Chapter 20

KAIDA'S POV...

As the prisoners paved the way for us, we quickly walked past them before they would suddenly change their minds about letting us through.

Thane never left my hand as we walked beside Axton who was cautiously carrying the unconscious Zarek. Together with the team members, we left the scene, but I could still feel the stares of the prisoners behind me.

But as we walked farther away from them, I finally breathed in relief, but my relief did not last long.

Along the way, we encountered a lot of men standing both at far and near corners. The men stared, but their stares were not hostile or bitter; now, those looks were filled with awe. They were looking on at us...at me with wonder shining through their eyes, they glued their eyes to us until we walked out of their sight.

After walking through a long walkway, we eventually reached a building that seemed to be our destination.

"In here," Axton voiced and immediately carried Zarek into the room.

The men followed him without questions, and so did I.

"Watch your head," Axton gently placed his hand on my forehead while he used his other hand to move a fallen and half-hung fluorescent bulb out from above the door.

"Oh, I didn't see that, thank you," I smiled at him.

We walked into the building and I looked around the whole room. It was a simple, yet, ransacked medical room.

The air reeked of destruction, heavy with the scent of torn fabrics and spilled medications.

The room lay in shambles, its contents scattered and destroyed. Shelves that once held the medical supplies were pushed to the ground, the broken contents spilled all over the floor, and all the mattresses were dragged along the floor; the bunks were also pushed to the ground.

"Was it the prisoners?" I quietly asked Thane as we walked farther into the room.

"Yes," he replied, looking around the room with a small frown.

I looked ahead and saw a few team members lifting the fallen bunks to their right positions while others walked around and quickly carried the mattresses and returned to the lifted bunks, placing them back on them.

Axton gently placed Zarek down on one of the bunk beds and adjusted him to a comfortable position.

"Watch him closely," He said to Ro who was standing beside him.

"Yes, Captain," Ro replied.

Axton quickly scanned around the room and walked toward the door, closing it. He didn't want any prisoners or any unwanted person coming in here.

He just wanted to keep us safe, blocking us from the prying eyes of those prisoners outside.

"Andre, Zen, Cody...where's Lex?" He paused and looked around the room.

"Right here, Captain," A slim guy slipped out from behind a pillar and started walking toward Axton.

The others whose names were called also went over to Axton.

They stood in line in front of Axton, awaiting his orders.

"Four of you shall guard the entrance. Make sure no one comes in here. And, notify me immediately if you sense any harm, understand?" Axton ordered authoritatively.

The four team members put their hands beside their heads in salute. "Yes, Captain," they replied.

Axron nodded and walked away from them.

Suddenly, my ears moved back as I heard long wolf howls echo from outside. It was almost like a full moon period in a werewolf novel, the amount of howling seemed to increase with each new round of howling.

It felt like they were trying to pass a message across, and when the recipients got the messages, they then howled back in response.

My eyes widened in surprise and I quickly turned to Axton and Thane, "What's happening? Why are they howling so loudly?" I questioned no one in particular knowing that one of them would answer my question.

Axton scoffed, "What do you think, Noble Purifier? The prisoners are deliberately spreading the word of your noble presence." He replied sarcastically, giving me an annoying yet gorgeous smirk.

I frowned, thinking back to everything that had happened at the lounge, with Zarek and the prisoners.

"Purifier," I muttered, "What does a purifier mean?" I questioned with raw curiosity, I've been dying to understand what that word meant.

The word seemed to carry a heavy meaning and must mean something special to all of them by the way the prisoners were staring at me.

Axton looked at me with an unreadable expression, then he looked over at Thane, they shared a meaningful glance before he stretched out his hand to me.

"Let's get you seated first," Thane placed a gentle hand on my lower back and moved me toward Axton.

I took his hand, and Thane held my other hand, and, together, they led me to Zarek's bunk, but we didn't sit on Zarek's bed; we occupied the bunk bed beside Zarek's; each man sitting beside me.

"The purifiers are not easy to come by. They have the ability to suppress beastly rage genes and are the hope to save our world," Axton was the first to explain, a serious expression on his face as he spoke about it.

Thane nodded, slightly turning his body towards mine. "Purifiers are extremely rare and hold very high status and importance in the Federation. But, since the Vurus struck humanity, we have only seen male purifiers, there has never been a female purifier before." He searched my face as if he'd find his answer there.

"Which makes us wonder about your background, Kaida," Axton spoke quietly.

"At first glance, one would mistake you for an ordinary person. But you're not Kaida, we're curious and concerned about your background. As an unprecedented female purifier, your discovery might attract the attention of the Imperial Council and you might end up getting entangled in their unending power struggles," Thane explained.

I was left astonished.

"So, how does one become this purifier? Is it like a gift or just a random occurrence?" I asked skeptically.

Axton shook his head, "We haven't seen the cases of random occurrences or gifted ones. Purifiers are mostly inherited through family bloodlines, and there are only a few families in the Federation that traditionally hold the position of purifiers." Axton replied.

"And, I believe yours is also inherited, for we haven't seen any other ways a person could become a purifier," Thane concluded.

I fell silent. Their explanations helped me understand a little about the prisoner's reactions and a little about that strange feeling I got before I walked toward Zarek.

However, it didn't help me with my thoughts, my mental state was left confused.

Purifying abilities were only inherited?

In my memories of my parents, I don't think my family had any connection to all this.

In the end, I strongly still believed that calming Zarek was just a lucky coincidence.

Nothing like a purifier...

"This all seems so wrong...my parents were nothing close to a purifier; we were not some noble family but rather a struggling family like every other common person does in our world. Maybe, I'm not what everyone expects me to be. I had only calmed Zarek down by coincidence...nothing more," I tried my best to convince myself and them.

Axton nodded with a little side shrug while Thane gave me a reassuring smile.

"It's okay, Kaida, it doesn't matter what or who are. We're not going to force it on you. You're with us now." Thane placed a gentle hand on my knee.

Axton nodded, "And we will protect you with our lives, Kaida." He assured me softly as he stared into my eyes.