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It was dark in the Box and Zèon was waiting, patiently, and lying face up in his bed. The ceiling was barely visible in that half-light, but the arctic fox kept his eyes fixed on it, trying to allow time to pass... the quicker the better.

He couldn't stop thinking about what he had done and guilt filled his heart. Believing that his plan would be infallible, he had used Ike to make him stand by his side in the flight plans he shared with Luca. He had thought he understood how the lion would react when he told him what he knew... but there was a factor he had absolutely forgotten, something he hadn't thought about.

Love. The fascination that Ike felt towards him had prevented him from understanding what he had told him.

Maybe for someone more experienced that him in those matters, that detail wouldn't have been ignored when planning something as mean and risky as what Zèon had carried out. However, the arctic fox had never been able to fall in love with someone... or know that someone was in love with him. All he knew about love was based in what he had heard the cooks of his palace whisper about, and in the few mentions of it he had listened in the refugee camp, where people was too busy with other issues in order to fall in love.

Zèon whispered, closing his eyes. Love was something weird. It couldn't be rationalized, or understood. Sometimes, it made people do things that didn't follow any logic pattern, things that no one would have ever done. Like that time he had decided to intervene between Koi and Camus, the day he had been punished. That was a different kind of love, different from what Ike felt for him, but Zèon believed that they were born from the same source. And still, it was a complete mystery for him.

Love could make some people do crazy things. It could make that the most rational people lost their minds. It could start wars... and it could also stop them. Silently, the arctic fox wondered if he would ever experience the touch of that double-edged sword. He couldn't derive a conclusive answer.

Then, he perceived a little movement at the other side of the room. He immediately understood that Luca had decided that it was time to take action and sat up on his bed.

In the middle of that half-light, the wolf's reddish gaze made contact with his ice-like blue eyes.

Both nodded almost imperceptibly.

After cleaning himself in a lake of fresh and crystalline water in order to get rid of the dirt and the odor of manure, Zèon had taken some clothes that Luca had searched for him and had dressed, under the wolf's vigilant gaze. He had noticed that he had seen the mark in his waist, but none of them said anything about it. When the sun started to set, the arctic fox didn't hesitate to follow the wolf across the forest, towards the place that would be his home for the next years.

In the refugee camp of Hawthorn Woods everyone had a task to perform. The strong ones patrolled the zone, protecting the refugees from any possible fehlar attack. The weak ones, or those who had been injured in the war and weren't in their best physical condition, performed maintenance tasks, such as preparing the meals or reinforcing the precarious tents everyone slept in.

Those who didn't belong to any of those groups, like Luca and Zèon, were collectors. They went out every morning in search of water, food and sometimes also wood. They didn't use it as firewood, however. After all, everyone was still too afraid of being found by the fehlar.

Later, Luca introduced him to his family. The wolf had escaped with them from the eastern region of Silverback, where the fehlar invasion had took them by surprise. It was practically a miracle that they were alive and, still, Luca had lost his father and two of his brothers during the flight. Now he lived with his mother, his two sisters and his little brother, trying to rebuild in that little camp the life that the war had taken away from them.

Zèon was immediately welcomed by the family of wolves. And, however, he couldn't got used to be there. Even though Luca's family tried so hard to make him feel like he was in the right place, Zèon couldn't help but think that he had lost the place where he really belonged. Luca's mother wasn't his mother and the wolf's siblings weren't his, although they wanted him to feel like that. But in fact, he only felt like the lost piece of a puzzle.

The only one he could really feel connected to was Luca. He was paired with the wolf almost immediately as a collector and each morning they went outside the camp looking for food and water. The arctic fox would watch Luca's cautious movements, walking behind the wolf, who moved forward among the trees without being noticed or heard. He didn't trip with the roots, nor rubbed the bushes, nor left footprints behind. There, he seemed a forest spirit: free and intangible, moving with the wind.

Zèon learned how to keep up with his pace: learned how to silence his steps and to camouflage into the woods. He sharpened his ear and learned how to recognize not only animal's prints, but also those that belonged to the fehlar. In those incursions, they had to be careful not to come across any of them, since that would have meant not only their end, but also the end of the whole camp.

