Instead of immediate escape, Amber looked for hiding spaces, and found one in a pile of construction materials tow
ards the end of the zoo. While the cameras were still re-positioning to try to follow her, she dashed out of sight down the side of one of the enclosures and flattened herself to fit in a tiny space on top of a pile of rocks, under dimension lumber and roof tiles. From here, she could see a dozen more hiding places that she'd be able to make it to in short order, and she had a good vantage for seeing oncoming intruders.
From this space, she could actually see that the entire space was much more suited for finding big animals. She'd be able to get out, she felt, with her first taste of confidence as the adrenaline began to release its hold on her. She just had to lie low, and she'd be able to sneak out of the front gates when the timing was right.
“Call it in!” one of the guards was saying.
“Fuck no, you call it in,” the other protested.
Eventually, they worked out who was making the call, and the little two-way radio crackled in return as they explained their mistake.
“Escaped?” Even over the poor quality radio from a distance, Amber recognized Alistair's voice, and it made the hackles on her neck rise.
The guards fell over each other to justify their actions, and Amber gave a little cat smile to hear them describe her as basically supernatural.
There was a moment of silence in response, and then Alistair's crisp accent. “She won't get far. We've got her mate here.”
Mate?
Amber knew without a doubt that they meant Tony, and it was everything she could do not to bolt from her hiding hole right then to find and defend him. But what did they mean by 'mate?' She could all but hear the emphasis that Alistair was putting on it.
Whatever they meant by it, she knew that Alistair was right–knowing that they had Tony–that they might hurt Tony to get her, meant that Alistair had Amber as surely as if that noose had been tight around her neck.
Chapter Twenty
Tony came to through a haze of confusion and misery. Sunlight was just beginning to peer over the high walls, and he realized he was lying in a thin pile of straw over a concrete slab with fine chicken wire over it, and it was dreadfully uncomfortable in his human form.
There were thick bars all around him, and he could see more bars overhead. A small lean-to in one corner provided some protection in case of rain. There was a shallow tub of water.
He was aware of desperate thirst, and his tongue felt oddly thick. His hands and feet were scratched, and he remembered the barbed wire that had scraped them on his way over the wall.
Tony...
The voice in his head was not, he felt, exactly directed at him. It was an internal lament, a cry of pain and longing and confusion.
“Amber!” He said it out loud as well as through animal speech, reaching out for her with his mind.
Her surprise and relief did not exactly have words, but felt like a tackle hug. How are we doing this? she asked.
Some shifters just can, Tony explained. Where are you? Are you alright? Are you... free?
He got an impression of crouching in a small dark place with her answer. I'm nearby, just to the east, she said. I can see you, but I don't want to show myself. They haven't caught me yet.
Get out of here, Tony told her fiercely.
I'm not leaving you, Amber insisted.
They'll use me to try to capture you, Tony told her flatly. Better that you aren't here at all. You have to get out.
I'm not leaving you, Amber repeated stubbornly.
Use logic! You know you can't fight them all. You can get help, at the resort.
She didn't answer for a moment, then asked, What's a mate?
Tony sat up gingerly. The drugs had left his limbs feeling odd and as if all the joints were too big. You're my mate, he told her gently, mindful of how frightened she had gotten when he called her beautiful. You're the one other person who completes me, the one true match for my soul and body. He couldn't help but remember her body, all curves and velvet skin against him.
Amber was quiet in his mind, contemplating. And you know your mate at once when you meet?