Inked MC Boxset: Books 1-6

by Vanessa James

  We wandered down the first passageway. There was an eerie and unsettling feeling in the air. I didn’t know if it had to do with everything that had happened or whether this place just gave me the creeps. But to add to my feeling of deep foreboding, I heard screams coming from further down the passageway.

  I turned to Stephan and he quickly nodded at me. The two of us rushed to the end of the hallway. So far, there was nothing besides a couple of test tubes and some pods around, but the entire place looked like someone’s fucked up science experiment.

  I had a feeling I knew who was behind this.

  I didn’t expect her to be as intimately involved with the gang as she was, but then again, she did associate with Daniel. I grimaced just thinking about their association, and Stephan looked at me with slight concern.

  “Anything the matter?” he asked.

  “Yeah, I just think that I know who the hell is behind this.”

  “What do you mean?”

  It had to be her.

  When we got to the end of the hallway, we were met with the sounds of screaming humans. Some people were in cages, a couple strapped to chairs and I noticed a shadow over in the corner.

  It had to be her. The same thought kept going around and around in my mind.

  “Audra,” I said to myself.

  “What do you—”

  I pulled Stephan toward me, hiding us in the corner as I heard the sound of humming. Audra came back, looking around and furrowing her brows.

  “That’s odd. I could’ve sworn I heard something,” she muttered to herself.

  I kept myself as quiet as a mouse as she came over, grabbing the syringe that was next to her and putting it in a man’s forearm.

  “No please! Let me go!” he cried out.

  “No, you’ll be working for us now. We need more soldiers,” she said.

  Suddenly, his eyes became red, and he soon broke out of the restraints. He then started to look around, almost like a rabid dog.

  What the hell was she doing to the people here?

  This wasn’t the only one. On the right side, near where my head was, were people that looked like her. A couple of them were looking in my direction, but none of them said anything.

  “There we go. The perfect soldiers for my darling Daniel,” Audra said to herself.

  Soldiers? Were they really over here forcing people to fight for the Tigers, so that they could win against us? I was disgusted, and I could see Stephan’s hands shaking.

  “No … no way,” he whispered.

  “What was that?” I heard the woman’s voice say. Her piercing green eyes scanned the room. I held my breath, feeling the full, unadulterated fear wash over me. She then started to walk over, and I felt my body tense up.

  I didn’t know how bad this was going to get. I felt like I was in some sort of goddamn nightmare. She came right up to the containers where we were hiding. I could hear her breathing.

  “There’s definitely some rats in here,” she said.

  She continued to look around some more, until she stepped back, sighing. She left the lab. When the door shut behind her, I let out a sigh of relief.

  “That was close,” I said.

  “You’re telling me. But what the hell is this, Laney? What are they doing here?’

  That was a good question. I never expected these warehouses to have something like this going on. I only knew of where to go because this was where Stephan’s phone signal traced to, and it’s where he was hidden. But there was something about this which felt incredibly off, and when I looked around once more, I noticed it.

  There it was.

  There was a whole file on the table. I reached over and grabbed it, opening it up. The file had a whole lot of information concerning the tests that were happening here.

  “What did you find, babe?” I heard Stephan ask.

  I gave him the file, feeling the breath exit my body as my hands began to shake.

  “Please take a look for yourself.”

  His eyes scanned over the documents, My heart raced and hammered away in my ribcage as I watched him read. What exactly would happen next? What would we do now? And from the expression on Stephan’s face, I knew that he didn’t know either.

  Chapter3: Stephan

  Chapter 3—Stephan

  I grabbed the file that Laney had in her hands and opened it. I started to read through the contents, my eyes widening as I digested what was before me.

  “Ummm … what’s this?”

  I noticed that there was indeed a lot of information here. But what surprised me the most was what Audra was keeping tabs on.

  It was a series of experiments to design soldiers that would be used in the Tigers gang to overthrow the Ravens. I read over what she was giving these people, and I felt a sickness in my stomach.

  The drug was meant to help tap into unbridled strength, and it would let these guys grow strong, and fight others. It also was a drug that would help eliminate their conscience. My eyes widened…

  I was their main target.

  I looked over to the cages, seeing the people there. Their eyes were fixed on me, a look of pure hatred consuming them. They didn’t even look human anymore, even though I damn well knew that they were human.

  “You okay there?”

  I nodded.

  “Yeah it’s just … a bit surreal. I‘m surprised they would stoop to this level. To kill me like this. It’s just disgusting, you know.”

  “Yeah, it is. But why is Audra doing this? What is the reason for this attack?” I heard her ask.

  My gaze continued to skim over the contents of the papers. Then I looked at the third sheet, noticing a small note there.

  There was also a plan in place to get rid of Laney.

  Audra had a whole bunch of information on her. I noticed that the information was indeed current. So that meant she was keeping tabs on Laney.

  “Did you get a chance to look at this yet?” I asked.

  “No. What is it?”

  I handed her over the dossier and she read over it, her eyes widening in shock again.

