by Lee French
Another cop car screamed into sight, snapping Bobby out of his panic. They had bigger problems than his confusion about himself. He re-formed and dropped down next to Matthew, checking him over. “He’s alive.” He had to clench his jaw to deal with agony in his hand. “I think he’s healing.” A quick check of himself revealed no missing parts and no holes or other injuries. The loss of a dragon seemed to have translated into sharp pain in his left hand and nothing else.
“Lovely.” Stephen spat out another bullet at the cop, who looked about ready to actually put another clip of bullets into Stephen.
Slapping his second hand onto his gun to steady it, the cop’s mouth dropped open and he took labored breaths. “What are you?”
Matthew’s eyes snapped open and he focused on Bobby. His clawed hand shot up to grab him by the neck, but he exploded into dragons again to avoid the problem. Growling, the werewolf picked up the nearby cop car and tossed it, sending it rolling down the street.
The second cop car switched into reverse to speed away from Matthew. It drew his attention, and he turned to chase it.
“I’m going to call him unwilling, Bobby. You should get out of here and I’ll handle this. And yes, I’m sure.” Stephen lurched to his feet, smacking the first cop aside hard enough to knock him for a loop. He jumped onto Matthew’s back before he reached the second cop car and sank his fangs into the werewolf’s neck.
Matthew flailed about to dislodge him, with no success. They lifted off the ground, moving upwards under Stephen’s power, and Matthew’s struggles weakened as they rose beyond the range of the street lights.
At that point, with one cop senseless and the other staring up, slack-jawed, Bobby took off. Stephen would get Matthew to their new base, and they’d handle him one way or another. These two cops would have to figure out what to put into a report. Good luck to them. Bobby had no intention of sticking around long enough to be questioned or charged with anything.
Thank God Stephen had been here, because Bobby couldn’t have contained Matthew on his own, nor could he have picked him up and carried him away. He offered a quiet prayer to never find himself in that position without someone like Stephen around. People could get hurt or killed. No one deserved that.
Chapter 14
Bobby flew an hour north, then found a hole to curl up in near the coast. He slept until the garbage truck woke him up around dawn by picking up the dumpster he slept against. Before he had a chance to take in his surroundings, it slammed back down into him, sending dragons scattering. Half a block away, he re-formed and called Hannah while foraging for food.
“Good to hear from you. How are things going?”
“Sorry I ain’t called since El Paso. Camellia in Phoenix got took. There’s Javier and Tiana headed your way. Also, Stephen from Dallas is coming back with Matthew who didn’t rightly want to go, exactly. I dunno, maybe he will when he wakes up. We hadta beat him into submission. Two cops and a buncha folks saw us, I think. Stephen and Matthew had a fight on the street.”
“They…what?”
“It weren’t our fault.” Bobby could hear himself whining and made an effort to stop that. “There’s something wrong with Matthew, we think he’s been killing people and he’s got meds and stuff. Andrew might want to keep a close eye on him when they get there.”
“I see. So you know, the others have found four more gone missing in the past week, and we lost contact with Jasmine and Will. Are you alright?”
“Me? Yeah, sure.” He frowned at the news. Of the group, Jasmine seemed the nicest, and he hated to think of her locked up somehow. “Got a rude wakeup call this morning, but I’m fine. Looking to head out to Honolulu soon as I find a map so I’m sure I’m going the right way.”
Actually, can you go north first? Ai is having some trouble in Portland. So, can you pop up to San Jose first?”
One sigh later, Bobby found himself nodding. “Yeah, sure. It ain’t that much outta my way, I guess.”
“It’s about three hundred miles north. Follow the coast, or there’s a highway that goes up the middle of the state. And thanks, Bobby, you’re a champ. We’ll have a bed waiting for you when you get here, promise.”
“That’s something, I s’pose, though I’d rather have a good meal.”
“I’ll see what we can do.”
“Yeah. Stephen’s got some news about a Kurt Donner. Don’t let him forget to tell you.” Bobby hung up, sorry he’d called. Not really, but a little. Now he had to think about Jasmine trussed up and getting tortured, in addition to knowing he’d have to go farther before seeing his new home and being able to rest in safety for a few nights.
