Last Escape

by Pauline Creeden

  "Miss? Can I help you? It isn't safe to walk alone at this end of town, even with a dog." A gentle voice called out from my right. I'd been so focused on where I needed to be, that I didn't notice anyone on the street. I jumped just a little at the sound of his voice.

  Seven's hackles rose, and she began to growl.

  The man was tall, well over six feet, and large framed. Likely over two hundred pounds, but his eyes were kind, and his smile gentle and charming. I nodded toward him.

  "Thank you, but I'll be fine." But really, I was anything but fine. I felt like I'd seen that building before, but now that I stood in the district, I couldn't see it anywhere and was uncertain which way to turn.

  "Maybe you could tell me where you're going and I can point you in the right direction? I'd hate for you to get lost." His voice was deep, gravelly and smooth. Its soothing tones made me feel like he was trustworthy.

  But Seven leaned against my leg and continued to growl.

  I patted her on the head in an attempt to calm her. "It's okay, girl. We're fine."

  She ducked her head away from my hand and continued to glare at the man a few feet away.

  He smiled gently and said, "It's okay. We're still strangers, and dogs are wary of strangers. Rightly so. I'm Ben Burnhardt, by the way. Most people just call me Burnhardt."

  He offered his hand for me to shake, but Seven lunged toward him and snapped at it.

  Shocked, I grabbed Seven by the collar and pulled her back toward me. "What's gotten into you? Easy, girl."

  Seven leaned against my leg once more, growling, her ears flat against her head.

  "Sit!" Burnhardt commanded in a sharp tone, and Seven immediately sat on her haunches, licking her lips in submission. She stopped growling and looked up at me with pleading eyes and let out a low whine. Burnhardt's soft tone returned. "Sometimes dogs respond better to alpha behavior. You have to make sure they know who's the boss."

  I blinked at him. What he said was true, but somehow the statement seemed loaded. I eyed him, but his blue eyes seemed innocent. I shrugged. "I'm Scarlet, and this is Seven. We're looking for a factory... I know I've seen it around here somewhere, but I can't quite remember where."

  His brow suddenly knotted. "Well, there are a few gangs in the area, so I strongly suggest you not wonder around until you find what you're looking for."

  I huffed a laugh. "Actually, it's the headquarters of a gang that I'm looking for."

  He lifted an eyebrow. "For real?"

  I nodded.

  He let out a soft, exasperated sigh. “Why on Earth would you be doing that?"

  I swallowed. Something about his openness made me want to spill out everything to him. "I'm sure you've heard about the purge?"

  He nodded slowly. "I've seen it on the news."

  I frowned and looked down at Seven scratching her behind the ear while she sat nearly on top of my feet and leaned against my leg. "They are killing the elderly—not finding them a new place to stay like they are saying on the news."

  "Are you sure about that? Why would the newscasters or the mayor lie?" he asked.

  I shook my head. "I don't know, maybe because the government and the media are being held hostage by the Wolf gang?"

  He scoffed. "Surely not."

  With a shrug, I knelt down and hugged Seven, my gaze remaining fixed on the man's feet. He wore older style converse shoes. They seemed appropriate with his jeans and pocket tee-shirt. I shook my head again. "It's true. They killed my Granny. And I'm tired of them chasing after me and my patients. I decided to bring the fight to them and come to their territory."

  "Are you sure that's a good idea? These sound like dangerous men."

  I stood once more and fixed him with an iron glare. "I'm sure. And I can be just as dangerous."

  His eyebrow was still lifted up toward his hairline. He ran a hand through his dark, longish mop of hair and then shrugged. "If that's what you wish. I can lead you there."

  I blinked at him. "What?"

  "I know where their headquarters are, and I'll take you there, if that's what you really want."

  My heart warmed in my chest. I had found a way when there had seemed like there was no way to get this done. Maybe it was providence. Maybe it was the Angel Stone. Regardless, I'd meant what I’d said. I was about to become the most dangerous thing the Wolf gang had seen all day.

