by Kory Shen
What the hell?
The Mekanic is devouring the building from the ground up. This is why I said to stay low.
We were sitting ducks. The nearest building was at least thirty yards away. I couldn't leap that far, especially while carrying someone fragile in my jaws.
The woman in my mouth was still struggling. My mouth filled with the scent of flowery perfume.
"Quiet down," I growled. "This is all your fault."
The woman tried to say something, but I pressed my jaws together, increasing the pressure slightly.
"I said quiet down!"
The movement in my mouth stopped. The building lurched again, descending another ten feet or so. We wouldn't jump away, and below us, a giant Mekanic worm was waiting.
We were trapped.
I scanned the skies. A red speck was far off in the direction of the evac zone. Claire was too far away.
That left…
A shadow fell across me.
"What the fuck are you doing?" a dragon roared at me from above.
That's what I asked her!
Yes, you did.
I looked up to find Drake circling in the sky above us. I didn't reply to him. It wasn't easy to talk with a squishy human in your jaws. I had to fight to suppress an urge to bite down hard, kind of like avoiding the urge to swallow a piece of chewing gum.
I sat on my haunches and gave him an expectant look, doing my best impression of an innocent cat. Like Zoe did to me at times.
It must have worked.
"Hunter!" Drake screamed. He dove past us and the building. I couldn't see him when he went below the building, but I rushed to the edge, ready to make use of any opening.
The building we were on shook again, then went still. The building next to us exploded in a crash.
The fight had moved on. This was our chance.
I jumped over the edge of the building and ran down its side as I had done before. Rubble and debris ringed the base of the building, but I easily cleared them and ran towards the evac zone.
I heard more signs of fighting behind us, but I didn't stop to look backward.
In a few minutes, I reached the waiting vectorjet. The return portals were still out of commission with the threat of Staccato and traitors abroad.
I approached the open cargo doors. The others were already there.
"Took you long enough," Julie said.
Claire pursed her lips. She had probably been able to see what had happened. "Girl trouble?"
I dropped the reporter next to the other two men, then unmelded before shrugging. "You could say that."
The reporter stood up and smoothed her hair. She turned to me to speak, but she collapsed to the ground before she could say anything.
Mia was standing behind her, her hand raised. "We don't have time for this."
I didn't know Mia had that in her.
Mia is a warrior. You all are. Don't forget.
"Come on." I bent to pick up the unconscious woman. "Help me with this, Mia. Hurry, everyone. Get on the jet."
Moments later, we were high in the sky on the way back to the Academy.
The two men sat in the corner with the unconscious reporter next to them. The rest of us were quiet, unsure how to act in front of the extra passengers. Even Nikki and Claire avoided their usual antics.
Zoe was standing guard in front of the would-be journalists, baring her teeth whenever someone tried to get up. They got the message pretty quickly.
She's waking up.
I sat next to Stella, watching the woman stir, then gawk at her surroundings. When the reporter tried to move from her designated corner, Zoe swiped at the woman with her claws, drawing a shriek.
"Drake's going to kill us, isn't he?" I said.
Stella brown eyes met mine. "Yes. Yes, he is."
CHAPTER 3
"Don't you dare slow down!" Drake screamed.
We had moved to a slightly smaller training room after the damage to the other one two weeks ago. Today, we had been jogging around the perimeter for at least an hour. Wearing heavy packs filled with god-knows-what.
Someone stumbled and fell to the ground. It was Nikki. She looked around apologetically, straining to stand up.
Drake walked over to her. "Did I say you could stop?"
"No, sir," Nikki gasped. She rose to her feet and started to jog again.
"Did I say you could start?" Drake asked.
The rest of us had run past Nikki, but I glanced back at her. She looked around in confusion.
"Um…" Nikki stammered.
"One of you goes down, you all go down," Drake barked, pointing at Nikki. "Get back here you dumbfucks."
Kayla muttered something. The rest of us kept quiet. In the training room, Drake was a complete asshole. It was almost Jekyll and Hyde with him at times.
We trotted back to where Nikki stood, panting for air, faces and hair slick with sweat.
Looking sexy. Zoe and the other Avatars were waiting in the center of the room, except for Julie's spider, Tara. I had seen it nestled on Julie's chest as usual.
Thanks. Means a lot coming from a cat.
Not you. The girls. Thought you would have noticed.
I can barely notice my own feet.
My legs shook as I stood by Nikki and the others.
"What did I say?" Drake shouted. "Get down and give me twenty."
"With these?" Claire asked, tugging at her pack's straps. "No way."
"Yes way, Jones. And for that, make it fifty. On the ground now!"
We groaned as we started doing pushups. Claire struggled to do more than one. Nikki had trouble as well.
Mia, despite her delicate frame, was pounding out pushups faster than anyone but Julie. Stella, surprisingly, was holding her own as well.
Julie finished first.
How many did I do so far?
Thirty-five.
Do you think Drake is counting?
Probably not.
I paused, as if to stop my pushups. Drake's dragon, Pyro, ran over to me and began beating my head with its wings.
