FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter XIII

BETRAYAL

EX

What laid in store for me as I leaned against my locker? I had no clue to be honest. Who wanted to talk to me on my first day about something so vague and undefined, and why not just ask me during school anyways? The halls were near desolate and I had been leaning against my locker for the past five minutes, and the bell ending school had rung fifteen minutes prior.

Regardless, my curiosity had gotten the better of me unfortunately.

I told Hunter to go on home so I could figure out who was behind the mystery letter, even if he met me with much opposition by telling me whoever it was had to be up to no good whether it was a he or she. We both suspected she due to the handwriting. Though Hunter opposed to me meeting this person, I wouldn't be able to get through my work without this crossing my mind every ten seconds. It was because of that reason, and the fact that this person might continue to hound me for a meeting every day, that I stayed behind in order to hear this person out personally.

The clock told me it was five past three thirty. Hunter and I agreed that I stay no later than three forty considering the crap ton of homework I had ruining my back. Leaning against the lockers as absently minded as possible, I decided to just calm my nerves if and when this person arrived. Nothing was more worse than meeting someone with pure nervousness racking the mind.

What could this mystery figure even want from me anyway? I just got here. I barely knew the landscape of the the school, where my classes were, who my teachers are, and was still an awkward new kid. Whatever they could want, I could only fire blanks. Did they know about my genetics and figure out I have wings? No, that doesn't seem possible. My wings haven't been out all day, and they were really fucking sore right now from being cooped up for so long...so no, that couldn't be the case. Maybe they were just curious and had no time to greet me at any other point during school and just felt this was a more appropriate greeting rather than a brief one in the middle of class. I kind of wanted to just leave already considering it was two before three-forty, but I stayed simply because I felt the impulse, and hope, that this person would arrive soon and just start talking.

As soon as the clock hit the magic time, I stood up and turned towards the exit. I was only three steps down the hall before I heard footsteps behind me. There was more than one pair. Though I couldn't see behind me, my ears picked up the sound of three people walking towards me at a standard speed. Once they were close enough, I turned around.

"Hello there, handsome," the girl from earlier greeted.

I was starstruck. "I guess you're the one who wrote the note?"

She giggled. That annoyed me. "Of course."

I glared at her for the longest of times and let out a short sigh. This was really the person I was most worried about? After thirty minutes of pure waiting this was the infamous person behind the blunt and cryptic note? Really?

"Alright, you got me," I stated rather annoyed. "What did you want?"

Her smile retained. It was almost like she enjoyed watching my grow further annoyed at her sly attitude. Her perfume eventually hit my nostrils and caused me to turn my head to relieve myself of the scent - as nice as it smelled, I wasn't in the mood for someone, AKA her, to play with me like this.

She looked rather normal, or as normal as students are around here. She wore tight jeans to show off her slim legs and thighs and enunciate her butt, her flannel button-up shirt was near un-buttoned close to the top and showed me the crevice of her rather large breasts. For some reason, I didn't find that appealing in the slightest. From the tail, to her face, she was definitely a wolf - a predator hunting its new prey. Even though her looks weren't appealing, she was still very pretty, so I gave her credit. She flipped her ebony colored hair to the side and strode towards me with her posse, which almost prompted me to take a few steps back.

My wings fidgeted.

The two on both sides of her were both jaguars, and sisters if I guessed correctly. They were both slender and had a body similar to the center girls'. They both wore matching lime green jackets and black sweatpants. While the girl on the right had her blonde curly hair covering the left side of her face, the other seemed to be the exact opposite. All of their lavender colored eyes stared at me and never wavered.

I held out my hand. "That's close enough."

While the pair stopped, the center girl continued on and soon stopped a good two feet in front of me. I stared down at her with nonchalant eyes while her gazed told me everything I needed to know about her: she was a desire for me. It made sense. The tight clothes, the slight reveal of her breasts, and the scent of her perfume just told me she wanted me.

But why?

Her expression was one of lust and the more I looked at it the more I hated it. "I see someone is a little cautious."

