by Shéa MacLeod
Other than searching the base top-to-bottom for a body bag, her only other option was to hit one of the sleeping quarters and steal a sheet. Since she didn’t have time for a search, the sheet would have to do.
She slid the drawer holding Sutter’s body back into the wall. Then she snapped off the lights and carefully opened the door to the lab.
She peered out the window into the hall. All clear, as far as she could tell, so she slipped into the hall and came face to face with the world’s biggest Marine. Rain swallowed. Hard.
“You see, boys. I told you there was someone in my lab.”
The scratchy voice came from behind her. Rain whirled around. Standing there with a smirk on his ugly, wrinkled face was what she could only assume was the scientist who belonged to the lab.
He wore a coat kind of thing that had once been white but was now a dingy gray liberally sprinkled with stains. His teeth when he smiled were a yellowish color, his breath foul, and his eyes behind thick glasses looked like bug’s eyes. There were two more Marines behind him.
“Who are you?” she snarled.
“Oh, no, my dear. I think the question should be who are you? And what were you doing in my lab?”
Rain clenched her jaw. Nothing. She would tell them nothing. No matter what they did.
The scientist sighed. “Very well. Search her.”
The big, beefy Marine she’d first run into grabbed her from behind and held her still while one of the others ran his hands all over her. Mostly in places his hands didn’t need to go.
Rain just gritted her teeth and swore silent vengeance as his hands moved roughly over her breasts. When he started rubbing them up against her crotch, she felt justified in giving him a swift kick in the shins. He grinned at her, as though she amused him.
The Marine turned and shook his head at the scientist. She’d brought nothing with her just for this reason.
“Well, I don’t suppose you’re going to cooperate and tell us why you came here? To steal food, perhaps? Guns? You know they don’t work on the dragons.” The scientist leered at her, flashing his yellow teeth. “Maybe you just wanted to get some, eh?”
Rain wasn’t sure exactly what he meant by “get some”, but she was pretty sure she didn’t want it. Especially not from him. She remained silent. Better to live to fight another day, as Padre Pedro often said.
“It doesn’t matter,” the man continued, shoving his hands in the pockets of his coat. “The important thing is you are here now, and you will be a perfect subject for the next phase of my experiment. Or at least, I hope you will.”
Rain swallowed hard. She didn’t like the tone of his voice and she really didn’t like the talk of experiments. Apparently drunk Dave Dugan had been right after all.
“What are you going to do to me?” she finally managed.
“Ah, she speaks! Nothing too invasive, my dear.” He glanced at the hulking Marines. “And don’t worry. I won’t let them have you. I need you undamaged for my experiments. Of course if you prove unsatisfactory ... ” He shrugged.
Rain didn’t need him to finish. She knew exactly what would happen to her once the scientist got what he wanted.
Chapter 8
RAIN PACED FROM ONE side of her cell to the other. It took all of six steps.
Damn. How could she have been so stupid? Getting caught like that. And by a mad scientist with yellow teeth, too. Seriously, she’d have kicked herself in her own ass if she could have reached it.
She wasn’t about to become the lunatic’s lab rat. She was even less inclined to play whore for the Marines. She had to escape from the base as soon as possible.
Her mind raced. The only definite way out was through the locker room. She didn’t have time to find another way unless she absolutely had to.
She heard the scrape of the lock and the door swung open. It was the same Marine who’d groped her earlier. Without a word, Big n’ Beefy motioned her to follow him.
“What? Don’t you speak?”
He growled.
Well, that answered that. She meekly followed him out into the hall where she was met by the other two Marines who’d been with Big n’ Beefy outside the lab.
She suddenly recalled a book Padre Pedro used to read to her when she was small. Something about Thing One and Thing Two. She barely held back a smile. No sense pissing off Big n’ Beefy or The Things. They could pummel her into the ground before she had a chance to blink.
