by Keri Hudson
“And they’re just killing the rest? But that’s… it’s monstrous.”
“They’re monstrous, Sabrina. It’s to be expected.”
“Then, how is it to be dealt with? Most are being held in the hospital, except… Rachel Arnneux, she was one of the survivors, Rachel Arnneux! And I think they released her at the same time they released me.”
“So fast?”
Sabrina shrugged. “I’d hardly been there any time at all. Maybe she got there just before? But… I wonder what happened to Kathy, then? She just disappeared last week!”
Marcus could find no answer and no contradiction as Sabrina crossed behind him to the laptop on her desk, fingers hitting the keys in a series of little clacks.
“Boom,” Sabrina said, “thank you, Facebook. Lives in New Orleans. But there’s no address. No problem.” A few clicks later, Sabrina was biting her lower lip, eyes fixed on the laptop screen. “Nothing there… try the Yahoo yellow pages… yup, there’s her address.”
Marcus had to admit to being amazed. “We've come a long way.”
“Spend some time online, you’d be surprised what you see.”
“Let's go pay Miss Arnneux a visit, then.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Sabrina drove them back down to New Orleans, giving them plenty of time to talk, and too much time away from Houma.
After glancing at him a few times, Sabrina surmised, “You’re worried.”
Marcus nodded. “About the lupes. The longer I stay away, the bolder they’ll get.”
“But they’re probably on their way to New Orleans right now to get Rachel, so…”
“Yeah,” Marcus said. “But nature’s balance is delicate, Sabrina. Pull one piece out, the rest can go haywire. Just the gators’ reaction will be, well, it won't be good.” Reading the confused tilt of her head, Marcus explained, “Shifters are well hated by any apex predator in their region. Orcas, grizzlies, wolves—they fear us and they despise us as unnatural, unwelcome in their world. Around here, the big predators are the gators.”
“And they hate you.”
“More and more all the time, it seems.” Giving it a bit more thought, Marcus went on, “They hate the lupes too, though, thank God. If they were allied, we’d all be screwed. But as it is, it’s like… like there’s a breaking point coming. I don’t know if it’s about climate change or overpopulation or just a natural extinction coming, but I feel like there’s gonna be some kind of… of natural shift, one way or another.”
Sabrina said, “Like a… a shifter apocalypse.” Marcus had to nod in easy agreement. “But… you could kill a normal wolf or bear, couldn’t you?”
“One on one, sure. But they’ve got numbers, and en masse, they could wipe us off the face of the Earth.”
“How terrible,” Sabrina said as she turned to reflect on the bloodbath to come. “When, do you think?”
Marcus had given it some thought many times, but no answers had come to him. “This generation, perhaps the next; not much longer than that, I don’t think. After that, who knows what’ll happen? But I’ll be there, either way.”
“Well,” Sabrina said, “let’s hope that never happens. I mean, they keep saying there’ll be a Civil War in America, right? But, c’mon…”
“Another Civil War among humans doesn’t concern me; an overthrow by murderous lupine shifters, that bothers me.”
Sabrina nodded. “I guess maxing out my credit card on all these rental cars is a small price to pay.”
“If we survive, it will be. I just hope we get to Miss Arnneux before they do.”
“What do you figure, in terms of worst-case scenario?”
Marcus hesitated, unsure if she really wanted to hear it. But Sabrina had proven a brave soldier in the field, and he wasn’t inclined to underestimate her.
“If we find her massacred, we’ll know she wasn’t pregnant. If she’s gone, with signs of a struggle, we’ll know she is.”
“But then… how do we find her?”
Marcus searched his imagination but could come up with no ready answer. “If we're lucky enough to be close, the way I was with you at the motel, we can follow in a slow-speed chase. But that’s asking a lot. Most likely, they’ll be long gone.”
“With no way to find her.”
After a grim silence, Marcus had no other answer than simply, “No.”
They drove on, and Sabrina was clearly working her own way through the possibilities, another impressive sign. “And what if we do beat them to her? How is she supposed to protect herself? Take her back to Le Croix? He’ll buy the theory, I should think.”
