HUNTED

Chapter 9 - Choices

"Well, you have seen how Connor can be." A cruel smile formed on his lips.

Aila could only stare at Silas; she knew he was a slithering snake. He clasped his hands together in front of him, making a loud clapping sound, which made Aila jolt.

"I know we have discussed a lot this morning. Why don't you have a shower? There are clothes in the wardrobe you can change into. And when you are done, we will see Robert and subject- I mean Finn. Chase will, of course, stay in the room."

And just as quick as his personality switched, he abruptly turned and left the room, leaving no room for arguments. Aila stared aghast at the empty space Silas left. Her attention then went to the gold-haired hunter standing to the side; he walked to the door, closed it and leaned up against it, crossing his arms in the process.

Aila narrowed her eyes at him but composed herself again. Sighing, she sat on the bed, her elbows leaning on her knees as her hands held her head. She glanced around the room then darted them away when Chase came back into her view.

"Aila.."

"It's subject 4", She said vehemently.

"Aila.." His voice was stern, making her look in his direction once again.

"What can I-"

"Tell me one thing, Chase", She interrupted him, abruptly standing and walking over to his position by the door. She wanted to look him in the eyes as he gave his answer.

"Do you believe in everything he just said?"

"Yes." Came his immediate response.

"So, you believe in killing thousands of innocents?"

His jaw tightened as he stared back at her,

"Not everyone is innocent-"

"I was innocent! I AM innocent! But here I am. Abducted. All to get rid of creatures that share this earth with the humans."

Chase frowned and parted his lips to speak, but Aila was seething with anger, and she beat him to it,

"Can you honestly stand there and tell me that I am an abomination? That I need to be killed, murdered because of how I was born?" Aila's cheeks were flushed now from releasing the pent-up energy and emotions.

"They killed my mother."

"And they killed my parents."

"That was different. Your parents slaughtered thousands. My mother, she was innocent" He lowered his eyes.

"I am sorry for the loss of your mother. I really am, Chase. But that does not mean it is okay to get rid of thousands of the same kind. No-"

He tried to interrupt her, but she held her finger up to his lips, causing him to go wide-eyed in stunned silence.

"I am not finished. That is like someone annihilating the human race because a serial killer murdered someone they loved. Aim your anger, your hatred to the one responsible. Not the whole race or kind. There are good and evil in humans and creatures. If it was a human that killed your mother, would you then kill all of the humans?"

Chase did not reply; with a frown on his face, he looked away from her. Aila took a deep breath in after speaking so quickly then took a step back; she could see the turmoil behind his eyes. At that moment, she realised he really was a decent person; he was a victim to his father and the Hunters Association.

Instead of asking him the many questions on her mind, she decided to give him some space and made her way to the shower. After turning it on, she looked at herself in the mirror above the sink. She was not surprised by how she looked. She kept her hair tied back after not being able to wash it for so long, luckily it was thick, so it did not look too greasy. But after the sixth day, it started to show.

She looked back at her face; her eyes had sunken slightly, her cheekbones were more prominent than before, but now she looked unhealthy from lack of food. The swelling around her face went down, leaving only yellow bruises across her features, and now she had a new addition of a split lip. Walking back out, she opened the wardrobe, ignoring Chase, who now sat thoughtfully on the end of the bed.

His black attire and 'menacing look' did not really fit in with the lilac duvet and fluffy pink pillows- the only unstylish part of the room.

"Hmm.. No grey coveralls?" Aila hummed as she assessed the contents in the wardrobe.

It was bizarre to see everything was in her size, from the trainers all the way to even her underwear and bra size. She shook off a shiver that went down her spine.

Very fricken creepy.

Many of the clothes were in bright colours, but she opted for some black sporty leggings and a black tank top along with some black underwear and bra. She would put her black hoody on after.

Everything was black—Black like her soul.

Woah, where did that come from? She really needed her daily dose of Ajax and his bubbly personality because that was uncalled for. She mentally slapped herself out of it.

"All black? Are you a goth? Figured I would see some snakebite piercings or something.." Chase joked.

"Ha. Ha. Funny. Actually, black covers up blood better," She deadpanned.

Aila glanced at his now pale face but ignored him and went back to the bathroom. She was about to lock the door when she saw no lock. Figures.

"What the hell! You better not perv on me in here!"

After shouting through the closed door, she stripped, and only half glanced at herself in the mirror. The bruising on her body was almost gone, the remaining brown bruise was on her now protruding ribs; being on a small bowl of rice per day diet was not really going well for her high metabolism; if she wanted to, she could eat a few burgers a day and not put on any weight.

She stepped into the shower, not thinking more about her unhealthy body and the bruise that obviously was not going away; there was a constant sharp pain there. She knew her rib was probably fractured, but what was she meant to do?

As soon as she was under the steaming hot water, a sigh of relief left her mouth. Her muscles relaxed under the touch of the water cocooning around her. She felt like sitting on the floor and meditating underneath the warm rain of the shower. The whole morning, she did not have one moment to process her thoughts and breathe.

