Chapter Eight
The afternoon continued on. No one came to talk to us; no one offered us food. Harper kept watching movies. For a while, she tried to chat with us again, but we couldn’t bring ourselves to speak to her. Blue and I knew our time was running out, and we couldn’t find any solution. We’d mistakenly thought that Bachmann’s daughter was as trapped as we were, and it was too much of a shock to learn that she was in control of the whole operation.
After several hours, Harper set the plastic rectangle down and sighed. “Well,” she said, “I think it’s about time. Let’s go.”
She waved in her bodyguard, and he took Blue and I by the arm as Harper walked in front of us. She led us down an old, wooden set of stairs into a basement where a kind of doctor’s office had been set up. Each stair creaked a little threat as we made our way down. I could have sworn they were saying, “Bye...bye...bye...” as we went down. At the bottom, a man wearing an old sweater was waiting patiently for us to arrive. His hair stuck out in every direction, and he looked as if it hadn’t bathed in a long time. His eyes were big and wet, and he had a small, thin mouth. He stood silently as we came in, hands folded in front of him.
“Hello, Doctor,” Harper called down.
“Hello there, princess.” His voice was surprisingly deep for such a small guy. As I got closer, I saw that he had heavy, black gloves pulled over his hands. The sight of them made me gulp hard. He looked ready to chop me into a thousand pieces.
“Hi,” he nodded at me. “I’m Dr. Morley. This is my office. Your name is?”
“What do you care?” I blurted out, my tears falling hard and fast. “You’re just going to kill me anyway. Don’t act like it matters what my name is!” I gulped hard and realized I was about to pee in my pants. He didn’t answer, he just smirked a little.
“And you are?” He held his hand out for Blue. She shook it tentatively.
“Just call me Blue.”
He laughed. “All right then. Well, it looks like our friend here is a little nervous, so we’re going to start with you, Blue.” He patted a metal table and waited while Blue reluctantly sat on it.
“No!” I ran to stop him, but the bodyguard grabbed me again. I covered my face so that I wouldn’t have to see.
Behind my hands, there was only darkness. I went back to my memory of Boris and our treasure hunt. I remembered we had been in big trouble when we woke up, but the gold we’d found seemed to make up for a lot of our mischief.
“What am I going to do with you two?” my mother smiled. She tilted her head to the side and admired the little, gold balls from every angle. I remember they flashed a little as the morning light hit them. My heart raced at the sight of her admiration. It took a lot to impress my mother, and we had done it.
“Well,” she sighed as she snapped the box closed, “in light of your unique little find here, I suppose we can just wash your dirty clothes together and let it all go. I can’t believe you found this. How did no one else know where it was?”
We shrugged silently as we peeled off our heavy, cold-weather clothes so that we could scrub them. We knew we were going to shiver in our t-shirts and shorts for the rest of the day, but that was okay. One day of discomfort was worth seeing our parents celebrate.
As we washed, they stepped out to gather their Bachmanns. They were able to get some interest from several scrap buyers and play them off of one another until they got a very high price. They came home with a big roll of bills and closed the curtains on the windows so that no neighbors would see.
“Look what you two little, crazy animals did!” My father hugged us close. “We won’t have to work for the rest of the month!”
The news of a break made us dance around the living room. Mom laughed at the sight of all of us spinning and sashaying around, as if we would be wealthy forever. She joined in and sang a song for us about all of the gold hiding under the mountains, and soon we were all clapping and stomping to the beat.
“Did you know there’s gold in the mountains?
It flows down and around the west side.
It sits and sparkles and waits for the souls of the good,
Full of riches inside...”
We went out to the food warehouse with a bit of our bounty and bought up any can that looked interesting. We didn’t eat mouse all week, and I can remember just how relieved my stomach was those days. I was so regular, I let out little cheers from the bathroom.
But the big surprise was the dress. To my complete shock, my mother kept her word and bought me a little, red dress just like Harper had. When I found it in my room, my heart stopped. I quickly pulled it on and shivered at the feel of the fine material and marveled at how well it was made. No patches, no missing pieces for the clothing tax, nothing. Just a complete and beautiful dress. As fast as I could, I ran down to show my mother who clapped as I spun into the room.
