The Baby Shift- New Hampshire

by Becca Fanning

  "Someone looks happy," she heard a male voice say from behind her. Leila turned to see Gareth, the oldest of the three Walters brothers standing a few meters from her. No older than twenty-nine, he was tall, heavily bearded, and handsome.

  "Good morning, Mr. Walters," she said, trying to contain her shock. Except for Russell, who was friendly with all the staff, the brothers did not exchange so much as a greeting with her.

  "Good morning. Great to see you are enjoying your work," he said. He was glaring at her in a strange way, one she was far from comfortable with.

  "Yes," she said. "It's something I like."

  "You could enjoy your work here a lot more, you know?" he said. Leila took one more glance at his face. She had definitely seen that look before. Her mind began to race as she tried to think of an excuse to leave.

  She said, "Can I help you? I need to help the maids with the... "

  "Have you ever fucked a werebear?" he interrupted her.

  Leila was shocked to the bones. She did not know how to answer such a vulgar question. He continued anyway. "You should give it a try sometime. My room is on the west wing. Generally, I'm not the type to screw the help, but you are so beautiful I'll make you an exception."

  She had nothing to say to him. However terrified she was of her new boss, she was even more angry at his advances. She made to storm out of the garden but in a split second, he was already in front of her, blocking her way. She found herself suddenly trapped.

  "Gareth," another familiar voice called out, this time from behind Gareth. "If you don't mind, I'll be needing Leila's services right now. I've got files to arrange."

  Gareth looked frustrated as he took one last glance at Leila's body before turning to face Russell with a sneer. "Sure, no problem. Knock yourself out," Gareth said before walking away muttering to himself.

  Only when he had gone back into the house did she let go of the huge breath she had been holding.

  "You look pale," Russell said, concern evident in his voice.

  "Must be the morning sun," she lied.

  He grinned. "I'm sure that's it."

  In a bid to change the subject as quickly as possible, she ended up blurting the first words that came to her mind. "You don't get along with your brothers very well, do you?"

  At the sight of his wide smile, she immediately realized the implications of her words. She said, "I am so sorry. I really didn't mean to say that."

  Russell replied her with a deep laugh. "Don't be silly, Miss Montes. You will not get in trouble for stating the obvious. No, I definitely don't get along with my half-brothers."

  She said, "They treat you like a stranger rather than family." She really did not know what was wrong with her mouth today.

  Fortunately, Russell did not seem to mind. He said, "In a way, we really are strangers. We grew up together on this island, however, we were brought up differently."

  "How's that?"

  "My father brought them up the Walters way."

  "And you?"

  "He let my mom bring me up her way. He really didn't care much for me."

  She stared at him in confusion. "Why? You were just as much his kid as the other two."

  He laughed. "My brothers are pure-born, I'm not."

  "Pure what?"

  He laughed. "Come, Miss Montes. Take a walk with me. There's a lot you need to learn about shifters."

  "Come on in. It's safe."

  Leila looked on with uncertainty. Russell was in a hole in the ground, standing on a metal ladder, and stretching out his hand to her. They had been touring Walt Island while he explained to her the concept of shifters, pure-born, and his father's love for them when he suddenly unearthed a secret door in the woods. According to him, it led to an underground bunker.

  Knowing she was being stupid, but not being able to resist that mischievous smile of his, she took his hand and let him lead her slowly down the ladder and into the bunker. Inside, she discovered the space was wired to have electricity and there were half a dozen bulbs lighting it up. The walls were reinforced and covered in cement while all around her were boxes containing God knows what.

  "What is this place?" she asked, looking around in awe.

  Russell sounded excited as he replied, "It's my late dad's secret bunker. He stored most of his contraband or illegal materials."

  She said, "Oh. I hope we don't get into trouble for coming here."

  He shook his head. "No one else on the island knows about this place. Not even my brothers."

  "Why would your father trust you with this information? I thought he never liked you much."

  Much to her alarm, Russell's demeanor suddenly turned cold. He said, "I know about this place because it's where my father used to take me so he could beat me without my mother's knowledge."

  It was as if hot coal had been poured on her heart. She felt it throb with the pain young Russell must have had to endure as a boy.

  "I'm so sorry," she said, placing a hand on his shoulder. She could not comprehend how someone so big and strong could have been fragile and weak enough for a crazy father to abuse.

  He looked down at her. "Don't be. You had nothing to do with it and it was so long ago."

  "Doesn't matter. No one should have to go through that."

  He nodded. "I know. He's gone now. Gone for good. My only fear is that pieces of him still live in my brothers."

  She said, "Doesn't matter. You have a choice to be different."

  He flashed her one of his affectionate smiles. Leila felt her heart begin to beat faster as she stared at him. He looked away from her and stared at the ladder linked to the bunker.

  He said, "Just look at me, so engrossed in reminiscing I forgot the main purpose for this little tour."

  "And that would be...?"

  "To teach you about shifters," he said with a grin.

  Leila chuckled. "But I already know all about shifters and pure-born. You explained basically everything on the way here."

  "Maybe," he said, "but have you ever seen a werebear shift?"

