In the Wolf’s Mouth
"No, Aiden!" Reia, the artificial intelligence inside Podbe's mind, cried out desperately. "Something is wrong; the place, the girl's behavior—everything is off. What do we do now? I've lost the connection with him. I need to wake Podbe up; maybe if I use one of the electric shocks, he'll come in," she thought.
"Get up, Podbe!" she pleaded repeatedly, but the dog didn't move. Apparently, whatever Elena had given him the food was so strong it could have knocked out an elephant, Reia reflected.
Exhausted by the lack of response, she began to meditate, hoping Podbe would wake up so they could go after Aiden. She looked at the girl lying unconscious in front of Podbe and started blaming her for everything that had happened.
"That's why I'm an intelligence: I anticipate events. If Aiden hadn't met you, we wouldn't be in this situation," she muttered to herself, continuing to talk and calculate possible solutions. "You'll hear me when you wake up, lazy dog," she shouted at Podbe, though still without getting a response.
The car carrying the captured Aiden stopped in front of a large white building nestled between two mountains, almost hidden from human sight. They entered through the parking lot, reached the third basement, and a figure began walking toward them.
"I want to see him," the figure said. One of the men opened the back door, revealing the boy, unconscious and lying down. "Good," the figure said with an evil grin. "Take him to the lab soon to prepare him, and let's run some tests on him. If I'm right, he might be exactly what I need to continue the experiments."
They lifted the boy onto a stretcher, waited for the elevator, got in, and pressed the buttons. The elevator closed and began to descend. Once it stopped, they headed to the laboratory, located many floors below the parking level. They opened the door and found three people dressed in doctor's scrubs and masks, standing in a room that resembled a hospital operating theater but with a sinister atmosphere. One of Zeus's guards told those present to prepare the boy quickly, as it was a direct order from the boss. Immediately, the three calm individuals became frightened upon hearing it was a direct order from their superior. Two of them proceeded to take the boy to a room to change and prepare him, while the third removed a large sheet covering a pile of equipment.
When the sheet was pulled back, a kind of machine was revealed: a chair similar to a dentist's chair, with cables emerging from the top, forming a sphere. From this sphere, devices like syringes with needles protruded, along with a container of colored liquids connected to it, monitors, and a helmet resembling a virtual reality headset. The chair had restraints on the arms and legs to immobilize the subject.
The two individuals returned with Aiden, who was now dressed in a hospital gown. They lifted him from the stretcher and placed him on the machine. Before activating it, the door opened again, and a short man in his fifties, with a mustache and large glasses, dressed in a white medical coat, entered.
"Doctor Richard, is that you?" one of those present asked.
"Yes, that's correct. I've just spoken with Mr. Zeus, and he has asked me to take charge of this investigation," replied Doctor Richard.
Doctor Richard was one of the three most renowned scientists in the organization and Zeus's right-hand man. For him to be personally called by the boss, it had to be something serious.
"What makes this boy so special?" the three scientists wondered among themselves.
"Silence, don't make so much noise. It's time for me to take over the investigation. You two"—he addressed Zeus's guards—"can leave my lab now; there's work to be done."
The two obeyed immediately, knowing who Doctor Richard was and the consequences of disobeying him.
"Alright, gentlemen, let's begin," Doctor Richard instructed the three scientists present.
The chair began securing restraints on the boy's arms and legs.
"Why is he still asleep?" the doctor asked.
"We don't know; that's how those two left him when they brought him in," one of the scientists responded.
"It doesn't matter; this will make our work easier," the doctor clarified.
He instructed one of the scientists to press a button. The helmet descended and was placed on Aiden's head. Then he asked another to take blood samples and the third to monitor his vital signs. They began running various tests while the boy remained unconscious. The one who took the blood sample returned with the results. The doctor read the document and was fascinated.
"Zeus was right; he's one of the test subjects we had... Well, not necessarily from recent experiments; perhaps he's the child of one of them," the doctor thought.
He smiled maliciously, excited, and pressed a red button, attaching electrodes to Aiden's arms and legs, sending an electric current through him. Aiden screamed, but he couldn't see anything because of the helmet.
"Where am I? What is this thing in my eyes? Is this a dream? And what were those pulses I felt?"
A voice began to interrogate him:
"What's your name, boy?"
Terrified, Aiden didn't want to answer, but after receiving another electric shock, the voice warned him:
"If you don't want me to do it again or increase the intensity, all you need to do is answer my questions"—the voice was cold and authoritative—"Understood?"
The boy, frightened, began to cry from pain and sadness, unsure of where he was or who was speaking to him. He could only manage to nod his head, which the doctor interpreted as a yes.
"What's your name?" the voice asked again.
"My name is Aiden," the boy responded.
"Where are you from?" the voice asked.
"I'm from Austria, from the Sisters of the Sun Order orphanage," Aiden replied.
"Austria! And how did you end up here?" the voice questioned.
"I ran away and then crossed into this country with my dog," Aiden answered.
"I see. You're an orphan from a country far from here; that makes things easier since no one will ask about you or come looking for you," the voice let out a sinister laugh. "Welcome to what will now be your home."