Alice winced, mostly out of instinct. She’d expected a poke, a prickle, a little pinch. She’d never been comfortable around needles. Instead, a friendly hand patted her knee and drew her attention to the nurse that sat across from her. “We’re done, ma’am.” There was a whimsical smile on her face as she said this, doubly so when Alice turned to glance at the fellow nurse removing the needle from the syringe and tossing it into a bin.

The psychology teacher almost gawked. She hadn’t felt the jab, not even a twitch. Nothing. “Was that…?”

“Ah, first time receiving a vaccine? We numb the area a bit, then heal it,” the black-haired nurse replied.

“No, no, it’s… no, this isn’t my first, just…” Alice shook her head, dismissing the slight wonderment. “Is this it? Or do I need more?”

“Do not worry, Ms. Smith.” The nurse helped Alice to her feet. “There might be a need for a booster shot since you’re a pure human. You should have a blood-test in a month to make sure everything took as it should have.”

Alice nodded slightly, focusing on that odd term. ‘Pure human’. It made her squirm slightly. It was uncomfortable to consider on so many levels, especially considering the historical context back in her world. There were faint hopes it was unrelated to the context in this one. “So I’m free to go?”

The nurse with the name-tag that read ‘Nana’ laughed lightly. “So long as you do not plan to jump out and start kissing everyone you meet, then yes.” She smoothed her skirt slightly. “That said, you might feel a bit feverish tonight. Please take care not to over exert yourself.” Pausing, she nodded a little. “Ah, we heard the Hunters are offering free lodging. I’m sure you’ll have plenty of opportunities to meet up with your friends.”

‘Friends’. Another term that made the young teacher squirm. She’d kept herself in the room along with Mia ever since they brought them there. All so she could avoid the others. After what had happened back on the bus, she couldn’t bring herself to meet their gazes, let alone share the same space. Disgust kept welling within her each time. What could she hope to do now? Smile, nod, and shake hands?

Alice rubbed her shoulder where she’d received the shot. They had used that weird magic to heal it up. There wasn’t even a drop of blood to be had. The gesture was mostly for reassurance. It made her want to sigh, but she held back on that too. Her mind was digging itself deeper into the memory. The rain, the mud, the burning sensation in her hand.

With a look down at her right hand, the teacher knew she should have had burn marks from what she’d done in that fight, scars. There was nothing. Her hand was perfectly healthy. It almost didn’t feel her own. There’d been a tiny scar near her thumb. Caused by a butchered attempt to make sashimi. That, too, was gone.

The young teacher’s thoughts came to a sudden stop when her eyes focused on one of the doors. Alice’s brain took a second to kick in, recognizing the ‘#2’ and wishing she could bolt.

Alice’s arm twitched as she almost reached out, but held back. All of a sudden, her thoughts were scrambled all over again. If there was someone she wished to see less than the other survivors, it was Rick. Even if for a completely different set of emotions. Should she? She’d heard he’d woken up. It should have been at least courteous to go and greet him. It should have been the right thing to do.

Her time to choose whether to open the door or not was taken away from her when it swung open on its own. The young teacher froze as she saw a pink-haired nurse stepping away from the door. A split second, Alice stepped away, her body ready to get out of there before…

“Alice?”

Her shoulders tensed. It was Rick, of course.

The sight of him in the wheelchair made her grimace inside. She made sure not to show that emotion outwardly. He looked… healthy, but there was something off, a careful sluggishness to his gestures, as if his body weren’t quite right.

Rick appeared nonplussed by his own state, chuckling loudly. “Don’t worry, it’s just going to be another couple days.” Sharp as ever, he’d caught her thoughts before she had the chance to hide them. “I was told you were all cleared to leave?”

“Yeah, we got the vaccines and everything.” Alice awkwardly smiled, gesturing with her head back towards the hospital entrance, trying to avoid rubbing the spot on the shoulder that had received the injection. “They’re preparing someplace to toss us at, apparently.” She noticed the dim half-nod Rick used in response and the distant look in his eyes. “Something’s bothering you.”

“Could say the same to you,” he deflected.

As much as he had a point, she didn’t really want to talk about it. “You’ve got wheels, you have the priority here.”

Rick gave her a good, long stare. Alice could almost see the cogs spinning. He was all too likely considering whether to call her out or her own deflection. “It’s about Monica.” The declaration was followed by a moment of silence. “The cat-woman, tigress, White Claw, they call her.”

It was hard to forget who he was talking about. White hair, two meters tall, razor-sharp claws, and quite willing to literary tear people to shreds at the slightest instigation. The image was very much vivid in her mind. The young teacher was amongst those with a front-row seat when Monica had stepped onto the bus that night.

Alice nodded, mostly to hide the other expressions she would’ve rather shown. “What about her?”

Rick regarded her for a second longer. “Without her, we’d all be dead. But at the same time, she’s the reason why I’m… well…” His hand tapped the armrest. “And they have her.”

“They?”

“The… count? lord I think it was?” Frustration flashed through his features. “The guy in charge of the village.”

