by G. Bailey
I try to tell myself at dinner that night that maybe things won’t take a turn the way they did last time. The board didn’t seem too keen on Hawthorne’s proposal; at least, most of them didn’t. Maybe he’s an outlier, and the humans really are just trying to promote peace and coexistence between our species. But maybe not. Is that really a chance we can afford to take, anyway? What happens if they decide Hawthorne is right, that the lives of the many are worth more than the lives of the few? What happens if, with the board backing him, Hawthorne is finally able to come out of the shadows, to restart the experiments with the permission of the entire administration? Images of my friends tortured and drained of their magic flit through my mind, making it hard to choke the food down, and it’s all I can do not to fall into a complete panic attack at the prospect of that kind of subjugation.
I’m sitting on my bed in my room that night, staring down at my hands, which are balled into fists in my lap, when I hear a quiet knock at the door. “Come in,” I call listlessly. Moments later, the door opens, and I see Landon standing there, looking apprehensive.
“I hope I’m not interrupting you,” he says after a long pause.
I shake my head. “No, not at all. I was just… thinking, I guess.”
“You and me both.” He shuts the door quietly behind him and comes over to me; I pat the spot beside me on the bed and he takes a hesitant seat, folding his hands in his lap. “You know, I do really like this set-up,” he remarks, looking around the room. “All of us being in the same suite, I mean. It’s nice. Forget about all the talk of conspiracies and experiments, and I could get used to this.”
“Yeah,” I agree, adding dryly, “although it’s a little hard to see the bright side when the Academy is talking about turning us into test subjects.”
“Well, we’ve been test subjects once,” the siren shifter remarks, “and we survived that. I’d say we have a pretty good track record.”
“Thank god for that,” I agree, turning to him and forcing a smile. “I just hope that’s not a theory we have to test out.” There’s a long moment of silence, both of us struggling to think of something to say. I bite my lip, but the words come tumbling out before I can stop them. “I got a text message,” I blurt out. “From an unknown number. It was during the peace talks the other day.”
“Really?” Landon frowns. “Can I see it?”
I nod, fishing my phone out of my pocket and handing it to him. His eyes narrow as he reads over the anonymous message, his forehead lined with worry. “What does this mean?” he asks finally.
I shake my head hopelessly. “I don’t know. But it feels like a warning. Do you think whoever sent it to me knew Hawthorne was planning on converting the rest of the school board?”
“I mean… maybe.” He sighs, handing me my phone back. “Any idea who it was?”
“No,” I reply. “None. For a while I thought maybe it was Hawthorne himself, but now I’m not so sure. It could be anyone here. Whoever it is, though, they seem to know something that we don’t.”
“Let’s just hope they’re on our side, then,” Landon remarks grimly. There’s a long pause, and he looks at me, his dark eyes meeting mine. “Listen, Boots,” he says, “today was rough. For all of us. I don’t want to think about what will happen if the Academy listens to Hawthorne, but I wanted to see how you were doing. I can’t even imagine what this must all be like for you.”
“Not great, Landon,” I reply, a humourless smile appearing on my face. “Not great.” I reach out and take hold of his hand, the warmth of his skin filling me with a sense of hope I didn’t even know I needed. “Thank you, though,” I tell him quietly. “It’s nice to know I’m not alone in this.”
“You’re not alone, Boots,” Landon replies, leaning forward to kiss me quickly on the cheek before pulling back. “You never were.”
“I’m surprised they’re even still doing this whole song and dance,” Shade remarks as we come to a stop outside the convention center the next morning. It’s a routine that’s getting old for all of us now, and I think it’s starting to wear on the other students; allegedly, this is the last day we’ll be spending at the conference before it’s back to classes as usual at the American Academy. I wish I could say that’s a relief, but at this point, I’m not sure anything is going to be enough to quell the growing dread I’m feeling.
“What do you mean?” asks Hunter.
The wolf shifter shrugs. “I was half-expecting them to drag us out of our beds kicking and screaming in the middle of the night. They’re obviously thinking about it.”
“A little optimism would be nice, Ivis,” Hazel fires back from where she’s walking next to Xander. They’ve been joined at the hip all morning, and she has a glow about her that suggests something more than just idle chit chat happened in their dorm room last night. I’m happy for her; a little comfort goes a long way in times like these. “They didn’t agree to anything.”
“No, but they sure as hell might,” Shade replies, crossing his arms. “And what are we going to do if they do, huh?”
“As much as I hate to admit it, Shade is right,” Silas agrees. “We’re going to need to think about some kind of exit strategy.”
“Exit strategy?” I ask, shaking my head. “What does that mean?”
The dragon shifter turns to me. “Who do you think they’re going to start with if they do decide to start this project up again, Boots? The answer is you. You’re one of the few successful hybrid experiments, and they’re going to want to study you. The rest of us, too, probably. We need to consider the possibility that the Academy might not be safe for us anymore.”
“Was it ever?” I ask, feeling hopeless.
None of the others respond, looking away from me, but that’s all the answer I need. Silas is right, even if I don’t want to admit it; it’s not a possibility I want to consider, but this is the reality of the situation. “So what are you saying?” Hunter asks finally, breaking the silence. “Are we going to have to run away or something?”
