Chapter 12
Ivanna pulled Viria away once the meeting was over.
“I’ve been trying to tell you something all day.” She sighed and Viria raised her brows in anticipation. “The Morbus symbol? I saw it in the woods near the sanctuary walls of the rabbit shifters.”
Viria looked absolutely dumbfounded. “Did you carry out an energy-time ritual to see what had happened there and when?”
“I didn’t have the time,” Ivanna admitted.
“I’ll call you once I’m done with tracking the other base down,” Viria said. “You need to show me everything.”
Ivanna nodded and Viria continued to speak, “Also when you get there, send Yin and Yang to me. I have a feeling I might need to put up a fight once I find that place.”
“What about Diana’s extraction?”
“I’ll do that once she’s back from her pack and then leave.”
Summoning Mitch, they took off to find a clearing where Viria could perform a tracing ritual on the extracted essence. Once tracked, they headed toward their destination by using teleportation.
They ended up on the far side of the city. And it was absolutely barren with nothing but sand stretching out for miles on end.
Also, there was a large structure a little way off that looked like some sort of an industrial area, the buildings pumping white and grey smoke into the air.
“That’s the place,” Viria said.
“How do we get in?” Mitch asked.
“We’ll have to go around and study it a bit. Find all the exits and keep them in mind,” Viria started to list out, “Weak points, danger zones, security systems and cameras, see if there are any guards we need to take out. Work with the schedule because from what I know, most bases would have people working at nighttime.”
“This will take a while.”
“It’s evening, anyway,” she said, pointing to the sun setting in the west. “We just have to keep our eyes open and take a walk around the whole place.”
“How about we break in from the roof and just observe them?” Mitch suggested. “It’ll be too dark to see anything by the time we get there.”
Viria knew Mitch was right and she couldn’t risk using light outside of any sort and alert someone else. And they couldn’t afford to waste any time. So, she agreed. They crossed the land to the building and went to the back. They were met with a pungently sweet smell before they even reached the place. It made Viria gag. There was a tinge of metal in the air, too. It smelled like blood and dead bodies and she was almost afraid of turning around the corner, but she had to.
The sight was enough to make her look away immediately. She’d seen a lot of blood and a lot of deaths, but this trumped everything horrible she’d ever witnessed in her life. Her heart had never been more unsettled than it was then.
Dead babies. Lots of them. Deformed. Half-wolves, half-bears, half-ducks and half-rabbits and every other shifter there was out there. Babies born in the middle of it all wrong. From waist down or up, or only arms or legs for paws and the other way around, snouts for mouths or sometimes the complete animal head on a baby’s body. The likes.
All of them tossed away like broken dolls filled with blood. She didn’t want to think about it anymore, but she couldn’t take her mind off of it. It was downright inhumane.
“Is everything okay?” Mitch asked.
“No,” she shook her head. “Lots of dead babies.”
“Ahh, well,” he said. “I could go for you and check for any way in. I don’t really feel much so I’ll be okay. I’ll come back and lead you.”
“Don’t get caught, Mitch.”
“There’s no one here yet,” he assured her. “I’ll bury myself if I have to, though. Will you be okay?”
“Yeah.” She nodded and held her nose to keep the smell out, keeping her back to the corner as Mitch passed her to go around the corner.
“Mm…” He sighed, looking at the sight as he walked on. “Well, they’re devoid of pain. Some have missing brains, too.”
“Mitch, please.”
“Sorry,” his voice came faint indicating he was at a distance. It wasn’t long before he returned looking giddy, “I found one.”
“That easily?”
“Well, it’s a ventilating system big enough for us to fit,” he said, “I’ve pulled away the lid to it. There are guards at the doors, apparently. They just started coming in. But no one’s back here because of the smell.”
“Okay, then, let’s just go inside and away from here.”
“Close your eyes,” he said. “I’ll carry you there. It’s a lot of blood and you might leave a trail. Dead substances stick onto me easily so no problem for me here.”
She nodded and shut her eyes, still holding onto her nose. She didn’t even want to breathe the air around the place. Mitch hooked his arms under her knees and back, lifting her off the ground easily. He walked quickly, reaching the ventilation shaft all too quickly.
“Don’t open your eyes,” he warned. “Not until you’re inside.”
She nodded and he helped her into the space. Funnily enough, it wasn’t really that small. Viria got on her knees and crawled in a distance to allow Mitch some room. He lifted himself inside and turned to pull the lid against the opening, jamming it in place.
“Are you sure this is a ventilation shaft?” she asked.
“I didn’t know if you’d want to come in here if I told you the truth,” he started, “but this is where they throw in all the failed babies. They fall pretty hard onto the ground and that’s why there’s blood.”
Viria only sighed. “Whatever, I’ll be okay. Move silently and keep your eyes open.”
