Post 13: Short Thoughts

Adrian wasn’t sure what to think.


The mood had changed amongst the men since that day. It was different but it was also soothing. The house was almost as quiet as a mouse. Mendax had gone back to his normal self of games, tricks and lies but he’d seemed more reserved as if his near death experience had taken some wind out of him. They had questioned her about her ability to remove dark power but they hadn’t really given her any feedback on what they thought about it. It scared her, slightly, that they hadn’t approached her or confronted her. The other part was because she knew she’d been hiding other abilities. There were little things she could do she’d never noticed before, not that they were on the forefront of her mind at the moment. She knew they’d figure it out eventually. The only trouble was that she’d become distracted. Hunter. The biggest problem and solution she’d ever had to deal with.


She didn’t know where she’d gotten the ability of healer from but they probably thought that she did. She could tell they were keeping some secret but she wasn’t sure what it was. If they thought her dangerous they would have locked her up somewhere, right? Maybe they trusted her and distrusted her at the same time. It was hard to tell what they were thinking exactly. Especially with the whole mind reading thing.
Maybe there were only certain things she could read.


She thought over time they’d get angry. They would tortured the information; she didn’t have, out of her. Fortunately for her, that hadn’t happened. It just left her feeling empty inside. Other than the love she felt for Chase Hunter, Adrian felt nothing at all.


Yes, love, that is what she felt.
Who knew that all your life you couldn’t find anyone to understand you or to love you and then the moment you do it’s in a situation like this.


First, he kills someone. Then, he kidnaps you. After that he interrogates you, you find out that he’s an alien and then he practically loves you. Well, he hadn’t said it yet but she could tell. His aura, different from any one she’d seen before, meshed with hers whenever she came into the room. It was like it could tell that they held strong feelings for one another.


Adrian lay in bed; her head nestled deep into the covers surrounding her. She had been feeling just fine the day before but for some reason now felt sick, pukey even as Julius called it. Her color had a greenish tint to it and her eyes only held a smidge of bright emerald light. Nothing had changed from her routine of the day before. She’d awaken, taken a short shower and then went down to the kitchen where she helped Arinth cook breakfast for the men. They’d talked about the galaxy and the species therein. She’d set the table and the men came to eat. Only five of the men had come to eat…Adrian shot up in bed. Her head immediately started spinning but she didn’t care. She threw her legs over the side of the bed and wobbled up as if on stilts.


Rocking towards the door like she was walking across a boat deck, Adrian pulled the door opened. She barely made her way down the hall and to the top of the stairs when her eyesight went black. Whimpering, Adrian lowered herself slowly until she sat on the first stair. Her mind spun with thoughts, questions and wonder. Could Chase leaving be the reason why she felt this way? It wouldn’t be the first time something strange had happened since she’d entered the safe house. She did feel a strong connection with him. The thought of their connection brought a new idea to her mind. Sending out a soft inquiry, Adrian simultaneously tried scooting down the first step. If anything, Arinth would be the one who could tell her if it could be the case.

Chase? Chase, where are you? Chase!



***

The streets were empty of all human forms. The dirty town reminded him of the old western movies Tristan had forced him to look at once he moved to America. The shutters of a nearby bar creaked in the strong wind. Old Towne, the sign read in its faded letters. He ignored the crow sitting atop its steeple, though the bird tracked his motions like it’d been trained. Curious, though on a mission, Chase continued on through the streets. Rats scurried across his path but he didn’t see them. The town sort of reminded him of the small suburb they’d found Adrian in. It had that same silent, wispy, ghostly feeling he’d gotten when they’d followed the dark power.


He followed the soft glow of an aura circling through the air, its traces lingering on the corners of buildings and in the gutters that lined the road. When he tracked someone he used his life source to trail the path their aura had taken. Some had found a way to make their aura invisible but he was an expert. This person had worked hard to stay under the radar but he’d known just where to look. He was born with this ability, born to do this. He could find almost anyone, anywhere, at any time. Unfortunately, he wasn’t up to his best behavior. He’d been fine all morning, since having an early breakfast with Arinth and then leaving the safe house. It wasn’t until he’d driven, in his truck that he started feeling sick. He’d had to pull over and violently empty his stomach before going back on his trail. That hadn’t made him feel any better but it didn’t stop him from trying to complete his mission. He’d come too far today to turn back. He’d grabbed a bottle of V8 at the nearest gas station he could find which, mind you, was the most disgusting drink he’d ever had. Thinking maybe it would give him the boost that he needed. He hadn’t eaten, after all, in three days. Being a Dark Warrior and also immortal the way they were, he didn’t need to eat as much as humans did. That and the power of the sun, the strength in the air, kept them strong for centuries. It was like they were one with Mother Nature, from any planet, because it knew they were there to protect her. It was one of the things that kept them alive but he thought he’d at least consume some sustenance and that might help.


He glanced up into the rear view mirror at his own eyes and noticed the soft red circling his iris. It hadn’t been there before. Shaking his head, Chase parked and stepped from the truck. It was five in the afternoon and no one was around. That was either normal for the small town he’d happened upon or something had scared them away. Glancing to the left he noticed a face in a dusty nearby window. Entering the establishment that resembled a rundown coffee shop, Chase tightened his lips at the scene. Sitting at the booths, that circled the room, were stoic humans. Almost exactly like the ones they’d found months before. They sat with straight backs, staring eyes with robotic movements. They all ate and spoke at the same pace and monotone voice. They overlapped each other in different sentences but the rhythm was the same. He’d only seen this once before. It’s a controlling of the minds by one host, one host that wasn’t powerful enough or paying near enough attention to have the minds carry on with life as usual. Just as that long ago café. It had to be the same person.