“I don’t know,” Silas admits, shrugging his shoulders. “Maybe. All I know is that we’re going to want to get ahead of the school board, no matter what the Academy ends up deciding to do. We’re going to need a plan if things go south.”
“I don’t know about the rest of you, but I can just up and leave,” Hunter protests. “I have family here.”
“You’re our family, too, Hunter,” I protest. “How do you know your father won’t end up siding with Hawthorne?”
“He won’t,” the vampire shifter snaps. “He… he can’t. I won’t believe that.”
“But what if-” begins Hazel.
“What are you all doing standing about?” comes the sound of a new voice, making all of us jump. I turn around to see Josie approaching us, her hands in her pockets and her dark hair pulled up in a ponytail. “Last I checked, the conference was happening inside.” In spite of her scolding, there’s a twinkle in her eyes, and she grins when she comes to a stop in front of us.
“Sorry,” Landon mutters, looking at the ground. “We were just… uh…”
“Trying to figure out where to go next,” Ruby hurries to supply. “To be honest, it feels like we’ve sort of exhausted our options.”
“You’re telling me,” remarks Josie. “Try spending three days going to nothing but faculty meetings. It’s enough to drive a person insane.”
I exchange a look with Silas before turning back to her. “Josie,” I say tentatively, “can you tell us anything about what the faculty thinks? About this whole conference?”
The recruiter gives me a long look. “Are you asking on the record, or off the record?”
“Off,” I reply without hesitation. “It seems like not much progress is being made.”
“I…” She hesitates, a flicker of doubt passing through her eyes. “To be honest, I really can’t say. It sounds like something’s been put to the board, but they’re deadlocked right now. A lot like the politicians, now that I think about
it.”
I don’t need to ask what it is that’s been suggested to the board. “What do you think is going to happen?”
Josie just gives us a sad smile. “That’s getting into dangerous territory, Ms. Brix.” There’s a long pause, and it seems as if she’s getting ready to say something else, but then decides against it. “You all had better get inside,” she says at last. “They’re going to want us to do a headcount before too long.”
“Understood,” Hunter says, giving her a stiff nod before turning to the rest of us. “Shall we?”
We give him a reluctant nod and begin to follow Josie in through the front doors. She frowns when we reach them, an odd look passing over her face. “That’s odd,” she remarks, her brow furrowing.
“What is?” I ask, coming to a stop beside her.
“There’s usually a security guard right here,” Josie replies, peering in through the entrance doors. “And where is everybody? The whole floor looks empty.”
I can feel the buzz of adrenaline beginning to pulse through my veins, some primal part of my brain sending up warning signals. Something is wrong; Josie senses it, and so do I. I glance back at the others, who have tensed up, and are watching the building with guarded looks. For a long moment, no one says anything, and I realise how thick the silence is in the entrance hall of the convention center. A second ticks by, and then another, and an instant later, Josie’s eyes are going black, her skin turning red as she whirls around on her feet, her expression frantic.
“Josie…?” I prompt, eyes wide.
“Run,” she says, and moments later, an explosion rocks the building with a shock wave strong enough to knock us all off our feet as the convention center is consumed by fire.
Chapter 17
It feels like everything is moving in slow motion. I can see the ground racing up to meet me, slamming to the floor hard enough to knock the wind right out of my lungs, leaving me gasping for breath. The air goes out of the building at once with a whooshing sound, a shock wave shattering the glass of the windows and sending sharp fragments flying. I suddenly feel a presence over me, and crane my neck to see Hunter covering me with his body, shielding me from the flying glass. His fangs are out, although whether he’s even aware of it, I can’t say. He seems to have transformed the rest of the way, too, as the high speed glass shards bounce off of him like he’s made of steel. I guess the adrenaline must have let him access his powers, and I can’t help but feel a smidge of pride in spite of our situation.
The shock wave dissipates, leaving us in the midst of what might as well be Armageddon: fires lick up and down the walls all around us, and panicked students, teachers, and assembly guests run around like chickens with their heads cut off. Some of them are using their powers, others are cowering in corners, and some are making a break for the exits, pouring out of the conference rooms and auditoriums in a stampede. Hunter gets off me then, and I feel a pang of regret at not having his protective presence guarding me anymore; he seems embarrassed as he gets to his feet. “Er… sorry,” he says, holding a hand out to me to help me up.
“You shifted,” I tell him, aware that I should have other priorities but unable to keep from pointing it out.
“I did?” His eyes go wide and he stares disbelievingly down at himself. “I’ll be damned. I wasn’t even thinking about it. I just…” He looks away, sheepish. “I wanted to keep you from getting hit.”
“Thank you,” I tell him, my hand lingering in his for just a moment before we pull apart, looking around at the others. They’re all struggling to get to their feet; Xander is helping Hazel up, a concerned expression on his face, while Ruby has already shifted into her dragon form: a deep scarlet red with vibrant green eyes. Shade and Landon have already gotten up, and are both halfway transformed already, while Silas, in spite of the look of concentration on his face, is still struggling to shift, still not having fully recovered from the Academy’s experiments.