“Better he than the bought-out cops back in Houma. I’m almost concerned that, well…”
“You think they might be the shifters behind that woman farm? Shifters in the sheriff’s department?”
“Not all, I don’t think. Wouldn’t take more than one. You said you talked to the local law about your friend?”
“Yeah,” Sabrina said, “his name was… Travers, I think. Mel Travers.”
“Mal Travers,” Marcus corrected her.
“Right, you know him?”
“Not personally. But I’ve surveilled him once or twice.”
“You think he might be a shifter?”
Marcus had to nod. “It’s certainly a possibility.” Marcus hit the accelerator and the engine roared under the hood. “Either way, we’re going to have to convince that young woman to come with us.”
They pulled up to Rachel Arnneux’s French Quarter apartment, on the second floor of a shabby three-floor walkup. They buzzed at the door, twice without an answer. Bums walked past, con artists and tourists filling the streets.
A third buzz got an answer. “There’s nobody here,” the woman’s voice cackled out of the speaker. “Tenant moved out, there’s a waiting list for the apartment. Thank you.”
With a click, the conversation ended. Marcus pushed the button again.
“I said go away!”
“Please,” Sabrina said, “I… I was one of the other girls, I helped Rachel down the stairs. My name is Sabrina Parks.”
After a thoughtful silence, a long buzz rang out. Marcus pulled the door open and held it for Sabrina to enter in front of him.
Two minutes and a single flight of stairs later, the door opened just a crack, the chain still clinging to the door. Rachel looked at Marcus, at Sabrina, then closed the door. The chain slid along the lock and the door opened again. Rachel was recognizable, cleaned up and a bit more relaxed-looking than in captivity, but not much. Her blonde hair was cut short.
“Hi,” she said with an awkward chuckle, “I…” She looked around her apartment, cardboard boxes strewn around. “I was just… I’m packing, so...”
Marcus and Sabrina shared a glance. Sabrina said, “It’s okay, Rachel, we understand.”
“I… I just wanna get away from here, as soon as possible.”
“That's probably wise,” Marcus said. “But first, we have a few questions... if you don’t mind.”
Rachel looked at them both with a new skepticism. “Maybe.”
Sabrina said, very gently, “We… we don’t mean to intrude, but this… this is really serious.” Rachel nodded and waited to hear what would come next. “Um, well, we both know what was going on in that plantation house, and, um, well… did they… were you…?”
“Raped?”
Sabrina smiled sheepishly. “I’m so sorry to have to ask.”
“Then why are you? Who are you two, what are you doing here? I’m calling the police!”
Sabrina was quick to say, “Look, I… I know this is tough to talk about, but—”
“It is, yes,” Rachel snapped back. “And you still didn’t tell me why you’re asking.”
Sabrina looked back at Marcus, her brows and lips cramping nervously. “Okay, well,” Sabrina said, “here’s the thing—”
“If you were raped,” Marcus said, quick and to the point, “it’s possible that you’ve been impregnated. If th
at’s true, we need to know.”
“If I’m pregnant?”
“Yes.”
Sabrina tried to explain, “They… there are men who we think are hunting down the survivors—”
“But… you killed the men,” Rachel said to Marcus with quick fear in her voice, “I saw it!”
“I killed those men,” Marcus corrected her. “Are those the men who raped you?”
A long and terrible silence passed. Rachel sat there, becoming increasingly unhinged, mouth open and stammering, brow cramping, eyes tearing up. “I… they… I really can’t say.”
Marcus sighed, turning to Sabrina. “I could tell if she was pregnant, but… not in this form.”
Sabrina nodded and turned back to Rachel.
“What?”
“Rachel, honey, um, we’ve got a little favor to ask.”
“It doesn’t really matter,” Marcus said. “You’re in terrible danger, you have to come with us.”
Rachel looked at them, her new terror elevated. “You’re... no, I’m not going anywhere with you... or with anybody.”
