The Prison of Deviants

Chapter 41: Theo's Thoughts and Dagur's Feelings

Faint rustles reach my ears, followed by some barks and cries. They're becoming louder. I open my eyes in distress - it must be the chasing party! 

It's still dead midnight hour, yet some light touches the branches of our shelter from afar - the firelight. Outside of our shelter, some people, or rather animals, are sniffing around. Soon, I indeed recognize Clara's and Terry's voices:

"The smell stops here!" Clara says. She's the one lighting the area.

"Ugh, continue searching! They must be around!" Terry snarls.

"We've lost the scent!" Clara retorts.

"Look for it!" Terry snaps.

Their multiple lapdogs - werewolves, weredogs, foxes, hyenas, coyotes - are here too, looking for our trails as hard as they can. 

"When we find them, we're going to burn them to bits for all they've done!" Terry growls. "I always knew one shouldn't trust those cats!"

"Relax, we'll find them," Clara says. "They wouldn't have gone far."

Shudders run down my spine. They're here, so close to us, and Dagur's still unconscious! If they find us, we won't survive... I will fight to the death, I know, but it will be all to naught - I cannot beat Clara, a fire-fox deviant, and so many canines all at the same time. To add that the fairies are buzzing in the air and the angels too are nearby. Every administrator who remained in the prison and survived is on our tail. Thankfully, though, the bat-vampires aren't among them. That still leaves some chances for us to remain unnoticed.

Instinctively, I clutch Dagur's injured arm, as if asking for support. I've poured some water onto his wounds before I'd go to sleep, but he's still far from recovery. I guess, Dagur's organism works oppositely to that of Knut's - if Knut's regenerative abilities help cure his wounds faster, Dagur's instead take a lot of time on his own body but help others' wounds right away, as they did mine. This is bad - without Dagur's massive firepower, we won't be able to beat these guys. And now, as he's injured, he won't be able to utilize the firepower at all.

Still, as if seeking a mighty one's help, I stick to Dagur's arm. He's still unconscious, but I can hear his steady breath. He's so calm and collected when asleep... as if he's gone off the world into some peaceful land. I wish I could sleep like that. 

"When you feel alone or scared,

Remember, your daddy's nearby.

My little angel, noble and fair,

Sleep, for I'm always by your side..."

I flinch - my dad's voice rings vividly in my ears. That's how he used to put me to sleep when I cried for whatever reason. Mainly it was the thunder that scared me back then, and he'd always sing his lullaby to me to calm me down. He'd lie beside me and caress my hair with his hand, while I'd snuggle with his arm, big and sturdy, that always promised shelter and support... Now, the thunder sounds are substituted by those of the cries and the barks of our pursuers, and that mighty hand I'm clinging onto is not that of my father but the one of Dagur, who's still asleep. I listen to his monotonous breath, and it pacifies my heart just like dad's one used to, when I'd wake up in the middle of the night, only to feel him beside me. 

Dad... Please, help me...

I can't really understand why I'm repeating those words in my mind now. Dagur truly resembles my dad so much, with his physique, age, appearance, even sleeping habits! Talk about coincidences...

"They're not here. Let's move on!"

Terry growls to Clara and his underlings. They begin to leave. The buzzes of the fairies and the squeals of the angels grow fainter and fainter until they disappear completely. Now, only the stomps of the canines' feet reach my ears since I'm lying on the ground and it transmits sound vibrations better than the air does. Soon, even those faint sounds die out. They're gone.