Chronicles of Araxx - Forever Broken
Chapter 10

Jay and Adz were taken from the hall and into Simons’ office.

The walls of the office were blank as was the rest of the room. There wasn’t much to indicate who the office belonged to, except for the picture of the Simons’ family on his desk.

“This is a big responsibility, boys. I hope you know how much the success of this mission depends on you,” he said to them.

Neither Jay nor Adz said anything, but they both nodded in agreement. They were standing in front of the desk with their arms folded behind their backs, standing up straight like soldiers.

“Relax, take a seat. We have a lot to discuss,” said Simons.

They both sat in the chairs opposite the desk, slouching a little as they relaxed.

“Now. What do you know about this girl?” Simons asked.

“Sir?” Jay asked. He wasn’t quite sure he understood the question.

Jay and Adz didn’t know much about her at all.

“You were hiding in the hall at our last hearing, I’m not sure how many of my other meetings you’ve sat in on, without my knowledge.”

“It was just that one meeting, Sir,” Jay admitted. It was the honest truth, but he wished he and Adz were able to secretly sit in on more meetings.

“Well then, I’d better start from the beginning. Not much is known about the Hemplesworth girl, only that her parents were killed in a fire set by Kane and his pack when she was only little. The girl was not killed in the fire, however, and Kane took her. It is unclear why he took her, but we believe his reasons are important. We had word from an inside man that in the beginning, Kane attempted to bring the girl up as his own, but it became clear she blamed him for her parents’ death and she resented him. The girl rebelled against him and refused to do anything he asked of her. He became frustrated with her and started taking his rage out on her. He would beat her for no clear reason other than for his own pleasure.”

“That’s horrible,” Jay couldn’t help but say. He was always the more talkative out of the two.

Adz sat in silence, listening, taking it all in.

“He locked her up soon after that, and she’s been living in a cell for most of her life, being the plaything of Kane for as long as she can most likely remember.”

“What would a pack of werewolves want with this girl, though? Is she some kind of supernatural?” Jay asked.

“Not that we know of, no,” Simons explained. “As far as we know she’s completely human.”

After a brief hesitation, Simons continued, “You both know, of course, Kane has escaped us.”

Both Jay and Adz nodded.

“Well, this brings about more urgency for replaceing the girl. He will no doubt go after her, and we don’t want her falling back into his clutches if we can help it.”

“So what do we know about her now?” Adz asked his serious head on.

“We know she’s living in London, on the streets, and she’s been spotted with another girl.” Simons showed them a photo of the two girls. “This is them,” he explained.

“Sir, can I ask you something?” Jay said.

Simons nodded.

“This may seem like a silly question, but how much does she know about us, of our world, of the supernatural?”

“Not a silly question at all, Jason,” Simons replied. “We can assume she doesn’t know much. The fact that she ran from us that night we invaded Kane’s castle means she does not know we were there to rescue her, and I very much doubt she even knows she was living with a pack of werewolves.” He paused. “This is why I have chosen the two of you to bring her in. The girl may recognise some of the older men, as she must have seen them in the castle, but she will not know you.”

Both Adz and Jay agreed with this. They were excited to be going on their first proper mission outside of the Institute without a guardian with them.

“You may leave now, boys. Pack your bags and be ready to leave tomorrow morning. Get a good night’s sleep,” Simons said.

“Sir, just one more thing,” Jay said nervously.

“Yes, Jason.”

“Have you heard the rumours about there being vampires in London?” He asked. Adz jabbed him in the side. “Ouch,” he said as he glanced at Adz. “And don’t tell me you weren’t thinking the same thing.”

Simons said, “We don’t know for sure that it is a vampire. But you’re right, it could be. I need you to be extra vigilant while you’re in London.” Simons paused. “There are others looking for this girl as well.”

Jay and Adz turned and left the office, leaving Simons looking intently at the picture of his family on his desk.

Everyone at the Institute knew what happened to his family. Simons’ daughter was taken and murdered by a rogue werewolf gone mad. Simons had tried to save her, but it was to no avail. His wife went mad with loss and sorrow, and she became severely depressed. Simons was the one to replace her, hanging from the bannisters of their house, one of his ties around her neck. He doesn’t wear a tie any more, of course.

