CHAPTER 135: WELL BEHAVED CHILDREN.

There was a change in Hades Quinn’s household. It was the first peaceful morning since Sunshine left. Castiel had taken his bath willingly and clung to his father’s side like a little koala.

He had played a word game with Hades, cleaned Robo-dog and dressed himself as best as he could for school.

Castiel even hugged Hades in the morning. It was the first warm, gentle hug since Sunshine left and Hades was yet to wake up from the shock.

The children were now waiting for breakfast at the table and they were very peaceful. No glass had been shattered, no toy was being hurled across the room. Castiel was not rolling around on the floor and Ariel was not screaming threats about spanking.

As Rori laid out bowls of steaming porridge and bread. She also could not help being stunned by the change.

Hades was applying honey on Castiel’s bread, looking warily at his children as if he was waiting for the other shoe to drop.

"They are a lot calmer." Rori whispered to him as she set his own bowl of porridge before him.

He leaned towards her and also whispered, "If I didn’t know better I would think that my own children had been kidnapped and replaced with fake ones. Look at Castiel, he is on his best behavior."

Rori could not agree more. In fact, she had been more worried than he was that she checked Castiel for a fever. She had also contemplated inviting a doctor over to check on the children. For a moment, she also thought about inviting sister Anna Warnock to see if they were possessed.

But, she recalled that before Sunshine came along, Castiel did not have a mother. Ariel and Earl had also been motherless for five years. It made sense that they were attached to their new mother who loved and pampered them.

It was natural that they were missing her. They were children, they did not hide their emotions like adults. While Castiel threw tantrums, Hades stood by windows and watched the gates like a possessed man.

"Is this a result of that phone call I heard about?" Rori asked him.

Hades nodded. With one call, Sunshine had woven her magic and restored sanity in their house. Even Ariel was not obsessively re-arranging the kitchen and living room or counting every crystal of sugar they had in the house. He was as calm as Castiel.

"Cass, dear. You are being a good boy today, grandma is so proud of you." Rori walked by Castiel’s chair and ruffled his hair.

Castiel sat with his chin barely above the table. He smiled and replied. "Daddy you said that if I am a good boy, I will talk to mommy the most when she calls again." He looked at his father. "Daddy, when is mommy going to call?"

He had already compiled his small list of things he wanted to tell her about.

Earl gave his little brother’s hair a rough tousle. "Stop asking the same question Cass, I am sure that we will all talk to her soon, right dad?"

"You should not pester our father both of you. He has a lot of grown up stuff on his mind and mother will call when she has time, she promised to." Ariel threw in.

Despite his words, Hades could see longing in Ariel’s eyes as well. The child tried to mask his yearning with discipline, yet his spoon lingered in the bowl not moving.

"I do not mind the questions. Like I said, your mother will surely call later today." Hades said gently. "And, she is going to be home soon. Now, what gifts have you prepared for her?"

Castiel sat upright, bread dangling from his mouth. He did not know they were supposed to give gifts. Ariel and Earl were also surprised.

Rori smiled. Hades had successfully found something to distract his children. Until Sunshine returned, they would be working on those gifts.

After breakfast Hades and Robo-dog walked Castiel to school. The little boy clutched to his father’s big hand, skipping every few steps. He sung a song about a frog in a pond and greeted everyone he met along the way.

Given how grumpy he had been in the last few days, they were all pleasantly surprised to see the boy back to his usual self.

After dropping his son at school, Hades wrapped his emotions under a mask of authority and started his daily inspection of the base. Owen and Dwayne flanked him, providing all the latest updates on everything.

Hades first checked the bubble shield, the teams in charge reported no breaches.

"We do need to restock the stinky gel." Owen shared.

"Talk to Hadrian." Hades told him.

Next, they went to the paddock where he met his father and Warren who were antsy. This was because the mutated sheep were anything but peaceful. Their hooves scraped against the dirt. Some pressed against the bars, eyes glowing faintly.

Their bleats weren’t the soft, almost childlike sounds they usually made. They were harsh, guttural, more like growls of starving predators.

Hades narrowed his eyes. "They were fed, weren’t they?"

A weary soldier nodded quickly. "Yes sir. Fed less than an hour ago. But they have not settled since, someone has gone to fetch the vets."

That was when old doctor Godwin Bolton came out of the paddocks, adjusting his spectacles, his lab coat contained remnants of shredded meat. "I may have an explanation." He said, voice too calm for Hades’ liking.

"What did you do?" Hades asked, his tone sharp.

The man cleared his throat. "I....added melatone powder to their meals." He confessed

"Melatone?" Soraya Payne, the vet in charge arrived and stood next to Hadrian.

Doctor Godwin wiped cold seat. "It is a natural sedative that should have put them to sleep. I thought it would help us get a closer a look at the sheep if they passed out completely."

From behind him, Soraya burst out, face flushed with frustration and she turned to Hades to explain herself before blame could be assigned. "I told him nothing was to be added to their food. Their biology doesn’t respond like normal animals. But because he is my senior, he ignored my orders again!"

The sheep rammed the first paddock fence bars, the entire pen shook. One bleat rose into a chilling scream that made the hairs on Hades’ arms stand on end. The creatures weren’t calm, they were agitated, their muscles twitching, their strange eyes flicking something close to madness.

"Soraya." Hades said, his voice low, dangerous. "What happens now?"

Soraya swallowed hard. "We.....wait. Once the melatone works through their system, they should return to their normal state. Hopefully they won’t break out and injure anyone in the meantime."

"That’s it!?" Hades snapped, taking big steps inside to take a closer look. The sheep slammed the bars again as he arrived, one soldier instinctively raised his weapon.

"Mr. Quinn." Soraya said urgently. "They are unpredictable. They are stronger than before, and the sedative is not working. They may lash out without warning, I suggest you kill them."

"We need the wool, it is warmer than the ordinary one and the doctors said it was good for those having fevers." Dwayne said. "We cannot kill them. The problem is not the sheep it is the fucking doctor who thinks they are his experimental subjects. We should kill him instead."