by C. E. Glines
Surely, I could pretend long enough for Adam to find me. I could act like…what? A wimp? That wouldn’t work. Coward? No way. Submissive. That was how I needed to appear to appease his ego.
I almost laughed out loud at my conclusion. When had I ever been submissive? I wasn’t sure I could pull it off. Maybe I could just keep him talking. In the movies Miranda made me watch, the villains always loved to talk.
“Why are you in favor of everyone becoming a hybrid?” I asked.
He was pleased by my question and launched into quite an extensive monologue. He was so into it, I didn’t think he cared if I was listening or not.
Tuning him out, I focused on my search and spotted something blue further up in the trees. It was a sign. I just barely made out the faded lettering, Blue Ridge.
We’re next to what used to be Blue Ridge Paper Mill.
Elation zinged through our bond, making me a little woozy. I put my hand against the nearest tree in order to keep myself upright. Millsap was still fully engaged in his speech and didn’t notice my wobble.
We got you. Just hold on, Mace.
Yeah, I was holding. I would like to hold on to a stick while I knocked slick upside the head. Or a gun. Then I would only have to pull the trigger. That would take less effort on my part.
Macy, you need to let up a little.
Well, which is it, Adam? Hold on or let up? They are mutually exclusive, I snapped at him. Almost immediately, I regretted my retort. Sorry. It’s kind of been a long week. I’m just cranky.
So, everything’s normal is what you’re saying.
Very funny, Catman.
Glad you think so. But seriously, Macy, it won’t be long.
I glanced around the campgrounds. There were guards posted along the perimeter approximately every twenty feet or so.
I’m not going anywhere just yet. There are guards posted around the perimeter.
As if that could hold you.
I smiled at Adam’s confidence in me. The crazy thing was, even though I might not have had confidence in myself to accomplish such an escape, I knew that I would absolutely do it anyway if given the chance.
Millsap’s rising volume drew my attention back to him.
“…because it’s time for the human species to evolve, Dr. Greer.” He thought my smile was for him. Encouraged at my presumed interest, he became more animated, making great sweeping gestures with his arms. “To leave behind all the petty squabbles associated with beliefs in false Gods.”
It was hard not to stare in open disbelief. Millsap is insane, I informed Adam.
He is a few fries short.
More than a few. I’m betting he opted for fruit. Who chose fruit with a hamburger? Unless it was deep fried.
A maniacal grin lit his face as he continued gibbering on in his grand finale. “…to embrace progress and reform and establish a civilized world culture.”
And he thought this would happen by turning everyone into animals? Cue the crazy person music. How did I segue from that?
“So,” I said, clearing my throat. “Are you a hybrid?”
He spread his arms and lifted his chin as the shift overtook him. Pincers emerged from his mouth, and antennae grew from his forehead.
My eyes involuntarily widened in horror.
Macy, what’s wrong?
I was speechless as the freak show continued. Another pair of arms, segmented like an insect’s, grew from his sides.
He’s a bug, Adam. A giant freaking bug!
I take it, you don’t like bugs?
No, I don’t like bugs! I screeched at him.
I wanted to run away as fast as I could or pound it until it was dead. I couldn’t control the shift that raced through my body.
Okay, Mace. Keep it under control. I’m almost there.
He wasn’t quite laughing, but he couldn’t entirely hide his amusement. It made me mad to think he was laughing at me, and that made the fear subside a little. Enough, so that I wasn’t going to react out of panic. I knew I had to maintain control. Showing weakness in the presence of an enemy never ended well.
I planted my feet like they were in cement. I would not give in to fear. I hadn’t ruled out fighting yet, but I was not running.
Millsap regarded me through insectoid eyes and then slowly began to shift back. Observing my shifted form, he said, “It seems like we have something in common.”
I had to play this to my advantage. Realizing my breaths were coming in short gasps, I deliberately slowed my breathing. My lips I forced into a smile, but careful, so as not to show so much teeth as to look threatening.
