Having no other choice, I forced myself to move. Aria was counting on me, I couldn't break now, I had to pull myself together. A bit like an automaton, I lowered down to pick up the rifle and fumbled to remove the safety catch. You can never be too careful... especially after what had just happened to me! Something tried to rise from the depths of my consciousness, but I stopped it. Everything seemed blurry to me, like unreal, as I went to make sure that Aria was fine and that she hadn't seen the whole scene. To her frightened look when she saw the blood covering me, I understood that no, otherwise she would not have been surprised.

- 'Where was Adam the last time you heard him?'

- 'In the cell next door. At first he was talking to me, but the bad guard silenced him, so after... he would gently tap on the wall to let me know he was there and reassure me,' she told me with a small voice full of contained tears. 'I hope he's all right!'

She looked at me both questioning and frightened, but what could I possibly tell her? And how was I going to get her out of there without her seeing the body?

- 'Aria, I'd like you to go wait for me in the hallway with Feline while I inspect the other cells. Would you mind?' I asked gently.

She nodded and followed me obediently. I was careful to screen her and the rest of the antechamber when we went out and quickly took her through the door, before going back alone to control the other cells. Unfortunately, they were all empty! So it was with an aching heart and by avoiding looking and thinking about the body lying a few meters away from me, that I joined the others.

- 'Sorry, Aria... but there was no one else but you,' I told her gently as I squatted down to be on her level. 'I'll take you to a safe place, the police are outside. You'll be safe with them and then I'll come back for Adam. If he's still here, I'll find him, I promise.'

She nodded trembling, her exorbitant eyes fixed on me. We turned back to the elevator without meeting anyone. It was then that my telepathic connection with Feline was suddenly restored and my state of shock dissipated as quickly as it had come. I found myself sitting on the floor in front of the elevator door without even finding the strength to press the button. In my head, "I killed him, I killed him, I killed him" was spinning in a loop and didn't seem to want to stop, even though I knew that technically it was Feline who had ended him. On the one hand, I was horrified by what we had done, and on the other hand I was satisfied with it, happy to still be alive and relatively untouched. That bastard got what he deserved. Deep down, it was this last thought that terrified me the most.

« We both killed him, little sister. He wanted to hurt you, we killed him. I'm proud to have been able to help you do it and it shouldn't bother you. »

In Feline's mind, her only regret was that she had wasted such good meat. It was stupid to kill without eating your prey, another human thing!

Curiously, her " animal " analysis of the situation did not really help me. I finally got up and started to feel everything that my state of shock had kept from me. Considering the sensations my body was sending me, I must have been in pretty bad shape. I preferred not to think about it for the moment and the three of us went up in the elevator, which Aria had had the presence of mind to call during my little moment of awakening. All the way up, something important tried to pop up in my mind, but without success. It was there, on the edge of my mind, but it didn't want to emerge. When the cabin stopped, it came back to me in a flash... The camera! In an instinctive move, I prevented the door from opening by keeping the floor button pressed.

- 'Get in the left corner on the door, quick! And above all, don't move.'

- 'What's going on?' Aria asked fearfully, while still obeying.

Feline, on the other hand, sank into the dark corner like a shadow. Having access to my mind, she understood my fears very well, what I wanted to do and what I expected from her. But I had to explain it to Aria. I hoped she would listen to me and not have any difficulty staying with the panther.

- 'I have a bad feeling,' I said. 'I think we're being set up. There's a camera pointed at the exit of this elevator. Where you are, it won't be able to see you. So I'm going to leave the cabin alone to create a diversion. You'll wait a little while and then you'll get to the exit as soon as possible. Feline knows where it is, you can trust her. Here,' I said, handing her the magnetic card. 'You just have to insert it into the reader and wait for it to turn green, okay? Then, once outside, look for Detective Gabriel Worth, I know he's there. Maybe he'll be with Jude. If you can't find them, go as far away as you can and find a phone to call your grandfather...'

- 'But... and you?' she interrupted me in a tearful voice.

- 'Don't worry about me,' I replied, squatting in front of her. 'I'll create a diversion and join you. Plus, I've got something to defend myself,' I added with a little smile as I stood up and showed her the riffle.

