by Jadyn Chase
Maybe she was right. I had no idea what happened in this building. I had no idea who Ashton really was. I only knew how he made me feel. Just as I began to remember how safe I felt, I remembered how much pain surged through my face after he hit me. Never again.
"If you want to jump, go ahead," she urged.
"I'll get out of here when I'm good and ready," I growled. I refused to let someone else dictate my life. I wouldn't let Ashton, and I damn sure wasn't going to let her give me any ideas.
"WHERE IS SHE?!" Ashton's voice boomed through the space like thunder.
"I'm here!" I called out to him while leering at the girl. I almost stuck my tongue out but I could see the rage building in her eyes.
"She's not marked, Ashton! You know the rules! She's fair game!" Ivan countered.
"Move out of my way," Ashton demanded.
I laughed at her, "I'm getting out of here. You can keep your mat wench."
"You don't deserve him, bitch!"
Before I could say anything else, she lunged at me pushing me out into the open air. The air caught my throat before anything else as I fell story by story toward the ground. I felt like a raindrop waiting to splash on the ground. I'd be the next story they'd tell. I'd be the pet that got tossed from a window because of her disobedience.
Then it all faded to black.
12
Ashton
"WHERE IS SHE!?" I yelled, bursting through the door and taking it off its hinge. I could tell Ivan was frightened, but he maintained his composure well.
"You know the rules, Ashton," he stammered, "She wasn't marked. She's fair game!"
"I'm here," I heard her call from another area of the apartment. She had to be with his pet, Sasha. She was one of the weird ones who enjoyed the less than sensual side of being chained to a Scaler.
"Move out of my way," I told him, ready to rip his throat out.
"I can't do that. She's in training. She belongs to me!" he asserted. This time he let his talons protrude from his fingertips. He was going to scale on me in this tiny space. I tried my best to keep calm. A battle in here would be dangerous for Whisper. Then I heard her yelp.
As if our hearts and energies were connected, I felt her falling. Grabbing Ivan by the throat, I squeezed tightly, "You'd better hope I save her because if her life ends I will be back to end yours … slowly."
I flung him out of my grasp behind me. He hit the wall and passed out. There wasn't any more time to waste as I ran and leaped through the open space. I saw her. She passed out and continued to fall.
I scaled mid-air. Like a spiraling torpedo, I dove through the air like there'd be that deep abyss we dove into the other night. My wings sprouted first as the familiar scales covered every inch of me. I could feel the pit in the back of my throat growing hotter and hotter. My temper furiously strong. I could kill him, But first, I had to save Whisper.
I reached her just as she passed the fifth floor, seconds from hitting the ground. With her safely in my arms, I glided just above the ground forcing those standing around the building to move out of the way. They all saw me jump to save her, to save an Anthro, my pet. They were supposed to be disposable, but seeing this … it let everyone know she was my weakness.
So I took off away from The Towers. I couldn't go back there. And without her being marked, both of our lives were in jeopardy. I refused to put her in that kind of danger again. She was right to yell at me. I caused all of this, letting my feelings for her, my yearning for her to be my forever, it blinded me.
My wings continued to slice through the night sky until we were far enough from The Towers for me set her down. I scaled back, hoping she'd wake up, but nothing. She didn't even stir as I held her during flight. Right now she needed somewhere to lie down and rest. The only place I could think of was going back to Aya's. However, with the moon high in the sky, I'm certain she wouldn't allow me in, especially with Whisper passed out. The other thought? How would I get her under the water?
Perhaps I could find her Jasper guy. He's as close to a parent as she would ever have and from the way she talked about him, he'd help her. She moaned a bit before opening her eyes. Relief washed over me as I crouched down to her side.
Sitting up frantically, her arms flailed about like she was still falling until I grabbed her, "Calm down. Calm down. Calm down. You're safe. You're okay. Whisper, you're okay."
