Addison laid in my arms asleep and snoring. It wasn’t loud or obnoxious, but the soft breathing of someone who worked incredibly hard and hadn’t slept in a long time. I couldn’t sleep. I’d spent enough time in this place with my eyes closed. Sleep would never come easy for me anyhow. Images of that maniacal imp standing over me in that pit haunted my thoughts every time I closed my eyes. The only time that green-hued gas didn’t invade my mind was in moments with her.

Being the first to make love to Addison was special. That was the only benefit to this serum they pumped into me. I wasn’t at my full strength, or I’m sure it wouldn’t have been as pleasurable. I tend to lose myself in between the legs of a beautiful woman, but being less than my full capacity let me pay attention to her and her cues. It was the best sex I’ve had in a very long time.

The sound of a motor running drew me out of our moment of solace. Reality crashed down as I remembered all too clearly where we were. I slipped my arm out from underneath Addison. She stirred a bit but didn’t wake. Walking over to the window, it was small but still large enough for me to see the light of a boat pulling up to a dock. Without that lighting from the ship, it would all look pitch black out there.

The scent of the salt water hit me first. The sounds of it washing over the rocks below sent an uneasy feeling down my spine. I continued to watch the boat as I noticed Shaw and his men walking onto the dock toward a path. I couldn’t see where it led, but I could hear them. They were arguing.

“I can’t believe you let him come with us!” one of the soldiers yelled at him. It reminded me of my relationship with Bart. I needed to get off this damn rock, and if I didn’t regain my abilities in time, then that boat would be the way.

I kept listening to the tour as they made their way back onto land. I noticed Eric too. He wasn’t in combat gear, but a lab jacket. A white lab jacket in the dark of night. No wonder that other guy was pissed. I was sure my guys would have picked them apart if I was there.

“You know if you guys simply did what I asked, we would have nabbed another one!” Eric shouted to the soldiers. None of them spoke to him directly. I could hear it in his voice, the irritation from their lack of respect, as he screamed, “NEXT TIME LISTEN TO ME!”

Shaw finally sidled up to Eric. He squeezed his shoulder and mumbled something in his ear. Eric’s posture relaxed, and they made their way inside. That was our cue to leave. I woke Addison up, urging her to get dressed quickly and to gather whatever it was she packed. I tossed on the soldier’s uniform again, and with that serum wearing off, I could feel my scales ready to come back. I flexed my arm. Maroon and red scales flashed down to my wrist. Talons protruded from my fingertips. I grunted through the pain, but as soon as I saw them, they disappeared, and I couldn’t bring them back.

“SHIT!” I punched the wall.

Addison turned toward me with worry in her eyes, “It’s going to be okay. It’s going to wear off soon.”

“How do you know? This isn’t the same stuff you gave me. Who knows what that scumbag put in that gas?!”

Whatever he put in it has to be a derivative of my original formula. You’re not dead. And from what happened a little while ago, all of your strength is gone,” she smirked.

I appreciated her attempt to make me feel better, “You’re right. I should be at full capacity any moment now. Let’s focus on getting out of here. There’s a boat down at that dock.”

She walked over to the window, staring out into the darkness and glanced back to me, “There’s nothing out there.”

“It’s there,” I assured her. “How do we get down there?”

“I honestly don’t know,” she said, “I haven’t had any reason to pay attention to it. I’m sure Natalie knows..”

“Who’s that?”

“She’s in charge up here,” she told me.

“How do you know she’ll help you?”

“She’s the one who told me how to find you. Let’s just go. You’re strong enough to walk on your own. We should avoid contact with Shaw and the rest of his battalion at all costs.”

That much I agreed. A soldier with Addison wouldn’t look out of place, but up close, they’d be able to tell I wasn’t one of them. So we began to make our way out of the secret bedroom. I never thought that any of this would happen, but a part of me smiled. Watching Addison lead the way to freedom, my heart skipped a beat. While sex with her had been one of the most incredible moments of my life, it was her spirit, her kindness.

