Chapter 6: Lessons Learned_The Scarlet Jane Files

I leave the Operating Room with a sense of dread I could have never anticipated. Still reeling from the fact that the meeting had gone so well, and dwelling within the emotions that come as a result of it, I struggle to keep my anxiety contained as we enter the elevator and begin to descend.

 “Are you all right?” Shadow asks at my side.

 “I’m fine,” I lie. “Why?”

 “You show signs of discomfort.”

 “My stomach’s in knots. I feel like my whole existence has just been picked apart.”

 “Such is the job of a Wiper, especially one employed upon the board.” Shadow straightens as the doors open to reveal a new floor, one with red rugs and orange wallpaper that resemble a sickly candle whose wax has melted. “Follow me.”

 “Where are you taking me?”

 “You need to eat, for one. And for two, I need to speak with human resources now that the board has agreed to allow you to undergo the process of assimilation.”

 “You mean… you mean I’m not going to get wiped?” I ask.

 Shadow turns to face me. “If you were going to be wiped,” he says, “Miss Vanderoof would have done it on the spot. You would already be outside the Agency and en route to another location.”

 I can’t believe it, I think.

 A part of me wants to refute Shadow’s claim—to say that he is lying, that he cannot possibly be telling the truth, that this is all a charade to lead me into a false sense of security. The other part can’t do that.

 Because you believe him, I think as I take a tentative step out of the elevator. Because you know he’s telling the truth.

 He nods as he settles his gaze upon me, as he turns and begins to lead me down the hallway, which feels strange and labyrinthine, considering how huge this sprawling complex is.

 Eventually, the smell of food enters my nose and causes my stomach to grumble.

 “I will warn you,” Shadow says, “that you will see things that may frighten or awe you.”

 “I understand,” I say.

 “Do you?” he asks.

 I force a nod, more out of stubbornness than acceptance, and wait for Shadow to step toward a set of double doors. “After you,” he says.

 He opens the door.

 Light spills out.

 And I lift my eyes, only to find a world of wonder awaiting me.

 I’m not sure what I expected at this hour of the morning. A part of me had anticipated it being empty at this lonely hour—for the cooks inside to simply be preparing lunch for the masses within the building. However, the reality is even more daunting, the implications even more disastrous.

 At one end of a long line stands a woman who, though beautiful, possesses only half a human body—and that, from the waist down, bears an equine form that marks her out of something from Greek legend. I can distantly see green men with brutish features, cute girls with fox tails and ears. A number of other humanoid people stand in line, but their variations are different—from horns curling about their heads, to fingers with talons upon them, eyes with usual colors.

 “Are those—” I start.

 “Other Supernaturals?” Shadow asks. “Yes. They are.”

 “The horse woman—”

 “Is a Centauress.”

 “And the fox girls—”

 “Are Kitsune.”

 “What about the green men? Are they—”

 “Goblins? Yes. They are.”

 I tremble in the shadows of creatures that are undeniably more powerful than me, as I consider just what I might do upon facing them. Thankfully—or, unfortunately, depending on how one were to look at it—Shadow presses a hand against my upper back and guides me past the Centauress and toward a long insert in the wall. It reminds me of my high school serving bay, within which are people I assume are human men and women, waiting to serve me and those who may shuffle in behind me.

 “Hello, hon,” an elderly woman with aging skin and gray hair says. “How are you today?”

 “Would it be wrong to say scared?” I reply.

 “Oh.” The lady laughs. “I take it you’re new here?”

 I nod.

 “You’ll get used to it, dear,” the old woman than says. “Most of these people don’t want anything more than to live their lives as you do. Fetch yourself a tray and I’ll serve you. We have ’taters, breakfast biscuits, and orange juice.”

 “Thank you,” I say.

 I allow myself to be served by the older woman in silence and let Shadow ferry me down the line as I accept tater tots and orange juice from a young man with black, cat-like slits across his eyes. The smile he offers appears genuine, and though I instinctively respond with a smile of my own, I can’t help but tremble as Shadow turns me about to lead me toward a single table at the far edge of the room.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

 Shadow seats himself with his back to the wall, gestures me to sit across from him.

 “I don’t—” I start.

 “Want your back to them,” Shadow says, “but you don’t want to look at them, either.”

 “How do you—”

 “Know?” he asks and smiles as I nod. “You are not the first person I’ve helped undergo the process, Scarlet Jane, and you will likely not be the last. I understand your concern and confusion, your fear and anxiety. You are at the precipice of a new world. It’s going to take a while to comprehend everything within it.”

 “I…. I understand,” I say.

 With that said, I settle into the seat across from Shadow, unwrap the cellophane from around the biscuit, then take a bite out of the cheese and sausage within it, even though I don’t necessarily want to eat.

 You need to stay strong, I tell myself. For me. For Shadow. 

 For Mama.

 I sniffle and force myself to fight back the tears that threaten to come as I continue to eat.

 Shadow clears his throat.

 I lift my head. “What?” I ask, perhaps a bit too defensively.

 “You will learn to accept others around you in time,” he says. “For now, consider this your official transitionary period. However, you must remember that, if you wish to become a Hunter, you must learn to suppress your fears.”

