Recrudescence

Chapter 13

Sonia closed her eyes and sighed in bliss.

Flavour and texture danced in harmony inside her mouth.

This spongy chocolate cake never tasted better, she thought.

It was noon when she arrived home and that was her lunch.

The moment was perfect. Even the banter of her friends-who seemed to always find something to argue about-didn't disturb it.

As for now, they were deciding for her whether to go back to work or not.

The fact that this is her business and they didn't bother to ask her opinion about it seemed to be a minor detail.

"How about grocery shopping?" Sonia butted into the conversation, then left the house without waiting for an answer. She knew they would follow her like baby ducklings.

As the day dragged on, Sonia regretted leaving her house. While the conversation with her friends deviated to more pleasing topics, she kept seeing a man following them in the grocery store. They crossed path twice, and both times, he kept looking at her; even when she pretended to discuss the prices with her friends.

Was he following them?

Was he working for my father? Or, did Alpha Omar send him?

Sonia couldn't shake her uneasiness. It only increased when Zinn pointed out that a man she saw following them was now standing in the line behind them. Sonia turned around to find an older man, in a cheap suit. Not the bodyguard-like person she noticed earlier. Lana and Istona confirmed what Zinn said. Sonia asked them about the other man, and they commented that he was too obvious not to be seen.

Sonia became very aware of her surroundings. Any movement jolted her. She couldn't wait to pay for the food and go back to the safety of her home.

The cashier was taking her time. Her eyes often strayed to the man behind them. That, too, was suspicious.

They decided to play it off. Sonia kept a smile on her face, and even laughed at a non-existent joke which earned her few stares from the people around. "That was smooth, Sonia." Her friends snickered.

"Shut up! I can't act normal. I'm too nervous," she whisper shouted.

At home, Sonia felt safe at last. However, when she took out the trash, she saw the same older man entering the house next to hers. She remembered seeing him around, before today, which scared her to no end.

Was sent by my father? Had Omar been spying on me all this time?

To say she felt violated was understatement.

She rushed inside, straight to her room. She opened the window to find him closing his. Her blood ran cold. She closed it and locked every single window around the house and the entrance.

"What should I do? What should I do? What should I do?" Sonia paced, pulling at her hair. The curious eyes of her friends followed her every movement.

"The old man we saw earlier is our neighbour!"

Her skin crawled. All this time, she was spied on, in her own haven.

"Run," Zinn said.

"Nothing," Istona said, at the same time.

Sonia glared at them both.

Istona insisted, "Don't do anything tonight. Let them believe you're none the wiser. Pack some clothes. Tomorrow, we pretend to go for a picnic, then we skip town."

Just like that, I'm back to running.

Sonia knew she wouldn't be able to sleep that night. She went to her room, took a duffle bag and started packing what she thought was necessary for their escape: Some cash, clothes...

Her friends insisted on bringing her hippie cape her grandmother made for her, sunglasses and a turban, since they didn't have time to dye her hair. Sonia doubted that would make her invisible.

She was looking for her shoes, at the bottom of the closet, when her fingers grazed a folder. She took it out, frowning. She didn't remember seeing it before. She emptied the content on the floor: Old newspapers, keys and a burner phone. She opened the phone to find many messages. The last one was "The Japanese are now in the game. We have to act fast."

She went through the others.

"Mission failed. Go underground."

"Waiting for your signal."

"Emergency meeting, same location, at ten."

"We need more information."

"Call back. We need you."

Eyes wide, she looked at her friends.

Istona was the first to talk. "Took you long enough to remember."

Sonia looked to her other friends, her heart racing.

Lana came to her side and sat next to her. "We work with the revolutionaries. We have a mission to protect humans against werewolf's danger. You, too, Sonia. You are one of us."

"Were! You were one of us. We counted on you, but you failed us. you're weak and useless. I would have left you if it wasn't for the orders."

Zinn stomped her foot. "You're an hypocrite, Istona. Where were you when she was forcefully drugged and took away?... multiple times. You were weak and useless, too."

"It's true. You've always been inconsiderate, even when she didn't remember anything. You were angry and couldn't even stay in the same room with her. You have no right to be mad at her. She did her job as best as she could, and when she fell, nobody came for her. Still, she kept our secret," Lana said.

"That's why we call her a 'lone wolf'. She is supposed to work alone and take the fall alone." Istonia seemed bored.

Fractions of memories came back to Sonia.

Her mission as a 'lone wolf' was to collect information about her father's interactions with werewolves and send them to the revolutionaries.

Their mission was to stop werewolves from taking over the country. Werewolves were animals. Dominance was everything for them. Although they didn't have the numbers to go full-on war, they planned to make a subtle transition of power.

"What happened after I was gone?" she asked to no one in particular.

"They're working towards a soft coup d'état. They established their men in many sensitive positions in the government. Our source also informed us that they have the Japanese support now, and by the end of your father's world tour, the new government wouldn't have a problem with diplomatic recognition, once the coup is done." Lana was defeated.

Sonia couldn't hate her father more. The man sacrificed his own kind for his personal gain.

Shame washed over her. She couldn't look her friends in the eyes.

I'm not my father.

She dashed to the bathroom and emptied her pills in the toilet. Same for the pills in the kitchen, she destroyed it all.

"We will stop them!" She pointed at Istona, daring her to speak. Her determination was not a sheer enthusiasm. She felt it inside her that, this time, they would not fail.

With her new found resolve, Sonia sent a message, "Emergency meeting, I'll send you the details."

She put everything back in the folder and threw it in the bag.

She went back to packing, determination fuelling her actions.

It wasn't about her anymore.

It was about the future of the whole humanity.