"She pushed me! She pushed me," she said with broken breaths. Clutching her chest, she looked at her nervously. My guess she was trying to figure out where she was. "That bitch pushed me! She said I didn't deserve you and pushed me."
"Yeah, Sasha's a weird one," I told her, "She'd be as dangerous as Miranda if she could scale, but thankfully she's all Anthro. What about Ivan? Did he hurt you? Did he touch you? He didn't put a leash on you or anything right? Or kiss his feet? I'll go back there and kill him."
"No," she shook her head, "He just pulled me off the elevator and I didn't want to fight him. I knew I'd lose."
"That's true," I agreed.
"You saved me," she stated.
"I always do," I chuckled running my fingers through my hair. "I told you I'd keep you safe. I'm sorry, Whisper. I let Miranda get under my skin, and in the end what I didn't want to happen is already underway."
"What's that?"
"If I let the others, or any Scaler for that matter, see how much I cared about you, that would make you a target and a weakness for me. Someone could do anything to you if they wanted me to bend to their will. Miranda would have me be that dragon who scorched the earth uncontrollably. Someone like Ivan? He'd use you to manipulate me for a power play, to get closer to my father. With that stunt of you being pushed, it showed them all how far I'm willing to go to keep you alive. I can't go back there with you. I can't go back there with you out here still alive. I'm on my own until I figure this out."
"I'm sorry," she apologized. Her hands stroked the side of my face, making me stare into those beautiful big brown eyes of hers. She kissed me so softly on the lips I wanted to take her right there outside, but she spoke to me instead, "I was so focused on what I wanted and where I wanted to be, that I never thought about the danger I was putting you in. I was being selfish and after everything you've done for me, all the times you've saved me. The least I could do was stick to your plan."
"It's fine Whisper-"
I would have continued our talk, but the skies above were far more active than usual. Onyx Skulls were out, and an arch of blue pulsing flames lit up the sky above The Towers.
"What's that? What's going on?" she asked.
I could see the flames reflecting in her eyes.
"My father is looking for me, and my guess is Miranda and Ivan convinced him to get rid of you. The arch is a symbol for all Scalers loyal to the Black Sapphires, those under us. The blue, that particular shade, lets them know it's from Preston Cane looking for me. And he's looking for me to be brought in by any means necessary. I, we, have to get off the street. The Onyx Skulls never take long to find whoever's being sought and they always enjoy collecting their rewards."
"What do they get?"
"A pet, a pound of scales, and something else. I forgot but are we near any of your um, Stations? Or does Aya have a place we can go until I decide where to go from here?"
"You'd leave me?" her eyes glazed over.
Taking her face into my hands, I kissed her this time, "If it meant keeping you safe, then yes I would. I care about you Whisper."
"Well let me at least get you safe for now. We'll figure this out together," she smiled, "I need to see where we are."
I watched her rise to her feet, taking a brief look around before dropping back down. She began sketching something in the dirt. Two squares were at the top of her drawing, she stood up again and looked around some more. Back to the sketch, she drew lines with her finger through the dirt, twisting and turning her head as she marked it out.
"Okay, we're about a hundred yards due East from The Towers. That means we'
re about fifteen minutes away from The Gears. We're closer to The Tombs, but somehow I don't think going back toward The Towers is going to be a good idea."
"Agreed," I nodded. "Let's go."
I followed Whisper as she navigated her way through the rubble. I didn't like moving through Black Harbor like there was a target on my back. It made me wonder if this was how all Anthros had to move.
She was right. After about 15 minutes of scurrying around the ruins of vacant buildings, we arrived at a grate in the ground. She pushed a small rectangle next to the corner. It opened like the panel on my wall but it didn't reveal a lever, a pad with nine buttons rested there instead. She pushed a sequence of five or six of them before I heard the tiny click of the lock unhinging. The metal guard moved out of our way silently and allowed us to slip down into a tunnel.
Once we were inside, she pushed something along the wall to close it back up. My heart raced as I scanned every inch of space around us. A string of lanterns lit up a long hallway. Two other tunnels were pitch black with locked and barricaded entrances.
