CHAPTER SEVEN
Dirk pov
The tech team sets off the alarm and opens the gate. I watch as our hunters run back in rows like a horde of frightened wild rabbits. How dare they call themselves hunters; how dare they claim to be part of my beautiful Alliance when they have left the battlefield? All I see are the faces of cowards, low life forms, and people not worthy of belonging to us. A disgrace.
The only real problem I see with the situation is that I don't see the blood-read hood. Usually, when Enya returns, she always holds the hood over her face so I can notice her arrival, but not this time. I leave the techs behind and head to my office. A hunter will come to me, explain what happened, and hopefully give me a valid reason why they decided to retreat.
As usual, I am right. There is a knock at my door, and a young woman enters my office. She asks permission to speak, which shouldn't be a problem at the moment- I need answers, not proof that she can follow the regulations. "Leader Dirk," the girl cries out and falls to her knees, sobbing.
"Don't cry, child," I help her get back on her feet. I have always hated physical contact with people other than my late wife, but sometimes I must get over myself. I don't care much about the young ones, but this girl grants me access to priceless information, so I have to push through. I sigh and lead her to the chair. "Calm down. What's your name, kid?" I ask her a simple question to make her feel safer, somewhat on a personal level.
"My name is Emmy; I'm new," she hiccups as she talks, and it takes a lot of patience for me not to slap her. I hate it when people lose themselves to their feelings; it makes them weak. No one showing weakness deserves a place in my Alliance, no matter what anyone else says. Yes, emotions make us human, but there is no room for humanity or feelings here. We are here to kill the monsters, to rid our planet of creatures that pretend to be us. It's only when she adds another rather important detail that I understand I must be careful around her. "I am the daughter of leader Benjamin."
I hide the hatred I feel for her corrupt father and give her what I guess you'd call a bright smile. "Yes, Ben, he's a good friend of mine. Don't worry, you are safe here. Please calm down and explain to me what happened there. We lost contact with my daughter, and shortly after, we had to go on red alert because the masses of our forces were returning. I can only assume things didn't go as planned." Damn, I know nothing went as planned. I sound like an idiot for saying these words, but I need to seem concerned. I'm not, though. I just feel my heart going even more numb.
The girl hides her face behind her palms and begins to cry again. "She saved me, they knew it, they all knew it," Emmy repeats to herself as her body shakes. I wish I knew how to calm someone down when they act like this, but I have never had to do it, so I just stare at her. No doubt it may be traumatic for them to go out there with the sole purpose of killing, but my daughter did that long before she was Emmy's age. The girl shouldn't make such a big deal out of a few dead werewolves or hunters- that's how life plays with us; some die, some survive. Only the strongest survive in our world, and she should learn that sooner rather than later because later might be too late for Emmy.
"I'll get someone to bring you some soothing tea, and then we'll talk." I pick up my phone and call the kitchen staff. As a precaution, I ask the maids to sprinkle some golden poppy leaves in the tea. That will help Emmy relax and calm down. The only problem I have with the young people is that they don't understand that I am here to guide them, not help them with their emotional breakdowns. They can seek out support groups for that, not Alliance leaders.
As soon as the maid brings her tea, Emmy grabs the cup and nearly downs the steaming liquid. I chuckle at her behaviour and sit down to wait patiently for explanations. "I-" Emmy tries to speak but chokes on her spit, so I have to wait again. Wait for her to cough and her breathing to calm down. It seems to take far too long for her to get around to talking. But then again, what did I expect from a teenager? Maybe I should demand that someone older come over and report on the situation. I'm about to rise from my seat and usher her out of my office when Emmy finally speaks. "I handed her the cloak, and we chatted a bit. Enya seemed confident, as always, but things changed rather quickly. We got the order to attack, and everyone uncovered themselves. From there, the ambush turned into a mess of screams, blood, and gunfire. A wolf pinned me to the ground, and I panicked; I screamed. I'm so sorry; I didn't mean for this to happen. I'm so sorry, leader Dirk." The girl bursts into tears again; at this point, her weak nature irritates me. A hunter should remain calm and collected at all costs. No wonder she's such a coward; after all, the daughter takes after her father.
I close my eyes and sigh. "Just tell me what happened." I don't bother to reassure her because I am sure that moron Benjamin is on his way here. If someone already told him that his beloved daughter is with me, he'll be here any minute.
"She-" I'm so damn close to getting the missing part of her story, but just as predicted, Benjamin beckons himself into my office. He scans the room, and his gaze lingers on the trembling teenager. Like the bear of a father he is, Benjamin all but runs to her and pulls Emmy into a hug.
Again, I am cursed with the same result - I have to sit and wait for things to escalate in front of me. When they both seem to calm down, Emmy turns to me and cries out the same phrase. "I'm so sorry, leader Dirk." And after another round of back and forth, she finally sits down with her father at her side. It took her way too long to actually try to explain anything. I still can't understand why I didn't send her away and find someone else to question. Preferably, someone sane. "As I was saying, the whole scene turned into utter chaos. While the giant wolf pinned me to the ground, Enya ran towards him. She pointed her gun at him, and another wolf appeared out of nowhere. He caught her, and the wolf rammed his claw into her side. We heard the crack of ribs; even over the noise that surrounded us, we heard everything. I wouldn't believe it if I didn't see it with my own eyes. I swear we heard the wolf rip out her flesh. Then Enya fell to her knees and collapsed in the pool of her blood. Someone shouted the order for us to retreat, and most of us did."
I stare at her and clench my hands into fists. "And what did you do? Why are you telling me that only some obeyed the order? Does that mean you ignored it?"
Emmy looks down at her feet in shame. "I did, leader Dirk. I ignored the order. I hid behind a tree and watched them. I hoped the wolves would leave and I could get Enya back to base. I really hoped I could get back in time and save her life like she saved mine, but I couldn't." Another tear rolls down her cheek as she sniffles.
My blood boils with rage; I leap up from my seat and slam my fist against the desk surface. "Why? Did someone stop you from saving my daughter?"
"No, sir." Emmy looks up and shakes her head.
"So you were too scared? You weren't afraid to join the Alliance, even though you know how dangerous it is. My daughter saved your life, yet you didn't care about her life at all!" I want to scream at the top of my lungs. I would if only her damn father wasn't sitting next to her. It's about the time I call the leaders meeting and explain that our kids can't get extras just because they are our kids. I have always told Enya that she has these extras, but in reality, she gets none.
"It wasn't like that, leader Dirk, I swear!"
"What's your excuse?"
"The wolves took her. The one who injured her shifted back into a human right before my eyes. He threw her over his shoulder, and they all left. Enya's with those monsters, and I don't know if she's still alive." I drop back into the seat, and my body goes limp.
"Send the injured hunters to the hospital and the others to their rooms. Everyone needs to regain their strength. Then the leaders will hold a meeting. We are not giving up on my daughter!" I expected many outcomes, but none comes close to my daughter's death or wolves taking her. She is the best of the best; I don't believe she was so careless. Without Enya by our side, there might be no Alliance at all, but what's worse- I might have lost my only child. Enya is the last reminder of my late wife. For years, it's been just her and I fighting the world. No, I can't and won't give up like that. Even if it's just her lifeless body I get, I’ll get my daughter back.