“It looks like we do,” I said, being extra careful not to cut myself with my own teeth.
He must have bought it. Without the slightest concern, he turned and started walking towards a row of tents.
Did I appear totally incapable of attacking anyone? I was getting tired of people turning their backs on me, dismissing me as a threat. True, I didn’t have any experience fighting in this form, but I was more than willing to practice on him.
“Do come along, Dr. Greer,” Millsap called.
My whole body felt hot as anger flushed through me. He was addressing me like I was a child and not an equal. I hated it.
Be submissive. Who was I kidding? I didn’t know how to be submissive. What was submissive anyway? It was weak and useless. Submissive my—
Why are you thinking submissive? Adam questioned.
I am not submissive! I growled at him.
You don’t have to tell me, he laughed. But you are currently outmanned and outgunned. Be smart.
I took a deep breath and immediately regretted it. Why did making paper have to smell so bad? But Adam was right, and there was no point in staying put. I moved forward, following Millsap at what I considered a safe distance.
“You’re a lot more accepting of this than I was led to believe,” Millsap said when I caught up.
Who was leading him to believe anything about me? That was what I had to find out.
“I haven’t observed an appreciable bad side to being a hybrid,” I told him. That was true, if I ignored my newly discovered urge to kill.
He stopped walking when he reached the last tent. “Too bad your friends don’t feel the same.”
A feeling of dread enveloped me when I realized what was coming. “I wasn’t aware that they felt any different,” I said hesitantly. “They’ve never given me any indication that they thought otherwise.” I mentally braced myself as he reached for the tent flap.
“Interesting,” he drawled, pulling it aside. “I have found them to be most disagreeable.” His eyes were firmly fixed on me, waiting for me to look through the portal he had created.
My breath caught in my throat at the sight of Olivia and Juarez in the middle of the tent. Stretched high above their heads, metal manacles secured their arms to tent posts that travelled from floor to ceiling. They were bruised and bloodied and unconscious.
I involuntarily took a few steps into the tent. The urge to run to them was strong, but I stayed where I was. Placing my hands on my hips, I rifled through the damage done to them. I was sure my face registered my shock. I was not that good an actress.
Millsap entered and stood beside me. “Don’t fret, Dr. Greer,” he encouraged. “They are healing quite nicely.”
From my peripheral vision, I could tell there was a large grin of approval stretched across his face. It was completely opposite the disgust I felt. Then the disgust turned into something else. I felt oddly separated from what was going on. I was still there. I knew that I was. But it felt different. Maybe it was some sort of survival instinct, allowing me to function in the face of horror.
“And then, we can start again,” he sang softly.
The glee in his voice at that prospect was unmistakable. Though I doubted he would dirty his hands with the task, he clearly enjoyed watching. Sick, evil, sadistic—
“Hello, Beautiful.”
My eyes flew across the room, z
eroing in on the voice. Strutting across the tent was a free and unbloodied Pike. That was not quite correct. He was wiping blood from his hands with Juarez’s shirt. Olivia and Juarez’s blood.
I was thrust from the surreal distance into the very real present. Rage filled my entire being. I now understood the phrase, I saw red. It seemed like my vision had been shrouded in red. All I could think was, he’s dead.
Adam’s concern penetrated the haze, and I answered him before he could ask. They’ve got Olivia and Juarez. Pike, however, is amazingly free and unharmed.
Adam’s anger joined mine, adding yet another layer. With his boost, I felt stronger and even more eager to fight.
Pike stopped in front of me, and everything faded from my vision except him. He was within easy reach. A swipe of my claws across his neck was all it would take. I would have to make sure I hit hard and deep enough so that he wouldn’t be able to heal from it. But it would be so easy.
Adam must have picked up on what I was contemplating. I recognized the effort it took for him to rein in his anger.
Macy, he said with his voice tinted with fear. Don’t do anything that’s going to get you killed.
