Not A Pet story

Chapter Seventeen

The institute was a huge area, with a huge building in the middle and many smaller buildings around it. The whole area was surrounded by a large fence with wires on top, there were cameras everywhere, and in some places armed guards were stationed, carefully looking at all directions. When we got to the gate, Xavier opened the window and had a quick chat with one of the guards while I looked around. The guard looked at me and, after muttering something else, handed Xavier two cards. He gave me one and told me to clip it on. Without hesitation, I obeyed and almost motionlessly waited for the car to roll into the area and stop. As soon as we got out, I took Xavier's hand and closed my eyes, trying not to think about how dirty I was. He gently tapped my palm with his fingers and motioned me to cross the courtyard behind the large building.

"She's on the twelfth sector, but you can't get there with a car, we'll have to walk a bit, okay?" He asked, unpleasanty looking around. 

"I know how to walk." I sighed, looking directly in front of me and choosing the same walking pace as his. 

I didn't understand why he wasn't walking at his normal pace. He seemed to want to run through that yard as fast as possible and it was strange to me that Xavier felt unsafe in such a place. I was curious if he was so worried about me only, or if he himself was also uncomfortable being here. He glanced at me every now and then, as if to make sure I could still go at this pace, but even though I was starting to feel nauseous, I didn't let myself slow down for a second. The thought that I would soon see my mother drove me forward.

"Let's stop for a bit. It's better to let them through." Xavi muttered, moving in a way my body was behind him. 

I glanced over his shoulder and was startled. Five vampires were led out of one building in chains. Their eyes were black, their fangs were bared, but they moved forward one foot at a time in sync like obedient puppies. I gasped involuntarily and all five faces turned towards us. I felt Xavier's body tense up and soon the sound of burning skin was heard. All of them tried to jump towards us one by one and only thanks to the guards who were holding the chains, they all fell to the ground while being held by the chains. I guessed that the chains were made of silver because it was clear how the burnt skin stuck onto the metal. 

"My God." I muttered, trying to hide even more behind Xavier.

"We'll hold them down, go." Said the guard loudly, gesturing us to go around them on the path. 

My vampire gripped my hand tighter and placed himself between me and the other vampires, taking his time to walk around the prisoners. After nodding to the guards, he immediately hurried me away and I understood from his expression that it was better not to ask anything about it. I made a mental note that later I would still want to ask how he felt seeing his own kind in such a state, but for now I needed to focus on what I was about to experience. When he reached the door marked number twelve, he rang the doorbell. They slowly opened and we were greeted by a gentleman in a white robe. His eyes immediately went to me and sparkled with joy.

"Don't even think about it. She's mine." Xavier growled and the scientist briefly rolled his eyes.

"I don't understand why you want to see that kitsune so much, Mr. Reynolds, I already said last time that she was already worthless. Especially when you have this one." He looked me over from head to toe with admiring eyes again, and then let us inside. 

We walked down the dark corridor in silence, and after a minute we were already standing in a small room that had the entire wall as a window. Whitecoat clicked a button and the glass became transparent. Behind him was a room dominated by many different plants, as if an artificial forest had been created in it. My heart sank in a strange way when I thought that it somehow reminded me of my childhood home. Then my eyes caught movement near the trees and I noticed a kitsune leaning over a plant. She calmly plowed the ground without any concern on her face. As if she didn't even know she was being watched. I squeezed Xavier's hand tighter and pressed against the glass, trying to get through.