  “They want to kill us both so that they can take over our group, and from there rule everything. This is insane though. They also have a plan here to help subvert some of the government agencies and even undermine some of the strongest people out there. What the hell,” Laney said.

  “They have a whole ass plan here. This isn’t just some revenge plot anymore. They’re in it for blood.”

  And the scary thing about this was that I was fueled by revenge. I quickly looked about, staring at Laney’s phone.

  “Laney, I need you to do something important for me. Take pictures of that and send it to Meryl. Let the other leaders know that they are planning to attack, and do it quickly,” I insisted.

  Laney nodded, grabbing the files and punching all of that in, sending it to all the numbers I gave to her. I hoped that Meryl could inform everyone before it’s too late.

  The Ravens did have the support team to fight these guys off, but I had a feeling that they’d be going for me first. I decided to worry about that later. Still, from what I gathered, the attacks were already happening at a few locations, and right now the majority of our men were tied up.

  But where was Daniel at?

  I knew that Daniel was hiding out somewhere. It’s just a matter of where. Laney then looked around, and she noticed something else on the table.

  “Hey, let me look at this real quick. It might be a lead.”

  I nodded, immediately understanding. I watched her as she went over to study the files that were there. She then started to gasp.

  “No way,” she said.

  “What is it?”

  “I … I know where Daniel is. But there is a bigger problem.”

  “What?”

  “We’re being watched.”

  A laugh echoed through the air, and I looked to my left. Audra was there, her red hair wild and her green eyes filled with rage. Laney looked at me with shee
r fear in her eyes.

  “There you two are. I knew the rats would come out eventually. All I needed was to give you a reason to come out,” she said.

  She pushed on a button and the cages opened. The deafening sounds of screams filled the air. A bunch of people started to run towards us, set to kill.

  What the hell did she give them? I had read the drug name and the side effects, but I never expected the Tigers to be trafficking humans for vile experiments like this. I raced over to the right. Laney immediately copied me.

  “You’re going to have to shoot or something!” I cried out.

  “But—”

  “Laney, if you want to live, you shoot,” I insisted.

  I hated that those words came out of my mouth and that I had to say something along those lines. She nodded, her lip quivering. She looked over at me, and I nodded towards her.

  This was going to get nasty, and I had a feeling that, once the damage was done, we’d be in big trouble.

  Chapter4: Laney

  Chapter 4—Laney

  I felt guilty for what I was about to do, but I had the gun in my hand and six bullets in the chamber. I cocked the weapon and aimed at the people coming towards me, shooting them in the legs to stop them.

  They fell to the ground, tumbling down. Incredulously, I watched as they tried to reach out to me. The ones behind them fell over the first people on the ground, becoming an entangled mess of bodies.

  Holy shit. What the hell was this? I looked over at Audra, who was smiling as she ran away.

  There was no way in hell I was going to let the girl who ruined the last relationship I was in get away with this. First Alex, then her. I started to circle over towards the left when I saw that Stephan was holding off the rest of the guys. They were almost like bloodthirsty zombies.

  “Do you need help?” I cried out.

  “No. Go after her. Follow her so that we can figure out a way to stop this. I swear I’ll be okay.”

  I wanted to fight this, but the way that these guys charged at me, mindlessly trying to kill me, it made me feel scared, and I was unsure of what exactly would happen next. When I finally got over towards the edge of the wall, I looked for an opening.

  I noticed Audra in the corner, circling towards the ladder there, and rushing up. I followed her, pushing some of the bodies out of the way. They tried to go after me, but I didn’t stop. I wouldn’t stop here. I would continue on no matter what.

  I climbed up the ladder and then headed straight ahead. But, as I did that, I heard the sound of an alarm and the door coming down.

  Shit, she was trying to lock us in and then make her escape. I quickly rushed to the door. It was about halfway down. It would be a tight squeeze, but I would have to go on.

  I slid underneath the door, moving my body towards the other side until I finally made it through. I watched as the door caught on my jacket.

  “Ugh, fine,” I said to myself, taking off the jacket and running to where Audra was going. She tried to knock over items, pushing chairs and desks in front of me to stop my advance, but I got past all that.

  I didn’t even know how I managed to do that. It was as if my body was moving on its own. I quickly caught up with her, heading to the right so that I could cut her off.

  She then whipped her head around, smiling at me.

  “There you are, Laney. It’s nice to see you again. I just wish it was under better circumstances,” she said with a simpering voice.

  Oh please. Like she really meant that. I grimaced at her, noticing how fake she sounded the moment she opened her goddamn mouth.

  “Why are you doing this?”

  “It’s simple. Daniel is your boyfriend, and he promised me great things if I did what he asked. I’m a researcher too, and I wanted to test this new drug on people,” she explained.

  So we we’re all just her guinea pigs? What the fuck?

  “Why me though? Why do you have such hatred for me?” I asked.

  “Because, Laney, you were always in the way. From the moment we were friends, you were always ruining everything that I did, and because of that … I think it’s time to get rid of you once and for all!”

  She raced over towards me, and I dipped out of the way, causing her to fall towards the side. I had my gun to her chest, holding it there and looking her in the eyes.

