LANDON:"Wow," I exclaimed as I made another mark on the glass, making know that I had been here for exactly ninety-one days. I have run out of everything and even hibernating wouldn't help. I threw a disgusted glance over what had served me for the last ninety-one days. Nothing was left of it except bones which were beginning to dry up.When I went back to the building, Dr. Grant had lazily gotten up, dragging me to the box that held Venita. He shut it before I could fight him off and the next thing I saw was a shockwave bringing everything down and burying us in the ground. Apparently, the box had been designed also to withstand such a blast, and around the building had a ticking bomb and a manual controller which the sicko head had activated."Of there's no evidence, then, they won't have a case," he coughed out before smiling. "My work is done. Now, I can die in peace. However, more of us will stand up in generations to come to fight against your kind. Our story would be told," he
VENITA:Things with Landon have been...different. Although having him back changed a lot of things, for one, Sasha starting to talk again, he zoned off most of the time. Each time he was in that state and I found him, he quickly recollected himself. As much as I would love more vacation days, Landon didn't allow that. He went back to work after beating the crap out of Jason and handing him over to the cops. Landon, as always didn't let any of his betrayers go free. He rounded them up and imprisoned them while he thought of a suitable punishment. Surprisingly, he submitted himself to his pack. More like asking for forgiveness. Something Landon Kurt hardly did. It felt great seeing this side of him. He was more level-headed. I guess that was what happens when you have a near-death experience.Here he was dragging me to an unknown location. It was so beautiful to have him back."Just tell me where we are headed. This blindfold is killing me," I nagged."We're here," he announced almost
VENITA:As I walked through the dark corners of my street on my seventeenth birthday, a heavy ache of loneliness weighed on me. My parents were once again engrossed in work in the depths of their mysterious lab. More than anything this year, I yearned for their company. I wanted them to care about me and my presence rather than work. Sadly, that wasn't the case. They were distant figures in my life, their work consuming them and leaving me to find solace in the company of stray animals I saved and cared for.Something else bothered me beyond their absence. At the stroke of midnight today, my parents had woken me up for an absurd conversation."Venita, we hope you can understand what we did," my mother had said, her voice filled with regret and sorrow, shadowing her usual vibrant tone when speaking to me."What did you do?" I asked curiously."It was to make you healthy, sweetheart," my father had added. "No matter what, when the time comes, protect it with your life.""What are you bo
Six years later...VENITA: “Five more minutes. Five more minutes,” I constantly growled into my pillow. Still, I knew that I didn't have that luxury because my alarm was persistent. “Okay. Okay. Time to be productive.” Slamming the alarm to silence, I got out of bed, wrapping my robe around me. The morning was still quiet and my eyes were heavy. Managing my steps, I walked out of my room and down the hall with a tender yawn. Keeping my voice gentle, I called out to Sasha. Rays of sunlight filtered through the curtains, casting a warm glow across her room. “Baby girl, time to get up. We’re already late,” I whispered, leaning down and planting a kiss on her forehead before completely drawing her curtains open. “Mom, do I have to?” she murmured, her protest a soft protest against the morning's demands. “Yes, my dear. The day awaits, and we have much to prepare for,” I calmly said, sweetly smiling at my baby. She was a miracle, difficult to explain. Especially how I conceived her. S
LANDON :I have always had a thing for kids. They warm my heart. Their innocence and purity made me want to linger around them consistently. It made most of my charity work go to everything that had to do with them. Months back, when Peter, my assistant suggested I do an image damage control by spending a whole day at one of the local schools to which I frequently donated, I quickly agreed. The thing was, the press made a terrible headline about my establishment abusing and unjustly firing my workers because I dismissed a large number of incompetent employees. They made me look like the bad guy. To create a diversion, Peter put this charity piece together, which was also great for my kind.I took a moment to observe the locality of his choice, and it wasn't a bad one. The school needed work. But, also, required accountability as to where all the fund has been going. With the chunk of cash I gave, there wasn't a reason for this school to have a bad structure and ugly-looking roofs. I w
VENITA:The universe must want me to end up somewhere unfortunate. A jail, perhaps. Because why would a man who thinks the world was his to dominate come in contact with me this morning? And, why was he calling my child sweetheart? I had zero tolerance in me. As a surge of anger coursed through my veins, about to intervene, I noticed that Sasha was abruptly in pain. My heart skipped in worry. Hopefully, it was nothing serious, please. We can't afford a hospital bill, either. Before I got out of my shell shock, the arrogant man was next to her, a gentle smile plastered on his face. His voice was reassuring. “Take a deep breath for me, Sweetheart. Inhale. Exhale,” he instructed Sasha. Why was he calling her Sweetheart? “Move away,” I busted out, not minding if tons of kids were watching us. “I need to take her to the hospital,” I cried out after seeing that her pain was worsening. “Just allow me to concentrate,” he barked. “Keep quiet!” I was too stunned to speak. His audacity neede
LANDON:“Mr. Kurt, the papers. Review them.” One of my business associates motioned towards the stack of papers in front of me. I gave a sharp nod, adjusting my suit as I began skimming through the pages. The more I pondered, the more perplexed I became. Never did I imagine a day when I'd be engulfed in frustration over an inexplicable situation. I wrestled with it all night, analyzing every possibility, but the puzzle pieces refused to fit. A child isn't conjured out of thin air. It's the result of intimacy between a person with eggs and another with sperm. So, how did I end up with one? "Mr. Kurt?" Peter called for my attention. "It seems Mr. Kurt isn't focused on this meeting," Anthony chimed in. Slamming my hand on the conference table, startling everyone, I spoke calmly. "Anthony, do you want to tell me how to do my job? Please, be my guest." Anthony was one of the snakes on the board who couldn't wait to drive me out of my position, so he could take over. If there was a way
LANDON:Basking in the warmth of the sun, I stepped into Sasha's school—a lively place, pulsing with youthful vigor. Its red-bricked facade and bustling courtyard hinted at the vibrant energy within. I was just displeased with the dilapidated nature of some of its corners and the bad roofs. The school hasn't fixed those yet? Someone was going to pay dearly for the continuous negligence. I still donated a lot of money the last time I came here and they haven't done any work on things I complained about. Carrying an array of snacks, unsure if she would like any of what I came with, I headed toward her class. Damn! I must be going crazy because there's no way I'm doing this when I should be back at the company doing more important stuff. At my entrance, the whole class turned in my direction. Sasha spotted me, her eyes widening in surprise. “Hi, Sasha,” I greeted and waved, anticipating her reaction.Staring at her as she approached, Sasha, at the tender age of five, possessed a captiv