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Lydia parked her Nighthawk at the vacant scenic view parking lot that overlooked a deep, forested ravine. The news that Steven Matthews had escaped from prison infuriated her. She berated herself for not killing him when she had the chance. The proper authorities had failed to enact justice, which didn’t surprise her. Now she had to finish what she should have done six months earlier.
She removed her helmet and placed it on the seat. A gentle breeze blew from the ravine and swept upward with the sweetness only nature offered. She inhaled the fragrance deeply and savored the peace of being surrounded by the forest trees.
She peered over the edge as the wind played with her hair.
The more Lydia thought of Matthews, the angrier she became. She was thankful to have had her tracer chip surgically removed. Matthews couldn’t find her, but she’d find him. Although her vengeance demanded her to go after Matthews, she first had to inspect what had beckoned her to come to this particular ravine. For weeks, an unknown force pulled at her spirit. Today, she located from where the source beckoned.
Checking her Glock 9mm clip and slapping it into the gun, she tucked it behind her belt and headed down the steep, narrow trail. The deeper into the ravine she descended, the darker her surroundings became. The thick canopy of foliage blocked sunlight and gave the moist mossy ground the eerie equivalent to stepping into another dimension.
Although the signs posted at the scenic overlook stated, ‘No Hiking,’ crumpled beer cans and emptied fast food containers were strewn all along the dirt trail and clearly displayed how rebellious or illiterate visitors were.
Lydia’s purpose for ignoring the sign sided with the tinge of rebellion that had been swelling inside her for months. Compelled to stop here, she obeyed. The wilderness called to her, but she never understood why. Perhaps her lust for freedom and isolation called her more, and nature was the only reserve available to satisfy this desire.
Thick moss hedged the gentle creek that flowed over rocks as smooth as glass from years of weathering. Tiny fish darted in pools while water striders skated across the surface. Further down the creek a large, dead branch snapped.
Lydia froze.
Since no vehicles, other than her motorcycle, were parked on the lot above, she reasoned that either another human was in the wooded area, or a large animal, like a bear, stood downstream watching her.
Lydia eased her hand back and pulled her 9mm. The gun held little chance to kill a bear, but a bear wasn’t what she feared encountering. Humans were her greatest threat. An ordinary human the gun could stop. Something like Lucian or herself took different means.
Near a large pine, yellow eyes peered from the shadows. Before she got a better view, they were gone. Rapid footsteps fled deeper into the dark forest. Dry nettles and twigs snapped.
Lydia took a step in the direction of her fleeing observer but stopped when a slamming car door echoed from the parking lot above.
“Lydia!” Lucas shouted, peering over the edge. “Where are you?”
Lydia pushed her back against a large pine in the dense shadows and ground her teeth.
“Shit,” she said, shaking her head.
Through the overhead branches she saw him, but the shade surrounding her prevented him from seeing her.
Lucas headed down the rugged path, so she sprinted through several rows of saplings, trying to disappear farther into the forest where the yellow-eyed person had run.
Lydia ran, gun held tightly in hand, and pivoted around the next large pine. She slipped on the moist mossy ground, fell forward, rolled, and pushed herself to her feet.
At the bottom of the path near the creek, Lucas looked around, trying to find her.
Another twig snapped. She turned and ducked seconds before a large rock would have struck the back of her head. The rock smacked the tree and dropped with a loud thud on the ground. She aimed her gun in the direction from where the rock was thrown, but she didn’t see anyone. Unfortunately, the noise was loud enough for Lucas to locate her.
He jogged toward her, and she aimed a few inches above his head and fired. A thick leafy branch dropped to the ground in front of him. He stopped and stared in disbelief. She stepped around the side of the tree and lowered the gun at his chest.
“Lucas,” she said in an even tone. “Go back and leave me alone. Don’t force me to shoot you.”
His eyes widened. Coldness that matched her icy words glared in her eyes. “Honey, you can’t—”
“Leave.”
“Lydia, please. We can get some help for you.”
“I don’t need any help.” Her jaw tightened. She pumped another bullet into the chamber and shook her head with tears brimming. “No, just go, dammit! Go!”
Lucas raised his hands in surrender and took a step forward. She lowered the gun and fired. The bullet struck a thick root on the path ahead of him. Dirt and wood pulp exploded an inch from his foot. He stepped back.
