Jess was really enjoying her day off. It had been so long since she had had the opportunity to take a break and do what she wanted to do.
The children around her were amazing, they were so curious about everything and excited to learn about each other and what was around them. Though she preferred being with the little ones, she liked having more sensible conversations with teenagers.
And above all, it had been so long she had signed.
She was immersing herself in a world she knew all-too-well, but that she longed to be in. Her activities with the A.R.C. didn't leave her much free time to be able to show up during these little gatherings, during which she was eager to help.
The room was full of children, from five to seventeen, if she wasn't counting herself and the other aides. There was no word spoken, only arms and hands doing the talking.
Once every two Saturdays, the Plentyn Byddar Center was organizing meetings like this one, where deaf and hard-of-hearing children could enjoy spending a whole day without being afraid not to understand what people around them were saying. The idea had been suggested a few years ago, parents complaining that their children were often kept apart from the main group of children, often without any mean thought, just that it was not easy for hearing people to adapt to them. Sure, within the center, this policy was already in motion, considering it was a specialized association for deaf and hard-of-hearing children, focusing on their needs, as they were growing up, about education to give them all the necessary tools to deal with the outside world. But the center was closed-up, letting in only deaf and hard-of-hearing people, as a bubble keeping them from the outside world. The idea was to organize gatherings like this outside the center, allowing hearing people, if they wanted, to enter as long as they agreed to adapt, and not the contrary. The rule was that no word was to be spoken, under no circumstance.
Unfortunately, this day's location for the meeting had not been that smart thought: wanting to keep the children more in touch with all aspects of the outside world, and particularly, spread the deaf culture to any kind of environment, they had decided to hold it in what can be called a 'problem area', to encourage teenagers there to open up to a new world themselves. Wishful thinking. Ever since the beginning of the day, Jess and the aides had to push away groups of teenagers wanting nothing but to disturb the gathering. Though the aides tried to integrate them, it was clear their intention was not to understand, but to piss off everyone in there. The aides sent them off, but they only went back over and over again. And seeing Vili's panicked look – short for Velislava, one of her favorite aides – Jess could only guess that she would have to scare them off again. For the seventh time.
"Can't they just leave us in peace?" she exclaimed while signing, showing her anger to the younger woman. "Seriously, sometimes, I want to go and teach them a good lesson about life." She stomped towards the entrance. "Don't you get tired of this?" she directed those last words to the intruders. "I swear God this is the last time you are ever so much as setting foot on this street, if I have to break every bone in your body and dumb you in some back alley. You have until the count of three before I'm gonna call the cops, and if you so much as-"
And she cut herself short. In front of her were Matt, Becker, and reinforcement. Armed with EMDs. And not looking happy.
"Jess?" finally asked Matt, as surprised as she was.
Alright. Matt. Becker. Soldiers. EMDs. Despite the shock, Jess was lucid enough to understand there was an anomaly nearby.
She recovered and opened the door, but blocked the entrance with her body.
"Jess?"
"Look, stop me if I'm wrong. There's an anomaly in the building and a possible incursion." Matt nodded. "I'll describe you the situation on my side: there's a room, full of children, who will be scared as hell as soon as you enter this building with weapons at hand. I want you to let me handle the situation, and get everyone out without panic."
"Jess, we've already handled such situations before" argued the team leader.
"But not with people you can't communicate properly with."
In front of his puzzled expression, she explained.
"There are are only two hearing people in this building, including me. Children and other aides are deaf, or hard-of-hearing. You barging in the room waving guns around is bound to cause havoc. You have to let me handle this" she pleaded.
Eyes widening at the news, Matt nodded.
"You have five minutes."
Jess didn't waste time in replying. Instead, she turned back to Vili who had followed her, and asked her to gather the children.
*We have to check if everyone is with us, and then lead them outside* she signed.
*Why? What's happening?* the other woman signed back, worried.
*The neighboring zoo has reported an animal on the loose. Of the dangerous kind. According to other reports, it is possible that it has entered the building. These people here are to check and neutralize it before returning it to the zoo* the brunette explained.
Vili seemed suspicious.
*Please, it is very important to do so. For the children's sakes.*
At that, the woman walked back into the main room, followed closely by Jess. The latter used the lights, flashing them on and off to get everybody's attention. She then jumped on a table to be seen.
*I am very sorry, but we will have to cut short this day. I will ask all children to gather around their respective aide and follow their instructions. We have to leave the building as soon as possible. There is absolutely no need to panic. This is one of those emergency evacuation exercises the association makes us do to be sure we know how to behave in case of fire or else. It is not opened to discussion. Leave all your belongings in here. Thank you.*
She climbed down the table to be joined by Hayden, the other hearing aide apart from her.
"I didn't know we had to do these exercises" he said, quite puzzled.
"We don't. I just didn't want the children to be afraid" she replied, hiding her lips, as not to be understood by the few children who mastered lip-reading. "An animal escaped from the zoo. Authorities ask us to evacuate" she explained, using the same lie she fed Vili.
"I see. I'll get to it then."
She saw the children obediently going to their aide, teenagers with less enthusiasm than the younger ones. She herself was having her own protectees coming to her. She quickly took attendance before asking.
*Where is Kael?*
The children around her looked at one another, shrugging. She quickly surveyed the room, finding that all children had already been taken in charge by their aide.
"Come on, that cannot be happening."
Hayden was about to leave with his children. She called him back.
