Caroline kept her eyes closed, something that probably should’ve taken more effort given the fact that her heart was racing a mile a second, but given the fact she was exhausted, it felt like somebody had taken a baseball bat to her body and a pickax to her head, keeping her eyes closed didn’t seem like that bad of an idea at the moment.

Plus, she’d recognized the soft feminine voice. She’d seen Dr. Winters shot dead by Reaper, so she knew that evil bitch was in the grave. And something in her instincts told her the woman speaking so gently in her ear could be trusted, unlike everyone else in her life. She had trusted General Ranier as a lifelong family friend. She’d trusted him as her savior and her lover. And worst of all, she’d trusted in the false belief that her father would be home waiting for her with open arms.

Tears stung her eyes and burned her chest but she kept her lids glued shut. She could cry for Daddy later, alive or not, he would have wanted her to make it out of this hellhole alive.

“Lucy, go fetch me a fresh kit. I need samples before the subject’s body naturalizes to being in the lab surroundings again. There’s no telling how her body chemistry reacted to the past two days, and we can’t miss our opportunity to capture our findings.

Caroline heard a distant sounding, “Yes, Doctor,” and then the sound of a heavy mechanical door sliding shut in another room.

She felt the doctor’s presence before she heard her voice whispering in her ear again, “He’s watching us from the camera. I’m going to pretend like I’m checking your pupils for reaction. Your natural instinct will be to blink but you have to fight it.”

Caroline sucked in a breath, and focused on remaining frozen like a zombie. The woman peeled back her right eyelid and shined a dull yellow light in her eyes. Caroline got a brief glimpse of mahogany hair and concerned green eyes.

“I’m getting you out of here. We have to make the general think you’re too unhealthy to be moved in order for it to work. I may have to step out of the room but I swear on my life I’ll be back.” The beautiful brown-haired woman let go of her eye and the lid slammed shut, leaving Caroline in the darkness. At least she had a face to put to the voice.

The woman pulled back her left eyelid. “He will be here any minute now; I will not let him take you from this place. I will destroy everything I can so that the general can’t do this to anyone else. Can you trust me?”

Although the past however many days had been one gigantic mess of lies and deceit, punctuated heartbreakingly by Reaper’s betrayal, something about this woman screamed sincerity and honesty.

Barely parting her lips, she breathed out a “yes.”

The woman let her eyelid slam shut. “Vitals stable. Pulse slowing, blood pressure normal. Subject appears to have stabilized almost immediately upon injection of the serum.” The woman’s concerned voice had gone mechanic, as if she were speaking to a recording. “There appears to have been no excessive trauma physically, no forced fashion entry. There are minor contusions around the throat, thighs and hips, but other than that, the subject appears to be free of injury. The rate of healing internally after suffering such a violent seizure and spike in blood pressure is remarkable. The serum appears to have not only improved healing, but increased the rate at which the subject’s recovery occurs by nearly 10 times the normal speed. I’m going to draw more blood for samples and submit to the lab for testing upon which we will compare to baseline data as well as the data obtained from the subject’s blood one week prior to removal from lab.”

Caroline heard the soft sneak of a button being pushed and knew then that the doctor was talking into a recorder.

The doctor continued, “We were also able to pull DNA of the male subject, Sergeant Thomas Reaper, from the female subject’s skin and fingernails. Preliminary results are yet to be established, but the data from the implant in his spinal cord shows rates of healing unseen before now. Follow-up testing once subject is recaptured and reinstated into the program will be first priority along with retesting subject’s teammates upon capture as well. Tracking device is implanted and may be activated at any time.”

Caroline became aware of a quick switch as she picked up the pace as the doctor spoke. She longed to open her eyes to survey her surroundings but managed to hold her will strong. Besides, she didn’t need to see a monitor to realize the fast pulsing was her heart picking up speed at the mention of Reaper’s name. Her stupidity at trusting him so implicitly was an acid bath to her heart.

How could she have so blindly believed he’d been sent here to rescue her?

The mere thought made her soul feel darkness. Thankful for the sheet, her fingers curled into the mattress beneath her, she focused every bit of tension in her body on the small extremities fighting to be as unmoving as possible.

The sound of the door sliding open penetrated her thoughts, followed by the doctor’s annoyed voice, “What is that?”

As he entered, the voice of a young male sounded, “the—the test tubes.”

“Idiot. That’s not what I asked for. You are compromising my entire research project with your insufficiencies. If I weren’t so worried you’d go get a tourniquet instead of a needle, I’d send you back. Never mind. Go back to your duties. I’ll fetch what I needed in the first place.” Silence filled the room after the doctor got through speaking.

Caroline felt the woman’s breath near her ear once more, “just giving us some space. I’ll step out for no more than two minutes and return. No matter what happens do not let anyone know you’ve regained consciousness.”

The ominous sound of the door slamming shut followed the doctor’s words. The feeling of complete and utter aloneness cast over her body like a wet cold blanket.

There was no mistaking the sterile field lab where she’d spent the past number of months. Only this time she didn’t have the blessed numbness of being drugged into an incoherent haze. No, now she felt the true sharpness of the knife of pain at Reaper’s betrayal slicing through her chest with every single breath. He’d intended to do this to her. To lock her up and drain her dry for his team. He’d taken her without remorse, without apology, and like the lovesick virgin that she was, she’d given herself to him fully, trusting him with her heart, mind, and body.

Each of which he’d managed to damage beyond repair.

What a fool she’d been.

And then the door slid open, and no matter how bad she longed to open her eyes and see who it was, Caroline forced herself to remain completely still, and she was quickly rewarded when the female soothing voice reached her ears. “He’s coming. Be ready. We’ll have to run. The general is ready this time.”

Suddenly a loud boom filled the room and the entire room shook around them. The force of the impact sent Caroline to the floor, jarring her elbows and knees which took the brunt of her fall. She cried out with a sharp pain.

Smoke filled the room with dust and debris. Uncaring of the need to keep up the pretense, Caroline opened her eyes and searched for the beautiful brunette woman. She saw her lying a few feet away, a chunk of stone a few inches from her head where blood oozed from her temple. No. No. No.

Caroline scrambled to her hands and knees, pulling up the tattered remnants of her gown to press against the woman’s wound. Not again. Not again.

Boom. Boom. Boom. The explosions sounded in the distance, growing closer, spaced apart in one-second intervals. Aftershocks sent more stone and dirt tumbling overhead and Caroline quickly huddled on the ground, covering her neck and head with her hands as she waited on the last repercussions to pass.

“What?” The woman’s voice penetrated the further panic threatening to overtake her senses. 

Carolyn scrambled for her again, “You’re okay. Just a little knock on the head.”

The explosions grew louder and Caroline, with panic scrambling what little bit of logic she’d manage to retain, wrapped her arms around the woman and they huddled on the floor together.

There was a loud boom, and then another and another and Caroline realized this time it wasn’t the sound of explosions down the hall, but someone was trying to kick in their door. And then a loud screech and cracks sounded and that someone succeeded.

Before Caroline could stumble to her feet, a sweet tortured voice filled her ears. “Caroline? Are you in here?”