Maybe he’d get lucky and this Lily would be able to fly to Hawaii with him, to keep it from being boring. Anything could happen, right? Depending on how far Hawaii actually was, maybe he could crash at her place and get an actual good night of sleep first. Eat a good meal, too. The dumpster-diving diet featured awful lot of bread and not much meat, and he missed fresh food, a lot. A nice, crisp, whole apple would really hit the spot right now, so would some medium-well steak with mashed potatoes and gravy.
Before he could get caught up in food fantasies, Bobby reminded himself that he had money. If he wanted to, he could eat a real meal every day. It seemed wise to not do that and hold onto it, in case of some kind of emergency. Like…he had no idea, but something could come up that required money and put him in a world of hurt without.
Setting the notion aside, he blew out into the swarm and flew north at top speed. He followed the coast from several thousand feet up and watched the sun climb upwards. By the time he reached San Jose and found a map, a clock in the convenience store told him the trip had taken about three hours.
Lily lived in a nice neighborhood, so far as he could see. It reminded him of Stephen’s momma’s house, only more green. It had that same upper middle class, homeowner’s association, everybody uses the same guys to cut the grass feel to it. Either Lily still lived with her folks, or she did pretty darn well for herself.
Trying not to feel grossly out of place, he found a place to land and re-form, then walked up her street. Curtains twitched as he passed them. When he turned up the stone path to her front door, it felt like a hundred people must be watching him. He knocked and stuck his hands in his pockets, hoping no one called the cops while he waited. Nobody answered. This place probably had an alarm system, so he peered in through the window instead of sending dragons to break in for him. He saw nice living room furniture with toddler toys strewn about. If that kid’s momma turned out to be Lily, she wasn’t coming to Hawaii with him, even if she could snap her fingers and be there.
“Who are you?”
Caught in the act of peeking in, Bobby turned around and held up his hands. The woman standing there with two toddlers peeking out from behind her legs couldn’t be Lily. The little boy, though, had to be her son. Cute little thing had a mop of brown hair and the icy blue eyes. Funny, he hadn’t really thought to wonder if the eyes would get passed on as-is to their kids. Apparently, they would.
“I’m looking for Lily. Was hoping she’d be home, but life don’t seem to work out the way I’d like most of the time.” He noticed the woman’s eyes flicking to his own, then she put a hand protectively on the boy’s head. The boy gave him a shy little smile.
“If you actually knew her, you’d know she’s working today.”
He pulled out the ‘aw shucks’, getting the impression this might be Lily’s sister or close friend. “I didn’t say I know her, ma’am, it’s just real important I talk to her as soon as possible. Where’s she work?”
The woman backed away, pushing the two toddlers along behind her. “You must be crazy if you think I’m going to tell you that.”
“I ain’t here to hurt nobody.” Bobby took a step after her. When she flinched, he stopped and stuffed his hands into his pockets. “I ain’t crazy, neither. You seen the eyes. We’re related somehow, and part of why I’m here is to figure that out.” He al
most asked after the boy, but thought that would probably make her run and call the police, maybe with a screech. “My name’s Bobby. I just want to talk to her, nothing else, I swear on my daddy’s grave.”
She frowned and looked down at the boy. He nodded to her, so she sighed and nodded, too. “She works at the Wislen Garden Center.”
“Thank you kindly, ma’am. I appreciate it.” He, of course, had no clue where that was. Asking directions seemed like pushing her a little too far. Besides, he saw a gas station around the corner where he could ask anyway.
To his surprise, when he started walking, she said, “It’s that way.” When he looked back, she pointed in the opposite direction that he’d chosen to walk. He tipped an imaginary hat to her in thanks and turned that way, moving at a brisk walk. A block away, he dove behind a tree and burst into dragons to get a higher vantage point.
