Beast Soul

"Wh-What happened…" Special Agent Richard Edgerton said weakly when he finally gained consciousness, looking around as he spoke. 

From what the interior of the vehicle looked like, Agent Edgerton surmised that he was inside an ambulance, and his gaze soon shifted to the person who was sitting right next to him.

"I see you've woken up, Special Agent Edgerton.." Agent Alan Fischer, who was the one sitting beside him, said in a hushed tone right before glancing away from his face and onto his phone. 

"Agent Fischer…" Edgerton blinked multiple times as he tried to get his eyes to regain focus. Although he had woken up, his eyes were still a bit blurry. "Can you fill me in on what happened to me?"

"What else? You got knocked out by the dragonoid creature and it flew away." Agent Fischer shrugged his shoulders as he spoke. He continued typing rapidly on his phone as he continued, "It seems that even an experienced hunter such as yourself cannot handle this situation properly. And if that's the case, then the FID and the secret forces will have no choice but to take this situation seriously."

"It was my fault. I was a bit too cocky." Agent Edgerton shook his head, disagreeing with Agent Fischer. He was not about to give up so easily. Most people would, but not him. He turned his gaze towards Alan and spoke with the same indifferent expression that he always has on his face. "I underestimated the enemy. But I am confident that I can handle this mission. The FID made the right decision."

Tap! Tap!

Agent Fischer stopped typing as soon as Agent Edgerton finished his words, and slowly narrowed his eyes. "You know, I've heard people say that you don't show any emotions, and it's different to understand what you're thinking..." Agent Fischer said as he looked at Edgerton's face.

"But I've always thought that it was the opposite." Fischer continued, and Edgerton squinted his eyes. "You're controlled by your emotions, and that makes you impulsive and stubborn. Even though you don't show it on your face." 

"Is this your attempt at trying to make me agree to your request for backup?" Agent Edgerton let out a short chuckle in response.

"No," Agent Fischer shook his head. "It's my attempt to tell you to get your head out of your a** and take a good look at the situation we're in right now."

"With all due respect, Agent Fischer.." Agent Edgerton let out a long and heavy sigh before leaning forward from his bed and moving closer to Alan. "I don't think that you're right. I just don't believe you."

"Richard," Alan clicked his tongue as he spoke. "This is different from all the containment missions that we've been given so far. You know that, right?"

"Yeah, I know." Agent Edgerton nodded his head. "But we said the same thing about the containment zone in Nicaragua last year, and look how that turned out?"

"The mutants in Nicaragua were still in their infant stages." Alan sounded frustrated. "And we were barely able to contain it. This is different. We're simply not equipped to handle this situation. These people are not ready for such a challenge."

"You're worrying too much, Alan." Agent Edgerton said as he waved his hands in the air. "I made a mistake by underestimating the opponent. But that's all there is to it. Nothing more, nothing less."

"You…" Alan seemed like he was desperately holding in the urge to choke Agent Edgerton. But he clenched his fists and breathed in and out, before looking at Richard once again and said, "Your stubbornness will be the death of you. I hope you know that."

"And your unwillingness to not let your fears take control of your life will always make you weak, Alan." Richard responded almost immediately, and Agent Fischer snorted.

"What do you think will happen to Agent Edgerton?" Detective Lewis turned to look at Detective Harry, who had his eyes stuck on the road. The two men were following the ambulance, which was heading towards the hospital. 

"I don't know, Lewis." Detective Harry shook his head in response. "I'm not a doctor, am I?"

"Yeah, yeah.." Lewis said with a short chuckle. "But still, to think he couldn't take down the dragon…" Lewis mumbled under his breath as he leaned towards the window. "... Do you think we'll be able to do anything if he can't?"

"You shouldn't think about unnecessary things like that, Lewis. You know this.." Harry replied while letting out a sigh, and Lewis rolled his eyes. "Yeah, of course I know. But I- I just can't help it, alright?"

He pointed at the back of the ambulance. "You saw it too, right?" He continued. "That man was experienced. And he too, found it extremely difficult to fight these creatures." Lewis said while waving his hands in the air. "I mean, it's not like I can just ignore what I just saw, right? I'm not a motherf*cking robot!"

".... I know, Lewis.." Harry let out a long and heavy sigh. He too was not too hopeful about the fact of their city anymore. 

"You know, I came here to this city in order to escape a boring life in my hometown.." Harry spoke after a brief period of silence, and Lewis glanced at him. He continued, "And now, I think I'm going to have to run away again…"

"Maybe a boring life isn't so bad after all," Lewis murmured under his breath, and Harry nodded his head.

-------------------

"I thought I'd never see you again, Wolfe!" Noah said happily as he rubbed Wolfe's belly, and the dragon immediately let out a loud roar, as though it was expressing its happiness on seeing Noah awake again.

The four boys watched Noah and the dragon interact with fear and awe in their eyes. 

Harold leaned over to Gerald and whispered into his ear while still keeping his gaze on Noah. "Are you sure he's the monster that we saw?"

"Didn't I already tell you what I thought?" Gerald whispered back, his eyes squinted. He sounded annoyed. 

"Yeah I know." Harold said as he shrugged his shoulders. "I was just asking whether or not your guess changed after watching… Well, whatever this is."

Gerald slowly tilted his head and took a glance at Harold, before shifting his gaze back to Noah and the dragon. "Not yet, I guess." He replied. "But I am tempted to."

"Do you think he'll let us live?" Alphonso whispered softly, and the two boys turned their attention towards him. "What?" Alphonso asked while shrugging his shoulders. "Too dark for you guys? It's a pretty valid question to ask, don't you think?"

"Only if we know the answer to it. Which we don't." Gerald whispered back.

"You don't have any good ideas on how to escape, do you?" Max, who was on the farthest end, asked quietly, and both Harold and Gerald looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders.

"The best I have is to run as fast as we can." Harold said. 

"That's a good boy! Good boy, Wolfe!" Noah, meanwhile, continued to pet Wolfe on his head, and the dragon began tapping his feet rapidly on the ground making it shake.

The four boys tried to stabilize themselves so that they don't lose their balance and fall down. 

"So I guess running away isn't a great option," Max said in a hushed tone as he looked at the dragon, and the other three boys nodded their heads.

"Alright boy," Noah finally stopped petting Wolfe's head, and the dragon finally stopped tapping its foot on the ground.

Swoosh!

Noah then turned around and looked at the group of boys, which made them flinch in fear. 

They stared at each other for quite a while without speaking, which only made the boys tense and anxious.

Why the hell is he looking at so seriously? The boys thought to themselves. Although they didn't want to imagine it, their minds began being filled by the worst case scenarios, and their worries began to grow.

'These guys are the ones I saw lying unconscious on the ground back in the sewers, right?' Noah thought to himself as he placed his hand under his chin and squinted his eyes.

'Wait a minute.. Was that really me who saw them?' Noah scratched his head in frustration. He was confused as to whether or not it was really his own memories. 

'Damn it!' He snapped his fingers in frustration and gritted his teeth. 'That doppelganger of mine… He's making my head hurt.'

He couldn't even tell if what he remembers was what he really experienced.

'Alright Noah, calm down,' Noah said to himself. 'I shouldn't think about things I have no clue about. It'll only end up driving me mad.'

His eyes then moved to Gerald, and then shifted to Harold, Alphonso and then Max, carefully scanning each and every one of them.

'Well, well, well…' Noah raised eyebrows. It seemed as though he had come to an interesting realization. 'I guess I have to thank my doppelganger for this information...'