Intro 2048

Illness spread over the world. Whole towns were forever whipped from the surface as none of the habitants survived. The human tried everything to stop it but all hope was lost. But then the first messages of survivors arrived. There were not many but it raised the hope among the human race. And then as suddenly as it begun the illness stopped. However the people realized soon that the “survivors” were not as normal as they seemed to be. The people soon discovered abnormal traits and started to fear the “Survivors”.
This is the story of Evy, she was the only one of her town who survived. The one her rescuer turned their back to after they saw her new abilities. And now she is one of the few who escaped again but this time from her once time race, the human species.

Hunt

 

“Run”, whispered the wind in Evy’s ear as she broke through the wood. “Run, or they will get you!” Evy cried out as a twig scratched her skin and caught her hair but she did not stop. Halting mean losing precious seconds, halting meant examination and possibly death, again. She was tired of running, tired of defending herself.

The only thing she truly wished for was a night of undisturbed sleep and the possibility of a peaceful life. However life had not been kind to her in the last few days, well that was not entirely true, it has not been kind to her in the last few months. When she awaked the first time after the virus the only thing she had seen where the dead bodies of her beloved and Evy knew that nothing would be the same again. The people who discovered her had taken one look and fled. They had sent others to get her out of her old house, far away from all the death.

She cried when they carried her out, happy to see survivors but scared of what would happen to her. They had provided foot, medical treatment and shelter. Evy had trusted them, she had not minded when they took her blood to run tests. She cooperated with them but after telling them about the wind and how he talked to her they did not hesitate to chain her down.

The weeks after that were a blur in her memory. Days of no sleep, being forced into the open without any protection against the cold to see if the wind was truly talking to her and being examined by force over and over again. But the wind did not talk to her and they were getting furious. As they could not break her mind they tried to break her body. They broke her bones and hit her body but not even once did they go so far that she lost consciousness as they were amused by her pleads and the fear they could arose in her. The last few months had been the same over and over again, healing, beating and keeping her sedated so she would not run away. But Evy had grown strong, faking the pain and fighting the sedative in her blood thus taking the first opportunity to flee.

Evy’s lungs burned, she did not know where she was. Sweat was running down her body and everything ached. But the further she went from the station that kept her caged for so long the better her chances were to survive. Her feet did not want to carry her anymore but Evy forced herself to go even faster. The thin slippers they had given her during her imprisonment where long lost and rocks were cutting her already wounded feet.

“That’s right daughter of the wind, lose yourself and you will be free!”, Evy shook her head and pressed the hands on her ears. Those voices in her head were the reason why she lost the security all over again. She hated them, hated how they separated her from all the other but one thing she promised herself was that she would never listen to them. She would keep mute and silent as they had done when she was screaming for help in the snow.

“She is here, I hear her move. Get the hounds out and we will get her faster. This time she cannot escape.” Evy stopped dead in her track. How did they found her so fast? She was certain that she did not leave a trail. No money, no scent, not even a finger print! Anxious Evy looked around. She was surrounded by trees and mist. The ground was littered with fallen leaves and mud.

“You want to survive?” The mist poured over her like the gentle touch of a lover, “Follow our voice!” Evy was desperate. She never wanted to be in the hands of those men again but neither wanted she admit to finally hearing the wind and following his orders. However with one frightened look back, Evy whisked around and followed the thin trail of fog deeper into the forest.

Her steps got lighter when she could no longer hear the voices of the hunters. But her joy was short lived when she heard the howling behind her. Those bastards had set the dogs loose. With a quick glance behind, Evy kneeled down and smeared the mud onto her face and arms. She might be dead by the end of the night but she would not make it easy for them. With a smirk she pushed herself under the thick roots of a big oak, the mist poured around her protecting her from the eyes but not the noses of the dogs.

The next minutes where the worst in her life. She waited anxiously for the dogs to found her and they did. The paws where scratching at the branches and dirt was falling down upon her.

“Hey Michael, I think the dogs found something! Come here and we might find this creature.” Evy shivered when she heard his voice. It was the bulky man who leered at her during her ‘health’ care and dropped sexual hints more than one time.

“Please”, she whispered, ”save me!” With slow movements Evy pushed back and shivered when she felt the bark of the tree against her nude feet. No way to retreat if the men followed their dogs lead and no way to escape the leer of Rick W. Warner. She could not remember how long she has been in the care facility but she remembered that he touched her, touched her where no one should ever touch her without her permission.

“She must be here! She cannot be far with the high dose of sedative in her blood; she should not even have been able to escape!” Evy suppressed a cry, she had gone to those people because she thought they would help her instead they imprisoned her and kept her sedated to the point of being defenceless and weak. Furthermore they made her believe that she was not worth anything and could be treat as less than an animal.
She was sad but mostly she was furious. Her family had died all the people she cared for had vanished and just because she survived the virus they wanted to study and exanimate her.
With each thought she heard the wind becoming stronger until she heard the dogs howl out of fear and the men curse as they were struck by broken wigs. Each minute the men stayed longer the wind picked up in speed until it resembled a storm.

“Rick, come on man. We will not find her in this thunderstorm!”, Evy listened to the rude remark of Rick as he was pulled away by Michael.

“If we do not find the bitch by tomorrow night you know they will not hesitate to use their newest device. And I will not give up the opportunity to finally get her just because she is freaking dead!”

Evy sucked in her breath. She knew that they would likely insert a tracking advice – it had been the only reason why they found her so quick realized Evy but she never thought they would actually kill her before she could be free again. And with this thought snapped her control, she was labelled as dead either way. It did not make a big difference if it was today or tomorrow night. Evy’s cry of misery was carried by the wind through the woods and reached the hunting party. As the two men turned around she had scrambled out under the wood and charged towards them.

Rick grinned when he saw her in her ripped clothes and the blood running down her body but it soon faded when she scratched his cheek and draw blood. “Now we are the same you bloody animal! Both of you are animal, none of you is any better than me!”
But with a nasty glance in her direction Rick caught her wrists and hissed “But we are no monsters, you are abnormal and a disgrace thus being treated as a bloody beast!” Evy sobbed but it was soon absorbed by cold fury with a snarl she twisted her head and looked him in the eye. Her body was shaking and heat surged through her body and tore her apart.

Before Rick or Michael realized what happened she was free and lunged into the air. The wind was carrying her higher and higher until all she could see was the ruins of the city and the deep green of the forest. Evy closed her eyes and let her sorrows be taken away – well until she realized that as a human she was not supposed to be flying weightless around the sky. And that was the moment where she felt feathers touching her skin and saw the big wings on her back.
“O my god!” and that was the last coherent thought she had as the tiredness and worries caught up with her and knocked her out in mid-air.

Fallen

“What she doing here?” , “How she come here?”, Evy groaned and moved a little bit as her sleep was disturbed by the gentle voices. Her head hurt and every breath sent a wave of pain through her body. She slowly tried to open her eyes but found herself unable to do so. The lids just felt too heavy and her body hurt too much. The noises around her went louder and Evy could not suppress the groan which escaped her lips.

“She is hurt!” Evy groaned again but this time about the obvious fact he stated. Of course she was hurt, she would not lie around the ground if she was fine! A light female voice cut through the chatter of the other voices:

“Be still. You know how Roan is about strangers. If we want to help her than stop the gossip and bring her inside the female’s dorm!” Evy sighed just great that she landed somewhere where she was not really welcome. Of course it would have been too much to ask for if she had landed somewhere where no one objected her presence.
But as the people tried to lift her up and her body screamed in agony the familiar darkness of unconsciousness embraced her again.

The first thing Evy realized when she woke up was the warmth and the silence. No forest, no howling hounds and no screaming men trying to detect and kill her. The heat was comforting and Evy slowly opened her eyes. The room was dark and only a thin slot let light through probably the door. With the strength of a new-born Evy tried to turn around to find out what else was in the room.

However her body was still hurting so much that she just fell flat on her back and tried to catch her breath. An amused voice floated through the room and Evy could fell the assuring touch of a female:

“I would not try to do that if I were you! You would only damage the progress you already made!”

“Who are you? And where am I?”, rasped Evy out. Her mouth was dry and every word hurt.

“Before I answer all your questions drink this!” Evy was reluctant when she felt a glass brushing against her lips because she feared drugs again but as her body still hurt even being sedated seemed appealing. Each gulp eased the burning in her mouth and she felt a little bit more alive.

“And do not worry we wish you no harm!” Evy giggled out loud at this statement. She remembered the first time she heard this and it lead to being imprisoned and being used for experiments.

“I hear this once, so please forgive me if I do not believe you in earnest!”

“Don’t worry, there will be a time for your trust but”, Evy already felt tired again the voice luring her back to sleep,” now is the time for healing!” And just before she heard the women leaving the room she remembered the discussion of the men.

“Wait”, as she did not hear a reaction Evy tried it again, “Wait, please! Those men did something to me. They told me I would be dead by the next day. If you want to help me, do not let me die because of those men!” And with that she fall back into a deep slumber.

Roxanne swirled around when she heard the women twisting in her bed and pleading for help. Her eyes rested upon the slim figure of the female and the fast beating of the heart. If it was the truth she needed help and fast!

Roxanne did not hesitate she opened the door and ran down the floor. Who in the keep was able to help her with that? Her healing abilities where limited due to her age and the healing she had already provided. If Roan was supposed to not detect this female immediately, her choices were narrowed. There was only one she could think of who would not directly rat her out to their leader and it was –

“Dominic!”, she cried out as she saw his lean figure resting against the wall next to the big hall’s entrance. She never once spoken to him without the assuring presence of others but he was her safest bet if she wanted to safe the young female’s life. He slowly turned his head to look her into the eyes.

“What could there be that the mighty Roxanne requires my assistance!”, he mocked her with a grin on the face.

“Really funny but I do not have a lot of time. You must follow me at once and I promise I will explain everything later!”, she pulled at his arm and he moved from the wall more surprised than willing. With an anxious look back making sure that nobody has seen them Roxanne gave him all the relevant data.

“Yesterday evening we found a female badly injured at the border to our territory. She did not awake until a few minutes ago. She was disorientated but pleaded for my help when I was leaving. The people who must have hunted her did something to her and told that she is going to die at the second day out of their reach. I would have tried it by myself but I am exhausted after helping to repair most of the damage. And you were the first one crossing my mind who would not tell everything to Roan without further notice.”

Dominic looked surprised at the young woman in front of him. She did not strike him as someone who would withhold information but Roxanne definitely knew about the distrust in Roan against newbies and followed her soft heart instead of the strict policies. In addition she knew about the row going on between him and Roan thus seeking him out.

“What do you want me to do? I am not exactly trained in the health department as you know!” Roxanne snorted as she knew exactly in which department he fell.

“I know that you are educated in poison and interested in technics. To cause death after such an amount of time would either mean poisoning or a technical device therefore you are my safest bet!” She came to a halt and was fully concentrated on the door in front of her and missing his perplexed facial expression.

He always thought that Roxanne knew next to nothing about him ignoring him as often as possible but in truth “You were spying on me weren’t you?”, Dominic grinned as she blushed and turned around.

“That’s not the time for jokes. Me knowing stuff about you does not mean I am interested in you! Here is a woman dying and I would rather safe her life!” Dominic felt flattered at her statement because he never asked if she was interested in him but if the female inside the room spoke the truth about her dying he would postpone the talk until later.

The room itself was dark. Dominic could barely see the woman lying on the bed beneath all the blankets. He rushed over to her and laid a hand over her forehead. Normal temperature and her breathing were stable and steady. He felt the presence of Roxanne beside her and whispered:

“It is definitely not a poison. Did you check her for tracking devices or any other abnormality?”

“I found the tracking device and removed it. Hannan destroyed it already but besides that we did not really search further as she had several broken bones and an internal bleeding.”, Dominic could see worry on her features as she looked at the fragile woman in front of them. She must have been a beauty once but she was so skinny and bruised that it was hard to imagine her former looks.
He took a deep breath and brought himself into visa a dreamlike state in which most of them perform their special abilities. His vision zoomed in on the female. He could feel the electrician impulses with which everybody worked but Dominic also felt the presence of something artificial in her body. It did not quite fit into her rhythm. He moved his look to the place from where the waves came from. It was placed near to her heart. Any surgery would be risky and could cost her life. Slowly he spread his fingers over her heart to trace the impulses easier.

“I found something. It is a small pacemaker but it is stronger than normal ones. If they activate it she will have a heart attack and almost no possibility of surviving!”, he heard Roxanne’s sharp breath intake and felt sorry for the pain both women must have already endured by getting it implanted and the other from trying to heal her.

“I cannot remove it but I can disconnect the signal from afar. She would still be able to get attacked though it if they come near enough but it is going to buy us some time!”

“Do it but make certain it does not hurt her any further!”, Roxanne put her hand on his shoulder reassuring him that she was with him if anything went wrong.
Dominic took a deep breath and focused on the device. He felt his vision change again by trying to get even closer to it and was wholly absorbed in the different colours swirling around him and signalling him all the different functions. He dismissed the red and purple lines as they clearly belonged to her body and focused on the bluish ones. Dominic followed them until he found where they were connected and with one stronger tug he disconnected them and smiled satisfied at their disappearance. Slowly he made his way back to reality and nodded his head at Roxanne’s questioned look.

“O thank you so much!”, she took his hand in her own and gripped it in gratitude as the woman’s features softened in her sleep. “I know I already asked so much from you but would you mind keeping her a secret until she is better and able to defend her own?”

“You truly need to harden your heart, Roxanne, if you want to survive in this world! But for now I promise that I will not interfere with your doing!”, and with this Dominic withdraw his hand and left the room already missing her warmth and softness.

He did not encounter anyone while returning to the spot he left in order to help Roxanne thus having no need to explain his presence in the healer quarters of the females dorm. This surely would have made a good conversation especially if he met one of Roans guardians. Dominic chuckled when he remembered the stern expression on Roxanne’s face while pulling him through the corridors earning a frown from a group of teenage boys passing by and decided to keep a track on the work of their healer. Not because he was interested in her, he reasoned with himself, but only to safeguard her and the rest of their citizen. And then adding with a sigh, who was he kidding, of course because he was fascinated by her!

Roxanne followed his figure with her gaze until he left the room and closed the door softly. The things he had done before he made his way to “New terra” had been shocking and made him a wary opponent but beneath all his cunning remarks Dominic still held unto his human side. She did not know what occurred between Roan and Dominic in the past but it made them sworn enemies and both of them were men one would not want to cross. With a sigh Roxanne turned her attention to the woman lying in the bed next to her and found her eyes open and transfixed upon her.

“Who are you?”, asked Roxanne and fixed the linen covering the woman.
And with a cough and a hoarse voice she uttered one word, “Evy”. Roxanne smiled and remembering the questions she has been asked before.

“I am Roxanne and you are at a place no one who wishes harm upon you is allowed to enter. So truly do not fear and do not longer fret about anything that has been done to you as I took care about it!”
Her eyelids already falling down again Evy uttered one last question,

“Why are you helping me?”

“Because we all have been in the situation of finding no place to stay safe. But now cease all the questions and rest. Your body will need to gain energy and restore the amount it lost!” And with that Roxanne stood up and left the room to let her patient rest.

Rest

The next time Evy woke up was due to the light sunshine coming through the curtains in her room. Her eyes focused on the tiny fragments of dust swirling around the room resembling little ballerinas and followed their slow dance. They were free, free to explore and find happiness in their existence. Evy knew that she would have to face reality soon but found her gaze transfixed. With a twirl of her finger she changed the directions of the airstream and watched how the little ballerinas danced from one side of the room to the other.

Her doing was interrupted by a soft female chuckle and the fragile dancers returned to their original route.

“Nice one! I love to follow the path of the dust when the sun is shining and you can see them flowing around the room.” Evy twisted her neck until she faced the young woman from the night before. How did she call herself again? O, yes Roxanne.

“But how are you? I had hoped a little bit better as I figured out that you would probably like a shower and some food.” Roxanne bent down to place a tray on the small table in the corner of the room and went to open the curtains. Fresh and cool air filled the room when she pushed them aside and opened the window. Evy could hear the leaves shaking in the wind and laughter flowing around. And for the first time since she was discovered crying over the small frame of her brother Evy felt peace.

“I would love to have a shower and something to eat. I am famished!”, she added with a sheepish grin as her stomach rumbled out load.
“That’s easy to hear and quite understandable. You slept almost two whole days since we discovered you!”, Roxanne laughed and came over to lend Evy a hand in getting up.

