How many people did she kill?” Elsie questioned, wondering how much revenge her sister had been able to enact.
“Seven,” Thomas said, shaking his head. “It’s such a shame. They say she killed about a dozen demons before she could be stopped. She kept saying they were better off dead than used as experiments. Isn’t that insane? Those monsters were contributing to society in the only way they could. She’s the one who wasted their lives.”
Elsie didn’t have an answer for that. Thomas believed everything he was saying. There was no lie in him.“What happened to the reaper?” she asked, following when he started walking again, taking her toward a staircase.
“She was shot several times, but she escaped into another dimension. The general consensus is that she had to have died since she’d been shot so many times, but I’m not so sure. You reapers are hard to kill.” Thomas smiled at her like they were sharing a joke.
It was strange that he was acting so flippant toward her. What kind of work did he do that he was so comfortable in the presence of someone with such a drastic power difference to his own? This fool was acting like he was her equal.
Elsie shrugged. “Our mother is a goddess. We’re stronger than you are. You know a lot about this place for a guy who was only here for a few weeks.”
“I was at the older facility up north for a few years before transferring here,” he said, opening the door to the stairs for her then pulling back far enough to avoid touching her or the wolf. “Most of the people here originally came from that facility, so we were already familiar with each other. So, the location was new to me, but my coworkers were not. People gossip like little old ladies around here.”
They moved upstairs to the next level, and Thomas again opened the door. It was brighter, with colorful signs marking corridors. The scent of chlorine was heavy in the air.
“This level is for entertainment purposes. There’s a movie theater, a skate park, a climbing wall, and a running track that completes a quarter-mile loop. There are a couple of dining options as well. There’s even a swimming pool. It’s one of my favorite levels. No demons allowed, just humans and hunters,” Thomas told her. Elsie wondered if he knew how many of those hunters had bits of demon in their blood but decided not to spoil it for him.
“Security is a little more lax the further up you go—unlike the lower levels. I doubt even you will be allowed in the lowest levels. It’s where they keep the most dangerous demons,” he added.
“They’ll have to let me in if they want the lower gate opened,” Elsie said, smirking at his surprise. Apparently, the gate on the lowest level was yet another bit of classified information. She didn’t feel the least bit guilty about revealing it. If Grant and Cornick wanted her to keep quiet on certain subjects, they’d have to provide her with a list. “What’s on the level above this one?”
“It’s mostly for training, though there are some offices there as well. Would you like to see it?” Thomas asked.
“Training for who?” she questioned.
“The field agents. Sometimes whole squads will train together up there,” he said, and the way his voice lightened told her he very much enjoyed watching that training happen. Elsie had no interest; she’d seen more than enough during her time as a grunt for the Hunter Clans.
“No thanks. Where are the demons kept when they’re taken from their temporary holdings?” she asked.
“Like I said, that depends on what their usage will be. I don’t think it’s a good idea to take you to any of those locations until it’s certain that the entire compound is secure.”
“Hmmm.” Elsie
cast a quick look around, finding nothing of interest to her on this floor. “I think I’ll just wander around from here. I’m sure you were ordered to stick with me, so you can come along. If we happen to come across a place you’re not allowed into, I’ll give you permission to enter.”
“Commander Chantraine, I’m afraid Commander Grant would be very unhappy to hear—”
“Then don’t tell him.” She went back to the stairs and skipped down them two at a time, Frost on her heels with Frida on his shoulders, observing from above. If the lower floors required a higher clearance, that’s where she’d find all the interesting stuff nobody was willing to tell her about.
“Are there elevators in this place?” she asked, opening the door to a level three floors down.
“Yes, ma’am, but you’ll need a key card before you’re able to use them. They’ll restrict access to certain floors,” Thomas answered. Elsie had the feeling she’d be climbing a lot of stairs in this place. At least her booty would get a good workout.
Walking through the next set of doors, she frowned in disappointment. There didn’t seem to be anything of interest here either. People walked around in smartly pressed uniforms, their hair tidy and their work spaces immaculate. Elsie walked down one of the aisles, uncomfortable with the distinct lack of personality. Every cubicle was the same as the last.
“What kind of work is done here?” she asked a woman inside of one. The woman startled hard; somehow, she hadn’t noticed Elsie and her giant wolf walking up to her door.
There was an unsettling lack of magic about her, something Elsie couldn’t get past no matter how many humans she encountered. It didn’t feel natural to be so disconnected from the world around them. The woman adjusted her glasses and smoothed her already perfect blonde hair, looking from Elsie to Frost then finally settling on Thomas. The only one of them that was in uniform and appeared to belong there. His presence and calm demeanor seemed to placate her.
“We are the record keepers.” She motioned to a handwritten stack of papers in her inbox. “A few of our older doctors prefer handwritten notes rather than electronic ones. My job is to transcribe their findings into the database for each doctor and their patients.”
Elsie grabbed the top paper, ignoring the woman’s protests. Thomas made an uncomfortable noise but didn’t do anything to stop her. She scanned the paper, and her frown turned to a full scowl. It was exactly what she’d expected. The doctors were performing experimental procedures on demons.
This particular procedure was a vivisection. A procedure humans used to inflict on anything, from monkeys and horses to tiny hamsters, they now inflicted on demons. On the paper, the asshole in charge described part of an ongoing experiment in which the “patient” had part of his brain exposed so they could study the effects of electric stimulation on a living subject. He’d been awake through the entire ordeal. She put the paper back in the box, feeling sick to her stomach.
Cornick and Grant’s fears were unfounded. Worldbase A had suffered no negative impacts by being cut off from Earth for the past few months. They’d gone on being just as nasty as they’d been before.
