11.

She watched him detach that safety shield away from his bare torso, the action causing an involuntary startle wrack throughout her body as her mind casually registered the fact that they were alone, and trapped within the metal confinement for an unknown period of time.

*There was nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide.*

She was practically at his mercy, their staggering difference in height and strength creating a certain unease constantly present within her, the history of their previous encounters only making her feel even more guarded, regardless of his last actions and words.

"S-so how long until we get there, t-to Proxima Centauri?" She nervously asked as she watched him approach, mildly flinching the moment his gloved hands landed on her shield to take it off.

"Precisely a week, in Earth time," He cooly answered, his galaxy eyes already following her every movement and reaction.

He slowly took a few retracting steps, allowing her the safe space her overwrought mind needed, immediately taking notice of the mildly decreasing rate of her heartbeat.

"A week? B-but how are we going to survive for a week? And what do you mean "Earth time"? Does time flow differently on Proxima Centauri? Can humans even survive on that planet? Do you even have air there? What are we going to eat? And where can we go anyway, after we land?" She abruptly started to fire questions at him like a machine gun, the BloodHound immediately realizing that he was bound to do a quick debrief and at least prepare her for what was about to come as soon as they'd landed on Laxian.

"This pod is stocked with nourishment supplies enough to last two weeks in Earth time, for two human beings," He began to answer,

"I am not human, I was specifically enhanced to survive for as long as I need to hence I do not necessarily need the food,"

"And yes, time does flow differently on Proxima Centauri. We have two suns but our planet is only gravitating around the first sun, Alpha B1. We do receive light from Alpha B2 as well, hence the days are longer and yes, you can survive there because our planet has the exact same density, chemical composition and atmosphere as Earth does. The only difference is that Laxian has a much cleaner atmosphere since laxians only use regenerative and non-harming resources.

And to answer your last question; we will have to safely land first, scout the terrain and then we will be able to come up with a plan," He tactically explained with a tilt of his head whilst gauging the girl's reaction.

"Any further questions?"

"Yes," She immediately replied, her mind fastly reminiscing every single little thing she had learned about the BloodHounds in her time with her beloved Tate.

*Oh how I miss you, popsie...*

She mentally mourned before she quickly recovered, and with a light shake of her head she timidly asked,

"Why do you keep talking about Laxian as if it were your home? Weren't you guys like, lab-created or something like that? I mean, how would you even know what's like there, on Laxian?"

She nervously bit her lip as she watched him seemingly ponder for a moment,

"That is a false information our leaders prefer to give your people because according to your people’s belief, the truth would be cruel and immoral.

And the truth is that BloodHounds, just like humans are conceived by laxian males and females. We are allowed to be born and live on our planet for a certain amount of time until duty calls.

I was developed same as a ten-year old human male when they took me away for enhancement and transportation,” His facial expression remained impassive as he explained, watching the girl’s features slowly morph with visible shock as she widely stared back at him.

“B-but the outbreak started only six years ago! T- I mean...Y-you...You cannot be sixteen, can you?” She lastly whispered that final sentence after a minute of incoherent babbling, the BloodHound’s galaxy eyes remaining trained on her.

“In human years, yes. We are administered serums for a rapid development, allowing us to reach maturity in the span of few Earth weeks,” He confirmed with a tilt of his head as he curiously watched the little human’s very expressive reactions, entirely failing to understand exactly what triggered them.

“So you’re all just...children?” She shakily whispered as she stared at the large and powerful-looking creature standing just a few steps away from her, a small and stray tear slipping from the corner of her eye as she thought about their parents, their stolen lives and the cruel things all BloodHounds must be enduring in those facilities on Earth.

“That is cruel and immoral,” She told him,

“I can’t imagine what your parents must’ve gone through when they lost you,”

“I mean who does that?” She vented out as she slipped from her seat and started pacing around as a million thoughts raced through her mind.

“What kind of sick and twisted leadership does that to their own people? I thought that ours is shitty but man, yours take the crown,”

“That is seriously fucked-up,” She mumbled out as she continued to pace around, the BloodHound only watching her with a certain hint of worry as his senses immediately detected that spike in her adrenaline and cortisol levels.

“How could they be so mean?” She whined, small salty beads of liquid already trailing down her cheeks.

“I’m so sorry for what happened to you, Emerick,” She whispered as she timidly approached him, careful not to step too close as she regarded him with such sadness.

He could not even fathom why, yet he did not question it.

Instead, he remained silent and allowed her to express her feelings as from what he had learned about humans, that seemed to always be the most effective way to form a some sort of relationship with one another.

And he definitely needed it, that certain type of bond since it was the key to their survival.