"Can you take these ones with you? Kaelig disappeared, I have to find him."
"What about you?"
"I'm a big girl, I'll handle it" she waved away his concern, before instructing her charges to go with the man.
Once everyone gone, she began searching her last charge in the other rooms.
A hand landed on her shoulder, making her jump and shriek.
"It's been five minutes already" Becker announced.
She sighed in relief seeing the familiar face, then blushed hard at her earlier reaction.
"Where are the others?"
"Already sweeping the other rooms."
"Fine. I'll go with them" the brunette declared, about to go past him.
"Where do you think you're going?" Becker grasped her arm a bit forcefully, forbidding her to go further.
"Look. One of my charges, a seven-year-old boy, was not with the others when I told everyone to go."
"We'll-"
"He only trusts me. I know him, he's a loner. He only attends these meetings when I'm here and he gets easily scared. Seeing men in black with weapons will probably cause him to hide and most definitely head in the creatures' direction. I have to go."
"No. Your place is with the others checking that no one-"
"But you don't understand!" the young woman cut him, signing at the same time in frustration. "He will never, ever trust you to approach him, not like that! He'll be scared to death. I know him. I know better than you where he's more likely to be hidden. I'll be more efficient. In a building like this one, hiding places are infinite for kids."
"Jessica, it's not saf-"
About to argue, Becker is cut once again by Jess who freed her arm from his grasp and ran towards the cellar's door.
"Jessica!"
But the young FC didn't pay any attention to him and urged forward. Sighing, the soldier tapped his earpiece.
"Matt?"
"Problem?"
"Yes. A child is missing and Jess is gone after him in the cellar. Couldn't stop her."
"Who is it?"
"Don't know. Seven-year-old boy. Jess is positive he'd be scared of us no matter how we approach him but he'd listen to her. She insisted on the first point. He's probably hiding. Not to mention deaf. No more precisions. Anyone checked the cellar?"
"No, you'll be the first. Well, with Jess obviously. So far, we found nothing. Be extra cautious. Connor? There's CCTV in the building?"
"Nope. Too old for that. The kind with a lot of secrets passages. So cool…"
"Not that cool when you're searching for a kid, Temple" the soldier dryly cut the geek's musings, no time to get distracted. "Matt? I'm going after Jess."
"Alright. Keep me posted."
"Copy that."
Resolutely, Becker followed Jess.
Immediately, he was surprised by the darkness of the staircase as soon as the door shut quite ominously behind him. Fumbling to get his flashlight, he wondered how Jess had progressed when he was talking with Matt, not having seen any kind of light source on her.
Cautiously, he made his way down the stairs, not hearing a thing apart from the echo of his boots. On the landing, he could see a very faint light provided by a window, not bright enough to switch off his own light.
"Took your time."
Becker thanked the heavens that Connor was not there to witness his (reluctantly admitted) jump at hearing Jess's voice behind his left shoulder.
"Jess what the… how did you make your way down there?"
"With the light" the brunette answered with a 'duh' voice.
The soldier wondered briefly when exactly his FC had been gifted with cat senses to move around with so little light and to be able to sneak up on him. He did not have time to ponder on this, the woman already gone to search the room.
"Let's go."
The room had probably been a wine cellar in another life. Metallic rounded racks were taking a whole section of a wall, and there were wooden cases everywhere. Other than that, nothing that could hide a child.
"Over here."
Becker turned around to see Jess crouching facing the opposite way, analyzing something on the wall. Approaching, he saw a piece of blue cloth, and wondered once again how she could have seen this with so little light.
"He's been here."
"Yes, but he isn't anymore."
"Of course he is, don't you see?" After a pause, she reached toward his flashlight to switch it off. "Here."
Only using the natural light, you could see the wall was not entirely a wall, a shadow drawing the outline of a door built in the wall, faintly open.
"That must lead to underground corridors. This type of building is famous for secret passages anyway" Jess explained, trying to widen the opening with difficulty.
"Jess, if you can't open it further, there's no way the kid had gone this way" Becker tried to reason.
"It's wide enough for him to go through, dummy. Not for us" the FC spat a bit harshly, increasing her strength on the door.
"Here, let me he-"
Abruptly, the door gave out, sending Jess flying in Becker's arms. As quickly as she lost it, she regained her balance and went on the other side.
"Wait a minute!"
His words fell in deaf ears (pun intended).
As Becker didn't know if communications would still be working entering the tunnels, despite Jess's faith in her devices, he wanted to keep Matt up to date before following the woman.
"Matt? Connor was right about the secret passages. (Connor snorted) Jess went through one, leading apparently to underground tunnels."
"Better no moving until you have backup."
"Too late, she's been through. I don't know if communications will work underground."
"Where are you?"
"Cellar. There is a door hidden – well, not hidden anymore – in the back of the room."
"Go after Jess. I'll send backup."
"Roger."
And the soldier ran once again after the energetic brunette.
AN: Words between ** are signed words.
As for Kael/ Kaelig : in Britton, the suffix -ig is a diminutive. For example, in "Korrigan", some kind of dwarf, we can see "kor", "ig" and "an". "Kor means "dwarf" or "little man", "ig" is diminitive and so is "an". So if we wanted a clear translation, it would be "a little, little, little man". When added to a name, the suffix is also affectionate.
AN2: Sorry for the reupload. I tried to edit the chapter but ended up deleting it...