A pet's secret Ch. 7 Travel
Jester watched her carefully, this thing that he'd let into his family, this.... construct that had wormed its way into his hallowed ground. She'd admitted that everything Pierrot had ever found about her was fake, from her birth certificate to her driver's license. While she'd had no intention of getting involved when Pierrot first met her, it seemed his persistent affection in those early days had quietly worn down a wall she'd been behind. Now he wished she'd have remained there, wished he'd talked Pierrot out of his fooling infatuation with this thing.
They were stopped for the day so that the others could rest, she was setting up what looked like targets, some of them were old looking, likely she'd gotten them out of storage from Pierrot's things. Others looked like she'd made them.
Javenna had heavy bags under her eyes, and they were always puffy now, likely she'd been crying when no one was watching. Good, that was the least she could do in this mess, once Pierrot was back, he'd figure out how to deal with it before it brought more trouble to his Circus.
She said as if he were standing next to her, her understanding of his hearing better than he liked
"We're close to where an old contact of mine lives, if at all possible, I'd like to take Harley or Bil with me to go find him."
He approached not wishing to shout and possibly wake the others.
"Pray tell, why you wish to take more of my family into danger?"
Her shoulders visibly stiffened at his remark, pleased that he'd struck a nerve in her
"The guy I'm talking about isn't dangerous, remember what I said about the August Nest and what it is they do? Do you want Pierrot Hybrids under human control?"
That idea felt like fire and slime on his skin all at once, still he kept his face neutral, she had a point.
"I gather you have a plan for this?"
"More like a vague concept for now, if I can convince him, this contact of mine can pull a few strings and mess with their systems from the inside, problem is... he doesn't know I'm alive..."
"So, your plan is to what exactly? Convince this fellow you're not a ghost or a fraud, and how exactly are Harlequin or Bil meant to help with this?"
"Well... they'll be my evidence that I'm not lying to him about Pierrot's nature...."
"You mean to expose us to another human? No! I will not have it."
"Jester..."
"I have let you have too much free reign as it is. The answer is no."
"That's the fear talking-"
"And I should have listened sooner...."
He walked away; he didn't want to give her a chance to convince him to do something fool hearty, he would think of something once they got where to the compound she had marked on the map, if Pierrot was even there. If he wasn't, Jester knew he would take matters into his own hands...
Pierrot felt so weak, they weren't starving him, not like the old ringmaster, but none of the meals felt substantial. They had moved him twice, and he found himself too tired to really resist. He'd put up a fuss when they drew his blood, and he was very proud of the fact they had been too frightened to try getting any other kind of samples, but they'd begun to play dirty and make the nice little male do more to take care of him, which made him feel a little guilty. Even with all of this he was faced with what could be a big problem. If he didn't eat a human soon, he wasn't sure if his form would hold much longer.
Would Javenna recognize him as he once was? Would she become frightened. Would the kind little caretaker? Pierrot felt his mouth water at the sight of him, which also made him feel terrible. He sat slumped against the wall close to the door, so tiered.
Eurylochus, the very person he'd just been thinking of, was just on the other side of the glass, he sounded worried, it was so strange how kind this human was.
"Hey there big guy, you don't look so good.... are....are you sick?
Pierrot shook his head. He glanced around making absolutely certain they were alone.
His voice was barely able to go an octave above whispering.
"H-hungry..."
"So, you can speak! Wait... hungry...but you've eaten all of the meals I bring you.... are they not big enough...?"
Pierrot shook his head again.
"Not the size.... missing something..."
Pierrot hesitated Eurylochus was listening eagerly. Would he understand?
"We...never did figure out what you eat... I take it it's grewsome?"
Pierrot was a little surprised but nodded.
Eurylochus asked, swallowing hard.
Another nod, but solemn, he knew this human was afraid now.
"I-I see.... it was stated that Scylla kept odd company, but I never would have guessed.... d-does she...eat people too?"
Pierrot shook his head more vigorously than he'd meant to, instantly feeling nauseated.
"Not, like us, not like us..."
"Whoa, easy big guy, okay, she's not a people eater I got it. Well.... I can't feed you people...but maybe I can figure out something else... something close enough... We have some plasma stored in the med bay.... let's see if we can start there yeah?"