Luca never taught him anything, however. At first, when Zèon walked against the dry leaves making too much noise, he didn't even reprimand him for attracting so much attention. He simply gave him a warning glance without saying a word, and then moved forward. Zèon understood what he meant and immediately slowed his pace and tried to distribute differently the weight in his foot paws, trying to make less noise. He looked at Luca and tried to understand how he did things, and why he did them that way. With time, he learned to move the way the wolf did.

Free, intangible. Like a forest spirit.

That night, in the Box, both demonstrated that they hadn't forgotten that particular way of moving. Silent as shadows, both slipped through darkness like a breath of ghostly air. Zèon could listen to the wolf's soft breathing and even his slow heart beats. He was aware that, in spite of the danger that what they were doing implied, Luca was calm and he wasn't sure whether that calmed or worried himself.

Zèon had deduced that Sophia didn't guard the center at night. It would be absurd to do so, taking into account that with the drug she put in their food she made sure they wouldn't go out to explore. However, that was only a theory, and the arctic fox wasn't sure if it was worth risking for it.

But Luca seemed to have decided to run the risk. And that touched Zèon, but also worried him. If things didn't turn out as they thought they would, he would be the only one to blame. Even though Luca wouldn't blame him for it.

So, as much as he tried, he couldn't slow down his nervous heart beats. He knew that there was a lot at stake.

Both went out of their bedroom, closing carefully the door behind them and entering the long corridor that led to the bathrooms if they turned right and to the hall if they turned left. After a few seconds hesitating, both of them decided to go to the hall, resuming that quick but discrete way of moving. Their bare foot paws barely made any noise when walking on the metal floor.

Zèon moved behind Luca, as he had always done. There was something in that position that made him felt somewhat safe. In the past, they had never had any trouble when they had gone hunting like that: it was reasonable to believe that at that moment they wouldn't have any either. Zèon clung to that intuition and decided to keep moving, as stealthily as possible.

It was then when Luca's ears perked up and the wolf suddenly stopped in the place. Zèon did the same: he also thought he had listened something in the corridor, although he wouldn't have been able to say where it came from, since the large metallic walls of the corridor cause echoing and it wasn't easy to find the source of the noise. However, after a few seconds they exchanged glances and started moving again. That noise could have perfectly been made by someone moving around in his bed and none of them were willing to waste their time with something like that.

They finally got to the hall. Under the dim light of the long bulbs in the ceiling, the large room was plunged into a worrying half-light. The outlines of the chairs and the tables produced shadows that seemed to come alive in the middle of darkness, as if they belonged to living beings instead of simple objects. The silence was complete now they had got away from the bedrooms and couldn't hear the weak snores of the residents that were sleeping at that hour.

For the moment, there wasn't any guard to be seen, and Zèon felt relieved... but not completely. He still had the vague suspicion that although the drug kept every kane and fehlar asleep in the building, it wasn't enough for Sophia. There had to be something more, another way of controlling them that didn't have to do with what they ate, but... what?

In spite of Sophia never being present, Zèon was sure that she could watch all their moves and listen to all their conversations. Sometimes he wondered if that belief could be a paranoid reflection of the fear that woman inspired him. Just in case, he had been acting as if she could be aware of any of his actions. And, so far, everything had turned out right.

Whether Sophia's omniscience was real or not, Zèon doubted that the hall wasn't guarded somehow. That was why, while slowly walking besides Luca, he couldn't stop glancing at every single corner, trying to find something that could betray them. He didn't spot anything, but this only made him feel even more nervous.

Then, both arrived to the big glass door and stopped right in front of it.

Zèon gulped, remembering the day that Adam had been taken through these same doors and a part of him had got trapped there forever. There was something about that place, the access to the true heart of the Box, that had always given him chills, although he wouldn't have been able to say what.

From their position, they could barely see a long corridor that seemed to extend to infinity, in whose sides there were some metallic doors, similar to those leading to their bedrooms. Zèon deduced that those should be the bedrooms of all those who worked in the Box: not only the guards, but also those in charge of maintenance tasks. If there was something beyond that corridor... he could only imagine.