  Her eyes lit up. This was something that both thrilled and frightened her at the same time. "I would love that," she said.

  "Let's go outside."

  They soon climbed back out of the bunker and into the open woods of the island. There she watched on as he took a few steps to stand in front of her. A mischievous grin on his face, Russell slowly pulled off his shirt, revealing one of the best bodies Leila had ever seen. Muscles rippled from under his smooth white skin.

  She couldn't enjoy the view for too long though. A few seconds after his shirt came off his body began to enlarge and grow hairier. His torso became the underside of a large grizzly bear with thick brown fur, eyes bright as gold and paws the size of her head.

  She took a step back as the creature walk towards her on all fours. She knew they were all alone in the woods. He could tear her apart right here and now without any evidence pointing to him. Yet she could not bring herself to run away. Something she could not recognize was making her trust this shifter enough to risk her life around him.

  The bear was right beside her now. She reached out a shaky hand and touched the top of his neck. Her hand ran down the thick fur. It was definitely not the same as stroking a dog. He lowered his head and adjusted his body so that his left side was directly in front of her.

  That daredevil spirit came over Leila again. She raised her leg and in one fluid movement, she climbed on top of the bear. Together, with her on top of his back, they continued their journey through the woods of Walt Island.

  Chapter 3

  "Oh shit!" Leila sat up suddenly on the bed. She was just about falling asleep when the thought struck her.

  "What's wrong?" her mother asked in alarm. The fifty-two-year-old woman was also on the brink of slumber on the bed she shared with her daughter.

  Leila turned to look at her mother lying on the bed beside her. She could hardly see her face in the dim moonlight but she could picture her worried frown.
/>
  Leila said, "I forgot to lock the window on the third floor of the north wing after cleaning."

  "Which of the rooms?" her mother asked.

  "The one closest to the trees," she said.

  Caterina sighed. "That's trouble. That room is bound to be trashed by monkeys before morning comes."

  "I know. I'll have to go in and close it. The Walters would be asleep by now so I'll be in and out before anyone knows."

  "I'll come with you," Caterina said and fumbled in her drawer for her keys. Ever since she had been promoted to head maid a few months ago, she was given spare keys to almost every room in the mansion.

  "You don't need to, Mom. It would be easier if I go on my own," Leila said. "I'll be in and out in a couple of minutes."

  Nodding, her mother handed her the keys. Leila walked out of their shared quarters and into the open compound. She crossed over to the entrance of the mansion which was guarded by two large men. After explaining her predicament, they let her in and she headed straight for the north wing.

  The room in question was the furthest from the stairs in the corridor. Here, she realized she had to be careful and tread carefully because Gareth's room was the third room in the corridor and three rooms from her target.

  She tiptoed through the corridor, making as little noise as possible. In a minute she had entered the furthest room, closed the window she had forgotten to close and was back tiptoeing past Gareth's room once more. As she walked, she heard voices coming from the room. She would not have thought much of it if not for the first words she heard.

  "Dad should have killed him the day he was born." Irvin's voice could be heard from outside.

  "It's left to us to do what he did not do," Gareth said.

  At this point, Leila could not help but stop to listen. Irvin was saying. "Are you sure WEM will pass to us after he passes?"

  "Yes," Gareth said. "I spoke to the lawyer. Russell has no next of kin. We can claim the business easily after his death."

  "Good. How do we do it? You know it has to look like an accident."

  Gareth said, "He spends most of his nights in that blasted quarters of his. Now, last night I noticed it’s close to the giant mahogany tree father grew. So close that if the tree were to accidentally fall, it could destroy that small quarters and anyone in it."

  Irvin's laugh could be heard from outside. He said, "I like the way you think. When?"

  "Tomorrow night," Gareth replied.

  Leila snapped out of her trance. Her heart was beating faster than she had ever thought possible. Scared out of her mind, she began to walk quietly down the stairs. She could not wait to get out of the mansion and the deadly secrets it held.

  Her mother was still awake when she walked back into the room. Leila immediately crawled into bed like she was being chased and only the bed covers could protect her.

  "A couple of minutes, you said?" her mother teased, then upon noticing the trembling in Leila's hand when returning the keys, she said, "Are you okay?"

  "No, Mom. I'm definitely not okay?"

  "What happened?"

  "I think I just heard Gareth and Irvin plotting to kill Russell."

  At this, her mother's hands suddenly shot out and covered her mouth. "Shut the hell up," she whispered. "Never, ever speak of this again."

  Leila stared at her mother's face. She realized she had never seen the woman look so scared. After her mother took her hand away from her mouth, Leila spoke. She said, "What do you expect me to do? Pretend I never heard anything? We're talking about murder here, Mom."

  Caterina raised her voice. "What can you do? Absolutely nothing. You think you can run to the police with this? Look around you, Leila, there are no cops on the island and you know why? It's because the Walters have been paying off the police for years. They control the island and no cop would dare come into it without their knowledge."

  Her mother's words only served to frighten and confuse Leila the more. She said, "So, you're saying if I go to the police, there's every chance one of them would inform Irvin and Gareth?"