"Hunter!" Drake screamed. "You slacking off? I want another fifty from you."
Fucking hell, Zoe.
He was going to do that no matter what.
Drake marched over to Julie. "Well, what do we have here?"
"I did my fifty," Julie said, staring back defiantly.
"Well, aren't we proud of that. Look around. Is anyone else done?" Drake asked.
"No…" Julie began.
"Then, what the fuck are you doing!" Drake screamed. "Are you on a goddamn squad or not?"
Julie gritted her teeth and went back to doing pushups, this time more slowly.
Drake stared at her for an uncomfortably long time. "Really? I expected better from you." He turned away with a loud sigh.
Julie paused at the top of a pushup to glare at him. "What the hell do you want?" she hissed.
Drake turned back to her. "Do I need to repeat myself? Are you on a goddamn squad or not?" He glanced over at Claire, who was struggling.
The rest of us paused, equally confused.
Uh, Zoe? Any ideas?
I think I know what Drake's getting at. Take Claire's pack.
What?
Put on Claire's pack.
But…oh. Drake was an asshole, no doubt, but he was trying to teach us something. I couldn't deny that.
I got up and walked over to Claire.
"Give me your pack," I whispered.
Claire at me questioningly, but I nodded. She hesitated, then handed me her pack, looking back at Drake. Drake watched silently.
I put Claire's pack on top of my own. It was awkward, and I had to loop the shoulder straps around my own pack.
I got down on my hands and started doing pushups again.
Drake grunted. "Well, at least one of you isn't a complete dumbfuck. Except when he acts like a dumbfuck and ignores standing orders on a field mission."
"We were helping people," Nikki whined
.
"Save it, Nikki," Julie said as she walked over to her. Julie took Nikki's pack and strapped it to her own, similar to what I had done. She started her own pushups.
"Well, what are the rest of you waiting for? Make that a hundred for being slow and retarded."
What? That doesn't even make any sense.
The others groaned as they started their own pushups again.
Drake shifted to stand in front of Claire. He counted loudly and slowly. "Siiiiix. Seeeee-ven."
The rest of us finished first, but Claire was still going. None of us dared to stop early.
"…and a hundred. Finally. We can move on with today's agenda."
We were all splayed on the ground in puddles of sweat, panting. My arms quivered.
"Open up your packs," Drake barked.
I unclipped my extra pack and pushed it over to Claire.
"Thanks," Claire groaned. "Or not."
Stella had already opened her pack. She pulled out a bottle of brown liquid. There were more bottles inside.
"Drink up," Drake said, motioning to Stella. "One full bottle. Or more if you want."
Stella removed the cap and took a tentative sip. She gagged. "What is this?" she asked.
Drake chuckled. "The latest in rehydration therapy. Drink up. That's an order. You'll need it."
I took out my own bottle and uncapped it. It smelled like rancid piss.
I still don't think it's fair that you got to sit this out.
I am a princess, after all.
I sniffed the bottle again. You can taste everything I do, right?
I chugged a big gulp of the fluid. Zoe yowled in the distance. I held my breath and downed the rest of the bottle. When I had finished the first bottle, I reached further into the pack. There were more bottles. At the bottom was a hard plastic case.
"Delicious, isn't it?" Drake said, beaming. "When you're done with your fancy drinks, take out the medkits from your packs."
I traded glances with several of the other girls, a mixture of curiosity and dread on our faces.
"Medkits?" Julie asked.
"Today, you'll be getting a crash course in field medicine," Drake said. "Pair up. You'll be operating on each other."
"We're playing doctor?" Claire giggled. "Dustin's mine!"
"I want Dustin!" Nikki said.
I had a brief flashback to first aid lessons back in junior high. We had practiced holding down pressure points on each other. I looked around at the girls, the possibilities blooming in my mind. Maybe Drake wasn't such an asshole after all.
Zoe perked up as well. What do you think it'll be? Mouth-to-mouth? Or chest compressions?
Yeah, the day was already looking better. Maybe I could pair up with Stella—
"Hunter!" Drake yelled. "You're the odd man out. You're with me."
You had to jinx it, Zoe.
I got up and dragged my aching body over next to Drake.
"Aw." Claire pouted, then crawled over to Nikki. "Hello, nurse."
Julie and Mia paired up. That left Stella and Kayla.
"Open up your medkits," Drake ordered.
I released the catch on mine and flipped the lid open. Inside was a syringe with a long, wicked needle. There were several empty vials as well.
"Today you'll be learning about the art of drawing blood." Drake reached into my medkit, took out the syringe and attached one of the vials. "We have four vials to fill, although we can practice a lot more than four times. Roll up your sleeve, Hunter. Following along, everyone."
Drake grinned. I had been wrong. He was still an asshole.
I rolled the tight sleeve of my combat suit up past the elbow. The blood pooled in my forearm as the tight fabric around my bicep acted like a makeshift tourniquet.
"She's supposed to stab me with that?" Kayla asked.
