In the end, it took Aaron, Caesar and the two scouts present to successfully pin Jackson down as he still continued to thrash, his murderous intent on Austin unyielding. They managed to rope him up in the barn's storm drain cell in the Barnhouse where Reya insured that the boy wouldn't be able to escape, even with his super strength by chaining him up with various chains and ropes that were tightly tied.
This was only a temporary solution until Stryker came back from the Labyrinth that evening and decided on what to do.
In the meantime, Reya called another Summit, but with Stryker gone, it only consisted of Aaron, Alyssa, Caesar, Cleo and Reya herself. Seeing as Austin was involved in the incident, he had to attend as well.
"I have called for this emergency Summit for two reasons," the moment everyone was present, and role was taken, Reya spoke, her presence one with authority and her voice, grasping everyone's attention. "First, as we are all well aware, Austin here, was attacked. By one of our own; one of our senior Meadowers, in fact."
Murmurs spread amongst the other Overseers. All of their attention was on Austin. A few of them were glaring, specifically Caesar and Alyssa. Cleo still seemed as invested in the meeting as ever, with wide eyes, though a bit more troubled then last time, as evident by her scrunched, deep-thought brows. Aaron had a distracted and conflicted, but otherwise, unreadable expression, which, considering how his old protege had attacked his new [however unofficial] protege, which is why they're in this mess, it would make sense as why he'd feel conflicted.
"Annoying bastard piece of work…," mummered Caesar, eyeing Austin with contempt and suspicion. "Wonderin' why Stryker's fledglin' attacked him…? Maybe he makin' shit up…?"
"It's this brat? Again" Alyssa said, hosting a look of disdain towards Austin.
"I guess things aren't too bad, I suppose, considering Jackson is back with us once more, i.e: worse for wear, but here nonetheless," Cleo murmured, trying to brighten the situation.
It did not work.
Aaron maintain his silence.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
"Order!" Reya exclaimed, hitting a regular hammer on a small stone pallet, silencing the others. "Now, while I agree that we should continue to wait before making a decision on the situation itself until Stryker returns, we should at least go over what happened, so that we can have a clear picture to tell him when he does return."
At this, all eyes shifted from Reya, falling onto Austin.
Austin felt like a fish out of water, suddenly. He felt suffocated and exposed. He didn't know why; he just did.
"Which brings me to my second reason," Reya said, once again garnering everyone's attention. She then eyed Austin, and the suffocating feeling got even worse for him. "Which is to find out why Scout, known as Jackson, attacked you. Tell us what you know." Her eyes were piercing, like steel, even as she spoke those words; it rooted Austin to his spot. He wouldn't have been able to move even if he wanted to, he figured.
And so, Austi told them what happened. He told them everything he could. He left out the classified information about the Flat Shack, such as the maps of the Labyrinth and the supply boxes, but other than that, he narrated everything. He told them about leaving for a break, when Jackson attacked him, and everything he said from then on left his tongue with triggered nerves. The shock of his predicament loosening with every word he said, until he finished his story, and chaos once again spread across the Overseers.
"I call bullshit!" Caesar accused, spiting on the floor beside him. "That still doesn't explain why Jackson attacked you! He wouldn't attack anyone without a reason. What did'ya do. Newbie? What did'ya do?"
""I agree with Caesar, though," Alyssa said, shaking her head. "Jackson was never violent. Whatever he did, this boy has had to have triggered him somehow. What did you do?"
Austin tried to answer, but before he could even speak, Aaron spoke for the first time since the Summit started. "Were you listening to his words at all, dimwit? He can't know why Jackson attacked him; it was too chaotic at the time. Stop ganging on the boy and accusing him of something he has no idea what the hell he's being accused of."
"Agreed," Cleo spoke, tilting her head slightly. "I doubt the new kid would do something to endanger his own life. Cluelessness does not equal stupidity, ya'know. And based on what I've noticed about Jackson's behavior and body condition, it is safe to say that he has indeed been either bitten or scratched…maybe even both."
"By an Annihilator? In the middle of daytime?" Alyssa, along with everyone else seemed startled. Their breathing became heavier.
"It isn't… impossible," Aaron stated slowly, with hesitation, as if still pondering it over, before nodding his consent at whatever he cooked up in his head. "Tis is the rarest for an Annihilator to attack someone in broad daylight, but it has happened to my scouts a few times. And, considering that Jackson has been missing for weeks now… well, it's definitely within our realm of possibility—."
"Oh, come on!" Caesar interrupted the scout overseer, oozing an aura of pure annoyance. "Sure Jackson was missing, but he's here now. There's no way he could have been attacked by Annihilators and lived and is here. Now. like right now. With us. He'd be dead, if so, especially for over three weeks! What, you think he purposely got himself caught in the maze to get stabbed, survived, and then attack the latest newbie that arrives on our doorsteps, weeks later? Don't make me laugh!"
"Maybe…" Austin realized too late that he muttered to himself out loud. All eyes fell on him. "Look, I don't know much about anything here, but whatever happened to that boy — to Jackson — was NOT normal. And his eyes, they glowed! Gold!"
The others only blinked, as if expecting more.
Realizing that that was all he had to say, Reya coughed slightly before saying "Well, that makes sense; the eyes part, anyway, considering his crest was a lion's crest, giving him enhanced strength and whatnot."
"But to be captured, kept and unleashed by an Annihilator is unheard of," Aaron spoke.
"Maybe they're getting smarter?" Cleo suggested. "Is that possible?"
"It shouldn't be," Aaron stated flatly.
Austin offered no response. How could he? This was an even more hopeless situation than it had been before, especially if this were true.
That brought everyone's mood down.
'If those monsters are getting smarter, then our jobs as Scouts would be getting harder and harder now,' Aaron thought to himself. "Maybe… Either way, it's disturbing news. Reya, I need to address my scouts; it might be best not to scout for a few—."
Suddenly, a scream pierced the Oakhouse, but, seeing as it had been doing so for the longest, everyone tried ignoring Jackson's screams of insanity. Though, the fact that everyone in the Meadows could hear his guttural, ear-shattering shriekings, it was hard to ignore, even by a little.
"Look, everyone, we can argue amongst ourselves all we want, but we are the leaders here; it is our job to keep things in order. We cannot lose sight of why we're here, so let's stop arguin' and try to figure out what we're going to do," Aaron sympathized to the others, causing everyone to slightly nod their approval.