I had to be strong for her, even if I didn't feel one-tenth of the confidence I showed her. Feline was right, the most important thing was Aria, and for the moment I was the only one who could protect her. So I stepped out of the elevator alone and took a right at the end of the hall. As soon as I passed the corner, I heard the first footsteps. Discreet but still audible. That's when I saw another door opening out to the outside. I had a burst of hope. Maybe it was still possible for me to escape? But it shattered when three armed men began to surround me, their fingers clutching at the trigger.

They could not have been more different from each other. One was of average build and looked like a kid who wanted to look like a tough guy, but his shaky hands and the frequent looks he gave to the middle man betrayed him. The latter, for his part, would have had more of a place on the pages of a magazine with his long blond hair in a ponytail and his casual outfit of jeans, t-shirts and sneakers. But it was before I noticed his shark eyes and the ugly gun that he pointed in my direction, a predator's smile on his face. As for the third, he could not be overlooked. He was about 6 feet 5 tall and as muscular as he was tall... Meaning way too much!

I was going to try to attack the weak link when hasty steps were heard and the man in the blouse arrived followed by his son. Their faces distorted by hatred, they both froze when they saw me, and I knew that I was dead just by looking into their eyes.

- 'Don't shoot!' he shouted in a calm and emotionless voice, despite his apparent rage. 'I want her alive. Neutralize her, but I want her to be able to run. This facility is compromised. Clean up and then take her to the farm. We're going to have one last hunt before we leave this country.'

- 'You bitch, you killed my brother! I'm gonna kill you and I'm gonna take all my time for this...'

I had no doubt about that for a second. He followed his father, not without giving me one last murderous look, and soon I was alone, surrounded by the three men who no longer had the right to kill me. Maybe I had a chance? After all, I was armed too.

As I was about to raise my weapon, I knew nevertheless that I would not be able to fire. Not like that, in cold blood, on men who didn't intend to kill me. I knew it was completely stupid and that if I didn't defend myself, they would hurt me, a lot. But I couldn't bring myself to shoot them at close range. However, it didn't mean that I was going to stand by, especially since I felt that Feline and Aria were still in the building. Not in immediate danger, but not yet outdoors. I then realized that the connection faded with distance. I could still feel her emotions and surely she could feel mine, but we couldn't communicate anymore. Since they had not yet left, I had to occupy these gorillas a little longer, and if I could escape at the same time, I certainly wouldn't stop myself.

So I turned around towards the door and started to run as I fired into the electronic opening mechanism.

But having never fired a weapon before, my bullets exploded the window glass, instead of hitting their target. The supermodel, who had strayed from my path when I started to fire at him, then started snickering and came back to stand between me and the exit. Almost nonchalantly, he raised his arm and pointed his gun at me without stopping smiling for a second.

I had the impression that the scene was taking place in slow motion and believed for a fraction of a second that he would not dare shoot. The following events proved me wrong. The bullet hit me before my brain even considered dodging. The shock and pain that exploded in my left shoulder stopped me and I fell hard and very inelegantly to the ground.

- 'No, but you're sick! The boss wants her alive. What the hell are you doing?'

Apparently, his sidekicks also thought he was bluffing. After a pervert and a sadist, a trigger-happy lunatic. It was definitely my lucky day!

- 'He wants her in running condition, doesn't he? I shot her in the shoulder... So I don't see what the problem is?' he said smugly while approaching me with a confident gait.

He kicked my gun off, then pointed his gun at me again with a sly smile.

- 'Besides, it's a freakin' freak show, and I shot with normal ammo. She'll be up and running in no time. Won't you, sweetie?' he whispered as he pressed my wound with the barrel of his gun.

I managed not to scream and stared at him with my teeth clenched. This only made him laugh.

- 'At least now she's neutralized,' he said, leaning towards me as he was stowing his weapon.

He stood up and dragged me by the hair.

- 'She knows that if she makes the slightest movement that displeases me, I will not hesitate for a second to shoot her again,' he said sweetly to my ear. 'Now tie her up and lock her up somewhere until we're done.'