No, it couldn’t be. Alice frowned as she took a closer look at Rick’s expression. Was he insinuating what she thought he was? “And that’s… bad?” How could this be bad? Monica was an extremely dangerous creature, and as-

“I don’t know if that’s bad or not. I’ve been thinking a lot,” Rick replied, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. “She doesn’t want to be there.”

“And you know this… how?”

The glance he gave her spoke of not wanting to answer that particular question. “Let’s assume it’s the case.” He quickly proclaimed. “And… let’s assume I could try to get her back.”

“Get her… wait.” Alice took a deep breath, reaching up to rub the bridge of her nose. “Did you hear about the… slavery thing going on?”

“Yes.”

“And you want to participate in a slave system, why?”

“I don’t think I can forcefully bash my way into wherever Monica is and pull her out of the cage,” Rick replied, tilting his head. “And they certainly won’t throw her back into the forest.”

And it was obvious why; Alice was quite sure that thing had a body-count no less than three digits in size. “So you want to own her, as your slave, the creature that could-”

“Person.”

“Excuse me?”

“She was learning to talk,” Rick said.

There was a soft gasp behind him. Both turned to look at the pink-haired nurse, the one with “Dia” on the tag. The young woman was quick to bow and mutter something under her breath, hurrying into Rick’s room. Alice was surprised she had forgotten the nurse had been there at all.

“Monica is a person. A… maiden,” Rick pushed the conversation forward. “Just like the other maidens here, just… learning, she was learning. She could learn to be… better.”

It was easy to see where this was going. “And one wrong move would get people killed. Rick, this isn’t a hypothetical, she’s done exactly that.” Alice made a vague circular gesture with her hand. “She is a murderer.”

“She didn’t know better, she was feral.”

“She killed Ronald.”

“Who?”

“I…” The young teacher bit her lip, hand clenching slightly as she looked down at Rick’s serious expression. “Rick, you can’t be serious. You met her… what? A week ago?”

“I don’t know if I am serious about this, my thoughts are too… muddled,” he replied. “I just wanted to hear your thoughts on this.”

Her gaze flickered at the wheelchair, long enough for him to notice. “I think you won’t survive the next mistake.”

“What about ethics? She’s a person?”

That knocked the wind out of Alice. Her jaw tightened. Closing her eyes, she growled. Of course he’d pull that card. “I hate you.”

“No, you don’t.”

Her lips thinned. “You know the ethical thing should be to give her the help she needs to stop being a threat to society. And we both know you’re not equipped for that.”

“Except she’s going to be enslaved. Already is, I’d argue.”

Alice leaned down. She wanted to strangle the man. She knew him too well. He’d made up his mind, and this was just solidifying that. “This should not be your hill, Rick.”

“I want to hear it.” He had the first hints of a grin.

“You just want to convince yourself that what you want also happens to be the right thing. Rick, slave or not, she’s a threat to society, a murderer. She can’t be trusted to be free. Not right now.”

The grin turned sly. “And why should we consider she should be free?”

Alice’s shoulders slumped. “Because no matter what our laws might claim, slavery is unethical. If she were a person in full, a member of society in full, then the ethical thing to do would be to set her free.” A glare, a raised hand. “BUT that should be AFTER she’s gotten the help she needs to become a member of society. A help you can’t provide.” Leaning closer, she put her hands on his shoulders. “Rick, you’re trying to convince yourself you’re the best thing for her.”

It was the right thing to say… and the wrong one. Her fellow teacher flinched and scowled. “She saved me, it’s… the least I owe her.”

“She needs professional help.”

“From who? The people enslaving her?” He showed only the slightest hint of anger. “They’re not going to enslave her for her own good. They’re going to enslave her to use her. Make her their property, permanently.”

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

Alice wanted to scream at him. Her fingers dug into his shoulders. He owed the cat his life because she saved him? The teacher wanted to shout at him that it didn’t matter to this situation.

This was a trolley problem where his feelings were on one side and everything else on the other. And he was aiming the train down the wrong tracks.

She couldn’t let him do this. “You’re not being logical, you’re looking for justifications. Rick, this isn’t you.” Her hands tightened on his shoulders. “This isn’t what’s best for her.”

“I…” And just like that, the expression cracked, his shoulders tensed. “I have to try.”

And just like that, Alice knew he’d already made his choice. The whole conversation had been an attempt to look for a logical reason to do so.

There were several choice words Alice wanted to scream into his face right now. Instead, she sighed, letting go, leaning away. How long had she known him? Two years? Three? This was the first time she’d wanted to throttle him this badly.

Instead, she felt her shoulders slump in turn. “At least don’t go at this blindly.”

“Yeah, that.. Was the plan.”

“I’m going to go now, before I opt to punch you.” Alice sighed.

“That seems reasonable.” Rick nodded with a slight smile.

“And…” A pause, her eyes traversing towards the entrance, her escape, then back at Rick. “Thank you. For…” She scratched the back of her neck. “Thanks for saving us.”

As Alice spoke the words, she saw the complicated look on his face. There was no humor or joy, only a pained silence. The young chemistry teacher quickly hid behind a smile. “I owed you so many coffees I’d call it even.”

She couldn’t help herself. She laughed.