I shifted and took off into the forest. Blackburn went after me, as a leopard. He caught up with me and we fought. Physically, we were a pretty even match. But he was fighting me because it was his job, and I was fighting him to pay him back for what he did to Justin and the other PJs and the helo crew. I’d never wanted anything more in my life than I wanted to kill him. And I did.
I was clawed and bitten all over, but I waded through streams so I wouldn’t leave a trail of blood. I went deeper and deeper into the wilderness until I was sure I’d lost any pursuit. I hunkered down for a couple days to let my wounds heal, and then I headed out again.
I found a backpack hidden under a rock. It had clothes and boots in it. The scent was old— whoever it belonged to hadn’t touched it in years. So I took it. The clothes were too big for me, but they more or less fit. Then I kept hiking as a man. I’ve always loved the wilderness. It seemed like a good way to spend the rest of my life.
After a week or so, I started getting sick. It was exactly like when I’d escaped the first time, so I knew my time was up. I kept walking till I collapsed and couldn’t get up again. I was in a glen by a stream, beneath a huge maple tree turning yellow and red. I lay where I’d fallen, and I watched the water flowing and the leaves drifting down until I passed out.
I was way out in the middle of nowhere. It never occurred to me that anyone would find me. But someone did. I was drifting in and out of consciousness, but I woke up when someone put their hand on my forehead.
This huge guy was kneeling beside me, looking concerned. He said, “Can you talk to me? My name’s Hal Brennan. What’s yours?”
I sure wasn’t going to tell him. I said, “Get your hands off me.”
Hal took his hand off my forehead, but he didn’t go away.
“Are you lost?” he asked. “You have a fever.”
I knew he meant well, but I was pissed off at him. I’d done terrible things to survive, and I was dying anyway so it had all been for nothing. I hadn’t saved anyone, not even myself. I hadn’t gotten the chance to be killed in action, doing something useful. And now I couldn’t even die in peace without this big lunk bothering me.
I said, “I’m fine. I’m just taking a nap.”
“I don’t think so,” he said. “Can you even sit up?”
I figured that would get rid of him, so I tried. I managed t
o lever myself up halfway, and then I collapsed. Hal caught me and lowered me down.
“You need to go to a hospital,” Hal said.
“I don’t want a hospital,” I said. “Take off.”
Hal didn’t move. He said, “Buddy, you’re sick. You’re burning up, and you’re not thinking straight. If you don’t get medical care, you could be in big trouble.”
He bent down like he was going to try to lift me. I didn’t have the strength to fight, so I hit him with fear. He rocked back a bit, then held his ground and growled at me. I’d never heard anything like it.
We stared at each other for a moment. Then he relaxed and said, “You must be a shifter. I am too. I’m a bear.”
I believed him. Who would even mention shifters if they weren’t one? And something about him made me trust him, at least a little bit. I said, “I’m a panther.”
Hal took a second look at me and chuckled. “Hey, you found one of my emergency clothes stashes! But you’re welcome to it. I’m sure you needed it more than I did.”
He put his hand on my shoulder and said, “Don’t worry about the hospital. I know a doctor who’s a shifter herself. She’ll know how to treat you and she won’t tell a soul.”
“There’s nothing anyone can do for me,” I said.
He frowned and said, “Are you sure? What’s the matter with you?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “I was kidnapped and experimented on. I just know that I’m dying. I want to die here, in the woods, not with a tube down my throat in some white room with no windows.”
Hal looked around, then he touched a red maple leaf lying on the moss. It looked tiny next to his hand. He said, “I get it. I’d want the same thing, if it was my time. But you shouldn’t give up the fight just yet. How about this. I’ll take you to Dr. Bedford. If she can’t help you, I’ll bring you back.”
I wanted to make sure he meant it, so I asked him, “You promise that you’ll bring me back and leave me here?”
“No,” Hal said. “I’ll bring you back, and then I’ll stay with you until you go.”
Up till then, I had given up. I felt like I’d failed everyone— Justin, Armando, Mason, the helo crew, the Air Force, myself. But here was this stranger telling me he’d stay with me so I wouldn’t have to die alone. It was the sort of thing any airman would do for another. It made me feel like I was part of something again.
I still didn’t think I was going to make it. But I decided to keep fighting anyway.