I could feel panic beginning to settle in as we continued to skulk through the halls. There weren’t any alarms sounding just yet, but I was confident that Eric was checking into that pit. My heart continued to race. We stopped just outside of a door. Luckily for us, we still hadn’t run into Eric or any of Shaw’s men.

Addison knocked on the door while I continued to scan the halls. I heard a voice shout from the other side, “Shaw listen, I get it that these tours get you charged up, but I’m in no mood to have your hands wrapped around my thro-”

The door opened to a gorgeous but fierce looking woman. Her blonde hair shaved down on the sides left a mohawk down the center of her head. She blushed a similar shade of red that Addison turned when I kissed her the first time.

“I’m so sorry, I thought it was,” she ran her fingers through her hair with a slight chuckle.

“I need your help one last time, Natalie,” Addison whispered.

“I can’t. You have to get out of here. Shaw’s normally at my door by now,” she whispered peering up and down the hall.

“We’re trying,” Addison said, “There’s a dock down near the rocks. We need to get there. Please, Natalie.”

“There’s a trail behind the shed. It’s a steep climb down, slippery if there’s fog. You’re lucky that I like you a whole lot more than I like Eric. Before he came along, Shaw was perfectly fine sticking to this rock and keeping our lives separate from the battle going on in Black Harbor. Now he wants to be the leader of this war. We just wanted to be a haven, you know?”

“Remind him of that, and maybe things will change, and I’d get out of here too. Once Scalers know what Eric is trying to create, they’re going to want his head and everyone else helping him,” Addison warned her. She rubbed her shoulder before motioning toward me. We darted up the hall and around a corner.

Grey walls everywhere made it hard for me to keep track of which way we were going. Addison had to lead me through. Just as we stepped outside into the night air, an alarm rang out. It was loud, so loud I wondered if any of the Scarlet Wings on patrol heard it. Would they know to fly out this far to come and get me?

The air refreshed me. The scent of the water mixed with the slightest hint of ash letting me know we couldn’t be that far from Black Harbor. I couldn’t help but spin around taking in the settings around us. In front of me was a small shack. There were a few chickens roosting inside of it. Next to that was another pen of sorts. I wasn’t sure what kind of animals were in it, but under the moonlight, I could see the hoofprints in the mud. Beyond that was a forest of sorts. It surrounded this makeshift farm.

“This way,” Addison pointed toward the shed where the chickens slept.

I looked over my shoulder to see the place we’d just escaped from. It was just as bland on the outside as it was on the inside. A rectangular building stood in front of me, backed toward the edge of a cliff. I could see the drop-off and wondered how far down it was. Wandering over toward the side, a gust of wind caught my breath, and I felt exhilarated. I wished I could spread my wings, but for now, the only thing that stuck was the scales on my arms and a few along my legs.

Addison came after me, turning me back toward the path we needed to take. I could hear the boots moving through the station. I heard Eric shouting like an inconsolable toddler. The serum and the gas were wearing off.

We cut behind the shed and headed into the trees. I didn’t see a trail or anything noticeable that would get us down closer to the water. I wasn’t even sure Addison knew where we were going. I could hear Shaw’s men heading after us; probably tracking our footprints through the dirt.

Addison was ducking around and under tree branches. She was breathing heavy, panting, and sweating. I could smell her center like she was climaxing as we trekked through the brush. I caught up with her fairly quickly and stopped her.

“Do you have any idea where you’re going? I thought we were supposed to find a trail down to the water?” I asked her glancing over my shoulder. I wanted to circle back. I trusted my instincts a lot more than her navigational skills.

“I didn’t see what Natalie was talking about. There wasn’t a trail behind the shed,” she whispered desperately trying to catch her breath.

“We ran behind that chicken coop. It wasn’t really a shed,” I told her.

“That’s the only thing out there that resembles a shed,” she huffed out.

“Okay, I’m taking over,” I laughed to myself, “We have to get back to that trail. I’m sure I’ll be able to scale soon, but I’d much rather get back to Black Harbor by boat. The fresh air is helping everything come back.”

“Fine,” she said, “Lead the way.”