| |
Sophie jogged beside Callum as they made their way through the woods. She, the bear, Xander, and Eden were getting into position to wait for the others to set off the bombs.
Xander held up a hand and everyone came to an immediate halt. Xander ducked down and Callum put an arm around her, drawing her to the ground with him.
“Nate, we’re in position,” Xander said through a small hand held radio.
“Hang tight. We’re almost done. If all goes according to plan, you’ll know when to move,” Nate said.
Eden slipped the radio away from Xander. “Good luck.”
“You too. Take care of my sister,” Nate said, his voice crackling.
“Always,” Xander said before tucking the device back in his pocket.
“How long do you think we’ll have to wait?” Eden asked, glancing from Xander back to Sophie and Callum.
Xander clasped her hand in his. “Not long.”
The words had no sooner left his mouth when an explosion roared in the night air. Fire shot into the sky. Another detonation rocked the ground, followed by yells and screams.
“That would be our cue. Told you it wouldn’t be long,” Xander said as he stood, pulling Eden up with him.
Sophie and Callum rose together. She closed her eyes and focused on changing only them. There was a small tingling sensation and when she opened her eyes, they’d shifted into her cat’s. Everything sharpened. She could see hunters scurrying about, heading toward the explosion. Guards were leaving their posts to assess the damage. Everyone was running away from where they needed to go. So far the plan was working. She just prayed their luck would continue.
“The coast is clear,” she said when all the patrols had left their posts.
“Let’s get in and out,” Callum said, nodding for Eden and Xander to go.
The pair took off, sprinting quickly toward the compound. Callum gave her hand a final squeeze and then they raced ahead together.
Sophie drew in a deep breath, focusing on her breathing as they darted over the grass to the facility. A cold chill shot down her spine as the buildings surrounded her. So much pain and suffering had happened in these walls. If they failed, she Callum and everyone else would never leave this complex. Swallowing the lump forming in her throat, she motioned for the others to follow her.
Her heart slammed against her ribs as she took the lead. She shifted her gaze around, ensuring no one was nearby before slipping between the buildings and rushing for the building where prisoners were kept.
Placing her hand on the lock, she pushed down. It wouldn’t budge. A curse slipped from her lips as she trailed her fingers down the wall, stopping at a keypad.
Please let Lou’s code work.
Her fingers shook as she typed in the code. The door beeped and the light flicked to green. This time when she shoved the handle down, the door hissed open. Letting out a breath and silent thanks, she slipped inside.
The bland white hall was brightly lit with florescent lights that burned her retinas. She had to blink and shift her eyes back to normal, and even then it took her a moment to adjust. The walkway was long and narrow with a single door at the opposite end.
Sophie swallowed, not entirely sure what the state of the shifters on the other side of the door would be. She closed her eyes, then opened them as she jogged down the hall.
The others’ feet tapped lightly on the tiles as they followed her lead. There was no keypad present so she twisted the lock and opened the door.
This room was dimly lit. Cells lined both sides of the walls and there was a narrow walkway through. There appeared to be five cells on each side with each set of bars holding five to six people.
The prisoners stirred, slowly rising to their feet as she crept in. Surveying the room for the keys and finding none, she grunted.
“We need keys,” she said. “Do you see them?” She turned again, scanning the walls.
“Shit,” Xander said beneath his breath.
“No we don’t.” Callum put a hand on her shoulder as he brushed passed her. “We haven’t been drugged like they have. With our full strength, Xander and I should be able to open the doors.”
“It’s worth a shot,” Xander said, stepping around her also.
The prisoners began to whisper as the two men approached the first cell.
Sophie cleared her throat and pulled two scalpels out from her jacket sleeve. She handed one to Eden. “We’ll need to check for trackers in your arms. If they’re there, you won’t get far.”
“And we should all run together,” Xander added. “There’s safety in numbers. Once you’ve had your tracker removed, go to the corners and wait.”
“We don’t have time,” a man said as he banged on his door. “Get us out of here. They’ll be coming.”
“We’re safer together, moving as a unit,” Callum said, turning to the man. “We have others with us distracting the hunters. If you think of only yourself, you’ll endanger everyone here. We’ll get you all out, but you have to listen to us.”
Callum didn’t give the man a chance to respond before turning back to the door he and Xander were at. Both men positioned their hands on the cell door.
Sophie held her breath.
“On three,” Callum said. “One, two, three.”
Both men tugged until the door popped open. The six people inside filed out and stopped in front of her and Eden.
“All right, the tracker is in your left wrist. We’ll need to cut it out,” she said as the first person stepped up to her.
Sophie nodded at the young man who approached her first. Clasping his wrist tightly in one hand, she pushed the blade against his skin to make a small incision. Blood pooled at the surface. The metallic tracker was just beneath the skin. She easily found it and plucked it out with two fingers, dropping it on the floor.
“You’re good to go. Next.”
The next man stepped forward and she began the process again, thankful shifters didn’t suffer from blood-borne diseases the way humans and hunters did.
She finished the first three men, only to find her line had grown to at least twelve. Xander and Callum were making quick work of the doors. They should have brought more scalpels so they could do this faster. It wasn’t hard and she’d shown Eden how to remove the trackers easily enough. Eden knew what she was doing, but was nowhere near as fast as Sophie. They should have spent longer practicing.
“That’s everyone,” Callum said as he pushed through the crowed and came to stand in front of the door. “How’s it coming?”
Sophie didn’t look up from the wrist she was cutting into. “We should be good to go soon.”
“Good. You and Eden will lead them to the trees. Xander and I have another mission,” Callum said.
“What?” Sophie hesitated a moment, her blade over a woman’s wrist as she processed what he said.
“Xander and I have something else we’re doing while we’re here. I’m sorry. I meant to tell you last night, but...”
