Chronicles of Araxx - Forever Broken

After they left, Lee fell asleep into a deep, dreamless sleep almost instantly.

She awoke several hours later to find someone had been in the room while she slept. There was an alarm clock which wasn’t there before on the bedside table. The time was 06:07.

It was early morning, and the sun was peeking through the clouds outside.

Lee sat up and stretched. The bed was the most comfortable place she had slept in a long time, and she felt well rested.

She swung her legs to the side of the bed. When she turned, she found here were clothes on a chair next to the bed.

Picking up the leggings, they looked to be her size. There was a vest too, and a jumper. The jumper looked a little large, but it would do. There was also socks and underwear. Nothing fancy, just plain black pants and a sports bra. It was clearly a man who bought these items. All black except the jumper which was grey. It didn’t matter, they were clean. Everything still had tags on them. There was a pair of boots on the ground as well, also her size.

Lee bundled all the clothes into her arms and headed to the small bathroom in the corner of the room.

When she entered the bathroom, she found soap and shampoo in the shower cubicle, as well as a toothbrush and toothpaste by the sink.

It felt good to wash away the dirt, grime and blood. Lee let the hot water fall on her skin for a few minutes before she lathered up with soap.

By the time she climbed out of the shower and into the fresh cotton towel, her skin was bright red. It felt good to be clean again.

She wrapped the towel around herself, turned to face the mirror and wiped away the condensation

“If only I had make-up to cover my face,” she told her reflection in the mirror. Her skin was purple in places, and it didn’t look pleasant. She had no one to impress, though, and they would all have to deal with her looking rough.

Lee dressed in the clothes. They were a good fit, clinging to her in all the right places. The boots were even comfortable. Lee expected them to pinch and was pleasantly surprised at how well they fit.

As Lee opened the bathroom door, she was met by the face of a woman. They were both startled, and Lee jumped backwards.

“I’m sorry,” the woman said. She was possibly a year or two older than Lee, but looked small and slight. “My name’s Debbie. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“It’s okay,” Lee said. “I’m just jumpy. My name’s Lee.”

“Oh, I know who you are.” Debbie smiled. “We all know who you are An…. Lee.” She corrected herself. “I don’t mean to pry, but I thought you might want this.” Debbie held out a bag. Lee took it from her and opened it. “I don’t ever like to be seen without my make-up. I don’t know if you’re the same, but I knew you wouldn’t have any with you so I thought I’d bring you some. I hope it’s your colour,” she gushed. Debbie seemed nervous.

“Thank you.” Lee smiled. “I was actually just saying how I wish I had my make up. What are you doing up anyway? It’s early, isn’t it? I didn’t think anyone else would be up yet.”

“I’m always up early, but most people are awake by now, too. Simons is already in his office. He said you’d want to see him today. I wanted to bring you the make-up and see if you wanted breakfast.” Debbie smiled. It was a friendly smile, the kind that warmed you to a person before you even knew them. She was pretty, and reminded Lee a little of Bree, if Bree had mousey brown hair cut into a short bob, that is.

“Thank you, I’d love some. Just give me ten minutes?” Lee said.

“I’ll wait outside.” Debbie smiled, then turned and left the room.

After brushing her hair and applying some foundation, powder and mascara, Lee left the bathroom and made her way out of the hospital room.

The corridor was long, and Lee could see a sign on a big door that said: ‘Simons’. She was in no doubt whose office it was and made a mental note to go there, after she had eaten something.

She wasn’t even aware how hungry she was until she smelled the aroma of eggs and bacon coming from the hall at the end of the corridor.

Debbie led the way and opened the door for Lee. There were a lot of people, around two dozen or so and their conversations stopped instantly when Lee entered the room. She spotted a few people she recognised. There was Jay, Adz, Simons, and the four people who turned up in London. She vaguely recognised them, but having not been introduced, she did not know their names.

It felt as though every single eye in the room was watching her, and Lee felt suddenly very uncomfortable.

Simons stood from his seat and directed Lee towards him. She could feel her cheeks redden as she moved through the crowded hall. As she walked, he cleared his throat and spoke to the whole room, “Okay people, show’s over. You’ve seen her, now eat your food or sod off.”

A few people got up from their seats and left the room, while the others whispered amongst each other.

Lee took a seat on the bench, and Debbie soon joined them with two plates of food. Hers had a single slice of toast with a poached egg on top.

She placed a plate in front of Lee. “I didn’t know what you’d want so I got a bit of everything,” she said.

On the plate in front of Lee was two slices of toast, with a poached egg on top of each, three slices of streaky bacon on the side, a desert spoon of beans and half a tomato. She tucked in gratefully, finishing off everything except one of the slices of toast.

The other people at her table allowed her to eat in peace, talking quietly amongst themselves about nothing in particular.

When Lee finished eating, she placed her cutlery on her plate and wiped her mouth with a napkin. “Can I ask you something?” She asked Simons.

He nodded.

Lee asked, “How did you know where I was?”

“You have Debbie’s uncle to thank for that,” Simons answered.

Lee looked confused.

“I’m a Beaty, so is my Father, and my uncle,” Debbie explained. The blank expression on Lee’s face led Debbie to explain more, “I’m guessing you don’t know what a Beaty is? Well, a Beaty is basically a half werewolf. Although we don’t have most of the abilities a werewolf has, their blood is in our veins. My uncle is one, and he works for Kane, as a spy for us.”

“But how? Kane would know if there was a spy in his pack.” Lee was worried.

“He doesn’t know about my uncle,” Debbie continued. “It was him who told us Kane was holding you captive. We knew for a while, but we had to wait for the right time to launch our attack on the fortress to bring you back.”

As Debbie was talking, Lee had a flashback of seeing Kane in chains as she escaped from her prison cell. “Where’s Kane now?” Was he here? The thought filled her with dread.

“We don’t know,” Simons admitted.

“What do you mean, you don’t know. You have him. I saw you take him.” How could they lose him?

“He escaped a few weeks back, and we haven’t heard anything of him since then.” Simons was looking down at the table as he spoke.

“Does he know about this place? Does he know I’m here?” Lee was having a panic attack, and everyone in the room was witnessing it.

“No. He was never here. We held him at a compound fifty miles from here,” Simons answered.

Lee began to calm a little but was still uneasy about Kane wandering around free.

A phone started ringing, and Simons picked it up.

Lee regained her breathing and looked up at Simons who was staring directly at her as he spoke to someone on the phone, “Yes… I understand… London?… Yes… We’ll send someone straight away.” Then he hung up the phone.

“What was that, Sir?” Jay asked.

“He’s been spotted in London. At the warehouse, you were staying at.” Simons looked at Lee. “Kane is looking for you.”