“Look at this! Harper Bachmann is in our house. Oh, Miss Bachmann, it is an honor.” She burst into giggles after being so formal, and I jumped into her lap so that I could give her a kiss.
“It’s the most beautiful dress ever, Mommy!”
“And you’re the most beautiful girl in the world, my darling,” she whispered as she rocked me back and forth. I couldn’t remember a happier time in my life. That was before the storm that swept my parents away to a place where we couldn’t reach them, before the days Boris and I lived alone on the compound, before his untimely death. We were all there for one another, celebrating life.
I wore the dress out to do things like collect scraps or play in the park, and the other little girls were so jealous that one of them ripped off a sleeve. When I ran home in tears, my mother didn’t have a lot of sympathy.
“This is why we don’t buy expensive clothes, my darling. Too many people want to tear us apart.”
Her words haunted me for years and rang in my ears as I thought back. I could just see a group of drooling, snarling humans and shifters standing around me, ready to feast on my young flesh. I could almost hear their screams.”
“Ouch!”
The sound of Blue’s voice made me peek through my fingers to see what was happening. To my shock, the doctor wasn’t cutting her into tiny pieces. No, he was drawing blood from her. It was a large vial, but it wasn’t enough to do her any harm. Then, he took what he called a ‘skin sample,’ but he barely scratched her. After bandaging the sight of the blood draw and the spot where he’d scraped her arm, he told her she was done.
Blue didn’t argue. She just hopped down and moved as far away from him as she could.
“So,” Dr. Morley said, looking at me, “think you can handle that?”
“Wait, that’s it?” I looked around at everyone in the room with my mouth wide open. “Why didn’t you tell us that was all you needed? We thought you were going to kill us!”
Harper rolled her eyes. “Oh, my God. You are so dramatic! We don’t want a bunch of dead bodies around here.”
“We really don’t,” the doctor added. “However, we have no idea how long the cure will take. So, you will be staying with us for a while.” He patted the table and I walked over. “After I’ve drawn the sample, you can eat. I’m sure you’re hungry.”
I had to look away as he put in the big needle. Harper watched the whole process, and I stared right at her. “You know,” I said as I cringed from the pain, “you could have just asked for our help. No one needed to kidnap us.”
She looked down. “Whatever. You wouldn’t have helped me.”
“You don’t know that.” A wave of dizziness and nausea hit me as the blood left my arm. As the room rocked, I tried to go on making my point. “You, you don’t know...anything...shifters just want... life...”
“Hey, relax.” The doctor patted my back. “We get your point. Just take it easy.”
And then, I blacked out.
When I came to, I was on a small, hard bed with scratchy sheets draped over me. It was dark out. I was alone–no sign of Blue. The little door to my left was closed, and I slipped out to see if I could open it–nope. Locked. I took a deep breath and then inspected the space a little closer.
I was weak and a bit dizzy from the blood I’d lost. I was desperate for some kind of food or something to drink. My hunger gave me an idea.
My hand grabbed the doorknob and rattled it hard. “Hey!” I said, feigning shock. “This door is locked. What am I supposed to do, wet the bed? Hellooooo!” I knew I was being annoying, but that was what I needed.
“All right, jeez!” The bodyguard was on the other side of the door. I stood with one foot on top of the other as if I were desperate for a bathroom. He opened the flimsy piece of wood and found me there, squirming.
“I have to pee! Escort me or whatever.”
“If I do, will you shut up?”
I responded with a silent nod. He gestured for me to follow him and led me down the hall. As I walked, I silently took note of my surroundings. Now that Harper wasn’t babysitting me, I could see everything a little more clearly.
The house was a small one, no more than three small rooms to sleep in. I imagined the doctor was probably down in the basement on an extra bed; perhaps Bachmann was there with him. Blue was more likely to be up at my level so that the bodyguard could keep an eye on both of us. Jerk. So that left Harper. Where was she?