Her heart tightened in her chest and she let out a breath. He had said he needed to tell her something, but then they’d gotten distracted completing their bond. “Okay. What’s going on?”
“We’re blowing up the buildings and leveling this place,” Callum said.
“That sounds dangerous,” she said as she sliced open another wrist and removed the tracer.
“We’ll be fine,” he said.
“What about the hospital?” Sophie asked. “There could be shifters in there. What about Terrence? Is he here?”
“No. We didn’t see him.”
“Then he could be in there. There could be dozens of shifters in there. Are you going to blow them up?” Sophie asked, not believing what she was hearing. Callum nor Xander weren’t the type to leave someone behind if they could be saved.
“Of course not. We need to take down as many hunters as we can. Then we’ll evacuate who we can from that building,” Callum said.
“I want to go with you,” she said as she set to work on another woman. “Some of those people might need medical assistance.”
“No. There isn’t time for that, and if it’s anything like the last place, I’m guessing the majority of the people there are lost causes. If they aren’t, then we have to get them out as quickly as possible. You know that, Sophie. There won’t be time to patch them up. Besides, you know this place better than anyone. Get these people out of here and to the trees.”
“It’s a straight shot, they’ll be fine,” she said, not giving in so easily.
“Hunters will be returning to their posts. If they have to change routes, we’ll need someone to guide these people through the city to safety. You know it best, Sophie,” Callum said.
He was right about that. “I don’t like this.”
“I don’t like leaving you either,” he said, kissing the back of her head as she removed another tracker. “But this is the only chance we’ll get to take this city down.”
He was right again, damn it. “I know.”
“Promise to be careful,” he said as she finished removing the last tracer.
She turned to him, wiping her bloody hands on her pants. “Promise me I’ll see you soon.”
Callum gulped, his eyes drifting from hers before returning. “I will.”
Sophie stood on her tiptoes and captured his lips. “If you’re not out at the rendezvous point in fifteen minutes, I’m coming back to the hospital to look for you.” She kissed him lightly again and before he could respond, she opened the door leading to the hallway. “All right everyone, follow me.” She let her eyes go to Callum again, meeting and holding his gaze before backing out into the hallway.
She turned on her heel and sprinted down the hall. The sound of bare feet slapping against the tile followed her.
Before she reached the door, the handle dipped down and it opened. A hunter stepped in, his eyes widening as he saw the mob careening toward him. He took a step back and Sophie pushed herself faster, knowing she couldn’t let him warn his friends.
She leapt, grasping the man’s shoulders as she dragged him to the ground with her. Using the force of her momentum, she rammed her knee into his groin. Her hands went to his throat, wrapping around the sensitive larynx and squeezing with all her might.
The hunter wheezed, thrashing about, but she refused to let go. He reached up, clawing at her jacket in an effort to save himself.
Another shifter stooped down next to her, placing his hands on both sides of the man’s head and wrenching it to the side. Sophie sat up, her fingers shaking as she removed them from the deceased hunter’s neck.
She stood and met the eyes of her helper before moving to the door. Taking a life, even a hunter’s life, was against her rules. As a doctor she wanted to save lives, not end it – but even she knew the more hunters they killed, the safer shifters would be.
“This way.” She motioned for the group to follow her out the door.
The sky was still dark, but wisps of light were on the horizon from the already rapidly rising sun. She glanced around, making sure the hunter was alone before sprinting across the yard to another building. Placing her back against the wall, she waited for the rest of the group to join her before moving to the edge of the wall and peering around.
With the coast still clear, she led the large group around another building and through the courtyard. She crouched down and peered around the edge of the structure. No one was in sight.
“All right, let’s go.” She stood, and with one last look, darted toward the trees.
Her pulse thrummed in her ears as she moved through the clearing. The trees were so close, but also so far away.
She cast a quick glance over her shoulder. The group was following her and Eden was pulling up the rear, helping an injured woman as they went.
Sophie’s gaze stole back to the trees. Only another minute until they reached safety.
A loud pop rang out into the night air, then another. Rapid bangs sounded and Sophie gasped as someone fell against her back, knocking her onto the ground.
The people around her screamed, picking up their pace, stomping over her and the unmoving body on her back. She covered her face with her arms in an effort to protect herself. Warmth seeped onto her back and she grunted against the stickiness.
Over the screams of the people, she heard the pinging again. Bullets. The hunters were shooting at them. A man fell down next to her. Sophie chanced a glance at him and met his vacant eyes.
There was a circular hole in his forehead. Sophie wriggled, trying to get out from under the person on top of her.
Another sound ripped through the night air. This one was louder, followed by another louder explosion. Sophie freed herself enough to roll over. The building they’d been in only moments ago was now a burning ball of fire.
Callum. Had he gotten out in time? Did he set off the inferno, or did the hunters do it? She looked for signs of movement by the buildings but only saw hunters scrambling about.
“Sophie,” Eden said as she raced toward her. “Are you okay?”
Sophie wiggled out the rest of the way and touched her finger to the burly man’s throat. He was dead.
“Sophie?”
Sophie looked up at Eden. “I’m okay.”
Eden cast a glance over her shoulder down at the burning buildings. The fire licked its way across the roof of one building and jumped to another. Men and women ran around below, trying to put out the blaze. At least the shooting had stopped.
“Callum and Xander?” she asked, trying to get eyes on the two.
“I don’t see them either.” Eden shifted on her feet, looking from the fire to the trees. “We have to help them get to the bus. Then we’ll come back for them if they don’t show up.”
Sophie nodded and pushed to her feet. It would be reckless to run back into the chaos below without knowing their location. Callum knew what he was doing. She glanced toward the fire one last time before taking off to the trees. She hoped Eden was right. Prayed that Callum would keep his word – that she would see him soon.