Even though I was hurt, exhausted and terrified, it was imperative that I learn more about what had happened, especially if Aria was safe and sound. I needed proof, confirmation, or I was going to go crazy. Moreover, it would cover up the sounds of the van, the radio that was buzzing a kind of unattractive slur and especially the three men who were talking among themselves about the best way to kill us. So what if they surprised us, it was better than listening to them talk about us as if we were already dead. Worth seemed to share my thoughts, because we started talking at the same time.

- 'Is Aria all right?'

- 'So you're metamorphs?'

We both smiled weakly, even if his looked more like a wince, but hey, the idea was there. Seeing that he was having a little trouble catching his breath, I decided to answer first.

- 'All those who were kidnapped, yes. Except for my roommate and me,' I whispered as low as I could.

-'What are you then?' he asked in a breath with a suspicious look.

- 'A unnatural mistake.'

My tone was as bitter as me, but after all, I had every right to be.

- 'I'm one of them, but I can't morph.'

He looked surprised but made no comment. Instead, he answered my first question.

- 'Yes, she was looking for Jude, but he was nowhere to be found. I entrusted her to one of the men who were with me. Was he the black panther? I thought I saw one in the bushes, I thought I had dreamed, but...?'

The anxiety overwhelmed me so quickly that my head was spinning.

- 'Do you trust this man?' I asked him in a somewhat panicked voice.

- 'Of course, why did you... How did they find the tracker?'

I saw by his expression that he had already guessed the answer and that he didn't like it at all.

- 'Someone told them where it was,' I replied in a weary and gloomy voice.

I saw surprise in his face, however, immediately followed by denial. He didn't believe it.

- 'No, it's not...'

- 'Someone told them over the phone. I heard it and they didn't even hesitate for a second,' I bluntly said. 'So do you really trust your man?'

- 'Yes. Clarke didn't leave me during the whole operation and never made a phone call. So it can't be him.'

I was relieved but only for a brief moment. What if that Clarke led her straight to the traitor... Stop! It wouldn't do any good to get all worked up. There was nothing I could do about it right away anyway. We might as well focus on our present situation, which was not a pleasant one.

- 'Okay, how did you find me, and who are these guys?'

I lowered my voice even more because the ponytail brute had just turned back towards us from the middle seat.

- 'We're chatty back there, I see. Go ahead, talk all you want! That's not going to save you anyway.'

I couldn't see him, but I could hear his smile in his voice. I waited until I was sure he had turned around to repeat my question.

- 'Thanks to Jude, of course,' he answered me despite a wheezing breath that didn't sound good. 'We didn't know how he did it, but he seemed to be following you. Now I understand a little better, but at the time we were more than sceptical. This led us to this old industrial building that was supposed to be empty. When we arrived and saw the high-tech, hyper-secure facility, we deduced that there was a good chance that he was right and that's where they were holding you. Even if Jude had been telling us all about it for at least an hour, I needed information. I couldn't run headlong and I was right! It so happens that this guy, Professor Clayton Shaw, in addition to being a brilliant geneticist, works for the government on top secret projects to which, of course, I did not have access.'

- 'You're kidding me, right?'

But the moment the words came out of my mouth, I realized that it had always been a possibility. I was just too naive to believe it.

- 'What do you think? We still "rang the doorbell" under a false pretext to try to get inside. They made it clear to us that without a mandate we would have nothing and that, if we did not leave in the second, they would refer it to my superiors. Which, given his connections, was quite possible and more than problematic since we were not supposed to be there. So we pretended to leave and I sent all but two of my men back, asking the others to do more research on this man. The result was that he did participate in research for the government but that it was finished more than a year ago. Since then, he has kept a low profile and flies under the radar. I don't know what he's doing in this building, but a priori it's for his own profit.'

This long explanation having exhausted him, he closed his eyes and I thought he had fainted. The good news was that the situation may not have been so desperate. If we were really dealing with a mad scientist, perhaps the government had nothing to do with it and, hopefully, our precious secret was still safe.

- 'It was a lab,' I said to him. 'They were experimenting on animals and shapeshifters. But how did they discover their existence?'

It was a question that had no answer and we stayed for a moment looking at each other in silence.

- 'Do you know where they're taking us?'

- 'I just know they call it the farm and they intend to hunt us like animals... Me in particular.'

- 'And to what do you owe this more than questionable honour?' he asked me with a faint smile, followed by a suspicious cough that left him breathless and his eyes closed.

- 'I killed his son.'

Worth had a little surprise jolt, but made no comment. I had stated this as a fact, in a cold and impersonal tone. I'm not going to let it affect me, not here, not now.

- 'You should stop talking and try to regain your strength. You don't look well,' I added to change the subject.

- 'You're one to talk! But you're probably right. Out of curiosity, how did you kill him?'

- 'I strangled him with my bra.'

Even if I had deliberately distorted the truth to protect Feline, a shiver ran over me when I mentioned this horrible memory. I had to think of something else fast! The inspector's shocked expression managed to distract me from my bloody memories.

- 'Really?' he asked incredulously.

I didn't answer, a small, tight smile on my lips.

- 'Did he...'

He didn't finish his question, but I knew very well from his serious and worried voice what he was asking. In order to strangle him with my underwear, it's because I didn't have it on me anymore, so...

- 'No, he didn't have time.'

- 'You're definitely a woman full of surprises!'

