side, the Outer Zone on the other. Behind him was the side of the mountain that they were traveling up. Looking up, way high, there was what appeared to be an outcrop which the tubes were coming through.
The closer that they got to the outcrop, the more nervous that Mathieu became. Up to this point, he had done his best to not think about his grandmother, but now he had to wonder. What kind of woman would she be? Would he be able to see himself in her? Had she really been the reason that his family didn't exist, now just an estranged father and son?
Solomon's eyes were on him, sharing his unwavering strength to soothe Mathieu's fears. In a way that words couldn't articulate, the blond was siphoning his nervousness and replacing it with calm, giving him the clarity to deal with the situation. He knew that he wasn't walking into this meeting as the damaged goods he was, or as the grandson who escaped. In this moment, he was a leader of a cause in need of a powerful ally. An ally he prayed they'd be granted.
The invasion was set to begin one week and one day from then as night fell. He had planned everything to be planned, trained everyone as much as they could be trained, and had drilled the invasion plan into the minds of the unit leaders unto they could recite it without hesitation. This meeting was the last pawn to be set on the board.
The lift rose through the outcrop's bottom and into a hollowed room. The wolf nosed at the grate until Solomon opened it, then it stepped onto the landing and shook out its fur. Several loud pops and bone-snapping cracks could be heard.
Mathieu's eyes looked for hidden people, but found none, his focus returning to the animal, just in time to see something that made his stomach chur. Where the dog has been was a man, a very naked man, on all fours. His face was twisted with pain and under his skin, Mathieu could see bones sliding to realign themselves. The popping and cracking didn't stop until the man was able to stand, nearly a foot taller than him. The change had taken less than a minute, but watching the man's spine connect back together had left him nauseated and swearing it'd taken an hour, at least.
"Son of Erik, Anastasie has waited for your return. Come. She will see you now." The mysterious man said. He had the same reddish hair as Erik and was covered in scars most likely caused by thick, sharp claws.
"You know me, but who are you?" Mathieu said, not moving an inch away from Solomon.
The man sighed and went to the corner of the room, rummaged around for a moment, then returned, dressed to the waist. "I am Banin, eldest brother of Erik, and your uncle."
Mathieu wasn't the least bit surprised with the man's identity, but he was quite thrown off about his sudden change. "Well then, Banin, take me to my grandmother, if you will." He swallowed his apprehension and took a step forward, Solomon just behind him.
Banin nodded and led them out of the room onto an open pathway. Mathieu dared not look over the edge towards the ground, instead letting his eyes wandered to the objects that were as high up as they were. The choices were limited.
Soon they were inside again, this time in a foyer. The architecture was modeled after the housing style before the split in Unith and Korinth, making everything look rather squat. There was barely enough height to the room for Banin to stand up straight. They move swiftly through the house, and the deeper they went in, the more wolves that Mathieu saw. Some were large like Banin and the first wolf had been, but others were smaller, closer to a normal size. The small breed also lacked the intelligence behind their eyes that the larger ones had.
"This is it." Banin said, coming to stop before an arched entryway. Just beyond, Mathieu could see two rows of statues, all of the same animal, in different poses: standing, sitting, laying, attacking.
He steeled his resolve and passes under the arch, walking with a confident stride to the area beyond the statues. There was a ring of chairs, three of them already occupied. Mathieu stepped into the circle and looked at those gathered: a woman in her thirties, a toddler in a booster seat, and a teenage boy.
"I'm