Luca made a signal for him to get closer and the arctic fox did as told, although he still felt a bit nervous. The wolf placed both paws on the glass door, feeling it, and Zèon shuddered. That didn't give him good vibrations, in spite of the fact that Luca seemed so calm and relaxed.

Then, to their surprise, the glass door opened.

Zèon's fur stood on end and he gave a terrified gaze to Luca, who turned to look at him a bit alarmed. A few instants of silence went by before the arctic fox understood the meaning of that mute gaze.

<<I'm going in there>> the wolf's eyes seemed to say.

<<Don't do it. It's a trap>> Zèon begged, with a shadow of true fear in the back of his eyes.

<<I will just take a look. I will come out before anything bad happens. Don't worry>>.

Zèon was about to contain him by his side, but he understood that he would never convince him to stay there. At heart, he could understand Luca's feelings: they had been so much time trapped in there, so many months without even dreaming of any escape possibility, that the fact that they had found that open door was something worth risking for. Besides, if they hadn't been arrested until that moment, nothing implied it was happening at that moment. And still, why did he had that horrible feeling that something bad was about to happen?

Luca moved away from him and walked through the glass door, which was half-open, without even grazing it. After a few instants of hesitation, Zèon decided to follow him, with his heart beating strongly in his chest and a cold sweat covering his forehead. He went through the overture that Luca had left in the opened glass door and entered after him, deciding to go after him wherever he went. He wasn't sure what they could find inside that place, but he knew that whatever it was they would face it better together.

He joined Luca a bit further. The wolf gave him a rushed look, like trying to tell him that it wasn't necessary that he followed him. Zèon was about to make him understand that he would have followed him to the edge of the world when a loud crack attracted his attention and made him shiver.

After a few seconds of cautious silence, both turned on their heels and looked to the glass door behind them. A shiver of true terror went through Zèon's spine when he found out that it had closed on its own, leaving them trapped in that corridor.

Unable to move due to his fear, the arctic fox was barely conscious of the wolf moving quickly towards the door, putting one of his paws on the knob and trying to open it again, in vain. Something inside Zèon understood too late that he had been right from the beginning and everything had been a simple trap orchestrated by Sophia.

He couldn't comprehend how, but she had known from the very first moment everything they wanted to do. She had played with them as she had wanted. After all that time fighting to find a way out of there, a plan to escape from that place without Sophia noticing, reality proved that they had been watched from the beginning.

Zèon felt as if the ground moved under his feet, as an overwhelming sensation of failure fell over him.

It was then when both of them heard someone clearing his throat behind them and they turned again, startled. The doors of the first bedrooms in the corridor had opened and from them, five figures had emerged. One of them, slightly stooped over, looked at them with a patch in his right eye.

-Good night -Camus greeted them, with a grim smile -. You couldn't sleep?

That was such a surrealistic scene that, for a few seconds, Zèon was totally unable to react. In front of him, Camus gave him a sarcastic look, as if he took delight in having caught them in the middle of that little incursion. The arctic fox was sure that he still wanted to take revenge for what had happened a few weeks before in the hall...

-Take them -the man said them, with a gesture of his chin.

The men behind him stepped forward towards the two kane, without showing the most minimal expression in their faces. They didn't seem to have good intentions and Zèon deduced that if they caught them, they wouldn't have any possibility.

However, he still felt unable to move even a single step. Fear, disappointment and that horrible sensation of failure seemed to have taken over him indefinitely. The memory of that electric whip that hanged from Camus' waist crossed his mind and made him shiver. That couldn't be happening again...

-Zèon! -he heard Luca's voice then, taking him back to reality.

It was like if someone had poured a jar of water over his head. Immediately, the arctic fox raised his head and spotted two of the four men that had arrived with Camus, going towards him.

He couldn't let them catch him again. And for that reason, he wouldn't make it easy on them.

-Now! -the wolf exclaimed, behind him, although Zèon didn't need any indication.

He had already discovered a gap through which he could slip away, but if he wanted to do it he would have to move at that very moment.