"Please tell me what you want," I responded rather bluntly. "I have to get home soon."

For the first time, I saw her smile waver just ever so slightly. She seemed a little irritated by my response and attitude towards her. Perhaps she wasn't used to people not being interested in her and it showed once she looked at me with dissatisfied eyes.

"Well, I see you're new around here," her voice was gentle and alluring at that moment, yet it caused me to shudder. "So, I thought you deserved to be a part of the normal crowd around her--lots of friends, the cool crowd, and no shortage of fun."

Something about what she said didn't sound entirely right. "Define 'normal'."

"Thats simple, you silly goose," he giggled softly. "I wouldn't want someone of...your stature to be unnoticed around here--no, I can give you the chance to fit in perfectly around here as part of the regular, everyday crowd. You wouldn't have to feel so awkward, because I noticed you were very awkward, and I can make you one of the most popular guys around here so long as you take a chance on the wild side."

I blinked several times as she stared right into my confused eyes. Had she really taken notice of my awkwardness today? Well, I guess it wasn't that hard once someone got a good look at me and noticed how uncomfortable I was around others. A part of me wanted to trust her, and this was a very small part of me that I didn't want to give in to, and I had a much larger portion telling me to just deny her and turn around and head home. I completely forgot how long I had been here and I had a crap ton of homework that was due tomorrow. I needed to get this conversation over and done with so I could finish that work and not keep Hunter waiting any longer.

"What if I like how things are now, though?" I inquired with a raise of a brow.

She giggled. "Oh, come on. If you stay like this you'll get bored out of tears in no time, and someone's gonna have to get you out of there. You can't honestly be okay with living a mundane life."

"Who said I was?"

"No one. I just noticed."

"And what if a mundane life is the life I like?"

"You're a liar."

"Maybe you're the one seeing things," I retorted rather dismissively.

I had no clue why, but she seemed really curious of my annoyed attitude. "Well, I guess my observations are just wrong, then."

"And is that it? I really need to get going."

She smiled. "Oh, I have one more thing I'd like to ask you. You might be interested."

"Speak up then," I replied, folding my arms across my chest.

Slinging her purse off her shoulder, she rummaged through the contents and pulled out a white card. "I'm having a party this Friday and you're invited."

She stepped forward and handed me a card. On the front it was plain white with some glitter border around the edges. When I opened the contents, I saw the invite on the inside: Party at 5:00 this Friday! Grab your friends for some fun! At the bottom was her signature, which read Kate to me. At least I knew who I was speaking to now. My name was plastered in neat, cursive writing on the left side of the card, so I knew she wasn't bluffing with the invite. I doubted she was to begin with, but this was only further confirming what I thought.

I closed the card then turned my steady gaze to her. "Who's all gonna be there?"

"Seniors from this school and others primarily, some juniors, but we cut the limit off there," she explained. "Can't have the dumb freshmen and sophomores ruining everything and getting everyone in trouble."

Part of me wanted to ask what kind of trouble she was talking about, but I put the thought aside for the moment once she continued. "Please do come. I'm pretty sure you'd make a great addition to the party."

"Kate," one of the girls who had been standing behind her the entire time spoke. "We need to get going. Coach Juliana will flip her tits if we're late to practice again, and I do not want to have to run an extra ten laps again."

The girl, Kate, sighed and shook her head. "Yeah, neither do I. Go on. I'll catch up." While her duo shrugged and walked wherever they were supposed to go, she remained for a few more words. "You won't be disappointed if you come, you know. I'll make sure to make it one hell of a night for you."

And just like that, she flashed me a quick wink and seductive smile then flipped her hair and promptly left. I was left holding the fancy card in my hand as stunned as could be for the next few moments until I heard a locker slam closeby and pull me back into reality. I hadn't realized the time and immediately sprinted down the hall towards the exit, and I wasn't really concerned how fast I was going because I just felt like I needed to get out of the school right then and there.