The Wislen family business wasn’t hard to find. He walked into the place and looked around at the plants and decorative pots and things. Momma would like to be able to wander around and buy stuff here. The yard ornaments weren’t so much her thing, but they had flowers he never saw before that he knew she’d like. Those big red ones the size of dinner plates would catch her eye for sure.
“Can I help you?”
He looked up to find the owner of that soft, sweet voice and found himself face to face with icy blue eyes. Long brown hair framed a delicate, pretty face, and she took his breath away. None of the other women had done that, and he couldn’t explain why she did. For a long few moments, he stood and stared at her, gawping like an idiot.
Her pleasant smile dimmed. It shook him out of his stupor. “Lily Wislen, I need to talk to you.”
The smile dropped away completely, and he wanted to punch himself for doing that to her. “Thatcher.”
Oh. She was married. He blinked and scratched the back of his neck. Disappointment crushed him back to reality. “Sorry, ma’am. Mrs. Thatcher. I still gotta talk to you.” He tapped on his temple to indicate his eyes. “It’s important. No joke.”
She reached up with a slim hand and brushed her hair back. For Bobby, the world slowed down and the pink polish on her nails flashed in the sunshine. Her gaze swept the area, then she pointed discreetly to the front gate. “I’ll meet you out there in a few minutes. I just need to tell my boss I’m taking a break.”
“Yeah, sure.” He bobbed his head and watched her turn around and walk away. Out of all the women he met on this wild ride so far, only she pushed all his buttons at once, making it hard to think. Naturally, she was married, probably happily. She’d have a tall, strong, handsome guy. He’d be a really great person, the kind of guy Bobby could never hate or measure up to. He might even be that guy over there, talking to a couple by the rosebushes.
Shaking his head to knock the stupid out, he ambled to the front gate, finding a curb to sit his butt on while he waited however long she decided to make him wait. For all he knew, she would go about her job for another hour before actually coming out to talk to him. Heck, she might just dismiss him entirely so he’d be still sitting out here after the place closed, not realizing she’d slipped out the back to get rescued by her Mr. Thatcher around the corner. The thought put a sour frown on his face, right up until she walked out and sat next to him five minutes later.
“You have fifteen minutes.”
Pleasantly surprised by her joining him so quickly, Bobby nodded his understanding. He pulled his much crumpled list from his pocket and offered it to her. “About a week ago, me and three others got grabbed and shoved into a lab where we were experimented on. We escaped and found this list on the way out. We’re going across the country, looking up everyone on that list to tell ‘em you’re in danger. Far as I know, seven of ‘em gone missing in the past few days, we think they got took by government agents, and are right now being experimented on just like the four of us were. I don’t know if they’re for sure gonna come for you, but I’m here to warn you and offer a place to go where it should be safe. Even if they find us there, we’re all willing to fight together to stay free and safe.”
Lily listened to him. She found her own name on the list and ran her finger over it. Leaning close, she whispered to him, “Why are they doing it?”
“Not rightly sure, but all of us have these eyes, and so far, most of us have some kind of weird and crazy ability, like a super power. Not gonna pull mine out here in broad daylight, but if you got something you can do, you’re not crazy, promise.”
She sagged against him with relief. “Oh, thank God.” Her head rested on his shoulder.
As much as he wanted her to lean on him, he coughed. “Ain’t your husband gonna get a little tetchy if’n you do that?”
“I doubt it.” She lifted her head back up with a sigh anyway. “He’s been dead for a little over two years. I have a son. If I can’t bring him, I won’t go anywhere.”
Oh. That changed things. He tried to hide how his heart swelled. “You can bring him, sure. I haven’t been to the place we’re taking up yet, so I can’t say what we got for amenities yet, but yeah, bring him. He’s got the eyes, right? They’d take him, so you should bring him.”
She sat bolt upright, her body tensed and ready to run. “When are they coming?”
“I got no clue.” Wanting to reassure her, he put a hand on her arm. It bolstered his resolve when she didn’t pull away or brush him off. “The one in Phoenix was gone already when I got there a coupla days ago, but all three in LA were still there. No idea how they’re deciding who to take in what order.”