"Follow me and be quiet," she told me taking one of the lanterns off of its hook.
Again, I let her lead the way until we came to a solid steel door. My pulse raced. I had no idea where we were or what was on the other side of that door. It didn't take long to find out. We were greeted by three people. Two redheaded women and a bald guy with an eye patch.
The two women held pistols pointed directly at me, while the man moved toward Whisper. I grabbed her immediately pulling her behind me, letting smoke billow out from my nostrils.
"Wait! Stop! He's with me," Whisper shouted to them. She rolled around from behind me to stroke my face, a gesture telling me to calm down, "Ashton, this is my Jasper. Jasper, this is Ashton Cane."
"I know who he is, and I know what he is," the man growled. "Kill him."
13
Whisper
Trying to stop Ashton's rage from taking over while in The Gears was a feat in and of itself. The scales erupting all over his body as he rushed to defend himself, and me, made Abigail cringe away with fear while Charlotte readied herself for battle. Shocking them all, I shoved Ashton back, putting myself between them and yanked his head down locking eyes with him.
"Come on Blue Eyes," I whispered to him, "No one here's going to hurt you."
He relaxed and stopped his scale. Jasper, on the other hand, had his blade drawn ready to battle with a Black Sapphire. I held my hand up for him to calm down as well.
"We just need a place to catch our breath before we get out of here," I told Jasper.
"You brought one of them things down here and expect me to give you a place to rest your head?!" he shouted.
Turning around, his entire face was the shade of a setting sun. That crimson hue along with the vein bulging underneath the strap of the eye patch made me wonder about how much he truly cared about me.
"Do you have any idea what we've been through looking for you? Only to find out that you went with him, willingly!? As his pet!" Charlotte sounded. "I told you we should have left her out there with that damn bike!"
"SHUT UP!" I screamed at her, "You have no idea what's going on! Jasper, I need you! Please."
He looked to me and then to the twins. Abigail was useless while Charlotte stood there with a stunned expression on her face. I don't think she ever heard me talk back to her before.
"I can't have you down here. You put everyone's life in jeopardy by being here," he said to us.
Ashton, in a far more softer tone, spoke to him, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for all of this. This only happened because I never marked her. And because I still haven't, even with her coming with me to The Towers, they want … Well, I'm not exactly sure what they want to do with her, but they want me now too. I just need a quiet space to get my head together and figure out where to go. Please, just an hour, tops."
"Fine," Jasper relented.
"What?!" Charlotte exclaimed. "Absolutely not! They'll come down here and kill us all!"
"I won't let that happen," Ashton promised her.
"Follow me," Jasper said sheathing his blade.
I let out a sigh of relief as we walked through the station. I hadn't been inside the main quarters in so long, I almost forgot what they looked like. This tunnel took us to the same opening under the manhole cover, but instead of heading toward Jasper's shop, we took another entrance into the living quarters.
There weren't many families down here, ten to fifteen at any given time. We hunted, scavenged and kept each other safe. It reminded me of The Towers, just not as nice and a severe lack of privacy. That's why I enjoyed my little nook away from it all. The main space reminded me of those shanty towns I used to read about in those papers Jasper hung around. He called them newspapers. Imagine a main hub of information where everybody could read about what's going on in the world around them. Everything traveled by word of mouth and flame beacons these days. I never knew what the different flame signals and colors meant, but with Ashton by my side, I could give them at least that much.
I'd let Jasper and Ashton know my idea as soon as we got to the quiet space. Until then, I kept my eyes on him, refusing to look at everyone eyeing me. The only person I made any sort of connection with was Raven. Her beautiful little smile lit up like a starry night as she waved frantically to me. I smiled and waved to her only. I didn't feel as bad anymore, I didn't lie to her.
