Chapter 10: She-wolf
Odry observed the cold expression on Bastille’s face as he held out the gun and pressed the trigger.
She noticed how a face changed, when one held a gun in their hand. If it wasn’t for the silly red protective headphones covering Bastille’s ears, he could’ve been mistaken for a ruthless killer. Or maybe he was?
Has Bastille ever killed anybody?
I don’t think he’d have any problem with that…
Odry shivered from the thought, but nevertheless her turn had come. They were at a shooting range. The instructor corrected Odry’s posture. Shooting in real life was much harder than it looked in the movies. The recoil alone was hard to withstand. Odry gritted her teeth. She imagined Cassio’s grinning face every time she fired at the paper target.
“Not bad,” said Bastille after they’d left the range.
A shiny black limo took them home. They always drove or walked around with at least two bodyguards following them. Bastille made sure his troupe was well protected. In Odry’s case it meant double security, because she bore Bastille’s grandchild, the precious memory of his only son. Speaking of… the nightmares of Linden being shot kept haunting Odry night after night, after night. Nothing helped. She refused to attend therapy when Bastille suggested it.
“Did you go to therapy after Odette’s death?” She barked at Bastille.
“Absolutely not!” He replied with bitterness in his voice, “and look where it got me. I nearly made you replace my dead wife! I could hardly call it a successful mental recovery…”
“I don’t need therapy…”
I need a gun and a bit of space…
Odry wandered how will she escape her 4 bodyguards to find Cassio. The “what if…” thoughts she brushed off with a million stupid excuses. What if he gets shot - oh, no she would stop the bullet with her powers, because this time she’ll be ready. What if she goes to jail? Bastille would get custody of the baby and take care of it. If she survives the pregnancy. Odette didn’t… The thought of righteous revenge wouldn’t leave Odry and every night the nightmares only confirmed her decision.
The black limo took them to the mansion on the outskirts of the city, which Bastille rented for them. Odry guessed money wasn’t a problem yet.
The two weeks they had been living in Vegas their everyday routine was intensive and consistent. It was the same every damn day - getting up super early, a quick breakfast, going to their theatre in the city, rehearsing among renovation workers (the theatre had to be re-modelled to fit Bastille’s taste), a quick lunch delivery (with a ton of salad for Odry). More rehearsing afterward. Odry and Bastille going to the shooting range. Driving back home, where the rest of the troupe were already waiting for them. Especially Mateo. He was tagging along Odry like a guard dog. She wouldn’t let him accompany her to the shooting range.
“Hey, kiddo! How are you feeling?!” He asked whenever she returned, prancing around her like a puppy.
“Sick. Tired… leave me alone, Mateo,” she grunted and dragged her feet to the nearest toilet. To vomit, of course. Her nausea functioned with a clockwork precision. Although, despite the intensive rehearsals, Odry did feel her energy increasing. It should’ve been the other way around… the doctor reassured her the baby was okay. She couldn’t get used to the thought of another human being living inside her. It was kinda creepy. In some ways it reminded her of the time she was possessed by Odette’s spirit…
She didn’t feel the motherly vibe. Not just yet. Maybe she didn’t want to get attached to something connected with Linden. The pain of loss was hell. Not again, Odry wouldn’t survive it again.
After dinner Odry, as well as the rest of the troupe, went to bed exhausted. But unlike the others, Odry woke up from the sound of a gunshot. She didn’t scream anymore. Just opened her eyes to stare into the memory of Linden’s winter-blue eyes. She couldn’t cry anymore, though it hurt. It hurt like a blunt blade stabbing her heart. If she woke up at midnight, she heard quiet thumps and a kind of a whining. She knew the walls of this house were sound-proofed. She hardly ever heard the baby twins crying. But these nightly sounds meant only one thing - Bastille was torturing Gina in the basement. Yes, Gina was transported back to Vegas. Odry was disgusted by the situation; if she could hear the noises, those must’ve been loud.
***
“No, no, Linden, get back, don’t stand there! No… forgive me, please, forgive me…” Odry tossed in bed. A gunshot. She woke up. Oh, it was three o’clock - time to visit the bathroom and release her stomach from the remains of the healthy dinner Bastille made her eat. It happened every night.
I hate being pregnant… how do other women stand it?! It totally sucks… she pondered sitting on the bathroom floor.
Odry went to the kitchen for a glass of water. She stood by the counter listening; somebody was crying down below. The sound came through an air ventilation shaft. It wasn’t an animal’s whining; it was a human’s cry. And a heart-breaking one as well. Odry knew it was stupid, it was dangerous, Gina had attacked her once, but still she went to the basement. Of course, it was locked. Odry smirked to herself - Bastille had installed an electric code lock on the door. As if it could stop Odry. The crying came from the basement. This time Odry would be ready to protect herself. She put her hand on the panel of the lock. It gave a buzzing noise, the display died, and the door cracked open. It wasn’t completely dark. Bastille had installed a tiny night light for Gina. Odry crept down the stairs quietly, all her senses heightened, waiting for the attack. She didn’t have to. She saw a creature crouching on the cold concrete floor. There was a torn mattress, a closed plastic container of food and a plastic bottle of water lying near the creature. Odry had never heard anybody crying like that.
