What if you killed them?
You're no better than they are.
How could your guys want you now?
Tears streamed down my face as I stood there in a trance, my vision blurring slightly as my heart pounded far too quickly in my chest. My breath came out in panicked, quick pants as I tried to pull myself out of it. A banging noise caught my attention, pulling me a small fraction out of my panic. Glancing over to my side, the sight of my guys' fearful expressions pulled me out the rest of the way. Quickly searching the unconscious attackers, I grabbed any keys and weapons I could find, a far bigger task than I’d anticipated. Using the combat knife I pulled from one of the beefy guard’s boots, I tried to hurry over and cut their ankles and wrists free from their zip tied prisons, but tripped as my legs seemed to be fused together… what the fuck?! Slowly as the air hit my body, my scales started to disappear slowly and my oddly fused legs started to separate back to normal. I tried to tuck that away for later, not wanting to deal with yet another new development. Instead, I lunged for my guys to free them.
As soon as their mouths were uncovered, I expected to get a million questions, but they both pulled me in for a group hug.There were tears in everyone's eyes, but then Tristan took charge. He grabbed my clothes from a nearby table and threw them over to me, taking what weapons I'd found and distributing them between us, then waiting long enough for me to put on my clothes before hurrying us out of the room. Thank god my clothes were still here.
"We have to find a way out. Let's go," he ordered in a hard tone, starting down the hallway and kicking in doors. But my mind was focused on the other victims that I knew were hidden away in here somewhere.
"We have to find the little girl," I begged, my voice hoarse from yelling. "I can't leave her here."
"Kitten, we have to. We can't help anyone if we're captured again. We have to get help, but we won't leave without sending someone in after her. Let's go before they wake," Tristan begged as Aeson tugged my arm gently, pleading with his eyes. Seeing them so determined and desperate coaxed me to give in. Sighing in defeat, I nodded and followed, all of us now actively searching for a way out. Movement from the direction we’d just come from had us working faster, an
d eventually we found a stairwell and slipped quietly inside. Aeson clicked the lock in place and pulled us down, motioning for us to be silent. Nodding my understanding, I tiptoed down the staircase, gagging at the smell as soon as we hit the bottom. The room was some kind of dump, and piles of trash, bloody rags, and medical equipment were stacked everywhere. I spied the incinerator and couldn’t stop the wave of disgust that ran through me, acid stirring in my stomach at the sight. I guess we know how they take care of any evidence. Who are these monsters? More importantly... why?
"Baby... there's a window. I want you to climb out and go find help. Call the others, call anyone you know, just get help. We won't fit, so this is our only chance. We’ll hide and wait for help," Aeson said, his voice cracking. I turned and stared into his eyes, the cellar’s dim lights just bright enough to show the defeat on his face. He had no hope that we'd make it out of this, but if I didn't go, then I’d failed them.
"I'll go, but know that I will come back for you, and I'll come back with help. Protect yourselves and each other. I love you," I whispered, kissing him fiercely before pulling Tristan in too. "Believe in me, I won't let you down." Sure, the words sounded cheesy, but if ever there was ever a moment that I wanted to make them smile... this was definitely it.
"Love you, Kitten. When you get out of here, don't use mind speak until you're further away... we don't know what they are," Tristan said, tears freely flowing as he hurried over and pulled open the tiny basement window. Grabbing the ledge he pulled himself up, sticking his head out as his shoulders caught on the frame around it. "Coast is clear, be careful."
"I love you, Baby. Thank you for doing this, I know you can make it," Aeson said, though I knew he meant that I'd at least be safe. For now, there was no more time to argue or fuss about it. I need to get help. The footsteps upstairs grew louder as they boosted me up. I dug my fingers into the soft dirt of the ground, using it as leverage to pull myself out. I took exactly five seconds to look around, memorizing every building I could see in the dark night, then boosted my running speed to fly across the well-traveled road. On the exterior, I was calm, collected, and determined as I ran. Inside, I was screaming for my guys, hoping that the powers I'd shared with Tristan would be enough to reach them.
Each mile that flew by led me further from my trapped boyfriends and closer to... nothing. Trees and the sea were all I could see, no homes or buildings to speak of. Fuck, of course they took us to the most remote and creepiest part of the island. Finally, I stopped running, collapsing onto the damp earth as I tried to figure out a new plan. Each moment with them trapped was another moment I felt like I'd lose them.