They led her up and down a series of halls each painted an identical dull gray color. It soon became obvious they were trying to confuse her with all the similarity. Except they’d passed through the same set of halls three times. One of the many identical doors had a scrape near the window revealing an undercoat of faded red. Rain struggled to keep a straight face. There was a reason she was a Tracker. She had an unerring sense of direction and an almost photographic memory.
The Marines finally stopped in front of a door and Big n’ Beefy took her inside while Thing One and Thing Two took up positions outside. Damn. She’d hoped once she’d gotten to wherever they were going she’d have a chance to escape.
It turned out to be another lab. Only instead of stainless-steel counters and glass-fronted cabinets this one had a white exam table with thick leather straps for tying down recalcitrant patients. Rain didn’t like the look of it. Not one bit.
“Come, my dear.” It was the scientist she’d run into earlier. “We have work to do. Won’t you climb up here on my table.”
“I don’t think so.”
He smiled. “Oh, but I do.”
She tried to resist, but Big n’ Beefy was three times her size. He easily manhandled her over to the table and strapped her down.
“You see, my dear. Resistance is futile.” He laughed a little like he’d made some kind of joke.
“Fuck you.” She struggled against the straps, but it was no good. They held fast.
“Language, my dear. Even in this abominable wasteland, a young lady shouldn’t use such words. It’s quite vulgar. Now,” he peered over his glasses at her, “are you in good health?”
Rain blinked. “What?”
He sighed heavily. “Have you been ill recently? Are you pregnant? Do you have any genetic conditions?”
“No, not that it’s any of your business.”
“Ah, but it is my business. We don’t want to skew the results now, do we?” He busied himself at the counter which stretched along one wall.
She frowned. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. Who are you anyway?”
He turned from the counter and whatever he’d been messing around with. “Oh, dear. I have been woefully remiss, haven’t I? I am Dr. Barnes. I guess you could say I’m the Chief Scientist of this little ...” He waved his hand around as though to indicate the base at large. “Slice of heaven.”
Rain was pretty sure this hell hole had nothing to do with heaven, but she bit her tongue. “What do you want me for?”
“To see if you’re suitable, of course.”
“For what?” she ground out.
He laughed again and there was an edge of crazy to it. “Let’s just say we could be witnessing the birth of the future. The endless possibilities of the human condition. I don’t want to give away all my secrets. Listening ears, you know.” He whirled his finger around in the air.
Rain had no idea what he was talking about, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to know. Dr. Barnes didn’t exactly strike her as sane.
She glanced at Big n’ Beefy. He stood stiffly at attention, face impassive as a stone. No help there.
Barnes finished whatever he was doing and hustled over to the table where she lay. “Now, let’s see what we have here.”
“Is that a needle?”
“Of course, my dear. How else do you expect me to draw blood?” He chuckled as though he found her funny.
“Why do you want my blood?” No good would come of it. She was sure of that.
“You do ask a lot of questions, do
n’t you?” Though his voice remained jovial, there was a thread of warning underneath. Dr. Barnes was losing his patience.
Rain flinched as the needle went into her arm and bright red blood flowed into the little tube. She really, really didn’t like Barnes having her blood. It was like the drags. Once they scented you, they’d follow you forever. She’d just bet Barnes was the same. He reminded her of a reptile. A wrinkly, ugly old reptile with bug eyes.
“There now. That wasn’t so bad, was it?” Barnes withdrew the needle from her arm. A drop of ruby red blood dripped off the end of the syringe and splatted on the floor. Barnes ignored it. “Now hold this down ... oh, dear. You can’t, can you?” He stood there with a ball of fluffy stuff in one hand and the needle in the other looking baffled. It was all Rain could do not to roll her eyes.
“Lee. Press this over the puncture until the bleeding stops.” Barnes thrust the fluffy stuff at Big n’ Beefy and scurried back to the counter with his tube of blood.
So, Big n’ Beefy’s name was Lee. Huh. She wondered if it was his first name or his last name. Not that it mattered.