The arctic fox frowned and lunged towards the nearer guard, that didn't seem to be surprised by that maneuver. Zèon could almost see how the muscles in the man's right arm flexed under that unbreakable clothe he wore, and perceived how his fingers opened willing to close around his neck.

But Zèon was faster. With an elegant feint, he hurried up and ran through the space between the metallic wall of the corridor and the left arm of the guard, hoping that the man wasn't left-handed. He saw him react out of the corner of his eye; but the guard wasn't fast enough and the long fox' tail slipped through his fingers. The man's hand closed in the air, but Zèon simply was no longer there.

Before the second guard that was now in front of him even realized what was happening, Zèon started to run towards him. He heard a shriek of frustration behind him and perceived some quick steps that should belong to Luca, who surely was trying to escape as well. He wished him luck inwardly and then he ducked and put a paw in the floor, making a quick turn in the last moment and confounding the guard he had been facing. He slid across the floor, passing near one of the confused man's legs, and stood up as soon as he moved away from him a few steps.

He hadn't even planned what he would do when he finally faced Camus but, fortunately for him, he didn't need it. The man just looked at him, turning in the last second and reaching out with a deformed hand to him, too late. Zèon understood that Camus' hunchbacked body greatly limited his moves. That could become a huge advantage for them.

After avoiding Camus, the arctic fox found a totally clear corridor in front of him and didn't hesitate to run. He didn't need to look back to know that Luca had also managed to dodge the guards and was running after him. None of them knew where that corridor would bring them, but in those moments they couldn't afford to be very selective. Anything they found ahead would be better than what they were leaving behind.

Ignoring Camus' shouts and curses at their backs, both continued with that frenetic race in the middle of the night, without stopping for a second. The adrenaline, the fear and the desperate physical strain made Zèon remember a similar situation that had taken place some years ago: the terrible flight from his last owner. It seemed like that had happened centuries ago, but history repeated itself.

The corridor wasn't as long as they had first believed, and it didn't take them much to reach its end and turn to right quickly, without looking back or wondering where it would lead to. Almost immediately, they found a narrow metal spiral staircase which led up and down.

Zèon gulped and turned to Luca, feeling a knot in his stomach when he guessed what he was about to tell him:

-I go up... and you go down -the wolf groaned, trying to catch his breath.

-No! -Zèon exclaimed, rebelling against the idea of separating from him -. If they catch us...

-If we go together and they catch us, we'll be lost -Luca explained hastily -. But if we go in separate ways, we'll have more chances to escape. You know that better than me, Zèon. One of us has to escape.

<<Yes>> the arctic fox thought, with his heart in his throat <<The most logical choose would be to follow different paths. But I don't want>>. If that situation was already too scary with Luca by his side, he didn't want to imagine how it would be to face it without the protective shadow of the wolf.

However, he wasn't given a choice. Luca pushed him insistently towards the descending staircase while he started to go up, so fast that it was hard for Zèon to follow him with his eyes. He wanted to scream his name, but then he stumbled over the first rung and was about to fall down stairs. He finally managed to regain his balance and started to go down taking advantage of the impulse of the fall, jumping three rugs with each step as he twirled around that awful spiral staircase.

He wouldn't have been able to say how much time he was going down and spinning without stop, until finally the staircase led into another long corridor. There was only one door at the end and Zèon began running towards it, awkwardly. However, he had to stop a few steps after, because he was feeling dizzy due to the many turns of the staircase.

He put his paws on his knees and stopped for a few seconds to catch his breath, still with his heart beating strongly in his chest. He pricked up his ears and could hear some steps getting away from him, at his back. He deduced that the guards had chosen to go up the staircase and contained a curse. They were going after Luca.

After a while he managed to calm down and get his breathing back to its normal rhythm. He gave a look to the door he had in front of him, which was the only way out of that corridor, except the staircase he had come from. He tried to sort out his thoughts.

They had entered an area of the Box that until that moment had been forbidden to them. But Sophia had anticipated their intentions and had placed Camus in the entrance so he waited for them there and catch them. Then, that man's incompetence had allowed them to escape and there was still a little chance they could leave that place.

