by Elin Wyn
Now Dr. Bonven looked concerned. He strode over to me, his beady eyes on Klaus.
“Klaus?” he barked.
Klaus blinked and sucked in a breath.
“There we go,” Dr. Bonven grinned. “Thank you, Megan, for bringing that to my attention.”
“What did you just do?”
“Sometimes Klaus gets stuck,” Dr. Bonven explained. “It’s similar to the way a video buffers, if that makes any sense.”
“Nothing about this makes sense!”
“Klaus is my first living example of successful genetic enhancement,” Dr. Bonven explained as if I were a simpleton. “I infused his genetic code with that of a common grizzly bear.”
“What?” I stole another glance at Klaus. He looked sort of bear-ish, but in a human way, not a literal way.
“The bear’s genetic code has enhanced Klaus’s strength and ability to withstand cold temperatures,” Dr. Bonven continued. “Unfortunately, it’s stunted some of his mental strengths. His brain doesn’t self-regulate as well as it used to, but that’s all right.”
“You can’t be serious.”
It sounded like the stuff of fiction, but the way Dr. Bonven spoke made me believe he was telling the truth.
“Haven’t you wondered what I’ve been doing for the last five years?”
“No,” I spat. “I’ve been too busy raising my child.”
He waved his hand as if my daughter meant nothing.
“Klaus was the first, but since my breakthrough with his code, I’ve had far greater success. More enhanced human soldiers, and-”
“You sent that damn bear,” I realized with a snap. “That monster.”
He shrugged. “It was a field test. I’d hoped the heightened intelligence of my newest variant would have been enough to retrieve you.” He turned back to the computer he’d been working on, typed rapidly. “The tracker failed at some point, and I’m still not sure why.”
“But why do you want to build super-smart bears?”
There are sentences I’d never thought I’d say.
Parenthood had taught me anything was possible. ‘Don’t lick the cat. The potty isn’t for splashing. Take that out of your nose.’
Still, building smart bears was unexpected.
“I’m working to create a super-soldier the likes of which this world has never seen! And the universe itself is on my side.” He gestured at a blue box, something like a toaster oven, with a slowly rotating crystal shard inside of it.
“One of my patrols found it in the forest. Some sort of crystalline meteorite, stronger than anything I’ve ever seen. Once I can replicate it, my warriors will have unbreakable skeletons. Can you imagine it? They’ll be unstoppable.”
“No,” I shook my head, horrified. “What you’re saying doesn’t make any sense. It’s not possible!”
“It’s not possible yet,” Dr. Bonven corrected me. “Klaus is proof that it can be possible one day. Forget the arms trade, forget enlisting boys too young to know their ass from their elbow. We’re going to return to nature to defend our country. Imagine soldiers with the natural pack instincts of the wolf, or the sheer brutality of a bear!”
“You want America to use werewolves in the military?” I sputtered.
“Not werewolves,” he snapped. “Weren’t you listening? And this isn’t just for America. Of course, since it’s my homeland, they’ll get a discounted offer, but should they not accept, I will go to other buyers.”
“Do you even hear yourself? You sound insane.”
“Only the small-minded think the extraordinary are insane.”
“Dr. Bonven,” I sighed. “I don’t give a shit about your weird experiments. I just want Arabella.”
That wasn’t true. The second I got out of here I was reporting him to any authority that would listen to me. Maybe, if he believed I wasn’t a threat to his work, he’d let me see Arabella sooner.
“You’ll see her soon,” Dr. Bonven said. “Why do you think I brought you here?”
“Because I was getting close to catching you.”
“Catching me?” he laughed. “All of this, every one of your pathetic efforts, has been planned by me. You just walked into the trap.”
“What?” I stuttered.
“Do you have any idea how expensive these experiments are?”
He smiled, and the ghost of his old passion twinkled in his eyes.
“Or how much I can get for a mother and child on the black market?”
I shook my head in horror. “You can’t. You wouldn’t.”
“Why not?” Dr. Bonven shrugged. “You were a pleasant release when I needed to lie low for a while. If you ever thought you meant anything else, you were sadly mistaken.”
“But why take Arabella first?”
He typed a bit before answering. “Oh, children that size fit into a wide variety of containers; much easier. And I knew you would follow along. All I had to do was provide information to that PI you hired, and you’d come scampering along.”
Oh.
He looked up blandly. “Really, you didn’t think you could buy loyalty with that pittance, did you?”
My chest felt like it was caving in.
Of course not.
I’d thought he was taking pity on me, had a soft spot for a single mom.
But…
“How did you know to find me in that cabin?” I insisted, desperate to believe that some of this wasn’t my fault.
Dr. Bonven rolled his eyes. “If I proposed to implant tracking devices in every man, woman, and child, there would be an uproar.” He flicked more switches, obviously losing interest in our discussion. “But heaven forbid any of you ever lose track of your cellphone, or let it get out of a three-foot radius from you. Idiots. All of you.”
This couldn’t be real. No one was this insane.
And really, none of it mattered.
“Take me to my daughter before I rip your tongue out,” I shouted.
