Aizawa, Mr. Ryujin, Catherine, and Carter watched from the window, all unable to speak. They never knew where I landed, as the height of the evergreen trees obscured any view of the frozen lake. Everyone in the room, including Captain Silas, remained silent. Littered with unconscious Pollinators around him, the captain took a step forward, dropping his gun to the floor.

  This sound inadvertently alerted everyone in the room. The four of them turned to him, expressions of sorrow evident in their features. Without waiting for the captain to say anything, Aizawa growled in a deep, unapologetic, and menacing voice.

  "What the hell did you do?"

  Captain Silas's breath caught in his throat, stepping back and almost tripping over an unconscious body. At this moment, Aizawa lunged forward, grabbing the slightly shorter man's wrist and snapping it. The sound of the bone breaking reverberated through the room, accompanied by a sharp yell of pain. Captain Silas gripped his limb arm, which had begun to brow mottled and purple from the lack of blood flow.

  "I-I did what was necessary; he was a criminal!—" A quick punch from Aizawa sent the man's head to the floor, throbbing in pain as it came into direct contact with the hard-wood floor.

  "Bullshit. Isaac's never the type to kill, we all know that... I know that."

  Captain Silas took a shaky breath, holding his head with his one working hand as he looked up at the four of them, eyes wide with some inscrutable emotion. "I heard the carnage behind that door, all the bloodshed and death!"

  Aizawa planted a foot on Silas's chest, interrupting him mid-sentence. "For a kingdom which wants to be so pacifist, there's an awful lot of corruption..."

  He knelt, exerting more force onto the captain's chest. Captain Silas's breathing came out jagged and raspy, exhausted spurts of mottled, strained breath. Aizawa's lips were inches from Silas as he whispered. "In the individuals who want to protect everyone."

  Just then, the captain's eyes widened as he sputtered with much difficulty. "Are you going to kill me?"

  Aizawa shook his head, removing his foot from the latter's chest. Taking a step back, he watched as Captain Silas struggled to his feet. The man slowly and painfully brushed himself off, his expression all the more vigilant and cautious, yet laced with a subtle understanding—every individual in this room was unpredictable as they were ordinary.

  "No." Aizawa finally answered his question.

  "But...of course, we'd need to take action."

  Aizawa looked back at Catherine, Carter, and Mr. Ryujin, nodding his head. "W-we'll take him back to the cathedral... then we can arrange a search party."

  Everyone remained silent, but they nodded in complacent understanding. Even with this unanimous agreement—an ode of teamwork that would have lightened the atmosphere by a margin—the implications of what had happened just minutes ago remained omnipresent like an overseeing entity.

  ...

  "Now tell us how to access the underground section you mentioned." Aizawa, who had used his spiritual binding cloth to restrain Silas, gazed at the man while awaiting his answer.

  The captain said nothing, slowly taking a step forward to the altar. "I'll need my hands for this."

  Aizawa nodded, releasing the grip of the weapon. The countless eyes on the binding cloth all closed in unison, as if restraining something was the only thing keeping them awake. The four of them watched as Silas's hands moved across the intricate patterns of the altar, his fingers weaving and tracing every crevice like an intimate lovers touch. Gradually the stone beside the altar began to shift and slide into itself, revealing a passageway that descended into darkness.

  On either side of this dimly-lit passage were torches that illuminated one after another. Aizawa, Mr. Ryujin, Catherine, and Carter all walked down the flight of stone stairs. Countless lanterns and lights flickered on, revealing tables of medical equipment, research scrawled in dust-covered journals, and potted plants with rows of viscous, razor-sharp teeth.

  A door suddenly opened, and a woman with black hair tied into a messy bun, walked out. Upon seeing the captain restrained, she immediately questioned the four people.

  "What is the meaning of this?"

  Mr. Ryujin took the initiative, stepping forward. "He said he brought together a team to arrest one of our friends for a crime we're sure he didn't commit."

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Even while saying this, Mr. Ryujin, Catherine, and Carter still had doubts. They had seen the blood on the boy's hands as he fled through the window. The weapon beside him was covered in blood. Even amidst these doubts and layered speculation, they still clung to the hope inside them.

  "I wasn't informed of this."

  "Who are you exactly?" Catherine questioned.

  "I won't answer to criminals." Her voice suddenly grew bitter.

  Catherine scoffed. "I can still do a hell-of-a-lot of things to you without my abilities."

  The woman's voice paled as she cleared her throat, silently apologizing. "I'm Jasmine, his wife."

  Jasmine was the captain's wife? Aizawa recalled their small interaction in Shinso and Isaac's apartment room, but he never suspected they were engaged. Of all things, Silas looked like the more controlling one, making him doubt any true feelings to begin with.

  "You're his wife? Wouldn't he have informed you of this matter? Isn't dealing with criminals a dangerous task, even for a Pollinator?" Carter interjected.

  Upon realizing he had used the label of 'criminal,' he was too late to apologize. Catherine elbowed him in the ribs before he could say anything.

  "Anyways, we came here to plead against these accusations and assemble a search team. We don't exactly know if he's dead or alive... but perhaps we can gather clues for other situations."

  Hearing this, Jasmine's eyes narrowed. "You're defending a criminal?"

  Aizawa shook his head. "I'm defending a student, a kid of mine."

  He suddenly pointed down the hallway, his voice gaining a commanding edge. "Treat your husband and assemble a search team."

  "I believe he fell into the frozen lake," Mr. Ryujin announced.

