Chapter 8: Shadows and Orders

Turning the next corner, on the next landing, her posture and pace showed a reason to be there. All the patrolling soldiers dismissed them with a nod, and anyone who gave her a second glance, she made short comments to put their guard down. It was simple—too simple.

When did I learn to act like this? Does it come from some instinct Feat? Hmm. These next ones will be hard, though... They’re questioning everyone they pass.

"Hmm... In here."

Zoe frowned when she abruptly drew her into a bathroom down the hall, holding a finger to her lips to tell her to be quiet; understandably, she became nervous.

"Uh... You aren’t with the CDC...are you?" she asked, ears pulling back and frightened, cat-like eyes darting left and right, wondering if she should run, no doubt. "A kidnapping event—already?"

"No," she answered truthfully, keeping her volume extremely low. The girl could probably hear her with her twitching cat ears, and Rachel gave a humorous smile at her last comment. "I’m not trying to kidnap you; I just need your help. We can’t do anything while stuck inside the CDC. Besides, don’t you want to be a heroine?"

Tail wrapping around her right leg, Zoe backed away a bit. "How do you know who I am... Who are you? Red flags all over the place..."

Giving her a small, reassuring smile, Rachel pointed at her ears, causing the girl to draw her own conclusions.

"Oh. You’ve been listening to everything?" the brown-haired girl hissed, her vision moving to the door and realizing they were dodging patrols; Adam had jokingly told her they should escape the Coast Guard before they’d been easily caught in their patrol net. "Is there something bad happening?! Is the CDC corrupt—the villains? We need to save my friends!"

"Shhh," Rachel whispered, shaking her head at her frantic tone.

Zoe snapped her mouth shut, pulse increasing as her focus shot to the door.

"Right now, we’re where the unknown is living and real... We don’t have time to waste playing on the sidelines," Rachel said, motioning for the cat-girl to keep close while exiting the bathroom and continuing their path through the halls to the library. "The real threat isn’t our change but the world evolving to it; Miami is going to be a war zone in the coming days."

Swallowing, Zoe jogged to keep up with Rachel’s brisk walk; she had long legs and was over fifteen centimeters taller than the timid girl. "Why did you choose me—is there something about my powers or something?" she asked with hope.

Rachel suppressed a chuckle, telling her the blunt truth. "You were the easiest to get to who had the fantasy knowledge I needed. I’m sorry, but I can’t say how strong a beastkin domestic cat is."

"Aww... It’s okay. Wait, does that mean I’m the first one to figure all this stuff out?"

"In the top ten of useful information," Rachel said, looking down a branching hallway; her target was at the end of it, but a few more pieces of news made her mouth tighten and slow her pace.

She honed in on a report to the Coast Guard lieutenant in charge of this area, as the commander over all of Miami contacted him.

"Lt. Thompson, be aware that we’re receiving reports that alien threats have been identified using crystal gateways; they employ giant domes of light—similar to the pictures you saw that cracked the atmosphere. These forces are hostile and are to be dealt with on sight."

Thompson swallowed, rubbing the back of his neck while lightly rapping his knuckles against the desk before him. "Commander...what are the possibilities that they’re just changed citizens, sir? CDC is gathering them into areas to be tested. Will they become hostile?"

"As of now, Lieutenant, we’re unsure—details are scarce—but our top priority is safety; lockdown your area with lethal force, if necessary. Also, a potential vampire is coming to your base of operation; keep her under close observation... You know what’s happening in Washington right now."

"Sir, if she can make ghouls, or whatever they are, like the man in Washington..."

"She’s been compliant, and I have a team investigating the situation involving her; this girl is one of the few mythickin we’ve been able to identify. I’m just letting you know she’s being secured in your area. She has an entire Green Beret platoon escorting her under Lieutenant Mateo Garcia Herrero; he’s seen action in the Middle East and runs a tight ship.

"Be aware, the Pentagon has just sent word that an Army Colonel will be taking over command of Florida Operations soon, and other military bodies are being pulled into a secure call to coordinate our brigades. He will want a detailed report of your opinion on the vampire, so pay close attention to her every action. Details regarding her...complicated family issues and the scene of the crime are being forwarded via a SWAT team."

"Understood." Thompson released a long sigh. "I’ll have an area cleared out for them to house her away from the general public. When can we expect her?"

"In the next hour. Careful, Lieutenant, we’re in uncharted territory, and from the information I’m getting, we aren’t dealing with just one species of aliens from these crystals and domes. We can’t let this get out of hand or let chaos break down social order; show a strong hand, son...

"I know it’s hard. Safety is our priority moving forward, and a SEAL squad is stateside nearby for any special assignments. You and your men aren’t alone. Keep me updated...and may God help us all. Out."

"I’ll inform the units. Out."

Rachel drew in her bottom lip, vision flitting to a wall as she scanned for more news regarding this vampire; she’d heard from news reports that Seattle was in the middle of a horrible bloodbath with an escaped mythickin vampire that was turning hundreds of people into ghouls to spread death, disease, and chaos.

This place is getting more dangerous by the second! Please, Mom, Dad, be safe.

Her fear was soon replaced by [Lunar Pride] as the Feat instead focused on this new threat; still, maybe she could learn something from these other mythickin—more than the others that had changed, at least.

Great... The only other mythickin I hear about are mass murderers and criminals. It’d be smart to keep what I am to myself for now. I’ll have to meet this vampire chick to see if she is empowered by any goddess or god.

Lt. Thompson hung up when his superior ended the call; he walked to the window, switching his walkie-talkie to another channel as he whispered to himself, "Aliens, mutated people, now vampires... We don’t know what’s attacking us, but we are under attack. What a week for this to happen... Shit."

He cursed when chatter came through his radio. "Sir, we’ve found a small child that...that looks like, a-uh, a water dragon? She’s asking to be taken to water, or she’ll die—she’s struggling to even move and is having a hard time breathing, but she was insistent that she was a, uh, good sea monster."

"Great... She’s probably another mythickin; take her to the pool, and keep a team with you—don’t hesitate to put her down if she makes the slightest threatening movement."

"A dragon, sir... How?"

"Put a damn 50-cal near the pool, an RPG—I don’t care. Just...protect your men, Petty Officer!"

"Yes, sir!"

Rubbing between his eyes, he snarled, "How am I supposed to know who is friendly and enemy when we have so little to go on? Prisoners gaining powers, aliens... Who are aliens, and who are simply people that changed—is there a difference, or were they always among us, waiting for this opportunity to make a move? No. I can’t get paranoid. Follow orders... Just...follow orders."

"What is it?" Zoe hissed as Rachel drew her down the hall, actually sounding like a cat as her claws lengthened. "A fight?! I’ve never been in a fight—I don’t know how!"

"No... Put those away," Rachel said, making the girl blush and hide them behind her back.

"It’s...hard when I’m scared. Sorry..."

"It’s fine..." she reassured, holding out her hand to let her hesitantly take it; thankful to have human contact, her claws slowly retracted. "You were right again, Zoe."