The creature looked up at her and scurried into the corner; she obviously thought it was Bastille coming into the basement.
“Hey, I will not hurt you!” Odry raiser her arms submissively, though she might as well use her powers to stop Gina, if she should attack. Odry saw - Gina was in her human form. A dirty, scarred girl, with traces of tears running down her dirty cheeks.
“Hey…. It will be okay! Hush hush! I… I don’t like what Bastille is doing to you,” Odry said quietly, whilst approaching the girl slowly. She flinched at Bastille’s name.
“No… no…” she shook her head frantically.
“I’m Odry…”
Gina tilted her head like an animal. She pointed at Odry’s chest.
“Nona… Nona…” Gina mumbled.
“Oh… yes, this is your Nona’s locket. Do you remember it?” Odry held out the little silver heart hung on the chain around her neck. She always wore it, ever since Mateo gave it to her.
Gina nodded slowly.
“Nona… good…”
“I want to help you, Gina, but I don’t know how…”
Gina pointed at the plastic container of food and the bottle.
“Help…” she cried desperately and looked at her own palms.
“You can’t open it, can you? And Bastille left it all closed so you would stay in your human form and open it,” Odry sighed heavily and shook her head. It was cruel.
“Help… “Gina whispered and pointed at the food.
“Did Bastille keep you hungry all day?”
Gina closed her eyes. Odry’s heart broke, how pathetic was this whole situation! Bastille out-did his own cruelty. She felt a strange warm feeling overwhelming her; was this what they called the maternal instinct? She had to take care of Gina!
“I’ll help you, just stay in your human form and don’t bite me, okay? Let’s make a deal - I won’t let Bastille hurt you, but you must focus to keep the monster under control, okay?” Odry approached with her arms raised.
Gina nodded. Odry opened the plastic bottle and brought it closer to Gina’s lips. She stood on all four and gulped the water while Odry held the bottle. Poor girl wouldn’t stop until the bottle was empty.
“Easy, easy there!” said Odry. The look in Gina’s eyes was indescribable - it was gratitude beyond words. Odry slowly opened the food container all the while keeping eye-contact with Gina. She left it on the floor and stepped back. Gina grabbed it and gobbled the food up like a dog. Odry couldn’t bear to watch, tears rolled down her face.
Poor Gina. What has she gone through…
“I won’t let Bastille, or anybody hurt you! They lay one finger on you, I’ll…” Odry murmured gritting her teeth. Gina finished her meal, she smiled with her face covered with food leftovers, like a happy toddler. Odry smiled back still crying.
“You… good… like Nona…” Gina said pointing at the locket.
“ODRY GET BACK THIS INSTANT!” Bastille’s voice yelled from the top of the stairs. Gina transformed into a Wolf momentarily, growling at the sight of Bastille.
“No, Gina, don’t!” Odry yelled.
The monster roared and leaped at her. This time Odry knew what to do. She held out her hand. The she-wolf stopped in mid-air, held by some invisible power. Odry knew she can lift live beings as well as objects, she had done it with Rouge in their previous show. This time it was harder, the wolf resisted, it wiggled and shook, dangling in the air.
“Gina, I’ll put you down, but you must focus and turn back into your human form. Do you hear me? I will not let you attack me!” Odry’s voice was loud and stern. Odry made the animal fly down to the floor gently, then she released it. And Gina listened. She turned back into a girl, though Odry saw how hard she tried to hold back the animal in her, especially at the sight of Bastille.
Odry went back to the stairs slowly, facing Gina.
“I will not hurt you, Gina. And I won’t let Bastille hurt you ever again!”
“Nona… Nona…” Gina said quietly, holding her hand on her heart. Gina’s eyes still bore the notion of enormous gratitude within them.
“Go to sleep Gina, I’ll come tomorrow,” Odry said and pushed Bastille up the stairs.
He closed and locked the door. It had a physical key in case the electric lock would break. Before he knew it, Odry user her powers to rip the key out of Bastille’s hand.
“And I’ll keep my promise! I don’t know if anybody has ever told you, but your training techniques suck, Bastille!” she scolded the circus director. He stared at Odry hatefully for a long while, squinting his cold, blue eyes. She swallowed hard.
This will not be good…
“Hm…. “he grunted and smiled cunningly, “maybe you’re right. Well, Odry, as mad as it may seem, I’ll let you step into my shoes. And I know just how we’ll do it,” his smile widened.
Poor Gina, I'm happy that Odry stepped in!