Chapter 10

Officer Jeffrey and his partner had been escorted to a hospital where they were treated by the SMO. When they had woken up, the SMO had tried their best to make them understand that whatever they had witnessed some hours ago was plain fiction. Of course, Officer Jeffry wasn’t stupid enough to believe them, while the other guy didn’t care at this point anymore. He would accept anything as truth he was being told. For him, it was enough trouble for one day. He wanted to forget everything, also the sad fact of shitting and pissing himself, and return to his family – There he would act like everything was normal. Happy end for him and his mind. Sadly, his dirty clothes couldn’t be saved anymore. SMO had burned them – No trace left of it. And because Officer Jeffrey was too stubborn, he had to undergo a special treatment. The SMO had erased his memories of the accident.

In addition, they had acted fast enough to exclude the public from the crime scene. The barricade was strengthened. Although, SMO had done all this, they weren’t the one guarding the building. The people stationed at that place were soldiers from MHO.

Meanwhile, Drin, the woman and the other two guys were heading towards SMO’s HQ in a black van. The trip would take 3 hours and it could have been three peaceful hours if Drin would have behaved.

‘When will we finally arrive?’, Drin asked for the third time. The woman’s gaze narrowed at Drin. Then she exhaled softly and adjusted her posture. Woman: I don’t like imitating Lorena, but this is the only way to make him stop, considering his previous perverse actions! She crossed her legs, stretched out her chest, slowly put some hair strands behind one ear, gazed Drin straight in the face and demanded with a seductive voice:

‘Could you please be quiet? Only till the end of the trip?’ The moment she was done with her request, Drin immediately shut up. And the woman leaned back. Woman: This is not my style but it had to be done. Drin was able to keep his promise for exactly 10 seconds:

‘Oh’, Drin commented with a rather amused tone. He crossed his arms and slightly lifted his chin. ‘Now you reveal your true colours and then you call me a pervert.’ The woman blushed feebly and pinched her lips. But she stopped her cute reaction when she sighted Drin’s wide grin. She was about to throw a counter when she noticed Drin’s sudden lowered eyes and flattened mouth.

‘What’s your problem now?’, the woman demanded, waving a hand in mid-air. ‘First you tease me and now this expression! It’s not like we’re a couple!’ Drin gulped before he stated his problem:

‘We may not know each other well. Woman: And I hope it stays that way. But I – I don’t know why, I got irritated when I saw how injured you were!’ He scratched his head, whereas the woman rose her eyebrows. ‘And suddenly, I felt this strong rage in me.’ He opened his palm as if he was holding something immense in it. As he went on he waved in front of him: ‘Hahah, it’s not a pick-up-line, really!’ His waving ceased. The woman crossed her arms, somewhat leaned her chin towards her chest. Drin’s tone softened: ‘Moreover, I get this familiar feeling from you. Almost like I’ve known you for a long time. Weird right? Haha!’ Drin met the woman’s eyes. It became silent. The two guys at the front exchanged some dubious glances, though it stayed by only that.

‘What are saying?’, the woman broke the silence. ‘It doesn’t make any sense! Just be quiet till we arrive, please! Thanks.’ Immediately, she stared outside the window and covered her face pointing to Drin with her hairs. Woman: So I wasn’t the only one! Drin: Mhm, that’s what I get when I try being serious! She didn’t want to admit it, but Drin’s presence had rekindled her of a feeling in her past, a good and warm sentiment. The rest of the drive it stayed silent. Drin had forced himself to behave, partly for the sake of the woman. And the two guys had chatted via smartphone exchanging the wildest theory.

Finally, they reached their destination. The group exited the car and walked towards two men, stationed some meters before the HQ in a small shed, the sides made out glass. One of the two guys left the shed with a long round-shaped black device, one side glowing in red. The other one remained in the shed. The one holding the device halted before the group. He beckoned the big guy over with his finger and asked:

‘Please raise your hands!’ The man placed the device at the fingers of the big guy and slowly went down, always keeping the device close to the body. As Drin watched the inspection he turned to the woman.

‘What are they looking for?’

‘They are making sure we aren’t shapeshifters.’

‘Shapeshifters?’ The woman turned to Drin, explaining:

‘Shapeshifters are monsters who can take on the appearance of another living being and sometimes even their abilities. Though, they are most of the time very weak and thus hardly pose any threat.’ The woman turned back. Drin: Yeah! When I get to meet a shapeshifter, I’ll make him transform into – He side-eyed the woman – you of course. It’ll be the naked version! The woman knew right away that Drin was thinking about weird things – The nasty grin on his face and the hand rubbing! However, she simply yawned. Drin’s comments had occupied her mind throughout the drive and still lingered in her head.

After the group had proved the guards that they weren’t shapeshifters, they were allowed to pass. They entered the huge building which resembled an iron fortress, only some windows were visible from the outside. As they entered the giant door behind them closed. The door was made of platin and was 5 meters thick and tall. The moment Drin entered the building, he spotted hundreds of people in the room. People of all forms and colours. Some people were just chilling and others were working at some projects. It seemed like they were building fight-machines in humanoid forms. That was certainly the reason for why the room smelled of iron, burnt and gasoline.

'Are you preparing for a fight?`, Drin asked, looking around the room.

‘Yes’, the woman answered. ‘Although, I doubt that these humanoid machines will be finished till the fight with them! But don’t worry about it. Luna: Well, better we never finish with them. Surely MHO will ask something in return for giving us these machines! First, we’re going to meet the bosses.’

‘Tell me, are they strong?’, Drin wanted to know. ‘They must be strong! They’re the bosses, right?’ The woman turned around and gave Drin a smile as an answer. Drin: Ok it’s getting interesting!