~Faye
Alden’s instructions lead me to a suburban home on the outskirts of the town.
I stare down at the crinkled note in my hand, the address to this home printed in Alden’s neat handwriting. This is definitely it. It seems strange though, surrounded by neighbouring homes, this doesn’t seem like the torture house I pictured in my mind.
Pushing through the ajar gate with my hip, I wander warily up to the door. I would assume this was a trap, if I didn't know Alden so well. He wouldn’t be stupid enough to risk the life of the Alpha of Independence.
Alden answered the door the moment my fist touched the door.
He looks his typical well presented self. Always so immaculate, with his pressed, tailored suit, practiced posture with his hands tucked behind his back. My assumption is that he keeps like this so no one looks into his strange life. The exact life I’m about to get a first hand look into.
“I’m glad you came,” Alden tells me warmly, extending his arm into the home. “I worried you would leave without an explanation on my part. I do respect our friendship.”
My mouth remains closed as I step into the house. Will our friendship remain after this? T’s fright, whether it was a dream or not, still rings into my mind. As does the kiss, that has me wanting to touch my lips every few moments, to remember every second of the briefness.
“Where is he?” I question.
“Wouldn’t you like a cup of tea, Faye? I feel like there are a few things we need to discuss before I take you down there,” Alden tells me, motioning to a couch for me to sit on.
Down there.
I take a seat, knowing I have no other choice but to oblige with his wishes. While he disappears into the kitchen, I take the opportunity to look around. This place is clearly a shell used as Alden’s base of operations. No unnecessary furnishings or photographs. Just enough for neighbours if they happen to get curious and peer in. This place is inconspicuous. It’s genius.
I’m curious where T is being kept. From what I can see from my position on this couch, there is no space for a man to be held captive. Perhaps he isn’t here. Maybe he is being kept off the property.
Alden walks back into the room moments later, holding two cups. “Apologies about the blandness of this home. It’s not my real home.”
“Where do you live?” I ask, taking the tea by the saucer as he hands it to me, guiding it to my lap.
“Elsewhere,” he says dismissively. I’m not sure why bother asking.
Alden takes a seat on the other couch, sipping his tea as he does so. I stare down at mine, unsure of why I’m nervous. He didn’t spike it, I’m simply in my own head. So I take a sip, and it taste exactly like the tea I have on a daily basis. I really need to stop this shaking of my hands before he notices.
“What I’m doing is not kind to T, but I can assure you that it is absolutely necessary,” Alden explains to me. I’m glad he brought this up first. I was unsure on how to approach this.
“What is it that you’re doing to him?”
He sighs through his nose, considering his options. “There is a very particular way of going about what I do. I attempt to remove the abilities from the body. In T’s case, I must do that, and remove the entity that is controlling him.”
I’m almost too scared to ask. “And how do you do that?”
“I’ve had a group of very intelligent scientist based here in the Wisdom Pack create me a set of poisons. Each has different ways of releasing the powers from each time travellers body. Once it is done, we release them, and compensate them greatly,” Alden explains to me, setting his tea down on the table in front of us.
I frown at what i catch in the middle of his sentence. “Time travellers?”
“Yes. Time has recruited various souls out there who we are currently saving. Time is the worst immortal, enslaving these people against their will. Many come to me, asking for my treatment,” Alden tells me.
Swallowing uncomfortably, I set my tea down too. I feel sick to my stomach. Perhaps he is doing the right thing for these people, but I can’t let T be tortured with poisons. As much as Alden’s explanation makes sense, and I desperately want Time out of my immortal, it can’t happen like this. I will find another way.
“Can I see him?” I ask, before I slowly retract. “I want to know if T is stil in there.”
I’m stepping on eggshells, but I have to get into his cell. I also have to make sure that Alden doesn’t catch on to the plan I haven’t formed yet. All I know, is that it will include me leaving here with T. No matter the consequences. Alden doesn’t look suspicious, simply sympathetic for my situation.
“If that is what you want, Faye, I will take you to see him.”
Alden stands swiftly, walking into the hallway. I stand, quickly following him at his heels, hoping not to lose out on this opportunity. He pauses at the entrance to a closed off room, seeming to glance at me for approval. Or maybe he is just checking if I’m ready for what I’m about to see.
He opens the door slowly, lugging it out, showing me it’s heaviness. When I glance in, I understand why. The titanium door hides a long stairway leading down into the darkness, right under the house.
That’s when I understand.
“Is this truly what you want, Faye?” Alden asks gently, holding the door open for me. I don’t say anything, walking right in.
Immediately, the temperature changes. I can hear nothing though, only eerie silence. I nod at Alden, and he leads the way, padding adeptly down the stairs on muscle memory. This place indubitable belongs to him.
The bottom of the stairs levels out into a dark hallway. Concrete flooring, massive steel doors set after each other, concealing what I assume are cells, all create a horrifying scene. I would turn back and run had T not been locked in one of these cells. This gives me even more reason to get him out of here now.
“These are for the problematic few who don’t want to be here. Who need to be tracked down. Who have too much power,” Alden tells me, leading the way. “There is another facility for the voluntary group.”
The sounds of this makes me feel ill, but I keep my mouth shut.
“T is in here, perhaps resting,” Alden tells me, pausing at one of the steel doors. The most worrying thing about this is that there is no noises coming from these cells, despite the torture going on. Either those doors keep sound in, or he poison is doing unspeakable things to them.
“I want to see him alone. He won’t act the same around you,” I tell him quickly. I need to get Alden away from here. He trusts me, this should be easy. “If I can truly see Time in him, I will leave immediately.”
Alden doesn’t pause. “He can’t hurt you anyway. The poisons have his powers on lock.”
“Perfect.”
The door isn’t locked. They truly do trust these poisons. This may be a prison cell, but the moment I step in, I see this looks nothing less than an average bedroom. And buried in the covers, is T.
“Have fun,” Alden murmurs, before he closes the door behind me.
As soon as I hear it scrap shut, I make a dash for the bed. T lays there, eyes closed, mouth slightly parted. He is sick, it’s so obvious. He smells distinctively of strawberries, it’s almost overwhelming. When I lean down, it’s on his breath, seeping out his pores. It’s the poison, that has taken complete control over him.
“T, wake up, it’s me,” I breathe, shaking him by the shoulders. “I’m here to take you home, okay? I’ll get you out of here.”
No response.
I look around the room, spotting a sink near the toilet. Water. I can wake him with water. Just as my foot made the step in that direction, the door to the room opens. I jump back instantly, expecting Alden, but instead seeing a petite girl with honey blonde hair, pulling in a trolley.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” she says quickly, stopping short. “I didn't know you were visiting the patient, Alpha Faye.”
She knows me. Perfect. It will make this easier.
On her trolley, is a tray lined with small vials, and a tray of pills in various colours. I hate to know what is in those vials, in though I can assume. Another dose of poison for T. Exactly what is keeping T’s abilities at bay.
“I am. You can leave, I will administer the...drugs,” I tell her firmly. It’s the only way I can save him.
She looks dazzled, tucking a piece of hair that had fallen from her bun behind her ear. “I need to do that Alpha. I know his exact dosage-”
“Alden already informed me,” I say dismissively. “Now leave. That’s an Alpha’s orders.”
It worked. I knew it would. She nodded in submission, before slipping out the door, closing it behind her. Not many would go against an Alpha’s orders. Not unless they want to face horrific consequences.
Immediately, I rid of the pills, flushing them down the toilet with the poison I tipped out of the vials. It swirls around in beautiful vibrant colours, the aroma mixing up in my nose with it’s putrid sweetness.
I turn back to T. “I’m going to save you.”