“What the fuck is going on?” Shade yells to Josie, who’s already moving forward, rushing to herd the panicked students out the door.
“I have no idea,” she replies, not looking back. “We-”
But she’s cut off by the sound of screams coming from the other end of the hallway. I whip my head around to see what looks like a fight breaking out amidst the fire: students are still desperately trying to escape, but a group of armed humans has emerged from one of the back rooms. They’re dressed in combat gear, armed to the teeth, locked in battle with the amateur shifters as magic, fire, and smaller shock waves fly through the air, alongside bullets. I don’t recognise any of the humans as either politicians or security guards, and there’s something in their eyes that has a cold jolt of fear running through me: hatred. Pure, unadulterated hatred. And whoever these people are, they’ve turned it on us.
“Get out of here!” Josie calls over her shoulder. She’s already deep in concentration, her hands up as she pushes a wave of psychic energy forward from her body; it slams into a couple of oncoming attackers, sending them flying back, but that doesn’t seem to deter them for long. They scramble to their feet and charge forward again, armed with knives and baseball bats. “Go! Get back to the Academy where it’s safe!”
“Like hell!” I yell back, digging for my shifter magic. It’s mostly students here, and their skill levels vary, but most of them are like us: amateurs. And these humans know it.
Frantically, I look around. I don’t see any other faculty fellows or professors; they must be on the upper floors. Reaching deep, I close my eyes for a moment, summoning the first form that comes to mind: my witch form. My body begins to buzz with magic, my skin taking on a red hue as my powers come to me and I move to stand between Silas and Hazel, who are now in their forms as well. “We need to help her hold them off!” I yell at them.
“You don’t need to tell me twice,” Silas replies, flapping his reptilian wings and launching off the ground before unleashing a spray of fire down onto a couple of the humans. It seems to deter them for a moment, but I realise with a sinking feeling that the clothes they’re wearing seem to be fireproof; in an instant, the flames vanish, leaving them no worse for wear than they were before.
They planned this, I think, my eyes going wide.
“Move!” yells Shade, charging at one of the attackers in his wolf form. The man swings his baseball bat, but the wolf shifter knocks it out of the way, pinning him to the ground as he begins to rip at him with his teeth. I see Xander following suit out of the corner of my eye, tackling another human with his fangs bared. Ruby flies over to where Landon is standing, slamming a couple of the attackers with her wings; she must have seen that fire isn’t going to work on these guys.
Landon and Hunter rush forward, the siren shifter fixated on a couple of female humans as he lets out his grating scream while Hunter barrels into one of the others, knocking him off his feet. All around us, students and conference attendees are rushing for the doors, creating a bottleneck in their desperation to get away from the chaos.
“You need to go!” Josie screams at us, still weaving spells to hold off the next wave of attackers. I fall in beside her, raising my arms and letting loose a chaotic golden bolt of energy; I haven’t really gotten the hang of casting spells in witch form yet, and all I really know how to do is aim wildly and unleash, but whatever I do sends a couple of the humans flying. I grin with triumph only to feel something slam into me from my right, knocking me to the ground and breaking my concentration. Terrified, I snap back into human form as I grapple with a human woman in a kevlar vest. She has a knife and a look of wild agitation on her face; I struggle to keep it from connecting with my throat even as I desperately try to concentrate on returning to one of my shifter forms, but it’s impossible to multitask, and she’s a lot stronger than I am.
“Millie!” yells Landon, turning to me, but Josie is faster, whirling around and extending a hand. The woman is lifted off of me telekinetically before the witch launches her into the far windows, sending her
crashing through the glass. I scramble to my feet, shooting her a grateful look. She turned around to save me, and that was exactly the opening the humans needed.
I watch in horror as one of the attackers pulls the pin out of a grenade and hurls it at the ceiling; as soon as it connects with the tiles, the whole roof gives out, sending chunks of concrete and mortar raining down on us from above. Landon yanks me away at the last second as I stand there gaping, letting out a strangled cry as more guests - along with a giant piece of the ceiling - come crashing down on Josie, burying her in the rubble. “No!” I yell, my eyes wide, and I struggle out of Landon’s grip to rush forward, trying to get at the faculty fellow.
“Boots, we have to go!” yells Shade, grabbing me by the wrist. He’s back in human form, looking uncharacteristically scared as he pulls me back.
“We can’t just leave her!” I yell.
“We have to! This whole place is collapsing!”
Looking up, I see that he’s right; the second explosion seems to have destabilised the upper floors, and the building lets out a low groaning noise as the pillars supporting the floor begin to give out. The convention center is falling down on top of us, and if we don’t get out, we’re going to end up buried. I glance at the others; they’re making for the doors, beckoning to me, and with a sinking feeling I realise that it’s now or never. I give one last, regretful glance to the pile of rubble where Josie is before following Shade, tears streaming down my face from the smoke and the trauma as we race for the exit. With one last sprint, we force ourselves out the door, running faster than we ever have out into the courtyard and towards the street. All around the convention center, bystanders are staring with their hands to their mouths, and in the distance I can hear police sirens and fire engines.