What I hadn't realized then was that I had become transparent to everyone I passed by, and this was something I was and wasn't used to at the same time. I pushed through the doors at the front of the school and took off running as fast as I could down the parking lot, taking notice of the lack of cards parked in the parking lot and the complete absence of students outside. Foolishly throwing caution to the wind, I pulled off my coat and extended my sore wings, beat them against the air and took off flying towards the house.

I don't know why my adrenaline kicked in at that point and why I threw caution at the wind, but I just wanted to get home as soon as I possibly could and, considering how focused I was, I was flying at jet speed through the city--so fast that anyone who would look at me would never see me again if they blinked. My wings were working double time to keep me going fast and this was the first time I had really put them through their paces like this since I had left the Division. I didn't know how fast I was going or long it would take me to get home, but I needed to see Hunter and talk to him about this, yet I had no clue as to why. This wasn't about him in the slightest, but it was about me trying to fit in and trying be a normal teenager instead of some outcast everyone throws a curious gaze to.

Foolishly, without realization, that is exactly what happened.

"Kate Matters," Hunter hissed as if the name was to be cursed. "Pretentious, self-centered, overprivileged, whore-y bitch."

As he spewed off as many curse words and foul sentences, I could only stand there, leaning against the wall of the basement/my room and stare at him with wide, shocked eyes. This was a side of Hunter I had never seen before. Instead of seeing him smile, which was a normal occasion between the two of us, I saw blood-raged eyes and venomous fangs that continued to slander the girl who had kept me late after school. He looked at me for a moment then turned back to the note, shaking his head and making a dry-heaving sound as if just looking at the piece of paper made him want to vomit. I'm not sure if it was fair of him to slander the girl while she isn't here, but I kept to myself until he decided he had said his peace and, from what I had seen, I was going to have to be patient for this one. I dared not to say a word lest I strike a nerve that shouldn't be touched while he was in this angered state.

While my close friend continued to pad in circles around my room with his foul mouth, I closed my eyes and recalled what she had said to me before she left: You won't be disappointed if you come, you know. I'll make sure to make it one hell of a night for you.

Her tone of voice suggested that she had something already in mind for me, but what it was, I had no clue. She was a total stranger to me and therefore I had no reason to trust her words so easily. From what Hunter had said, among his distasteful words, he noted that this girl, Kate Matters, was supposedly a "big deal" within the school, yet she wasn't some teacher's pet or A-honor roll student or something. On the contrary, she was a girl who had a knack for wrapping people around her finger and using them to do things that no normal person would dare do, yet she was of a different breed of girl that had some big balls.

Whatever she was, Hunter told me a dozen times after I told him who the letter person was not to trust a single thing she had said. Apparently he words were just honeyed to lure people in and strike if they peaked her interests, and it seemed I was one of the biggest interests she had--I was at school for only a day, right? How could someone just have an interest in someone else upon just meeting them? Hunter called it "Disney logic" even though I had no idea what that meant. I supposed it was a reference to something that I had yet to discover.

"Bitchy, overzealous, cocky, dumb, slut," Hunter ranted on. I swore, he had to run out of those words eventually. I hoped.

To some degree, Hunter had a valid point. I had just met the girl and all reason to trust her should be thrown out the window considering her devious reputation amongst the other students and some of the teachers. Hunter even told me of some rumor that she had solicited a cop for sex to get out of a traffic ticket, but he couldn't validate the rumor so he just told me to keep that in mind. That also showed me he was trying to figure out any means to make sure I didn't go to this party, and I could understand his concern. Random person has a random interest in random stranger and all the sudden wants everything to do with said stranger? Not only did that sound weird, but it kinda rubbed me the wrong way. That reminded me of when she attempted to feel me up, and I'm glad I stopped her, else I would remember that feeling now and just have the same chills running up and down my body.

Still, as much as I hated it, I was interested in attending this party. If I told Hunter that right now, I'd only get shouted at, or worse, thrown out of the house. Oh, how I dreaded the thought of that.

