Chapter 155 - White Queen: Into The Swamps arc (10)

Back at the Alpha base in zone 4...

In the darkness of her chamber, Amanda was standing in front of a brightly lit screen, the same which Arnold had used a few hours ago, wearing nothing but a nightgown which couldn't hold her ample beauty. She was talking to someone, someone under her authority. The person on the other side of the screen was walking her through what happened to Elena and the White Family during the trial.

"As a result, most of us had to move to other families to lower their suspicion on us as well as to carry on our experiments in secret. We're ashamed to have to abandon the family which your highness made, but we had no other choice. To fulfil your will, we'll do whatever they'd necessary." The man, known as Ashen Claw finished explaining Amanda about everything that happened in her absence.

"No need to apologise Ashen. I know you only did what was necessary to protect our future. If there's anyone who should be ashamed of anything, it's Elena. That fcking idiot!" Amanda cursed under her breath, "She had one job, ONE JOB! But she just had to ruin it. All I wanted her to do was to keep the Black Family off our backs but instead, she led them right to us, she even involved Devon in it and now he's refusing to help us anymore. Does anyone else knows about what we are doing with the beast crystals?"

"Apart from the scientists and a few others, no one knows anything." Ashen replied.

"Good... and what's the progress with the experimentation? Have there been any breakthroughs?" Amanda asked back, before pulling a chair to sit, crossing her legs one over the other.

"..."

"Didn't I ask you something?" Amanda repeated herself, "Have you made any progress at successfully duplicating the monster gene to make inhumans that we could use?"

"We-we did, but-"

"What happened now? Another failure?" She said, her impatience growing even more.

"No... it was a success. We managed to turn the test subject into a fully functional beast as well but then-"

"Don't trickle truth me, Ashen." Amanda shook her head in disappointment, "Tell me whatever happened there and tell me right now. You already know what will happen if you don't."

Ashen gulped down his saliva, his mistress wanted to know the truth, something he couldn't tell her, but he also knew what happened to those who went against her. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place, he felt like a pig raised to be slaughtered, and no matter what he did that was his destiny.

"...we underestimated him, and failed to restrain him... in short, he got away after injuring more than a dozen guards and researchers while killing five people as well. He probably killed someone or maybe killed a few people after escaping into the forest because the Blacks were actively searching the area around our lab. Thankfully they couldn't find anything but we can that assume the test subject was killed and confiscated by them because they left soon afterwards. People still think this is a haunted place and the laboratory wasn't discovered by the Black Family, so we can still carry on with the experiments."

The room was shrouded in silence afterwards, none of them said anything. Ashen knew he screwed up by allowing the test subject to run away as well as he allowed them to take his corpse along with them.

Amanda wasn't someone who was known for forgiving those who made mistakes. Even though he wasn't in the same room as her, he could almost feel her anger. Her anger would come like steam, burning her on the way out, while also burning the one on the receiving end. There was only one rule for the people under her command, 'Those who mess up, have to die' and Ashen knew it all too well, but never in a hundred years had he thought he'd be on the receiving end of her rage.

"I see... you did well. At least they still don't know about the labs so that's good. However, don't take any risks and carry out the experiments with as little interference as you can." Despite her demeanour, Amanda replied in a calm voice.

"I would disappoint you, your highness." Ashen immediately bowed down, unable to believe his luck, someone like his mistress forgave him!

"Focus on making as many Inhumans as you can. Once that's done, we'll put an end to the pain in the butt called the Black Family." She continued, "But until then, maintain your cover and try not to gain unnecessary attention from anyone."

"You don't-"

"Don't worry about it, your highness, it will be done." Another man's voice echoed through the room.

Ashen sharply looked at the person who had been serving him as his right-hand man. His younger brother, named Dave Claw.

'Just what is he trying to do! He'll make her lose her shit!' Ashen thought and turned his head towards him.

"What are you doing? Do you want us all to get killed?" He whispered, but Claw simply ignored him and kept looking towards the screen. This confused the heck out of Ashen. Just what was going on there?

"I know you wouldn't, Mr?" Amanda asked.

"Dave Claw, ma'am." Claw replied, "My brother, Ashen Claw, was the head of your security as well as in-charge of the RnD division before he had to unexpectedly retire."

"Wait! What are you talking about? I haven't retired, I'm still here to serve her highness-" Ashen tried to interject but Amanda continued her conversation with his brother as if she didn't even hear him.

"Ah, yes. Now I remember. He was a good guy, he even put his life on the line to protect me quite a few times, not that it matters but, what is he doing nowadays?"

"Eating beast crystals." Claw replied, without a hint of remorse in his voice.

"I'm saddened to hear that, guess he wasn't ready to adapt to my law, but you do remember the law don't you, Claw?" She asked in her sweet yet menacing voice.

"Those who mess up, have to die." Claw replied.

It wasn't until then did Ashen realise, his fate had already been sealed. He was the next test subject for them, and nothing else. Once someone was set to become a test subject, they lost their identity. No one was allowed to acknowledge their presence as humans, they were just test subjects, nothing more, nothing less. That's why Claw and everyone else present in the room was ignoring Ashen no matter how loud he yelled. He simply didn't exist for them anymore. This was the authority of the one referred to as the White Queen, had.

But he wasn't going to allow her or anyone else to do as they pleased with him. He was alive, he existed, and no one would take that away from him.

"I won't allow you to do this to me!" He yelled and charged at his brother who didn't even turn to face him and kept looking at the screen in front of him.

'Please don't turn towards me Claw... or your end would be the same as mine.'

Ashen drew his energy sword and charged at him, seemingly ready to kill if necessary. He barely took a step in Claw's direction before the locket around his neck started glowing and he froze on his spot. Something was restricting his movement. His energy sword dropped from his grasp, he was forcefully turned to face the Amanda, before being slammed into the wall. His hands stretched wide to the sides.

"Can't you see people are talking here?" Amanda mumbled, her eyes were glowing white, "Can't you see, *I'm* the one talking here? You're nothing and no one cares about 'nothing'. Know your place, and stop thinking about yourself as a human or else..."

All of a sudden, the locket having the family insignia on it, started contracting around his neck. Getting tighter and tighter by the moment. He started suffocating but he couldn't do anything about it, he was pinned down on a wall, he couldn't move his body, he couldn't shout, he couldn't even struggle to free himself from the White Queen's grasp.

A few seconds later the pupil of his eyes started to disappear along with the light in front of his eyes and his mouth wide open, hoping to get some air through it. But it was all in vain.

Although he was in the brink of death, and panicking on the outside. On the inside, he was happy. Dying like this was much better than being forced to turn into a man-made monster.

'It all went according to plan, I guess...'

He wasn't foolish enough to attack his brother and everyone that head-on. It was all an act in hopes of dying at the hands of his men, while he was still human rather than dying as a monster. He also knew his brother was crying on the inside but he dare not show it to anyone else, otherwise, his fate would be the same as Ashen's.

'One day you'll die an even more gruesome death than me... White Queen... just you wait.' A smile left Ashen's mouth in his last moments, 'Just... you... wait...'