Matron Constance is ringing the doorbell insistently. It’s not 8:30 yet, I don’t understand why she is in such a hurry. I run downstairs as fast as I can and the moment I open the door she tells me to hurry up.
“You mentioned you knew how to cook, right?” The Matron asks as we walk to the subway station.
“Yes, Matron,” I reply.
“Who taught you?”
“My Grandma,” I say feeling a little bit saddened. Every time I think of her I get sad, I miss her and the idea of her hating me breaks my heart. I wish there was a way to get in touch with her to explain what really happened. But I know it’s impossible, I can’t use the phone and I can’t go anywhere without permission. Commander Mortensen or Matron Constance would have to come with me, and I don’t dare to ask neither of them for
(Leopold’s P.O.V.)Jareth parks the van with no rush and my Sharks step out. They know they can’t help the fireman anyway, so there is no point in hurrying. Forcing us to come here is just a waste of our time. Firemen are already here and are doing their jobs, we can’t do much aside from watching them work, but Major Anderson insisted we came because; after the attacks to the Matrons and the subversive pamphlets many Bearers are getting, he wants us to be involved in everything related to these women and the Ministry of Females, even if all we can do is just showing up. So for today, my elite Unit is being wasted in a mere act of presence.I walk along my Sharks and we stop at a prudent distance so we don’t get in the way of the firemen. I fold my arms across my chest and I look at the firemen trying to extinguish the flames with their hoses. Although I am pretty sure there is no way they can sav
(Leopold’s POV)I take a seat on the uncomfortable chair in the waiting room at the hospital and I rest my arms on my legs. I hate to wait, I’ve never been a patient person. I slowly open and close my fist, my skin is itching from the burn I got when I went into the warehouse. I don’t understand why she was in there in the first place? Aubrey seems to have an act for getting in trouble even if it’s not her fault.“Are you hungry, commander? I can get you something from the cafeteria,” Jareth offers as he takes a seat on the metal chair next to mine.“No, thank you, boy. I’m fine,” I reply distracted.“Anthony is on his way, he is going to tell us what the fireman found out,”
(Aubrey’s P.O.V.)Today marks two weeks since I was released from the Detention Facility. I was oblivious to the fact until Matron Mary Ann mentioned it on our way to the Bearer Center this morning. She just returned to her usual activities and, luckily, she is kinder to me now, it’s like the attack brought us together. Matron Constance has also been nicer to me since the arson. The only person who is still rude to me is the commander; I don’t understand why. For a moment I thought the experience would bring us together; I know he claimed that he was only doing his job, but his job doesn’t consist in hugging me and whispering to my ear that everything will be fine, which is exactly what he did after the fire. I have thought about that moment constantly the past couple days, I recall how safe I felt between his arms, just like the day he gave me his jacket. It is strange that such an intimidating man can make me fe
(Leopold’s POV)Today I’m in a worse mood if that is even possible. Our raid this morning was a failure, when we got to the place the Keepers’ intel indicated, the Eels had already fled and destroyed most of the evidence. We were able to collect some pamphlets and personal items, but nothing relevant. I can’t bear the idea of Eels escaping, it infuriates me beyond words. My blood is boiling.“Commander Mortensen, how was today’s outing? Next time you take your men for a stroll try not to make such a fuss about it,” Commander Walter Wilson says mockingly.Wilson and I have always been competitive with each other, we got in the Shark Forces at the same time and our progress has been pretty much alike in the past few years. The next step is to become major and we both
(Jareth’s P.O.V.)The 9th Unit awaits for its commander nervously. Our morale is down after this morning’s fiasco with the raid and we all know that we are going to receive a monumental reprimand from Commander Mortensen as soon as he gets here.The moment he walks in we all hold our breaths expecting the worse but to our surprise, the commander salutes us distractedly and lets the Unit resume their usual activities. The Sharks look at each other confused, but no one says a word. Most of the stares go straight to me, they are looking for an explanation because I’m the person closest to the commander and I know him better than anyone here but I am confused too. Why does he look so distracted? I follow the commander to the shooting range after I shrug to let my Unit mates know that I am as lost as them. Maybe he was so angry he suffered a mental breakdown.
(Aubrey’s POV)Today like any other day, I feel a pang of fear the moment the commander arrives. Baxter runs to greet his owner while I finish setting up the table.“I’m not hungry,” he declares curtly and then he walks up the stairs.I stay in the dining room unsure about what to do. If he doesn’t eat dinner, does it means I can’t eat either? I decide to nibble something while I clean up the table. I put everything back in its place, I store the untouched food inside glass containers and then I leave the kitchen spotless.Once everything is done, I go into the bedroom. The commander is already asleep so I try to be as quiet as possible, the last thing I wa
Once I feel better I step out of the shower, I wrap my body in a towel and go back to the bedroom. I left the door ajar, the 9th Unit is already here. I can hear them talking downstairs. I walk out of the bedroom and stay by the banister paying attention to what the Sharks say. “Sabrina, take that, put it with the other pieces of evidence,” Jareth says. “Why me? Let Valentine do it!” I hear her reply in a whiny voice. “He gave you an order! Do it!” Commander Mortensen’s voice fills the whole house. “Commander, you are back!” Jareth exclaims. “Where is Baxter? Is he okay?” “Yes, they used some kind of sprayed sedative on him but he’ll recover. The vet wanted to keep him for the night jus
The first thing I feel when I wake up is Mortensen’s sturdy body next to mine. I stare at him while he sleeps, as frightening as he is, I can’t help to find him attractive. I don’t know why I feel this way, maybe it’s because he saved my life during the fire or maybe it’s because of all the small gestures he has showed me since I got here but I unexpectedly feel appreciative towards him and I start to think I care for him. I’m still afraid of the commander and I dread every time he looks daggers at me or gets angry, but now my fear is mixed with other feelings he awakens in me that I can’t precisely identify, I just know they are there.After a while, the commander starts to wake. I get up from the bed and go out of the bedroom before he opens his eyes. I don’t want him to know I was staring at him.