-If you are thinking you can leave this place you are very wrong, Lagopus Z -a voice echoed in the corridor, interrupting the flow of his thoughts.

The arctic fox startled when he recognized Sophia's voice and turned around, looking desperately for her. He found the corridor as empty as the last time he had looked.

-Don't be fool. I don't need to be there for you to listen to me.

Zèon calmed a bit. Listening to Sophia's voice still made him shiver; but on the other hand, knowing that she was far enough to turn to remotely communicating with him made him feel less threatened. Trying not to make the slightest noise, he began moving towards the door, stealthily.

-I don't need to be there to see you either, so you can leave your absurd attempts to go unnoticed for another situation in which they are more useful for you.

Zèon let out a resigned sigh and began walking towards the door at a normal pace. Silently, he told himself that, after all, the woman's voice was only that: a voice. He didn't have to be afraid of her as long as he didn't get to the source it came from.

However, how Sophia managed to know everything that happened in the Box was still a mystery for him. Similarly, he couldn't understand how she could be talking to him without even being in the same room as him.

-I must also let you know that when Lupus L and you took different ways in the staircase, you took the bad decision -the voice continued, unaware of Zèon's thoughts -. This way has no exit. At this moment, you are twenty-three meters underground. Lupus L, however, headed to the exit of the building... but I really doubt he can even glance at the exit door.

A wave of relief washed over the arctic fox when he heard those words. Maybe Luca had a chance of saving himself after all.

However, after a few seconds, he shook his head and decided that it was unlikely. Not that Luca could escape, but that Sophia was telling him the truth.

-What do you want? -he asked her. His voice sounded a bit afraid -. Why are you talking to me?

-I know you are intelligent, Lagopus Z. Maybe not sensible, but you know how to evaluate the situation you find yourself in. And at this moment, you are not in a good situation. That's something you should have already found out -Sophia's voice explained. His metallic and cold echo resounded in the walls, creating ghostly dissonances -. I want you to stop this nonsense escape plan and meet me immediately at the control center.

-If you know me so well, you should already know why I am not going to obey you -Zèon replied, containing a gesture of weariness. One of his paws closed around the door's handle, wondering whether he should open it or not.

-I knew you would answer something like that. -The voice remained calm for a few seconds of silence. Zèon waited tense, by the door, for her to keep talking -. You are too proud, Lagopus Z. And I can assure you, that pride will take a toll in the future. You'll see, currently I don't have the means to persuade you that following my orders is the best option, but believe me... I'll find a way.

The arctic fox opened the door, thinking he had already listened enough. However, one last advertence of Sophia's voice made him stand still:

-I won't hear or see you if you cross that door, Lagopus Z.

Zèon tilted his head.

-All the better.

-I thought you would want to know it. I really hope you reflect a bit on your... priorities.

The last word got lost in the echo of that metallic corridor, with a gloomy whisper that made Zèon shiver. Immediately after, the artic fox went through the door and gave a long look around trying to guess where it led to. It was another corridor, although this one was markedly different from the previous one. Although all the walls in the Box seemed to be made of metal, those of that corridor weren't made of that material. In any case, they seemed to be built with a mixture of clay and rock, giving it the look of a tunnel more than a corridor. In the ceiling, some weak lights similar to those in the rest of the building blinked, agonizing, making that tunnel seem even less welcoming than it already was.

Zèon sighed. He couldn't afford to be afraid. But, on the other hand, Sophia had told him that there wasn't any way out there. Was she trying to make him give up, to get him away from the real exit? <<That's the most likely option>> he told himself. However, he couldn't help but hesitate. After all, until that moment Sophia had never lied to him... although she hadn't given him reasons to trust her either.

Finally, he decided to risk finding out by himself. He entered that scary tunnel and started walking slowly, afraid that the walls would collapse over him with any sudden movement. That place seemed really abandoned and Zèon thought that maybe after all Sophia was right and it didn't lead anywhere. But if that was true, if he had chosen the wrong way as she had said, he needed to find out. He soon spotted another door at the end of the tunnel and went towards it, eager to go out of that corridor that seemed to be about to collapse as soon as possible.