“You will be quite sore for a while because your body had severe injuries and even I cannot heal everything in a moment!”
Curious Evy looked at the slender female in front of her.

“What do you mean by healing everything?”

“Do not worry about that I will try to explain everything later but first of all I have to get you under the shower and food into your stomach!” and with that Roxanne helped Evy standing up. With one arm over her shoulder the two women stumbled into the small bathroom attached to the room.

“Take all the time you need. I will be waiting for you and if you need my help just call and I come!” were Roxanne’s departing words as she saw the need in Evy’s eyes to be alone and quickly closed the door.

After she was left alone, Evy collapsed onto the toilet seat. Her legs felt like jelly and her mind was a confused mess. She did not remember anything after the chase through the woods. At least anything besides soaring pain in her back and fear that held her heart in a cold grasp. With a shudder she pushed herself up and stumbled towards the shower.
Every step felt like a mile but Evy did not gave up. The least she could do was finally clean herself and feel tidy and in control once more. Discarding her clothes she stepped into the shower and turned it on. With a curse and a shriek that could have woken up the dead she turned it off again. She heard a knock at the door and realized that Roxanne had heard her.

“Don’t worry, I just forgot to turn it warm. It was not a pleasant surprise but I am totally awake now!”
- You are such an idiot, Ev. She muttered to herself and cautiously turned the water on again but tried to stay clear of the cold water until she could feel the water drops getting warmer against her legs. It felt like heaven.
Evy raised her hands and cherished the water dripping down her body leaving her warm and clean. After a while which felt like eternity she stepped out and wrapped herself in a soft towel. She had not had since she was held captive in the laboratories. All she received was a hard piece of soap and a thin line to dry her. Not wanting to slip on the wet floor Evy slowly walked to the door and poked her head out.

“Hey Roxanne, do you have something I could wear? After being in the shower and feeling clean again, I do not really feel like I should put on my old clothes?”
The young women turned and had to push her long hair out of her eyes in order to see Evy clearly.

“Well, look at you! You almost appear to be human again! And yeah, somewhere I even got my clothes from my younger years! “, with a laugh she turned around and added: “Because if I give you my clothes from now, you probably drown in them!”

Evy felt her lips twitch and she nodded thankfully when Roxanne gave her some washed out trousers and a baby blue shirt. Not exactly her colors but a beggar could not really choose. “Thank you!”

Heading back into the bath Evy took her time to get changed and savored the time until she had to face reality again. The steam was slowly leaving the room and for the first time she was able to see herself in a mirror. She could not recognize herself. Her former long hair had been cut short due to hygienic standards in the laboratories and having lived in a cave like environment had darkened it so much that it now appeared brown instead of its former blond color. She also remembered to be a bit more chubby. The days of starvation and her iron grip on determination to gain freedom had enabled her to lose all the extra weight. However her skin once soft was scarred and her eyes revealed the horrors she endured in the cave.

“You all right?”, asked Roxanne nervous and followed Evy when she left the bathroom and stumbled back to the bed.

“Kind of! I still have no idea how I came here and who you are. I also cannot remember how long I have been in the cave!”, Evy covered her face and slowly shook her head.

“Every time I come up with a memory before my isolation it slips my mind. And I cannot even remember my family. All I know is that I had a brother but he was killed.”

“Do not force yourself! If your mind does not remember certain events than it often means that you are not ready to endure them! Many of us had those problems after the big illness and some are still struggling.”, Roxanne was interrupted before she could explain more.

“But who are us and how much time has passed since the illness spread over the world?”

“The last outbreak was over three years ago. All of the survivors are living in sanctuaries. You are in one right now.”

“So there has been other people who survived? Other people like me who were not killed by the fever?”

“Of course, I would not say thousands but yes, a lot survived!”, Roxanne took Evy’s hand in hers and looked her into the eyes.

“You did not know that anymore survived, did you? You thought that you were all alone!”

Evy tried to speak but chocked on her words. “I hoped that some had survived but I never imagined that! When I arrived in the cave I heard others but over the time they got fewer and fewer. And then I was all alone! Nobody new was brought in. I had been the last one. I thought that I was an abnormality. Thought that as everybody, who looked after me, was not influenced I had to be a monster.”

Roxanne grasped Evy’s hand harder. “You are not a monster. The people who held you captive where beasts. And yes there are other who were influenced. But what made you different? Why did they call you abnormal?”

Evy turned her head down. “The first time I told what made me different they lead me into the cave and never let me out! Why,” she looked up, “should I trust you?”

“Because I am the same like you! We are all different! And do not forget that I saw you earlier with the wind. But if you do not want to talk to me right now, I understand. For now, rest! I will check with you later and see how you are doing!”, Roxanne got up and pushed Evy back onto the bed. “Sleep now and we can talk later.”

Evy wanted to get up. Wanted Roxanne to tell her more so her need for information was satisfied. But she found herself tired and it did not take very long to fall asleep.

Discover

Roxanne sighed when she left Evy to rest again. She did not know a thing that happened. Had no idea about the conflicts between the “mors” as they called the human now and the survivors of the fever. Hurrying down the corridor she tried to overcome the feeling that someone was watching her and glanced around. Roxanne could not see anybody but that did not mean that no one was there. Over the last three years their people had developed some unusual skills and she would not be surprised if there were not a few among them who could turn invisible. Just before she reached the corner a voice bellowed behind her:

“Roxanne! Wait, Roan wants to see you. He says that it is important and you should make your way as fast as possible to the Great Hall!”, it was Liam, the second in command whenever Roan was away on business.

Immediately she felt fear arousing inside her. He did not want any intruders after the last attack on their sanctuary which resulted in a heavy loss for their kind. He had ordered that people who sought help should apply and be checked. However she had broken the rule by not notifying him about Evy’s arrival and worse about her secret treatment. If he found out, it would not matter that she was a long trusted member of their community. She had broken the rule and Roan would not accept that fact so easily.

Turning around and sending him a cheerful smile even though her nerves were killing her, Roxanne made her way slowly into the lower grounds of their sanctuary towards the Great Hall. When the fever started to break out the government had collected the survivors and put them into camps. Nobody really knew what the first ones had been put through and nobody asked. She knew that Roan and Liam had been in one of the first camps and that Dominic had been stationed in one as well. After the end of the fever and their escape from the camps more and more survivors had joined them looking for protection when their own kind turned against them. Roxanne’s thoughts were interrupted when she arrived at the doors and could hear the laughter and talk die down as she made her way towards Roan who was in a heated discussion with Moria and Thomas. The two of them being one of the few married couples who survived the fever together.

“You won’t achieve anything besides arouse fear among us and all the others who need our help if you keep on shutting the gates!”, exclaimed Thomas and took a step towards Roan.

“Please Roan! Just because Riaz helped the mors to gain access to our security network and defenses does not mean that everybody out there would do the same! We cannot turn our back to the ones who need our help!”, pleaded Moria and grasped Roan’s hand. His dark eyes turned towards her and he softened.

“But I cannot endanger the ones who already put their trust into my hands! You saw how far they would go in order to get their hands at us again. I simply cannot allow that!”

Moria nodded and Roxanne could see that she had tears in her eyes. She had lost her children in the fever and for her it was hard to understand why Roan would simply turn his back on the ones who pleaded for help.

Thomas had turned around and had seen her standing behind their small assembly.

“We will have to discuss what to do in the future and we will have to do it soon! But for now, Roxanne is here and I am sure that neither our talk nor yours should be open for everyone to listen to!”, he nodded kindly at Roxanne, took his wife’s hand and left Roxanne and Roan alone.

“Hi Roan, Liam told me that you wanted to talk to me about something? How can I help you!”, she smiled at him and noted that he looked more powerful and colder since the last time they had met. The attack and being let down by one of their own kind had made him suspicious and harder.

“As Thomas said, this is not the place to discuss that. Please follow me!”, he took her arm thus giving her no choice but to follow his demand.
“You know that I am perfectly able to follow you on my own?”, Roxanne joked but one look at his black eyes made her realize that now was not the time and place for jokes.

Arriving at the door to his office he released her arm and invited her in. The dark brown table at the end of the room dominated the room and made her shiver. Roxanne had known Roan for a long time now but reading his feelings had never been possible. His power and control over them had erased every trace of them so even her healing and enhanced senses could not pick anything up.

“What do you want?”, she was impatient now. Only four months after the attack there were still a lot of them who could not cope with what they had seen and Evy was a totally different story.

Standing with his back to her, he exhaled than turned around and stared at her.
“I know about the incident at the border. I know that somebody who does not belong here is staying with us. And I know that if this person is injured as bad as some of my people described than there is only one person who could have helped her. You!”, his voice had grown quieter with each word he spoke. The black of his eyes was swirling and Roxanne lowered her view.

“But she was hurt. I am the healer of our group and I could never turn someone down who is in need of help and treatment!”

“Roxanne, I need to trust my people. If everybody is going around and opening the gate to let people in how can I know that we are still safe? How can the other know it, the children?”

Roxanne knew that she had made a terrible mistake by not telling him. But Evy had been in need and for a fast recovery it would have been the worst to confront her with Roan and his suspicious ways.

“I trust her! They had planted a pace maker into her in case she breaks free. They thought that she was important. Nobody of the others who escaped had been chased as badly or had anything transplanted.”

Roan rubbed his forehead when he heard the determination in Roxanne’s voice. She would not give up without a fight. Since the accident his sensed had known that something was wrong. Nobody had wanted to tell him what exactly happened but they all said that Roxanne would know. Of course she would, she had the kindest soul of the lot of them. He would not be surprised to find her helping and caring for a shot down soldier of the mors.

Grabbing her at the shoulders so she would look up he growled: “Do what you have to do so she is up again but I swear to god if she leaves that room without permission from me, you will not like my reaction! Do you understand?”

Roxanne nodded hastily and whispered: “Yes, not allowed to leave the room and see you as soon as she is able to be up for longer than a few minutes! Noted and understood!” and with that she turned around and left his office as fast as she could.

Memories

Roan sank down onto his chair as soon as Roxanne had left the room. He would make sure that whoever was treated by Roxanne would stay where he told her to stay. Never again would he make the mistake to trust someone just because he seemed in need. It had cost him dearly. After the break out from the camps he and the other prisoners had wasted no time but searched for help and freedom. They built up the sanctuary and gave assistance to those who needed it. More than once the mors had found them but they had the power and experience to keep them at bay. However the attacks never stopped and this spring it had been fatal. They had broken through and laid their hands on the innocent of them. More than one life had been lost. After recovering from the loss Roan had realized that there must have been a traitor. All the codes had been hacked and in such a speed that they must have known the key information. Never giving up it had taken him and Liam two months to find the traitor and end his games. Riaz would never send a message to the mors again. But they could not restore the lives lost to them. Ian or Shauna might still be alive but if it was anyhow similar to the camps he did not want them to be alive.

Stretching his arms Roan tried to get a grip on the urge burning inside him to find out who Roxanne was tending to and if she meant them harm. Since her arrival he had fought the need to sought her out as he knew that by forcing Roxanne he might get to his goal but her patient would suffer and retreat. The reason why Roxanne was such a good healer was that her patient felt safe around her. She could calm anyone down and fasten the healing process but she also needed to concentrate on the health of her patient. Disturbing her would mean that he would have to wait longer to get the information he sought. Roan groaned and hit his table with so much force that a small crack appeared on the sturdy surface of his oak table.

“Of course! Why not. As though I do not have enough problems already!”, his fingers combed through his hair and he shut is eyes to reign his desire to just tick off. Maybe he would not feel the need to destroy anything if he could not see it. Destroying his office wouldn’t do any good. It would not solve the problems with the mors and it certainly would not help to get rid of the urge to go to that female! Damn her.

A few floors above the raging Roan Evy was in deep slumber. His anger and fury stirred something in her that had been buried a long time ago.

“Get up!”, she did not move. “Get up you animal and get ready! The doc wants to see you today and you know that he doesn’t like it if you are not ready. So get moving.”, the guard of her cell yelled and hit the grid hard. Evy jolted awake and felt fear soaring through her body. The doctor meant pain. It meant humiliation and days of no real memories. She hated the drugs he gave her, hated how it made her weak. Having only had the time to stand up from the floor, she squinted when the door to the laboratory was opened and hit the wall hard.

“Well if that isn’t my favorite toy!”, Rick leaned against the grid and she could see how he licked his lips with his tongue. Disgusted Evy turned her head and retreated to the furthest corner in her cage.

A thin and tall man came down the stairs just before she hit her wall. “Nah, nah. Don’t be frightened girl! You know that we don’t want you anything bad. But you are the key to our survival, to our future!”

“If I am the key, you should keep him on a leash. I doubt I will cooperate anytime soon if he puts his hands on me ever again!”

Rick sneered and the man chuckled. “I could but I am afraid that I won’t do it. You are just not cooperative enough!”, than he nodded to the guard, “open the door and get her!”

The guard took out his keys and slowly opened the door as though Evy was a wild animal that could attack him at any time. The truth was that she was hungry, starving and had no will left to fight anymore. She did not know how long she had been in this cage. How often they had asked her all these questions. But as she was forced out of her cage and Rick gripped her arm and grinned at her, Evy swore that she would find a way to leave this cave. And it did not matter if this meant her death.

When the two men carried her up the stairs and into the laboratory Evy screamed. The moment she saw the injection on the table she knew that pain would come. The two nurses who were waiting next to the table lowered their view when they saw her struggling.

“Please. Do not let them hurt me!”, Evy sobbed when she was bound to the table. Her fingers were cramped and you could see the white in her eyes. With every step the doctor took, she cried louder. “Please, please, just help me. I don’t want to hurt anymore!”

The injection hurt, it burned and she flinched away from the cold touch. The veins on her neck were hard as steel and she feared that her teeth might burst with the pressure she put onto it. Evy could taste blood where she had bitten herself in her rage and her cries were muffled now, the throat sore and she could not feel her legs or arms as the ropes dug deep into her skin. Tears were slowly running down her cheek and the faces of the nurses turned into blurred forms. They would not help her. She was alone and all she could do was survive.

“Keep an eye on her. Every flinch, every twist. I want to know!”, the doctor bellowed orders and she could feel how the ropes were lifted and she was taken back into her cage. Evy moaned when her back hit the ground where the guard dropped her and pulled her legs as close to her body as possible. Just a second later Rick was kneeling at her side and touching her leg. She shuddered but could not move away as a wave of pain hit her. The injection started to work and she feared what might happen to her after this one or the next.

“You know!”, he murmured and pushed his hands further up her leg, “for an animal you sure are fine looking!”

With a cry Evy opened her eyes and saw Roxanne standing next to her bed and trying to keep her from falling down the bed. A man was standing next to her and Evy cried out.
“Get him off me! Put him away!”, her whole body was shuddering and she pulled the blanket as close as she could around her.
“Please, you promised nobody would hurt me!”, her voice broke and she sobbed, “Make him go away!”

Roxanne felt like her heart was ripped in pieces when she saw the fear in the other female’s eyes.

“Dominic, please. Leave the room. I won’t need you tonight!”, the man gave a nod and swiftly left the room. She did not even see him touch the door when he went out. But when she heard another whimper, Roxanne turned her attention again towards the female. Her eyes were large and bloodshot. Sweat was glistering on her forehead and she was breathing heavy. It might have been a nightmare but Roxanne knew that Evy must have had a fearsome encounter with a male before to show such a strong reaction.

“He is not gonna hurt you! And nobody else will, I promised you security and rest. You will get it!”, she exclaimed forceful and set down next to Evy.
“You won’t have to talk about what happened. Ever. But if you want to, you know that I will help you. But now try to eat a bit of the soup and then rest again. Tomorrow you should be fit enough to take the long journey back to the bathroom!”, she laughed and placed a good smelling bowl of soup in front of Evy.

Evy smiled but Roxanne knew that it would take a while for her to open and even longer to talk about what happened. If Evy had been one of the first ones to survive she might have been in this “cave” for more than half a decade. She did not even want to imagine what could be done to such a young woman when she had no one to rely on. But to stir away from her nightmare she decided to explain a bit more about where they actually were and who she was.

“I know that you know my name but I am Roxanne MacLowan. And my job here in New Terra is it to keep all of us healthy and happy. And trust me it isn’t always easy. The guy who had been in your room earlier was Dominic. He is the one who helped me with the pace maker those guys put into you. There shouldn’t be any problem from now on but if you feel anything just tell me.”

