“No, no, no, my dear,” Valery said. She stepped up next to Cole. “The Dread has much greater plans for you. Somehow the serum we gave you made you into something else entirely. With the right level of experimentation the Dread can ensure this never happens again. No one will ever be able to withstand its call.”
Taylor had been in enough fights to know that the longer she waited to take action the smaller the window of her escape became. She had to be the first one to strike.
Although Cole’s powers had removed her own, Taylor was far from helpless. Before her transformation she had actually preferred to fight with her hands. Steeling herself, she focused and took the fight to the Dread.
She brought her right fist up in an uppercut that snapped Cole’s head back. The stupid smile on his face was lost as he fell backward. Taylor said a silent prayer that her blow had been strong enough to send the man into an unconscious state. Perhaps if he was knocked out his ability would be negated.
She couldn’t take the time to see if her plan had succeeded. Valery was moving toward her at an inhuman speed, reaching toward her with hands like claws. The nails on each finger were like knives. Taylor was able to duck her first swipe. The air following Valery’s blow gusted past the top of her head.
Taylor called forth her explosive energy, daring to hope her plan had worked and Cole was neutralized. Nothing happened.
Out of the corner of her eye she could see guards rushing to aid a struggling Cole to stand again. The moment it took for Taylor to register these events cost her. Valery struck her in the midsection and across the face. Red lines oozed blood as Valery raked her nails through Taylor’s skin.
Pain was something Taylor recognized then pushed down deep inside her to deal with at another time. She stepped forward, feinting right then coming left with a roundhouse kick that landed squarely across Valery’s face. The blow would have been more than enough to send any human being reeling with a fractured skull, perhaps even a severe concussion.
To her horror Valery merely turned back to look at her with a smile. “I wish I had more time to deal with you now but I’d rather get right to work on you in the laboratory.” Valery motioned with her hand to the circle of fresh guards that stood ready. “I want her alive, no broken bones.”
In a rush they came at her from every angle. Taylor ruined the first man’s nose, and the second man’s kneecap. Even as she did she received strikes to her skull, stomach, and spine from the others.
She went down finding a few more targets before the mass of fists and feet turned everything black.
***
Blinding pain exploded behind her eyelids. Taylor felt worse than she could ever remember. Her head pulsated with enough pain it made her wince when she opened her eyes.
She was tied with her arms above her head. Both wrists were bound together with a rough rope that ate at her skin. The rope was then attached to the ceiling in a…family room?
Taylor blinked to try and orient herself. Sure enough, she was correct. She was inside a luxurious looking family room decorated with long curtains, an oak table, and couches so fluffy they looked as though they were made of clouds.
“Ahhh,” Valery said, walking into the room carrying an old record player. “You’re awake. I didn’t want to start until you were fully conscious. How are you feeling?”
Taylor ignored the question, already testing her bonds. They were tight, so tight absolutely no give came at all. Her fingers were numb.
“Don’t want to make any noise, do we?” Valery shrugged, placing the record player on the table and plugging in the cord. “That’s all right. I don’t need any information you’d be able to give me from speaking. All the answers are inside of you.”
Taylor searched the room for anything close enough to swing toward. If she could gain enough momentum she might be able to reach something with her legs.
A spark of static broke the silence as Valery placed a record on the player. A moment later the familiar sound of 300 Violin Orchestra filled the room. Valery reached beneath her long cloak and brought out a purse. She took pleasure in slowly placing its items on the couch for Taylor to see; scalpels, vials, scissors.
***
The man’s descent into ownership of the Dread was interesting for Cole to experience. It was something he had never seen firsthand. The man formerly known as Jason Waters had shed all his hair, including his eyebrows and lashes. He was walking with hunched shoulders and a hitch to his gait as well, his eyes red as if he hadn’t slept for days. His transformation was truly remarkable.
“Did you find him yet?” Jason asked from the dinner table. He tore at his raw meat like an animal.
“No,” Cole said, handing the man a napkin. “However, it’s only a matter of time before the Iron Wolf makes his move. He’ll turn up sooner or later.”
“He’s not human,” Jason said. Blood was dripping from the corners of his mouth. “You’ll have to be cautious.”
“I am fully aware of what an Elite is. He’s not the first I’ve come across. We’ll deal with him when he surfaces. In the meantime I’m much more interested in hearing about how you feel.” Cole tried to ignore the animalistic way his house guest ate. “Lieutenants in the Dread army are still a new and developing occurrence. Prior to my introduction to yourself and the doctor I’ve only met Liberty Echo.”
“What do you want to know?” Jason asked, smacking his lips. “I’m newer to this than you are.”
“What do I want to know? It seems the Dread transforms its lieutenants either physically, ability wise, or both. For example, it did not alter my outward appearance whatsoever, but you on the other hand…well, what are you becoming?”
“No idea,” Jason replied. He pushed the empty plate away from him and leaned back in his chair. “One thing that you should be more interested about is the girl, Cidney.”
“Yes, yes,” Cole said impatiently, dismissing the topic with a roll of his eyes. “You’ve said. The girl was able to communicate with a bear or some nonsense. The Dread is not interested in fairytales.”
