Inhuman Instinct

INHUMAN 13: Return

The sudden appearance of the man covered in black that only his eyes could be seen startled Aliyah. She managed to keep her face void of any reaction as she held the hilt of her gun tightly. The man who appeared remained silent for a moment while Aliyah was ready to fight anytime. But nothing happened, she could only see that the man was silently assessing her.

"This area is off-limits at the moment. No other people are allowed to enter. The Enforcer Station should have informed you of this." The man squinted his eyes at Aliyah. He was not pleased that an outsider was interrupting their operation.

"I just passed by, no need to be wary of me." Aliyah raised an eyebrow at the man. She was just there to look and she wasn't even interrupting them.

"Please leave enforcer. If you don't leave, this matter will reach your Enforcer Station's chief." The man turned back without even waiting for a response from Aliyah. He immediately blended with the darkness and disappeared.

Aliyah felt wronged, even though she clearly knew what her orders were. She stood straight and dusted her clothes before she reluctantly left the eastern forest and returned to her apartment. That man and the people she saw were not ordinary, they were proficient in the art of stealth. She guessed that they're most likely assassins from a secret organization.

She sat down as she couldn't shake the feeling that those people had something to do with the general. She wanted to know more but she wasn't allowed to do so and she did not want to get in trouble. She could only sigh and chose to rest instead.

The next morning, as she expected, she was called to the Chief's office. Chief Andrews let her take a seat and offered her a cup of coffee which she politely declined.

"What you did last night was a direct violation of an order from your superior, Enforcer." Chief Andrews started. Early this morning, he received a message from the general about Aliyah's misconduct. He was surprised to know that Aliyah willingly disobeyed his orders and still went to the eastern forest.

"I'm sorry sir, it will not happen again," she sincerely apologized. She must have been possessed that night that she really disobeyed an order just because she was curious. It was indeed an oversight on her part.

Chief Andrews nodded, he was happy to see that the young lady was willing to apologize and acknowledge what she has done wrong. "This is not like you at all Enforcer, I hope in the future this will not happen again. Be careful of your actions because this might affect your position as an enforcer, remember that."

"I understand."

"And I have a message from the general, he clearly expressed that you are an enforcer so focus on your job. The matter of yesterday and the matter of the eastern forest is none of your concern since you are not employed under him. It is best for you to remember that." Hearing those words, Aliyah felt a wave of slight anger from within that she forcefully suppressed.

She gritted her teeth before she answered, "Yes sir."

In a hidden location in the eastern forest, Aizel slowly opened his eyes to darkness. He took a couple of deep breathes and assessed his body's situation. He felt a bit of pain when he sat up but it was still bearable. After a few moments of rest, he slowly stood up walked towards the cave's entrance which was covered with thick hanging vines and a lot of bushes.

Aizel stood there for a moment, before he decided to just blink out of the cave and go to the Enforcer Station to look for his father. He closed his eyes and felt that his recovered strength was enough to do a blink until the station. He focused on his internal energy and after a moment he disappeared and reappeared on a dark alley not far from the station.

He stumbled a bit and needed to steady himself. He leaned on the wall to catch his breath and rest for a while. After he deemed himself ablet to move, Aizel calmly walked towards his destination, with his bloody and dirty clothes and with an unkempt appearance.

The setting sun casted an orange glow to the streets and the people started to go home from their day of toil. Aizel walked as calmly as he could even though his surroundings started to get a bit fuzzy. He forced himself to walk straight even though he could feel his strength dwindling. He only has one goal, he needed to see his father.

The guard on the station didn't immediately recognize the person and intended to drive him away. But when he walked closer, the guard was stunned and wasn't able to react for a moment. He saw the young man's picture when the station was in quite of a disarray the night before. He was the general's missing son.

"General Leroy Aryster, is he inside?" He asked in a slightly hoarse voice. The guard nodded and picked up the telephone on his desk and called the general's office.

Upon receiving the call, General Leroy didn't think twice and left his office when Major Weiss met him outside his office door.

"The chiefs of the Enforcer Stations under your jurisdiction is waiting for you in the waiting room," the major reminded.

"I will leave them to you Major. Tell them I have something important to do." General Aryster waved his hand and rushed outside the station only to see his son like the living dead.

He walked towards Aizel and checked him from head to toe. He then removed his military jacket and placed it on his son's shoulder before he called for the driver to come. They entered the car and left for the Aryster manor. He also reminded the guard to not speak about his son's appearance in the station.

Inside the car, the general heard Aizel's soft voice. "He's here. I thought he died a long time ago but he is here."

Leroy could clearly sense anger from those words and a hint of fear. The blame doesn't lie with Aizel though because the person at fault was that crazy man. It was an awful experience and his son was already living a peaceful life after that incident.

"I know, I received a message written by him." He steadied his breathing so as not to let his son feel his agitation.

"I don't want him near Aliyah in any way because I'm sure that he already knows who Aliyah is. I don't want to drag her into this mess." This was the first time that Aizel spoke so clearly of what he wanted to do. Whenever Aliyah was involved, he would always feel uncomfortable. All he wanted to do was to keep Aliyah out of danger and now that the danger was very near, he was feeling more anxious than before.

"Don't worry, I have already dispatched members of the Hadron to guard her from a distance. They would be there if they sensed any danger coming her way." Their enemy was not a simple man. He was very meticulous and would do whatever he needed in order to attain his goal.

He was a man not to be trifled with, Cayn Calhoun was a very dangerous man. A genius of his time but held a very different life perspective. He was a madman with a very calm demeanor. He was the perfect example of a wolf in a sheep's clothing.

To encounter him again, was enough for General Leroy to make preparations in advance. He had mobilized his secret militia all around Matrix City to gather information and scout for any clues as to where their enemy was. He was sure that Cayn was just within their reach, waiting for an opportunity to launch an attack.

"He wants me to return to his side," Aizel suddenly added.

This was something the general had feared. Their enemy's return only meant that he would not stop going after Aizel. Cayn Calhoun's obsession with Aizel stemmed from the thought that Aizel was his creation, a perfect specimen he created. But in Leroy's eyes, Aizel was not a specimen, he was his son and nothing would change that.

"I will not allow that. We were able to kill him once, we could do it again and this time we will make sure that he couldn't return." Leroy assured his son.

He was right if they did it the past, they could do it again now. The general has the power, ability and resources to make that man completely disappear from the face of the earth. If their nemesis was back then he wouldn't hesitate to use every means to utterly destroy him.

"I won't allow him to hurt anyone close to me again." Aizel clenched his fists and looked outside the window in deep thought as he was reminded of his past. A past that he wanted to forget and yet he was reminded of it again.