Beasthood (The Hidden Blood Series) (18 page)

~
Chapter 17-
Chosen~

Saturday May 28
th
, 4:00 p.m. -
Outside

             
After Jaz had packed her belongings, the pretty boy she'd scratched across the cheek, Alf, (his wound had completely healed) carried it for her and walked on her left side, whilst Edda led the way in front. Maria followed closely on Jaz's right, looking at the nervous girl often.

             
Jaz felt a swell of relief in her heart when she saw pure sunlight ahead.

             
They'd taken her left down a long, cream corridor passing several closed thick, oak doors on either side at regular intervals. She'd glanced at each one. They were numbered, like a hotel, but each had their own personal stamp. Flower pots, picture frames, even artistic grafitti on the wall either side of door 11 of a wild, white horse running free through a shallow pool. She liked that one most of all.

             
It was on the last door to her left before the corridor swept right and pooled out into a bulb-shaped room. Beams of light stabbed through the ceiling. The stone floor sloped upwards. When the floor leveled out she looked up.

             
The ceiling was made of glass, thick -like the windows in her and Driver's room- and bubbled. It resembled a strange, igloo-shaped greenhouse. Something out of a sci-fi film with a bit of ancient cave mixed in.

             
You couldn't make out what was outside the glass but it filled the room with light and curved downwards forming a wall on one side. The side that led to... the exit.

             
The sliding glass doors were pulled open by a beefy, red-headed man who was standing guard from the outside. Alf stepped through after Edda. Maria waited by Jaz. Jaz hesitated.

             
It was a strange feeling. To want to be outside so badly and when the chance comes, to be too scared to go out. Like a wild animal after being treated and then brought back to the wild. The door to the cage would be opened and the animal would still linger inside, hesitant and cautious. It felt like a trick. At any moment they'd slam the doors shut in Jaz's face and laugh at her from the other side. But they didn't.

             
She sidled out and squinted as the afternoon sun blinded her.

             
The land of Deer Creek was vast. They owned twenty-five acres of land, split by a river that separated them from the Packs to the north. There were five of them in all. The biggest in number was the Red Sword Pack. The Deer Creek Pack, however, had more land with deeper forests. That meant more wildlife to hunt.

             
The Red Sword Pack currently had 98 people to the Deer Creek's 63. But like every other pack in Britain, they didn't cross Deer Creek, not since the late Olaf's Pack Leadership had been passed onto his son.

             
It was common knowledge that Deer Creek were tough, skilled and when necessary, ruthless. They were also smart, thanks to Nik, their current Pack Leader. He was known for his great sense, leadership and politeness. Many people wanted to be part of his community. 

             
Members did tend to come and go, sometimes to live outside with 'civilization' and sometimes leaving a Pack to join another, though this was very rare. It caused a lot of problems for all involved. Especially the Pack Leaders.

              Jaz scanned the terrain.

             
They were standing on higher rocky ground. The land sloped downwards and then flattened into well tended fields.

             
There were crops and vegetable patches. Six 8x10 Greenhouses, all in the middle, organized by species (tomatoes, aubergines, peppers, french beans, grape vines) with apricot and peach trees circling most of them. All the vegetable patches and crops looked so organized and had been planted with meticulous precision. Jaz wasn't an expert but she knew neatness when she saw it.

             
There was a kidney-shaped lake about three football pitches away down to the right of them. The bottom of the kidney connected to a wide stream with stepping stones leading across. She spotted that because of the children playing on them.

There are children here...?

             
She was stunned. After the way she'd viewed this place. Her prison, her hell. It was strange to see something so innocent as children playing.

             
To the north, east and west of the land was a titanic forest that spread out for miles. On the right side of the water heading east, the edge of the forest was only a few feet away and could be reached by crossing over the stream using the stepping stones. The amount of forest was overwhelming. It was vast. She had never seen anything like it.

             
The edge of the trees bordered the full length of the stream, then where the top of the kidney-shaped lake curved to the right, the trees curved with it, spreading wide and surrounding the fields. She scanned the border of trees to the left of the landscape, where she spotted several log cabins, some side by side, others facing towards her in a rectangular plot over a hundred yards away from where she stood. There were at least twenty altogether, though she suspected there were more around somewhere.

             
The grassy, rocky hill they stood on was landscaped with yellow stone slabs forming a pathway around the building. Steps led down to the left towards the fields, vegetable patches and cabins. She fixed her eyes on them under her feet as she followed Edda step by step.

             
When they reached the lower ground, the path led north towards the cabins, as well as east, separating the closest field from the hill, and then another gravel path stretching north to south, connected to it. It followed along the left side of the stream stopping where the stream opened out into the lake.

             
She swiveled round to glance at the building she had left, and was surprised at what she saw.

             
It looked like it was one with the rocky hill, except the glass dome, which was perched on the far right of the building. It resembled a cave that had been fitted with strips of thick glass windows. The straight lines of the windows looked odd against the rough and smooth curves of the rock. The whole thing appeared as though it had been carved out of the cliff by hand. It was beautiful and yet completely alien to her. Something she could admire from a distance but never imagine living in.