Jason slammed both fists on the table with enough force to make the plate in front of him jump. “It’s not a fairytale. I saw it with my own eyes.”
If Cole was frightened he didn’t show it. “So she spoke with a bear, big deal. The Dread will not be overthrown with a child that communicates with mammals. Now back to my initial line of questions. How are you feeling during your transformation? Are you showing any signs apart from looking like a hairless hunchback? Any hints of powers that may be pushing to the surface?”
Jason scrunched his brow in thought. “There is one thing…”
***
Pain was something Taylor could deal with. While Valery took her blood samples Taylor ignored the sensation. She embraced the feeling and forced her mind to think about Cidney, Frank, and Melissa. They needed her.
In the back of her mind was also the possibility Lu would be able to assist in their escape. Yet Taylor was no damsel in distress. She could fight her own wars. She would be able to find a way out of this. She had to.
“You are much stronger than I first thought,” the doctor said, draining another vial of blood from Taylor’s right arm. “Granted, we haven’t begun extracting bone marrow, but we need to keep you healthy so you have plenty to give. We’ll hold off on that for now.”
“How generous,” Taylor snapped, unable to keep from responding any longer. Valery had droned on and on about her work for the last hour. If Taylor was going to be stuck in the situation for the time being she might as well gather information. “So I’m your lab rat once again. Just like back in the Ark.”
“Not like back in the Ark at all,” Valery said. She stood a foot taller than her captive and looked down at her with a sick smile. “In the Ark Wade tied my hands from the experiments I wanted to carry out on you and others. Now I have free reign to learn, to discover.”
“So you run your tests, then what?”
“After we have our
answer as to why you were able to resist the Dread with the aid of the serum we ensure it can’t happen again. The Dread already has the Elites and the Nephilim appointed Guardians to deal with. The last thing we need is more like you.” Valery removed her latest vial of Taylor’s blood, detached the needle, and placed a pink flower patterned Band-Aid over the puncture wound.
“What about Wade?” The rogue thought hit Taylor like a surprise jab. She was shocked and ashamed she hadn’t thought about the man before. “Did you kill him back at the Ark?”
“He’s alive,” Valery snickered. “I don’t know if he’s going to consider himself alive after what Liberty Echo wants with him though. But you should be more concerned about your own wellbeing.”
Valery turned to her instruments of torture strewn out on the couch like a master chef searching for the right tool. Taylor took a deep breath and steadied her heart rate. The music on the record player droned on in the background.
“This will hurt a little bit more, less if you don’t struggle,” Valery said, turning back with a scalpel in her hand. “I’ll need a tissue sample.”
Still hanging from her restraints Taylor had a decision to make. She could try to escape now by swinging her legs up and wrapping them around the doctor’s neck or wait for a better opportunity. The strength the doctor had shown made her abandon the idea. If she tried and most likely failed now she would have her feet tied to the floor as well.
“Hmmm…” Valery looked up and down Taylor’s body. Her clothes were still in tatters from the battle. “I think we’ll be going for your thigh. There’s plenty of meat there. Now don’t move, dear. Think of a happy place. Mind over matter and all that.”
Taylor bit her tongue so hard she tasted the metallic tang of blood. Pain laced up and down her left thigh as the doctor extracted her sample.
“There, there, all done,” Valery crooned. She wrapped Taylor’s leg in gauze and a clean bandage. “We can’t have you bleeding out or risk infection. There’s no telling how long we’ll need to take samples from you. We need you fit as a fiddle, which leads me to my next topic of conversation. I have enough here to get me started. Instead of having you waste away in some kind of cell, Cole has requested you join the slave ranks. I have to admit I’m against the idea of sending out our prize possession to work amongst the rabble but Cole is insistent on ‘securing the future of New Olympia.’”
Taylor looked out the front window as the darkness began to dim and make room for the morning sun.
“Do you always do what Cole tells you? It seems to me you could take him out in a moment if you wanted. His powers aren’t going to dampen your teeth, or those nails.”
“Quite right,” Valery said. She spread the fingers on her right hand out in front of her, admiring the razor-like manicure. “There is a place for everything, Taylor. I can see that now. I’ll pacify him for the time being, and that’s more than you need to know. The guards will be in to collect you shortly.”
Valery began gathering her equipment and samples. Taylor’s eyelids felt like hundred pound weights were fitted on each lid. Between the physical exertion of the night before and the blood loss she endured at the doctor’s hands, Taylor was exhausted.
“That’s right, little soldier of Light,” Valery said as she opened the front door to leave. “Get whatever rest you can. You are going to need every last ounce of your strength for the days to come.”
Chapter 13
Taylor woke with a start, her hands completely numb from the wrists up. Her shoulder sockets screamed with the pain of supporting her body for hours on end. Past all the discomfort she forced herself to focus on the reason she had been woken in the first place.
A contingent of city guards clad in their dark blue uniforms and black Kevlar entered the house. They carried an assortment of nonlethal weapons; pepper spray, batons, stun rods, even a tranquilizer gun. Short of actually killing Taylor they had apparently been given the green light on everything else.
