The Draugenir

Chapter 5 -Forging Onwards-

Xermaine was made to stay in bed at the infirmary for a few days to recover before she was visited by a lady in black. Clearly, she wasn't there to check her temperature. "I'm Heather and I'll be taking care of you for the mean time", Heather introduced herself.

“Uhh nice to meet you. What about Seth?”, Xermaine asked. “He's busy taking care of things on the surface. A lot has happened and the church is doing its best to provide as much coverup as possible as is also our duty”, Heather answered. “I brought you some clothes. Get changed and let's move out”.

Heather placed the clothes she had bought on the bed as she turned around for Xermaine to change. After putting on the clothes, Xermaine addressed her. “Where are we going? Another fancy house?”. “Not exactly. You'll be staying close to the church until the council decides on your permanent residence”, Heather replied.

“Follow you?”, Xermaine asked before Heather had the chance to say it. "You're a funny one. Even after what you've been through”, Heather smiled. “Well, there's no use in feeling down. What's done is done, so I just have to move on”, Xermaine answered, her face betraying her words.

“Right. Let's go”, Heather said as she proceeded out of the room with Xermaine behind her. Through the hallway, Xermaine saw only nuns walking about. Some carried files and documents while others carried medical and other supplies. When the nuns saw Xermaine, they started whispering to themselves as they passed by her.

Heather saw that Xermaine had taken notice of their gossiping as she then spoke. “Don't let it get to you. People tend to react in certain ways to things they don't understand. I mean nobody had the foggiest idea that Zanadis was raising a kid”, Heather chuckled at the last part.

Xermaine didn't say anything as she just followed Heather. Soon after, the two arrived in front of a medium rise building as they both entered and rode the elevator to the top floor.

Heather then took Xermaine inside one of the rooms as the interior was just as classy as the last house that Seth took her to. Heather helped herself to one of the sofas and gave in to the soft and fluffy feel. “I can finally catch a break. The rate of draugen spawns has had us busy almost always”, Heather spoke after completely relaxing.

“Draugen spawns?”, Xermaine asked after she reluctantly took a seat. “Yeah. The rate at which people are being turned into draugen started increasing a few months before your grandfather was captured. The bastard must have riled up the other cultists before he was captured. No offense”, Heather answered.

“None taken. So, you're also a draugenir?”, Xermaine asked. “Yeah. Though I'm lower ranked than Seth and the other elites. They're practically monsters”, Heather said with a hint of jealousy. “Anyways, I'd love to sit here and chat all day but I have other things to do. Make yourself at home I guess”, Heather said as she got up to leave.

“Wait. Can I please come with you? I promise not to be a hindrance”, Xermaine suddenly said when Heather was almost at the door. “Sigh. It's not about you being a hindrance or not, but I'm not allowed to bring a civilian along. I may be called to deal with draugen and cultists after all. Sorry but no”, Heather said, then turned around and opened the door.

“Please let me come along with you. You know this is exactly what Seth did that led to my prior k********g. What if a powerful cultist snatches right under your nose while you're off to work or I run off and something happens to me. It'll be on your head”, Xermaine tried her best to convince her.

“Well, you do have a point. And I'd hate to get into trouble with a complete stranger, but I guess this much is okay. Today is the only time I'm doing this for you. There won't be a next time”, Heather said as Xermaine quickly got up and walked towards her.

“Yes! I'll do my best not to be an annoyance. You won't even feel my presence”, Xermaine spoke with joy.

“Okay, that's enough. Let's go”, Heather took Xermaine out of the room and down the stairs as they walked back towards the main building.

Heather approached a certain desk as the man sitting there gave her a tablet. “The tablet contains a list of documents that we’d like you to retrieve from the usual company. I surely hope you're not planning on bringing her with you", the man said as he looked over at Xermaine, who let out a big smile when she noticed his gaze.

“Well, since this is just an errand, I don't see any harm. I'll take full responsibility”, Heather said as she waved the tablet and walked away with Xermaine in tow, still with the big smile. The man watched the two quietly walk out as he sighed and got back to work.

The duo hopped into one of the cars available as Heather sped them off into one of the sectors in the main city.

Heather parked the car in front of a corporate building as she and Xermaine got off and walked inside.

The inside was filled with men in suits who were busy typing God knows what and women who were busy answering call after call.

“What’s all this?”, Xermaine asked, very much surprised. “Oh, just your typical business hours. Believe it or not, this company makes a s**t ton of money and has several competitors”, Heather answered.

“Yeah, it is very hard to believe. I’ve never even heard of them, plus their building is kinda small compared to the other giant companies”, Xermaine said after a thought.

“Well, you’re right, but this company doesn’t make all of its money by doing legit sales but rather through selling and gathering information”, Heather explained.

“Oh, now I get it”, Xermaine said with a sarcastic face. Apparently, Xermaine was never exposed to the power of information.