Everyone at the Institute had their secrets, and this was his.

Back in their dormitory, Jay and Adz discussed what they were going to take with them to London.

Simons had arranged for them to travel by train, and they would be staying at a hotel next to Kings Cross station so they could get around the city easily. Both had been to London before, but never without a guardian.

Although they were mature for their age, they knew too much about the world, the secret world which was hidden from normal people, to be completely carefree about going to a big city unaccompanied for the first time. In a city, it was easier for the supernatural to hide in large crowds, and they often gathered together in large groups within the city.

“Do you think she’s just human then?” Jay asked.

“I don’t know,” Adz admitted. “I mean, we know the alpha of the most powerful pack in Scotland wants her, so she can’t be, right?”

“I only ask, because, well, what would a pack want with a human?”

“It might be as simple as her just being human and having some powerful information,” Adz paused. “But, I don’t want to go in without proper protection. I’m taking my gun.”

“And I’ll take my sword,” Jay said.

“A sword? Really Jason?” Simons asked as he entered their room. “You need to be more inconspicuous than that. I think a gun would suit you better, too,” he suggested.

“Sir?” Adz questioned. Both he and Jay thought Simons was finished with them for the day.

“There’s something I forgot to give you while you were in my office,” he said, holding up a box with two leather jackets inside. “Try them on.”

The jackets fit them well, but they felt strange.

Jay felt inside one of the pockets in the lining of the jacket and felt something small and round. He pulled it out. A golf ball sized mass of black metal was resting in his hand. “What’s this, Sir?” Jay asked.

Adz stared at the strange item, puzzled, and reached inside his own jacket, replaceing he had one too.

“These are my gifts to you,” Simons explained. “As you know, drone technology has come a long way, mostly due to our work with the government.” He took the metal ball from Jay and turned it in his hand.

After turning it a couple of times, he threw it into the air.

Both Jay and Adz expected it to hit the floor and dove forward to catch it. Before they could reach the ball, it started to hover in the air.

“This is the newest invention of ours. These drones are only a fraction of the size of any other, lightweight and, of course, they are controlled without a remote. I say that, but they do have a remote.” Simons paused, laughing a little at his own joke.

Neither Jay nor Adz seemed to catch on.

“Sorry, Sir, I’m not really understanding. How do we control them if they do not have any remote controls? And how will they help us replace the girl?” Adz asked.

“You control them with your mind,” Simons simply said. “You think where you want the drone to go, and it will go there. In anticipation of this mission, I have taken the liberty of programming these individual drones to follow your own specific brainwaves, but they will also respond to me.”

Simons looked from Adz to Jay. “And, as to how they will help you, that is an easy answer. Like most drones, these have tiny cameras attached to them. You will be able to scout larger areas and also follow her with these, once you replace her, allowing you to observe her from a distance and learn the best way to bring her in without harming her or yourselves,” Simons paused. “I don’t need to remind you that this mission could be extremely dangerous, and I am trusting you with a lot, boys.”

They both understood.

“Practice using your drones tonight. They should be easy to control.”

Jay and Adz took control of their tiny drones. They were easy to fly, and fast too.

“How do we play the footage back?” Adz asked.

Jay, however, was playing with his drone, flying it around the room at great speed, diving through the posts on his bed and testing its agility, smiling like a big kid.

“There is a button on the side and once pressed will play a hologram to you. If the drone is flying and you would like a live feed, use these.” Simons handed both of them a strange pair of sunglasses. “The image will appear on the inside of the sunglasses.”

Adz put on his glasses, and the image of their room appeared in front of his eyes on the lenses of the sunglasses.

“Whoa!” Jay exclaimed, looking at Adz. The glasses had expanded, and now took up half of his face. They had also sprouted a headphone which was hanging down, echoes of the sounds in the room playing through it quietly. “That’s amazing. We’ll feel like spies.”

“With all the real dangers, yes.” Simons agreed. “If you need me at all, just press the red button on the side of the glasses. It will contact me, and I will also be shown live feeds from your drones when you press it.” He turned to leave the room. “I have to leave now, so good luck. A taxi will be here at seven tomorrow to take you to the train station.”

Simons left the room, leaving Jay and Adz to practice with their drones and continue packing.