She saw that Evy was getting calmer by the minute and hoped that those memories wouldn’t come back to soon. Her bones might have healed but it had taken her and Evy’s body a lot to mend them in this time. And an internal bleeding was always risky no matter how accomplished one was or how many extra power the healer had. When Roxanne saw that Evy was finished with the soup she took the bowl and slowly got up. Having almost reached the door she heard Evy’s answer.

“Thank you Roxanne. For the offer and explaining some of the stuff that is going on here to me.”, than she turned around and pulled the blanket closer around her once more.

Breaking vows

The next morning came and with it an overexcited Roxanne.

“Come on! Wake up. By now you should be fine to not need 14 hours of sleep anymore. You have some catching up to do and please, you also have to leave the bed so I can finally clean up a bit. I do not want to offend you, but you kind of smell!”

Evy just grabbed her pillow and put it over her head in order to protect her eyes from the light sun shining through the windows into her room.

“Yesterday you told me to rest and get healthy again!”, she complained when Roxanne lifted the cover. “And now you force me into the shower and up. I do not want to offend you”, she countered, “but your logic is seriously damaged!”

“Well all the healing power you claimed when you decided to play free fall was put into good use and unless you want to do some bungee jumping today, three days of rest should have brought you back to your before-the-fall-status!”

Evy groaned but slowly got up and trotted to the bath room. Just before she had gone through she turned her head and asked:” You do not mind lending me another outfit? Just no baby colors, ok? I am not really fond of them!”

Roxanne shook her head and went to her wardrobe. With an evil grin she picked a peach colored shirt and another pair of jeans. Then she shouted, “do not worry, I put the stuff onto the bed! I will be down the corridor looking after some of my other patients. Will come back as soon as I can!”

Meanwhile Evy had changed and placed her old stuff in the washing basket and enjoyed the shower. The warm water erased all bad memories of the night before and Evy felt immediately brighter and calmer. Until she went through to her bedroom and saw the peach colored shirt lying on the duvet.

- O great, thanks Roxanne. Just what I needed. Looking like a starved and skinny dwarf in baby colors.

With a grimace on her face she put the shirt on. The trousers were more to her liking and she decided that if she ever got own clothes there would not be a single peach colored shirt. With a huff she sat down and dried her hair. The hair was still that unusual dark brown. She remembered when it had been so light it almost resembled silver. After a few minutes of sitting on the bed Evy got up. Her body was restless now. The walls of the room seemed to close her in and an urge she could and did not really want to fight draw her nearer to the door. And then she was already out of the door before she realized that she had even turned the door handle.

The floor behind the door was plain and functional. It lead to two more doors opposite of each other before it went around the corner. Her room was the last one in this section. The glare light hurt her eyes and she squeezed them together until they have gotten used to the it.

-Well, Evy thought, I could wait for Roxanne and probably save myself a lot of trouble and her as well. But it is not really interesting to sit in that room for more than a few minutes if one wasn’t tired.

With a grin she slowly made her way down the corridor and trying to avoid as much noise as possible which wasn’t all too hard considering the fact that she was barefoot.

The end of the floor came faster than expected and she cautiously looked around the corner before entering the next. This one was a bit nicer. The walls were painted in a whitish colour and the floor even had a carpet. Evy smiled when her feet touched it and stood still for a second to savor the soft feeling on her skin. The floor in her cage had been cold cement and her feet like now barefoot. She had always been cold. Her clothes were too thin for a non-heated environment and she had longed for something soft and warm.

With a quiet laugh Evy walked down the floor and savored the feeling of her toes in the thick fur. It tickled her and nothing in her life had ever felt better. Without considering that she left her wing Evy headed down the corridors following the carpet and the need that had bothered her since she gained consciousness for the first time. The floor was getting wider with each step she took and soon Evy stood at the entrance of an exit. Cold wind blew into it and cooled her warm skin. With a grin she took a step forward and found herself standing on a balcony more than 20 feet from the ground. She gasped and stumbled backwards.

- Why, oh why would anybody think installing a balcony without a rail was a good idea?

Nervously she leaned a bit forward and looked down. Beneath the entrance was a rough clearance with big stones and thin spruces. Except her own cage she had not seen something that look as unfriendly as this place for a long time.

“The guy who built this must be a really open and welcoming type!”, she giggled and leaned back against the wall. However Evy could have sworn that there had been a loose stone poking into her back when she first leaned back. She turned around and instantly tried to scramble backwards. Instead of the stone there was a guy leaning against the wall, smirking at her.

Roan new the instant when their newest member left her room. He could feel the urge raise in him again, wanting to find her, discover all her secrets and claim her. Shaking his head and trying to clear his head he headed off towards the healing wing. From the alcove he followed her movements and found himself starting to smile when she grinned as she touched the carpet. She was far too thin as far as he could see from the shadow. Roxanne’s clothes were hanging on her shape and her fingers were thin branches. He could break her body with one hand if he wanted.

Not knowing what she was up to Roan silently followed her through the long corridors and unto the balcony. He could see her trembling when she realized that no handrail was there to keep her safe. The wind send a shiver down her body as it cooled her body and all heat vanished. When she hurried back to the wall the second time, he decided that the time of game playing was over. The beast in him was tearing at his control and with her being only inches from he it was harder than ever to not let the animal in him rule him.

“Yeah, I guess that the guy who choose this place had not thought about comfort and luxury when he chose that place.”, her eyes dilated when she focused her gaze upon him. “He was more concerned about safety and protection. Two terms you broke when you came into my territory!”, Roan added and she flinched away when he came nearer. Every twist of her body showed him her fear and terror. The beast within him did not like it at all. Each step back brought it closer to the surface.

“If you keep on going you will only fall!”, he tensed and prepared his body in case her fear overruled her mind. She looked back and saw that her feet were only mere inches away from the end of the balcony.

He stretched out his hand to offer help but she shrieked and covered her face with her hands as though she feared to be beaten by him. The sudden movement was enough for her naked feet to slip and with a small cry she felt backwards. Roan cursed and jumped after her. Catching her and holding pressing her body tight against his he set the beast free. His torso shifted. His legs were growing longer and fur spread over his body. Like a cat he safely landed on his legs and set her down. Her eyes were clouded with misery and her whole body was shaking.

Evy blinked when she felt him releasing her body. Immediately she tried to put a distance between him and her. She could still feel his iron grip around her waist and the heat of his body pouring into her. She lifted her eyes up again just in time to see his body transform back from the cat like figure he had taken form off.

“What are you?”, she whispered and followed the path of fur on his arms slowly descending back into his body.

He focused his gaze on her and Evy could have sworn that his nose twitched a bit as though he was sniffing the air.

“I am like you!” he leaned his head on the side and she felt how he studied her body.

Evy had enough of men today. First Dominic who had been in her bedroom without her notice and now this guy. She narrowed her eyes at him. “I am pretty sure that I would be aware if my body changes into a cat from time to time!”

“Not a cat!”, he growled and Evy saw how his skin changed once more but this time his arm was covered in feathers.

“You are a shape shifter!”, she exclaimed and took a step closer to him and touching the soft grey feathers that covered his hand. “How is that possible?”

Roan looked fascinated down to the woman in front of him. Her words and actions were so genuinely. He shifted back and her fingers now lay on top of his. Within a second she had stepped back and he saw her holding her hands together still slightly shaking. What made her so afraid of the man but easily accepting the animal inside him.

“The fever.”, he simply answered. “But far more interesting is how you have found us! His beast might be fascinated by her fragile look but he knew that something as small could be as dangerous as a long time trained soldier. When she only shifted but didn’t answer the black of his eyes started to twirl and placed a finger under her chin and pressed it upward until she met his gaze.

“Why should I trust you? You could be one of them. Trying to gain information from us!”

Evy slapped his finger aside and pointed her at his face. “I do not need to prove my innocence to you! I don’t owe you anything!” she felt how the wind started to react upon her feelings.

“If you want to stay!” he growled, “you better answer my questions. I am Roan Hunter the leader of New Terra. Without my permission you will have no choice but to leave! So if you are seeking help and protection you better cooperate.” He took one step closer to her but this time Evy stood her ground.

“So you want to know about my past? Know about what happened and what my intentions are?” , she paused dramatically, “well I have absolutely no idea how I came here. But I know that the ones I escaped from were and probably still are up to something. I was not poked with needles just for fun, big guy! And if you want to know more than I guess you better start moving and help people like me not threat them and try to kill them!”

Roan sighed when her voice grew louder. “I didn’t try to kill you! If you had listened to Roxanne and not try to escape from me than we wouldn’t even be in this situation, you infuriating woman!”

She just lifted one eyebrow and asked him: “So you say that every time a guy almost twice my size approaches me I should just do what he wants? Nah, don’t think so! And what did you want to do? Keep me in this room forever?”

“You know what!” Roan took her arm and dragged her along, “there is no point in arguing with you right now. Calm down first and then we discuss your situation!”, he did not even flinch when Evy hit him with her fist on his back, “And stop that. I do not want to use force but I won’t tolerate being disgraced!”

“Tough! Release me at once. Cause if not you will wake up to a nasty surprise soon! I might not have your strength but you can trust me that I will find a place that is gonna hurt you.” And with that she dug her nails deep into his back.

Roan groaned out aloud and turned her around to face him. “Do not ever do that again! Or …”

“Or what big guy?” Evy challenged him with a grin and hold up her hand again. However she never came to actually hitting him as he swiftly lifter her up and threw her over his shoulder. When she tried to break free Roan just hit her hard onto her bottom.

She could not believe what he just done and wriggled harder just to receive another hit. “Are you crazy? I will kill you when you have to put me down!”, she kicked him with her feet into the stomach which resulted in him catching her legs with one arm and pressing them hard against his chest. Now there was nothing she could do beside cursing him and trying to come free.

Causing havoc

Five minutes later he still hadn’t released her and Evy was more than ready to break into tears. Her lower body hurt as his shoulder pressed painfully into it and she was trying to ignore the tingles his present sent over her skin whenever he pressed her harder against his body.

“Come on Roan, let me down!”, Evy hit him with her palm against his back.

“Why should I?”, he asked and shifted her a bit. She groaned out loud as he pressed his hands in a particular sore part and Roan slowly put her up. However before he could even do something another female voice interrupted his thoughts.

“Roan! What are you doing. Let her down now. I don’t even want to know what else you have done with her. Didn’t I tell you that she was serious injured and you just go around and manhandle her.”, Roxanne came out the woodland and hastily went to Evy who was now resting on the ground. With fury in her eyes she looked up to Roan.

“She wouldn’t cooperate. And I didn’t do that to her. She was trying to get away and slipped from the balcony. Without me she would be dead.”, he went with his finger through his hair, “Why is everybody blaming me. I only tried to do my job!” He groaned when Evy and Roxanne looked up to him and shook their heads.

“You didn’t really ask me! You were just ordering me and never even considered that I might be the victim.”, Evy glared at him.

- O no, she wouldn’t make it easy for him. If Roxanne had as much power over him as she thought. She would make sure he regretted ever touching her in this way.

“You behaved like a caveman!”

Roxanne slowly went up and poked her finger right into his chest.

“I do not care if you are the king of the world. Without me, you probably be dead. And as a one of your oldest friends I tell you that if you ever come near Evy again without proper intentions I will kill you myself and bury your body somewhere where no one will ever find your bones! Do you understand?”

But Roan hadn’t listened to any of her words after she had said her name. Evy. His eyes were transfixed upon her and his beast was pushing him to go closer to her, to take her as his own. Shaking his head he tried to clear his head and to focus on Roxanne. She looked at him annoyed and asked him once more, “Do you understand?”

And having absolutely no clue what she was had said and was talking about, he simply nodded and watched the two women walking swiftly away.

The beast within him growled when it saw Evy leaving him but Roan reasoned that something must be terrible wrong as he could never be attracted to such a dwarf of woman. He didn’t mind when the women were slightly smaller than him but she reminded him more of an elf than a human. Having held her close to him he now knew how fragile she was and it clearly didn’t take much to break her if he set his mind on it.

Trying to ease his tensed muscles Roan shifted to his favourite shape the eagle. Unfolding his wings he spun himself high into the air until the hills and New Terra lay far behind him. From here he was able to oversee all the movements in the villages nearby and in his territory. Focusing on Roxanne and Evy he made sure that both of them arrived safe within the safe zone again not trusting any of his guards with the safety of those two. Roxanne as she was too precious for their welfare and Evy, of course because she was a new threat. But as he finally gave into the battle against the beast within him, which knew more often than not what was meant to happen, Roan also couldn’t resist the need to look out for her. His need to protect her.

The cool air and mild breeze far up in the clouds brought his temper down and he could finally remember the entire encounter with a clear head. Not only had he scared Evy but she had also told the truth. His animal would definitely have realized it if she had lied to him. She might not have told the whole truth but she didn’t mean any harm towards them.

- But why had she feared his touch.

He nervously circled his territory. Evy hadn’t reacted like a women who simply was repulsed by him. Roan wanted to find out what had happened with her. And how she came into New Terra without triggering an alarm was still a mystery. Some of their members had said something about an angel falling from the sky but after her fall from the balcony Roan doubted this statement. Evy just didn’t appear like she could control the element of air even in the slightest.

With a cry he launched higher into the air and let the wind caress his wings. His sharp eyes lost Evy and Roxanne when they entered the sanctuary and Roan knowing that they were safe for now turned around and flew into the sun.

In the hill Roxanne turned Evy around as soon as they arrived the entrance. Grasping her hands she looked her into the eyes and asked concerned:

“He didn’t hurt you, did he?”

Shaking her head, Evy replied with a shrug: “It was more his behaviour which was shocking. I was frightened when I saw him behind me at the alcove. Without him I would have been seriously injured when I slipped. But he didn’t need to fling me over his shoulder. That really hurt because his shoulder pressed into a bruise.”

Roxanne released her breath. When she had seen his eyes focusing on Evy she had feared that something serious had happened. Hearing that she wasn’t hurt after her encounter with Roan was promising. Maybe he was finally considering opening the gates and negotiating with the mors instead of fighting them.

However she hadn’t liked the way he had looked at Evy. Like she belonged to him. Roxanne knew about the animalistic drive in him due to his shape shifting nature.

- It couldn’t be. He was far too serious to be interested in a woman like Evy.

She reasoned with herself. With a grin she unclasped their hand and suggested:

“Why don’t we find the cafeteria? My biggest fear was you meeting Roan. As you have managed that better than imagined you are probably in for some food and nice chat instead of sitting in your bedroom all alone.”

Evy crooked her eyebrow. “You think that this encounter went well?”

“You are still alive and here. If he hadn’t liked you or your intentions you wouldn’t be with me anymore, trust me.”

Evy froze in her spot. “You mean that he did actually kill someone because he didn’t like him?”

Roxanne pushed her a bit forward and whispered. “He didn’t kill him because he didn’t like him. Roan killed him because he betrayed our kind. But as for killing, I believe when he was in the camps captured by the mors Roan was forced to do far worse than only killing. But this is neither the place nor time to talk about it. Besides I shouldn’t even be talking about it. If you are as promising as I think, he might share it with you one day!”, and with that she shut her mouth and guided Evy through the maze of corridors.

Evy however didn’t really notice any of that. Her thoughts were with everything she had been told by Roxanne. His black eyes had pierced right through her when he had hold her close to him and she had felt like he could see into the depths of her soul. And they had been cold and alone. She could picture him in one of the cages she had been inside. But he wouldn’t have been like her, broken and fearsome. Roan would have been the one who still held his pride, his freedom.

“Evy”, she didn’t react but recalled the moment when he had held her safe in the arms after her fall, “Evy!”, with a shriek she turned around and looked into Roxanne’s green eyes.

“Did you say something?”

The healer just rolled her eyes and repeated her words. “I was asking you what type of food you would like? And if water was ok with you?”

With a sheepish grin Evy agreed to the water and chose a simple Pasta dish to go along with it. Sitting down at the far end of the bright lit hall Evy had time enough to study the few people who were present. An elderly man was sitting two tables down from them, slowly nibbling at a piece of bread and drinking from a steaming cup.

“Who is that?”

“Who?”, Roxanne followed Evy’s outstretched hand. “O that is Aaron. He is one of the few historians among us.”

Pausing while eating her delicious pasta, Evy quirked an eyebrow inquiring.

