You may have noticed that this says Chapter Seventeen and may be thinking, I thought I already read that Chapter, truth is I did a little editing so please check out the previous three chapters and tell me what you think!
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Chapter Seventeen
The Den
Chaos
Those bastards! The dirty rotten, disgusting, lowlife assholes. Of all the despicable things that could have been done, they do this to me? Was it not enough that they blamed me for the bombs? For the death of their friends, family and young? Oh, just they wait! Just they wait until I kick their asses.
With one more glance behind, I made my decision. I tightened the backpack's straps and headed towards the window. The backpack contained various items I was able to snatch in the short time I was awake in Doctor Monto’s observation room. I woke up disorientated and groggy several moments ago in the observation room. There was no one else around, the room dark and quiet. Like the theif I was, I stole the necessary equipment I thought would be helpful for my escape. I looked around the room once more before I climbed up the windowsill to leave the Den.
The drop from the window to the ground was only about twelve feet. Gathering my resolve, I launched myself out of the window and landed in a crouch on the ground below. Searching the area for any signs of activity, I stayed low and ran towards the wall. Pulling out a grappling hook, I took aim at a large cider tree behind the wall and tossed the hook on the nearby branch. After tugging twice on the rope, I began to climb over. Putting one hand over the other and using my feet to climb the wall, I was able to scramble up and over it in no time.
Retracting the hook from the branch, I inhaled a deep breathe, stilling my racing heart. Not daring to rest and chance exposure, I slipped off the wall and began the trek to the northern end of the Den. With feet quiet as a mouse, I made it smoothly and without detection. Finding a bushel of leaves, I eased myself into their scratchy embrace and hid.
I followed the leaves until I found the house I was looking for. With ease, I climbed over the wooden fence that surrounded the backyard. The sound of laughter trickled out of the open window on the second floor. I glanced around the tiny forest, double checking that there wasn't anyone around. I looked towards the window and crept forward.
A wolf howl went up in the air. Damnit! They must have realized that I was missing. I glanced at my watch. It only was about twenty minutes since I slipped out of the window. I was slightly impressed at the increased vigilance on guard duty. As quick as I could. I climbed the wall of the house to the open window. I pulled myself up and glanced inside. Sitting on the bed, Lilac held a penlight over an open book.
I softly whisted. Lilac's head snapped up and locked onto my face. Within seconds Lilac was flying across the room to the window. I wrapped my arm around Lilac's bony shoulders and hugged her with all my might. I took in her soft, baby smell. It reminded me of every reason why I fought the battle I fought.
"I've missed you, Chaos!"
I closed my eyes tight, my ragged heart tearing apart a little more at the pain in her voice. The pain in her voice was my fault. "I know baby. I've missed you too. But I need you to be a good girl and stay here a little while longer."
"But Chaos! You promised..."
"I know and I am going to keep my promise, Lilac. But in order for me to keep my promise, you need to be safe and right now, I can't keep you safe." I tried to explain, but Lilac's pleaded me to take her away right now.
"What about Berto? He likes me." Lilac argued.
I chuckled softly. "Of course he likes you. Who can ever deny my beautiful Lilac? Hmm? No one can. I bet you have Logan wrapped tightly around your little finger."
Her smile grew and mischief sparkled in her eyes. "Yeah, Logan's a big softie. But Derek, he's mean. He makes me eat my vegetables and he put me in time out for saying a bad word!" Lilac looked appalled at the fact that Derek dared to put her in timeout. "You'll punish him for that, right Chaos?"
"What did you say?" I asked curiously.
"Well, I might have said, shit. but I'm not admitting anything!" Lilac vehenmently said.
"Well, you know you're not allowed to use such language and Derek had every right to put you in time out." A howl ripped through the air. "Baby, I have to go, but know I will be back for you. Think of your time here at the Den as a prevacation."
"A prevacation?" Lilac asked hesitantly.
"Yeah, baby. When I finish what I need to do, we can go anywhere you want to go. How does that sound?" I asked quickly.
Lilac stared at me for a second. She leaned forward and gave me a big kiss on the forehead. "It sounds like a bribe, but I like it. Love you Chaos."
"I love you too baby." I kissed her cheek. "Now, its time for bed. Behave! I'll be back. Promise." I slowly released myself from the window and slowly climbed back down.
The increase in security meant that they probably new the area I was in. The question now was could i wiggle my way out of this pickle? I spent too long with Lilac, but I wouldn't have cut the time short even if I get caught. She needed my reasurance that I wasn't going to abandon her. On the plus side of the new and improved security, I wouldn’t have to worry about the Agents or other radical groups gaining entrance into the Den easily—not that it ever was easy to get into the Den before the bombs.
On the down side of the new and improved security, I wouldn’t be gaining entrance to the Den easily either. Talk about the catch-22. I remember repeatedly antagonizing Derek and Falcon to up their security, finding a little thrill from pulling the tiger’s tail. Now that they actually took my advice, I wouldn’t be able to steal small visits to the Den without detection. I retraced my steps and climbed over the wall. Once on the ground again, I began to sprint as hard as I could.
Another wolf’s howl went up in the air, this time closer. I wiped my mind clean of everything, the memories of the old Den and focused on getting away. I put my head down and purposely stepped on every single tree branch in my way. The loud snapping of the branches would surely be heard in time. I took stock of my location. I was about three miles away from the wall, but still relatively far from the local downtown.