  "Yes, you would never win against them. Promise me you'll stay out of this. Promise me."

  Leila's mind raced through different scenarios. If indeed the brothers were untouchable then there was nothing she could do. Russell was rich and he was a shifter, too. She, on the other hand, was a poor maid with no means of protecting herself. She could not risk getting involved.

  She said, "Okay, Mom. I promise."

  "Oh, yea baby!" Russell screamed as he saw the numbers increase on the computer screen. He was busy in his quarters working on a new simulation program he recently thought up. It would seem this real estate marketing strategy could turn out to be more profitable than any of his others. He could not wait to try it out in real life.

  The door to his personal space suddenly swung open. Russell raised his head over the computer monitor to see Leila Montes walk in with a frown on her face. Something wasn't right. It was unlike her to barge into his office like that, and be remembered she had been avoiding eye contact with him all day. For some reason, her apparent coldness disturbed him greatly - a lot more than it should, seeing that she was only just his maid.

  "Miss Montes."

  "Mr. Walters."

  "Can I help you?" despite her grim expression, he fought the urge to smile at her. There was something about her that automatically brought a smile to his face.

  She said, "It's the other way around. Come on. You need to leave this place right now, please. I should have come here earlier. I was just so scared."

  Russell spoke in confusion. "Don't worry about it, it's already clean enough and I thought you only cleaned the quarters in the morning."

  "I don't want to clean. You just have to leave here now!"

  At the raising of her voice, Russell realized something was definitely wrong. In the short time he knew her, he had never seen her so serious.

  "What's going on?" he asked, getting up from his seat.

  In answer, she held his hand and began to pull him towards the doorway saying, "I'll explain later. Let's just get the hell out of here." She kept glancing around like they were being watched. Russell had many questions in mind to ask, but her seriousness made him keep them to himself, at least for the meantime.

  He followed her through the door and out into the open night. They had only just taken about three steps away from the quarters when it happened.

  There was a loud hiss of something heavy swinging downwards through the air and then an explosive crash. Concrete bricks flew everywhere. He raised his hands to shield himself and her. Something extremely heavy struck his arm and he felt and heard his bone snap. Another hit him on the right side of his rib and he felt his breath leave his body as he fell to the ground. Leila fell beside him. Just before he lost consciousness, he noticed she had not been seriously hit by any of the flying bricks. Taking one last glance at what used to be his quarters, he saw his father's giant mahogany tree right on top of the ruined building. Bits of the building were scattered all around them.

  He struggled to talk through the pain as Leila tried to get him to his feet. "How.... how did you know?" he asked.

  "I overheard your brothers planning this last night," she said.

  "That figures," he said, struggling to his feet. His insides felt like they had come out of a grinder. He continued, "They are somewhere around. We need to leave before the dust clears up."

  "Where can we go?" she asked.

  He replied, "The bunker. We're the only two people who know about it."

  Leila was not sure if it was obvious she was not concentrating on what she was doing. Though she pretended to be busy with her morning gardening, her eyes were fixed on Irvin and Gareth as they barked orders to the guards.

  "What do you mean you haven't found him? He couldn't have just disappeared, could he?" Irvin said.

  "We searched everywhere on the island last night. The werebears among us couldn't pick up his scent either," Bart, head of t
he Walt Island guards was saying.

  Gareth said, "This is bad. There was blood on some of the bricks around the wreckage. Chances are he must have injured his head and is wandering around the bush aimlessly. We have to find him and help him."

  Leila sighed. Gareth may have fooled everyone else with this theory but not her. Injured or not, if Russell was found, he would be dead in a matter of minutes. She was also the only one aware of his whereabouts. Last night, though he was badly injured, she had promised to return to him with proper food and medicine. All he had to do was hold on till nightfall.

  Irvin was saying, "...extents of his injuries. For his own safety, I need you to block off all exits and entries into the island. No one goes in or out without proper authorization from us."

  Leila's eyes widened. The brothers were really attempting to put the whole island on lockdown. This would put an end to the plans she had been nursing which involved she and Russell sneaking out in a boat that night.

  "What do you think you are doing?" a voice suddenly said from behind, causing Leila to nearly jump out of her skin in shock. She turned around to see her mother glaring angrily at her.

  "Mom....I... I," Leila stammered.

  "You're blatantly eavesdropping. That's what you're doing," Caterina said.

  Leila had no answer to her mother's accusation. She tried to return back to her gardening. Her mother stood behind her watching her intently for minutes.

  "Did you have anything to do with last night?" Caterina suddenly asked.

  "No, of course not," Leila said without turning around from what she was doing.

  Caterina sighed. "Good. Because Irvin and Gareth seem hellbent on keeping everyone in here. I think they blocked off the phone reception, too. No one can contact anybody outside the island. This will end very badly for Russell, and anyone who would help him."

  Chapter 4

  Leila crouched low as she moved through the bushes unseen by the guard walking past a few yards away. She held her breath as he walked by and as soon as he was safely out of sight, she heaved a huge sigh of relief.