Once we were out of the main living area, Jasper led us down another hallway to a room near the water pipe. It sounded like a waterfall had been bottled up. The pipe itself was about two stories tall. When you put your hand on it, you could feel the vibrations of the cool liquid from the bay gushing by. We were in the treatment room. Jasper had locked into this pipe and was able to siphon water out of it without drowning us all. A pipe roughly about the size of me protruded from it leading to a system of hoses that he ran across the top of the Station ceilings and along the walls. There was an entire system in the room to control the flow and the filters. Jasper had spent many days locked in this room.
"Here, you can talk here," he said. "The sound and scent of the water should mask your scents for a while but not long. Once them Skulls got a fix for you, that's it. I don't want that kind of terror finding its way down here. It took me damn near a decade to get this place up and running like clockwork and I don't need you and your friends coming down here to make a mess of it."
"I promise to be out of here soon."
"I'm going with him," I added.
Jasper squinted his eye at me and moved closer to me lowering my shirt down around my shoulder.
"You shouldn't go anywhere until he's marked you," Jasper sighed. "That's the only little bit of protection you got left. I can only do so much with this."
He tapped the butt of his bayonet.
"That's a nice blade," Ashton called out to Jasper, "Onyx bone?"
"Dipped in their venom too," Jasper replied with a smile.
"How many have you killed with that thing?" Ashton asked him with genuine curiosity in his eyes.
"Not enough," Jasper growled. "Figure it out you two, then you gotta go."
There was a simple cot along the wall along with a block of dry ice sitting under a metal container. I assumed there was some sort of food in there, but after eating beef with Ashton, I didn't want scraps of rat or rabbit.
He sat down, and I sat between his legs leaning back into him. His arms wrapped around me for a moment before turning my face up toward him. He kissed me softly before running his thumb over the sore spot under my eyes.
"I'm sorry, Whisper," he told me again.
"I'll be fine. What are we going to do? Where are we going to go?"
"I have no idea. But I know it has to be outside of Black Harbor. I just need the beacons to stop. I can hear them, feel them, like my father is trying to hone in on me or something," he said with a slight tremble.
"Can he find us?" I sat up turning to him.
"No, he shouldn't b
e able to. The only problem would be if Skinner's looking for me. If he's on this beacon, we're definitely in deep shit."
"Why?"
"He cut me the other day. He's got my blood scent. There's no telling how quickly he'll find me with it."
"Then let's just leave. I should have never brought you down here. It was a mistake. I don't want him to find this place. We should just go and figure it out as we leave the city," I told him with fear dripping through every syllable.
"You're right. But let's get you some supplies. You won't last anywhere on the road with me in just jeans and my jacket. Pack light but pack warm," he said. "Let's go."
Since we didn't need the entire hour to figure that out, I thought we'd be safe. I thought they wouldn't find us at The Gears. But I was wrong.
By the time we reached the main receiving area under the manhole cover, there was an air of panic coursing through the space. People were scattering about. Everything was going into lockdown mode. I could hear the thunderous sound of someone running through the tunnel. I just didn't know which one.
"Whisper go!" Ashton shouted. "He found me."
Just as I turned to leave, he emerged from the tunnel with glee in his eyes. That platinum blonde hair still flowed down his back and around his wings. But Skinner was alone.
"These Anthros have nothing for you," Ashton shouted to him, "Let's take this to the sky."
"Let's not!" Finch cackled, flying toward Ashton at full speed. He dug his hand into his stomach causing Ashton to cry out in pain. They both scaled at the same time. There wasn't enough room for this to happen. Not down here … And if either one of them let their flames loose, we'd all be baked down here.
I watched them go blow for blow with their dragons bouncing off the walls in the confined space. Ashton's charcoal and black scales to Skinner's matte black, tar-colored wings … it was a flurry of rage, snarls, and claws.
Finally, Ashton got the upper hand, flying Skinner up toward the manhole cover and slamming him against the ceiling. A few rocks and debris crumbled from the blow forcing me to seek shelter against the wall. But that was the hit to end this battle. Ashton let Skinner fall those few dozen feet to the ground.