Then he pushed me bluntly towards his two sidekicks who in the meantime had come closer to us.

Very quickly, I found myself in a kind of boiler room where I was brutally sat with my back to a big pipe, before painfully pulling my arms back and tying my hands with handcuffs. I could not hold back a scream of pain when he mistreated my wounded shoulder. A white veil passed before my eyes and a wave of nausea briefly submerged me before they left the room without a word and locked the door behind them. They weren't planning on getting screwed twice, apparently!

I briefly wondered what they meant by "cleaning up" and gave me a mental slap. No need to be out of Harvard to figure out what it meant. I was just hoping that my little diversion had given Aria and Feline enough time to escape and crossed my fingers mentally so that the recent psychic silence I was experiencing was a good sign.

I then allow myself to let go to the pain and despair. I had the right to do so after all! I ironically said to myself. I had managed to save Aria, which, given my background, was already quite a lot, and even unexpected. Nevertheless, I couldn't help but resent myself for not being able to find the others. Fatigue, uncertainty, fear and a horrible feeling of emptiness and loneliness assaulted me, and I literally collapsed, both physically and morally.

That's when it appeared, replacing emptiness and despair. That feeling and that inimitable smell of undergrowth and warm air that was beginning to become familiar to me. Jude. He was there, but not just outside the building. It seemed to fill me from within, breathing strength and hope into me. It was so different from previous times, more intense, more intimate and most of all, strangely comforting. He seemed to be a part of me, a little like when I was near Feline, although... no, it was subtly different, although I couldn't say exactly in what way. I felt his emotions again, like this one time just after drinking his blood. He was both relieved that Aria was safe and anxious about not seeing me leave the building. He was afraid that he had arrived too late to save me and was desperately looking for a way to get inside to find me. I could feel it.

Oh, no, he couldn't! I panicked for a moment and it almost made me forget my painful situation. If he entered the building, he would be captured, or worse... killed. I had to warn him! I tried to concentrate despite the ever-increasing pain radiating through my arm and the weariness that gripped my whole body, but it was too late, the damage was done. He had just realized first hand that I was injured, trapped and therefore unable to leave the building alone. Which, as the good Cro-Magnon male that he was, drove him crazy.

I felt that he was trying to reassure me, to not make me feel his panic too much, but it was a failure and if Jude was panicking, it was because I had something to worry about. I felt his resolve, now that Aria was safe, to join forces with Worth and do everything possible to get me out of there before the whole building went up in smoke. Fear invaded me instantly, faster than any blaze. If there was one thing I didn't want, it was to end up burned alive!

Feeling the panic overwhelming me, I forced myself to calm down and think. That crazy professor wanted me alive and his henchmen had to take me somewhere else. It was therefore highly unlikely that they would let me roast. I tried to make Jude understand that it was certainly a trap and that they should not enter the burning building to save me. He had to wait for my transfer.

I felt him hesitate, torn between instinct and logic, but above all I felt his intense feeling of guilt, as if everything was his fault. No... He couldn't be involved in this, it wasn't possible... Then, as suddenly as the connection was established, it disappeared and I found myself again with my pain and my questions for only companions.

I was so worried about this sudden disappearance that it took me a long time to realize that I was still feeling his typical psychic smell, like a reassuring presence. I couldn't share his thoughts anymore, but I knew he was there. As I didn't feel him getting closer, I deduced that he had opted for logic and was waiting for a better time to attack.

Now I had a chance to get out of this, if I didn't lose all my blood before, of course. My wound was killing me and the bleeding didn't seem to stop. Probably a consequence of my extreme fatigue, lack of food and uncomfortable position. However, I did not have time to worry about it, because as soon as I had thought about it, the key turned in the lock and the door opened suddenly on the sadistic blondie. He untied me without a word or consideration, and reattached my front hands after taking a quick look at the blood pool, then pushed me in front of him and took me out of the room.

I had barely stepped into the hallway when the stench of gasoline caught my nostrils. They were really going to burn everything down! I prayed silently that there was no one left inside, because these monsters didn't care about collateral damage. It was getting harder and harder to move forward, my vision was blurred and cramps were twisting my stomach. I understood that my body was trying to repair the damage but needed rest and food to do so. Unfortunately, I could not provide either, and fainting to find myself at the mercy of these three men was not really appealing. So I struggled to keep my eyes open for a little while longer.