“His job is to keep record of what happened and gain as much information about the fever as possible.”, added Roxanne and pointed at the women behind the counter.

“Our cook is Milla. She has been with us for three years now. Originally she is from Finland. However after the fever she had been taken by some mors to America to hide as the European government had ordered that everyone who survived should be reported and registered. Many of the ones who contacted the government haven’t been seen again.”

Evy crinkled her brow. “But I have been kept here in America. Why did those humans thought that it was safe here?”

“Well, four year ago America’s government hadn’t demanded that everyone was taken in or at least registered. They ordered it one year after Milla arrived when the outbreak in New York couldn’t be stopped and less than a percentage survived it.”

“So she had to flee again? Is this the reason why she came here?”

“Yes. To find help and sanctuary. Originally New Terra had been built by Roan and his followers for this very reason. They wanted to give it to those who were in need like they have been!”

Evy glanced once more over to Milla and was fascinated by her when she bent down to talk to one of the kids who just walked in. He had curly brown hair and two small dimples when he laughed. He hugged the cook’s leg and she could hear how he asked for another cookie. The laughter of Milla brightened the room and Evy thought that maybe this place could truly become a home to her.

Her pasta had grown cold but nevertheless she ate it and observed more of the encounters happening around her. Aaron had brought back his plate and now sat on a chair near the counter and held a small and chubby girl on his arm. With a grin he tugged at her pigtails and she pouted adorable.

“Whose kids are those?”

Roxanne glanced up from her chips and answered: “Some of them are orphans. The others either have one parent or if lucky both of them survived. But in truth it doesn’t really matter. Most of them are having new guardians to live with now or are raised by those who found their new home here, us.”

“So you are a big family here?”

“Well,” Roxanne blushed and Evy leaned closer.

“Aha. So not everybody here feels like a brother or close friend?”

“Nah, you are right. But I doubt that anything will ever happen. We are far too different and I don’t think that Roan would appreciate my choice.”

Evy shrugged her shoulders and grinned. “Well, Roan isn’t your father nor your brother. So that shouldn’t stop you! And everybody says that difference is what you need in relationship!”, she leaned back and giggled when she saw that Roxanne’s blush had deepened.

“And don’t worry! I won’t tell that Dominic that you like him!”

Roxanne’s gasped. “How do you know that!”

“Trust me, everybody with a romantic sense could see it! I could have almost grasped the tension when he was standing next to me. And I am not the one who has got the most experience or is keen on the idea of having a relationship with a guy. Besides the fact I was frightened out of my mind when he just stood next to my bed!”, she answered with a small smile.

“O yeah! He can be a bit weird sometimes. And I have actually to thank you for crashing as I had to ask him for help!”

Evy just shrugged and added: “Glad that my crash threw you two together! But you better speak with him before another emergency! I doubt that it would be a good ground for a relationship. However,”, she eyed the treats Milla had taken out, “I will head off now for some sweet. Do you want something?”

“Not really. I am fine but thanks for asking!”, Roxanne smiled when Evy slowly headed towards Milla and the children.

- Yes, she would make a good addition for their group. And maybe she would also make a good mate for Roan!

New Terra

After having finished their meal in the cafeteria Roxanne decided that instead of sending Evy back into the hospital wing they should ask Charleen if any rooms were free.

“So you all live in the hill or is anybody living outside?”, Evy asked curious when Roxanne had explained the outlay of their sanctuary.

“Not all but most. We have borders that surround the hill and go a bit deeper into the wilderness. Depending on their abilities some of our people decide to live within this territory. And of course the guards of the borders also live outside.”

Nodding her head Evy grasped the concept of New Terra, however: “What do you mean when you talk about abilities?”

“Well after the fever as you know some people showed unusual abilities. Take Roan for an example. He can shape shift. And Aaron has a green finger. But for him it doesn’t only mean his plants won’t die. If he touches something he can actually make it grow. The plants inside the hill are mostly looked after by him or his grandson Keith.”, she explained and pointed at a rank of ivy growing down from a gap in the ceiling.

“So everybody who is here got a special trait?”

“Mostly yes. Some of them aren’t as strong as other. I can heal wounds but it requires life energy of me. So the bigger a wound it is, the longer it takes me to heal it and recover.”

“But I don’t have any ability. The people from the laboratory tried to force me but nothing ever happened.”

Roxanne placed her palm on Evy’s upper arm and looked her straight into the eyes.

“I saw you playing with the wind in your room. I am sure that whatever you have is not nothing! I only know a few people who can actually control the elements. But you just played with the breeze like you were born to do that. Nobody of them has an affinity towards their element as big as you.”

“Do you mean it? But it is always touch and go. I doubt I can really control it. Maybe,” Evy looked eagerly around as though she imagined a guy coming around the corner with the same abilities, “you can introduce me to some and we can share our memories?”

“First of all we are going to find you a room to sleep in. And maybe some clothes!”, she added with a wink due to the peach coloured shirt Evy wore.

Following the corridor they soon reached the office of Charleen and hadn’t had to wait long for them to enter the room. It was a mess. Papers were lying all over the room and the desk was almost invisible due to the amount of folders resting on top of it. On an old and well-worn chair sat a young woman with a tangled mass of reddish hair. A pair of glasses sat askew on top of her tip-tilted nose and a pencil was pushed through the mass of hair to keep it out of her eyes.

The bang of the closing door startled her and with a surprised gasp she glanced up. Her eyebrows drawn annoyed together softened when she saw Roxanne.

“Uh, what brings you to my modest office?”, with a glance at Evy she added, “Ah, I see you bring new customers!”

- Wait what! Evy opened her mouth in surprise. – If they really wanted payment she couldn’t give any.

“Don’t worry,” Roxanne laughed at Evy’s startled expression, “Nobody has to pay anything. As long as you are giving your best food and living quarters are free” Than she turned around and asked:

“So do you have anything free that isn’t too far away from the headquarters?”, maybe by placing Evy near Roan whatever was between those two would solve itself.

Charleen grinned having guessed what her friend was up to and griped a folder from the pile on her desk. Having arrived in New Terra only two years ago herself she immediately got to know Roxanne as she was the one who treated her after the long journey from deep within Alaska. Since then Roxanne had become a very good friend of her and she knew when she was up to something. Studying Evy she decided that her friend could be right this time.

The light blue eyes and dark brown hair made for a nice contrast and the fine features where so exceptional that a man would have difficulties to look away even though they were still overshadowed by fear and maltreatment.

Running her finger down the long list of names she suppressed a chuckle.

“Yes. Number 107 is free. Colt has moved into with his new girlfriend Jaz. Probably not his wisest decision but who is judging him. It is not likely that anybody else would take him.”, opening her drawer Charleen searched for the right set of keys.

“Poor fellow. I am just lucky that he stopped hitting on me. I mean he is a nice guy,” Charleen cried out, when she found the keys and looked at them dreamily, “but we would have never gotten along!” And with that she gave the keys to Roxanne and set the folder back on top of the others.

“And if you have any problems. With neighbours or something like that!”, she sent a wink to Evy, “just drop by and I will turn the boiler of and tell that it might take a while to get if fixed!”

Evy laughed, gave a salute to Charleen and followed the healer out of the room.

“So what is so special about the headquarters?”, she asked when they had turned towards the living quarters of the sanctuary.

“It is better protected than the rest and is central. So if you ever need anything the easiest way to get it will be there as many of the higher ranking officers live there.”

“Don’t you think it will be weird if I come and live there?”

“Not really! I know that there might be one or two who actually appreciate you living there!”, and with a glance at Evy’s bewildered look she hastily added, “You might be able to give them a hint about the laboratory you have been in.”

Lowering her view, Evy’s shoulders slacked. “Probably not. I don’t remember a lot about how I came there. And when I finally escaped I was too busy to find a route to gain my freedom to actually memorize my way.”

“Nobody will judge you if you can’t remember it. And who knows maybe in time it will come back!” and with a dramatic gesture she ordered Evy to stop.

Jiggling the keys she pushed them into Evy’s hand. “This is your new home for a while now! Probably forever if you don’t find someone who is willing to share living quarters with!” In front of them was a dark wooden door with a sign that said: “107”

Putting the key into the lock Evy slowly opened the door. The room behind it was dimly lit and she pushed the switch higher. It was easily furnished. A single bed was standing in the far right corner. A nightstand on its left side offered space for a few personal items. The wardrobe was at the left wall next to a shelf and from her point of view she could see that at the end of the bed was another door, probably leading into a bathroom.

She turned around and saw Roxanne leaning at the door frame. “It is not a five star hotel but it is all yours!”

Evy laughed and walked towards her embracing her. “It is amazing. I never had so much space and,” she twirled around crossing the room and pushing the curtain aside, “I even have a window. I cannot even remember the last time I had a window to look out!” Like a child she touched the glass and looked out. From her room she could easily oversee the territory and even beyond the border.

“The glasses are tinted from the outside so no reflection will give our position away. Just in case you were wondering!”, said Roxanne to no one in specific just wanting to fill the depressing silence that had settled.

“Normally I would suggest to get some clothes! But,” with a look at the setting sun through the window,” I think you should rest and tomorrow we can go clothes hunting.” Roxanne hugged Evy and before leaving she pointed at the wardrobe.

“There should be at least one outfit. We normally put enough in there to survive a night in here with comfort. I will try to be here around eleven. But if you are hungry earlier just head to the cafeteria as I will stop there before I see you here!” And with that she softly closed the door behind Evy and headed off to make a last check on her other patients.

However only a few meters from Evy’s new quarters she was interrupted by a low voice whispering into her ear.

“I see you have been busy today! Everything settled with Roan I guess.” , clutching her heart Roxanne turned around and looked Dominic into the eyes. His dark green eyes found hers and he grinned at her.

“Don’t do that again. You gave me such a fright! And yes everything is settled. They met through an accident and even though he isn’t too happy about having her I think everything is gonna work out.”

“So he acted like an actual person for once?”

Roxanne laughed and said, “Well she described him as a caveman and threatened to kill him as soon as he let her down, so yeah both of them acted like living beings. And I am pretty sure that he is more open to the idea of opening the gates once more. Possible with heavy questioning but the people might know us soon again as a sanctuary. Especially with the other sanctuaries backing us up he has no choice!”, and when she saw him grinning, “But he is still one of my best friends and I understand that he wants to protects us all!”

“Yeah Roan almighty. I got your point! But what is next on your agenda. And don’t even deny it. I know that you have something planned!”

Roxanne crossed her arms and looked at him angry. “Why is that everybody knows that I am up to something! Am I seriously that easy to read?”

He tilted his head to one side and chuckled. “Just for the ones who know you well!”, when he realized his slip, he quickly added, “And of course for those who are aware of their surroundings!” There was no point in letting her know that he had found out a lot about her since his arrival here. And only a bit came from asking other people. Most of it was due to observations.

“Well that definitely puts a damper on my plans. And no,” she tapped her feet on the ground, “I won’t tell you what I want to do. You probably laugh at me!”

“If you don’t tell. You will never find out. Try me!”

With a suspicious sight she quickly explained her theory about Roan’s strange behaviour towards Evy. His surprised look gave her a quite satisfying feeling.

“So you want to try and see if your theory is right and if it is, try to get them to spend time together?”, she nodded and her blonde hair whipped up and down.

“But you know that both of them are grownups and don’t actually need a matchmaker. From what I heard Roan is perfectly capable of gaining female attention!”, she sighed when she heard his reply.

- Of course a guy wouldn’t understand it.

“I don’t doubt that he is capable. But Evy is not the typical women and I doubt that Roan especially his more you know, animalistic side, will understand that! He isn’t known for his all too sensitive feelings. If he sees something his only thinking is about how fast he can get it and he doesn’t always considers all feelings involved!”

“That is rich! You as Roan’s greatest defender tell me that he isn’t capable of getting the attention of the female he is interested in! I think he would rip your head off if he knew that!”

Throwing her hands into the air Roxanne glared at Dominic. “You know what! Forget it. I don’t need your help. I will just do it myself!”, and with that she stormed away.

Nightly Talks

With the night arising Roan knew that he had left his duties long enough behind. In the form of the eagle everything seemed miles away. The work and responsibilities appeared to be unimportant and he was aware of the danger in staying in a shape for far too long. The animal within him began to overshadow the human mind and instincts rather than logic ruled his decisions.

With a cry he turned his back to the freedom that awaited him in the sky and having the moonlight in his back Roan came home to New Terra. At the entrance where he had followed Evy through he landed majestically and shifted back into his human form. His mind was still tuned into the animalistic side so when Liam approached him from the dark he sensed danger and swiftly turned around then grabbed him by the throat. Instantly realizing his mistake Roan released his friend and forced the beast in him to back down.

“Nice greetings to you too!”, joked Liam and massaged his neck. Roan could see the marks he left there and when Liam lifted his hand he knew that he had punctured the other man’s skin.

“Why were you waiting upon me? You know how bad it is when I just shifted back!”

With a chuckle Liam clapped Roan on the back. “This ain’t nothing. The time you came back while running in your wolf shape that was scary. I thought you were ready to rip my throat out! However,” clearing his throat, “that is not the reason I have come here.”

“So what brought you here?”, impatiently Roan went passed Liam and hurried down the corridor. Everything in him urged him forward. Trying to suppress the impulse he focused on Liam.

“Tamara and George are asking you for a conference.”

“What do they want this time?”

“They can’t handle the rush onto them. Their sanctuaries aren’t as big as ours and they want you to open again!”

Roan’s dark eyes were slowly turning into pitch black. He knew that everybody wanted them to open and he was willing to do it but he didn’t like to be forced into it. First Roxanne and now those two. Liam noticing the change in atmosphere didn’t bother Roan but let him solve it by himself. Having known him since their first day in camp he knew how much Roan wanted to stay in control. It wasn’t that he was seeking for more power but keeping control meant that he could keep leash on the animalistic side in him. Remembering the time where he had totally lost it Liam knew how important control was to Roan and that he needed it.

Rubbing his temples Roan shortly nodded and declared: “Set a conference for two tomorrow afternoon. I will open again but the rules will be harsher and nobody,” he glanced at Liam, “can come in here without having either being questioned by you, Taylor or me.”

“Understood! I will let Taylor know as soon as everything is wrapped up with Refugium and Libertatis!” and with that he bid him goodnight and made his way to his quarters. Having to wait for his friend to come home had taken its time. He knew that he could have asked Taylor to send a message out to Roan but he wasn’t ready to face her and her comments at this late hour. She could be worse than a viper sometimes especially to him.

Roan followed Liam’s retreating figure until it disappeared into the shadows. The man was loyal to him and had lend him a hand often enough when he had come too close to become a rogue. Having been cell mates for more than two years and being send out for tests and missions together they knew each other as good as brothers. If Liam didn’t object to opening New Terra than he could at least listen to his best friend and try to give it a shot.

Riaz had been able to surpass them as nobody had been aware of his true abilities. He had been registered as a telepath on level two however he had been far more advanced. In truth Riaz had been a walking broadcast station at level 5. He couldn’t only send but also receive thus making it so hard to trace his involvement as no records of traitorous communication existed.

- Nobody will do this again. This failure had cost them two good and loyal people. I will protect my kind and if it is the last thing I will do so be it! Roan swore in the darkened corridor and made his way to the headquarters.

Entering No.109 Roan didn’t bother to turn on the lights. His eyes immediately tuned into the dark atmosphere and he went to the window. The moon was shining through the clouds and he longed to be out again. Stretching his wings and feeling the cool wind ruffling his feathers.

Closing the curtain Roan dropped his clothes and went into the bed. The need in him had subsided and not questioning it he welcomed the calm and fell soon asleep.

In the room next door Evy had been disrupted in her sleep earlier on. Anger and fury had hastened her heartbeat and she was drawn-in into a tumble of feelings. Not knowing what just happened to her she rose and got herself a glass of water. It took nearly ten minutes until the emotions had abated. Feeling peaceful once more Evy went back to bed and tried to sleep again. However when the sleep finally came it was different from her former slumber.

Irritated Evy looked around and found herself in a darkened room. She couldn’t really see anything besides the blurred silhouette of some objects. In the far Evy saw a thin line of light streaming out from behind a curtain. Cautious she went to the window and drew the curtains aside. The moon in all its glory was shining down on her and lightened her face. Pressing her palms against the cold glass she was lost in the perfection of the night outside. Not knowing how much time passed Evy realized that she wasn’t alone when the cold of the room was gone behind her back. Slowly she turned around and found herself transfixed by a pair of black eyes.