“They can’t take him, I won’t let them.” She stood up and hurried back in through the gate.
Bobby stood up and stretched. His work was mostly done here. This momma had protective tiger written all over her now, and she’d take her cub to a promise of safety. As much as he wanted to stay and get to know her, he had to give her directions and get his own to Hawaii. Maybe on that flight, he could think about why he reacted to her so strongly.
She jogged out with her keys two minutes later, and her blue sedan got them back to her house in ten minutes. He saw no black SUVs or cops, or anything. She ran to the house next door anyway, and came out about ten minutes later carrying the little boy Bobby saw earlier. Holding him possessively and protectively, she squeezed him they’d been parted for a week or a month instead of a few hours. It made him want to call Momma.
“This is my friend Bobby,” Lily told the boy. “Bobby, this is Sebastian.”
“Nice to meetcha all proper-like,” Bobby said with a wave.
“Bobby scared Auntie Allie,” Sebastian announced, his small voice grave and accusing.
“Hum. I didn’t mean to. Was just looking for your momma.” He had a thought to leave it at that while Lily unlocked the front door of her house and led him inside, but he wanted Sebastian on his side. Besides, he had a cousin with a boy that reminded him of this kid. “Some bad men want to hurt your momma, and I’m trying to protect her from them.”
His little eyes went wide. “Are you a policeman?”
Bobby grinned. “Nope, I’m a superhero.”
The boy’s mouth made a little ‘o’ of delight. Lily, on the other hand, rolled her eyes at him. The corners of her mouth tugged upwards, though, so she didn’t think too poorly of him for it. “Bobby is going to help us pack up some things in Mommy’s car so we can take a trip to a place where the bad men won’t find us. You know what would be a big help?” She set the boy down on the stairs. “If you could go pull your most favorite clothes out of your dresser and your most favorite toys out of your bin, and put them all in a pile, that would help a lot.”
“Okay, Mommy!” Sebastian raced up the stairs, using his hands and feet.
Watching the little boy move with such enthusiasm and determination made Bobby grin. “How old is he? ”
“I’d love to chat and do the whole ‘get to know you’ routine,” she said as she bustled into the kitchen, “but maybe that could wait until we’re in the car
?”
He followed her, his eyes drifting downwards. “Oh, I ain’t coming in the car.” And that was a damned shame. Driving that far with her might mean being able to snuggle up overnight, and he’d liked the feel of her head on his shoulder. He’d liked that a lot. “I got another stop to make before I get to go to the farm. I was wondering if I could get you to look up on the internet how far it from here to Hawaii, though, because I gotta get my scrawny butt there next.”
Lily turned from pulling food out of the cabinets, probably meant for the trip. “It’s over two thousand miles from here. We went there once when I was a kid, it’s like a five hour flight.”
Bobby’s mouth slipped open, then he shut it. On maps, they always put it right below the 48 states, so he never thought of it as far away. He figured it would be maybe four or five hundred miles, a thousand at the most. At his speed, it would take him an entire day to get there, and he’d be so tired and hungry when he got there, he’d fall flat on his face.
“Dangit.” At that moment, he realized he hadn’t yet shown her his ability, so he held out his hand and let five dragons detach. “I was gonna fly there,” he explained, “but that’s too far for me. I can only go about a hundred miles an hour.”
She sucked in a surprised breath and stared. One of the dragons decided to walk on the counter, sniffing it, and she put her hand out next to it. The dragon sniffed her hand, then climbed up on it and walked all over it as she turned it around. “Wow. This is nothing like what I can do.”
“Yeah, I ain’t seen nobody else with anything quite like this yet. They kinda got their own minds, but they’re me, too. It’s hard to explain.”
She chuckled. “If that’s the best you can do, it must be.”
By focusing down on that one dragon, Bobby got to vicariously explore her hand, noting the wedding ring still on it, the dirt under her short fingernails, the softness of her skin, a few freckles, and how delicate her fingers really were. “Yeah. Um, maybe I could find the number of the one out there and call before I find a way to get myself out there. Make sure she ain’t abducted, too.”
