MonkeyVault-Chapter 7

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Chapter 7

Alula woke in a room that stank of chemicals and fart-smelling food. It definitely didn’t have her dirty piles of clothes and strewn panties decorating the place and that was a definite sign of its unfamiliarity. Simple white blinds adorned the windows and the walls were daubed a putrid pea-green. It could only be one place and that was hospital. Alula lay there for a moment just staring up at the speckled ceiling tiles, mulling over how the fuck she'd ended up in this place? The last thing she remembered was storming out of the interrogation quarters of the Angel Asylum catacombs-massively pissed off at Jael for grassing on her about her social activities. Now, she was lying in a Angel Asylum hospital bed. It didn’t make sense?

“Bitch,” She said out loud, thinking of Jael. The words came out as a croak more than anything intelligible, like she hadn’t used her voice in days.

Alula made an attempt to sit up, but was firmly eased back down. The stab of nails pressed down gently on her shoulders, pinning her into place.

“She’s awake. Quick, get a medic,” Bethany Saint’s voice said.

Alula rolled her eyes. She should have known by the extraordinary talons that it was her foster-mother. The next minute beams of white light were shone into her pupils and her lips were roughly dragged back. Rubber fingers poked and roamed around her gums like a veterinarian on a canine. Alula tried to wrestle away from the facial onslaught only to be restrained further by more hands.

“What the fuck?”Alula exclaimed when the examination was finally over and the barbaric doctor had disappeared.

She sat up and attempted to kick the brittle, starched covers off that entombed her. The task proved impossible. Even the best of escape artists would have struggled. Some sort of tucking-in hero had done a brilliant job of encasing her.

“Fuck my life,” Alula huffed and gave up, arms and shoulders drooping.

“Less of the ‘fucking’ please, Sweetheart,” Bethany chided and wheeled some sort of slop on a plate toward her. She beckoned to hovering shadows outside the door, “You have company,”

Alula glanced around the room and noticed for the first time that her foster-father, Noah, was sat at her bedside. He looked exhausted, his appearance dishevelled and crumpled as though he hadn’t slept in a lifetime. He had three days worth of beard growth peppering his chin.

“Who dug you up? You look like proper shit,” Alula grinned at him.

Instead of the usual blithe banter she was expecting, Noah reached for her hand and kissed it. Alula swore that she saw relief wash over his face and tears of happiness glint in his eyes.

Noah Saint was everything to her. He was a Chaser legend and what Alula aspired to be. His every action commanded respect and admiration. He was not only her father but also her wise and patient mentor. He was her hero and every skill she possessed was because of his training. It was weird to see him like this, all concerned and broken. It was so different from the hard and courageous man she knew.

“Glad to see my little girl’s back to normal,” He beamed, ruffling her hair.

Alula opened her mouth to speak. She wanted to produce a witty retort but the word ‘normal’ struck her. How could she respond to that?

“Normal? What do you mean normal?” Alula spat, panic rising in her chest. Her eyes darted to either foster-parent, searching for some answer, “What happened? Why am I in here?”

At that moment Jael and Devlin entered the room. They were in different clothes from the last time she saw them. Baptiste was rocking a pair of worn-looking jeans and a t-shirt. Seeing this difference in attire made it dawn on her. She should have realised before with Noah’s beard growth because her foster-father never missed a shave.

“How long have I been out?”

“Three days. Look, we’ll explain everything that’s happened.” Bethany said, nudging the tray of food towards her, “Just try and get some food in you, okay?”

The hospital food was up to its expected standard of disgusting. Alula was convinced that the white sauce on the lasagne was actually pasting strips of pasta to her stomach wall. She forked the snotty concoction around her plate, pondering what take-away she might get later.

Devlin was itching to speak. He was fidgeting like a madman, jigging about from foot to foot. Alula glanced up at him from beneath her eyebrows as she toyed with her food, smiling at the thought of letting him suffer for a while and letting him stew in his own ardent. But she was too interested to know what happened herself and so gave him a solemn nod, although inside she was cackling with joy. The power it gave her to grant him permission to speak was almost as too good like snorting a big, fat, snowy line.