The only viable reason I could think of as I expressed my interest of this party was that she said she could make it "one hell of a night", whatever that meant. I'd be lying if I said that didn't peak my interest considering I wanted to figure out how these high school people acted outside of school when there weren't dozens of teachers and some school officers walking inside and around the campus--it wasn't some prison but no one dared to do any stupid crap while those guys walked around. I had already noticed how some acted while there were no authoritative people around--the goths usually spoke of chaos and despair, the jocks mainly bragged about sports teams and themselves, band kids commonly spoke of music and instruments, and the rest were just wide-spread from video games to shopping. Most of the time, they spoke with curse words or with much hate about the school, but when someone with authority walked by, their attitude changed in a pinch--they spoke about lessons, homework, and extra credit. Oh, I could tell they were bluffing about caring just as much as the teachers did, but at least they didn't get in trouble for it.

While that was beside the point, part of me still wanted to go to this party. If this was coming from some Queen Bee who was the head of everything that needed to be known around the school and this was a party she was hosting, then chances are that there were going to be some majorly popular people there. Did I want to associate myself among them? I didn't actually want to be affiliated with them, but I did want to find out how students acted when they weren't at school--Hunter didn't really count since I had been living with him for a few weeks now and knew how he acted.

"Alex?" Hunter's voice snapped me back into reality. "Aleeeex?"

I gave my head a few shakes and returned to him. "Oh, what? Sorry, I kinda zoned out."

He blinked and nodded. "Yeah, I noticed. Were you listening to me?"

"Afraid not," I replied without thinking. As soon as I said it, my face flushed red and I rubbed the back of my neck nervously. "Sorry, that was my mistake."

He sighed. "It's fine. I just said that I don't think its a good idea for you to go to this party. I've heard some terrible stuff usually happen during her parties, and I'm just concerned this is some sort of hazing thing they do to new people just to humiliate them for the rest of the school to gossip about later."

I could see his concern. "I understand, but why would she flirt with me like that, though? She seemed really interested in me, so I doubt that she would try to haze me and humiliate me in front of the school."

He shrugged absently. "You're probably right about that." There was some sadness to his voice that I couldn't quite figure out. "Still, I think you shouldn't go."

"Hunter," I spoke softly as he lifted his gaze to meet mine. "I know you're concern for my safety and well being, and I'm glad you are else I'd probably be doing stupid stuff right now with criminals or something."

The fox blushed in return. "Probably, but you do know that this party is on Friday, right?"

"Right."

"And you know what else is on Friday, right?"

"Right." I spoke solemnly. I knew what he was about to mention, and now that I remembered it, I knew a decision had to be made.

He sighed and looked at me. "You told me you would be here and have fun with the others. I promise you, you're going to have more fun here than you are at some wannabe frat party that every thinks is cool when its just nothing but a collection of over-privileged assholes who care about three things: sex, drugs, and alcohol."

"But what if this one is different?" I interjected.

Hunter looked like he had to fight back the urge to laugh, but he did smile. "Alex, you're smarter than that. I've known these dicks since elementary school, and I will tell you one thing, they're not people you want as your friends." He rubbed his eyes with his hand and sighed. "But, I think you need to see it to believe it, unfortunately."

I blinked a few times. "What're you suggesting?"

"Well, even though I want you to spend time with the gang as much as possible on Friday, I can clearly see that you need to see my words be proven true in order for you to completely trust me," he stated with gravity. "Look, if you so choose, go to the party and see things for yourself. I'm not going to hold it against you and I'll make sure the others don't either 'cause I think you need to know that you can trust my words and know that they will hold true."

"But I do trust you, Hunter--"

He waved a finger at me and smiled. "Not yet, you don't. Just make a call on Friday, okay? If you want to go to this party, then go. If you want to stay, then stay. Either way, I'm not going to think anything different of you based on either decision. There is not real right or wrong answer here."

I wanted to say something back, but he had a valid point. Even though I felt like I could trust him with my life, if what he said was true, then I had to see it to believe it. For a teenager, he was smart. He was using my own curiosity against me in a way I hadn't considered before, and, to be honest, I was surprised. There was a part of me that wanted to refute his statement in some way, but he had me right where he wanted me, and that was to say, I had walked right into his trap before I could even surmise it. As much as he was my friend, I took note not to underestimate his skills.