Pierrot didn't fully understand that, but while Eurylochus was scared, he was trying to help. Such a kind boy, why was someone like him here? Before Pierrot could ask, the young man left with notes being hastily scrawled. It reminded him of when the Doctor would become excited about a new experiment. He was becoming too tiered now though, so he laid down to sleep for a time.
Javenna paced like a tiger in a cage, Jester had tied her hands in a way that she felt he couldn't grasp. Yes, he did know that Pierrot's blood being used in experiments would be bad, but his fear, well... she could still go alone.
Jester never said she couldn't go by herself just that she couldn't take anyone with her. That could work. Still, Javenna needed to release her pent-up anxiety, she'd set up the targets then got sidetracked. Javenna changed into a tank top and a pair of old sweatpants. Not exactly her old tactical gear, but it would allow her freedom of movement.
She could feel the four watching. She'd become a curiosity for them, an irony really.
A deep breath, a slow exhale. Phasing everything else out, nothing else mattered, just the targets before her.
Javenna felt her limbs warm in a way they hadn't in a very long time, Scylla was waking within.
She moved to the first target, the world blurring, she accidentally overshot and had to correct, it hurt to move that fast after years of peaceful living, her movements became similar to a ballerinas, but warped and too fast to be considered human, she couldn't stop, she had to go faster, her breath felt like steam leaving her mouth, as she moved to the next target, it was in half, next one was decapitated, next one gutted, next one eviscerated. Her lung burned, her heart was all the sound she could hear, more, she demanded more from her body for the final target. She charged, jumped, a grand jete, rolled into a flip, her knives dug into the head of the dummy, her velocity pulled it from its pole and slammed it into the ground. Sweat pooled from her as she gulped down air like water.
"I am....so fucking out of shape...."
The Doc was in the open and jotting down notes with the pace of a man possessed of mania. He hurried to her and placed his hand on her jugular.
"This pulse... truly you are something other than human as you claim sweetie, more akin to us than how you appear... your body... it must consume a lot of calories yes?"
"Yeah...that's right...Pierrot has always loved the fact that I eat a lot, meant he could cook as much as he liked without any of his food going to waist, but I have to correct one thing. I'm still a human, just a little faster and more durable. I'm by no means stronger than any of you. Even Bil could hold me in place if put in a close combat situation."
"So...your strength doesn't match your speed or durability? That seems like such a waist..."
"Nah, it's deliberate, all specimens have glaring weak spots, something to be exploited in the event one goes rouge."
The Doctor tilted his head.
"This does not seem to have worked the way they intended, you escaped and survived."
"Not alone, a few of us escaped at the same time... we didn't have a choice."
"I sense a story. Wish to tell it?"
"I.... I don't know.... it's a little like your story... you sure you want to hear it?"
"Yes... I think it would help."
Javenna walked with him to the truck and sat herself upon a rock they'd parked by.
"Guess I'll start the way Jester and Harlequin do. Once upon a time, there was a group of scientists who loved their people, so much so, that they made children that would be strong and protect their people against unseen enemies, but the people were appalled by the children instead of delighted. The scientists didn't want to destroy the children, after all they could still be used. In secret.
The children were sent out to fight, in hidden wars, each of them in groups of five or six, there were five groups like this in total. One day, one of the groups failed their mission. The man they'd been sent to kill got away, and now people outside of the scientists knew of the children. Frightened the scientists called in the people that had trained the children to kill, in order to kill them and remove proof of their existence.
The smallest of the children, Scylla, heard the scientists talking about killing the children, she was the weakest of them all, but she was also the fastest and considered the most dangerous. She unlocked all of the cells that held the children from her group, as it was they; that had failed. Not all of them...made it out... Scylla's younger brother.... didn't make it."
The Doctor gripped his pen to the point it popped.
"Children....they did this....to their own children...and we're the monsters?"
"I'm sorry Doc, I shouldn't have told you... I didn't mean to remind-"
The Doctor put an ink-soaked finger up.
"Just give me a moment Sweetie, it is not you that upsets me. Just....the audaciousness of those who would consider themselves civilized. I will be alright. Why don't you assist me with my plants this evening and I will help you with cleaning these up?"
Doctor waved a hand loosely in the direction of the demolished targets.
"That actually sounds nice. Thanks Doc. Have I told you you're my best friend?"
"No.....I am?"
"Yep."
There was a long quiet pause between the two then Doctor answered simply
