| |
“I don’t know for sure where it was. I ran for two days, but not in a straight line. I back-tracked and hid. I was so scared that they would find me... I’m surprised that they didn’t send the Jagrhinos out.
“The what?” I couldn’t have heard her right.
“Jagrhinos, or that is what we call them. They are the guards of the lab and zoo that I was...created in.” Rebby’s voice is soft and hesitant, as if this is hard for her to talk about. “I guess I should start at the beginning.”
“Wait! Let me call my brother and have him bring some clothes for you. He should be here in a few hours.” Then I realize that I had had my phone in my hand when I shifted. “Crap! It is somewhere on the path. I dropped it when I shifted. Tristan-
“On it!” He grabs his phone from the bag he had left it in earlier, and types something out. Without looking up he asks, “What size? A medium?”
“Yes! How did you know?” Rebby’s voice sounds surprised.
“Six sisters. You get used to hearing about sizes.” Tristan types a few more words out, then tosses the phone back in his bag. “All set! Jenny will make sure you have what you need.”
“Thank you. So, you probably want to know how I ended up in your forest.” She says it more as fact, her eyes getting a distant look. “It all started a little over a year ago. I had just finished my senior year in college and was heading home for the summer. I was supposed to start a job working in the city with an Art For Children program that fall.
“It was late at night and I was tired. I didn’t see him in the road until it was too late. I swerved to miss him but spun out of control. The crash must have knocked me out because the next thing I remember is waking up strapped to a hospital bed with a series of IV’s running into me, and cords everywhere. I thought I was in a hospital, but it was the start of a nightmare.”
“What happened?” I ask her.
“They stole my life.”