Lee, face still devoid of expression, placed the fluff on her arm right over the puncture mark. He stood there with his finger pressing against her flesh until Barnes glanced over. “That’s quite enough, Lee. Put a bandage on it. She’ll be fine.” He turned back to his work.
Rain watched in amusement as Lee took a tiny bit of folded cloth and laid it over the mark on her arm. Then he took two long strips of cloth and carefully wrapped them around her arm to hold the bandage down before tying them off.
“Thanks, Lee.” Maybe getting a little personal with the man would help her cause. Then again, maybe not. Lee returned to his station against the wall without so much as acknowledging her presence.
“It’s no good, you know.”
Rain glanced over at Barnes. “What’s no good?”
“Trying to win his sympathy.”
“Why’s that?”
He glanced at her over his shoulder. “He doesn’t have any. Part of the training program. Emotions are the first to go. He doesn’t talk. Doesn’t feel. I’m not entirely sure he thinks. Typical Marine.” His voice held just a hint of derision.
Rain glanced over at Lee. The man hadn’t even flinched at Barnes’s scathing comments. “Somebody has to tell them what to do.” She was thinking of Smith, the lead Marine who’d come to the compound. The one who’d taken Sutter’s body. He’d spoken. That was for sure. And he’d definitely had emotions.
“There’s a hierarchy, of course. Isn’t there always?”
That was what she’d figured. Lee was obviously at the bottom of the food chain.
“Now, let’s see what we have here.” Barnes fiddled with a strange-looking machine before pressing his eyes against what looked like a pair of binocs, except he was looking down at the top of the counter. Rain frowned. What on earth was he doing?
“Very bad news, I’m afraid.” Barnes sat back and shook his head. “Very disappointing.”
“What? What is it?”
He turned on his stool to face her. “I’m afraid that you are entirely unsuitable.”
“Unsuitable for what?”
He ignored her. “Such a pity. I had hoped that your DNA would be compatible. But you’d never survive transition. Ah, well.” He slapped his hands on his knees and stood. “Lee, take her back to the brig. As soon as the other platoons return, she’s all yours.”
He turned back toward his machine. As far as he was concerned, she no longer existed.
For the first time Lee’s face held expression. Hunger.
RAIN KNEW EXACTLY WHAT that hunger in Lee’s eyes meant. And while she could deal with having to spread her legs for Lee if it meant survival, on a Marine base it was doubtful he’d be alone. Gang rape by a platoon of Marines was not something she was sure she could survive.
As Lee led her toward the door, one meaty fist gripping her upper arm, Rain noticed one of the drawers along the counter stood open. Inside were several pre-filled syringes, their needles neatly capped. She had no idea what was in them, but they were better than nothing.
Fortunately, the drawer was the one closest to the door. She had one shot at this. Just one.
She stumbled, sinking her weight into the big Marine. His grip loosened and she staggered away as though trying to escape. With Lee focused on grabbing her and Dr. Barnes studiously ignoring them, Rain was able to snake her hand into the drawer and grab one of the syringes. She slid it quickly into her pocket just as Lee got a good grip on her arm and yanked her toward the door. She was definitely going to have a bruise.
He marched her quickly back down the hall, Thing One and Thing Two hot on their heels. This time they didn’t bother trying to confuse her. Lee just hauled her ass straight for the brig.
A few steps away from her cell door Lee spoke for the first time. His voice was low and scratchy as though he hardly used it. “Doc said she’s ours.”
Thing One immediately began removing his belt. Lee turned around and smacked him alongside the head. “After the others return. We’re still on duty. I get her first.” He threw Rain into the cell so hard she crashed into the opposite wall. Then he slammed the door.
Rain scrambled to her feet and hauled ass back to the window. She was just in time to see Lee and Thing Two disappear from view. They’d left Thing One guarding her door. Excellent.
