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“How’s it coming?” Xander asked from behind Callum.
“This is the last one,” Callum said as he finished setting the remote detonator on the device.
“Let’s get out of here,” Xander said, clapping him on the shoulder as he stood.
Callum backed out of the cell, his eyes resting for a long minute on the bomb they’d left. He turned and followed his friend out of the jail area and back to the hall.
Xander had set two bombs in the hall while he’d done three in the cell area. He had no idea if it would blow up the complex completely or not, but he was certain it would do a hell of a lot of damage and the fire it started would probably do the rest.
They jogged down the hall, stopping at the door. A man lay on the floor shoved against the wall, his neck twisted at an awkward angle. His vacant black eyes stared up at the ceiling.
Callum opened the door, peering out into the night. No one was in sight. Just as he motioned for Xander to follow him a loud noise echoed through the air followed by rapid cracks of gunfire. The hunters were shooting at someone.
“Shit,” Xander said as he hunkered down, pressing himself against the wall.
Callum narrowed his eyes. The bullets weren’t coming in their direction, but they were going somewhere. He had no idea if the hunters were firing at Nate or Sophie and Eden, but whoever was in their line of fire needed help.
“How big of a blast radius will the bombs we set give us?” he asked as he took in the empty street.
“I’d say we need at least fifty feet. More would probably be better,” Xander said.
“Okay. We’re going to make a run for the infirmary. We’ll toss the jars of gas against the buildings where we can. You think if we set them off at that blue house we’ll be far enough away?” He took the backpack off his back and pulled out two jars of gasoline. Xander removed his pack and grasped his jars, too.
Xander let out a breath. “It’s going to have to be. Let’s go.”
They both took off at a sprint. As they passed by a building, Callum threw a jar. It shattered against the brick, sending gasoline all over the building and grass. He threw the second jar, getting it high enough to smash against the roof of the same building.
Xander threw his jar at the next building, hitting the side and a tree. The last container landed on the roof, sending the smelly gas rolling down the tiles and into the gutters.
When they got to the blue house, Callum pulled the remote from his pocket and pressed down on the button. He pumped his legs harder in an attempt to get even more distance between them and the explosion.
A loud bang sounded, followed by several more. Heat nipped at his heels as he pushed himself faster. Sweat beaded on his brow from the intensity. He didn’t even need to look over his shoulder to know their plan was working.
The gunfire had thankfully stopped. He just prayed that Sophie, his friends, and the rest of the shifters had made it to the tree line safely.
Xander reached the door to the infirmary first and shoved it open.
Callum gagged as the stench of rotting flesh met his nose. He covered his mouth and nose with his hand and slowed down as his friend had done.
A series of steady beeps met their ears as they rounded a corner. Xander stopped outside a room and picked up a clipboard, reading over it.
“Brain dead,” he said with a sigh as he tapped on the paper.
Callum followed his finger and read the doctor’s notes. He went to the room across the hall and checked the paperwork there, only to discover the same fate for the soul inside. He moved down the hall, stopping at each door.
“Should we even bother looking anymore?” Xander asked as he set another clipboard back in the bin on the door. “We’ve checked several dozen already and they’re all being kept alive by the machines.”
Callum looked back down the hall, counting the number of doors they’d checked. His stomach twisted with nausea when he realized his friend was right. Over forty men and women were in here beaten and broken beyond repair.
“The fire will reach this building soon,” Xander said.
Callum ran a hand through his hair as he thought. The men and women they’d passed were beyond hope at this point. No medicine could reverse the damage the hunters had done. Letting them die would be the best they could do. But what if someone was alive in one of these rooms?
He didn’t get a chance to voice his concern. A shriek sounded from the end of the hall. Both Callum and Xander turned toward the sound. A woman stood at the end of the hall, staring at them for a long moment before turning on her heel and racing away.
“Crap,” Callum said as Xander sped after her. He darted after his friend, rounding the corner. It had been a trap.
A hunter had Xander pinned against the floor, a taser pressed against his neck. A female doctor lunged at Callum with her taser ready to strike. He managed to duck out of the way, catching the woman’s arm and twisting until it popped out of the socket. Hurting a woman wasn’t something he liked, but he wasn’t going to let himself be killed either.
The female hunter cried out in pain as he pressed her against the wall, placing his forearm against her throat. “Let him go or I’ll kill her,” he said, turning to the man holding Xander.