“Are you going to do this the easy way, or the fun way?” a man with a thick southern accent asked. He was older with a bulging stomach and balding head. The way he looked at her up and down, the pause in his hungry eyes as he stopped and focused on the areas of her exposed flesh, gave Taylor a chill.
She knew exactly how to play the scenario. She needed every edge she could get in the fight that would be coming. “I’ll go easy, boss,” she said, summoning her best defeated voice. “Please don’t hurt me.”
The man chuckled as though Taylor had told him a joke. In his thick southern accent he continued. “Oh, I’m not going to hurt you doll, I’m going to break you. There’s plenty of work to be done at the Vault. I hope you saved some energy.”
He motioned behind him to a female guard holding a pile of clothes. “Get her dressed, McPherson.”
“Yes, sir,” the woman said. McPherson placed the pile of clothes at Taylor’s feet before reaching up and undoing the knots that held her hands in place.
When the last knot set her free Taylor crumpled to the floor. In all honesty she could have landed on her feet and maybe even given the guards around her a run for their money. She knew that would be futile. With the number of guards outside and the three Dread Lieutenants in the compound she would never make it without her powers. Her best play was to convince everyone she had been broken, then strike when the time was right.
“Get up,” McPherson said, grabbing Taylor roughly. She hauled her to her feet. “Get dressed, hurry up.”
Taylor complied, removing her tattered shirt and pants. She was offered no privacy or even the illusion of such. All the guards led by the man who seemed to be in charge gawked in her direction. The man in charge watched her with a sick smirk on his face.
It took everything Taylor had not send his nose into the back of his skull. Her temper rose so quickly her heart rate accelerated.
Not now, easy girl, Taylor told herself. She focused on dressing instead of the perverts in front of her. One misstep and you ruin your chance of escape not only for you but for Cidney, Frank, and Melissa.
“Hurry it up before I throw in a beating,” McPherson snapped. There were chuckles from the group of guards behind her. She leaned in close to Taylor, blocking her scantily clad form with her own body to give her some kind of concealment. “Trust me, this is the best scenario here,” McPherson whispered. “Hurry and dress.”
Taylor pulled up her pants, shocked by the kind words. In her mind she was beginning to rethink her strategy on humans working for the Dread. Maybe Lu had been right, maybe she should have killed them all the previous night. McPherson’s words were making her think twice.
Taylor pulled on her boots along with the shirt and jacket provided for her. The clothes were all too big, like they were meant for a man twice her size. She refrained from complaining. Although the clothes smelled like they had been found in a dumpster behind a cheese factory, they were better than nothing.
McPherson turned to the man in charge. “Ready, Sergeant,”
“Get her going,” the sergeant barked. He skewered Taylor with a wicked glint in his eye. “Try anything, anything at all, and we’ll beat you like a dog.”
Taylor nodded, filing away every word the sergeant was relaying to her for future use.
She exited the house surrounded by the compound guards. The sun blinded her and she blinked to try and refocus. The scene around her, much like the night before, was confusing.
Newly painted homes with lush green grass sought to diminish her fears and welcome her. Everything was perfect, minus the fact it had all been built on the backs of slaves.
Taylor followed her chaperones away from the slave pen to a street that paralleled their own. A bank stood at the corner with yet another pair of armed guards. Clanking and grinding came from the inside of the bank as if a giant robot was marching across the hard floor. Whatever was going on in there, the noises reminded Taylor to stay alert.
“Hands,” the sergeant said, standing in front of T
aylor, holding a set of steel handcuffs. A long chain connecting the two circular manacles would allow her to work for the day. Another pair was draped around the sergeant’s left shoulder, meant for her feet.
Taylor allowed the sergeant to place the restraints first on her wrists, then on her ankles. The steel was ice cold against the skin rubbed raw by the rope the night before.
“There you go,” the sergeant said, shoving her forward. “Just to make sure you don’t get any wild ideas.”
Taylor stumbled up the bank steps. As much as she hated being told what to do she was actually interested in seeing what was inside the bank. They had come all this way to find a place called the Vault. The idea that it was an actual bank vault had never crossed her mind.
She walked up the steps followed by her guards. The inside was nothing like she expected. Teller windows, a seating area, desks, it had all been removed. Inside, the building resembled a fortified beachhead more than anything else. A handful of guards were overseeing a group of slaves stacking sandbags, running razor wire, and bracing the large vault door at the end of the room.
“No gawking,” the sergeant said, once again forcing Taylor forward. “At the vault door. Cole wants you enforcing the joints.”
Taylor moved across the room, ignoring the eyes of the guards and slaves alike. She was searching for a familiar face. The idea that all her friends had been placed in a different location on purpose began to settle in when she saw Melissa by the vault door.
“You, new meat,” the sergeant said to Melissa, who was alongside a handful of slaves. “Get her working. If I see either of you slacking off, use your imaginations when I say I’m going to rearrange those pretty faces of yours.”
Joy at seeing a friendly face made Taylor nearly run to her. Melissa looked up from her place crouched by the floor. She was holding a piece of metal still while another slave welded it to the metal frame of the vault door.
All The Broken People (The Dread Series Book 2) Page 13