She wondered if those running the experiments were starting to get bored. They had to be running low on subjects. The gate had been closed for about three months Earthside, and from what she could tell, it seemed as though this dimension was running three days for every day on Earth. For those on this side of the gate, nine months without outside contact had passed by.
“What do the others transcribe?” Elsie asked, keeping a tight hold on her emotions so they wouldn’t show on her face or in her voice.
“Everything from inventory to maintenance requests are handled on this floor,” the woman answered, again looking to Thomas to make sure it was okay that she was divulging this information.
“How do you feel about the work you do here?” Elsie questioned, looking down the long row of cubicles. The clicking of keyboards came from each.
“It’s not the most glamorous of jobs. I won’t receive recognition medals for bringing in the rarest demon or rise in rank for an injury during a hunt. But it’s safe and steady work. I’m comfortable knowing I have job security, and I can provide for my family.” The woman gave her a practiced smile.
“Does it ever bother you to read what’s on these documents?” Elsie pressed, and the blonde woman looked startled.
“It’s not my job to read these papers and make judgments. I simply copy the words I see, check for errors, and save them in the appropriate folders. It is not my place to become emotionally entangled in anything the doctors do. After all, what they do is for the betterment of our kind!” The smile she gave this time was hollow, her eyes unfocused.
Elsie saw through her but said nothing. The woman cared. The problem was, if she spoke up, she’d be labeled a sympathizer and cast out. There was no place in this world for a human who cared about demons. Not only would she lose her cushy job, but she wouldn’t be trusted anymore. She and her family would struggle to survive from that point forward.
She might even be sent to the internment mines, a place the hunters weren’t supposed to know about. Sometimes the humans they protected sent their own kind to work in the mines until death. It wasn’t any worse than what the hunters did to their own if they were discovered to be sympathetic toward demons.
“What’s your name?”
“J-Janette,” the woman said, startled once more.
“I suspect we’ll talk again, Janette,” Elsie said. If she could gain her trust, she could potentially use this one for information. She left before getting a reply, chuckling when Frost poked his head into one of the cubicles, drawing a high-pitched yelp from its occupant.
“What’s on the next level down?” she called to Thomas.
“It’s housing for the field agents, ma’am.”
Elsie wasn’t interested in that, but when she reached the door to the floor below that, Thomas raised his hand to his ear, listening to whatever was being said to him through his earpiece.
“Yes, sir, I understand. We will meet you there,” Thomas said, fixing a smile on his face and looking toward Elsie.
“We’ll meet who, where?” she asked.
“General Mark has been located, and he has confirmed the safety and security of Worldbase A,” Thomas told her. “We are to meet General Mark and Commander Grant at the gate.”
“Oh,” Elsie muttered. She’d barely gotten the chance to do much exploring. From what she’d discovered so far, the place was immense.
Back at the gate, Elsie was impressed to find that the entirety of the encampment outside had already been broken down and moved inside. The receiving bay bustled with activity, and people were being directed from one place to another as the base easily absorbed the two hundred or so people from outside.
It looked as though they intended to keep everyone here rather than send them off to wherever they’d come from. She was witnessing a takeover in progress. All those medical crews would be needed in nests and other compounds, but Grant had just commandeered them all for himself. The man had more power than she’d given him credit for.
“Chantraine,” Grant called as they walked toward him. He’d situated himself in the bed of one of the trucks so he was above the others, watching their progress. In an almost imperceptible movement, Elsie threw her dagger. It lodged in the canvas covering the truck an inch to the right of his head.
“Grant,” she called back, pleased at the shocked look on his face. The man she assumed was General Mark laughed heartily when she leapt into the truck to join them. He had a kind look about him, but she didn’t trust the man any more than anyone else.
“You have impeccable aim,” Mark praised, leaning over and pulling the weapon out. Elsie shook her head, glaring at Grant.
“What are you talking about? I missed.”
General Mark laughed again and clapped a hand on her shoulder then handed her the dagger, giving her bold-colored hair an appreciative look. “I think I�
��m going to like having you around, First Commander.”
“I guess I’m here for your entertainment.” She backed a step away. “Please refrain from touching me in the future.”
“Very well,” the general agreed easily. Elsie watched Grant, noting that he was good at this game. His face did nothing to betray the irritation at his superior’s joking around with the reaper, but that didn’t mean it was completely hidden. Elsie could feel the tension coming off him as though he were telegraphing it. His thoughts were far too open; pretty much anyone with any ability to intercept thoughts or emotions at all would be able to know what was going through this guy’s head.
“Since the base is intact, we will move on our demon in the North within the next few days. We’re ready. You’ll be assigned a suite on the officer’s floor. Be prepared to leave at a moment’s notice,” Grant told her, oblivious to her insight into his thoughts. Elsie shook her head at him.
She clicked her tongue at him. “That’s not how this works. I will be given at least twenty-four hour’s notice of when it’s time to leave, as agreed to. I am also to receive a schedule so I can have some semblance of a life while I’m forced into servitude to you assholes.”
Thomas’ eyes widened, practically bulging. Apparently, he hadn’t been privy to this bit of information. Or perhaps he wasn’t used to hearing people speak to his superiors with such deep seated disdain. Either way, the poor guy was getting an education today.
“You are dismissed,” Grant snapped at him. Thomas gave a hasty series of salutes to the three of them and turned away, quickly blending in with the others, all wearing the same uniform.
“No need to terrorize the little people, Grant. He has nothing to do with our agreement, and it was not negotiated that the terms would be confidential. I’m also going to need to know what the fuck we’re hunting. I’m not going into this blindly like some mindless grunt. More importantly, will we be returning within a week?” she questioned.
“There’s no way to determine that,” Grant said, glaring at her. He loosened his collar, and she glared right back at him. She didn’t care how uncomfortable she was making him; he was thoroughly pissing her off.