They started to crawl. It wasn’t difficult to do so and they remained silent throughout, making sure to carefully peep through the holes of the lid that gave the view below to other rooms where people in lab coats moved around, writing things on their note pads and scrolling through their tablets, or mixing chemicals or building models. The shafts started to slant up and down and Viria was compelled to murmur spells and use the blood on Mitch’s feet to help them trace where it was coming from. They were forced to work against the slippery slopes with the friction of their hands and pull themselves up . The spell only lead the higher and higher until they came to face a dead end. But it wasn’t a wall, but a door. Viria put a finger to her lips, and strained her ears. She heard no noise. She smelled no life in the room nor felt anyone’s presence. Carefully, she lifted the lid and looked out.
No one was there, but the room was an eerie sight to behold. Absolutely white, with screens and tables spread neatly across the place. Large glass cylinders were aligned with the roof and walls with each table. Each containing green liquid within which fetuses stayed afloat, held suspended by their artificial umbilical cords. Committing it all to memory, she pushed Mitch back.
“There are cameras around,” she whispered. “I’ve seen enough. Let’s go back.”
“Are you sure about this?”
“Yes,” she said, trying to contain her excitement. “Mitch, this is the HQ. We can’t be here.”
Mitch nodded and they turned to head back. Viria almost screamed at the sight, but held her breath.
The dead babies had followed them, caked in semi-dried blood, matted fur, and dirt. She didn’t understand how it had happened. Mitch cursed under his breath.
“It seems they’re well capable of processing dark energy and my presence only activated it.” He sighed.
“I thought you chose and performed rituals!” she hissed.
“They’ll fall lifeless as soon as they go back to the spot of their deaths,” he said. “It happens sometimes. Don’t worry, I can manipulate them.”
“Oh, God, this is one of the worst experiences I’ve ever had in my life!” she cried softly. Mitch put a finger to his lips and gestured for her to follow him.
Upon Mitch’s commanding gaze, the babies turned around and started to crawl away slowly. Mitch followed them and Viria stayed as far away as possible, trying to breathe through her mouth. She was concerned the smell would spread through the shafts and alert everyone in the building that something was wrong. They were soon out of the shaft and the babies dropped onto ground, to never move again.
“I really can’t digest this well,” she mumbled and Mitch pulled himself out and reached out to Viria. But her fingers tips barely passed the opening before a metal fell abruptly over it, enclosing her in utter darkness.
And a piercing alarm started to wail.
They’re asking where Viria is, Roy conveyed to Ivanna. The two bears hounded them as soon as they had arrived, sending everyone standing on the portal in a slight shock.
“Yin, Yang, Viria asked me to send you guys to her. Could you trace her and teleport?”
They disappeared from the room as soon as she said that.
They’re off on their way. Roy sighed. Ivanna knew Roy missed their company and he was always away with Ivanna for some work or the other.
I’m sorry, Roy, she thought. I promise things will get better soon.
Roy only sighed again in reply. Ivanna coughed a little and led everyone out of the High Council’s room to the guest rooms. Everyone stared in awe as they took in the interior. It was disorienting, going from one place to the next to see something absolutely different. The only things normal were the guest rooms and she unlocked each, making sure they were either across from each other or at least a room apart because she knew how shifters could get while stressed.
“I’m usually in the High Council quarters that we had arrived in,” Ivanna told them. “Viria’s office is straight down the hall from there and she’s allowed you complete access to it. The Council quarter’s library had to be shifted there for her so you can get your hands on any book you’d like. Also, there are files marking discoveries and progress of the mission at hand, so do go through them once you get the time.”
“Thanks, Ivanna,” Diana said, reaching for her shoulder. Ivanna only smiled, and it dropped when a phone started to ring. She was quick to answer it. Seeing whose ID it was, she walked away.
“Leon, hi,” she chirped.
“I know you’re back in town, sweetheart,” he said breathily. “I’ve missed you.”
“I’m piled up in work, though.” She sighed.
“That’s fine and all, trust me,” he said. “Just let me hold you while you’re at it, okay?”
A smile broke onto her face. “Okay. I’ll be waiting then.”
“I’m literally two minutes away.” He laughed. “Viria called me up telling me you were coming back home.”
Ivanna was very surprised. “What? Are you serious? I thought she hated you.”
He chuckled. “Goodness, Iva, she did it for you, not me. Anyway, I’m coming up. I’ll be in your office. Hanging up now.”
Ivanna’s chest warmed at the thought of his presence. She hung up and turned back toward the hallway. Everyone had disappeared into their rooms so she went up to tell them dinner would be ready in a few hours and headed toward the office.
“Ah, Ivanna,” Yale said passing by her, “When did you get here? I think I saw Leon pass by, too.”
“A little while ago,” she answered, “Will you join us for dinner along with the others?”
“Oh, definitely, but we’ll leave as soon as I’m done. Viria’s sent a message for us to check out a base she located elsewhere.”
“Best of luck for that,” she said, then patted him on the shoulder and walked away. “See you at dinner.”