His dark hair blended it with the rest of the room so all she saw was his rough features. His strong jaw line was already covered in stubbles even though it was obvious that he had shave in the morning. The black eyes seemed inhuman and Evy touched his cheek just to find it warm and raspy against her palm.

Releasing a small gasp she drew back just to find him following her retreat, looming above her. His finger traced her face and Roan was lost in her delicate features. Her nose was slightly tilted and her blue eyes were so different from his that he thought he could see into her soul. However he was soon disturbed as she startled exclaimed:

“What are you doing here? This isn’t supposed to happen!”

He chuckled and answered:

“And why not?”

Drawing in her breath Evy looked him straight into his eyes and poked his chest just as she had seen Roxanne doing earlier.

“Because if I would dream about a guy it would be one I am interested in! Not an overbearing caveman!”

Roan drew his eyebrows together when he heard her exclamation. It didn’t bode well with him to hear that she would rather be attracted to other men.

- Nope! He reconsidered. – It shouldn’t even cross her mind.

Grinning he bend down and huskily whispered into her ear.

“So you say that you don’t feel anything at all when I do this?”, he let his hands trail up her body. “You don’t feel a thing when I do this?”, he let his finger circle her wrists and brought them up to his lips when he felt her shuddering under his touch.

“Stop it!”, she whispered but couldn’t stop herself from allowing him to do as he wanted.

Roan just drew her closer to his body and cupped her head, “Do you really mean it?”

Evy couldn’t answer her whole mind was filled by his touch and smell. Accepting this as her answer he started to close the small gap between them. However just before he succeeded she remembered another man trying to do this. A man who hadn’t had her permission but to whom her opinion hadn’t mattered at all. With a soft cry she jerked back and murmured:

“Don’t do that! I don’t want it. Nobody will force me again!”, she added with each step she took to get further away from him.

Roans face hardened when he saw her fleeing from him. It wasn’t his touch that Evy feared. She had been touched before but not willingly. Not by him.
When he saw her fading into the shadows he roared and hit his hands against the glass. Under the force it broke and with the shattering of the window he woke up.

Breathing heavily he whipped his brow and threw the blanket off. His mind was in a jumble and his heart was beating so fast that he feared it might just give out. Unaware of him Evy awoke in the same state just next to him. Both of them feeling lost and alone but divided by the wall between them. And each concurring their fear differently. Evy was turning in her bed for the rest of the night as her room was lit by the moon shining into her room. And Roan left his bed and tried to leave the memories of the dream behind by working until the early morning hours.

Mischief and mysteries

A loud knock woke Evy up in the late morning hours. After tossing half of the night she finally had found sleep again.

“Yeah?”, tired she walked to the door and opened it. Roxanne was standing there with a tray in her hand and the other hand raised to knock again.

“Hello sleepy head! As I couldn’t see you anywhere in the cafeteria I guessed that you must still be asleep. And because I am so nice I thought I could bring you a chocolate muffin and a cup of tea to wake you up!”

With a grin Evy opened the door a bit wider and let Roxanne come in.

“You are truly godsend. I didn’t really sleep well after I had a nightmare!”, Evy grabbed the muffin and sat down on her bed offering Roxanne the chair by her desk.

“Do you want to talk about your dream?”, Roxanne offered Evy and gave her the cup of tea. Blushing Evy shook her head and sipped at it.

“Not really. But I thought I held you to your promise and ask you about the shopping you promised yesterday.”

Laughing Roxanne leaned back into her chair and explained the day to Evy, “We will first go to our supply room and ask what they have. Maybe we will find Charleen and ask her to come along for diner later. Besides that I will have to look after my patients so if you are interested in that you can join me. If not I won’t be offended and maybe Dominic,” she frowned, “forget him, maybe Milla or Aaron got time to show you around!”

Holding her cup up as a sign of agreement Evy finished off her muffin and drank the tea.

“I only have to brush my teeth and then I am ready to go!”, she got up and placed the empty cup on the tray. Opening the door to her bedroom she quickly brushed her teeth and cleaned up as good as possible while considering to change into the day before outfit or staying in her pjs. Popping her head back into her room she asked Roxanne the question about her outfit and added, “And I did catch your comment about Dominic. What happened?”

Flipping back her long blond her Roxanne just said that they a disagreement. Not wanting to push too far Evy let it rest but swore that she would find out what went wrong between those two. Spitting out and finishing her clean up Evy stayed in her pyjamas and followed Roxanne down the floors.

“So who is working in the supply rooms?”

“Do you remember Charleen and me talking about Colt and Jaz yesterday?”

Evy shrugged, “Yeah, why?”

“It is her who is running it. Well her and the twins Bratt and Amy.”

Remembering the way Charleen and Roxanne had described Jaz Evy couldn’t stop herself and asked: “So are the twins as bad as Jaz?”

Giggling Roxanne put her arm around Evy’s shoulder and answered, “Do not mention Jaz and the twins in one sentence. At least if you compare them. They are as different as night and day! The twins are real sweethearts. They just started working there last autumn to help out and get a bit experience.”

“So they are younger?”

“O yeah. I think they are turning 16 this winter,” Roxanne halted in front of a double wing door, “here we are! And now just hope that the twins are here and not Jaz. She will probably try to give you the worst we have!”

Pushing the doors open Roxanne swiftly went aside and tugged Evy along. At a counter at the left side of the room Evy saw two blondish heads giggling over a piece of paper.

“What are you two up to again?”, the healer leaned against the counter and tried to look at the paper but the two of them quickly put their hands over it to cover it.

“Nothing interesting!”, the guy grinned sheepishly and leaned back in his chair taking the paper with him. The girl nodded and her braid whipped up and down with her head.

“Of course!”, Roxanne laughed but left the twins alone. Instead she drew Evy closer and asked, “Do you have anything that might fit her? She is new here and hasn’t got anything!”

The girls eyes widened and blabbed out. “Oh you are the new one! We were all wondering who the mystery girl is that has got Roan to accept her in New Terra after he has closed the gates for so long!”

Evy blushed and lowered her gaze. She didn’t want to be the one who went against Roan’s word. Their last encounter if it had even been real wasn’t all too promising.

“And yeah we have a lot of stuff right now. Just follow me!” and with that Amy got up and left the counter. When she looked at Bratt pointingly he just shrugged his shoulders and flipped his hair back.

“I will just watch out for the dragon. Have fun finding some clothes!”

Amy blushed when Roxanne looked at her after the dragon comment but grinned when she saw the amusement in the healer’s eyes. Tugging at Evy’s hand the younger girl guided them through a dark green painted door opposite of the desk and into the storing rooms. Evy gasped when she saw all the boxes lined up on shelves each of them labelled with funny names like, “Green and brown, only fit to be thrown!”

“I guess that is your work!”, she smiled at the girl.

“Definitely! The jokes were Bratt’s idea but at least we got a system now. The big and seldom required clothes are in the back and the rest is sorted after gender, colour and size. When we cam here there was no system whatsoever. Jaz just grabbed a bunch of clothes and hoped for the best. You were lucky when you got something that wasn’t three sizes too big or small.”

At the middle of her sentence Amy had stopped and started to look closer to the boxes around her. They were in the middle of the room and the light from the ceiling lit it with a warmly glow.

“I think those boxes have the right size. I would guess a six should fit you. They might be a bit big right now but when you gain your weight back they should be perfect!” Lifting one of the biggest boxed down Amy opened the lift and exposed different types of trousers. Gathering several she laid them down onto the floor and studied them.

“I think the dark blue should do nicely”, with a look at Evy she asked, “Which one do you like?”

Evy looked closer and mentioned to the faded black one to Amy’s left.

“Yeah, I think they will be all right! If they do not fit or something else happens you know where we are and you can just bring them back!”, the girl put the rest of the trousers back into the box and put it back onto the shelf. Roxanne took the two pair of jeans and waited until Amy had found a handful more shirts, a nice green dress and two pairs of shoes. They weren’t the newest ones but fit the best and would last for this year at last. Leaving Evy a bit of space when she searched for underwear the three of them were done after almost an hour and left happily chatting the storing room.

Upon entering the office the three of them heard shrieking directly followed by a crash. A young female was standing in the middle of the room and a cup lay broken at her feet. In her hand she was holding the picture Bratt had tried to hide earlier. When she saw Roxanne entering the room she marched up to her and thrust the paper at her.

“Do you see that?” Roxanne opened the paper and had to stifle a laugh. On it was a bad drawing of Jaz with a harpy’s body having her mouth open and shrieking out aloud. Next to her was a colt drawn and in scrawly writing: Do it!

“Do you know who has drawn it?” Jaz questioned again and took the paper back when Amy tried to catch a look again. “Bratt doesn’t want to say it but I think he has a clue!” She glanced back at Bratt who was smirking at her and narrowed her eyes.

“Well I doubt that I know the person who has drawn it. But if you don’t want to settle with that I recommend going to the elder assemble. They can probably sort it out for you!”

Jaz harrumphed and left the room in haste. At the door she paused and told Roxanne ignoring Evy and Amy, “I believe that there is no need to bother them with such trifle thing!” then banged the door behind her.

After a second of wait Roxanne approached Bratt and clapped him on the back. “The picture was good but next time I cannot simply turn an eye on that. We might not like her but she is still one of us!”

Bratt had the sense to lower is eyes and mumble ‘sorry’.

“Just don’t do it again. Or at least not in her office! Cause I know you and your friends and there are probably more pictures where that came from!” and with a look at Amy Roxanne thanked her and put the clothes into a bag.

Evy who had followed the encounter between Bratt and Roxanne turned around and hugged Amy.

“Thank you so much for the clothes. I am sure that I now have anything I need. And I can happily return this peach coloured shirt to Roxanne.”

“Hey it’s not my fault that you don’t like that type of colour! A bit more respect please, without that stuff you would have walked around naked for the past two days.”

Laughing Evy shook her head and took the bag Roxanne gave her. With a last wave to the twins the two of them left the room to drop by at Charleen’s. The office was in the same state as the day before maybe even worse. Some of the folders now lay on the floor and Charleen was busy running through two at once.

“Heya, how are you doing?” Roxanne didn’t bother to put the other folders nicely on the floor or shelf when she approached a seat but simply lifted the chair and let them fall down to the floor. She suggested to Evy that this would do and the two pulled the chairs closer to the main desk.

“Pretty busy. Our chef is allowing some people to come to sanctuary and I have got the task to find space for all of them!”

Roxanne frowned. “Are you sure that this was his decision?” she doubted that her talk with him yesterday had changed that much.

“Yeah, apparently the other sanctuaries requested assistance and as Roan’s is the oldest and most secure they wanted him to lower his defences.”

“He can’t be too happy with that!”

Charleen cackled, “Trust me, he was everything but not happy. I think our gates would have been closed until next year at least f he hadn’t seen how hard the other two struggled. As far as I know he has got a conference later to clear everything with Tamara and George.”

Evy was confused by the last two names and asked the two women about it. Having learnt that there were three sanctuaries in total she realized how lucky she had been to find New Terra. Both of the others weren’t located within a radius of 1,000 miles.

“So how many of us are living here by now?”

Charleen pushed her glasses up and tugged out a list underneath the folders. “We are reaching 300 soon. Of course not all of them are living here” she added with a look at Evy’s surprised face, “there are some living in the wilder area as Roxanne probably already explained and we also need people to guard New Terra and work in the fields surrounding the hill or produce goods!”

More interested in learning how the sanctuary was run Evy leaned forward and put her elbows on the desk.

“But the clothes and the food from the cafeteria, it can’t all be produced here!”

“You are right. Some of the stuff comes from what we brought with us when we arrived, others have relatives who support them or are leading their businesses and bring in money to buy some products. In addition” Charleen stopped abruptly when she realized her slip.

Only the older members were supposed to know about the other ways they gained resources to support themselves.

“Yeah what else?”,Evy hadn’t realized the disruption and was waiting for more explanation.

“O I don’t want to bore you! I wouldn’t mind to have a little break now. Been working for a long time now!” she explained while getting up and stretching her limbs. Distracted by Charleen’s sudden departure Evy soon forgot about the last part in their resourcing and followed the other two women to the cafeteria.

Agreement

Having been woken up by Liam in the morning hours after falling asleep in his office Roan was in a bad mood. The dream had let him restless and harder than ever did he have to fight the urge to seek out Evy. In addition he still didn’t know if his mind has played him or if the dream had been kind of real. And he was still bothered by her fighting the attraction and claiming to not be interested in him however the fear in her eyes seconds before she left had raised fury inside him.

Not being able to get back to sleep he had worked out a system to ensure that everybody wanting to join New Terra was tested and proven reliable. Only the pure exhaustion had let him fall asleep as it dampened the beast and its needs in him.

“So do you know how many people have come here in the last few months to seek shelter?”, he asked Liam who sat on the chair in front of his office.

“As far as I know there have been fifteen attempts but Brian should now the actual figures and I have no idea how many of them found shelter in the Refug or Libertat. I doubt that all of them waited two months to gain entrance.”

Roan nodded his head in agreement. Those figures were similar to the ones he knew. “I will have to speak with Brian, Taylor and you soon about the changes in our system. I think tomorrow should be fast enough as I will pass the changes out to Tamara and George today and see if they agree.”

“I set up the conference with Tam and George. They are expecting your call around two. Is there anything else I can do cause otherwise I will inform Taylor and Brian about our meeting tomorrow.”

Resting his head on his hand Roan crumbled the paper that lay underneath his hand. The whole night he had thought if he should launch a mission to find out more about the place Evy has escaped from.

“Yes, there is one more thing I would like you to arrange. I will have to ask Evy about her past and I didn’t really have time yesterday!”

– Maybe because you were too interested in her than her past! Roan ignored that and concentrated on Liam once more.

“If Evy was able to reach us the place where she came from cannot be far away. I want to find out everything about this place!”

- and her added the beast in him.

Liam narrowed his eyes at his best friend. “Are you sure that this is your sole interest? The last time I saw your beast so agitated was short before we broke free.”

Roan’s face hardened and the black eyes former filled with emotion were blank like dark stones once more. “I am sure. If we want to stay safe we better find this place soon.”

Liam knew that he had pushed too far but couldn’t resist to add before he left, “You can try as hard as you want Roan but deep within you aren’t out of stone. Even someone with your control has to give up sometimes!”

Roan groaned as he knew that his best friend was right and loosened his fist around the paper. Being in his office for far too long he soon followed Liam out and made for the alcove. From here he could oversee almost all of New Terra and enjoy the freedom he craved.

Having escaped from the camps he and Liam had persuaded the others to not go into hiding but to stay strong and united. They built New Terra in the cave system deep within the Rocky Mountains western from Denver. It took them more than three months to connect the biggest caves with each other and form tunnels between them. But it was safe and theirs.

After a few more months others began to arrive. Each of them with talents some similar but others totally different. They all worked together and started to provide for themselves as more and more of the villages in their nearer surroundings heard about their plans and started to withdraw from them. By the time the government declared that they weren’t longer considered citizens the hills were a new home for the survivors and became known as a sanctuary for those who were still seeking help.

Roan had done his best to give his friends and fellow victims a safe place to stay and if that meant to sell his soul to the government over and over again he was glad that he could do that. He knew that Liam already suspected something and he would have to tell him soon what he was doing if he wanted to keep their friendship. For now however there was no reason to let Liam get involved into something that could open up old wounds again.
To him it didn’t really matter. The camp had already destroyed so much of his humanity. Roan could feel it with every step the beast in him gained and he lost.

The beep of his phone interrupted his thoughts. Taking the call he got up and leaned against the wall. The green of the trees under him calmed him and the breeze that played in his hair reminded him of the time he had stood here and watched Evy taking in his territory.

“Yes?”

“God forbid you are nice on the phone!”, joked Taylor on the other end of the line.

“I am a busy man. What do you want?”

He heard her chuckle, “I just wanted to remind you about the conference. It will start in 15 minutes. And I thought you might want to be in the control room and not run into it.”

Combing with his fingers through his hair he just replied “Yes”, ended the call and headed down to the conference room which was deep within the hill and the centre of New Terra. Everything was controlled from here, the gates, their defences and their communication.

Entering the room through the main door Roan looked out for the red coloured head. Taylor had been one of the first who joined their forces after having escaped from the camps. She was one of the best hackers he had ever met and had just finished high school when the fever broke out.