“Klaus put her in with the brat,” Dr. Bonven ordered. “For now.”
“You’re a monster,” I spat.
“I’m a visionary. I will usher in a new age. You should be honored to be involved.”
Klaus slipped the blindfold back over my eyes. This time, I didn’t fight against him as he led me away.
I wanted to get to Arabella, and if dealing with this bear-man-moron was the way to get to her, so be it.
I was shoved unceremoniously to the floor. I wrestled off my blindfold just in time to watch Klaus close the cell door.
“Mommy?” Arabella’s soft voice came from behind me. I whirled around. She stood in the corner, carefully watching me.
“Yes, baby. It’s me.” I opened my arms for her. She ran to me. I clutched her against my chest, rocking her back and forth. Tears slipped down my cheeks but I was careful not to make a sound. I didn’t want her to see me crying and get scared.
“Mommy, can we go home?”
“Yes, baby. Mommy just needs to think for a little while.”
I pulled her into my lap and rested my cheek on the top of her head. I was so grateful she took after me and not her monstrous father.
“Can we get McDonald’s after?” she asked.
I couldn’t help but laugh.
“We can. You can even have an apple pie and a sundae, since you’ve been so brave,” I promised her.
“That weird man said he’s my daddy. Is that true?”
She looked up at me. Her gaze was unwavering. I didn’t understand it, but I felt that she’d be able to tell if I lied.
“Yes,” I sighed. “That man is your father.”
“Why is he so mean if he’s my daddy?” She tilted her head to one side.
“Because he’s unwell.” I chose my words carefully. “His brain is sick.”
“Should we get a doctor?” she asked.
“We need a special kind of doctor,” I told her. “Don’t worry. When we get out, I’m going to tell the police and they’ll be able to find th
e right doctor.”
“Will he live with us when he’s all better?” Arabella asked.
“No, honey.” I shook my head. I expected her to be sad or confused. Instead, she smiled.
“Good. He smells and I don’t like being around mean people.”
“He does smell, doesn’t he?” I wrinkled my nose and made a funny face. This was good. If I could keep her calm and content, I’d be able to figure out an escape plan much sooner.
“Do you have any snacks?” she asked me.
“Hang on.” I searched my pockets for a protein bar that I’d put in my hoodie pocket a few days ago. I hoped it hadn’t fallen out.
There was a bit of luck on my side today.
“Here.” I passed the protein bar to her. “Has the bad man been feeding you?”
“Yes, but I don’t like his food,” Arabella explained between bites. “I only ate it when I got super hungry.”
“What about water?”
“I get water when I ask.”
“Good,” I sighed with relief. At least I wouldn’t have to worry about her passing out from dehydration. “Eat your protein bar while I look around. Mommy’s going to figure something out.”
There was nothing out of the ordinary about this cell. I couldn’t pick locks. I wasn’t very strong. The more I paced the cell, the more I felt hopelessly trapped.
Why had I left the cabin?
There was no way Ryant could find us.
We were on our own.
And so far, I hadn’t done a very good job of it.
It was time to find another answer.
Ryant
I kept my head low as I followed the tracks in the snow.
My antlers cast long shadows across the white carpet of ground, the faint moonlight allowed to shine now that the storm had passed.
It was a risk to be shifting again, but my eyes were much better at tracking in this form, and with the tracks being my only shot at finding Megan, I didn’t want to risk losing them.
Strapped between my shoulders was my pack, carefully designed to blend with my fur.
I trudged along a rural path until I found myself back on the two-lane mountain road I had been on with Megan.
The snowdrift had been removed from the road, which was odd—the person Megan had called told her it wouldn’t be done till morning.
More likely than not, Megan’s kidnappers had been the ones clearing the road, which probably meant they had access to heavy machinery.
I wasn’t exactly sure what I was dealing with, but it was starting to become clear that this hadn’t been a lone enemy’s work.
I hung around the place where the snowdrift had been for a couple of minutes, trying to ensure the tracks kept on following the road, and then sped up toward Gold Peak.
There was no traffic this late at night, and so I could just run in the middle of the road, my hooves angrily smashing the snow and asphalt underneath them.
I only slowed down once I reached Gold Peak. It was a little town with neat, straight roads, perfect rows of houses with snow-covered red roofs lining the streets.
It reminded me of something I had seen on a shelf behind the old man who’d given me the truck—a crystal globe with a tiny town inside it, one that you shook so you could see the snow falling over the miniature houses.
There was not a living soul in sight, and only the orange light coming from the lamps lit the road ahead.
The town was blanketed in a deep wintery silence, the snow protecting it as it muffled the steady clip-clop of my hooves.
At first, I thought I’d find Megan’s kidnappers here, but it seemed like the tracks just followed the main road to the edge of town, and kept passing through.
Steadily, I upped my pace once more, rushing through Gold Peak as fast as I could.
“Holy shit,” I heard someone cry out, “is that a reindeer?”
Freezing in my tracks, I turned around to see a small group of people sitting on a porch. They were wearing furry coats and hats, their hands covered with gloves. There was a table there, a few bottles and glasses resting on top of it.