Her hand remained steady as she leveled it at his chest again. “No more warnings, Luke. I swear.”
Lucas nodded. He lowered himself to sit back on his heels. “Your anger isn’t at me, Lydia.”
“Some of it is.”
Her answer surprised him.
“Why?”
Her eyes narrowed. “Because you lied to me. You never told me where I came from and that I had been an experiment. I had to find out from Idris and not you. You were the one person I never thought would betray me.”
“I didn’t betray you,” Lucas said. “I didn’t tell you because I wanted to protect you.”
“It almost killed both of us.”
“Lydia, I regret not telling you. I didn’t realize the depth of programming they’d done to you. I’m sorry.”
“I’d have been better off left inside the incubation chamber.”
“No you wouldn’t.”
“It’d be better than the chaos storming through my brain.”
“Regardless of what they did to you, I love you for who you are. I need you.”
She shook her head. “No. You need . . . you deserve someone who has a past and family background.”
“I need someone to spend my life with right now and in the future. That’s you. We can start a family together.”
“Do you not realize the risks we’d take?”
“Life is full of risks. Everything is a gamble.”
“No, it’s not that simple, Lucas. With my genetics, we have no idea what would be birthed or what the child will grow up to be. I have urges to stalk and kill like an animal. I’m predatory and the urge to kill continues to grow inside of me. I cannot drive that urge out of my mind; no matter how hard I try. A child from me could be even more dangerous or become a vicious serial killer. Would you want that on your conscious?”
“No.” Lucas ran his hands through his graying hair. “Lydia, I don’t want you to leave.”
“Luke.” Her voice was softer, sad. “What if everything you believed in was a lie? How would you handle the truth?”
Lucas shrugged. “I . . . I honestly don’t know.”
“You knew what I was, and you kept that information from me. That wasn’t something you should have kept secret. I have no inner peace. I doubt I ever will.”
“I’m sorry. I honestly thought you’d be better off not knowing. I love you and I want you safe.”
“I understand,” she said. “So please understand I have to do this for myself. I have to sort through this . . . my need for revenge.”
“I know Matthews is out.”
She smiled evenly. “That’s why I paused the television screen.”
“You plan to kill him?”
“Need you ask?”
“Let me help.”
Lydia shook her head. “No. You’re innocent of this. His blood will be on my hands, not yours.”
“I can’t let you do this alone.”
Her eyes narrowed. “I don’t see that you have any choice.”
“You’d really kill me?”
She swallowed hard, her jaw tightened, and she nodded. “Only if you force me to.”
Lucas shook his head. “After all we’ve done together I mean that little to you?”
“I told you. I have to sort through these feelings. The bloodlust, rage, and revenge. That is something I must do without you around.”
“Once you’re done sorting through your emotions, will you come home?”
“Perhaps.”
“Have I ever made you unhappy?” he asked, staring into her eyes.
She looked away.
“We’re soulmates. You know it. You feel it.”
“Don’t Lucas,” she said, shaking her head.
“Can you honestly say you don’t love me?”
“This isn’t about love, Luke. If only it was that easy. I do love you. I told you that in the letter. But my being with you puts your life in extreme danger.”
“Let me worry about that.”
“No.” Lydia shook her head. “I can’t.”
“In your letter you made mention of ‘they.’ I know about Matthews, but who are they?”
She sighed. “Telling you only adds to your danger.”
“I can help you.”
“This is my battle, Luke.”
“Our battle. Our fight. You married me, so this is ours together.”
“Not this. You’re in no shape to go against these people.”
Hurt hollowed his eyes. “I see. So I’ve become too old to protect you?”
“I didn’t mean it like that, but you have to admit, your past injuries have taken a toll on your body. You’re not as agile as you wish yourself to be.”
“I’d slow you down.”
“They’ll kill you. I cannot watch that. I don’t want to see you die.”
“I’ll worry about you.”
“I expect you will. But you’re not like me. You know what I am. I heal fast. I’m capable of protecting myself.”
“The people you’re going after are like you?”
“No, but those that protect them are. I have to stop them.”
“Where are they?”
Lydia smiled. “Nice try. If I tell you, you’ll try to keep an eye out for me. That’s sweet. It really is, but I don’t need your protection.”
“Look—”His cellphone rang, interrupting him. He read the incoming phone number. “It’s Joe.”
“Answer it.”
After several minutes of talking, Lucas disconnected the call. “He needs our help.”