  Burnhardt lead me to the street on the right and continued just slightly ahead of me. I followed him to a building that looked like the one from the vision Mabel had given me. My eyes widened as I took in the factory. It didn't look much like the ones surrounding it, as it had no smoke stack, and the windows were fewer on each level and tinted to keep anyone from peering into them. The building had been built on four or five stories of concrete instead of brick like the ones to both sides. I knew this building had a distinct look to it and couldn't be easily mistaken for another factory around it. But most of the other buildings looked old, run down, and abandoned. This one looked as though it were in good repair and doing work, but the strange part was, there were no people anywhere around it.

  The man leading me took me across the street toward the front door of the building. When he got there, he opened the front door wide and stood to the side. With a flourish, he gestured for me to go ahead of him. Seven had been sticking to my side the entire time, but when he made that gesture, she darted in ahead of me. I frowned. She didn't normally listen to others and get away from me like that.

  "If you're sure you want to do this, I'm right behind you," Burnhardt said in an encouraging tone.

  I shook my head. "Maybe it would be better if you stayed behind? You shouldn’t get mixed up in this if you can avoid it."

  He shrugged. "As you wish."

  I gave a curt nod and then dashed inside the building.

  My feet squished into industrial carpeting with padding underneath. The room was lit by florescent bulbs, and a long entryway led to an elevator bay and halls at the end going to the left and right. Three tall, decorative columns stood on each side of the way leading to the elevators. The reception desk near the entrance stood unmanned.

  Seven sat in the middle of the floor between two of the columns, panting.

  My hand went to the hilt of my sword, and my hair raised on end. Something about this situation just didn't feel right to me. Seven didn't give me any signal of danger, but I couldn't help but feel it all around me.

  Then I heard the door shut behind me and a metal gate came down and blocked the exit. I turned around quickly and found Burnhardt standing between me and the gate that would lead to my escape.

  "What are you doing?" My heart pounded against my chest, and a ringing filled my ears.

  A sly smile tugged at Burnhardt's lip. "What's the matter, Scarlet? Isn't this what you expected when you came for Wolf?"

  I drew my sword and stepped back once toward Seven. My gaze flicked her direction, but she still sat several feet away from me, panting, and looking content. I blinked and darted my gaze back toward my opponent.

  My jaw tightened, and my heart thundered in my chest. "What do you want from me?"

  He shook his head and crossed his arms over his pocket tee. "Your cooperation. That's all we ever want here at Wolf. The elderly can cooperate and be moved here to our experimentation facility, where their funds are used for the betterment of humanity and their bodies for the advancement of science, or they can die. You've been quite a thorn in our side all day. Even more so with the Angel Stone."

  I choked on my surprise, but did my best to school my expression before glaring at him. "What Angel Stone?"

  "Don't play coy with me, young lady. My men have seen your sword light up in flames, and we saw the cavernous pit you created in that tunnel. We had heard a rumor that one of those two gypsy women were formerly in possession of the stone, but could not confirm it. But the things you've done today wouldn't be possible without the stone." He took a step toward me.

  I backed up a step and patted
my thigh, trying to call Seven to my side. I might have been able to fight this guy without her help, but it made me uneasy that she wasn't where she always was in a situation like this, by my side and growling. My leg felt cold and empty without her vibrating body beside it.

  A dry chuckle escaped Burnhardt's lips. "Seven isn't going to respond to your commands."

  I frowned and took another step back toward her. The elevator doors bonged and came open with a swish. I glanced back. Four gang members came out of the elevator holding clubs and knives. Their eyes were fixed on me. Seven remained sitting in the middle of the floor. What had happened to my backup? "What did you do to my dog?"

  "She's not a dog, and by all means, not your dog." Burnhardt shook his head.

  My mouth went dry and suddenly my tongue felt too big. I wanted to ask what he meant, but instead, I backed up further, so that one of the support columns was at my back. Could I defend myself in this position against five men? Why wasn't Seven snapping out of it and helping me?