I sensed a hint of approval and admiration in the sound of his voice that pleased me, although I would have preferred it for other reasons. The vehicle slowed down and finally stopped and the three men got out. We heard their steps moving away. I waited until I could no longer hear them at all, then I stood up as much as I could and began to pull my handcuffs with all my might in the hope of tearing the ring off the ground. No matter how hard I tried, it only made my wrists bleed and I ended up trembling on the ground, the ring didn't move an inch. Worth had watched my attempts with a resigned face but had said nothing to dissuade me from doing so. I think he was thinking that at this point, we might as well try anything. I resigned myself and laid down on the floor to soothe my shoulder. Even though I was still in pain, it was still much better. Suddenly, Worth seemed to come to his senses and, with a panicked gleam in his only valid eye, asked me in a breath:

- 'What do I do when they ask me to transform myself?'

- 'Tell them you're too hurt for that. That your body needs rest and food to be able to be sufficiently regenerated for transformation. If they believe you, maybe it'll buy us some time.'

- 'A little time for what? No one knows where we are and you may be very good in your own way, but against three armed men, I doubt you'll be able to handle it!'

- 'Jude's here.'

He was very close. I had been catching his presence intermittently for almost thirty minutes, but it had only been a few minutes since I felt him in my head again... and he wasn't happy! His feelings were so confused and so abundant that it was difficult for me to sort them out and get something coherent out of them.

- 'Is that true? How can you know that?'

- 'I just know, that's all. He's here to get us out of trouble, but... he needs to review his original plan.'

I frowned under the effort necessary to decode all the emotions and information that came to me. It was new to me and completely different from my bond with Feline. I felt a little twinge in my heart as I thought of her, alone in a hostile environment. I hoped she was fine. Quiet footsteps reached us from outside and we both instinctively stretched ourselves while waiting for the events to unfold.

The side door opened to two newcomers. I had a better understanding of Jude's frustration. He may be talented, but he would never compete with seven armed men. I felt like a warm and comforting wave crossing my mind. Whatever happens, he'll be there and won't give up.

We were again brutally transported from one place to another. This time, they didn't even bother to blindfold us and led us on a dirt road to a dilapidated barn that seemed to be lost in the middle of the woods. Here it was certain, no one would hear us scream! When they opened the doors, the stench of unwashed bodies and more or less fresh blood struck us head-on. I tried to hold my breath and the gag associated with it, and then we entered Hell.

The barn itself was not very large and looked more imposing from the outside. A bare and dust-covered bulb hung from the beams of the frame and lit with a pale but raw light the old dilapidated stalls that occupied the entire left wall. Opposite, a rack still supporting some loins eaten by moths, as well as the few pitchforks scattered here and there, reminded us that this place had been a stable before it turned into an antechamber of the underworld. Against the back wall had been built two reinforced wire mesh cells that looked more like cages and from which came the unpleasant smells that still assaulted my nose. The dirt floor was covered with suspicious stains and only one bucket was inside to be used as furniture. A cry of pure distress escaped me and I rushed forward to the female figure lying in the cell on the right.

- 'Cassie!'

I didn't care if they hit me, I had to know if she was still alive.

- 'Cassie!' I shouted again.

The expected blows did not come and they did not even try to hold me back, thus I was carried away by my momentum and flattened all the way into the dust. I immediately got up and approached the cage, my eyes glued to her chest as if it could force it to lift itself. I had just noticed that she was still breathing, when a cold, chilling laugh was heard from the entrance.

- 'How touching! She's a tough girl, your friend. It wasn't her we wanted, but in the end... she turned out to be more useful than expected. Unfortunately for all of you, our installation and research are compromised and we will have to clear the area. How unfortunate that all these people have to die because of you, don't you think?'

- 'They would have died anyway, you sick bastard!' I shouted at him, tears of anger in my eyes.

I didn't think any more, I wasn't even afraid, only rage dominated. I only wanted one thing left: to rip the smile off Professor Shaw's face, who was standing in front of me, with his crazy son on his side.

- 'Great! This will give another dimension to our hunt tonight,' he smiled, applauding. 'Unfortunately, I was unable to open it to the public due to time constraints. What a pity, you would have brought me a nice little fortune, in addition to the satisfaction of killing you myself. But well, you can't have everything. Lock them in one of the stalls while we prepare and, above all, keep an eye on them.'

- 'You not only use these people as guinea pigs... you sell them as human game?' I muttered incredulously.

Even if I knew I was right, I couldn't imagine that some people would do this to others.

- 'They are not humans!' he spat with disgust. 'These things are aberrations of nature, and I do a great service to the whole human race by getting rid of them. So, I might as well combine business with pleasure.'

- 'Why all these experiments if we're just monsters to you?'

- 'But for the profits, my dear! You live very old, age very slowly and have an extraordinary regeneration. If we could have all these advantages without the curse of turning into a beast... it would be amazing!'

I understood when I heard his delirium that he didn't know that it was my case, and this valuable information could perhaps save my life later on.

- 'All right, enough talking. Lock them up and feed them, so that they may be able to transform later,' he ordered before going and leaving us in the custody of two of his men.

They locked us each in one of the stalls that still had a door, and took great care to attach us to a pole for safety. Then they gave us both a chocolate bar and some water. I let myself slide along the pole until I found myself sitting with my legs stretched out on either side. Then the waiting began.

I would have liked to get in touch with the young man locked in the left cage and who I assumed was Adam, but the presence of the guards prevented me from doing so. I tried to detect Jude, but nothing had come to me since we entered the barn. I wondered how Worth and Cassie were doing. Their wounds would not heal on their own. Especially since I suspected the inspector of having at least one broken rib, if not more.

How were we going to get out of this, even with Jude as backup?