Letting out a soft sigh, I turned away from him. "And you promise you won't think any less of me if I go?"

He shook his head while a hand laid on his hip. "Of course not. I want you to understand that not all people are trustworthy and that you can trust me when I give you general knowledge of high school that you don't have...yet. When you come back from the party, you'll finally understand why the crew doesn't trust those entitled types."

"I wish you would tell me," I shook my head and sighed again. Reluctantly, I turned my gaze back to him and looked him right in the eyes once more. "But I understand why you're withholding that much, and I can respect that."

He smiled, stepped forward and patted my shoulder. "Glad you see things my way for once. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to leave for a little bit and help Max with his homework at his house...and help him clean his room." He sighed and shook his head. "Oh, Lord give me strength."

"But what about--"

He placed a finger against my lip. "Don't worry. Just make your decision at least by Friday so I can tell the crew whether or not you're gonna join us."

With a flick of his tail, he casually walked past me and left me in my now lonely and quiet basement-room where I had three things on my mind at the moment: the first was that I had to choose between Hunter and the party, the second was whether or not I could redeem myself despite the outcome of my situation, and the third...wait, what was the third?

WHAM!

As the tower of books fell off my bed and slammed against the floor, scattering all my papers and assignments all over the floor, I sighed and instantly remembered that I had a mountain of homework to complete by tomorrow.

I spent the rest of my day sitting on my bed and doing homework, which, in my mind, was the least normal thing a teenager would do, yet my eyes would always be drawn to the card on my nightstand every hour or so, and, flying through every assignment I had, I had finally made a decision.

Soon, I would realize it would be the second greatest mistake of my life.

Alexander

As I sat in my desk watching the white tiger fly around, I could only recall his movements a mirror to that of Ex.

Mostly everything about him reminded me of the boy. The way he flew with such elegance, speed, and power mirrored that of Ex, and I thought he was the only one who could reach those levels of flight--I was wrong. He also had the strength and speed that Ex had; when put to the test against two dozen operatives, he had each one on the ground within seconds, yet still shared the same compassion to spare them critical injury much like Ex. It was good to know that we didn't have some sort of bad apple running around abusing his gifts, and maybe that was the reason the Director decided to uncage him just a little. After spending years inside a cryo tube, I suspected that the Director felt as though this "Ex-replacement", as I called him, was going to need to develop his skills just as his predecessor before him did. Yet, despite my constant talks with Kindle, he wouldn't tell me the real reason for letting this new guy out of the tube. He'd just say "It doesn't matter" or some other convoluted bullshit anyone could see was just an excuse for the truth, and he wasn't fooling me with that rubbish; I knew he was up to something, and it involved this sealed away subject.

I sighed. Despite all the similarities that this guy and Ex shared, I still wanted to have Ex back more than anything else. I knew we had helped him escape what would've been certain death had we not intervened, but the facility had this odd sense of emptiness that I hadn't felt in quite a long time. This feline, though with abilities similar to that of his genetic partner, didn't have the personality that managed to brighten up my day for the past decade. I wasn't even sure if it was because of his melancholy attitude towards his own existence or the fact that he only followed our orders because that's what was "required" of him. I never told him that this was required, yet the Director had insisted that this would benefit him for the greater good, and, in some truth of the matter, begrudgingly, I had to let Kindle win that battle. I hated myself for the better part of the next few days.

Before I could press the button for the intercom, Blake leaned over and did it for me. "Alright, kid, that's enough for today." He spoke rather sadly.