Walking toward the sea, I tried to glance down the coast, but startled when I realized the vast expanse ahead of me was not as long as it should be. The moon glimmered off the surface of the Obsidian Sea, the crashing of waves against the shore visible. I just ran from the other end of the shore, this can't be right. Panic welled in my gut as I realized the ugly truth of our situation... this wasn’t Obsidian Cove.
Ignoring the warning he’d given before, I tried to reach out to Tristan. 'Can you hear me?' Silence was my answer, and I knew that meant I was too far away. Wanting to get a feel for the land I was on, I ran in the opposite direction, straight into the heart of the island. Even a secluded island would have a port... right?
Wrong. The only thing that greeted me was more vegetation and heartbreak. It had been at least an hour since I’d left them, and the moonlight and fog surrounding me was like a thick, suffocating blanket. The soft hum of something caught my ear, and I froze. I recognized the noise moments later as a drone. Oh, fuck. Hurrying to a thicker copse of trees, I reached into the damp earth and covered every visible part of me in mud as quickly as possible, the thick, cool substance caking on my skin and making me itch. The siren side of me was not pleased that I was covered like this. I saw this in a movie once… it has to work, right? Natural camouflage and all that.
Twisting my hair into a bun, I secured it with a twig before lathering on even more mud. I'm sure I looked like the Swamp Thing at this point, but that was what I was trying to achieve. Moments later, the drone entered the thicket of trees, approaching easily. Clearly, its navigator had done this exercise many times, perfecting the proper distance and path to fly his mechanical pet.
Taking a determined breath, I dropped, hoping the mud was enough to mask my form among the weeds and bushes. Keeping my head covered and peeking around slowly, I watched the white drone fly nearby. It didn't even hesitate, which hopefully meant I was going to be okay. As the drone flew away, I finally untucked myself from my hiding space, trying to come up with a new plan. If they saw me jump into the ocean, would they come after me? With no evidence of a port, Doc was clearly able to travel underwater, so swimming away wasn't exactly an option. Fuck, what do I do?! I babbled to myself as I clutched my hair in my hands and crouched down. I knew I was taking too long, but my options were far more limited than we’d expected. This felt like something out of one of my favorite books, being hunted to the death for sport.
Doc's voice drifted toward me, amplified by a megaphone or something to project through the island. Soon after, the sound of engines rumbling caught my ear and I froze. "I'm going to find you, you can't run. My partner is in the sea, and my men are on land. You and your little boyfriends are no match for this island. I see all and hear all here," he bluffed, because if he did, they would have already found me. The fact that he hadn't found my guys filled me with relief, giving me back just a small glimmer of hope among this mess.
Staring down a thick tree in front of me, I didn't focus on any certain magic to mimic. Remember what Lilah told me- don’t overthink it, just do it. I quickly pictured what I needed to do and ran for it. Claws formed on my hands as I climbed, digging perfectly into the trunk to propel me upwards. My gasp was audible, but I didn't stop to appreciate the badass change. Pulling the shadows to me, I settled on a thick branch, hoping the shadows, mud, and leaves were enough camouflage.
"We will find you, you can't hide out here. I know every single square inch of these woods, Subject 1. Don't underestimate me," he called again, his grating voice making me flinch. I shuddered in my spot and prayed to anyone that would hear me, to send help. But I knew the truth... the only help I will have out here is myself.
"Come out, come out, wherever you are, little fishy," a man's gravelly voice echoed through the trees, the laughter in his tone amping up my fear even more. My pulse thundered through my veins as his vehicle stopped and his footsteps squished in the soft ground.
"Don't make this more difficult. He won't hurt you... much?" a second voice added, cackling at his lame attempt at a joke.
I barely took a breath as I waited, hoping they wouldn't spot me in my hiding spot. They didn't give up easily though, stalking from one spot to the other and splitting up to cover more ground, giving me no chance to make a break for it. They have to give up eventually, right?
May ?
Night
Tristan
Forcing Lennox to run away was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. The fact that we saw the guards start to search for her not long after she escaped, made it even harder. We had to eventually close the window and hide, not wanting them to find us here. Upstairs, it grew quiet as the others left, but I didn't see the sadistic doctor at all. Which meant we weren’t alone here, despite the lack of noise. Was he waiting for us to make the first move? Watching property cameras?
"She's going to be fine," Aeson mumbled, like a mantra to himself. I held on to his hand, hoping all three of us would be. I had never been more terrified in my life, the two people I loved most were trapped in this hell with me, and I couldn't control it or help from down here. A grinding of metal echoed in the room as an opening above slid free, then a bag of trash fell down, joining the pile. We let out a collective sigh of relief as the hatch slid back into place.