The hunter laughed and Callum shoved his arm harder against the woman’s neck. Just because he didn’t want to kill the woman didn’t mean he wouldn’t to save his friend.
“Get off him. Now!” he said with a growl, pressing even harder and causing the woman to whimper.
The male looked at the doctor for a long moment before climbing to his feet.
Xander swung around, kicking the guy’s feet out from under him. The man toppled to the ground and the weapon went flying. Xander found the taser first and attacked the hunter repeatedly until the man lost consciousness.
“You okay?” Callum asked.
Xander groaned as he stretched. “I could do without that happening for a while.”
Callum nodded his agreement before turning back to the doctor. He loosened his hold on her throat but kept his other hand securely on her shoulder. “Are there any shifters in this facility that aren’t brain dead?”
The woman huffed, then clamped her mouth shut.
Xander punched the wall, inches from the woman’s head. “Answer him.”
When she still didn’t say anything, Xander pressed the taser to her temple. “What do you think happens if someone gets tased in the temple?”
Callum shrugged. “We could find out.”
The woman closed her eyes and continued her silence.
“Or we could just kill her,” Xander said.
Her eyes popped open, her gaze shifting between them. “You wouldn’t.”
Xander got in her face. “You do it to us all the time. What would stop us from doing it to you?”
She drew in a breath and let it out. “You’ll kill me anyway.”
“Tell us what we want and we’ll let you live,” Callum said.
“Everyone in the facility is brain dead,” she said after a long moment. “Now go.”
“Is there a leopard shifter here?” Callum asked. Terrence had to have gone somewhere.
The woman cocked her head to the side, an odd look on her face as if she were trying to keep a secret. “No.”
“She’s lying,” Xander said.
“He’s not here...he’s...”
A loud pop sounded and the woman went slack in Callum’s arms. Blood dribbled out of a small hole close to her temple.
He dropped her to the ground and twirled around. Two hunters approached them from the other end of the hall, pointing handheld guns at them. He took a step back, bumping into Xander.
“Don’t move,” one of them said.
“You shot Julia,” the other man said as he went to run toward the fallen woman. He stopped when Xander began to growl.
“She was giving them information,” the man said, putting his arm out and motioning for the other to come back toward him. “Go call for backup. I’ll take care of these two.”
The hunter seemed to hesitate a moment before running off to presumably call for help.
“Stay right where you are,” the man instructed, taking another step forward.
“On three,” Xander said from behind him, his voice so low only Callum could hear.
Callum bowed his head ever so slightly. He didn’t have any interest in standing around waiting for the man to close the distance, either.
“One, two, three,” Xander said.
On three, Callum twisted and sprinted down the hall. Loud pops followed after them and he grunted as pain exploded in his shoulder, then his right side. His vision darkened but he willed himself to keep moving.
A picture of Sophie’s face played in his mind. Her soft blue eyes called to him and he forced his injured body to move.
I am going to keep my promise to her. Just stay conscious.
The hall blurred with rolling black fog that fell down from the ceiling the closer they got to the door. He couldn’t be sure if the haze was smoke or his mind playing tricks on him. Xander went to touch the door, but howled and jumped backward.
Callum gripped the wall as the hall began to spin.
Xander shoved him back. “We’ve got to find another exit,” he said, his voice echoing oddly as he spoke.
Callum’s vision doubled as he stumbled, falling against the wall. The structure was warm against his fingers, almost to the point of burning.
His legs felt like gelatin as he tried to take a step forward. He couldn’t tell if he was actually moving or if the room was whirling around him.
“Sophie,” he said as he moved forward.
“Ah, crap,” Xander said, though Callum couldn’t see him. “Don’t do this to me, man.”
Callum wrapped his arms around his torso, pressing against the spot that burned.
“I need you to keep moving, Callum,” Xander said.
He tried to do as his friend instructed but everything was spinning and his legs refused to move – or maybe they were and they just felt funny, he couldn’t be sure.
“Stay with me,” Xander said.
Callum groaned as he slammed against something hard. He could hear Xander yelling, but his voice sounded so far away. More pops echoed down the hallway. He tried to climb to his feet, knowing he had to help his friend against the hunter, but his body wouldn’t cooperate.
After a moment, he heard Xander’s voice again, “Nate! Nate! We’re in the infirmary. Get Sophie, we need to exit now. Callum’s down. He’s been shot.”