The door was locked with a bolt. It took Zèon a few seconds to unlock it, since the bolt was rusty and it would get stuck, but he finally managed to move it and heard an unpleasant screech. The door opened in front of him, leading to a dirty, rickety room, whose walls seemed to be made of clay too... but no; they were made of such a rusty metal that it almost seemed clay under that illumination.

Zèon came in, hesitant, and looked around. Although he had always thought that the Box was as clean and ordered as a prison could be, that room was all the opposite. The floor was full of papers, splinters and other materials that Zèon couldn't identify. Some rows of something similar to tables (Zèon deduced they were desks because of their extended shape) could be found in the room, although some of them remained without a leg or directly broken. There were also some shelves, drawers and bookshelves that had the same old, eaten away aspect. The only light in the room came from a bulb in the ceiling, which swung slowly back and forth creating strange shadows under the tables. The dirt and the abandonment could be breathed in the air, in the form of a layer of dust that was about to make Zèon sneeze.

What could that room had been used for? Zèon would have expected to find a warehouse or something like that in the basement of the Box, but that room didn't exactly seem to have that function. The only thing clear enough was that, whatever that room had been used for, it had happened long ago... maybe, even some years.

That brought a new question to Zèon's mind: how old was the Box? When had that prison been built and until when did humans plan to keep them prisoners? The arctic fox shook his head, frustrated. He knew he couldn't answer those questions by himself. Instead, he turned around trying to find a way out of that room. He found out that, indeed, there wasn't any other door. He shivered when he understood that Sophia had told him the truth. <<But that means that maybe Luca has some chance to escape>> he though, trying to comfort himself.

At that very moment, he heard a noise that came from the tunnel and blood froze in his veins. The echo of someone limping reached clearly his ears. Zèon thought he knew who those steps belonged to, but in case he still had any doubt, his fears were confirmed immediately after.

-Z? Z, are you there? -It was Camus' voice -. I don't need you to answer. I know where you hide.

A chill of horror went down Zèon's spine. He would have sworn that all his pursuers had gone upstairs after Luca, but it seemed that Camus had separated from them exclusively for going in his search. The arctic fox knew that that man wanted to take revenge for what had happened the day he had attacked him and something told him that he wasn't going to have much consideration with him. If until that moment Camus hadn't got his revenge it was probably because Sophia hadn't let him.

Then, the arctic fox remembered the words that the woman had said a few minutes before. << I really hope you reflect a bit on your... priorities>> she had said. Zèon gulped and comprehended that when he had entered that tunnel he had hidden from Sophia's gaze, but on the opposite was more vulnerable than ever to Camus. An armed human who felt a terrible hatred towards him.

And he was in that room. Alone, isolated... and perfectly defenseless for Camus, who would have at least the vengeance he craved.

-Now that little witch isn't here to defend you, I'll make sure you pay for the eye you took from me -the man muttered, with a voice that seemed like poison. His steps got closer and closer in the tunnel, rebounding on its clay walls.

Zèon looked around, desperate, trying to find a place to hide. His eyes fell on the row of desks near him and he wondered if he would go unnoticed hiding under one of them. He was about to try when one of his foot paws tangled with something and he was about to fall.

-Ha! -Camus exclaimed triumphantly, when he heard the racket -. I knew you were there!

His steps sped up but still Zèon knew that he had some seconds before the man arrived to the room.

He tried to identify what he had tripped over with and found the end of an old rope. When he followed it with his gaze he discovered that it was connected to one of the bookcases in the room and a wild idea took shape in his mind. It was risky, but it was the only way he could escape from there.

He immediately hid under those desks, holding his breath, while he held with a paw the rope he had found.

-Well, well... it seems someone wants to play hide-and-seek -Camus laughed sardonically, entering that old room -. Very well, then. We'll play.

He had just finished that sentence when an electric buzz rose in the room and the light of the whip lit all its corners. Zèon shivered when he felt on the skin of his back the memory of that electric whip, which remained there since the last time he had tasted its fury.

