Chapter 12
Two minutes later, Thea was out of her suite, still dressed in her sweatpants and tank top, but now she wore a sweatshirt over top to ward off some of the frigid temperature.
In the corridor, people came and went, but there was no casual air to their movements. No, everyone was moving with a purpose, and once she made it to the elevator and made it down to the first floor, she remembered why.
The east wing of the estate house which housed the school and cafeteria was demolished. Tears flooded Thea’s eyes, and her mouth fell open as she walked silently toward the thick billowing sheet of plastic that was meant to cordon off that section. As she approached, she heard voices, and she shoved the plastic aside to step into the carnage. There was a hole, just one giant gaping hole, where her classroom used to be. She stared at the space, unblinking, as her feet shuffled her toward the nearest Walker who was helping a dozen others to clear out debris.
“W-was anyone hurt? The children,” she amended quietly, almost afraid to ask. “Were any children hurt?”
The Walker stopped working and turned to stare down at her. “Uh, no. No kids were injured.”
Relief filled her so quickly that it actually stole her breath.
The Walker eyed her curiously. “You alright, lady?”
She nodded numbly but kept her eyes on the devastation. Thank God!
Beside her, the Walker inhaled and then tensed hard. “You,” he turned to fully face her. “You smell really good.”
Finally tearing her eyes from the wreckage, Thea looked up at the man. He was smiling confidently as he angled his head. “You been at StoneCrow long? What’s your name?”
She so wasn’t doing this.
Backing up a step she shook her head and held up a hand as she continued to back away. “Thanks for the information.”
“Hey!” he barked. “Wait!”
But she was already back on the other side of the plastic and hightailing it to the door.
Outside she found even more carnage. She had intended to head to the parking garage to borrow a car, but there was no longer a parking garage to head to. All around the estate were signs of the attack. Trees had been felled, burn marks mottled the grounds, men and women worked together on various tasks. For a moment, she considered helping, but a quick look down reminded her that she was wearing only sweats and slippers.
Walking away, she paced down the line of vehicles parked in a long line out front. Some were the estate’s military type vehicles, others were normal cars and truck, and some were service vehicles used at the estate. With any luck, she’d find one of the small buses the school used for extremely rare field trips. It’s not like they’d be using the buses anytime soon, and surely no one would miss one.
***
Marko was quickly shoving fists full of gear into his duffle bag. He’d meant to be quick, but King had stopped him in the hall at the manor to ask him too many questions and now his five-minute jaunt to his cabin had turned into thirty. He considered contacting Jenny to apologize, but fuck her. She’d made Thea wait for relief, so she could do some waiting of her own.
A mental nudge came just as he zipped up his bag and stood. “What?”
Stoney’s confused voice carried to him through the mist. “Marko? Where’s Thea?”
Annoyed, he stalked toward the door. “Jenny moved us to a suite on the second floor.”
“Uhhh, yeah. I know. I’m here.”
There was a pause, and in that small space, Marko’s feet slowed to a halt. “You’re in the suite?”
“Yea and Thea’s not here.”
He started walking again, only this time much more quickly. “Yes, she is. I left her with Jenny. She’s in the room sleeping.”
“Marko, Jenny had to get back to the infirmary. She asked me to come up and keep an eye on Thea until you got here, but I’ve checked the entire suite. She’s not here. Room two-o-one, right? It’s empty.”
Fear skittered up his spine. “Check the bedroom, the bathroom.”
“I did!”
“Fffffffuck! I’m on my way.”
Marko dropped his bag just outside his cabin and shifted. Unconsciously, he always shifted into the form of a white animal and right now was no exception. In snow leopard form he hurtled himself toward the main estate house as both panic and fear seized him. His mind immediately went to worst case scenario and had him contacting King to ensure there hadn’t been another breach. There hadn’t, which meant that this was all just a huge misunderstanding…right? He pushed himself faster.
Marko burst through the door of Thea’s suite and startled Stoney who was standing in the center of the sitting room.
“Jesus!” she plastered a hand on her chest.
“You find her,” he snapped without preamble.
“No.” Stoney shook her head, her brows spearing down in clear annoyance. “I told you she’s not here.”
The suite was only one room, so it didn’t take him long to sift through the scents in the small space. He picked up shampoo, soap, and mint even as Stoney relayed the story they told.
“Apparently, she showered and left.”
Crossing to the closed bedroom door, he shoved it open.
“Will you listen,” Stoney demanded. “She’s gone!”
“Where in the fuck were you?” he demanded.
“On my way up!”
“And where was Jenny?”
“She had to go check on a patient. She asked me to come up and take her place. By the time I got up here, Thea was gone.”
“You guys left her alone?” he accused.
“Hey!” Stoney barked. “You left too!”
“To get clothes,” he snarled bending to go nose-to-nose with the nurse. “I said I’d be right back!”
Stoney didn’t back down an inch. In fact, she pressed her nose right up against his. “And when was that?”
Fffffuck! He jerked back and buried a hand in his hair. “You’re wasting my time.” Walking around her, he stalked out the door and into the hall. Nose lifted, he couldn’t get a bead on Thea’s scent because of the gaping hole in the building that had cold wind blasting through the whole damn place. “Fuck!”
“You say that word a lot,” Stoney complained from right behind him.
“Nothing else fucking fits.” He stomped toward the rail that looked down to the main floor and scanned the people coming and going. No Thea.
“We can’t even call the guardhouse out front because there isn’t one anymore.”
As helpful as he was sure Stoney thought she was being, he didn’t need her following him around and stating the obvious. Palming the rail, he vaulted over it and shifted mid-drop. Massive snow-white wings caught his descent, and just as he reached the ground floor, he tucked his great snowy owl back inside. In human form, he lifted his head again trying to get Thea’s scent. Nothing. “Motherfucker!”