They hurt them! Pike hurt them! I screamed at him. He betrayed them!
I know, Macy. I know. We’ll get them out, and Pike will pay for his betrayal. I’ll see to it.
I could see to it right now. Focusing on Pike, I let all the anger, all the rage I felt fill my eyes. My head tilted to the side as I located the pulse in his neck and measured the force I would need.
Sensing his mistake, Pike scowled and stepped back out of my reach.
“Now, now, play nice, you two,” chided Millsap as he observed the exchange.
I felt anything but nice. Did he not realize how close to death he was?
You can’t give in to the leopard right now, I heard Adam say as if from a distance.
But I could. I could give in to the rage. I could end them both. I thought it would even feel good. Every muscle in my body burned with the need to attack.
Macy, please, Adam pleaded. You have to pull it back.
It was the please that did it. I didn’t understand his reasoning, but I’d learned to trust him.
Swallowing my anger was physically painful, but I forced it away, allowing the shift to go with it. Letting go of the rage left me feeling empty and numb. It also left me clear headed for the first time since I had awakened.
“That’s better, don’t you think?” Millsap said, as he acknowledged my down shift. “More civilized, hmm?”
This from the man who wanted everyone to be more animalistic. I turned my face to him and watched his amused grin fade. I knew if I held his stare much longer he would be forced to look away, thus blowing my submissive cover. It felt like I was moving through concrete as I looked down at the ground.
Does Pike know I can talk to you? I asked Adam.
Once again, I was awash in relief that wasn’t my own. But it felt good this time. It strengthened me rather than making me feel drunk, and I soaked it in.
Not to my knowledge. Prior to recently, it’s only happened one other time in our history. And that was at the very beginning. Adam paused. Cedars didn’t tell him anything either. At the most, he would merely suspect a connection.
I looked at Olivia and Juarez again. Obviously Millsap wanted me to observe the scene in front of me. The question was, why? As an implied threat if I didn’t cooperate? Or to expose Pike’s role in the torture? Maybe both.
“Were you always working for them, or did you just recently switch teams,” I sneered at Pike.
He seemed truly confused by my anger. But feeling he was no longer in danger, the playful demeanor that had been his returned.
“This is the best way. You’ll see,” he assured me, complete with a waggle of his eyebrows. Then he reached as if to brush my cheek with his fingers.
I growled a warning, and he abruptly dropped his hand.
Millsap chuckled at Pike’s embarrassment. Something that Pike clearly didn’t like. The two studied each other with malice in their eyes. I knew they were working together, but they appeared to hate each other.
Regardless of their relationship, Pike wasn’t the greatest threat in the tent. I turned my attention from him and focused on Millsap.
“If you don’t mind me asking, what is your interest in me?” I asked Millsap.
“You, my dear Dr. Greer, are going to make our dream a reality.”
Not if I could help it.
He held the tent flap aside, indicating it was time to leave. I exited under his uplifted arm without looking back. He smelled like a garbage dump, which was fitting for a roach.
I didn’t know where he intended to go, so I stopped and waited for him to catch up. Was he bouncing?
“The fact that you are now a hybrid only makes it sweeter.” He did a single pirouette and leapt over a tree root, landing squarely in front of me. He raised his eyebrows at me, daring me to comment, and then walked calmly away as if he had done nothing strange.
Well, that just added a whole new level of crazy. I stared at his retreating form, struggling to find a diagnosis that fit him. He was both evil pyscho and completely nuts. And, apparently, also a ballerina. He was a pyschonuterina.
Why would anyone willingly choose to let him be their leader? They’d have to be crazy or under a threat of some kind. Or programmed against their will?
I scanned the camp again, looking for any weak links. The guards were all blank faced which gave me no clue as to how they felt about his leadership.
As far as the camp went, it was a simple configuration. Two rows of tents formed a right angle with a single row of jeeps completing the triangle. Not much of a headquarters for a president.
