| |
Tristan
Theo, James and I head toward the “dining” area that the Elite had set up. Somehow in their magic van of tricks, they had pulled out a camp kitchen and enough food to feed a small army. We each grab a bowl of chili and chunk of bread, then find a spot to sit away from all the men. The Elite had made themselves comfortable in the woods, sitting in small groups. They each had a rolled blanket that had been packed on their bikes when they arrived, that now staked out their space.
Speaking softly, though the shifters would still hear our words, Theo asked, “So what happened with Arlin?”
“I don’t know.” James shakes his head. “After you went for your run, I called the Arachnerds to have them get some more information. As I was talking to them I knocked on Arlin’s door, then opened it. He was in the kitchen cooking, I think. I didn’t think to code what I was saying or anything. When I asked the Nerds to look into the top scientists in the field of gene mutation, Arlin freaked out. He shifted, but it wasn’t a natural, smooth shift. His shift was...spastic and painful. He grabbed cupboards as he fell, flung his arms, swiping things off the cabinets.”
James is quiet for a few minutes and we let him take his time. “When Arlin stood up, he was some mixture of animals. A freak. His head was that of a wolf, but from his shoulders down he was an ape. His fur resembled that of a cheetah, as well as his speed. He moved so fast! One minute I was standing there talking to the Nerds, the next he was throwing me across the room and onto the table. It broke under the force of the throw and my weight.”
“I figured he was with them when we found you and him missing, but he used himself as part of the experiments?” Theo asks, horror in his voice.
James looks up, his eyes worried. “Yes, he most definitely did. Because he is a natural shifter, I would guess that is why he is not moonbound like Rebby. Something we will need to take into account when we attack. We don’t know if they recruited shifters or just humans.”
Listening to James’ story strikes horror and fear into me. What will we find when we reach the compound, what horrors will we see? Mad men like the Master and Arlin must be stopped, otherwise their horrors will become greater and greater. Besides being unethical, this could expose us to humans.
“James, what happened after he threw you?” I ask quietly.
“There was a silver knife on the table; it stabbed into my leg when I fell. The pain was blinding. Arlin seemed to think that I was finished or maybe he had completely lost it at that point, but once I was down, he lumbered up the stairs and I could hear him tearing the place apart. I didn’t stay to fight, I just pulled that damn knife out of my leg and ran outside. I had just enough strength to shift and make it to the cave.”
“How?” I ask. Silver doesn’t kill us like humans and the media portrays, but it does weaken us. A cut as deep as his with a silver knife, that would make it difficult to shift.
“I’m an Alpha.” James grimaces as he moves his leg. Asswipe! “I am Alpha! Hear me roar!” Give me a break!
“How would Arlin and this Master have become allies?” Theo asks, obviously accepting James’ answer that being an Alpha is all that it takes to withstand silver.
I’m curious about the answer as well. Fifteen years ago, we didn’t have cell phone communications out here. It was either have an expensive sat phone or drive into town to make a call. Now the Internet is readily available on your phone, making it possible to communicate in any number of apps instantaneously no matter where you are.
“Who knows? Probably that damn cell tower that was installed just outside the corner of the property didn’t hurt his cause,” James says bitterly. “We never think of all the effects our actions can have until they bite us in the ass later on.”
He is extremely right in that statement. How many men in history wished they could go back and do one thing differently to change the outcome of events? The only thing is that, for every change you make, something else will change, too. It could be the for the better or it could be for the worse.
“We don’t know that the cell tower is the culprit. He has a dish for cable; who is to say he wouldn’t add Internet?” The dish sticks out like a sore thumb in a small clearing behind the house and I keep seeing those ads for Internet via satellite, so it sounds plausible.
By now our plates are empty, and I collect them to take to the area set up for dishes. “I didn’t see a computer in the house, but I also didn’t go in the locked room upstairs.”
“Locked room?” James looks up at me suddenly. “What locked room?”
“At the top of the stairs. There is a loft space with a couch and television set up, then two rooms with a bathroom between them. The one room was open and looked like the downstairs, everything torn up. The other door was locked.”
James stands, grimacing as he puts weight on his leg. “I need to see this locked room.”
“Let me go.” Theo sets a hand on his brother’s arm. “You can barely walk, and the stairs will make your wound open again.”
“No! I’m the Alpha. The problem with Arlin is my fault, and I need to see that room.” James hobbles towards the house. Theo watches him for a moment then takes quick strides to catch up with him.
“Fine, James. At least let me help you.” He puts his arm underneath James’, becoming a human crutch.