Autumn Rising

by Marissa Farrar

  From the direction of the vehicles and equipment, new soldiers approached at a brisk pace, their expression stern.

  “This is Autumn Anderson,” Thorne told them when they were close enough to hear. “She needs to be taken to the labs.”

  Both men saluted. “Yes, Sir.”

  From out of the pocket of one of the army men came a large syringe. The point was covered in a cylinder of plastic for protection, but he clicked it off and dropped the plastic into his pocket. He approached her, the long, thin needle glinting in the moonlight.

  “No!” Autumn cried. She knew what the syringe meant. They intended on rendering her unconscious, or perhaps paralyzing her to stop any attempts at escape. She didn’t want to be drugged. She could handle everything else, but the thought of being powerless, with no control over her own body, terrified her. She renewed the struggle she’d given up on, yanked her arms and shoulders one way and then the other, kicking back with her feet, twisting her body, trying to slip Calvin Thorne’s grasp.

  “Don’t just stand there!” Thorne snapped. “Do your job!”

  The two men stepped toward her. She was tall, and her regular runs kept her fit. Though the three men would overpower her, she would at least give them something to worry about. She fought as hard as she could, jabbing with her elbows, and wrenching her neck around to try to sink her teeth into a piece of exposed skin. She was like a wildcat, completely lost in her body’s natural reaction to protect itself. But her fight wasn’t good enough. The man with the syringe stepped into her body space, the needle glinted as he reached in, toward her neck.

  Autumn screamed, “Nooo!”

  She felt the sliver of needle slip into the vein in her throat, the sharp sting of pain. Immediately, the strength drained from her body and her legs gave way beneath her. Her ears were filled with a strange moaning sound, and she realized it was herself trying to cry for help. But like someone paralyzed or suffering from a muscle wasting disease, she was unable to get her mouth to move. She slumped to the ground, the sticks and stones of the forest floor jabbing and cutting into her back. She stared up at the pattern of branches and leaves against the moonlit sky. Dark clouds skittered across the half-globe of the moon. All she could do was stare.

  The three men straightened and stood around her.

  “Now that’s better,” Thorne said with a smirk. “Compliant and silent, just how I like my women.”

  Something inside her shriveled in dread. No, he wouldn’t go that far, would he? In the back of her mind she’d been telling herself that he wouldn’t hurt her because of how important she was for Operation Pursuit. But if they were able to contain numerous, innocent people for being shifters, without even proof or a trial, then what would be a little rape between friends?

  But Thorne didn’t follow through on his threat. He nodded at his two men. “You know what to do with her.”

  Still frozen, she could only watch as one man stepped down to stand at her feet, the other moving to her head. She could feel their grasp as they bent simultaneously, fingers wrapping around wrists and ankles, before lifting her. She felt the cool air beneath her, her body swinging between them as they carried her. Her body swung and jerked with their movement as they walked, but she had no control over any of it.

  They approached a small, black, armored van. The man holding her feet dropped his end to the ground while he used a fob on his keys to unlock the vehicle, the rear lights flashing as the locks were disabled. He opened the back and picked his end up again. Together, with the other soldier, they roughly threw her into the back. She landed with a thump, jarring her hip and shoulder, banging her head. Even though she was drugged, no part of what they’d given her diminished the pain. The soldiers didn’t bother to restrain her. The space between the front seats and the rear was filled with black, reinforced glass, and all of the windows were blacked out. Even if she wasn’t paralyzed from whatever they’d given her—she assumed some kind of neuromuscular-blocking drug—she wouldn’t be able to get out.

  The doors slammed shut and she was plunged into darkness. The van bounced slightly as the men got in the front.

  Seconds later, the vehicle thrummed to life and began to move. Her body bumped and jolted as the van maneuvered over the rough terrain. She slid one way, across the cool, metal floor of the van, unable to do anything to stop herself from banging against the side.

  Autumn lay at an awkward angle, her face pressed up against one side of the van, her arm trapped beneath her. She was unable to move, staring into darkness.