After several loud cracks of tree branches and a multitude of running strides, I picked up the sound of padded paws. A smile crossed my lips. A small dose of adrenaline surged through my veins. Ah, I reveled in the feeling. A rush of exhilaration I haven’t felt in a while. It reminded me one of many reasons why I enjoyed what I did.
The small reminder brought forth more adrenaline. I let out a loud laugh. The laugh was a cross of something in between hysteria, insanity, and pure happiness. As the sound of pursuit grew louder, I forced myself to run faster. I leapt over a fallen tree, enjoying the wind brushing cruelly against my face.
I caught a glimpse of orange and black strips in my peripheral. The icy burn in my lungs was forgotten as I sharply drew to a halt and began running in the opposite direction. It took the tiger several seconds to realize my maneuver before he was able to redirect himself.
I began running in zigzags across the forest, having no true destination in my mind, just enjoying the thrill of the chase, enjoying the game I was playing, the wind in my face and the burn in my muscles.
I somehow arrived back at the fallen tree; however, instead of leaping over the branch, I leapt onto of the fallen beauty. I grabbed the hook from out of my bag and began to pull myself into one of the many trees around me.
With the grace of a monkey, I began to swing from one tree to another, effectively evading the tiger on the ground below. Lost in the shadows provided by the clouds and leaves, the tiger began to pace angrily. A minute later, two large bodies step into the clearing. Even with my enhanced eyesight, I couldn’t tell who the two bodies were. But the identities were answered easily enough when they one spoke.
“Chaos, we know you are somewhere here. We can smell you. Please don’t make us use force to come and get you,” announced Logan.
I let out a shrill laugh. “Force? Like the force you used on me last night?”
Logan cleared his throat, “Unfortunately, last night happened. We regret using such underhanded tactics, but you left us no choice.”
I snorted. “And do tell me how I left you no choice? Logan, you had me effectively trapped between your body and the bookcase. You had the room secured, I wasn’t going anywhere. So, please tell me, how I left you no choice?”
“Chaos, through our entire acquaintance, you’ve lied, cheated, stolen, murdered, and repeatedly played games with us. We were tired of your half answers. We were tired of you only telling us information you deemed necessary. So yes you left us with no choice but to use the serum of truth to ensure you would speak no lies.”
After a heated pause, Logan asked, “What would you have us done?”
“Trusted me! That’s what I would have had you done!” I watched as the tiger lazy jumped on the fallen tree. The body I identified as Logan was resting his butt on the fallen tree. The other unidentified person in the clearing stood straight, arms crossed against his chest. If I had to guess, I would say he was either Braden or Falcon. No one really did the pissed off warrior stance than those two.
“Trusted you? You have to be kidding! How are we supposed to trust you? You single handedly ruined government talks, the positive press relationship, and opportunities with forming alliances! Hell, the Den just recently found out that you’ve been posing as our representative of the Paranormal Committee. You’ve been making decisions for us for God knows how many years. So how are we suppose to trust you?”
“Everything I have ever done was done for the good of the Den! Or do you not believe that? Yes, I know I have lied and mislead you, but it was for your own good. And the PC? You sure as fuck don’t want to get tangled up into that clusterfuck of a committee. It’s not even a committee, it is more of a ticking time bomb just waiting for a paranormal war to be declared from one species on another. You didn’t need to be involved when it formed. You were a young community yourself! Rebuilding the Den into the fortress it is today. If you were involved with the PC when the Den was being built, then there would have been a lot more deaths and attacks than you could imagine. Being part of the PC is not something you want to get involved in.”
“Well I wouldn’t know that because you’ve never told us. How do you know that the outcome of us being directly involved in the PC would have been bad? How do you know that? Can you see the future?”
I ignored his questions, he didn’t want to know the answers, let alone believe the truth of the answers. The clearing’s air cracked with shifter dominance and frustration.
“You know Logan, out of everyone in the Den, I respected you the most. You want to know why?”
Clearly uncomfortable with the question, but not nearly ready to back down, he said, “Why, Chaos? Or should I call you Natalie?”
I winced at the sound of my real name, at the small reminder of last night. “It’s Chaos. Natalie died years ago. Before I even became Chaos. But that isn’t what we are talking about. I respected you above all because I believed you had this deep-seated belief called honor. That no matter what the enemy did, you would always act with honor. Last night you shattered my beliefs, Logan. You shattered every honest and good thought I had about you.”
Allowing my words to sink in, I eased myself out of my relax position. Silently stretching my sore muscles, I watched the tiger’s tail switch dangerously in the air. Braden or Falcon still searched the treetops intently.
“Actually, I’m not sure if I want to be associated with someone who could sink that low.” I crouched down on the branch, getting ready to depart without them knowing, but I had to say one more thing before I left. “I’m just a selfish little bastard that would rather blow up the world than save it. Right? Isn’t that your opinion of me? Isn’t that what the Den believes? I mean it must be true since everyone immediately thought I was behind the bombs.
I took in a deep breath and said, “But if I was really that bloodthirsty, if you truly believe that, then look up Cabinet 13, Ruling 423, Section A, Subsection 10-2. Look at the John Hancock on the bottom of that page. Look at the name and think to yourself, just how selfish am I?”
With those last words, I took off. I distanced myself further and further from a place I was once proud to be a part of and was now ashamed of. I distanced myself further and further from what was and ran closer to what is. I left the past and entered the future.
AUTHOR NOTE:
And on another note, I need an editor badly. If anyone wants to volunteer or knows someone who is awesome at grammar and word checking, please inform me! Thanks, sorry for being gone for so long, but I had to fine the joy in writing again.