“We understand that, Rachel,” Sabrina said, palms flat to calm her, “we’re only here to help.”
Marcus asked, “May I use the bathroom?”
Rachel thought about it longer than any other person would, then finally nodded. Once in the little room, door slightly ajar, Marcus started taking off his clothes, the ladies’ voices plain to hear.
“Now Rachel, I... I want you to listen very closely. There’s a lot going on here you don’t quite know about.”
“And what’s that? Really, you’re frightening me!”
“Don’t mean to do that, Rachel; honestly, we’re here to help. I just don’t want you to be... um, surprised.”
Marcus shifted, quickly cramped by the constrictive size of the little bathroom.
“Surprised, by what?”
Marcus pushed out of the bathroom, sliding through the human-sized door.
“Um… by this?”
Rachel looked at Marcus in frozen fear, eyes wide, hands out, fingers splayed, mouth a gaping maw of silence. Marcus huffed and approached only a step, Rachel gaping and backing up.
“It’s okay,” Sabrina said, “he’s friendly.”
“F-f-f-f-friendly? W-w-w-w-w-what the f-f-f-fuck are you t-t-t-t-t-talking about?”
“Just… take it easy. He saved your life.”
“H-h-h-he did? W-w-w-what the f-f-f-f-fuck, girl?”
Marcus sniffed the air around Rachel, his senses keen to things no human could ever detect, to things no natural-born animal could sense. And the breath of life was inside her, there was no question about it. A new lupine shifter was to be born.
Marcus shifted again, a quick turn back into his human form, standing naked before them. This supernatural display frightened Rachel even more, hand trembling as she pointed at Marcus, who said only, “Congratulations,” before turning and going back into the bathroom.
Again, he could hear Rachel trying to speak, words jamming up in her throat.
And he could hear Sabrina’s answer as he pulled his clothes back on. “Yeah, that’s a real trip, am I right? You get used to it, but the first time’s a real head-spinner.”
“He…how…?”
“It’s a natural thing, far as I understand it... and that’s not much. These days I’m just going along with things.”
Marcus stepped back out of the bathroom, carrying his shoes to slip on in their company. “Sorry to startle you.”
“I... you... startle me? What kind of... what… ?”
“I’m a shifter,” Marcus said, “and so are the men who raped you, and so is that baby in your belly.”
“What? What?”
“There’s no doubt,” Marcus said.
“But... what does that mean? Is it going to eat its way out of me? Get it out, Jesus, get it out!”
“We will, Rachel, we will, but right now, we’ve got to get you out of here.”
“He’s right, hon. Close your suitcase, grab it, and let’s get outta here!”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Marcus and Sabrina practically had to pull Rachel out of her apartment. He led them down the stairs, peering carefully around before leading them out into the street. Marcus and Sabrina kept glancing around as they made their way to the car and piled in.
Marcus took the wheel, gunned the engine, and peeled out. Sabrina took the passenger seat, Rachel in the back.
She asked, “Where are we going?”
Sabrina looked at Marcus. “That’s a good question. We can’t go back to my place. If we could find her, they can find me.”
Rachel asked, “Were you—? Did they—?”
Sabrina shook her head, biting her lower lip. “But they killed one of the other girls, so we figure they’re retrieving who they need and killing the rest.”
Marcus turned a hard right against the light and asked Rachel, “How much do you know about the rest of the hostages? Names, where they came from?”
Rachel sat quietly, gazing out the window. “One girl’s name is Hester, from North Carolina. Hester… I can’t remember her last name. But she was really messed up when you came along.”
“So she’s probably still in custody,” Sabrina said.
“They all are,” Rachel said, “at Charity Hospital; except us, I mean, and one other. The others were there longer than I was, and, well, you saw the condition they were in.”
Sabrina asked, “Rachel, if you were… um—”
“Raped by a fucking werewolf, yes?”
“Right, um, why weren’t you and the other girl held longer?”
