Who's in Control

Soren didn't move until the mutated was almost on him. He moved to the side and as it came parallel to his body he made a fist with his right hand, covered the fist with his left hand, and used it to slam his right elbow into the creature's back.

The mutated staggered and turned to attack Soren, its claws raised and ready. Soren moved with it, keeping their bodies parallel. He gave a push-off with his left foot and pivoted on his right to jump on the back of the mutated, his right hand coming around to grip its chin. He followed that up with his left hand grabbing the other side of its head.

Soren's knees braced against the creature's back and he pulled on its head. Its head was pulled back at an unnatural angle and the flesh around the neck began to tear. As Soren pulled he twisted the head to the left and gave another hard tug, completely separating it from the body. The body collapsed to the pavement with a dull thud, leaving Soren kneeling on its back with the creature's head held against his body. His movements had been so swift that the creature had been unable to react before it died.

Soren was splattered with blood both from the initial separation of the head, and the impact of the body hitting the pavement. His eyes were bright red and he was grinning as he stood and looked over his handiwork. He dropped the head like it was an afterthought and pulled the keys out as he turned to face the remaining mutated.

"Go get the car; bring it here and pop the trunk."

Soren threw the keys to the land at Avery's feet, his eyes never leaving the mutated. It took Avery a moment to process what was going on, when he did he bent to pick up the keys and ran in the direction of the car. The moment he moved the mutated rushed forward but Soren moved to block its path.

Soren swung at the creature, his fist landing on the side of its head and knocking it down. It moved to stand back up and he hit it again, bouncing its head against the pavement. It did not move after the second hit. He checked it for a pulse before sitting down and pulling out a cigarette.

He lit the cigarette and leaned against the unconscious creature. Hunting the mutated had been more satisfying than he had expected. It was not much more of a challenge than when he had gone after the mercenaries, but this time he had not held back. If he had gone all out with the humans there would not have been much left.

The sun had been teasing the horizon when they started walking. By the time Avery returned with the car the sun had already disappeared. Soren chuckled to himself when the headlights of the car illuminated him for a moment. He had scared Avery enough that he had not attempted to run even while having the car keys.

Soren took one more drag from the cigarette then put it out on the pavement and stood. He grabbed the body and threw it over his shoulder and carried it the short distance to the car. Avery had gotten out and opened the trunk. Soren dropped the body into the trunk then cursed a few times when limbs hung out and refused to go in. He spent another minute trying to shove everything in then slammed the trunk shut.

Soren turned to Avery and before the other knew what was happening Soren was on him. Soren's hand held the left side of Avery's neck and jaw, his face nearly touching the right side of Avery's face.

"You really do smell good."

Soren took in a deep breath as if he was drawing in the smell, savoring it. Avery's eyes were wide and his body was frozen. He was scared that if he moved he was dead, not that it felt any safer just standing there. Soren stepped back and pushed him away.

"Do you remember how to get home?"

"Y-yes…"

"Get in."

Soren's voice was low and almost growled out. He turned away and got into the passenger seat, slamming the door as he sat down. Avery hurried to get in and pulled away. His hands were shaking; maintaining a tight grip on the steering wheel was the only way that Avery was able to safely drive.

His mind was already on hyper-alert and kept them on the road. Avery was not much better when they finally returned home and he parked in front of the house. Before getting out, he pulled the trunk release.

"Grab the bags and get the door for me."

Soren opened the trunk and pulled the unconscious body of the mutated out of the trunk. He cursed at the body, and the small trunk, when removing the body was just as difficult as putting it in. Once it was out he threw it back over his shoulder and made his way to the house. Avery was already waiting for him and holding the door open.

"Leave your bag here. Just bring the ones from the thrift store."

Soren ordered then looked upstairs as he walked in.

~Ethan. Downstairs!~

There was a thud upstairs and a moment later Ethan's door opened and he came running downstairs. His eyes went wide at the sight of the blood splattered all over Soren and the mutated across his shoulder. Ethan looked to Avery for answers and realized immediately that he was not getting anything from him.

The sides of Avery's face were smeared with blood and he had a blank look in his eyes. He barely registered the fact that Ethan was there and simply followed after Soren when he started moving. Ethan followed behind them.

"The bags of clothes go in the bathroom. Avery, you will open the cages as I direct you. Ethan, you will be in charge of escorting them to the bathroom. They have five minutes to shower and change. Vest gets set in the hall, the clothes they're wearing get tossed. Once they are done in the bathroom they will be escorted to one of the two bedrooms and locked up. I want them two to a room."

"Yes, boss."

They paused a moment in the basement for Ethan to grab two cots and two bags of bedding. In the lowest level, Ethan put a cot and bag in each room. He felt that was as nice as the mercenaries were getting; the option to not share a bed.

While Ethan placed the cots, Soren and Avery went to the room where the mercenaries were being held. Soren flipped on the lights, startling the group of four. Soren pointed to the cage at the far right that held Vaughan.

"Start there first."

Avery grabbed the keys that were hanging just outside the room and quickly moved to do as directed. Ethan came in then and moved to stand beside Avery.

"Here are the rules; you get five minutes in the bathroom to shower and change. Take your vest off before you enter and set it in the hall. Trash the clothes you're wearing, leave your boots in the bathroom.

"Cooperate and you get the chance to sleep in a bed tonight. Give us any trouble and I can't guarantee you'll live."

When the cage door opened Vaughan held his hands up to indicate that he was not going to do anything. Vaughan took in everything, but what drew his attention was Avery and the vacant look in his eyes.

"Follow me."

Ethan directed the mercenary and they left the room. With the cage empty, Soren walked over and tossed in the mutated. Avery closed the door and locked it the moment that Soren stepped out of the way. Soren moved to lean against the wall near the door, watching the humans.

Ethan returned after sending Vaughan to a bedroom and locking it. Soren directed Avery to open Saunders' cage. Saunders let off a string of curses directed at Avery, then redirected his anger toward Ethan when he tried to get Saunders to cooperate and follow him to the bathroom.

~You going to let him get away with that? Let him know who's in control.~

Soren spoke to Ethan mentally. Ethan was surprised at the sharpness of Soren's words. He was not sure what mood Soren was in, but he was not about to direct it onto himself. Calling on his past and his newfound strength Ethan kicked Saunders behind the knee, causing him to drop. Without giving Saunders time to retaliate, Ethan grabbed a handful of hair and slammed his head down.

Ethan held back enough that he did not kill Saunders, but it was enough to break the skin and cause bleeding. Avery glanced from Ethan to Soren and back again, afraid that one or both would lose it.

Ethan found himself growling but managed to hold himself together even with the scent of blood in the air. His eyes had started to turn red, more of a dark shade than the bright red that Soren's eyes were now showing.

"Be less than cooperative one more time and it won't end so well."

Ethan forced Saunders to stand, a feat that was made easier by his strength and the fact that they were the same height. Saunders was unsteady on his feet as they walked out.

Bates and Moss, the two mercenaries left, had noticed the change in eye color. They also noticed the way that Avery reacted. To them, Avery was already acting out of character by not speaking. Normally, Avery was the type of person who would talk non-stop about anything. It had been decided long ago that Avery could not handle silence.

Yet, here he was, not saying anything. The blank look in his eyes spoke volumes.

When it was their turn, Bates and Moss did not give any trouble. They followed directions and moved through the process smoothly.