Around quarter of a kilometer from the hospital were Foxtrot-5 was quietly sleeping, An obscure laboratory was located. A woman in her late teens was still fumbling around noisily, knocking test tubes and flasks despite the late of the hour.
Her name was Alieya.
The laboratory was a personal gift to her by her late father when she graduated in the academy just a year before.
The common educational standards in the city is that if a person was a female, she is expected to study in research medicine or something related to food production and business. If the person is a male, study in politics, law or in military were the common choices. Alieya chose to research medicine. Though this education trend was only reserved to wealthy families who can afford the payments.
The lower class of the society are commonly traders, merchants or anything they could live by.
Alieya was an orphan now. Her final relative, her father and uncle passed away from a tragic accident a few months back. She has now nothing else except the laboratory that was the last gift given to her.
"Woah! What was that? It wasn't supposed to react like that." She exclaimed as another flask in front of her was shattered.
"Another miscalculation on my chemical additives." She said again as she looked closely at the remains of her flask.
"Arrrgh! I just don't have enough samples." She wailed to herself.
Alieya was working alone by herself but talking loudly has been her habit. It keeps her from being lonely and all her experiments are being recorded by the small handheld camera placed in a tripod a few steps away.
She walked aimlessly around for a few moments before she composed herself and faced her camera.
"Log number 42. The acquired samples did not react to the tests as I wanted to. The blood doesn't react like a normal blood should be. The scales too, It has the same properties of a synthetic glass fiber. It doesn't look like organic. It's too early to say but there is a chance that the samples were already contaminated or exposed to other chemicals that's why I have this kind of confusing results."
"As you can see behind me, Broken flasks and test tubes are everywhere. There, my small centrifuge is still smoking. Its beyond repair I guess. How can a simple blood testing destroy a centrifuge!? Whatever that thing was, It's not just some wild random beast."
"I will try to access more samples tomorrow. Maybe I will go to some of dad's old friends and try if I can talk to the soldiers who killed it."
"Whatever, I'll just try something tomorrow."
"Log off."
Alieya sighed loudly as she turned off her camera. It's almost midnight already and she haven't had her meal yet. Her personal laboratory was a mess and her lab coat was smeared with all sorts of nasty smelling substances.
She removed her outer coat and quickly washed her face. She was too tired to cook her own food at this time so she dashed outside. There was a hospital not far away and the food stalls there are always open.
Alieya was used to being alone so eating by herself doesn't bother her much.
She chose the least crowded food stall and ordered her meal. While waiting for her food, she noticed a group of hospital nurses talking among themselves not far from her seat.
"I can't believe the SIU's would come and interrogate a patient under intensive medical treatment." A female nurse said.
"They are just doing their job, nothing wrong about it. And they have been respectful to everyone." Another one answered while chewing his food.
"It's just not common to see people from the SIU visit our city just because of some wild beast incident."
" Well, I heard that it was a newly discovered specie, of course they would be interested."
"Hey. This will be just for all of us here, Okey? Right. I heard a rumor that the other two soldiers just died this afternoon. They said there were complications in their injuries." A chubby male nurse said in a low voice.
"How could that be? Our patient sustained injuries too, and I just checked on him earlier. He's snoring softly in his sleep." A female nurse said, puzzled.
"I just heard the rumors, right. But the soldiers got directly injured by the beast. Maybe its claws were poisonous or it can spit out corrosive saliva. Our patient's injury however were gunshot wounds." The chubby nurse said, nodding at his own theory.
Alieya just lowered her head as she ate silently on her seat. It would seem rude but she can't help but listen to the entire conversation of the hospital nurses.
'Poisonous claws and corrosive saliva, huh. I need to talk to that patient tomorrow.' She made a mental note to herself.
It's not uncommon for some mutated beasts to have such characteristics. There are species that can camouflage itself, making them almost invisible. Some can produce electric discharge from their skins and there are even species that can launch their horns and barbs like projectiles.
These beasts are categorized as a danger to humans. People need special permissions to hunt them while everyone else are encouraged to run from it on sight.
The SIU, known as the Special Investigative Unit was the branch of Military Intelligence that specializes on capturing and disposing those kind of dangerous beasts.
Alieya felt her hands shaking. She was already expecting that the beast was unique, but its entirely a different story if the SIU was involved.
She vividly remember all her actions earlier today. She was watering her plants outside her house when she saw the tall pillar of smoke on the woods. At first she did not think much about it until she saw a number of vehicles going to the area. Her curiosity got the best of her and she decided to go and take a close look herself. She grabbed her laboratory coat and mixed herself with the crowd.
She saw the small crater made by the explosion and the mangled corpses of beasts scattered near it. It didn't take long for her to get the general situation in the area because everyone was talking about it. Before the corpse of the priority beast was carried away, she managed to get a few vials of blood from it and removed some of its scales. Nobody stopped her at that time because she was wearing a face mask and a laboratory coat. Everyone must have thought that she was an authorized person just doing her job.
If only she had known that the SIU was involved, She would have extracted more blood samples and maybe cut an entire limb. Getting access to corpse again was now impossible for her. She was certain that her late father's influence doesn't reach the SIU.
Alieya slumped on her seat. She had already lost her appetite.
She slowly finished her meal and walked back home. She was so tired and already feeling sleepy. She will think about something else tomorrow when her mind get rested. She didn't bother to tidy up her lab when she returned. She just stripped off her clothes and dived to the couch in the corner. It has been a stressful day.
The next morning, Alieya already made up her plan. She will go the the hospital and talk to the patient that was involved with the beast incident.
She headed first to the nearby convenience store and bought some packaged food and some fruits. She will give it to the patient as a sign of good will.