  A tear swelled in her eye and spilled down her cheek.

  Chapter Three

  WITH LITTLE OTHER choice, though furious, Chogan turned away from the soldiers and started back to the cabin.

  Blake walked at his side, silent and sullen. Rhys, still in tiger-form, padded along behind them. Above Chogan’s head, the silent swish of leathery wings swooped through the air. Toby, too, was following.

  Chogan’s long hair brushed down his spine as he walked with his fists clenched by his sides. The cool night air touched his naked skin, but through his contained fury, his flesh seemed to burn. He’d never felt so helpless in his life, watching that asshole, Thorne, walk off with Autumn, protected by the strength of the armed forces. And now they planned to keep all the shifters contained here like prisoners. There had to be a way out of this, but if there was one, right now he couldn’t see it.

  He wondered why Peter had headed back to the cabin so quickly. It was obvious he was into Mia, and so that must have been his reasoning.

  Chogan approached the cabin with trepidation. So many worries and questions filled his mind. What were they going to do with Tala? Would her shift ever complete, or would she be stuck in this horrific mid-shift forever? What about the bodies of Enyeto and Kasa? His heart felt like a lump of lead in his chest. He’d known Enyeto his whole life, and he’d cared about the other man, even if the bear shifter had betrayed him in his final moments. He’d never wanted to see him dead.

  He knew he should use his wolf to learn how tightly closed the ring of soldiers were that supposedly surrounded them. There might be a gap they could slip through. But right now, his wolf felt distant. The emotions he was experiencing at Thorne taking Autumn, together with the situation they’d found themselves in, was all encompassing.

  They reached the cabin. Chogan noted that Peter’s pile of clothing was missing. He must have shifted back already.

  A few feet from the cabin, Blake stooped down and ran his hand through the bed of pine needles. He frowned. “Peter shifted back here, but I don’t get any sense of him inside.”

  There was nothing strange in Peter shifting back to man, but Chogan had to admit it seemed quiet inside the cabin. Even Tala had fallen silent for the moment. The shifters who had been hurt would be well on their way to healing by now. Those who were too badly hurt to heal would have fallen silent for an entirely different reason.

  Chogan felt a ripple of unease. Peter would surely have heard them approach and come out to meet them. Plus, Mia would have joined them. Sudden panic that there had been more soldiers waiting to take out those they’d left behind burst through his head. He broke into a sprint, not even bothering to bend down and pick up the clothes he’d discarded when he’d shifted, taking the few steps leading up to the porch two at a time.

  His keen eyesight quickly took in the sight of those remaining in the cabin. Everyone had moved away from the bodies of Enyeto and Kasa, as though their deaths could somehow be catching. Mischa sat with Leah, the girl now dressed and her arm healing, though she still held it protectively against her body. Harry Bernard sat in the corner, his head in his hands. Michael was pacing across the floor of the cabin, but stopped when he noticed the others had walked in, and looked at them expectantly. One thing was clear, Peter was not here, and neither was Mia.

  From outside came a roar of pain and the snap of bones as Toby and Rhys began their painful shifts back to human form.

  Blake ent
ered, now dressed and holding another bundle. He threw Chogan’s clothes at him. “Get dressed, Cousin.” Blake shook his head, lips pressed together. “I predicted this,” he muttered. “I told Autumn they’d start rounding us up like some disease that needs to be controlled, and that’s exactly what has happened.”

  Chogan didn’t respond, but quickly tugged on the tattered remains of his clothing, his shirt hanging from his chest in ragged flaps, his jeans split so the dark hairs of his thighs showed through the gaps. He hated that Blake was right.

  He turned his attention to Tala. His other cousin was asleep, or perhaps unconscious, her face pressed against the floor, her mouth slightly open. The shift had stopped for the moment, but had paused mid way. Her skin was mottled in black; spikes poked through the surface. Her nose seemed to be covered in a smooth cuticle, the previously straight bridge now curved. Clumps of her hair were missing, long in some parts, while a black scalp showed through in others. How were they going to fix her?