“Why weren’t you? We told them they never touched us. I’m not going through that hell, after what I’ve already been through! Besides, I… I just thought it was some guy, y’know? But I’m not going be made a spectacle of. You know what kind of news story this is going to be?”
Sabrina turned to Marcus, “What about the other girls?”
“We’ll put in an anonymous call to the FBI, tell ‘em there’s an attack coming. Terrorists, something like that, enough to lock down the place, keep any lupes from getting in.”
“And once they figure out they can’t?”
“There’s still Miss Arnneux here.”
“Me? What… what are you talking about?”
“They’ll come after you, probably all six of them.”
“Oh shit,” Rachel said, “six of them? Oh shit, oh shit, shit-shit-shit-shit-shit—”
“Rachel, take it easy,” Sabrina said. “Marcus here can handle six of anything.” She turned slowly to face him. “You can handle six of them, right?”
Marcus gave it some thought, but an honest answer would not have been reassuring. Instead, Marcus winked at Sabrina and said, “Luckily, I won’t be alone.”
Bang! Bang, bang!
Bullets punctured the rear of the car, near to the left side. Marcus didn’t have to turn and look to confirm what he already knew. A carload of at least two lupine shifters was on their tail, in human mode, and they wanted to take at least some of Marcus’ party alive.
Rachel screamed, “What? What’s going on? That’s them, isn’t it? Isn’t it?”
Sabrina said, “Just keep your head down!” She turned to Marcus. “What do we do? Do you have any guns?”
“Me? This is your rental car! And your father was a cop, right?”
“A cop, not an arms dealer. I know how to shoot, but I don’t happen to own a gun. I had a crazy boyfriend once, and if I’d had a gun lying around, believe me, it wouldn’t have been good.”
“Worse than this?”
Bang, bang!
Marcus cranked the wheel, pulling the car into the next lane. Sabrina said, “Probably pretty comparable, actually.”
They came to an intersection, and Marcus said, “Hold on,” before gunning the engine. He drove through against the traffic, a red Miata swerving out of the way and honking its horn. But Marcus made it through and sped down the
street. More cars honked and screeched in the distance behind them, and Marcus knew then that, lacking the sound of a crash, they’d made it through. Marcus weaved in and out of traffic, making another sharp right and spotting the highway coming up about three blocks ahead.
Marcus stepped on the accelerator, whipping around another compact sedan like their own crappy Kia Sentra. Marcus got through the intersection just before the yellow light turned red. Sabrina looked back.
“I think we lost them!”
“No, we didn’t.”
Marcus turned a sharp right onto the onramp, the engine grinding beneath the hood. Sabrina asked Marcus, “What about that sheriff? Give that any further thought?”
“I think the FBI instead, rendezvous with them somewhere.”
“FBI,” Rachel repeated, “that works for me, the FBI! FBI!”
Sabrina asked, “Have you got a phone?”
Bang, bang!
Marcus gunned the engine, pulling up and around a black SUV.
But the shifters and their champagne-colored Mustang held tight to their tail, one sticking a handgun out the window and pointing. There was a flash in Marcus’ rearview mirror.
Bang!
“Jesus Christ,” Rachel shouted from the backseat, “get us the fuck outta here!”
Marcus said, “I’m trying, lady!” He turned hard, into the emergency lane, and sped ahead. But the Mustang pulled into the emergency lane behind them, no obstruction between the two cars.
Bang!
After a prolonged pause in the shooting, Marcus muttered, “Must be reloading.”
Sabrina pointed at the windshield. “Marcus!”
A crippled car with smoke pouring out of the hood came up fast in front of them, making proper use of the emergency lane. Marcus gunned it again and cranked the wheel, skidding back into the far left lane, banging into the cars next to and behind them, both cars maintaining a straight trajectory, honking at them repeatedly.
But Marcus’ attention was on the emergency lane, where the lupes’ Mustang tried to skid to a halt before smashing into the crippled car. Several more crashes were muffled in the distance behind them, horns honking without interruption.
Rachel looked through the rear windshield, then turned to look back at Marcus and Sabrina in the front seat.