Alieya was wearing a bright smile on her face as she walked briskly to the hospital. She will just interview the patient. Whatever she learn, she would make a parallel research to the closest specie. Maybe she would look for some beast hunters and ask for more information. She had all her plans for today scheduled on her mind when she reached the hospital.
"You were asking for the patient from yesterday? Are you related to him?" The man on the reception desk asked her.
"Uhhh, No. I am from the Academy of Research. I'm just here to ask him a few questions about his encounter yesterday." Alieya said. She expected this sets of inquisition so she had already prepared her answers on her mind.
"I see. That patient had already a lot of visitors since he was brought here yesterday. But he was already picked up by the prison representatives this morning. They already left an hour ago."
"Why was he imprisoned? What was his charges? Wasn't he severely injured?" Alieya was taken aback by the news.
"You didn't know? The patient was a convict. His Identity code was Foxtrot-5. He was only let out to locate beast for the soldiers. Now he was sent back to the prison, where he belong." The man in the reception desk said, looking at her with a questioning eyes.
"Is that so? Okey then. Thank you for the information." She said and quickly left the premises.
Alieya was walking back absentmindedly. Her brain was shifting its gear, updating her plans and adjusting it to the information she just received.
"Now, where do I go from here." She murmured to herself while tracing her way back to her house.
She was in the midst of thinking about things when she noticed that the people around her were shouting and running to the direction she was going. She looked up and saw a thick cloud of smoke ahead.
"No, this can't be." She gasped.
Alieya run as fast as she could. Her heart was racing. The smoke was coming from the direction of her house.
She was not wrong. When she finally arrived, more than half of her house has already collapsed. The firefighters were already on the scene, extinguishing the flames.
Alieya slumped to the ground. The fire was concentrated on her laboratory. She knew this might happen when she found out last night that the SIU was involved on the beast incident. She just didn't expect them to act this quickly.
Alieya was silent throughout the rest of the morning. The firefighters said that a leaking gas pipe caused the fire. She knew it wasn't true but there was nothing she can do about it. She was well aware on how the system on this society works. It could be extreme to people if the line was crossed.
She just unknowingly crossed the line, but she was not sure how deep of trouble she was already in. She trespassed and stole biological samples from SIU. Her punishment was the burning of her lab.
'This is unacceptable.' She clenched her fist tightly.
That afternoon, Alieya already made up her mind. Staying in this place will be dangerous for her from now on. She needs to leave this city.
----------
"I have a news for you. Because you are injured, you will be excused from our scheduled routine." The prison chief said in a big voice as he ushered Foxtrot-5 back to his cell.
"That's a big relief, Thank you chief." Foxtrot-5 said as he massaged his wrists.
His hands were chained for such a long time that his wrists were starting to get swollen. Now that he was back to his prison cell, the chains are no longer needed.
The routine that the prison chief was referring too was the prisoners being forced to fight each other. Sometimes it would be just outright torture or anything that the prison chief think would be entertaining.
"Don't give me that crap! Your routine will just be pushed back for a few weeks, and then everything will be back to normal." The prison chief sneered back at him.
Foxtrot-5 sighed and didn't bother to answer.
He already felt perfectly fine when he woke up this morning. He can't even remember the last time he felt such energy within him. Maybe it was the effect of the drugs that the doctors have given him last night. Foxtrot-5 didn't think much about it since he was picked up and returned here. He just spent the rest of the morning stretching his arms and legs, walking around his cell and doing some exercise.
Sometime later, the prison chief returned and rattled the bars in his cell.
"Fox, you can come out. Apparently, you have a wealthy relative and already paid the remainder of your prison sentence. You are free." The prison chief said in a disheartened voice. It's as if he just lost a huge bet or something.
"Are you sure it was me?" Foxtrot-5 was puzzled. He knew it himself that he doesn't have any family relatives anymore. The incident more than two years ago made sure of that.
"Is there anyone else called Fox here?" The prison chief was sounding annoyed now.
Foxtrot-5 chose to shut his mouth up as another prison guard opened up his cell and escorted him outside.
He was led to a room with a single table in the middle. There was a beautiful woman sitting on the other side.
"Hey, How have you been! It took longer than I thought, but I finally have the proper amount of money to pay for your freedom." The woman stood up and quickly embraced him, knocking a chair in the process.
It all happened so fast that Foxtrot-5 wasn't able to react. The fragrance of the woman so close to him only clouded his mind more. He was paralyzed where he was standing.
"Please, just play along. I will explain everything later when we get out of here." The woman whispered softly to his ear.
"Uhmm, Okey. We will let you two be alone for the time being. Then we can finalize the releasing documents." The prison chief said awkwardly before closing the door behind them.
It only took a few more minutes before Foxtrot-5 was finally able to step outside with his hands free from chains. He was still mentally blank to what was happening so he just let the woman guide him until they reach another village that was unfamiliar to him. They entered a rental room and only then, the lively and happy mood of the woman become serious.
"My name is Alieya, and I just bought your freedom." She said in clear voice.
Foxtrot-5 nodded. He figured that much already. He just don't know the reason why.
Alieya waited for a few seconds. When it was apparent that he was not going to speak, she continued again.
"I have a proposal for you. I want you to track the beast like the one from yesterday. I will reward you with your freedom." She said, looking at him seriously in the eye.
"Where is everybody else?" Foxtrot-5 finally spoke, scanning the empty room.
"It's just you and me. Tell me what you need and I will provide it all for you. I have money." She said casually.
"I just want to know, but how old are you?" He asked out of the blue.
"I will be turning 19 in a couple of months. What does it have to do with anything?" Alieya was puzzled. The man's question was completely out of place.
"Look young lady, You are alone with a newly freed prisoner. You are bragging about having purchased my freedom and having a lot of money, What do you think a man like me will do to you?" He said in a low voice.