They weren’t a threat—probably just friends or family that had made a dinner party last well into the late hours of the night.
“It’s a caribou, you moron,” one of the men laughed heartily.
“It’s the same thing,” the other protested. “Reindeer and caribou are the same animal, aren’t they? That one is really big, though. Just look at his antlers. Isn’t he cute?”
“You wanted a holiday miracle,” the man laughed. “Now you have one.”
Taking a couple of deep breaths, I turned my back to the onlookers and continued down the road.
It annoyed me to no end that people insisted on calling me a reindeer, and now it seemed like some were even saying I was a caribou.
What a load of bullshit names.
I was a Vondin, a reilendeer warrior, one of the fiercest and proudest races in the galaxy, not some cute animal people could take pictures of.
And right now, I was angry.
Gold Peak was long behind me when I arrived at a crossroads. The road bifurcated, the asphalt turning into a snow-covered pitchfork, and I hesitated as I looked down at the road. The snow had turned into gray sludge here, and there were a lot of different tracks.
Frustrated, I started walking in circles as I tried to find the tire-pattern I had been looking at for the past couple of hours.
When I finally found it, I went into a trot right away, cutting right and heading into a narrow little road that cut straight through the woods.
There was one more bifurcation up ahead, but this one didn’t seem to have much use. As such, I made one more turn and went up a cramped dirt road that snaked up the side of the mountain.
Even though the tracks were now carved deep into the snow, I was no longer paying attention to them. As the road went over a rocky outcrop, my destination became as visible as a Vondin emergency signal.
Less than one mile from where I stood, there was a large compound with tall metal fences all around. A dozen small buildings circled the main building, a construction that seemed more like a warehouse than a residence, and men walked along the perimeter at a leisurely pace.
They all seemed to be carrying guns and, even from a distance, I could see that their weaponry was more sophisticated than the double-barreled gun I’d yanked out of the store-keeper’s hands hours ago.
I would have to be careful. Thankfully, humans were hell-bent on describing me as a reindeer, which meant I could walk closer to the compound without raising suspicions.
I inspected the perimeter as leisurely as the guards were patrolling it, taking my time to analyze any weak points.
The main entrance to the compound, a heavy-looking gate, was being guarded by a team of four men, which meant I would have to find another way in.
“Look at the size of that beast,” I heard one of the guards cry out, and moments later a floodlight was being pointed at me. “Have you ever eaten reindeer, Mitchell? I heard it’s one of the best meats you could eat.”
“I wouldn’t mind having some this Christmas,” another guard laughed, and then I heard the soft click of a gun’s safety being pulled off.
Reading the situation, I rushed back into the protection of the woods, right before a loud gunshot echoed through the night.
Skith. I couldn’t get too close to the fences now, or the bastards would try to shoot me down.
Knowing that I’d need some more agility than what this body could provide me with, I walked into a clearing and shifted back, my bones popping as I transformed. I went through my pack, grabbed some clothes, and then considered my next move.
The guards were patrolling the fenced perimeter at regular intervals, and there were a few spots I saw that I could climb. If I timed it right, I could sneak into the compound undetected. It’d be tricky, but not impossible.
Careful not to be seen or heard, I approached the compound through the woods. I h
id behind a line of trees as I timed the patrols and, once I saw a chance, I quickly rushed toward the fence and climbed it. I landed on the other side with a muffled thump, rolled over, and quickly pressed myself against the outer wall of a building. So far, so good.
Pushing myself against the wall, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Even though my sense of smell was far stronger in my shifted form, I could still pick up Megan’s scent.
Now all I would have to do was follow it.
“Who the fuck are you?” I heard someone say behind me, and I quickly spun around to find a man pointing his gun at me.
Allowing my body to react before my mind fully processed the situation, I stepped to the side and grabbed the gun by its muzzle.
I pulled the man toward me, kicked him in the groin, and yanked the gun out of his hands as he doubled over. He groaned as he hit the ground, and only then did I recognize him as the asshole that had wanted to shoot me for dinner.
“I’ll tell you what I’m not,” I growled as I looked down at him. “I’m not fucking dinner.”
With that, I bent over and grabbed him by the hair; one quick punch on his chin and he went to sleep.
I dismantled the gun before I left, throwing its ammo over the fence and into the woods, then started making my way to the main building.
Megan’s scent led there, and so that was my main objective.
I waited until I saw a guard going through a side door and, after looking around and ensuring nobody could see me, I made a run for it.
I reached the side door as the guard was closing it, and I kicked it down a fraction of a second before he could lock it.
Even though it was heavy, it swung back on its hinges fast, slamming the man behind it against the wall. I clenched my fists, ready to knock him out, but he was already unconscious.
Kicking his legs out of the way, I closed the door behind me and took another deep breath. Megan was nearby.
I went down dark corridors, following Megan’s scent, and I ended up finding a large door where the scent became even stronger.
She was inside that room, I was sure of it. There was a small window in the door, so I peeked quickly, and found a room with makeshift holding cells lining the entirety of the walls.
