Moonlit Dangers

Chapter Four

            The rest of the day, Ana led me around the compound. I was shown the gym, where everyone trained for combat, as well as the “holding pen” for Lycans, where all the cells we passed looked exactly like the one I had been held in. I was even guided around the “war room” as they called it, where there were so many swords, knives, and guns it made my inner pacifist cringe. However, I was not shown how to leave. Ana said that the doors were hidden, as well as heavily guarded, so any escaped Lycans could not actually get out of the compound.

        When I asked why, she had replied, “Every Lycan caught is a few human beings saved. Do you really think we want them to escape?” I got the point. If I had something that dangerous trapped for any length of time, I definitely wouldn’t want to chance letting it out. It seemed like it would go on some sort of a killing rampage after being trapped for so long.

            I had to admit, even if only to myself, that my favorite part of the tour was meeting the guardians. Turns out, they were all pretty nice people. In a way. I still got the vibe that they would chew me up and spit me on the floor if I made one wrong move, but they all seemed kind. There was Jermaine Edger, a.k.a. Heat; an enormous man the color of dark chocolate, named for his love of all things that go boom; As well as Lee Ozolin, a.k.a. Mentalist, whose ability was that he could sense his opponents next move. Apparently, the man’s mind made up for his short, yet stocky build in battle. I quickly figured out that every member of the guardians had a code name for use in a fight. Ana’s code name was “Doc”, as she could touch someone and sense if there was something physically wrong with them. However, she explained that she never went out to hunt as she didn’t have any offensive ability. “It’s fine by me,” she’d told me. “I can’t stand the smell of Lycans anyway.” There was a man who was an actual fire starter, and could control the fire he created; and another who was telekinetic and could move objects with only the slightest thought. Even though I knew I would never remember everyone’s names, it was still beyond interesting to learn about their abilities.

In the cafeteria, when we went to eat lunch, Ana introduced me to the first woman I’d met at the compound other than herself. Evelyn Hooper was unlike any woman I’d ever seen. She was gigantic at six feet three inches tall and a body like a pro wrestler, with biceps that seemed to be the same size as my head and legs that looked like she could bench press a Ford truck. She made me feel like a munchkin, at only a few inches over five feet. Despite her size, she was gorgeous. She had braided light brown hair down to the middle of her back, large exotic looking dark green eyes with thick, long eyelashes to die for, and curves in all the right places. It baffled me how someone with so much muscle could still look feminine. Shaking my hand firmly, she laughed as she noticed me trying not to gape up at her from my seat.

            “It’s okay small fry. Most women who see me for the first time do the same thing.” Her voice was like melted honey, soft and decadent. Feeling my face heat as Evelyn and Ana laughed, I apologized.

            In an attempt to cover my faux pas, I asked, “So, what do you do? What’s your code name?”

            Evelyn grinned broadly, showing small, pretty white teeth. “Can you guess?” She put her arms out to the side and turned slowly.

            Pursing my lips, I thought about it. I had an idea, but didn’t want to chance offending her. “Um… Are you super strong?” I hazarded.

            Laughing, she said, “Hit the nail right on the head small fry. Now what’s my code name?”

            I really, really wanted to ask her if it was “The Hulk”, but I wasn’t trying to lose a body part if I mad her mad. It didn't seem very prudent.