Over the years they have become close like brother and sister as she had lost her family and he couldn’t remember his past before the camp due to their tests. If she wasn’t working or helping out in New Terra Taylor would search for clues about his past or her family as there were no records about their deaths.

Having found Taylor he swiftly made his way through the other operators working in the room. The conference room employed 20 people however as many were working shifts or outdoor to check upon their connection and updating programs it was relatively empty. He greeted Ralph an elder member of their group and a genius for developing codes and set down next to Taylor.

Without even looking up she explained the situation.

“You have got five minutes until we are online. Both of them want you to agree to open the gates as their sanctuaries are far smaller than ours. In addition they want our help to develop further. They can hold 200 each but their area is smaller than ours and open to attacks as they don’t have the natural protection through the hills.”

Roan nodded going over the notes and layouts he had.

“Is anybody of us stationed at their sanctuaries at the moment?”

“Not anymore. You withdrew them after the incident with the mors. But I think it is time to send some back. They kept us updated and we had the ability to monitor their growth and movement.”

He nodded again and accepted the headphones she gave him.

“To give you some privacy!” she looked at the countdown on her desktop, “Ok, five, four, three, two, one, you are online!” Taylor pushed some buttons on the screen and the two other sanctuary leaders appeared on the screen.

Tamara was the first to say something. Her black curly hair was forced into a braid and her sharp features combined with her unusual yellowish eyes made clear that she wasn’t a woman you wanted to cross.

“Hi Roan. How are you? I heard that you are willing to discuss our situation, I am glad that you considered our request.”

George was the next one to speak after having signalled them that his line would be clear in a minute.

“We are really busy right now. Sorry for that. I really appreciate that you are helping us out.”

Roan nodded and gave them the basics. “I will open my gates again to ease the rush into your sanctuaries. However I won’t let something happen again. The refugees will have to sit through an interview with either me, Taylor or Liam. And I would advise the same for you. If you have someone who is accomplished in telepathy and trustworthy you should ask him or her to run those tests.”

Tam and George looked at the document he had let Taylor sent them. In it there were specific questions and a plan on how such a test could be run.

“If you don’t understand it just ask me!”

George frowned and looked at Roan almost immediately. “I don’t think that we have someone on level four here. I think the highest we got is level two. I might need some help there.”

Sending Taylor a questioning look and receiving a nod Roan offered, “Taylor could come over and train some of the lower levels to do it. She can assist you until I had the chance to speak to some of my level fours here.”

Thanking him George turned his attention back to the paper. However Tamara had another question.

“As Europe and Asia have also declaimed our citizenships the need for help is bigger than ever. We would like to get some help in developing our sanctuaries. Would you be willing to do that? I also spoke to a group of German survivors. They want to build up another sanctuary near Cologne. However as it is the first one they might need assistance and resources. Their leader is Tom Wilder and I have known him for almost two years now. They are quite small, not even 20 but I think it would be good to have another safe haven for survivors which is not across the ocean.”

Roan considered the idea. With all the stuff that was going on right now it would be tough.

“I cannot guarantee that the German idea will succeed but I would appreciate if you can arrange a meeting between this Wilder and me in the near future. When Taylor is going to George she will go with two of our constructors. And I think it is time to have stationary men again. It made it easier to keep up with everything and exchange information. I only have two more men free right now because of the gate opening but those two should arrive at Refug in two days’ time.”

Giving Tamara and George time to comprehend all the information he signalled to Taylor to inform Aleksandra, Søren, Lukas and Philipp.
After having cleared some smaller issues concerning different abilities and setting up some meetings between his trained staff and the newest arrival in Refug and Libertat Roan finally logged off and threw the headphones aside.

“Well I think they will be happy about leaving New Terra for a while. They probably missed their travels to the other sanctuaries. At least it gave the guys something to brag about in front of the woman.”

Roan laughed at that and stood up. Through the monitors of the room he saw that it had already turned dark and he had missed dinner again.

“You wanna join me for some food?” he asked Taylor.

“Sure why not.” She got up, grabbed her On-Screen in case she had to look up something or a new message arrived.

“Are you ever turning off this device?” Roan tapped at the frame and the screen manifested.

Taylor just groaned, rolled her eyes and took it from his grasp. “Yes I do. Not often but I am capable of it!” And with that she pushed it into her bag and followed him up the stairs.

Arriving in the cafeteria they both chose the lasagna and set down next to Aaron. He was sitting opposite of Elma having a chessboard between them and concentrating on his next move. The little girl moved her figure without touching it and checkmated Aaron.

He just huffed and pushed the board aside. “No more chess today.” Looking at Roan and Taylor then gesturing at Elma he just added, “She beat me three times today. It ain’t fun if a girl who hasn’t even reached 10 wins every time.”

Taylor just laughed and gave Elma a kiss on the cheek. “I see your practicing your telekinesis today! How are you doing?”

Elma giggled and held up four fingers. “Uncle Aaron I won four times now! And,” with a glance at Taylor she declared, “I can hold up the cube you gave me for five minutes now.”

“Oh you mean the Rubik cube!”

“Yeah that one. I know you gave it to me totally mixed up but I didn’t like that. I solved it!”

Taylor coughed as her drink went down the wrong tube. “You solved it?”

Seeing her tutor almost choking Elma’s eyes filled with tears. “I didn’t mean to upset you! I can mix it up again if you want to. I remembered the former state just in case you didn’t want it all in order.”

Taylor started to laugh and hugged the small girl. “You didn’t do anything wrong. It is actually quite good to hear that you solved that vicious cube. I have a bitter and traumatic past with it.” Roan and Aaron looked at her surprised. “I never solved it and I didn’t want to cheat by gluing the colours in the right order!”

Realizing that Taylor wasn’t mad at her Elma took a step back and grinned. “If you want I can teach you how to do it!”

Cat Walk

Having spent lunch with Charleen and Roxanne Evy decided to have a short break to sort out her new stuff and then join Roxanne for some work in the healer’s wing.

Back in her room Evy decided to finally have a long shower and then decide on what to wear. Standing under the steady stream of hot water she remembered her dream from the night before. Even though she had stated that she found him not attractive it wasn’t true. His rough features had captured her attention from the first time they had met and his eyes were so dark and hardened by his past that she wanted to discover everything that happened to him.

But the moment he had drawn her closer she had feared to be helpless again. Not being able to control what will happen to her. Fleeing was the only thing that had been on her mind and she was glad that there hadn’t been another encounter with Roan today.

Washing out her hair Evy took time to untangle the mass as good as possible with her fingers. It felt better than it had days before and maybe Roxanne knew someone who could bring it back into its former shape. She didn’t like the length of it now. It remembered her of her past and shouldn’t be part of her future.

Shutting off the shower Evy dried herself with one of the soft towels Roxanne had insisted on getting from the supplier and went back into her bedroom. The two bags of clothes were still sitting on the chair next to her table and she poured the content onto her bed. The underwear came first. Taking the plain black bra and a matching pair of panties she put the rest into the top drawer of her wardrobe. Choosing the black jeans and a dark green top Evy added her dark brown boots and put her hair up so it wouldn’t wet her back. Deciding against leaving her stuff lying around she put her dress on a hanger and folded the shirts neatly to put into the drawers. Her other pair of shoes were put next to the door and the extra pair of jeans was put next to the dress on a hanger. Feeling like a woman again Evy placed her hands onto her hips and twirled around.

The curtain was put to the side and she opened the window to let a bit of air in. From here she could see the gate she presumed was the main one and several huts standing randomly in the valley. It looked peaceful. Near her window was a tall tree and she could see a family of squirrels running up and down the branches. A bird was singing out at the top of its lungs and Evy felt the custom draw of the air.

“We promised that we bring you home!” it whispered. And for the first time in forever Evy didn’t feared it but embraced it and felt truly at home.

“You did and I have never been so glad!” And with that she turned around and left the room to find Roxanne. Following the floor down to the main living quarters Evy turned right and soon reached the familiar corridor. One of the doors was open and Evy knocked lightly at it before entering. In it was a boy with a cast and a sheepish grin on his face.

“You know the next time you and your friends decide to go climbing without the right gear I will let you wait for a day. By then you should have learnt your lesson, don’t you think so too, Roxanne?” the guy who was standing in front of the patients bed asked.

“Oh, I am not Roxanne. It is Evy!” upon hearing her voice the man turned around and smiled at her.

“So you are the famous Evy. I heard a lot about you mainly from Samantha.”

“Glad to know that everybody knows me however I don’t think that we met.”

He held out his hand and said:

“I am Hannan and the poor fellow here is Jack. And in case you were wondering Samantha is my daughter!”

Evy laughed and took his hand. “I guessed so. Your skin colour gave you away I am afraid.”

He looked at his hand, “Yeah the brown colour is a dead give-away. There aren’t too many black guys here right now. I heard in Refug are quite a few. But here we are sadly overpowered by you bleached guys!” he grinned and took a step back.

“Yo Han.” Jack waved his cast to gain the healer’s attention. “Can I leave now or is there something else you have to do?”

“You mean besides telling your aunt about the reason for your cast? Nah you can go now. Just be back next week and we can take it off!”

Jack looked at Han surprised. “Are you really gonna tell her. You know that she will freak out.”

“Might serve him well”, the healer whispered into Evy’s ear but shook his head and laughed when Jack run out the room.

Shaking his head he made the bed and put his stuff away. “I am sorry Roxanne had an emergency but she asked me to show you around in case you still want to help out today. And don’t worry if there is a raging middle aged woman running my doors down not all too soon. I doubt that Jack will get away with a cast and not telling Rosie the whole story!”

Grinning Evy decided to stay and enjoy the new company.

“I just hope that you are a bit less talkative then your daughter. She is adorable but I think that by now I can give you the whole list of her toys names.”

“Yeah she can be a handful and trust me I get a new list each week as she loves to change the names! But,” he gestured for her to follow him, “we are not here to exchange the current list of toy names but to do something. So at the moment there are two people stationed here. One is Karla she slipped and broke her leg pretty badly so she is staying with us for the following days. And the other is Tony. I doubt that everything is wrong with him besides him having a bad cold but he likes to stay here and get treated by Roxanne.”

“That is not true!” shouted a voice from next door. “I am old and can have a day or two of laziness. And if it means that lovely Roxanne is looking after me I can’t help that!” Hannan chuckled too his medical bag with him and handed Evy the tray with food.

“And my name is Anthony!” he looked annoyed at Hannan and put on a charming smile when he saw that he had company.

“And who are you young lady? I think I would have noticed you earlier so you must be new!” he scratched his white hair and let his finger trail through his beard.

“I am Evy and you are right. I am new here. Just arrived two days ago!”

“Well I am Anthony. And I am glad that you accompanied this ogre. If Roxanne was here she would tell you what gentleman I am. But he”, he pointed at Hannan who tried to hear if his chest was free, “always tries to annoy me!”

“I won’t annoy you. At least I hope so. Personally I think that this food is delicious and I hope you enjoy it more than the medical treatment then.” Evy placed the tray on the table next to his bed and filled up the cup with fresh water.

“Darling even if you would annoy me I’d suffer through your presence due to your looks.” He sent her a wink and started to eat.

“Glad to hear that!”

“And now we can stop the flirting and move on.” Hannan got up and laughed when Anthony was protesting.

“You could leave her here. I need some company. Your remarks are not really making my day.”

Upon which Han just replied: “Tough old man. But Evy is not here to entertain you but to learn something!”

Having left Anthony who sent daggers into Han’s direction the two left his room and made their way to Karla’s. She was placed a two doors down the floor and was sitting up in her bed when the two entered. Her face lit up when she saw Hannan but felt when she saw Evy following behind.

“Lovely to see you and”, with a short pause for Evy, “you.” But she didn’t hold it against the other woman. Evy was sure that if she saw her crush with another female it wouldn’t be quite pleasant.

“Nice to meet you Karla, I am Evy. I was meant to work with Roxanne today but as she had an emergency I got paired up with Hannan. I hope you don’t mind and enjoy your food!” smiling she put the tray onto the table next to Karla and pushed it a bit closer.

The other woman’s face glowed when Evy mentioned at Hannan behind his back and shook her head. It seemed that making friendships wouldn’t be too hard if she didn’t approach their men.

Karla was quite young probably a couple of years younger than the healer and had nice light brown hair. It was put into a pig tail and went down to her chest. Her eyes were an unusual aquamarine colour and seemed to shine.

The cast on her leg was coloured and Evy could make out a cute drawing of a mermaid with the signature ‘Samantha’.

“So you can do something with water!” she blurred out and clasped her hands over her mouth when Karla looked at her.

“Don’t be frightened. And yes I can do stuff with water. Samantha likes it when I make small globes of water.” And with a snap a small ball of water arose from her cup. The light was breaking in its surface and it looked like a small captured rainbow.

“That is so cool.” Evy moved closer and poked the water which immediately burst into her face as Karla snapped her finger. Laughing Evy dried her face and pointed her finger at the other woman.

“Ups slip!” Karla poked out her tongue and giggled. “Couldn’t resist.”

“Ok enough ladies. I don’t want to change your cast again just because you poured water all over it.” Hannan put the cup to the other side of the room and leaned against the door frame.

“So how are you feeling? I hope a bit better!”

“So you want to get rid of me. Thank you so much Han!”

He slightly blushed and stuttered, “No I didn’t mean that. It would just be nice to see you walking around with your usual energy instead of being strapped down onto a bed.”

Evy felt the tension rise in the room and made a hastily retreat.

“I am very sorry guys. I hope that you have a pleasant evening but I still feel quite tired so I will just go back to my room and catch up on sleep.”

Hannan sent her a questioned look but Karla gave Evy a thumbs up just before she left the room and closed the door. She doubted that they would fall madly in laugh right now but at least it gave those two a chance to talk alone. Walking past Anthony’s door she picked up the tray and agreed that she had left the two alone for now.

“I don’t understand how he can be so dumb and not realize that she head over heels for him.” He shook his head disbelieving and wished her a good night before getting a book out and starting to read. “And if you see Roxanne on her way just tell her that I am waiting.” He added and traced the page of the book with his thumb.

Evy just shook her head put the tray into its holder and left the healer’s wing. On the way back to her room she met Roxanne and told her that she was really tired but that her lover boy in room 302 was waiting for her.

Roxanne just rolled her eyes gave her a hug and was on her way but promised that somebody would give her a tour tomorrow as she was too busy to do so.

She wouldn’t tell Evy who but that it would definitely be a fun day and that she might want to dress for outdoor wear because her guide would probably take her out to show her the landscape.

Adventure

Having fallen dead tired into her bed Evy’s night wasn’t disrupted by any strange dreams and she was fresh and ready when a knock was at her door. Opening it she glanced into an unknown face.

“Hey, I am Evy!” she gave him her hand. “And I am positive that you are my guide today. I am very sorry to say so but I have no clue who you are because Roxanne thought it funny if I had a set up with you.”

The guy grinned at her and showed perfect white teeth. His brown eyes gleamed jaunty and he gave her a hand kiss.

“Keith at your service madam!” getting up he added, “I think you know my grandfather Aaron.”

“Ah you are the green thumb guy.”

He gestured down his body. He was wearing boots and thick trousers both covered in mud and his shirt was loose and had one or two places where it was torn. “Outdoor guy!”

“At least I won’t get lost with you in the woods. The last time I was in one I was running to escape so a nice walk should redeem those memories.”

Keith gave her his arm to rest her arm upon and walked with her down the corridor. “I am sure that my tour will redeem everything bad that happened to you out in the woods and I might even get you interested in plants again.” Evy laughed as he sounded so sure about himself but asked him to stop at the cafeteria so she could get some food before starting the day.

“Of course and if we are lucky enough Milla might even has some coffee left and a roll or two.”

Arriving in the cafeteria they both loaded their plates and decided to eat at the counter to have a chat with Milla while shovelling the food down.

“So what are you up to?” Milla inquired and stirred in her coffee.

“Keith is going to show me some of the landscape today. And he is hopeful enough to get me interested in plants. But I doubt that he will be lucky my last contact with a plant was not pleasant and before that I quite recall not being able to look after plants.”

The cook laughed at Evy’s honesty and gave her cheek a pat. “That girl is a star. But yeah I also doubt that you will fall in love with the plants outside. I can see that your future is not with our handsome gardener here! But,” she grinned and bit into her muffin, “a flirt has never harmed someone.”