We turned a corner, and I got my answer. Somehow, the couch in the main room had been transformed into a kind of bed. It looked roomy and comfortable, just a little short in length. The sight of it gave me pause, and the bodyguard grabbed my wrist to pull me along.
“Don’t stare,” he whispered.
“What kind of sofa is that?”
“Hideaway.”
I snorted at the name. How appropriate. A dirty look from my escort made me fall quiet again. He stopped at a little door and opened it.
“Don’t be long. I don’t leave until you do. And don’t try anything. The window in there is sealed, and there’s no other way out.” I scooted in as quickly as I could and went to shut the door, but he caught it and held it open.
“Nope.”
“Aw, come on!” I looked desperately at the toilet. “I have to do a, you know, and it’s embarrassing.” He made a face and closed the door. Once it clicked, I let myself breathe.
By that point, I actually did need the facilities, so I had a seat. I leaned back and wondered what on earth I was going to do. I was a captive in a jail disguised as a nice, safe place. How could I get out? If only Boris could have been there with me, he would have had a plan in a minute. I could almost hear him calling me, whispering instructions to me....
“Emily...Emily. Can you hear me? Hey.”
I sat up straight and stared at the wall next to me. Down low near the floor was a little vent. The voice was coming from its grate, but it wasn’t Boris. It was Alex.
“What do you want?”
“I want to say that I’m sorry. I didn’t want to trick you, but I promise you won’t be hurt while you’re here. We have a plan.”
I took care of business and then got down on the floor to talk to him a little more closely. “Plan? What plan?”
“It’s a secret. If I tell you, I’ll put you in danger. I can tell you that I don’t really work for Bachmann. I’m part of an organization to take him down. But we need Harper.”
A loud, heavy bang came from the other side of the door. “Hey, one more minute then I’m comin’ in. I don’t have all night.”
I turned to the door and made some big grunts as I spoke. “Big...mistake...pal.”
“Alex,” I tried to keep my whispers as soft as I could, no loud hisses, “can you just tell me....” My voice caught in my throat. Did I really want to ask this next part? Yes. Yes, I did. “Can you tell me if what was going on between us was real? Did you really…I mean, was I just imagining that you and I…?”
“Emily,” he whispered back, “you’re my shining star. I won’t let anything happen to you. Now get back to your room. We’ll talk again in a few nights. Be safe.”
The doorknob started turning, and I jumped up to my feet. As fast as I could, I flushed the toilet and then ran the water over my hands. The door opened, and the bodyguard found me wiping my hands on my clothes.
“Next time,” he grunted, “use that little towel there. That’s what it’s for, you dumb shifter.”
I gave a big, silly shrug. “Oh, well. My mistake.” He walked me back to my room, but I stopped at the kitchen.
“I never got any food. Can I grab something?”
He slumped with exhaustion. Now the shifter wanted to eat? What next? He pointed to the doorway, and I stood in plain sight, while he opened and shut the cupboards. He found a can and opened it for me, then handed it over with a chipped spoon.
“That’s the last one. I don’t want to hear any complaints.”
I took a bite and found it was syrupy and sweet. “Mm. It’s good. Thanks.” I quickly handed him the empty can. He rolled his eyes and gestured to a tall, plastic container.
“See this thing? It’s called a trash. You put your empty stuff in there, got it?”
I looked at it. This was how humans dealt with their stuff? They just threw it in a bin and pretended it wasn’t there? I would never understand these creatures.
“Oh. I thought you saved them.”
He didn’t respond, just threw the can away and then took the spoon. He had no more conversation to offer, and I didn’t push it. He led me back to my room, and I practically floated my way down the hall. I had a full stomach and love in my life. Alex hadn’t tricked me. He loved me. He had a plan.
Back between my scratchy sheets in my hard bed, I snuggled in as if I were in complete luxury. This was all part of the plan. That night, I dreamed of holding Bachmann and Harper hostage as shifters just walked around them as if they were no more than a piece of furniture, an accessory no one was all that interested in. Just something we found, had put on display, and then forgot about. It was beautiful.
