INIZIO

VI | SIX

Giselle glared at the ground, wishing it was snow and her eyes were the burning sun, so her fiery temper could melt all of the frozen water to vapor.

"How many times must I repeat myself, Giselle?" Yvette had that typical stern look twisted upon her face, and the crossed arms topped the look. "You nearly gave away our hiding spot, not to mention that you nearly jeopardized the safety of all of those who still live in Patmos."

Giselle bit her cheek to avoid rolling her eyes. "Don't you dare huff like that young lady," Yvette said lowly. Giselle tried not to squirm under her harsh scrutiny. "I just wanted to help." She said finally, she dropped her arms to her sides in defeat and ran a hand through her thickly knotted hair.

Vadim was busy reading an old worn magazine they had bought quite some time ago, or at least he tried his best to show he wasn't eavesdropping on the conversation that was being held in front of him.

"I know you say it all of the time Yvette, but you can't blame me for feeling insecure when suspicions arise." Giselle tugged at a loose string hanging from her loose t-shirt. "I was only trying to be cautious. Besides, I know exactly what I heard, and I can assure you with perfect certainty that it was them. How can I possibly forget that dreadful and obnoxiously conceited voice?"

Yvette gave her a long stare. After an eternal second passed, she finally spoke. "I get your motives, Giselle, yet I still don't agree with your outrageous actions. Just like you remember that obnoxiously conceited voice, I also expect you to remember all of those who perished because of the foolish actions not only you and Vadim did, but to the irrational conclusions that they came to."

Giselle's load of arguments was flushed down her imaginary toilet. Vadim also seemed to have been hurt by the low blow, because he began coughing. Giselle's eyes filled with tears which she immediately blinked back. "That didn't happen now Yvette, don't compare." She whispered.

Yvette rose a brow. "How are you so sure?"

Giselle looked at her slightly bewildered. "No one was out tonight, as per usual. That's why. Besides, it was late. If this place seems like a dead town in plain daylight, this place is practically nonexistent at night." At this point, she was just trying to convince herself that no one had seen a thing that occurred last night. By the manner Yvette was looking at her, she couldn't be so sure.

"Both of you, follow me," Yvette said. She turned around and began walking down the hallway. Giselle and Vadim both gave each other alarmed glances.

"What did you do last night?" Vadim whispered accusingly. Giselle scowled. "I just went for a run!" She shot him a sour glare, "like I said I would."

"Well, you say a lot of things, Giselle." He replied. He pushed her forward, and she begrudgingly followed Yvette. What the hell was that supposed to mean?

The house was mainly made up more of a gym and a clinic rather than a house itself. There wasn't much to it; except that it was all underground, which reminded her in a nasty way of the UNIPO buildings. The only thing visible was the roof, which blended in nicely with the dark green of the trees.

Despite leaving the UNIPO two years ago, Giselle and Vadim continued to practice their newfound skills, hoping that they would never come in handy. Giselle had begun to think that the training was useless, but once more, Yvette's incomprehensible actions and orders usually proved useful at the end of the day.

They reached the small personalized clinic, Yvette shot them one more look before she entered the room. Giselle could feel Vadim tentatively step into the clinic, and she felt him tense. Peering over his shoulder, Giselle was finally able to see what it was that he had seen.

There, before them, was the body of a young person.

-

Giselle had been eleven when she first encountered death. She had a few months in on the UNIPO program, the one that offered free tutoring and scholarships to anyone hungry to learn, but here was the catch: whoever chose to enroll had to be an orphan and had to strictly have blood type O. It was a mega-popular organization claiming to be doing charity work. And of course, everyone bought it.

At the time it seemed no problem. After all, students accepted could also work there, and earn a little bit of money. It was an excellent deal. Especially for her, whose mother was entering the early stages of the red bacilli, despite taking the required number of controlling pills. Her mother had been fired and no one would dare hire her. Of course, no one knew she had a mother. And of course, her mother didn't know what she was doing. She probably thought her daughter had been lucky to find an afterschool job.

That day after class, Giselle was sent to clean the laboratories on the fifth underfloor. As she was doing her usual scrubbing, the faint noise of moans reached her ears. She went in search of the noise and found the lab clinic, where the noise was coming from. She was able to slip in through the small gap, after all, she was a thin girl, and what she saw nearly made her faint of fear.

It was a girl no older than herself, tied to the bed by hands and feet. Even if she tried, the poor girl couldn't even loosen herself. Her lips were dry and lifeless, her skin was a sickish gray shade, and the bags under her eyes were darker than the night sky. There were tubes all over her arms, resembling a spider whose legs were dangling all around her. Her hair had once been blond, Giselle could tell, but now it was a strange abnormal yellow. They locked eyes only for a second, but it was enough to mark Giselle for life. It was the last second of the life of the girl, but it was enough for her to utter her warning. "Run."

It was a warning that Giselle wouldn't comprehend until later on when the first tubes and syringes were penetrating her skin.

-

"So, was I right, or was I wrong?" Yvette asked, her eyebrow raised.

Giselle scowled. "What happened to him?" Yvette shook her head. "Knocked him out. There was someone else out there, I confused this kid for them." Yvette shook her head, "I can't imagine what would have happened to him had they found him first."

"He probably would already be dead." Giselle mumbled. A shiver ran down her spine. They were ruthless and dangerous, and if they were really here, like Yvette was implying, then they would certainly kill anyone they considered suspicious.

"I think he's waking up," Vadim said, his eyes not leaving the motionless body of Jayden. The three looked at him with caution.

"Hush," Giselle automatically said, afraid to bring him into his full senses.

"Pass me the syringe, give me a smaller dose of the painkiller," Yvette said. Giselle frowned, "smaller? Are you sure?" Yvette gave a quick nod. "Let's move to a different room. He'll be waking up in a bit, I don't want him to hear what is spoken."

They went into Yvette's bedroom, which was nearest to the clinic, and she closed the door. Vadim was the first one to speak. "What do you mean you confused him? Confused him for whom, exactly?" He crossed his arms in front of his chest and leaned against the door.

Yvette stared at both, for a moment remaining silent. "The UNIPO is back on our tracks. And once more, I feel there has been a confusion."

Vadim's jaw tightened, and Giselle saw his fists opening and closing, the sharp bones sometimes seeming closer to the surface than other times.

Giselle herself found it hard to breathe, and her claws began to slowly replace her nails, no matter how hard she fought against it. The knot in her throat grew, and she spoke in choked sentences. "You... you believe the UNIPO thinks Jayden and his sister are the products, don't you?"