  Burnhardt swung a whistle on a key chain in front of me. "This hybrid you've been lovingly treating as a pet is experiment number seven. She escaped while out on a training session in the field nearly two years ago. But she remembers who her true alpha is. And responded to the stimuli she was trained to. When I used this whistle and brought her to this place—her home—she remembered who she was."

  I blinked at Seven. My best friend for all this time sat on the industrial carpeting with her eyes fixed on Burnhardt, captivated by him the way she usually looked at me. Instead, her gaze avoided me all together like she had never done. I made a whistling noise to try to get her attention and pat my leg again, but she didn’t even flick her gaze toward me. "Seven? Come on girl."

  One of her ears flicked back toward me but her eyes remained focused on Burnhardt and the dangling whistle. Unfortunately, while my attention was focused on Burnhardt and Seven, I didn't notice that the four other men had approached me silently across the carpeted flooring. They seized my arms, and forced the short sword from my hand so that it fell to the ground with a dull thud. I cried out when one wrenched back my arm and nearly pulled my shoulder out of its socket.

  "No need for you to experience any pain, Scarlet." Burnardt said, drawing closer. "Remember? All I need is your cooperation. Now where is the stone?"

  I pressed my lips together and tightened my jaw, refusing to speak to the man. One of the other four men grabbed at me, pulling my satchel off my waist. He rummaged inside, but didn't find what he was looking for and tossed it away. Then he patted my jeans pockets until he found the lump he was looking for.

  His face was inches from mine as he gave me a sickening smile. His rancid breath blew into my face. I scowled and held my breath. He pulled the warm stone from my pocket. "Got it here, boss."

  What on Earth had I gotten into? Did I really just run into this man, the boss of Wolf on the street? Or had they been following me and knew where I was the whole time? I shook my head and struggled against the men who restrained me. I pulled my arm free and punched the one holding my other arm across the face, kicking off of the guy who had raided my pockets. Once free from both men, I snatched up my sword and darted out of their reach again, my back to the wall, I faced all five of my assailants once again.

  Burnhardt eyed me as though he wasn't the least bit worried about me being free of his men or that I had a sword's blade sitting between us. The red stone sat in between Burnhardt's fingers. His eyes shined in the fluorescent light overhead. "Now, how do you use this thing?"

  I frowned at him and edged my way closer to the door. I knew there was a metal gate that he'd pulled down when I entered, but maybe I could find some way to open it? There had to be a way out.

  "Silent, huh?" he asked as he wrapped his fingers around the stone in a fist. "I have ways of making people cooperate with me. Sometimes I use my charm. Sometimes I use my men. And other times, it takes just a little more muscle."

  He seemed to grow larger in front of my eyes. His shaggy hair also grew a little longer and a stubble appeared on his chin. He cracked his neck back and forth and then I realized it wasn't just my imagination. His shirt buttons bulged to hold in his chest and hair was popping out of his skin in all directions.

  I swallowed hard, my eyes growing wider.

  Then he smiled at me, revealing elongated canines. Before my very eyes, he was becoming a nightmarish beast. Fear locked my joints and made darkness close in around the edges of my eyesight. I blinked, trying to free myself from what I might be seeing but when I opened my eyes again, he stood before me. A werewolf.

  Chapter 9

  Dean texted Scarlet again, as it had been almost twenty minutes since her last text and she hadn't answered him when he texted her back. A pinprick of worry kept him from being comfortable as he sat in the driver seat of his cab. Picking up the last three of Scarlet's patients have been easy, compared to George. The hardest part had been convincing them to come. If he hadn't brought George with him, he may not have been able to convince them at all. But now he had just dropped off all three of those elderly patients and George. He sat in front of the yacht while the sun had begun to set in the west.

  He scrolled back to her last text message.

  Mabel is gone. Heading to industrial district to finish this.

  He had told her not to do anything stupid, but somehow this didn't seem the smartest thing to do. He texted her twice trying to get her to be more specific about where she was going and what she was doing, but she hadn't returned his text yet. Dean chewed on his lip and tapped a drumbeat on his steering column. He was trying to be patient, the patience never been his strong suit.