 “What exactly is a Hunter anyway?” I ask.

 “A Hunter is someone the Agency employs to deal with renegade or dangerous Supernaturals. Normally, these are creatures who have gone rogue—who threaten the anonymity of our world.”

 “Like the vampire?”

 “Yes,” Shadow says. “Like the vampire.” He waits a moment for me to say something more before continuing. “Normally, the Sanguine are within their right minds and only feed upon those whose deaths would not be noticed within their communities. The homeless are prime targets for such creatures.”

 “That’s horrible,” I say.

 “Sadly, it is. But such is the cycle of nature.”

 “Why did the one go after my mother?” I ask. “If it wasn’t of sound mind, then that could only mean—”

 “That its host was degenerating.”

 I pale. “Wait,” I say. “Amelia said that they take control of dead corpses.”

 “That is correct.”

 “But doesn’t that mean they can rot?”

 “Yes. They can, and do.”

 “Then how am I supposed to kill the creature who killed my mother?”

 “The Sanguine are opportunistic parasites. They only inhabit corpses that are fresh at the time of possession. Once implanted within a host body, they are capable of slowing the process of decomposition. What would take hours to occur in the wild could take days, weeks, months, even years at times. It all depends on if they have an adequate food supply.”

 “Food supply?” I growl. “Is that what you thought my mother was? That she was just food for some psychopathic creature?”

 “No. I don’t think that.” Shadow sighs. He runs a hand across his clean-shaven face and only clears his throat a moment later. “Please, do not think I wished to belittle your mother or her memory. I merely spoke clinically, and wrongfully at that.”

 “Yeah,” I retort, “you did.”

 “She is an unfortunate victim in a crime that should not have occurred.”

 “She was the only person I had.” I ball my hands into fists. “The only person I could turn to when things got tough.”

 “Things are only going to get more difficult from here on out, Scarlet.”

 “What’s going to happen to me?” I ask, lifting my eyes to face the Wiper. “I mean… what am I going to have to do to become a Hunter?”

 “You will face a number of rigorous tests and the required training that accompanies them. They—the Guild of Hunters—will study every aspect of your person. Your mind, your body, and your soul will be laid bare to determine whether or not you are capable of joining their ranks.”

 “And when I become one of them? What then?”

 “Then you will become a Hunter,” Shadow replies, “and slay the creature who murdered your mother.”

 Despite all my pain, my suffering, my heartbreak and my rage, I can’t help but smile.

 I can do this. I know I can.

 I’m going to avenge her death, I tell myself. I’m going to kill the thing that killed my mother.

 And if, for some reason, I cannot, then, well…

 I will go down trying.

 * * *

 Shadow leads me out of the cafeteria and back to the elevators after I am finished eating, wherein he selects our floor and waits in silence for it to rise.

 “Are we going back to my room?” I ask.

 “We are,” Shadow says and turns his head to look at me a moment later. “I neglected to inform you last night that you might encounter… issues on that floor, however.”

 “Issues?” I ask.

 Shadow nods. “Yes. Issues.”

 “Why?”

 “You are being housed in the floor that hosts refugees and victims of violent crimes.”

 Violent crimes, I think.

 “Just like me,” I mutter before exhaling a long, pent-up breath.

 The knowledge, combined with Shadow’s earlier lack of foresight, is enough to make me simmer.

 You’re doing okay, I am quick to tell myself. Just stay calm. Keep a level head. You’ll get to where you want to be, in time.

 I’d already been told that they’d test my body, my mind, and my soul. But given that a metaphorical—and, in all actuality, legitimate—Pandora’s Box had already been opened in my life, what else could I face? What, truly, would they have me endure to prepare for what was to come next?

 Will they condition my body? I think.

 I am already physical fit, with legs toned from years of basketball and the rest of my body conditioned from careful training in the gym. As a result, I can run and maintain my endurance like the best of them. My mind has already been made a victim of this cruel and unfortunate world, so to think that I will be tested further seems inappropriate.

 That only leaves—

 My soul, I muse and frown a short moment later.

 Just how do they condition a soul to be prepared for this world? Do they put me through heartbreak? Run me to desperation? Make me pray for salvation?

 You can’t know, I tell myself. Not until you meet the Guild.

 But with that thought in mind: Who are they? Are they a group of wise men and women who have gone through this training but no longer fight? Or are they young, like me—people who have dedicated their lives to fighting the forces of darkness?

 Without the ability to know, I step forward as the elevator grinds to a halt and follow Shadow down the hallway until we arrive at my room. Once there, he withdraws a keycard and opens it for me to step inside.

 “Are you… leaving?” I ask as I enter the room.

 “For now,” the Wiper says. “Come tomorrow, you will be summoned by the Guild and brought to the training chambers beneath the facility.”

 “Oh… Okay,” I say.

 “Rest well, Scarlet Jane. Your time is about to come.”

 He offers me one last nod before pulling the door shut.

 While standing here, waiting for a revelation unlike any other to strike me, I take in a breath, then turn my head to consider the window that looks out at the city.

 My world, and my place within it, is continuing to grow. But me?

 I feel like I’m shrinking with each passing second.

AliNovel

Chapter 6: Lessons Learned