The tiger stopped flying where he was and eased onto the ground, looking over to the observation box before nodding his head and closing his wings. Not a word was said, but Blake and I both knew that he was done for the day. Director Kindle had said not to push him too hard but make sure he was ready for a fight whenever. It was a late session, and we were both tired of sitting in these confounded chairs for the past few hours watching and recording anything that would prove valuable for the big man himself. It wasn't that we had something personal against the kid, but, the love that we felt for Ex, it belonged to Ex for the most part. We had worked with him longer than anyone else in this godforsaken prison, watched him grow up from a baby, to a toddler, to a child, to a pre-teen, to a teenager, and even to a late teenager. It wasn't by any means fair that we had to smuggle him out in order to keep him from being killed, and then, not long after, a replacement takes his place and somehow everything goes back to normal, yet Blake and I both know that something isn't right here. Director Kindle seems like he always on edge, the other scientists and researchers feel absent and engrossed in their work constantly, and the entire base is just quiet most of the time.

This wasn't the Division I knew. Something was wrong.

There was a cold chill in the air. It ran up and down my spine as if the Grim Reaper was tracing his scythe right against my bones, to which, I crossed my arms over my chest and slumped in my seat, closing my eyes trying to make sense of the situation.

We hadn't heard anything about Ex. The news was bleak, dry, and had little to no leads as the days went on. There hadn't been any reports of a flying teenager going over three-hundred miles an hour, but I suppose that was good news if there was any good news to be had. So long as Kindle had no clue where Ex was, I couldn't be happier. My only issue was that I had no clue whether or not he was alive. For all I knew, he could be at the bottom of the sea rotting away against the sand, or he could be in some sewer dying of sickness--despite being born with an advanced immune system to put the majority of the planet to shame, he could still get sick and die from it. He could be alive, though, but he could be with the wrong kind of people who would use his abilities for dark purposes like mugging, theft, and, my worst fear, murder.

I couldn't live with myself if Ex was alive but had become a murderer and thief because some people corrupted him. The tears began to streak down my face as my mind focused solely on that and forced me into agonizing misery.

Before I could succumb to my tears, I felt a hand rest itself on my shoulder. I looked up and wiped my tears to see Blake standing tall over me, looking down with his concerned gaze...Oh God, I hadn't seen that face in forever. Was he fighting back the urge to cry as well? He looked just as weak as I, but he still managed to look collected and level-headed enough to push on through the situation. Weird, that was usually me.

He knelt down and turned my chair around so I could face him then looked into my eyes. "You're stronger than this, Alex. If Ex were here, he'd want you to be strong and push on through this."

I sighed and hunched over, breaking his gaze from mine. "Blake, I just don't know...Do you think he's still alive?"

He smirked. "He better be. We put seventeen years of training into him, and I doubt he would give up the joy of life so easily. After all, he did want to see the outside world more than anything, and now he's probably getting to see it all."

I wiped a few more looming tears from my eyes. "Yeah, you're probably right. It was...silly to think that he'd be dead." I hiccuped. Christ, I sounded like a little child after crying so hard. What was I? Four?

He helped me onto my feet and kept me stable as I took my first steps after sitting in that blasted chair for most of the day. God, at least I could trust that he wouldn't speak a word of this considering I looked like a baby deer just fresh out of the womb. I actually stumbled into his chest for the first time and blushed before looking up. He simply chuckled. Oh, that bastard.

Soon, I was laughing at myself just like him.

Our...interesting moment was shattered once the door to the office slid open and in plain view was Safe. While most of the staff simply called him "Failsafe" due to his purpose of tracking Ex, I found it degrading to name him "Fail" considering he did just the opposite. At least Safe was a softer and more elegant word to describe him. He honestly wasn't a bad kid, but he was monotone. He looked at both of us with blank stares then walked forward and bowed his head.

"Greetings Professors Alexander and Blake," he spoke colorlessly. "Thank you for your training session today. I humbly appreciate the time and effort you have put into me these past few days, and I cannot thank you enough for your overview of my progress and failures. I do hope to amend for all my mistakes in the upcoming few days."

He spoke more like an emotionless informant than an actual teenager. He was Ex's age and had been bred alongside him but also separated to keep Ex the original and him as the back-up for any sort of issue that could arise. Even though I hated to admit it, Kindle was smart to make two Projects just in case a misstep came into light.

