Chapter 10 - The Stationary

In every state, there is a Stationary. Both the population and the rate of breeding are low. Finding a mortal to mate with used to take months, but a few years ago, the Model XZ was released, allowing dolls to be created specifically for the creation of Half-Bloods.

"Model XZ?"

"The process of putting mortals to sleep, for the purpose of creating human dolls."

"Like me."

We were silent for the remainder of the journey. He finally pulled the car to a stop outside a metal building, which was rectangular in shape.

There were two guards at the main doors. "Good Morning Alpha," and nodded to show me respect. They were obviously werewolves because they both had the same tattoos. It was as though they were unaware of my presence.

We strode through the automatic doors. Inside was just an elevator-filled corridor. I read over the buttons inside one of the elevators.
"Training grounds... cafeteria...main hall...offices...dormitories.."

Damon snapped, "Keep your mouth shut," and I was at a loss for words.

After pressing the office button, Damon bided his time till the doors reopened. As soon as they arrived, I peered along the lengthy, deserted hallway. There was no way out of The Stationary because everything was constructed of tightly bonded metal. There was one door at the extreme end of the hallway. Damon opened the door for himself without bothering to knock.

The thick man sitting behind a chair at the desk, pounding away at his thin computer screen, had a metal name tag that said Norman West. Upon seeing us, he got up. His white button-up was soaking fast, though I couldn't tell if he'd been sweating earlier too, or only at the sight of Damon.

"Alpha, I was unaware that you would be visiting today," he stumbled.

"Luke didn't call you?"

"He might have," he said, looking about inquisitively. "With all of the newborns lately, things have been a little busy here. Is this your doll? She is quite beautiful." I looked away, flushed. Naturally, Damon paid no attention.

"Are you still at 100 capacity?"

He said jokingly, "Hopefully 101 soon, right Alpha," and at last gave me a glance."It would be an honour to coach your Half-Blood when you do have one, "I sincerely hope you choose this site as we have an abundance of resources and some of the most skilled fighters in the country.

"Show me the Training Grounds."

His bulky frame was hurriedly taken out from behind the desk and he headed for the door. While we travelled to the Training Grounds, he held it open for us and muttered.
"We now call it the Arena, and we recently set up chairs so that parents may observe their Half-Bloods train. You can pick your chair, as each one has a name and number on it, or we can take care of everything for you."

We drew up to double doors that opened to a gallery and scores of burgundy chairs. I could see through the glass that it was a field with artificial grass that was a vibrant green color. There were about twenty meters of Half-Bloods underneath the screen. Three of their trainers were yelling at them from the walls as they lined up. I regarded the kids with shock. They were merely children, raised with the intention of killing themselves in battle.

"What are they saying?" questioned Damon.

When Norman pressed the button on the side of the window, the glass barrier was removed and the window started to roll sideways on its own. Now that we have unobstructed vision and hearing. "The trainers are about to send them into the woods. After eating breakfast about an hour ago, they normally run for a few hours to get their cardio out of the way and to build endurance. Following lunch, the training session starts."

"How old are they?" I asked. After pausing to give Damon a look as though he was asking for permission, Norman spoke when Damon did not.

"Three days ago, the oldest we have turned sixteen. It's impressive," he said, pointing a plump finger at a tall, well-built boy with a dark beard. "He's the fastest and the strongest in the class. He also happens to be Luke's half-blood; given how powerful beta-blood is, I can only imagine how spectacular an alpha-half-blood union will be. He was able to defeat our most skilled trainer last week."

"Says a lot about the trainer, to be tackled by a teenager," Damon snorted, and Norman's face turned crimson red, but he did not appear to have a counterargument.
Where the Half-Bloods stood, the walls were breaking away, and all of a sudden there was a path leading into the bright woods.

"Don't forget to click on your watches, we'll see you back here in three hours!" Said by one of the tall trainers. A man with thick hair who appeared to be twice the normal size.

"What are the watches?" Damon made a query.

"They track their speed and endurance with special sensors. The Half-Bloods' ranking is helpful to the trainers."

"And if one of them runs away?"

"The facility is surrounded by pure silver borders that stretch out to a radius of sixty miles—the most they can go before being shocked to death. They all understand that since they are all internally coded, we can always find out where they are."

I looked over at The Arena, where a couple was excitedly watching the field.

"Are those parents?" I responded, "Yes, some parents come in during training to monitor the progress of their Half-Blood."

"You mentioned that they are ranked?" Damon was back.

"Strongest to weakest, yes."

"Who is the weakest?"

A timid-looking child who had been engulfed by the crowd was pointed out by Norman with his wet and hairy index finger. He didn't look more than fifteen.
"Aww, poor little one, the nine-year-olds are stronger than him. Those are his parents" he said, pointing back across The Arena at the couple.

"Transfer the boy to Akbur Hills, let his weakness be made an example to the other Half-Bloods that it's not tolerated."

With my mouth hanging open, I looked at Damon and said, "You can't be serious."

"I thought I told you to keep your mouth shut."

"But sir, he's half a werewolf, he can't be in mortal prison, plus with a couple more years of training, I'm sure-"

"You mentioned that there are nine-year-olds better ranked than him, no?" With a bold glance, Damon met his gaze. He nodded nervously "So, you should treat him like a mortal since he's weak like one." We'll replace him shortly, so take him out."

I was staring at Damon with more hate on my face than I could control, and I couldn't help it. It was utterly wicked to sentence a helpless little child to a life in prison. Is there anyone more awful than him?
I studied everything I could about The Stationary for a few more hours. Norman gave us a tour of the entire facility, including the cafeteria and dorms. Rather than offering advice, Damon made demands.

"No need for desert, remove it from the menu, don't give them anything to look forward to but sleep...lights out at 9 instead of 11...monitor contact with parents."