He cleared his throat, flashing her a pissed-off frown, “Why do you keep opening your window? Who are you trying to let in?”

“Well that was random?” Alula retorted, curling her lip up in both bemusement and disgust. “What sort of weirdo question is that? Of all the things you want to know, you ask me why I keep opening a window?”

“What did you expect me to ask? Why you put a gun to my fucking head when I trying to protect you or perhaps you was hoping to answer the meaning of life?” he cried, throwing his arms up in exasperation.

“Alula, you have been passed out for three days yet you wake up when you’re alone and keep opening your window, All Devlin wants to know is why?” Jael interjected, neutralising yet another staring match between the two Chasers.

Baptiste looked as if he wanted to throttle her. His cheeks were flush, and his eyes blazed green fire.

“Alright you two calm it!” Noah warned, “Alula’s just woke up and doesn’t need...”

“It’s alright, Dad. I put a gun to your head?” Alula was really confused now, “I don’t remember.”

“I followed you after you left the interrogation room. You ended up by the underground canal, do you remember?”

Alula slowly shook her head.

Devlin growled in angst but continued. “You were with this thing, a creature with glowing red eyes. It was talking to you or something, and I shot at it. You flipped out and threatened me with your gun. Alula, you changed. You grew fucking fangs over it,”

Alula’s face strained, she couldn’t comprehend any of this, “Fangs? What, like the Rephilim?”

Rephilim had teeth like vampire bats with front teeth that were specialized for cutting and especially adapted to suit their liquid diet. Rephilim saliva also contained draculin, a substance which prevented the blood of their prey’s blood from clotting. Their teeth also lacked enamel, which kept them permanently razor-sharp. Basically, a Rephilim's mouth was an ugly pit of spikes. Alula cringed at the thought that she may have looked that way.

“Don’t worry. Yours were the sexy, archetypal kind of fangs.” Jael reassured her, looking cutely savant in a modest, brown slip dress that brought out the golden hue of her eyes.

Alula bypassed her sister's crawling comment, but was secretly relieved that if it ever happened to her again, at least her mouth wouldn't resemble some rotten, ancient torture devise.

“Another adaption, that’s two in...” Alula said, squinting as she tried to calculate how many days it had been since the Angel had spoken to her.

“Three days,” Devlin interjected, “Shit, you really are a bimbo,”

This provoked an instant reaction in Alula. She would have flung herself off the bed at him if she hadn't been tucked in so tightly,

“If you want another Uzi pointed in your face, Baptiste, you are going about it the right way.” Alula snapped.

Noah grew in his seat, tired features suddenly ablaze with unrestrained, paternal protection.

“How exactly did you know it was an Uzi?” Devlin folded his arms and a triumphant grin swept over his tanned face.

“Because I always carry one, idiot,”

He really did do a good job of annoying the fuck out of her. Alula wasn’t sure if this particular talent made her want to kiss him or rip his throat out.

“Just explain why you keep opening the window.” Bethany sighed, rubbing her forehead impatiently. “You’re acting like a pair of squabbling school children and I won't tolerate it much longer.”

“I don’t know, I can’t remember anything.” Alula said, “I'm cashing in on my inheritance, though. Fangs are sweet!”

Devlin swore in frustration and stormed out the room.

“Devlin wait!” Jael pleaded, rushing after him.

Bethany glared at Alula, "What's happening is serious, Alula. I'm going to check that you haven't upset your sister. Bloody hell Noah, she's given me a stress headache!"

With that, her foster-mother also left the room.

Aghast, Alula turned to Noah. “And how was I the cause of all that drama?”

Noah just responded with a smile, shrugged and lowered himself into his seat. He closed his eyes, pleased with how the situation had unfurled. Nobody but him had seen the sable goshawk that took wing and shrieked to the night. And for the first time since the gruesome discovery of the Angel, Noah felt as if he could rest. The Damned One had come, as promised to him all those years ago.