The never ending kind

34- Hazardous Material

When I finally left the room seated on the electronic wheelchair, for some reason, it felt like the air was more charged. It was really hard to describe, but it was the feeling like something being one spark away from exploding.

Even so, I used the elevator to go to the ground floor, 'accidentally' forgetting to shoot Alpha Stupid Mean Shallow Thoughtless Jerk Face a text.

The moment the doors opened, yelling and people rushing around echoed through the small space. Taking in the surroundings, I decided to leave the gate open but stay inside until everyone was a bit calmer.

Was I afraid? No. For one, they didn't seem scared, but like they were looking for someone. Even if there was a danger, my life was in the negatives right now anyway- there wasn't much for me to look forward to.

Suddenly, I and probably everyone else in the pack got a mind message telling the adults to assemble in the pack's meeting room and all the children below a certain age were to go to the 'daycare' room.

Consideringly, I decided to pick the age that best suited me, the age that would give me more information for the mature-starved part of my brain. Yes, it was slowly dying and desiccating, but that didn't mean it wasn't still there. It just seemed like that damn alpha had slowly and successfully been able to shrink my space back down to the size of... Not even this house, now that I thought of it.

Have I gonna to all the floors yet? No. Have I pushed all the buttons on the elevator? No, even though there was this really shiny one behind glass. That aside, I've hardly even been outside. Vitamin D deficiency is real, people! And yes, I know this because... Well, not like I'll ever get that life back again.

I found my nails denting the armrests, the hall now fairly deserted. I definitely needed to get at least an ear into that room, and hopefully go unnoticed. It really sucked being an adult yet being treated like a child; made me almost want to have a temper tantrum.

As luck would have it, one of the older kitchen ladies passed by, not only breaking me from my draining thoughts, but also obliviously leading me to where all the commotion was seemingly now centered.

Just as the lady dipped into the room, I heard a screech of pain from someone, followed by wailing and begging, "No- please no, it can't be true! She can't be gone!"

"Ahhhh! My baby! My baby!" She wailed. "She was supposed to be safe here! You're supposed to be protecting us!"

"Ron, it may be best to take your wife for now and come see me later in private," I heard the clear alpha voice, who suggestion definitely was not a suggestion.

"No! You have to tell me- tell all of us what happened for you to fail at your-"

A roar that ripped through the air was followed by a distraught woman being almost carried from the room by a grey-faced, sallow looking man. Eh. And they were right in front of me. I hardly breathed as they stepped nearer, but luckily only the man took a passing glance, treating me as furniture. Success! My ninja skills have improved!

A few moments of silence followed, a cough here or there as the Alpha seemingly collected himself for the announcement to come:

"There has been a trespassing at the borders of our land. We still haven't fully figured out all aspects of this new strategy that has been used by the Caustic-"

Gasps, murmurs and several near-hysterics later, the Alpha wrested back control of the room by mere presence. How do I know this? because I was able to catch glimpses of him through the various moving forms that filled the room. And, did I forget to mention that our eyes clashed? Mine said, ' I'm supposed to be here- an adult, so I have no guilt whatsoever,' while his said, 'if I weren't in the middle of this, I would have already dealt with you.'

"Before you continue, no, they have not passed through our lands. Rather, our warriors have only found traces of them at one of the borders. As you know, every so often we have had lone Caustics brushing past our territory. No, not even now, have they dared to take more than half a step near us. But, in this case, we had one of our own as a casualty in carelessness. We do not yet know why she was out there at the border or how, yet, she was able to bypass most of our trained warriors and strategic ensnarements, but make no mistake that this mystery will not last longer than the end of today.

We are sparing no expense of time and manpower to take into consideration all aspects of this event and working to better manage the borders of our territory. Now, this also may cause some constraints to many of you, but I'm sure that you'll agree, in lieu of today, that some sacrifices must be made. Marshall Law is mandatory to all but warriors, as well as necessitating roll-calls and reinstitution of signing in or out of the several sections of the territory. Those of you also wishing for warrior accompaniment are free to sign for it later, and all phones will had their GPS trackers turned on until otherwise stated later.

This is not permanent, and there is no reason to fear for your life within this territory. The real consideration is towards those leaving our circle of protection in case the Caustic has not left the area, and keeping the children within the safety of our land.

Remember, Savannah was found at the border of our territory. Now, I suggest you speak to your children, spend time with your families and come together to ease the pain of Scarlet and Ron's loss."

I had totally been expecting questions being yelled, testosterone being thrown around and maybe a chair or two, but everyone just calmly left the room. Of course, they didn't look happy about the announcement, obviously no one but the criminal would, but they didn't seem angry or like their Alpha had not treated the situation properly. They accepted the information, accepted the instituted response to it and accepted that he would let them know more when he was able. It was almost a lackluster response compared to the upending wail-fest that it began as. Of course, she had the right to mourn the death of her daughter, there was no question in that- I just found that everyone was very calm and collected, a large juxtaposition to earlier was all.

As the last people filtered out, the room opened up like a flower, many items now in full view. The entrance to the room were large double-doors of dark oak, a plush rug set upon the large wooden floor, thick leather upholstery, lovely thick short and long stand lamps littering the area and the more modern overhead lights for those not present for the aesthetic atmosphere the area usually seemed to hold. As well, a thick bookcase adorned the wall and... That was where I lost interest. Now, don't get me wrong, I like books, I just don't like books that require a translator or dictionary for every other word and is dustier than the dust-bowl. 

Inching around the corner, I also noticed that I wasn't the only one present, nor was it just Alpha Darien, either.