             
Maria touched her shoulder lightly. Jaz turned to look at her and she smiled encouragingly, flicking her chin towards Edda who was strolling ahead, unaware Jaz had stopped. It was then she realized how scarily near people were to her. She picked up her pace to catch up with the others; Maria sauntered close behind.

              She peered to her side inconspicuously as they made the long walk up the path, beside the fields and vegetable patches.

             
There were men and women working in them. Pulling up weeds, watering the fruit and vegetable plants. The nearest to them looked like cabbages and lettuce. They were in a plot that could have fitted two cars inside.

             
There were also carrots, potatoes, rice and corn plants further along. To the North-East closer to the stream, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and other fruits -that Jaz wouldn't have recognized by sight but from such a great distance, could smell- were blooming.

             
She noticed she could smell all the fruits and vegetables in the air. Flowers; some she recognized, others she didn't. She could smell sweat and perfume and scarily knew which scent belonged to who, whether it was male or female, young or old. She tried to keep a straight face as she followed closely behind Edda.

             
Edda took off her baseball cap and wiped the sweat from her ruddy forehead. Then waved to a group of people huddled together, drinking lemonade. Jaz could smell that too. All fifty feet away. Her anxiety increased tenfold.

             
They waved back smiling, offering Edda a glass. She declined with a grin, telling them she had work to do. That's when their attention was drawn to Jaz.

             
A man with pink skin, brown, fuzzy hair in a buzz cut, with a face like a rectangle, black dots for eyes and a thin wide mouth, was holding the tray of drinks whilst he gazed curiously her way. He was thin and tall, but lean, and smelt sweet and pungent like musk. He looked to be about in his late thirties.

             
A woman with long jet-black hair down to her unnaturally (
and unfairly
- Jaz thought) small behind, Oriental-shaped eyes and creamy white skin, with a beautiful complexion and pouted, stubborn lips watched Jaz on 'buzz cut's' left. She was wearing perfume. Chanel, Jaz recognized though she couldn't remember which one, with a hint of fresh and old sweat mixed in.

             
On her right was a young, pretty, curvy, short red-head with bright eyes. She looked the giddy type with a high, screechy laugh that could make nails on chalk board sound like heavenly music. Right on cue, the red-head knocked her head back and giggled loudly over something Oriental eyes had said. Jaz cringed.

Wow, I was wrong. It's
much
worse.

             
But she noticed, 'buzz cut' and a young man on his right with sun-gold hair, bright green eyes and a boyish grin, seemed to find her laugh...
alluring
. They were practically drooling as they googooeyed her.

             
Maybe she was missing something but to Jaz, her laugh just sounded really annoying.

             
She looked away from them and stepped across the path avoiding the eyes of the other workers who were digging and planting nearby.

             
They reached the two, south facing cabins at the end. They stopped at the nearest one with a number 2 engraved in the wood on the left side of the panelled door. There was a wide front step covered with wood decking, decorated with flower beds either side. Edda stepped onto it and unlocked the door with a key from her pocket. The door creaked as she opened it and she walked inside.

             
The cabin was surprisingly spacious and it had modern appliances mixed in with the old decor.

             
The first room they walked into was an open plan lounge and kitchen area. The lounge had a three seater cream, leather sofa and a matching armchair to the right of it, with a simple coffee table in the middle. A bookcase was standing flush against the right wall behind the armchair, separated by a brown, navy and cream Persian rug lying horizontally on the dark wood floorboards.

             
On the left wall was a log fireplace with a cream mantelpiece displaying a black curved clock and two single candle holders either side. Above it was an oil painting of a naked woman's back. Her generous-sized behind was half covered by a cream, silk sheet that she held across her chest with one hand while daintily laying her head of dark waves on the other. She had her face turned to the side, revealing a pretty face and a coy smile.

             
Jaz stared at it and Edda looked in her direction, saying in a low voice,“Beautiful isn't she?” Jaz said nothing. “Well let me show you around. Maria, I can take it from here. Alf, please put Jaz's bag in her room and then you can go.”

             
Alf marched down the wide corridor that led off from the kitchen and disappeared right, through a doorway.

             
Maria studied Jaz's face before giving her a farewell nod and vacating out the door.

             
Edda moved towards the kitchen and invited Jaz to sit on an oak bar stool with a cream leather cover and backrest. There were three of them altogether, placed evenly on the outside of the breakfast bar.

             
The varnished oak worktop was a long 'U' shape. The length of the 'U' had an old-fashioned Belfast sink with a long, curved chrome tap. A window was behind it; the view of the trees half blocked by the cabin next door.

             
The cupboards were white-washed with round wooden handles, and the big square tiles were only on the one wall by the sink; mainly cream with a random light blue tile scattered evenly apart.

             
The partition wall separating the kitchen from the corridor was painted duck-egg blue. The wall facing Jaz as she sat down was also painted the same colour and had a vintage-style cream clock with Roman numerals in black.

             
The fridge was in the corner to her right and an oak, glass panelled door stood between the cupboards and the fridge, right below the clock. She stared at it. There was light streaming through the bubbled glass but she couldn't make out what was behind it. She guessed it was a utility room.