  "She's gonna need a ride anyway." He threw the car into reverse, and sped towards the industrial district. He had no idea where she was planning to go in this area, but he slowed down once he was on the main street. He barely spotted her red tank top as she slipped into a building where a tall large man had held the door open for her.

  Dean stopped the cab several yards away, parked it on the curb, and shut off the engine. He watched the tall man looking around, up and down the street but the man's eyes did not fix on Dean or the cab. That was a good thing about cabs—they tended to be invisible. Then the man grew a sinister smile on his face that sent the chill through Dean’s skin. Dean frowned as he watched the man slip into the building behind Scarlet.

  The hairs on Dean's arms stood on end. He didn't feel good about this. He opened the car door and got out. Was he just being paranoid? Stuffing his hands into his jeans pockets, he walked across the street, his eyes darting up and down the block but saw no cars and no people in this mostly rundown area of town. He slowed down and went to the side of the glass doors and then peered in to the building.

  The elevator doors at the end of the entryway opened and four men came out. Dean grimaced. The men wore the black leather jackets of Wolf. The situation didn't look good. She was trapped and outnumbered, and Seven sat on the floor in the middle of the entry with her tongue lolling and not helping Scarlet as Dean would have expected. He grabbed the handle of the door, but it was locked and not to mention, he’d just noticed the metal gate had been pulled down on the other side. He couldn't even go in to help her. His hands went to his mess of hair and he scratched at his scalp in frustration. Then he reached for a cell phone, but fisted it in his hand suddenly realizing that calling the police wouldn't even help the situation. He chewed his lip and looked around for a pole, a bat, or some other object to bust the window with. But how would he get past the metal gate if he did?

  He racked his brain but couldn't think of a solution. Then he glanced at his cab and an idea came to him.

  Burnhardt hulked over me with a snarl upon his elongated snout, the Angel Stone still gripped in his clawed hand. I swallowed my fear as best I could, lifting my blade in between us. The steel seemed mute and dead without the lick of flames that had been coming from it all day. I had felt much safer with the Angel Stone in my pocket, and much
safer with Seven by my side. But now I had neither one, and I was losing this war before I'd even gotten started.

  My heart thundered as adrenaline heightened my senses. Panic tightened my chest. I felt utterly alone in my fight. Mabel had said I could do this, that I could take down Wolf on my own and save the city, but how could I do it without Seven, without the Angel Stone? The backs of my eyes burned with unshed tears, but I bit them back. The last thing I needed right now was for my vision to be compromised. I blinked them away as I heard the growling begin.

  From deep within Burnhardt's chest a growl emanated. His teeth bared and his clawed hands fisted. Then he leaped forward and knocked my blade to the side with a single swipe of the fist holding the Angel Stone. Then he scooped me by the neck with his other claw and slammed me back against the wall. He lifted me upward so that my toes could barely reach the floor. My windpipe felt as though it was crushing beneath the weight of his hand. And then he squeezed harder.

  Stars sparked in my vision. I clawed desperately at the hand holding my windpipe but his grip didn't loosen. A strangled cry escaped my lips as my vision started to go black. Then a black blur rushed in from the right and slammed against the werewolf's body, knocking him to the side hard enough that he released me, and I slid down the wall to the floor. He had dropped both the whistle and the Angel Stone, and they both went skittering across the floor.

  Seven's deep growl reverberated to my ear—the comforting sound of home. I choked and coughed, trying my best to get a deep breath, but my throat burned as the air went down. The tears I'd been trying to hold back spilled from my eyes. "Seven, good girl," I croak out.

  But Burnhardt recovered too quickly. He crouched down, glaring at Seven and then yip-bark-howled at her. Seven remained unfazed. They faced each other with teeth baring and growls snarling.

  I knew I could count on her, no matter what Burnhardt had said. Maybe Seven had been confused for a little while, but as soon as the man... wolf attacked me, Seven stopped wavering and came back to her senses. I knew she loved me as much as I loved her.