Often times, unbeknownst to the controller, the puppets would slowly slip from their grasp as they held the façade for too long. He could tell it was happening here as one woman that sat at a table of four glanced around the restaurant. She, still moving at a slower pace than normal, seemed lost but unsure why. Her eyes were awake and moved from side to side. Her body, however, was still stuck in the slow eating motions of the others. He walked up to her and could see the fear in her eyes but he didn’t touch her. He could save them all but right now he had to catch up with the perp in order to do that. Turning quickly, Chase faltered and had to hold on to the booth for balance. What was happening? His vision blurred and cleared in seconds as if whatever it was passed through him.


A soft sound came from the room just beyond the registers. In the back, in what appeared to be an office, a voice was speaking. Clearing his throat softly, Chase stood and balanced himself on his feet. He laid a shaky hand on the hilt of the sword at his back and softly made his way across the room to the door. Nothing prepared him for the onslaught of emotion he felt once he entered the room. A woman with long beautiful brown hair and cream colored skin sat in the swivel chair behind the desk. She turned around towards him a slight look of surprise covering her face. Her beautiful heart shaped face turned up to his as she rose from the chair. The skin tight black dress hugged every curve as she sauntered over to him. A pounding at the back of his head burned just behind his eyes. Opening them wide, Chase shook the red haze away and grimaced at the pain. He took another step toward her, his footing sure.


“I’ve been looking for you, Ana. Why have you been running?” his voice came out like gravel as a soft pang began in his stomach.


“Ahh, Chase Hunter, it’s nice to see you again. I’ve been looking for a new play mate because I thought you’d left me but I can see I was wrong. I knew you just wouldn’t be able to resist.” Slowly lifting a perfectly manicured nail, Ana ran it down his cheek, a fire burned in its wake.


“I didn’t come to have sex with you, I’ve come to turn you in.” He gaffed.


“Have you? You can barely stand on your own, how do you expect me to come with you? By force?” she laughed incredulously, the soft sound tickled his ears, annoyingly. Pressing a soft kiss to his lips, Ana pulled back and licked her own. “Just as sweet as I remember.” She pushed the finger between her lips as if to taste it. Chase reeled as his stomach rolled. He’d never felt this way before, he’d never been sick from the touch of a woman. He wasn’t sure what was happening but hopefully Ana Guile wasn’t as ruthless to kill him, from his knowledge all she wanted was money.


“We are mated, why didn’t you come to me? Why would you become a traitor, a Women of Ganesha?” The last words he spat out disgusted. They were women that worked outside of the law, traitorous spies.


“Hunter, have you heard of The Eidyia Warriors?”


“Uhh…no.” He stammered and cleared his throat as the haze in his mind ebbed and flowed as if unsure whether to stay or to go.


“The Eidyia warriors were very much like their brothers in war, the Dark Warriors. They, however, were chosen at birth due to their ability to hold knowledge or Intelligence. They held the secrets of the world’s kept away in their minds. For some of them, even their own minds were locked against them. That combined with their immortality and their combat skills they were easily the most powerful women of each species. Only a few actually made it through the processing rituals that gave them the highest clearance.” She’d walked away from him, just out of his reach, then back. “I was one of the few that made it to the very top. Yes, yes I know what you’ve been told. I had betrayed Arinth and all humans that lived on it by trading secrets and selling them to the Malus. I’d become a woman of Ganesha, a traitor. I know we don’t have all the time in the world to go into it but that is definitely not all there is to the story. I’m sure you’ve been given the mission to find me and bring me in but I’m not sure why they would send you.”


“They figured I knew you the most, because we are mated.” The word, mated, again scratched like sandpaper in his throat.


“You and I, really mated? That was a sick lie the Council told you so that they could keep tabs on me. They knew that they couldn’t control me any longer; they couldn’t keep me in that box any longer. All the secrets they’d kept hidden away in my mind. It’s no wonder I didn’t go crazy before then. They decided to have someone convince you I was your mate. They used you for the entire time you and I were together. They used you for decades and yet you still play by their rules?” she laughed but also seemed saddened by her admission. “I never loved you, not in the way mates are supposed to. I’m sorry that you loved me, not everything was a lie but I just didn’t have that connection you thought you had for me. I’m sorry they used you but I can’t allow you to take me in.” She then, taking advantage of his imbalance, quickly pushed him into the chair that sat opposite the desk. His head rolled out of his control as he felt his conscious slipping. He had to ask.


“How did you do it? I’m a hunter. I’m a tracker. I would have seen straight through your lies. I would have seen the change in your aura as I do now. You are telling me the truth. Why couldn’t I see the deceit before now?” He looked up at her, sadness burning behind his eyes over the betrayal but also as the unrelated pain pulsed in his chest and reverberated throughout his body.


“How did we do it? Maybe you should ask your friend Mendax.” She whispered just after tying him to the chair with the chain that she’d welded to the floor. She knew he could barely stand but having him tied down gave her security that he couldn’t come after her right away.


He watched her walk away puzzled over her words. What did she mean? He hadn’t even known Mendax all those years ago when he’d been mated to Ana. How did she know they were friends? He hadn’t met him until just before they both had become a part of Tristan’s team. Just before he slipped into the darkness he heard a soft voice fill his head.


Chase? Chase, where are you? Chase! Was that Adrian?


"The only way to be a writer is to write, write and write. The only way...is to write." -Jade Elyzabeth