Even now, she would not take this moment because her thoughts turned to Finn; she needed to know he was okay. Him lying on the floor as blood spilled out on the floor kept flashing across her mind. With that, she sped up the lather of the soap going across her body. After she cleaned up and washed her long hair, she stepped out and began drying herself maniacally. To the point that little red marks were left warm on her skin.

Once she was changed, and her hair was brushed. Chase led her out of the room; Aila halted mid-step halfway down the hallway after seeing a door open with two guards sitting down in front of monitors and machinery. On one of the screens, it showed a high viewpoint of the cells they stayed in. She also saw some switches for the air ducts set on a timer before Chase noticed her not following behind him.

He walked back, closed the door and faced her, studying her face.

"Aila", He stepped forwards and looked around nervously, "What you said earlier about wearing black. I know you joke a lot, but... You aren't going back to the cells, are you?"

Aila blinked up at him, feigning innocence.

"You don't know my dad. If things don't go his way... Please just do as he asks. I mean, why would you deny a room like that anyway.."

"Seriously, Chase? This is not student halls and me turning down an ensuite bedroom for half the price. Put yourself in my position. Then ask yourself the same question."

She shook her head at him before storming off, leaving him with his mouth gaped open. He quickly caught up to her and walked slightly in front to lead her the way to meet Robert. It was not a long walk; they stopped at the other end of the hallway, passing many doors as they went. Chase knocked on a door with a sign reading, 'Medical Room'. He stepped inside with his hand, now wrapped around her arm again.

As soon as they were in the room, Aila ran forward and stood next to the bed Finn was laying on. Her hands clasped his huge one placed by his side; tears sprung to her eyes as she looked at how pale he was along with the sheen of sweat over his face.

"Hey", Finn croaked, "What is with the tears? I'm not dead."

"You could have died", She whispered, knowing well that he could hear her.

"But I didn't. You need a little more faith in me; I'm a lot stronger than you think."

She squeezed his hand then looked up at Robert, who was taking notes from the monitor that showed Finn's vital signs.

"Subject 2 is stable. His Obs are stable. He should be good to go by tomorrow. It is a good thing I don't need him until Saturday." Robert spoke directly to Silas, who stood near the door; he nodded his head once, then glanced back down to his phone.

"He just got shot. He needs at least a month to recover!" Aila spoke incredulously.

Robert looked at her, pushing his glasses back up his nose,

"Do you have a medical degree? Or a degree on werewolves? No? Well, if you were half a decent werewolf, you would know that they heal quickly. The silver bullet prevented him before, but now it has been removed, he will heal overnight. Now, take a seat."

He pointed to a chair across the room near a sink; she frowned, but one cold stare from Silas made her obey. Once seated, Robert squinted at her,

"Remove your hoody."

"Why?"

"This is why I don't like working on females. They yap too much," Robert muttered under his breath as he put on some latex gloves and grabbed a tray full of glass tubes and a syringe.

"Hoody. Now." Silas spoke quietly, but his voice spoke volumes. Making fear crawl up her spine as she immediately removed the hoody.

"Good. Keep your arm relaxed. Before I take your blood, I am going to take your blood pressure, heart rate and glucose measurements," Robert said clinically.

Aila glanced wide-eyed at Finn but calmed herself down after seeing his grim smile. She knew the process of bloods; she has done it herself to animals at the vets. But the situation was daunting for her, she was not queasy, far from it, but it was the official first step of her life here.

NO, THIS WAS NOT HER LIFE!

Her anger emerged again, making her heartbeat spike up again.

"Calm down. The reading will not be accurate." Robert spoke with an annoyed expression on his face as he tried to take an accurate report of her heart rate.

Sighing, she focused on the poster on the wall explaining why smoking was harmful.

"Excellent"

Robert grabbed the top part of her forearm and pressed lightly near the crease at the elbow, rubbing the area where a vein lightly showed; he wiped the area smoothly and pulled his needle out.

By the end of it, Robert had taken eight vials full of blood.

"Got enough," Aila said sarcastically, but her tone of voice went right over Robert's head.

"Yes. I can analyse these later."

He put a plaster on the area then began putting the vials of blood away in a fridge marked as 'Subject 4'.

"So, Aila. You have seen Finn. He is fine… You look a lot better after your shower and your new clothes, minus the hoody. What do you say? Cooperate in a well-behaved way and stay in that master bedroom I had done up specifically for you.. Or return to those cells" Silas snickered at the end like his question was stupid.

"As much as I appreciate the tea and clothes. I prefer to stay with my own kind. Thanks"

At Aila's words, Silas's face dropped, his nostrils flared, and his eyebrows crinkled together.

"I don't think you realise what you are saying, Aila Cross." His voice came out clipped. His knuckles had gone white from how hard he held his phone.

"I do," Aila replied just as coolly. She glanced at Chase, who was now watching his father warily.

"Very well, then." A sly smile grew on his face as he put the phone to his ear; he watched Aila while he spoke quietly to someone on the other end of the line.

Silas left the room without another word.

Minutes later, Connor entered the room.