-You are a coward, Z -the man muttered, walking around the room. The layer of remains rustled under his feet -. After daring to even touch me, you should have the guts to face me and look me in the eye like a man -he paused -. Although I guess that I'm overrating you. You are just another stupid animal!

<<Not again>> Zèon thought, jaded. It seemed that Vent wasn't the only who had that stupid necessity to compare them with animals.

-Yes, you are nothing more than an animal... And animals must know the place they belong! At the feet of man! -Camus exclaimed, with a shrill voice -. However much you fascinate that stupid Sophia, you are no more than vermin! Her fascination for you has made you forget the place you belong. But I will remind you of it... I will remind you...

The whip whistled through the air and fell quickly on a table near the entry, which immediately exploded in a cloud of splinters and dust. The man cursed when he found out that there was nothing under it.

-Where are you hiding, damn fox? -he asked, resuming his slow, irregular walking -. Let Camus see you.

Zèon shrank into himself under the other desk, trying not to make a single sound. He knew that if he surrendered to fear, he would lose the only way of escaping from there, and precisely for that he tried to remain calm. He only needed to wait for the right moment...

The whip fell over another table, lighting the room for some milliseconds before one of the tables next to Zèon broke into pieces. The fox had to struggle not to let out a scream due to that fright, but finally controlled himself and pricked up his ears trying to perceive the man's steps.

At that moment, Camus was just behind his table and he could even see his shoes. A little more... only a little more and he could try it. His paws closed desperately around the rope, as he closed his eyes. It had to work.

-You should come out already. You know you have no chance -the man continued, laughing raucously. His steps move a little towards the left and Zèon half-closed his eyes, a bit anxious -. As soon as I catch you, I promise I'll make you wish you weren't born... and then, I'll kill you. But not before you have broken your throat screaming in pain. I want that in the last moment of your life, the only thing you can think about is how stupid you were when you defied a human. I want you to remember the place you belong!

The whip whistled in the air again; that time, Zèon was sure that it was directed to the table under which he hid. However, Camus had already placed himself where he wanted him to be, and the fox pulled the rope, hoping it wouldn't break.

The bookcase that was connected with the rope creaked a bit and soon collapsed, falling under a terrified Camus, who let out a shriek of pain and frustration.

Zèon didn't lose a second and came out of his hiding place, circling the fallen bookcase and running desperately towards the door. He could see, in the middle of that sinister light, that the bookshelves had fallen on Camus' legs, immobilizing him, and that at that moment the human was letting out some hair-rising shouts of fury.

-Damn animal!! -he screamed, red with anger -. I'll kill you!!

Zèon didn't look back and kept running towards the exit, feeling the strong beats of his heart in his temples as he tried desperately to escape in time. He heard a new electric whistle behind him and tried to move faster, but he couldn't avoid a new whiplash, which Camus had managed to perform from the floor, cracked strongly against his back.

The arctic fox screamed in pain, feeling the discharge piercing through every single muscle of his body. He tripped over the rubble in the floor and fell forward, hitting his side with the corner of a desk and landing on his back. From under the bookcase, Camus looked at him with an unmanageable hatred, as he raised one of his arms in order to strike him again with the whip. Its electric shine was reflected in the pupils of the arctic fox.

In spite of the fact that his body was trembling painfully, Zèon managed to crawl backwards and avoid the second lash in the last moment. He barely found the strength to stand up and go out of the room. Then, he turned to the door and started pulling it outwards trying to close it, making such a great effort that he screamed again in pain when he felt that his body had simply reached its limits.

-Don't you dare to lock me in here!! -Camus shouted, preparing to attack again -. Don't you dare...!!

With a heavy sound, the door closed at last and the arctic fox, panting, rushed to lock it with the rusty bolt. It took him a few seconds to move it, but he finally managed to do it and listened with relief that screech that confirmed that the door could no longer be opened from inside. Some terrible shouts and threats could be heard inside the room, but Zèon did no longer listen to them.

He moved away from the door, as a cautious measure, and fell to the floor, trying to catch his breath and control his trembling. Besides, he needed to realize that, at least for once, he had managed to outsmart Camus.