She might just have half a chance against one Marine. She was smarter and she was armed. Sort of. But she couldn’t wait long. The other platoons were due back any minute. Once they returned, she was fucked. Literally.
A quick glance around the cell revealed nothing useful. Rain’s brain worked furiously. She had one shot at this, so she really hoped Thing One was as dumb and desperate as he looked.
After casting a quick look at the window to make sure Thing One wasn’t watching, she laid down on the floor and curled herself into a ball. She took the syringe out of her pocket and removed the cap, then hid it against her body, careful not to prick herself. No telling what the fluid inside would do to her. For all she knew it was harmless.
Then she let out a scream.
Thing One came charging in to the sight of her rolling around on the floor, writhing in agony. He hesitated.
“Help me,” she gasped. Then let out another shriek. “I think Barnes did something to me. I think I’m dying.” She moaned and thrashed some more before letting her body go limp as though she’d passed out.
Thing One knelt on the floor beside her, panic written across his face. As he leaned down to check on her she sat up and stabbed him in the neck with the needle, plunging the fluid into his veins.
He gaped at her, his eyes going wide before he crashed to the floor like a dead tree. For a moment she stared at him in shock. Then she pressed her ear to his chest. His heart was still thumping away, but the Marine was definitely out for the count.
“Shit. What was in that thing?” Rain stumbled to her feet. She had no time to worry about Thing One, nor did she care. She had to get the hell out of Dodge while she still could.
She darted out into the hall. It was still empty. She made straight for the locker room as fast as she could, only stopping to peer around corners so she wouldn’t walk right into a returning platoon.
Unfortunately, there was someone else already in the locker room.
“What the fuck? Hey, what are you doing here? Who the hell are you?”
Rain didn’t recognize the Marine who came storming out of the showers buck-naked. All she knew was she had to shut him up. Quick.
She gave him a big smile and walked straight at him, sashaying her hips like she’d seen some of the women at Sanctuary do when they were trying to get a man’s attention. The Marine hesitated, obviously unused to smiling women in his locker room. Then with one quick movement she planted her booted foot right in his groin.
He doubled over with a grunt and she slammed her knee up into his face. Something crunched against her
kneecap and a spurt of blood sprayed across her pants. Just what she needed, more stains.
With the Marine curled up in a fetal ball on the floor, Rain hauled herself up on top the lockers and hoisted herself into the air duct. This time she pulled the grate up behind her and screwed the nuts back down. Since the Marine hadn’t seen where she’d gone, it would hopefully take them a while to figure it out.
She scurried back down the duct toward her entry point. There was only one problem: The Marine platoons had returned and were standing directly under the grate in front of the first set of blast doors to the base. There was no way out.
Chapter 9
RAIN PEERED THROUGH the grillwork. Below her were at least a dozen muscular men, loaded for dragon hunting. They were dirty, bloody, and exhausted, but they were still Marines. And with them standing directly under her escape route, there was no way out of the base. Maybe she could wait until they’d gone.
“Damn, I’m wrecked.” One of the Marines slumped against the wall, his face lined with exhaustion.
“At least we’re not on Humvee duty. Sarge is pissed enough we lost one. Shit, they’ll be in there cleaning the fuckers for hours.”
Well, that settled that. Even once these Marines disappeared into the base, the parking bay was still full of them. There was no way she was sitting around in the stupid air duct for hours.
A new Marine strode into view. The string of cuss words out of his mouth was enough to startle even Rain who was well used to cussing a blue streak.
“What are you fucking idiots doing standing there? You need me to wipe your fucking asses?”
“No, Sarge. Just protocol, you know.” One of the Marines piped up.
The Sarge glared at him. “When I want your opinion, I’ll ask for it. Got that, Marine?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Don’t know why my Warrior had to go and get himself fucked along with half a fucking platoon. What do I got left? A bunch of damn pussies...“ His voice trailed off as he punched in the door code and strode through down the hall, the rest of the Marines on his tail.
