Is this destiny?

The helicopter owned by the Wang family arrived and landed on the clearing on the side of the poacher's base.

One person stepped out and demanded to see the token. Only when Sarah showed it, two people came out with a stretcher and strapped Master Hollow on it with utmost care.

"Take care.", Sarah told Aiden while gripping his hand.

"You too.", Aiden responded while struggling not to cling onto her and scream that she should not go.

Sarah wanted to plunge into his embrace, but she knew that the more they delay, the harder is to leave. She took a deep breath and let go of his hand.

Aiden watched the helicopter ascend and he didn't move until it was out of sight and the noise of the rotor was not heard anymore.

He balled his hands into fists and the last spec of warmth from his expression was gone.

"Continue releasing the animals.", Aiden spoke in icy tone. "The faster we finish, the sooner we leave."

Haru and Nala exchanged concerned glances and obeyed without a word. Their concern was about the change in Aiden's attitude. It was like a different personality came out of him the moment he was separated from Sarah. This Aiden was cold and dangerous. They didn't recognize this Aiden.

Bo, Souta, and Wing followed after Nala and Haru. The three of them were too worried about their Master to notice anything off with Aiden.

It took them more than two hours to release all the animals, and during that time, Aiden was beating up the poachers. He released them one by one and asked them to attack. After first three poachers ended up bloodied and unable to move, others didn't dare to attack Aiden, but that didn't stop him from beating them up.

How Aiden saw it, it's their fault that Sarah had to leave; because of them Sarah and he separated. And he will punish them all.

When all the cages were emptied from the animals, they dragged poachers into the cages and locked them in.

"Why are they messed up like this?", Souta asked Haru in a whisper.

Haru shook his head and gestured toward Aiden. "Don't ask."

When all the poachers were locked up, Haru noticed that Aiden looked a bit better. It seems that beating up bad guys helps. 

"What's next?", Nala asked Aiden.

Aiden reminded himself that all of them are tired. "Let's take a break and eat. After that we will dismantle the traps."

He went to the building with an office and went straight to the satellite phone.

"Hello?", Sarah responded cautiously.

Aiden smiled. "Hey…"

Sarah inhaled and held her breath when she realized that it's Aiden. And she knew that he wants to know her status. "I'm in the hospital, Master Hollow is in the surgery. How are you?"

"We cleaned up the base and are taking a break before tackling the traps.", he responded in a cheerful tone, like he is having fun. But he is not having fun, the temporary happiness was only because he was talking to Sarah.

Sarah praised him. "Good job. Did Kitty return?"

"I didn't see her.", Aiden admitted.

Sarah exhaled. "OK."

Aiden knew that Sarah is troubled. "I promise to look for her. And I will find her to make sure she is fine."

"Thanks.", Sarah responded, and Aiden was confident that she was smiling.

"Talk to me. I need to hear your voice.", Aiden demanded with longing like they didn't see (or hear) each other in a very long time.

"The pilot is not as good as you, the ride was bumpy, but we survived. Everyone is very respectful. They treated Master Hollow in the helicopter…"

Aiden listened to Sarah as she tried to recollect every detail from her trip and arrival to the hospital. He was happy to hear that a helicopter can land on the roof. If she does not return first, he will land directly there.

Eventually, they ended the call.

Aiden looked at the map where traps are marked with a goal to come up with the optimized order in which to get rid of them so that they can return as fast as possible and he can go and join Sarah.

As soon as he grasped all the markers on the map, he cursed under his breath. There are so many traps, and only six of them! It will take them more than a day, two days maybe. He wanted to leave everything here and return later with Sarah, but he promised her that he will take care of things here. And he also said that he will make sure that Kitty is fine, but he has no idea where to start.

Aiden buried his face in his palms and sighed.

After an unknown measure of time, Aiden lifted his head and frowned while listening carefully. If he imagined it the first two times, now he definitely confirmed that he heard faint whining. The sound came from the corner.

He slowly approached the corner and lifted a cloth that was covering up a cage with three black pups. They lined up in front of the door and shook their tails excitedly while their tongues were sticking out.

Aiden guessed that the pups were sleeping until now and that now they are hungry.

He glanced around and found a mini-fridge with milk, juice, and some finely cut meat in it. Aiden figured that milk and meat are for the pups. He touched the milk and confirmed that it's cold. Aiden wondered, will pups drink cold milk? 

He didn't feel like heating up the milk, so he dumped the meat in the feeding bowl and released the pups out of their cage.

They were eating greedily with their buts in the air and tails which waved happily.

Aiden didn't realize that his mood improved to the point of smiling. There is something about those three energetic black whelps that made him unable to look away. He observed that they are almost completely black with faint gray on some of their paws.

Aiden smiled while thinking that if Sarah is here she would melt completely and give him her best puppy-eyed look so that they keep them. He would love to see that look right now. Any look is fine, as long as it's from her. He felt like calling Sarah again, but they don't have anything important to talk about and he should focus on his task of clearing up the traps. And hopefully, Kitty will return on her own.

Haru finished his granola bar when he heard Aiden call him to come to the office.

Haru opened the door and paused at the sight of Aiden who is sitting on the floor with three pups jumping around him, and on him.

"I found them covered up here. What are they?", Aiden asked.

"Dogs.", Haru responded with a straight face.

Aiden arched an eyebrow. "I know they are dogs. I called you because you are an animal expert. Do you know what kind of dogs they are and why were they held separately from other animals?"

Haru smiled and squatted. The pups are adorable. "I believe that they are German shepherds."

Aiden observed the pups and when he thought of German shepherds, he would see in his mind brown dogs. "Do they come in black?"

Haru confirmed while examining them one by one. "They come in different shades: brown, black, gray. You have here two girls and one boy. About six maybe seven weeks old. They are one of the most intelligent breeds of dogs. You asked why they were separated… either someone powerful wanted black German shepherds, so they were tucked in here, or the boss of this place wanted to train them for some purpose…"

Haru stopped talking when he saw that Aiden is playing with the pups who are pushing each other and licking Aiden's hands in order to get his attention and maybe some head-scratches. Why did he ask about them if he is not listening? "Uhm… what are we going to do with them?"

Aiden lifted his gaze. "What do you suggest?"

"Letting them into the forest will be a death sentence. They are not wild animals, and even if they are, they are too young to fend for themselves. We should find them a home..."

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