  “You really think I’m going to just sit here and let you get away with this.”

  She looked at me with a smile, that damn grin which made me feel on edge.

  “No. I’m not.”

  She slid out of the way and tried to kick me. I moved to the side, delivering a roundhouse kick to her chest. She slid towards the wall and I came closer, holding the gun to her head this time and looking her in the eyes.

  “Now do you get it?” I said, holding it there and looking at her.

  “Course I don’t. you ruined my chances of getting into the school I wanted. I pretended to be your friend to get what I needed, and you’re too goddamn naïve to think otherwise. We never were friends, Laney. You got it all wrong.”

  I was about to speak, to tell her that she was wrong when I felt something sharp hit my gut. I coughed up blood, feeling my body start to lose all semblance of energy. As I fell down to the ground, my eyes fluttered a little bit. I looked up at Audra who was grinning at me evilly.

  “This is what you get for getting involved. Daniel hates you too by the way. He never loved you. He just wanted you to think that he loved you. And now that you’re out of the picture along with Stephan, I’ll be taking my leave.”

  I wanted to say something to her, to tell her that she was so goddamn wrong, but all of the energy in my body was gone, replaced by a feeling of lifelessness. I watched her leave the room as I lay there, the blood trickling out of the wound. I wanted to fight this, and I wanted to say something. But I simply didn’t have the strength.

  I was laying there as dead to the world as I felt in the past, and the truth was, I felt like this might be the end for me. I started to close my eyes as my consciousness slipped away, still hoping that something might yet save me.

  .

  Chapter5: Stephan

  Chapter 5—Stephan

  I was quickly overwhelmed by the zombie-like people, all of them without logic or reasoning. They attacked me, trying to tear the flesh off my hands and pull my body apart. I was able to kick a few of them to the side, but they just kept coming.

  I had to get the hell out of here.

  When I heard the sound of the alarm and the door falling, I realized what Audra was trying to do. She was trying to lock us in here with them. It’s not like I could do much though. I looked around to the right, noticing that there was something up near the edge of the ladder.

  A vent.

  It was small, but it might be enough for me to fit into. I grabbed one of the canisters and I started to hit these people over the head. They fell like flies, all of them on the ground, and after a couple of minutes, there was a big enough path for me to get to the vent.

  I raced towards the ladder, climbing up. I briefly looked down, noticing that the drugged-up humans had started to shake it. I climbed as fast as I could towards the top. I got off just in time, as I watched the ladder slowly fall as I heard screams of protest from the incoherent mass of humanity down below.

  “Shit.”

  I clambered towards the vents, grabbing the sides and then prying them apart. I looked at the grate as it stayed like that for a brief second, but then I tore it off, letting off a sigh of relief.

  I pushed my body through the duct, climbing up, and then scrambling around towards the right until the tunnel straightened out. I moved my hands slowly, crawling through the long duct until I heard the sound of someone to my right. It sounded like a pained cry, and my heart began to race.

  What scared me the most was that it sounded a lot like Laney.

  “Please no…”

  I hoped that Laney was safe. I even mouthed a silent prayer. I quickly scrambled o
ver to the next duct. I pushed against it, using all of the force in my arms to finally open it. I nearly fell to the floor on the other side, but I gripped the edges, pulling my body through and then sliding to the ground. When I hit the ground with a thud, I looked around, trying to find Laney or Audra.

  There was a shadow that whipped right past me, but before I could say anything, it was gone. I then heard the sound of a pained cry in the distance and I soon rushed towards it.

  That’s when I smelled it. Blood. The metallic smack was too familiar. My heart pounded in my chest like piston bellows. The worst sight imaginable soon appeared.

  Am I too late?

  I found Laney lying there in a puddle of her own blood. She was unconscious.

  “Laney!” I cried out, rushing towards her and grabbing her limp body. I hoisted her up and carried her over my shoulder.

  I grabbed her phone and started to type in Meryl’s number. It seemed to last forever until she picked up. I told her that I needed an ambulance to this location right away.

  When we got to the front of the warehouse, I took a closer look at Laney. She was still breathing, thank God. I managed to stave off the bleeding for a little bit, but something about this made me feel unsettled. Why was she attacked? Was this Audra? She had done everything to save me and I felt guilty for it. It should have been me trying to save her.

  I did not have time to ponder any further. The ambulance arrived on the scene quickly. All I could do was watch as the ambulance crew gently lifted Laney onto a gurney and loaded her up into the waiting ambulance. They kept asking me what had happened, but I was too numb to say anything. Besides, I didn’t have a clue what Audra had done to her. All I knew was that she was hurt and bleeding profusely.

  The trip to the emergency room flashed before me like a blur. All I remember was holding Laney’s hand tight in mine. The EMT had to pry my hand free the moment we arrived at the hospital.

  I followed Laney who was being wheeled before me on the stretcher like a dead man walking. All I could do was watch helplessly as the doctor took over. And when he finally addressed me, it took me a few seconds to register what was going on.