Chapter 18
Cyril’s Compound, Tetartos Realm
Sam gained consciousness again, her mind coming into focus in slow, hazy increments. She didn’t even want to think about the long-term repercussions of the drugs they kept dosing her with. She only knew it had started giving her peace in her dreams. Her dreams had given her a protector, a magnificent coffee-colored lion with ice blue eyes. His presence made her feel safe and she didn’t care that it was only fantasy.
In her current stupor she wanted to cry at the loss of that small slice of peace. She no longer felt warm fur and the lulling huffs of her dream beast. The cold reality was coming through the drugged haze.
She tried to shake off the madness of the drugs because she needed focus. She needed to get out.
Her holding cell pulsed in and out of focus like the room was made of Jell-O being jiggled with a fork. She closed her eyes against the sight. Actually, it felt more like being in a rubber ball. Her world was that ball, being bounced against the floor over and over, totally in the control of the asshole that kept dropping her.
She blinked and shook her head, hoping the bouncing would soon stop. She knew they’d come; they always did when lucidity began setting in. Her muscles were sore from the constant tension she felt every time she gained consciousness. She forced herself to block thoughts of the other reasons she was sore. That wouldn’t help anything. What she needed was to come out of this as quickly as possible.
She took in her surroundings. She was lying naked in the freezing cell again. Better there than the lab. She didn’t dare think of that now. She felt fragile, as if she’d break if she allowed thoughts of her abuse to permeate her mind, so she wouldn’t. She was stronger than that.
The scent of sterile cleaners filled her nose. Luckily for her, Nazi Fuck apparently didn’t like dirty “patients.” At least she wouldn’t have to smell them on her skin.
Sam forced her thoughts back to her goal. She needed to get out and try to free as many of her fellow inmates as possible. There would be strength in numbers. With no idea what the layout of the facility was, it would be a struggle, but she’d find a way, as long as her tormentors stayed away long enough for the drugs to leave her system.
Her body felt changed somehow; she knew something was happening, just didn’t know what.
She didn’t hear them coming for her, like she normally did, which had to be a good sign. This could be the opportunity she’d been waiting for.
Trying again to shake off the daze, she used what little strength she had in her weakened limbs to pull herself from the bunk. She had to close her eyes against the dizziness. Steadying herself, she took a deep breath and managed to get upright.
Sam staggered to the sink in the corner of the tiny cell, slamming into the cot with her knee as she went. Standing on shaky legs, she cupped a trembling hand under the faucet, washed her mouth out, and drank, splashing the cold liquid on her face between small sips. She needed fluids. Her mouth was dry from the drugs. She dared not drink too much, but she choked down what she could.
With muscles so tense she could barely stand it, she waited. Taking more deep breaths, she listened for any sounds from the corridor. This was the point when they’d caught her the last time… sweat dotted her skin. Nothing. Her heart beat so loud she could hear it pulsing inside her ears as she hurried to the cell door as quickly as her wobbly legs would allow.
As a child she’d found she had a flicker of ability with metal, one her parents had encouraged her to keep hidden for fear of her being taken and used as a lab rat. Ironic that she’d hidden it and still ended up someone’s fucking experiment. If only she could focus it enough now to do some good.
Kneeling just behind where the lock would be, she closed her eyes and focused, not on the cold or the deadening silence, not on the sickening scent of disinfectant… just the lock. Snick. At nearly the same moment, she felt an odd snap inside her mind, followed by a pained animal roar. Her dream beast. Had she finally lost her sanity just as freedom was so close?
*****
The low-level pulsing of the alarm was grating on his nerves. Cyril’s muscles shook he was so livid. From the main surveillance room, he caught sight of fucking Drake, in all his dragon glory, making deep swoops around the compound’s perimeter; he needed to work fast.
How had they found him? There had to be a traitor; it was the only plausible explanation. He seethed at that thought. Once he found out who had betrayed him, they would suffer… he quickly fired off orders while on the move.
Elizabeth and Kane, get the Kairos to teleport the test subjects out. I want them guarded while they move the females to the northern facility; then they can come back for the others. Take the back exits from above. The Guardians have accessed the lower level and blocked off the bottom cells. The corridors in C have been compromised.
On our way. Kane’s response was quick.
He hated teleporting anyone to one of the alternate locations until he knew who had betrayed him, but there wasn’t a choice unless he wanted to sacrifice everyone. Kane, I want anyone transported to the northern location put on lockdown. Everyone will need to be interrogated once you’re done here. He would need to find the mole quickly.
In his lab he could still hear the low thrumming of the alarm that went with the oscillating red lights in the corridors. He willed the data to back up quickly; he could only teleport so much. A good deal of his earlier data results were already safely ensconced in his eastern facility. He always made sure that backups were sent to the safe location. He fumed as he looked around. He had always thought that if the Guardians found him, he’d have more time after the breach.
Fortunately, he would be able to teleport himself and some data, thanks to the blood of his father, Apollo. But he was highly limited in that particular ability. Something that particularly grated as he moved to destroy anything he wouldn’t have time to take. They would not get any of his information.
He would be forced to transport everything from cold storage himself. He only had a few Kairos, as the race was rare. Those he did have would need to first get his test subjects out, then what warriors were left. All knew the exit plans.
Angus, send down as many troops as possible to the breach in Section C. Send in waves of Mageias first. Maybe we’ll luck out and they’ll injure one. If nothing else, it will slow them down. We need to back them away from the corridor leading to the holding cells.
He barked orders to the fidgety lab techs working frantically around him. “Get the vials into transport cases, now. I want them in the exit room within five minutes.” He’d need to make several trips. He cursed his limited teleporting capabilities. He wasn’t sure there was time to get everything. The data and vials were most important, but he’d like to get a couple of the techs if there was time. If not, he’d kill them before letting the Guardians get their hands on one.
*****
Sam listened to the loud droning of an alarm. What was happening? Was this why the guards hadn’t come?
She wished the drugged haze would leave her soon and her sanity would start returning. The animal roar of her brilliant protector had changed to growling and snarling in her mind and was making escape harder. She just couldn’t concentrate.
She made it out of her cell and over to the next, embracing the delusion of a protector coming for her only because it made her feel a little stronger. Her body was still moving in slow motion, but she was moving. She leaned her head against the cool metal of the cell door that held another inmate, one that was currently unconscious. She tried willing the chill of the metal to bring her further into alertness. It wasn’t working. Sam couldn’t focus her powers enough; she was too weak for this. Slowly banging her head against the door was having no effect. Should she just try to leave without rescuing any of the others? They were still out cold, so she’d have to leave and find help for them.
She’d been forced to just sit there and breathe for too long, working to calm herself. It was odd that her heart could beat so fast while her limbs could barely move. The hallway looked so long, spanning what seemed like miles ahead. The growling seemed louder as the drugs slowly left her body. Shit, she was hoping it would go away, not get worse.
Sam held her hands to her ears, it was getting louder by the minute, but she was just crazy enough not to want it to stop. It seemed her mind was heading toward its breaking point. Her entire focus was on that desperate noise. Was this the end of her sanity? She looked down the hall and she knew she needed to go in that direction. Her legs still shook as she moved. She lost herself to the snarls inside her mind. She moved in the direction they seemed to lead her.