  He couldn’t think about Tala right now. He needed to figure out what was going on with the missing couple. “Where the hell are Peter and Mia?” Chogan asked, directing his question at Blake.

  Blake shook his head, looking around at the remaining people. “I have no idea, but I intend on finding out.”

  “Do you think they got past the soldiers?”

  Leah sat up straight, her eyes wide. “Soldiers? Haven’t the soldiers gone?”

  He surveyed the small group that remained. They’d come here because of him. He’d led them into a trap. “We’re surrounded by a group of armed military men. They intend on making this the first compound of many where they are going to keep shifters and anyone who tries to defend us.”

  “What?” cried Leah.

  Michael shook his head. “They can’t do that!”

  “They can and they have. Michael, you should know better than anyone that the government does whatever the hell it wants. They have finally acknowledged the existence of shifters, and this is their way of tackling the ‘problem.’”

  Blake sighed. “You got what you wanted. Look what a great idea it turned out to be.”

  Chogan snapped around at him. “No one likes to hear ‘I told you so.’”

  His cousin folded his massive arms across his chest. “Yeah, well. What else do you expect me to say?”

  Leah looked younger than ever, her lower lip starting to tremble. “Please don’t fight. My folks are going to be so mad. They don’t even know I’m a shifter. They’re always complaining about how I get myself in trouble.”

  Chogan took a couple of steps toward her and crouched down to bring himself level with the girl. He placed an arm around her shoulder and gave her a brief hug. “It’ll be okay.” He glared at Blake. “We’ll figure this out.”

  Chogan straightened back up. “So what the hell happened to Peter and Mia? Did you see anything?”

  Leah shook her head. “I heard some noises from out there, but I was too scared to go outside.

  “So he didn’t come back in the cabin?”

  “No. The other girl—Mia—was waiting on the porch for him. I could hear her pacing around. And just before you guys got back, there were some more noises, but I couldn’t tell you what they were.”

  Rhys entered the cabin, still pulling his shirt down over his tattooed torso, his face puce with fury. Close behind him was Toby, his dark eyes wide with fright, his skin pale. But in his arms he clutched his tablet computer. He held the device out to Blake.

  “I can see if I can get online,” the boy said. “I don’t know who we can contact for help, but at least we’ll be able to contact someone!”

  Chogan realized he’d lost the disposable cell he’d bought a few days ago, but a couple of the others, Leah and Michael, pulled their own phones from their pockets. Toby sank crossed-legged to the floor, his back against the wooden wall of the cabin, and quickly switched on the computer.

  “I’m not getting a signal,” said Leah, her voice high pitched with worry.

  Michael shook his head. “Me neither.”

  Chogan looked anxiously to Toby. “What about you?”

  The boy lifted a hand. “Just give me a minute.”

  All eyes were focused on Toby as he plugged his keyboard into the screen and got to work.

  Chogan’s heart sank as Toby shook his head.

  “They must have placed a cell phone jamming device somewhere nearby,” the boy said. “It must be close or the trees would act as a block and it wouldn’t work so well.”

  “How far can these things jam?”

  “Normal law enforcement jammers can cover a mile. I’m going to guess they wouldn’t use much more than that, ‘cause they wouldn’t want to jam their own communications.”

  “Can you override it somehow?”

  He shot Chogan a scornful look. “Oh sure, I can override a government signal with just a tablet.”

  “No need to be a smart ass.”

  Toby shrugged. “Sorry,” he said, though he didn’t sound it. “I can disable the device, if we found it, but that’s all.”

  Chogan chewed at his lower lip, thinking. “And it could be a mile radius anywhere from the cabin?”

  “That’s right.”

  “It’s a needle in a haystack, we’ll never find it.”

  “And even if we did,” said Blake. “Who the hell would we contact anyway?”