  He was the only one aside from Shinso and Isaac to go to the frozen lake. He could guarantee that the boy had fallen onto or into the lake because it's the area where the trees cleared and parted, making way for the frozen body of water.

  "You assume he's still alive after falling into a frozen lake? Even as a Seeker, he'd surely die from hypothermia... unless he's on a certain pathway."

  "What pathways?" Aizawa immediately perked up, handing Silas to Jasmine.

  "I'll hand you corresponding information after we conduct the search. For now, head to the lake and wait for further instruction when my search team arrives."

  "Yes, ma'am." Aizawa nodded, looking back at the others. Without wasting a moment, they headed up the stairs and ran out the cathedral, bee-lining to the clearing of evergreen trees.

  ...

  The low rumbling beneath me awoke me from a gaudy and hazy dream. I don't remember what I was dreaming about or what happened, but the drastically different environment ripped all previous thoughts from my brain. I looked to my left, through the small window I could see an endless line of evergreen trees. To my right through the other window, the sight wasn't all that different.

  I let out a low groan as I sat up, the pain in my back making me wince and lean back down. I was stripped of my clothing, now entirely naked with a blanket around me. The area where the bullet had pierced my back was wrapped in bandages, with a noticeable red spot that leaked to my shoulders. There must have been a lot of blood for the wound to have such gnarly repercussions.

  My heart nearly jumped out of my chest the moment I saw the Umbridge sitting in this small vehicle beside me. The vehicle had a small, homey interior, made entirely of food. A lantern was lit in the corner, and I was lying on a bed. The blanket around me was made of an animal hide, but I didn't know what animal it was, nor did I care.

  I sighed softly, a sudden wave of sadness crashing over me as I leaned back in bed. "They all think I'm dead, don't they?"

  The Umbridge, clad in their black illusory cloak, replied in their layered and illusory voice. "I don't know yet. But knowing your friends, they wouldn't be hasty to give up hope."

  "They most likely think you are." A voice suddenly sounded from outside the vehicle.

  When I peeked through the small window, I saw Kael in the front seat, driving us down a road that led through the dark forest around us. He was whistling to himself, as if the incident that happened seemingly hours ago didn't affect his current condition.

  "We need to go back!" I cried, trying to stand up again. I stumbled forward, barely able to catch myself as I plummeted to the floor, crying out in shock in pain as the wound on my back echoed like a bad aftertaste.

  Kael stopped whistling and looked back, scoffing. "You'd be hunted and killed."

  "For things you did! You're the one who should be behind bars, not me!"

  Kael looked back at me, the vehicle abruptly stopping in the middle of the road. The crimson-haired man sighed softly as he moved, sitting down beside me on the bed.

  "Once we arrive in Clifton, I'll have them clean you up. You'll get new clothes, food in your stomach, and you can begin a new life."

  "No! I don't care about this Clifton. I want to go back; my friends need me, damn it!"

  Kael's hand graced my shoulder, a deeply contrasting gesture to what he had previously done and said around me. "You could tell the authorities that they were racist supremacists who wanted you dead because of these..."

  Kael's hand gently traced along my horns in an almost motherly fashion. "But most times, they don't listen to those who kill and murder. Nothing's more disillusioned than the perspective of a man who sees the world through a wine glass."

  "But I'm not a murderer! I didn't mean to kill any of those guys!" I retorted, pushing Kael away from me.

  Kael remained silent for a moment, his elven ears twitching for a sliver of a second. His voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper. "Sounds like we have friends outside."

  I habitually looked out the window, my blood running cold as I saw countless dots painting the darkness in between trees. There were countless dots, but they weren't dots, they were eyes. A low growl sounded outside, one that made my heart twist in fear.

  Wolves. There were wolves outside.

  Kael adjusted his collar and smiled as if the current issue was nothing more than a cake walk. Stepping out of the vehicle, he made his way into the snow, silent as a tiger. At this moment, the man extended his arms. His body began to grow and change, his ribs splitting open like butterfly wings, and a pair of large, goat-like horns formed on his head.

  He let out a deafening roar as he suddenly leapt onto all fours like a dog, scurrying into the woods. I watched, my stomach twisting and turning as I heard whimpers and barking echo off the trees. Soon enough, I watched as Kael emerged from the trees, carrying a large heap of bloodied, bone-ridden meat. A surge of crimson flames engulfed the meat, cooking it to perfection.

  The man's body gradually reverted to its normal form as he stepped back into the small vehicle, approaching me with the slab of cooked wolf meat. "For now, here's your dinner."

  Walking back to the front seat, Kael sat back down and the vehicle moved once again. Now that I noticed it, no horses drove this vehicle forward, leaving me deeply confused.

  "H-how are you driving this?" I asked.

  Kael replied with a smile. "I'm controlling this entire vehicle. Now eat, I tried wolf once with my emperor; he found it delicious."

  Hearing that, I followed up with another question. "How far away is Clifton?"

  "We'll be there in about two hours. I just felt like you could use the snack..."

  "Snack? This could feed a damn family..." I looked at the wolf meat sitting on the floor. "And it's quite dirty now that it's on the floor."

  "Just eat the part that's not on the ground," Kael replied with indifference.

  "I would have liked a plate..." I grumbled. "How would I even begin?"

  The crimson-haired man complained under his breath as he waved his hands. I watched as a plate, fork, and a cup of water materialized before me.

  "T-thank you," I replied, a little ashamed of my past complaining.

  "You're welcome, dumpster boy," Kael replied.