“No,” she replied. “He needs your help.”
Lucas stood and extended his hand to her.
Lydia tucked the gun behind her belt and folded her arms. Her icy stare was frozen wrath. “Go help Joe.”
“He asked for both of us.”
“Don’t try to obligate me to whatever trouble has arisen. I have personal things to take care of. You help our friend.”
Lucas lowered his hand. “So there’s nothing I can say that will change your mind?”
“No.”
His shoulders slumped. His actions showed his defeat. She had won, but she wasn’t satisfied with the victory. Her intent wasn’t to hurt him, but she didn’t know any other way to keep him safe.
“Be careful, Lydia. Again, I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you everything in the beginning.”
“When you return, I won’t be here,” she said, ignoring his apology. “The GPS on my Nighthawk will be turned off. I should have turned it off before I left. Don’t attempt to find me again. It’s the last warning you have. Anyone who approaches me I consider a threat, and I won’t hesitate to shoot. I don’t shoot to injure. You know that.”
“Okay,” Lucas replied. “But just because you heal fast and know no pain, don’t think you’re invincible.”
Lydia took a deep breath. “I may not know physical pain, Luke, but I do know what a broken heart feels like. I carry the pain now.”
“Then stay.”
“I can’t. Just go. Joe has always been there for you, so help him. Worry about me later.”
Lucas gave a reluctant nod, turned, and ran to the rugged trail that led to the parking lot above. Lydia watched him disappear. At the speed he ran, in spite of his injuries, Joe’s situation must be urgent. For a moment, she regretted not following him out of the ravine, but if she did, she’d have to find another way to leave later. It was better Lucas accepted her decision now than cling to any false hope.
Finding Matthews was her top priority. She believed Lucas could help Joe without her assistance. After all, Lucas had survived Pittsburgh and TransGenCorp without her. She’d never seen anyone tougher and more daring than when they had first started dating. She wondered why he acted so helpless now. Had love really made him that vulnerable and soft?
Being on his own should remind him that he was a man capable of making decisions whenever necessary. He didn’t need her to rediscover his inner strength. He didn’t need to rely on codependence. He could live without her. However, a part of her wondered if she could actually live without him.
Lydia hadn’t lied about her broken heart. Her decision left her torn inside. Her emotions battled one another and her confusion frayed her rationality, but she knew Lucas was safer without her in his life. She was volatile, unable to control her emotions.
She waited until his SUV roared to life and tires squealed before she headed deeper into the forest. Hiking two hundred or so yards, she entered an area darkened by a dusk-like eeriness. The flowing creek dipped and vanished underground. The water splashed loudly on rocks hidden beneath the earth. She stood atop a massive cave. She felt the strong presence of others beneath her.
Lydia got on her hands and knees and peered down through the dark, narrow crevice. She could squeeze through the opening, but without a long rope and a light source, the danger was too great, even for her. Getting back to the surface would be impossible if she survived the fall, but she didn’t know where she could exit. She’d starve to death.
A deep growl came from behind and unsettled her. She rose with her gun and aimed. The wolfish creature gnashed at her and bolted through the trees. As it ran, it arched upward. After several steps, the slender animal transformed unlike anything she’d ever seen in TransGenCorp. The creature abandoned running on four legs and adapted to two. Before it vanished in the thick trees, she was certain the thing had become human.
Kat had explained GenTech’s success of splicing canine genes with human, so what she witnessed wasn’t imaginary or unbelievable. It was a nightmare of deranged scientific technology.
Her main concern was why the creature was here, so far from any biotech laboratory, and what she sensed in the cavern below wasn’t a singular being. It was a massive group, possibly dozens of these unique people.
A colony, perhaps? Again, she wondered how they arrived here.
At night Lydia had sensed their presence, but until now, she wasn’t certain what kept beckoning her late after sunset with their strange howls. Genetically, she wasn’t like them, but she could sense their pack-like need to kill. Even though she didn’t know what they were, a part of her longed to join them.
She hurried back up the trail to get her Nighthawk. She wanted to be far away before Lucas returned one last time to convince her to help Joe. She didn’t expect less than for him to grovel, and she couldn’t stomach it if he did.
After her business with Matthews concluded, she’d return to investigate the underground cavern. She hoped by then Lucas would have given up his pursuit and wouldn’t expect her to return to the area. But first, more important matters needed dealt with.