“Well, I can’t really blame you. You’ll see when we get there”, Heather said as they walked right past all the employees.

Xermaine was given another surprise when Heather kicked open a door with a plate that read 'Head Director'.

“Ever heard of knocking? You draugenirs are all so primitive”, an annoyed middle-aged man spoke as he sifted through some files.

“Oh, my bad. I thought you were hiding one of your female employees in here for...you know", Heather said unapologetically.

“How many times do I have to tell you that I'm not like that? Anyways, what the hell are you even here for?”, the man replied, quite pissed.

" Uhh let's see", Heather took the tablet she was holding and swiped the screen a couple of times. “Okay, so we’re here for the data on cases 42, 69, 33, 12 and 151-2 that was requested earlier”, Heather said after a quick read.

“Right. Your files are ready but you have to be careful. The NID has started snooping around so I suggest you guys start getting your act together”, the man said as he gathered some documents and handed them over to Heather.

“Those guys again? Well, of course, they would come looking considering the sudden spike in civilian deaths and disappearances. The church appreciates this extra info though”, Heather thanked him.

“Wait, who are the NID?”, Xermaine asked.

“It stands for National Investigation Division. They are in charge of handling criminal and special cases as well as protecting the interests of the nation. In order words they’re a real pain in the ass”, Heather explained as she checked the documents she had received meticulously.

“And who is she?”, the man asked after realizing Xermaine was also there. “Oh, she’s uhh…nobody”, Heather said with a smile.

“For your sake, I really hope she is. I may not be young anymore, but I know trouble when I see one”, the man said with a serious look.

“You worry too much. Anyways, we’ll be on our way. Oh, and also don’t lay your hands on your female employees”, Heather said while pointing her finger at me.

“Just get the hell out!”, the man screamed as both Heather and Xermaine rushed outside before things got worse.

“Why are you treating him like that?”, Xermaine asked. “Well, that’s because he made my life hell for me during my training days. Wanna grab a bite before we head back? We should have a bit of time left”, Heather suggested.

“Of course. Let’s go”, Xermaine agreed immediately as the two then proceeded out of the building and towards the car.

Just when Heather was about to open the door to the driver’s seat, she felt her personal phone vibrating in her pocket. She immediately took it out and answered the person calling her.

“You have received an emergency mission to chase after a cultist that managed to escape our custody in your sector. When seen, they apprehend the woman for questioning before elimination. The details of the target have already been sent to your terminal. Please proceed immediately and good luck draugenir”, the call ended.

“Uhh guess we’ll have to grab that food another time. Since there’s no time to send you back, I guess you’ll just have to come along with me. Promise me you’ll not do anything unexpected”, Heather asked in a serious tone.

“Yes, I promise”, Xermaine said with a nod.

“Let’s go”. The two got into the car and then drove off.

Heather placed the tablet in the car, which now displayed a map, a blinking dot and another symbol that represented their location. “The blinking dot is our target, so we’ll cut off her escape route around the corner. Hold on tight”, Heather said as she sped up and took a sharp turn.

Soon after, their car took several turns and came up behind a person who was sprinting like mad. “Got you”, Heather said as she sped up more with Xermaine holding the seat belt for dear life.

The person running noticed the car chasing her and decided to shake them off by going through narrow alleys.

Xermaine watched Heather squeeze the car through those alleys in pursuit of the person, with the sides of the car scratched and letting off sparks as it grinded against the walls.

The person was in shock that the car was still in pursuit and decided to enter one of the backdoors of the buildings, since surely whoever was chasing her wouldn’t be dumb enough to try to fit their car through there.

“We’re going on foot from here. Let’s go”, Heather said as she quickly parked the car and got off. Xermaine also did the same as the two rushed into the building after the woman.

When the woman saw the two ladies chasing after her, she pulled out an object and crushed it as several draugen appeared out of nowhere and decided on Xermaine and Heather.

“Uhh what do we do? She has friends”, Xermaine said as she came to a halt. “Leave it to me”, Heather pulled out a gun and started firing like crazy.

Each draugen took a bullet to the head as their bodies then disintegrated from dying. “Nice shot”, Xermaine was very much impressed.

“Thanks. For all your suffering, I only offer you peace and eternal rest”, Heather said a quick prayer as the two continued their chase after the woman.

After running and weaving through rooms, the woman eventually took a wrong turn and entered a room which had no exit as Xermaine and Heather finally caught up to her.

“Raise your hands where I can see them. And don’t even think of summoning more draugen”, Heather warned as she raised her gun and kept her distance.

When the woman saw that she had been cornered, she heeded the warning and slowly raised her hands.

“Huff…Well…huff…that wasn’t…huff…too bad”, Xermaine said as Heather noticed that she was also out of breath with all the heaving.