The next few days were exceptionally dull. We watched more movies, got the occasional walk outside, and spent the rest of our time trying to pick up on nonverbal cues from the humans around us about what more was happening. Had the doctor unlocked the secret to shifting? Would Harper be cured? And where was Tina? I looked for her every day, but I was starting to think I’d imagined her.
Blue and I were on our daily walk around the house one afternoon when we managed to have a quick conversation about our situation.
“I thought everyone at the club cared so much about me,” she whispered, not looking in my direction. “Where are they? Why didn’t they form a search party when I disappeared? They all saw Bachmann take us; they know he’s involved.”
“Maybe he found a way to convince them to not get involved beforehand.”
“I hate them. I hate him. I hate this ugly, moldy house.” She kicked at a little rock in the grass, and it pinged off of a tree and then ricocheted right back at her and hit her right in the arm. She gasped and grabbed it as the bodyguard laughed at her.
“You shifters are so dumb!” He enjoyed her pain far too much for my taste. Honestly, how much did a person have to rub it in? She burned with embarrassment, and I made sure to move my foot over to where the rock had fallen and cover it.
“All right, let me see. The boss won’t like it if you’re injured.” He walked over to Blue and held her injured arm to get a closer look. “Poor thing. You got a cut. I guess you’ll have to be a little less dumb in the future, won’t you?” He winked when he said it, and Blue’s eyebrows went up. What was this?
“I suppose.” She put her hand onto his chest and looked into his small, dark eyes. “If only I was as educated as you are.”
“Well,” he smiled and gently took her hand away, but he was in no hurry. It had never occurred to me that he might be attracted to a shifter; he was the one who made sure to tell us what a bunch of idiots we all were. “Maybe you just need a little more experience in your life. Something to help you be more worldly.”
“What’s worldly mean?”
He chuckled at her, and I quickly picked up the rock with my toes and transferred it to my hand and then to a back pocket. I moved away a little so Blue could flirt. Could this help Alex’s plan? I would have to keep him posted.
That night, I made another trip to the bathroom, and I made sure to be just as obnoxious as I had the first time.
“Come on, human! I gotta go!”
My door opened, and the bodyguard was there with an annoyed look on his face. Was it my imagination, or was he looking a little flushed?
“Get yourself down there,” he gasped. “I’m busy.” Behind him, I could see a slightly open door. I didn’t ask questions. I just scooted down the hall as fast as I could.
“Alex,” I whispered through the vent, “you there?”
“Yes.”
I paused. He sounded different. I was suddenly very scared that I was being tricked. “No, it isn’t. Who’s there?”
“It’s Alex.” He coughed a little. “Sorry, I’m ill.”
“I’ll be fast. Alex, our bodyguard is interested in Blue. He can’t get enough of her.”
“Oh. Is that it?”
“No.” I was a little annoyed. My friend had seduced a human dirt pile, and I had risked my cover by coming to the bathroom, and Alex sounded genuinely unaffected. “I want to know the plan. What are you going to do?”
“Emily,” he sounded slow and heavy, as if he were drugged, “I can’t tell you too much. It’s dangerous.”
“Can you tell me anything?”
There was a pause while he coughed away from the vent. He did sound very ill. “Okay. I can tell you one thing. We got the doctor. He’s on our side. Do whatever he needs. Those samples will help us commence stage two. Just give him whatever he needs, okay?”
I blinked. The doctor? That weird guy in the basement? It didn’t seem possible. “All right, I will if it helps you. What’s stage two?”
“The transformation. The big shift. I’ll tell you more when we’re closer. For now, I have to get rid of this cold.”
He moved away, and I could hear him coughing again on the other side of the wall. It occurred to me that he wasn’t sleeping in the house but outside of it on the small porch where a small, unoccupied space overlooked the garden. Any shifter would thrive in a little spot like that, but apparently, all that wet, cool air was bad for a human.
As I listened to him cough through the wall for the next few seconds, I had a realization. ‘Alex and I are very different,’ I thought to myself. ‘Very, very different.’