Blake stepped in considering I was still trying to get over my tears. "The pleasure is all ours, Safe. If Kindle wants you up to speed, he picked the best two guys the Division has to offer to make sure you get there."

I wish Safe smiled, but he just stood there like a soldier standing at attention twenty-four-seven. Was he that empty?

Before I could speak on my own, Safe spoke first. "Professors?"

We both turned our gaze back to him. "Yes?" We spoke in tandem.

He looked down but his expression remained. "I understand that I am not welcome amongst you two."

I blinked a few times. "What do you mean? Of course you're--"

He shook his head and cut me off. "You do not need to lie to me, sirs. Just as you have been studying me, I have been studying you. Whenever we are in close proximity, your bodies are tense and alert. Whenever I speak, you seem impartial and uncaring, even just now. Whenever you speak, you sound annoyed and detached and disinterested. Even as you look at me right now, I see that you two are sad and broken. I know it is not my place to speak ill of my superiors, which is why I would like to inform you that I am sorry that you must attend to someone like me."

His tone...it was...painful. His words stung but he was right. We were treating him rather dismissively and were constantly trying to avoid him at every given opportunity. I felt humiliated, but it wasn't because of him it was because I had been the d-bag instead. We barely even gave him a chance, and I felt terrible because I was comparing him to Ex when I should have been judging him as a different person entirely. He wasn't a bad person at all. He was just emotionless and had no distinct personality that we could discern. He acted politely and respected our privacy with true honor. He hadn't acted without our permission or permission from the Director himself.

And here we were treating him as if he was some sort of spoilt brat trying to get his way when in reality he was light years away from acting as such. For the first time, I think he sounded hurt, which was one emotion that I never expected to feel from him.

Or, perhaps, he was hurt enough to the point where he made it appear that there was absolutely nothing wrong with him. Whatever it could be, I couldn't deny that he was factual on many of his points.

I looked at Blake and sighed before turning back to Safe. "You're right. We've been treating you wrong the entire time. You see...we..." I tried to find the words, but as I searched for them, memories of Ex came flooding back and I remembered why I was crying--I was the one who was hurt.

Blake stepped in. "What he's trying to say is that we're still a little...distraught with the Ex situation."

"Yes, Project X, my predecessor who has set all the records that you have at this moment. My genetic data was based primarily off of him, yet Director Kindle modified the structure of my genetic makeup to match his own, thus allowing me to appear more like him in his younger teenager years." I could almost hear admiration in his voice. Was it for Ex or for the Director, or both? "I never met Project X, yet I have heard only rumors and stories. What exactly was he like, if I might ask, sirs?"

I looked down for a few seconds. What could I tell him? It wasn't like any of the information was really sensitive. "Well, he was probably one of the most influential people I had ever seen in our lives. I know we've been with the Division for over two decades now, but, out of every Project that we raised, Ex was by far our most favorite."

"Wasn't even because he managed to survive until he was seventeen either," Blake added.

Safe tilted his head out of confusion. "You make it sound like he's deceased."

His words were true. The statement of what he had said didn't seem to sink in, and, to be frank, I hadn't realized I had been speaking of him in past tense until he had pointed it out right there. I had to convince myself that he was alive and well and was managing on his own or something. I just wish I could confirm my feelings.

"Sorry, let me fix that. Ex is...special," that word made me warm inside. "True, he is a Project and has been genetically altered to essentially be perfect, but, as far as we could see it, he has his imperfections yet these imperfections are what make him him. Trying to fix the imperfections that Ex has is like trying to..." I found it hard to find a correct example. "..like trying to separate the colors of the rainbow--sure, you have separate colors now, but you lose the flare the rainbow had to begin with and it just doesn't make the right kind of rainbow anymore. The colors are vital to a rainbow--it is what makes it it."

Safe looked more confused than ever, and I had been observing him for the past few days now. Blake sighed and decided to relieve him of his confusion. "What my friend here is trying to say is that taking away the vital parts of Ex, which are his imperfections, would only take away his personality--his personality, his likes and dislikes, his attitude, his determination, his friendliness, his tastes in food...those are what make Ex Ex. You see now?"