And with that she turned around and served the next customers. Keith and Evy just turned to look at each other and broke out into laughter. “Well she is really great in ruining a good chase after a nice girl.”

“Yeah it was weird when she told us that we will not find our everlasting love in each other arms.”

“I guess her foresight can creep people out who are not used to it but I can tell you she ruined almost every date I had with a girl so far by announcing that we would never end up together.” And with a glance over his shoulder he whispered, “I am quite sure that she sometimes makes it up just to annoy me.”

He flipped his wavy blond hair back and pushed some strands out of his eyes.

“And I know that if you don’t respect the elder young boy,” Milla hit him with a spoon on the hand, “your hair is getting a haircut sooner than you wished for it!” And with a glance at Evy she added, “And I spoke the truth when I said that she ain’t for you. Trust me.”

However Keith just poked his tongue at Milla, grabbed two more muffins and took Evy’s hand. Rushing out of the cafeteria to escape the cook’s shouts they ran down the corridor and used the staircase to get to the exit.

Letting go of her hand when they reached the gate Keith handed her one of the muffins and both of them left for the day.

Up in the office Roan was busy going over the new plan with Liam and Taylor. He hadn’t gone to his bed this night but decided to spend the night outside the hill. Sleep hadn’t come too easy but it was free of dreams and he felt full of energy when he woke up. The pack of cougars that lived in the borders of their land had accepted him as their leader and every time he needed to get away for some time and didn’t had the desire to fly up in the air he stayed with them.

“Taylor and four of our constructors will leave tomorrow morning to assist Refug and Libertat. You” he pointed at Liam “Will have control over the tests and decide who will work with you. Taylor, I hope that you arrive safe. In case of problems don’t hesitate and contact me immediately. As soon as you are sure that they have all information they need come back and assist Liam here.”

Both of his friends nodded their heads and grabbed their stuff. “O and Liam did you manage to get back at Evy for the interview?”
Shaking his head Liam told him that there hadn’t been time and he might try himself.

Roan leaned back into the chair when the two of them had left and contacted Roxanne via his On-Screen. Her face filled his screen and she asked impatiently.

“What’s up? I had an emergency yesterday and I have a lot to do. So please come straight to the point.”

“Ok, where is Evy!” Her face vanished from the screen and he heard something falling to the ground. “What is wrong?”

“Nothing, nothing at all.” She reappeared “But what do you want from her?”

“I need to interview her. I need to find out more about her past to prevent any danger coming towards us. So where is she? I thought after your fast friendship you were gonna spent time together.”

“Well we were but due to the teenager pulling a prank and three of them ending up here in the hospital with food poisoning I cancelled and asked one of the other to take her out.”

Roan drummed his finger on the surface of the desk. “So who is she out with? “
– I need her. His beast added and he stifled a groan. When it came to Evy he just couldn’t think straight.

“Aaron’s grandson!” Roxanne smiled at him innocently.

His heart stopped and the beast in him soared back to life. “Do you mean Harridson? Keith Harridson is out with her in the woods?”

Roxanne pouted “If you say it like that it sounds so bad.”

“Roxanne!” he roared. “He is a charmer and probably trying to get into her pants. Of course that is bad.”

She blinked and stated bluntly: “But she is single. It’s not like anybody would mind if they have a game of hide and seek in the woods.”

“I would!” he started but immediately stopped after realizing his slip.

“What would you?” Roxanne asked eagerly.

“Never mind. I will inform her about the interview myself as soon as she comes back.” And with that he ended his call. Throwing the On-Screen onto the shelf behind him he jumped out of the chair not caring that it fell over.

- Why am I acting so strangely every time someone mentions Evy? He questioned himself and paced up and down. The beast in him tried it hardest to break free but Roan held it in an iron grip. In this state he didn’t want to know what he was capable of doing to Keith if he found those two together.

But it still didn’t answer what was wrong with him. Ever since Evy had reached his territory the animal inside him had tried to be close to her. To keep her.
To mate with her.

Frowning Roan hastened and went through everything he knew about mating. And came up with almost nothing. He knew that the professors in the camps had wanted them to mate but as far as he knew not one of their attempts had worked out.

Mating was now a rumour among their kind. They said that the man would know first and it was up to them to claim their mates but what was actually required to fulfil the mating was unknown to them.

While Roan was pacing in his office considering the chances of him finding his mate Roxanne was freaking out. Her plan had worked better than thought but his reaction had been terrifying. Having left the hospital wing as soon as Roan had ended the call she searched for Dominic. When she had almost given up her search she felt his presence behind her.

“Dominic don’t do that. One day I will shriek so loud that your ears are gonna burst!”

He came a bit closer so she could see his green eyes focused on her. “I am sorry about the way I acted the last time we met, Roxanne.” His eyes widened when she clutched onto his arm.

“I don’t care anymore. It worked!”

Dominic was confused as she was almost hugging him and her sweet smell invaded his senses.

“What did work?”

“My plan to get Roan jealous.” She laughed and then nibbled nervously at her lips.

- O yeah. She was killing him. Slowly and unaware of it.

“I think it worked too well!”

- And I know what would make me feel good, very good indeed.

“I think he might kill Keith!” she shrieked and shook him.

“Wait what!” finally getting what she was telling him he hold her still. “You set Evy up with Keith the womanizer and are wondering why Roan might freak out when they come back. If he hadn’t left already!”

“Well yes?” she looked up to him.

“Good you are really killing me right now.” She grinned up to him and patted his arm. “Don’t worry I am pretty sure that he will only scare Keith off!”

Grumbling he just added, “I hope so for you!”

Leaning against him Roxanne couldn’t suppress her giggle.

“Imagine if the two of them really end up together. It will all be done to me!”

“If he finally accepts the beast in him instead of fighting it he would probably already have her.”

She hit him hard onto his chest and just said: “He will accept his other side when he is ready for it. And I also doubt that Evy is ready yet.”

“Argh, it will take him months. He is far too stubborn to see that the only reason he is constantly fighting his animalistic side is because he still can’t accept what he is.”

“So you think he should just give up and let the beast roam free.”

“Not roam free but sometimes let it make his decisions instead of him overthinking everything. He cannot live forever as a divided person.”

“Yeah it cannot be too healthy. But I think he fears to let go.”

“So the mighty Roan has a weakness!” Dominic chuckled and Roxanne tilted her face up so she could see his face.

“Don’t even mention this when you two are fighting again. And don’t think I have forgiven you just because you can say I’m sorry!”

“I am very sorry!” he smiled at her and tugged back a strand of hair that had escaped the braid.

Roxanne didn’t reply but hugged him harder and pressed her face into his chest.

- And just maybe he wouldn’t use Roxanne’s revelation but help her to get that brick wall moving in order to catch Evy’s attention. Even if they would need a wonder to achieve that.

But then looking down at the blond head he realized that a small wonder already happened.

Hands off

Having spent the last hour in his office pacing around like a caged tiger Roan couldn’t stand it anymore and headed down to the training area to see if there was someone with whom he could work some steam off.

Half way down to the training hall he came across Aaron who was looking after the plants making sure that they had everything they needed.

“Oh hey Roan. How are you! I haven’t see you for a long time now.” He whipped his hands and gave him a firm shake. And with a frown answered, “You spot as a chess partner has been taken by Elma. I swear she is already better than me and she just started a week ago.”

“So you are getting beaten by a girl who is more than three decades younger than you and couldn’t play the game at the beginning of this week.” Roan grinned “I think you should consider quitting this game. It doesn’t seem like you can bring it on any longer.”

Grumbling Aaron gave him a pat on the back and just said: “I can still beat you, greenhorn. I have already travelled the world while you were still in your nappies. So don’t get sassy.”

Roan laughed, bit farewell and arrived at the hall without any more encounters. The hall was only hardly lit and he could see some of his officers running their rounds keeping fit for their watch. Putting his shoes off he caught up with them and felt into their rhythm.

Their talk was manly about incidents that had happened during their watch but nothing too serious. Deciding to spread the rumour of opening the gates the following week Roan announced that help was again granted through New Terra. The guys accepted the news with a cheer and promised to keep to the protocol and if anything unusual was happening that they would report back to him immediately.

Charlie, a middle aged former soldier with military cut hair was slowing down and offered Roan to have a short work out as he was sick of “Trotting around the hall like a dog chasing its tail.”

Grinning Roan accepted and followed suit when Charlie pulled of his shirt. There was no need to ruin a good outfit just to get some problems out of his system. The other guards where forming a circle and placed bets on who was going to win the round. Roan knew that the bets were low on him as Charlie was a hulk of a man and many of them hadn’t seen him training for a long time now.

Patiently waiting Roan challenged Charlie to be the first to act. Circling each other he studied the soldier’s movement and tried to find weaknesses.
“No abs? Right?”

Charlie chuckled and said, “Using your abilities would make you a little princess. Just us nothing more!” And with that he launched forward and managed to punch Roan into his side. He didn’t waste a second and responded with a hard knock into the other man’s stomach. Bending over Charlie retreated and kept on circling.

When Roan saw that the other man’s eyes were wandering he stroke again this time hitting hard into his face.

Smirking Charlie whipped the bit of blood away. “Seems like our prince here has still some spirit left in him. The office work hasn’t yet managed to kill it all.” The other guards laughed as well and Charlie answered with a fast block upon Roan’s next attack and managed to land two hits on his own.

Soon no word was spoken and the only sound was them moving around or the sound of a fist connecting with another body. Having run out of his anger Roan decided to end this game to spare Charlie some serious damage and knocked him of his feet. Pressing Charlie to the ground he waited until the former soldier gave up then got up.

“Still thinking I have lacked in exercising!” he offered him a hand and helped Charlie up.

“Nah mate. You can definitely keep up with us lot.” And feeling his tender jaw the soldier said to his friends, “Just remind me guys that I won’t take him up on my own again. This guy has gotten some serious tricks.”

“Depending on how busy we will be in the next few days with setting up the new system. I can show you some of the stuff.” Roan offered and put his shirt on. Taking the shoes into his hand he gave Charlie a handshake and headed off.

The beast in him had backed down and Roan was sure that if he saw Keith and Evy together he wouldn’t lose it. And maybe he would realize that he had only been wool-gathering and imagining stuff due to everything that was going on right now.

Reaching the exit he put his shoes back on and supervised the kids playing outside under the watchful eyes of some of his followers. When they saw him standing there they gestured for him to join them but he shook his head and crossed his arms in front of his chest. He wouldn’t be distracted and concentrate on the task he had on his hands. From his raised position he could make out Elma and Samantha. They were playing with the Rubik’s cube Taylor had given Elma and took turns in solving it.
From the first day they had met the two of them had been best friends despite their big differences. Elma was telekinetic assessed and as Aaron said already ahead of most daily life stuff however Samantha kept her grounded as she was high empathetic and could help the other girl to express herself in times when she couldn’t do it.

Next to the girls sat Rob Lengton. He was a close friend of them but now as they were growing older the girls often kept to themselves and he went along with it just giving them the space they needed. Rob hadn’t really bounded with any of the other kids as his abilities often scared them. Whenever he was upset he could inflame objects near to him. It had been tough the first year when he arrived because there were constant fires to be extinguished. However now he had better control over his powers but the others still kept mainly to themselves.

Watching the kids being brought back in when it started to rain he impatiently waited for the return of Keith and Evy. Almost three hours had passed since the call to Roxanne and he didn’t want to imagine what could have all happened. Picking up laughter from the border of the forest he still had to wait some minutes until he could finally make them out.

Keith had his arm drabbed over her shoulder and Evy had her head turned towards his as he kept on telling her a story. Not being aware of his presence Evy threw her head back and laughed out loud. The rain drops flowed down her face and Roan gaze followed them running down her throat and disappearing in her top.

A few meters before the entrance Keith was stopped as Evy hugged him thankfully. “I had an amazing day. But I really doubt that looking after plants is the right thing for me. I still feel so sorry about the rose you gave me!”

Roan snarled when he heard her whispering to Keith.

“I think you had the worse part. And I hope that all of the thorns are out of your bum now. But really if you get flowers again remember where you put them and don’t sit on them!”

Evy giggled and hugged him harder. “Thanks for this good advice. But next time give it to me earlier.” Keith just shrugged and when he looked up he saw Roan watching them. The normal dark eyes of his leader were pitch black and the tensed composure didn’t promise anything good.

Roan’s beast roared when he saw the two and came back with full force. Gritting his teeth he narrowed his eyes at Keith and jerked his head.

- Back of young one. She’s mine.

Keith released Evy instantly and rubbed his temples. The call from the beast had reached him and he knew that Roan had staked his claim. And as though Evy has sensed the presence of him she turned around and saw him watching them.

“What do you want Roan?”

- She wouldn’t be ashamed of what she dreamed. Evy reasoned with herself. And there is no reason to look so pissed, she added.

He took a few steps closer to them but didn’t say a word.

“Is there anything I can do?” Evy whipped back and for. His presence unsettled her. Her feelings were all over the place and her strategy of staying calm didn’t really work out.

“We have to find out what you remember. I don’t want to put New Terra at a risk just because Roxanne and the others think you are not helping the mors.”

She paled when he looked at her pointingly as though he thought that she would betray them.

“I don’t know what is wrong with you but I haven’t done anything since I came here. Well yes, you didn’t allow anybody in but official you are a sanctuary so it’s not like I got the address incorrect.”

Roan just lifted one eyebrow. “Just be in my office ten sharp tomorrow morning.” Evy stifled a cry and stomped off. Turning at the door she avoided Roan’s look and told Keith.

“Sorry for that. We can catch up later!” And with that she run inside and left the two men standing in the rain.

Roan waited until he couldn’t hear her any more than turned to Keith. Keith just lifted his hands and took a step back.

“I didn’t do anything if that is the reason you are so pissed. Roxanne asked me to show Evy around and we had fun today!”

“What kind fun!” Roan came closer “If you had laid hand on her I will castrate you.”

Keith gulped but then decided to stand his ground. “Evy is a really cool woman. And just because you have got a problem with her doesn’t mean everybody has to be such a dickhead towards her.”

Roan closed the gap between them and hissed, “She is mine. And if I see you being all over each other again I promise to kill you!” The beast in him growled satisfied when he staked his claim aloud.

“Then let me give you an advice” Keith pointed at Roan. “If you behave like a caveman you will never get her. She won’t fall head over heels for a guy who is ordering her around and acting like he doesn’t trust her.”

Roan backed down when he heard the other man’s opinion. He had been acting irrational the last few days. He didn’t know where he made decisions and where he had led the beast in him do them. He knew that Evy was something special. Roan couldn’t say why it was just in his blood, in his mind.

“I am sorry Keith. I trust your word and I don’t know what came over me. Just don’t,” he asked the man, “tell Evy. I have to work out some stuff on my own and every time I see Evy with someone who ain’t me, especially with guys I tick off.”

Keith frowned. “I never thought I would say that especially to you but have you considered that you and Evy might be” he paused, “mates?”

“I have no clue but it also crossed my mind. I have sensed mixed emotions and I doubt that they all came from me so it is an option. However I just want you to let know and that you tell the others as long as I haven’t worked that out – hands off from Evy!”

Inquisition

Having decided to not bother Roxanne Evy found her way to Roan’s office the next morning by asking the people she met on her way. More than once she was greeted by people she had talked to over the last two days. When Evy passed some of the kids Samantha decided to tag along until she got side-tracked. After their catch up Evy was pretty sure that the names of her toys had changed again but deciding that she would visit the healer’s wing later she might ask Hannan just to annoy Karla a bit.

Coming to a halt Evy examined the door. It was a plain black one and she doubted that the interior would be any more inviting. Raising her hand to knock she gulped but before her hand touched the surface his voice interrupted her.

“Just come in.”

- How did he know I was here. That’s just creepy.

Bringing her arms closer around her body she pushed the door opened and stepped into his office. Sitting behind a massive dark desk Roan took up most of the space of the office.

- And yes I have been so right. I think the black door was more inviting then him.

Taking a step closer he sighed and pointed at the chair facing him. “Sit down.”

Evy slowly sat down and moved in the chair to find a comfortable posture. It wasn’t possible. Settling down in a position were only her back was pressed against the hard wood she finally met his eyes.

Noticing her trembling Roan stated: “You know that I won’t kill you. I just want some answers.”