When we arrived outside, the cold air did me good and gave me a boost. We headed for an old van parked in the back of the building on a kind of makeshift parking lot covered with gravel. Most likely, the same shabby van I arrived in. The youngest was already behind the wheel and got out to open the side door as we approached.

As he was about to push me in, the sound of something being dragged on the ground was heard. Blondie, who held me with an iron fist, turned abruptly towards the noise, dragging me with him. The third man, built like a mountain, was coming towards us, pulling an apparently unconscious man behind him as he would have pulled a suitcase. From where I was, I couldn't distinguish who it was, but I hoped with all my heart that it wasn't Jude, for him and for me. He dropped the man at our feet, then pulled his head back to expose his face. It was Worth! I could not hold back a whimper when I saw the state he was in.

- 'Look who was sneaking around the building?' he said with a deep voice that matched his looks as he kicked into the inspector's ribs. 'We should have made it easier for him and let him get inside. He would have burned with it,' he said, with a sneer.

- 'It's still possible.'

- 'He's a cop!' the young man said in a slightly shaky voice. 'We can't do that!'

- 'And why not, tell me?' the ponytail guy asked him in a terribly calm voice. 'If you're so worried about that poor policeman, you can always go and share his fate. That way... he won't feel so lonely.'

- 'But... no, not at all!' he stuttered in terror. 'I was just worried about the fallout.'

- 'And you're right!' Worth managed to articulate painfully in a muffled voice.

- 'You, shut up!' the big guy said, kicking him again.

- 'All right! Shoot him and then put his body in the building. The fire will erase the evidence.'

Muscleman pulled a gun out of the back of his pants and pointed it at Worth's temple in the same movement.

- 'No, stop it!' I shouted in a desperate voice.

All eyes turned to me, including the inspector's, even though he had only one eye that was still opening properly. I had managed to get their attention and delay the fatal blow, but I had to find a brilliant idea to delay it a little longer. I tried to capture the inspector's attention with my eyes.

- 'He's a metamorph,' I improvised. 'I don't know what animal he turns into, but your boss will probably be happy to have one more beast to hunt,' I eventually said, going all in.

I saw Worth's eyes widen and prayed that I was the only one to notice it.

- 'How do you know he's a metamorph, if you've never seen him transform himself?' the leader asked me, pulling my hair brutally.

- 'Because I feel it,' I answered in one breath.

- 'Is that true?' he asked the inspector.

- 'Yes,' Worth replied immediately, entering into my game.

- 'And what animal do you turn into?'

I stiffened myself at the question. Hopefully he will have the foresight to choose a species that is irresistible to these degenerate hunters. He took a long time to answer, and so he was pushed again.

- 'A lion.'

Bingo! I saw by their interesting glances that he had hit the nail on the head. These men were hunters and the idea of hunting a big wild beast excited them.

- 'Well, maybe the bitch is right. We'll take him with us. Anyway, we can always put a bullet in his head if he's not what he claims to be,' he said with a nasty smile.

He pushed me into the van where I fell on my injured shoulder. I cried out in pain and was immediately rewarded with a kick and an unconsciousness as sudden as welcome, but unfortunately of very short duration. When I came to my senses, the vehicle had still not started. However, Worth was now beside me on the floor of the van. We both had handcuffs shackled in the two loops fixed on the floor. We looked at each other for a moment, then he finally sketched a poor smile and silently said thank you. Tears came to my eyes, because I knew I had only delayed the inevitable, and no matter the darkness, his condition was really frightening to see. That said, I couldn't have looked better given the compassionate look he gave me.

The floor began to vibrate and the vehicle started. I reached out with my valid arm as much as I could to try to reach Worth's. Understanding what I wanted to do, he did the same on his side and we managed to touch each other's fingertips. It may not have been much, but this simple contact did me a lot of good, and I understood from his gaze that it was the same for him. I then closed my eyes, aspiring to rest, to allow my body to recover as much as possible before whatever awaited us at the famous farm.