It took a few long moments of waiting, and all the while Safe just sat there staring at the floor trying to think on what we had told him. Finally, he spoke. "Yes...yes, I think I understand now. You are fond of Project X because he is likeable, reliable, and friendly. He was...is imperfect, but that is something that could never be changed about him."

Blake and I nodded in unison. Perhaps this one wasn't as clueless as we had thought, and, perhaps, we could teach him something new yet. He still felt like some total stranger to me, but at least I could be for sure that his intentions were not vile by any sort.

For the first time in a while, I felt a little relieved.

Suddenly, the door to the office opened and in walked Director Kindle and a few of his guards. That was odd...usually Kindle didn't require his personal guard to follow him around.

For some reason, I had a bad feeling in my stomach.

Kindle looked rather dismissively at us, and I could almost feel the coldness of his stare as he rounded on me and Blake. I didn't want to make eye contact with him, but I knew his gaze was on us and it didn't feel good at all. A slight shiver ran down my spine, and I could tell just from glancing at Blake that he could feel it too.

After an awful few long seconds of painful silence, Kindle opened his mouth. "Failsafe, my boy, are you alright?" He had concern in his voice but seemed to forget that we were in the room as well.

The Project stood up and turned to the man he could most definitely call his father. They shared everything in common from the hair, to the eyes, all the way to the perfect posture. "No, Director sir. Everything is fine. I was just talking to Professors Alexander and Blake."

"Is that so?" Kindle asked. "Well, I would like for you to take a good look at them, Failsafe." He aided in turning Safe's head around to face us.

What was Kindle up to?

Before Safe could get a word in, the guards that had accompanied Kindle strode forward and roughly grabbed Blake and I and slammed us against the wall, pinning our arms behind our back. We had little to no time to react and fighting them was immediately out of the question; these guys had the muscle power, man power, and numbers to keep us from trying something stupid. That didn't stop us from struggling just a little bit: Blake grunted and tugged, trying to get his arms free from the guards' grip, yet he only seemed to make his situation worse as they began to twist his arm around and cause him to scream out in pain. I grunted myself and tried to shift myself around in hopes of throwing them off-guard so that their grip would loosen and give me the chance to break free, yet no miracle was in sight because as I struggled even a little, one of them pressed my forehead hard against the wall and pushed forward, causing pain to surge throughout my body, and I screamed as loud as I could but ceased my struggle so they could cuff me without further issue.

Before they let go, the guard on the left pulled my head back and slammed it hard against the wall, causing my body to go numb almost instantly, yet I could still feel my head aching. Everything was foggy and my ears rang as if a flash grenade had gone off. I was struggling to keep it together even as they pulled me onto my feet with my head hanging weakly. Everything seemed fuzzy, and I could barely understand what was going on.

By some odd chance, my hearing returned to the voice of Kindle huffing as the guards brought us to him. "You see, Failsafe, these two men used to be loyal employees of the Delta Division."

Used?

"But, in light of new evidence, I have found them guilty of treason and conspiracy against the entire Division and me!" His voice boomed throughout the room as far as I could here, and I wasn't even warned as he slapped me across the face, knocking my glasses to the other side of the room. Now, seeing was extremely difficult, and the slap sent shocks throughout my body once more. I felt completely helpless, and the worst part was that I had no idea what Blake was going through.

Don't hurt him...don't hurt him...don't hurt him. I continued to repeat that in my mind. Please, don't hurt him.

"What did they do, sir?" Safe asked, his tone confused and betrayed at the same time. Was he actually trying to show concern for us?

Kindle scoffed. "They're the reason Ex escaped. Take them to the White Room 0-7. I'll make sure they understand that I am never to be crossed or lied to. Get them out of my sight."

For what little sight and consciousness I had, I saw Safe look down at the ground...his expression...saddened.

Was it because we didn't tell him the truth, or because Ex was probably still out there and he knew he had to find him?