  They all fell silent.

  “Well we can’t just sit here doing nothing,” said Chogan. “We need to see what we’re up against. That guy who took Autumn ...”

  “Calvin Thorne,” Blake filled in.

  Chogan nodded. “Right, Thorne, said we’re surrounded, but he could be lying or exaggerating. We need to check for ourselves.”

  “And risk being shot at again?” Harry, who had so far stayed quiet, piped up from the back.

  “We use our spirit guides,” said Chogan. “Those of us who have strong enough connections, anyway. I know I do, and Blake,” he nodded toward his cousin.

  “Me too,” said Rhys.

  “And me,” supplied Toby.

  It was the four of them again, and this time Chogan wasn’t going to start arguing with the boy about it being too dangerous for him. He was in this as much as the rest of them, and he’d proven himself to be a strong shifter.

  “Okay. The rest of you wait here.” He half expected for someone to give him an argument about waiting, but everyone stayed quiet.

  Together, the four of them—three men and one boy—headed back outside. Being with nature instead of inside four walls would only strengthen the connection they had with the spirit world.

  A distant scream cut through the night, and Chogan stiffened. “Autumn.”

  He glanced at his cousin. Blake’s face was rigid with anger, his dark eyes glaring in the direction the scream had come from, his massive shoulders bunched and fists balled at his sides.

  Chogan understood exactly how he felt, like he wanted to race off after the scream and rip whoever had caused her to make such a horrific sound limb from limb. But he knew doing so would only get them killed.

  He reached out and touched Blake’s shoulder. “Chill, Cuz. We can’t do anything from here. We need to stick to the plan.”

  Blake exhaled a slow measured breath. His eyes closed briefly as he centred himself and gave a small nod of acknowledgement. Chogan knew how hard restraining himself must have been for his cousin. He didn’t even want to think about what horrendous things they were doing to Autumn to make her scream like that. If he found out Thorne had laid a finger on her, he would gut the other man and bathe in his blood.

  Chogan forced his mind away from thoughts of Autumn. If he was going to help her, and take his revenge on Thorne, he needed to be a free man. “We need to use our guides to span out, cover as much ground as we can,” he told the others. “Check out the perimeter, but also see if you can spot Peter and Mia. They might be hiding within the circle here somewhere. I’ll take the south to south east
quarter of the circle. Blake, take north to north east. Rhys, you take south to south west, and Toby you take the remaining quarter. Think you can manage that?”

  The boy nodded.

  They all fell silent as they focused in on their guides.

  Chogan sent his wolf running, nose to the ground for any sign or scent of the direction Peter had taken. He was in luck. Within a minute, it had caught Peter’s scent and that of the girl as well. The wolf ran the trail with long bounding leaps, head lowered. It slowed and growled, a low rumble deep in its chest. The line of soldiers stood waiting. They almost looked bored, chatting to one another, arms folded as they leaned heavily on one foot. Peter’s trail ran right up to them. Chogan knew if he asked his wolf to go much farther he would start to lose contact with his guide. But he was pretty sure the trail continued after. These men didn’t look like they’d just been attacked or taken part in some kind of confrontation. They looked relaxed, if anything too relaxed.

  Go, and thank you, he willed his wolf guide. Chogan broke off his connection.

  He came back into the moment and noticed the others started to rejoin him. He turned to Blake. “How well do you know Peter Haverly?”

  Blake blinked in surprise. “Better than I know anyone else in my life.”

  “Would he betray us?”

  Blake’s face darkened. “Peter? No, never. He doesn’t have it in him. He’s the most loyal person I know. Why would you ask me that?”

  “Because my wolf followed his trail and it looks suspiciously like your buddy, Peter, walked right up to the soldiers, with his new girlfriend, and they just let him pass.”

  Blake frowned. “There must be an explanation. And surely Peter and Mia getting out safely is a good thing? It means we’ve got someone on the outside on our side, someone who knows what is happening.”

  “As long as he is on our side.”