Chapter Nineteen
Penelope
My eyes fluttered open and I squinted immediately into the darkness around me. I had to figure out where I was. Where they had taken us.
“Camden!” I shrieked, calling out into the darkness. But I didn't hear his cry. I couldn't hear anything. I was tied to a metal chair. It was so cold underneath my fingertips. The straps that were holding me down were medical grade, buckles and everything. No matter how hard I struggled, I was trapped. A light flickered on above me and as my eyes adjusted, I realized I was in an area with almost plastic walls. I could see through them, and on the other side were a couple of men in suits and woman in a lab coat. I looked behind me and saw a metal tray full of medical instruments. I didn't know what to say to them. The only thing I could think of was Camden.
“Where is my baby? Where is my son?”
There was no point in trying to convince me that they didn't have him. I could recall hearing him scream as they picked him up right before they had injected me with some type of drug in the neck. It had obviously put me out. But for how long? And what had they done with Camden in the meantime?
For a moment, I hoped that Harrison would come and find us, but he was undercover somewhere. He was doing his job, and he wouldn’t be home for a few more days. He wouldn't even know that we were missing. I cringed at the thought.
“Where the hell is my baby? What have you done with him? I know what you're doing here is illegal!”
I watched one of the men in suits. His head snapped up like he heard me for the first time. He parted the plastic and walked in.
“I don't think she needs to be kept in quarantine, do you?”
The doctor walked in behind him, not even looking up from her notes. It was like she didn't even realize that a person was sitting here, strapped to a chair like a prisoner. “We can't be sure. Until we get the blood test results back, we won't know if the child is a full shifter or half. It doesn't matter what she says. I already sent her blood upstairs to the lab as well, so it should be more than another fifteen or twenty minutes until we have the results.”
They took blood from Camden? “If you hurt him in any way… I will kill you. Shifter or not, I will end your life, and rip you limb from limb.”
The doctor rolled her eyes at me. She was pretty, as much as I didn't want her to be. And only a couple years older than myself. “We didn't hurt him. That would be counterproductive. He'll be fine, and all of this will be over very soon. Now we need to talk about who the baby’s father is. Only to bring him in for testing as well. Though hopefully, he'll come easier than you did. I still can't believe they had to physically bring you in here.” She clucked her tongue at me like I had done something wrong. She was completely insane.
“I'm sorry? You took me prisoner!”
The second man came through the plastic and looked at me. It was the same man from the diner. A little bit over forty and already beginning to go bald. He had piercing gray eyes that immediately made me uncomfortable, just as they had in the diner. His sinister glare was the reason that I'd run in the first place. How had he found me so quickly?
“Now, we offered you a nice sum of money to come here, and you declined. Which was your right, but I think Camden will be very happy to go to a nice college when he gets older, and for his mother to not really have to work that much the rest of his life. So don't worry, the money will be forwarded to your bank account and when you leave here, you'll be all the richer for it.”
“You're going to let me leave? You really think I'm stupid enough to believe you?”
He smiled at me, but it dripped with venom. He knew I had caught onto this little act. He knew I was smarter than he had given me credit for. “Yes, you will be able to leave. Besides, if you’re human, you're not who we really want. Now tell the doctor who the father is so we can get to work.”
I chewed on my lower lip, attempting to look nervous, when in reality, I was just so angry that I could've killed all three of them. “I don't know. It was a one night stand. I have no idea who his father is.”
The doctor rolled her eyes again. “Well, whose house are you staying at? Just a friend?”
They obviously followed me, so they already knew who I was staying with. Maybe I could play this up to my benefit. “Yes, just a friend. James Harrison, a high-ranking detective with the Seattle Police Department. He and I went to high school together. After your offer, I had no one else to turn to. I knew he would take me in without question, as our families go a long way back.”
My plan had worked, but just slightly. The first man that had entered looked nervous.
“Actually, he's going to notice my absence pretty quickly. We had dinner plans tonight. And by the look on your face—” I looked pointedly at the man on the right, “—it's already evening. So as soon as he tracks you down, you'll have the entire police department swarming your building. So this time, I'm going to make you an offer. You let Camden and I leave, and I will never talk about this again. They won't press charges and take down your business, and we’ll all forget this ever happened. Does that sound like a fair compromise?”
The second man spoke again, flinching at the words. “You’re lying.”
I cocked my head at him. “Am I? Are you really willing to take the risk and find out? I wouldn't.”
The doctor finally looked up from her notes. “Even if what you say is true, they will never find you. This is a secret testing facility, not on our main hub. Even if they were there, you and Camden will still be here. And then you’ll never leave, I'll make sure of it. Gentlemen, I have work to do, if you’ll leave us.”
The men nodded to her and walked out of the plastic cage. It was just her and me. She snapped on some latex gloves and held a syringe in front of her.
“What's that for? You and I both know you know I'm human.”
“Yes, in fact I do already know that you’re human. But it's a lot more fun to play these games when it seems like I'm not sure yet. I don't get in as much trouble that way.”
“Why are you doing this? Why are you testing on shifters anyway? What have they were done to you?”
“They don't have to do anything to any of us. Don't you see? They limit us. Their abilities are far superior to ours and as a result, they hinder our ability to be as perfect as we once were. People think that we’re not as fast or as strong as the shifters are, that humans are suddenly less than them. All that it would take is one shifter to get into the mindset that shifters are the superior race. They would take us off the planet. So instead, we’re fighting back before they've begun the war. Shifters won't even know what's happened to them by the time that we’ve either gained new abilities, or eradicated their species. It's a win-win, really.”
“That's disgusting. My son does not limit me. He makes me better.”
“Of course he does. That's what all mothers say about their children. But if he wasn’t your child? How would you feel about him then?”
She plunged the needle into my arm and I winced. “I would feel the same way. Shifters are still people. And I don't believe that doing any kind of testing on people should be allowed.”
She removed the needle from my arm and held a cotton swab over it. “They're not people. They are savages. Just like that buffoon boyfriend of yours. Thinking he could come into my lab and not get found out? Please.”
“You knew?”
“I suspected. Some of us did. But others only believe what they want.”
“I can’t believe this.”
“Believe it. The rest of the world will soon enough.”
“What does that mean?”
“Before we go public, we need there to be a war. A reason for change.”
She went back to writing her notes. As she began to walk out of the plastic walls, I realized what she meant. “You're going to make the shifters do something to you? You're going to make them look like they're evil.”
She didn't turn around to acknowledge me. And within seconds of her walking through the plastic, I was plunged into darkness once again. All I could think about was Camden, and for a moment I let my thoughts settle on Harrison. I had to hope that his operation had gone smoothly, and that someone was coming to check up on us. I just needed everyone to be safe. The first chance I got I was going to make my escape, and if I died trying, I needed Camden to have a good, solid family left. I would do anything to save him.