When he had done all that and the pain he felt in his body started to fade away, the arctic fox stood up and began walking back awkwardly towards the most modern part of the Box. The way to the first corridor he had went through alone seemed eternal and, although he could still hear the horrible cries of the man he had left behind, the thing that frightened him the most was that those old walls collapsed on him.

He finally reached the door from which he had entered that tunnel and let out a relieved sigh when he saw the metal walls he had got used to, over the months he had been there. He rested his back in one of them feeling the cold biting his painful skin and then, exhausted, he thought that he would have never imagined he would have missed them so much.

-I see you have reconsidered my offer -he then heard Sophia's voice, from everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

Zèon would have sworn that this time there was a slight mocking tone in her voice, although the voice of that woman was in general so cold and devoid of emotion that he decided that he had probably imagined it.

-It still remains -the voice continued -. Meet me at the control center immediately, Lagopus Z.

-I may have found out that this corridor is a dead end -Zèon murmured, still gasping -, but that doesn't mean I'm going to surrender so easily.

-I guessed it.

The woman's voice made a tense pause that lasted for a few seconds that seemed eternal to Zèon. However, the fox couldn't help but think that he almost preferred Sophia's company than Camus'.

-I've found something that could help you take the right decision -the woman continued, gently -. I know you're curious, Zèon. I am, too. That is one of the many things we share -there was a new pause -. Meet me and I will tell you everything. The reason why you are trapped in here, how this place works... you might even get to know what happened to Vulpes A.

<<Adam>> Zèon thought, remembering all the questions that his surprising change of personality hid. He tilted his head. Sophia's offer was tempting, but he sensed that if he was being offered that it was because he had some chances to escape... or maybe not?

-I know that in this moment you are struggling between obeying or not, Lagopus Z -the woman's voice commented -. I'll help you make that process faster. We have Lupus L.

-Luca! -the arctic fox exclaimed, unable to control himself.

-Exactly -the voice confirmed, although Zèon didn't need it. Again, there was a pause that was about to make him lose his temper -. If you come here immediately, nothing will happen to him. If, on the other hand, you still refuse following my orders... I can't promise that Camus doesn't decide to turn his anger against him.

Zèon felt a chill. <<Luca...>> he thought, with his heart in his throat. He couldn't let him alone, in the hands of Sophia and Camus. Something inside him would have definitely died if something bad had happened to him. He needed to make sure that no one would hurt him... even if that meant to surrender himself.

-I see your decision is already taken -he heard Sophia's voice say. There was a subtle hint of satisfaction in his voice -. Now, go to the stairs. I will guide you to the control center.

Zèon gave up to the fact that he would have to obey, feeling a huge wave of disappointment inside him. <<All has been in vain>> he told himself, sad. He didn't know what was happening that night, but he was starting to feel as if everything was against the plans he and Luca had prepared for so long. They had tasted freedom... but hadn't been able to touch it.

After standing up, he began walking again through the endless corridors of that zone of the Box. He walked slowly, but Sophia didn't hurry him. After all, it wasn't necessary. The woman already knew that he was hers, that she had managed to trap him, and Zèon was also painfully conscious of that. That was why he complied and followed her orders, surprised that not even a guard stood on his way. The arctic fox wondered if Sophia had told them not to bother him so he could walk alone. Maybe she liked that it was him who gave himself to her voluntarily. For a few seconds, he almost considered trying to escape again, but that would have meant leaving Luca behind and that was something Zèon wasn't willing to do.

Finally, he stopped in front of a door that opened on its own when he walked near, as if moved by an invisible hand. Surprised at the beginning, Zèon soon pulled himself together and went through it, hesitantly. The room he found himself in was lit by a disturbing blue radiance, which seemed to invade the whole room giving it a strange luminescence. A soft buzz could be heard in the air, and it was only interrupted by the sound of the doors closing automatically at his back.

But Zèon barely noticed the doors closing. In the middle of the room, sitting on a chair with one leg crossed over the other and the reflection of those electric lights in her glasses, Sophia watched him with a cold half-smile.

-Welcome, Z -she said, simply.