Evy nodded but lowered her gaze again. The heat in his eyes startled her. It didn’t look like he hated her. It was too intense. However not knowing what it meant with him she decided to use strategy one - avoiding him as much as possible.

Roan didn’t like it one bit when he noticed her avoiding his gaze. The beast in him had anticipated her arrival eagerly. It had known when she had stopped in front of his door and pushed him to ask for her entrance. Upon seeing her it had calmed down and had let Roan take over once more.

Sitting opposite of each other not being consumed by anger or fear both of them had time to study each other close for the first time.

His black hair was up to his chin and a strand had fallen into his eyes distracting Evy and making it hard on her to not use her hand and push it away. Being this close she could also see that his eyes were dark brown, nearly black. Small golden dots surrounded the iris and with him not having a snarl on his face it made him look softer. His jaw was strong and covered in light stubbles.

“Did you shaved this morning or is it just growing that fast because you are a shape shifter?” she blurred out and pressed a hand on her mouth as she started to blush.

He blinked and she could see how how the animalistic side in him came closer to the surface. The black of his iris grew consuming the golden dots and his features seemed harsher than normal.

“Sorry didn’t mean to say that out loud.” Evy mumbled.

Roan didn’t answer for a second but then broke out into a laugh. His beast was pleased that she had studied him that close and he would have never guessed that this had been on her mind. Having been intrigued by her blue eyes and brown hair - an unusual combination - he had felt the impulse to feel how fair it was and see if it smelled as sweet as the rest of her body. However remembering her threat of their first encounter he doubted that it would have gone well.

“It might have something to do with the shifting but honestly I don’t know.”

“Oh ok.” Evy accepted his answer with a small nod of her head.

“So I heard that you have left the hospital wing. Did Charleen give you a nice room?” Roan liked their peaceful together. It was a vast improvement from their last time together. And yes he knew that it had been mainly down to him. Now knowing that nobody of his man would try something with her had given him a bit of peace and made it possible for him to stop behaving like an ogre towards her. At least he hoped so.

“Yes. I really like it. However my neighbour is quite annoying.” Seeing him lifting his eyebrow questiongly she added, “He comes home quite late and then thinks turning on the shower when normal people are asleep is a proper thing to do.”

Roan grinned this person sounded an awful lot like him. He was glad that he didn’t have a neighbour. However remembering the purpose behind this meeting he leaned forward.

“I totally understand if you don’t want to answer some of the questions but I really need to know about your past. If you are not feeling comfortable just tell me and we will stop.”

Reluctantly nodding Evy tried to calm herself. It wasn’t like he would ask her about Michael or even worse Rick.

“Do you remember when you were captured?” Evy nodded.

“It was three years ago. The fever just reached New Mexico. I remember that my family was afraid. They heard about all the death but didn’t want to leave.”

“I remember New Mexico. As far as I know it had been one of the areas hit the hardest.” Roan rubbed his temples and Evy nodded.

“When the news arrived about Santa Fe my parents started to pack. I had just been home for Thanksgiving you know.” she leaned a bit forward. “I had been in my third year in uni. Didn’t like my subject so it wasn’t all too bad!” Evy smiled sadly.

“I had no clue that something happened. Our neighbourhood had always been a quite one. I didn’t realize that something was wrong until I went inside and saw my little brother. He was only ten. I remember that I didn’t let go off him when people arrived. They went off to get help” she shook her head.

“I now know that they never brought back help. They had been kind to me but after I told them about the wind they put me in a cage.”

Roan suppressed a growl when he heard about her being forced into a cage.

“Do you know where this place was?”

“I don’t recall. But I am pretty sure that it was still in New Mexico. We didn’t drive for that long. It might have already been Colorado but not further.”

“So you have been in this cage for three years?”

Evy hiccupped and twister her fingers. Narrowing his eyes Roan saw her tensing.

“No, not really. They sometimes put me out to see if I could really communicate with the wind. If I wasn’t cooperating they would put me out with only a shirt and shorts. But the wind never came. Until I escaped I thought it had left me.”

So she hadn’t accepted her abilities yet. That explained why they hadn’t picked up anything too strong from her.

“Do you remember anything about the day you escaped?”

“Just a bit. They used to put drugs into my food too keep me tranquilized. But I got rid of the food and when they brought me back out I took my chance and ran. The laboratory looks pretty much like an observatory, I guess. But as it is stationed in a valley it cannot be the main purpose.”

Roan could feel the beast in him rising when he heard about her food being poisoned but also felt proud about her escaping on her own.

“Have there been others in this place?”

Shrugging her shoulder Evy leaned a bit backwards. “I think one or two years ago there had been some more. However at the beginning of last year it had grown really quite. I am positive that I was the only one down there.” – At least the only female.

He blinked and thought that he had hear something after she had finished her sentence but dismissing it as nonsense Roan decided that it had been enough for today.

“So do you have taken any liking to the jobs done here?” he changed the topic and send off the record of their talk to Liam for investigation. He might be able to find this place and if he did Roan would personal hunt down the mors that had held her captive.

“I haven’t seen a lot yet and I am pretty useless until I learn how to control my powers but I would quite like to work with the guards. It seemed like a real interesting job.”

Coughing Roan studied her closer. Recalling the guys he had trained with he was pretty sure that Evy only weighted half of their weight and that they could just break a bone in her petite body if they set their mind on it.

“Don’t you think something like Charleen or Roxanne are doing is more interesting?”

Not wanting this idea of becoming a guard growing in her head Roan tried to steer free of that kind of employment while he talked to Evy.

Grinning she realized what he tried to do but let it slip as she quite enjoyed his company. Not being his arrogant and over bearing self he was good to talk to. And it didn’t hurt that every time she caught him looking at her closely he didn’t pretend he wasn’t doing it but focused on her and a warm feeling began to settle inside her.

“So you really think that I should follow Charleen’s suggestion and ask to turn off his boiler if he keeps using showers in the middle of the night!” Evy laughed when she heard him giving her the same advice.

“Definitely and if he doesn’t stop then you can just ask me. I am sure he will back down if he sees me.” He folded his arms in front of him. Getting side tracked by the muscles she could make out Evy didn’t respond at once.

Hearing him clear his throat she looked into his amused eyes and narrowed hers.

“Don’t be so full of yourself. I only have to tell Roxanne how bad this meeting went and she will come running after you and probably hitting you with a broom.”

Faking a terrified scream Roan started to answer but was interrupted by his one screen. Annoyed he picked it up.

“What do you want, T.?” He bellowed into it and didn’t care when Taylor frowned.

“What got your knickers in a twist, big boy? I just wanted to remind you about your meeting with this Wilder guy from Germany.”

Closing his eyes he immediately calmed down and nodded swift. “Noted and will be on my way soon!”

Switching off his phone he turned his attention back to Evy. “Sorry about that. Work calls. I can bring you to your room if you want me to.”

Shaking her head Evy got up and chuckled. “Don’t worry. I will find my way! Might even be able to catch Roxanne. And if not there is always someone around.” And with that she left his room.

Still sitting in his chair Roan also got up. He wasn’t all too happy with that Wilder guy now. Technically he knew that it wasn’t that other guys fault but it never hurt to let off some steam and if the guy was serious about building a sanctuary he better gets used to how things were done.

Small talk with a dragon

“So what do you have for me!” Roan slipped into the control room and faced Taylor. She was sitting with her legs crossed on her chair and twirled a pencil around. Her red hair was shaved at one side and as he approached she swiftly put the pencil behind her ear.

Shaking his head at her antics he simply grabbed it and teased her for a second before putting it back into place. Rubbing her head she shrieked as he pulled a bit at her longer hair.

“Very professional.” Poking out her tongue she twirled around on her chair and faced the screen. “So who did I interrupt you with? Must have been someone important!”

Deciding that she would find out soon enough he just shrugged. “That’s for you being so immature.”

“Well grumpy grandpa not everybody can be 31 already. Sorry for still being in my 20s.” And with a lift of her eyebrow she added “And I bet that Liam knows.”

Roan just shrugged his shoulders and sat down next to her. “So what did you find out about that Wilder guy.”

“First of all, he is called Tom Wilder.”

“So what. Trust me I’d rather not have interrupted my prior conversation. He is lucky that I don’t call him idiot or worse.”

“Charming, charming.” Taylor suppressed a chuckle. “Well if you want him to cooperate with us you should restrain from calling him that then!”

When he simply snorted she added. “He is originally from Siegen. It is half an hour away from Cologne. They are 18 of them at the moment.” Having agreed to the EU orders both of them knew that Germany’s government didn’t allow any survivors to search refugee in their state officially but it was known that some of their parties supported them. Having a sanctuary abroad might give them the opportunity to finally enter the continent again without too many issues.

“Moreover he has good knowledge in technic and might be able to strengthen our defences and stretch our resources.”

“Do you know anything about his abs?” Roan needed to know that. If they were to trust that man he needed to know as much as possible.

“No records. At least so far. There are some rumours but they sound too much like fairy tales to be true.” Taylor opened her One-Screen and projected a picture of this Wilder fellow.

He was a tall guy. If Roan was standing next to him they would probably be of the same height. His eyes were a really light shade of blue and the colouring was enhanced by his sandy hair colour. The only thing disrupting his surfer image was the scar that was running across his face. From his left temple it cut through his eyebrow and went across his nose. His eye was luckily spared but the corner of his mouth was lifted slightly due to it and he appeared to be smirking constantly.

“It’s a shame with the scar. He would have made a great model.” Taylor shook her head and grinned when Roan looked at her.

“A woman is allowed to admire a fine specimen of man from time to time.”

Roan just turned his head back towards the picture and looked at it closer. He was sure that he has seen that guy before. The eyes smiling on that picture could turn cold within seconds or so he thought he knew.

“Do you have anything else about him? Something about military service maybe?”

“As you mentioned it. I remember reading something about that.” Bending down she looked at the papers cluttering her desk. However before she could show it to him her controller rang and she mouthed.

“They are calling.”

Nodding Roan switched the screen on and now had the live Tom Wilder sitting in front of him. The connection seemed stable and as he knew that Taylor would never allow an insecure one he started to speak.

“Tamara told me that you were seeking our aid in building a sanctuary in Germany. Am I correct Tom Wilder?”

The guy grinned and flashed a pair of nice white and even teeth. “Just Wilder. And yes your information are correct.”

Roan narrowed his eyes at the man and studied him closer. And then he realized who the guy was.

“Drake Wild. Fancy seeing you so soon again.”

His blue eyes didn’t reveal an emotion at all. “Tell me why you changed your name.”

“I doubted that you would receive my call if I contacted you as the Drake Wild.”

“Maybe not” reconsidering it Roan leaned back, “I would probably have received your call. It is nice to see someone from Chamerleys hounds being loose.”

Snarling Drake took a step closer to the camera. “I don’t work for that rat anymore. Left him a year ago. He left us to rot in the jungle of Pucallpa.” Pointing at his scar he added “got a nice souvenir.”

“O yeah. I thought that it had been new. But then our last encounter was a long time ago and I didn’t want to sound as though I enjoyed studying your ugly face.”

Drake broke out into laughter and when it ceased Roan could still see his shoulders tremble. Having fought some nasty battles against each other both being ordered by different man and not them they had enjoyed the fight from time to time as long as nobody on their troops had been seriously injured.

“So are you still doing it?” Drake asked and leaned back in his chair.

“Gotta keep the money coming in.” Roan laughed, “And it keeps me fit. Cause trust me it takes a lot of time to actually run a sanctuary.”

Coming back to the topic Drake lifted one eyebrow. “I am used to hard work and I got some guys here from my former troop so I wasn’t joking about building one up.”

Taylor couldn’t resist and poked her head in from behind Roan. “It’s not too bad and our big guy here had a nice chat today. Stretching his pause to almost two hours.”

Drake laughed when he saw Roan pushing the girl away from the screen. “Seriously you are not supposed to tell him that. You completely destroyed my bad guy image here.”

“So who have you been talking to? Who was the lucky girl?”

“So sure it was a girl?”

Drake leaned his head to the side, “Roan you might be one of the fiercest fighters I had the displeasure to meet but you wouldn’t sit with a man in your break just for fun. So who is she?”

“Nobody you would know and that is all I am telling right now.”

“Fair enough, mate. But back to business. I got some buildings in the area here and also support from the left wing. Not official of course but I know that they won’t intervene if we start a new project here.”

“When I started New Terra we decided to go underground but I think those buildings should do nicely. Well as long as enough people can live there.” Roan frowned. “Our two other sanctuaries are quite small. Our is filled to three quarters but if space is needed we can easily widen our system. Do you have any figure in your head?”

“At the moment we are quite small. But we will try to secure two of the buildings. It should be enough to keep some dozen safe.”

Roan nodded. “But make sure you are not depending on too many mors for supply. If they decide that it would be fun to see you guys struggle then there isn’t too much we can do from over the ocean.”

Drake accepted his advice with a short nod. “I went over some ideas but I will decide later with my team how we will do it.” Typing something in he looked up when Roan cleared his throat.

“A few months back we had an attack in New Terra. Someone from our own had given codes through to the government and opened the gates.” He decided to not include how Evy was the first who was admitted after the shutdown of the gates. “We are training our telepaths to detect if anybody coming new to our sanctuaries means us harm. The telepath would have to be a level four or higher but I might be able to send someone over to train them. “

Drake thanked Roan for his offer but asked in return. “So do you use the rating system that your government developed?”

“Not entirely. We created categories now and made it a bit more detailed. Telepath four for example means that they can receive and send acting like a radio station. And they can do that for quite long time without feeling the impact.”

“Maybe you can send someone over who can also categorize my guys then.”

“Not you?”

Grinning Drake exclaimed, “I doubt that you and me are even on a scale.”

“Still doing the little fire trick then?”

With a snap of his fingers Drake produced a small flame. Making sure Roan was paying attention he brought it to his lips. The fire was absorbed and with a roar he breathed a blazing flame.

Hearing Taylor gasp Roan just said, “He does it every time. Bloody dragon can’t resist to play with us.”

Her eyes widened and she whispered. “So it’s not just a tale. Dragons exist!”

“I do. Have no clue how many other grow a tail and wings now.”

Seeing how fascinated Taylor was Roan leaned closer to her and whispered in her ear. “Seriously I thought that you are grown up. And that you have seen enough by now to not surprise you.”

“But” she pointed at the smirking Drake on the screen “He is a bloody dragon. It is like a freaking fairy-tale.”

Roan just turned back to Drake and stated “We will talk later again. I doubt that my second in command will get any work done if she keeps on fascinating about dragons.”

Protesting Taylor turned her back to them “I am not that fascinated. And just so you know no woman likes men who brag!” and muttered “But our world has really changed. I wouldn’t be surprised if we soon have some fairies flying around.”

The two men looked at each other and with a short notice that they would try calling again later the week to arrange more stuff and give Roan a plan of the territory and layout they ended the call.

Wiping his eyebrow Roan couldn’t hold it any longer. “Bloody hell. I really thought that he was still with that snake Chamerley. Good for him to finally do his own thing.”

“That sounds really nice. But what did Drake meant when he asked you about the funding for our resort.”

“Nothing special. Trust me.” He tried to avoid her gaze but gave up when she poked into his chest.

“Ok I still do some missions from certain members of the military if they ask me. It brings in money.”

“So you haven’t cut all bonds with those mors.” Taylor narrowed her eyes at him.

“No I keep contacts among the governments and senators. By doing so I can ask for favours in return and funding.”

“But you are the one who warns us not to do anything with them.”

“Because I don’t want my guys making friendly with all of them. There are those who truly support the death sentence petition and think it is proper to do it their selves if they stumble upon one of us. And then there are the ones who would try to seize control through our power or to completely destroy us.”

“So not all the mors are against us.”

“It is a bit more problematic. Like the villages nearby there are some who don’t have anything against us and are even willing to help us. But as far as I know there are two parties who are both trying to get rid of us. There might be more but they haven’t yet shown their true faces.”

“If Riaz was member of one group who are the others?”

“The guy Drake mentioned, Chamerley, is one of the other groups but I have to talk to Drake again to find out who is supporting him and why.”

Taylor nodded understanding and promised not to tell the others for now. Because as Roan stated, “Some of us hate the mors very much because of their hunt. I don’t want to cause a havoc among our kind and I certainly don’t want to be seen as an aggressor. Therefore giving man like Chamerley a reason to attack.”

Impressum

Tag der Veröffentlichung: 02.01.2015

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