I could tell by his fidgeting that he was eager to say more about his plan. It would probably be best if I played along.
“If you’re counting on me to come up with a plan to enact this worldwide hybridization, you are going to have to send me to school. I have a lot of catching up to do.”
He laughed derisively. That wasn’t a good sign.
“My dear, Dr. Greer,” he said smugly.
I really wished he would stop calling me dear.
“I am not interested in your brain,” he said, looking at me like I was the dumbest person in the world for not knowing what he was thinking.
He wasn’t interested in my brain? If he didn’t want me to craft a plan, then what did he want me for?
He giggled at the puzzled expression on my face. “Well, not in the way that you think. It’s your DNA that I want.”
That was unexpected enough for me to be intrigued. “You’re going to clone me?”
“You are too cute, Dr. Greer. I am not going to clone you. Clones are poor replications of the original. We both know that on the inside they are fraught with DNA mutations which over the space of a few years lead to the failure of the specimen.”
Was everyone in this new world a molecular biology expert?
If he noticed my consternation with his level of knowledge, he gave no outward sign. He was too consumed with whatever juicy secret was concealed behind his shining eyes.
I still didn’t see the connection between my DNA and his interest in my brain. He didn’t want me to form a plan, and he wasn’t cloning me. Then what did he need my DNA for?
“No, no,” he continued, snickering and tossing his head from side to side. “We aren’t going to clone you, we are going to make offspring from you.”
My steps faltered, and I stumbled over a protruding root. Offspring? As in babies?
“That’s right, Dr. Greer,” he said. “Beautiful bouncing baby boys and girls. I will make a whole army of Dr. Greers. Then no one will ever be able to stop me again.”
It was too much. Adam! I cried. Where are you?
We’ve reached the edge of the camp. There are more guards than I had hoped. Too many for just me and Cedars to handle—
I cut across Adam’s thoughts. H
e wants to make babies using my DNA.
Adam’s shock reverberated through the bond. He what?
Babies. He wants to make me into a supply house for a baby factory. I barely registered Adam’s emotions through the fear that threatened to overtake me.
I will never let that happen! Adam roared.
His fury was unmistakable, and I swayed a little under the force of it. I quickly grabbed the nearest tent to steady myself and hoped Millsap didn’t notice.
“Here we go, Dr. Greer,” Millsap said, eyeing me intently. “Your home away from home while you are with us.” He watched me with interest until I stood up unaided by the tent.
I surmised his intentions were not to let me merrily go on my way when he was finished with me. All of my instincts were telling me to fight or run, but I knew that would just lead to more darts and a return trip to La La Land. If I wanted to escape, then I had to enter the tent. Those few steps into the tent were some of the hardest I’d ever taken.
“You are, of course, free to roam about the complex when not in use,” he said.
Complex? It barely ranked as a decent campsite. He was delusional on so many fronts.
“Aren’t you afraid I’ll try to escape?” I asked.
The smile that crept across his face hinted at all kinds of evil. “Where could you possibly go that I couldn’t find you?”
Once again, I fought the need to shift. I knew it was best to let him think I was still the submissive female and not fighting the urge to tear his head off. It would keep me alive and unbound longer and give Adam the best chance to forge a rescue attempt. I owed that much to Olivia and Juarez.
Unaware of my struggle, he let the flap fall. It slapped loudly against the tent. “Enjoy your evening, Dr. Greer,” he called as he walked away.
I turned my back to the opening and waited until my eyes adjusted to the darkened interior of the tent. The accommodations weren’t much. A cot stood against one side. A table with a tray of food was opposite that. I walked slowly to the cot and sat down, dropping my head into my hands.
There were moments in life that let you know what kind of person you were—what exactly you were capable of. Without any doubt in my mind, I knew when the opportunity arose, I was going to do everything possible to kill Millsap. In fact, I was intent on not leaving here until Millsap was dead.