Stella must have moved faster, as she was holding a syringe. Meanwhile, Nikki and Claire were each holding a syringe, arguing over who would get to stab the other first. Mia and Julie stared at each other, their hands empty, as if daring the other to pick up a syringe.
"You'll take turns," Drake said. "So make sure you do a good job." He chuckled. "Now, we'll practice all the different ways to draw blood. Starting with this."
I held my arm out, my inner elbow facing Drake. Drawing blood wasn't a big deal. At least Drake knew what he was doing. I pitied the girls who would be stabbing each other over and over trying to find their veins.
Drake smiled and seized my hand suddenly with one swift, strong movement. Then, he plunged the needle deep into my hand.
I screamed.
***
After our training session, or rather punishment, I showered and rolled into bed even though it was the middle of the afternoon. Zoe tried to jump up onto the top of the bunk bed with me, but I blocked her with my arms. Zoe whined and curled up on the floor instead.
I could massage your aching muscles. And anything else that aches.
Keep your dirty paws off me.
Zoe purred. My paws are perfectly clean.
Absolutely not. And you're too big to fit up here these days.
Are you saying I'm fat?
Despite my exhaustion, I paused, the hairs on my neck prickled in warning. Some lines you just didn't cross, even with bonded Avatars.
No, of course not. Big-boned and strong. Like a tiger princess.
Zoe didn't reply. I rubbed my arms, which were marked with small punctures. After today, I wasn't sure if I would ever trust a nurse with a needle again. I reached down and rubbed a sore spot on my calf. Who the fuck drew blood from a leg vein?
Without my asking, an image of Stella drawing blood from Kayla's smooth long leg appeared in my mind. The only way to bare the leg was to remove it from the combat suit while artfully hiding the fact that we were all naked underneath. No underwear. Nothing.
In the image, Kayla was on her side, one leg bare all the way up, her hands holding the fabric tightly to cover her crotch.
I hadn't bothered trying to glimpse at the others, knowing Zoe would likely do the dirty work without my prompting.
So being dirty is a good thing now?
Shush. It's been a long day.
The image turned into a movie in my mind. I closed my eyes and followed the sensuous curves of Kayla's bare legs with my mind.
You know she offered to do anything with you. You could still take her up on that.
It was tempting. It really was. But I wasn't sure about the consequences. About what I actually wanted.
The movie in my mind changed. Kayla and Stella had switched places. Zoe, as usual, knew exactly what I wanted, even if I didn't. Stella's slim leg peeked out at me. I traced the contours higher and higher. As she shifted, the fabric moved. Just a little bit more…
My room's door slid open with an electronic hiss.
Fuck. I twisted onto my stomach to hide the consequences of my leisure activity.
A soldier stepped into my room and banged twice on the wall.
"Dr. Hill wants to see you."
"Okay." I waited for the soldier to leave.
He didn't leave. "Now."
Sighing, I waited a few more seconds until my excitement had subsided enough to climb down safely.
Zoe flashed a final image of Stella at me.
Stop it, Zoe.
I left my room and headed towards Dr. Hill's office. Zoe followed at my side.
You think we're in trouble? Because of the botched mission?
Possibly. Be careful. I don't fully trust anyone but you, not even Hill.
I mulled over the last time Dr. Hill had caught me with my pants down, literally, and separated me from Zoe. But Dr. Hill had trusted me afterward. She was on our side, wasn't she?
I reached Dr. Hill's office. The door slid open, and I stepped inside.
"Dr. Hill…" I froze.
Waiting in the office with Dr. Hill was Dr. Preston, Cody's creepy father. And he was smiling.
Zoe, I have a bad feeling about this
.
CHAPTER 4
I stood still near the doorway.
"Hunter, have a seat." Dr. Hill motioned to an empty chair in front of her desk. Dr. Preston was sitting in another chair wearing a spotless white laboratory coat.
I frowned and pulled the seat further away before sitting down.
"I believe you two have met already," Dr. Hill said, gesturing to Dr. Preston and me.
"Indeed," Dr. Preston said, lowering his head. "Hello, Zoe." He looked up at me. "Ah, yes, and of course, Dustin."
I still don't like him, Zoe said.
Me neither. He gives me the creeps. Maybe you should stay quiet, like last time.
"Our last meeting was brief, wasn't it?" Dr. Preston asked.
I traded a look with Zoe.
The fuck? I looked back and forth between Zoe and Dr. Preston. I slowly stood and eyed the door.
"Hunter," Dr. Hill said, standing up as well. She wore a cream blouse and black pencil skirt underneath a laboratory coat, her usual outfit. "I don't like this, either, but we don't have a choice. Get back in your seat."
I sat back down, trying to ignore Dr. Preston leering at my cat. "What's going on?"
Dr. Hill opened and closed her mouth once. "This is going to be difficult—"
"Allow me, Leah," Dr. Preston said. "Zoe, Dustin. It should be obvious to both of you that our current efforts in the War are doomed. Now that the Chimerics have halted their arrival, we have no way to replenish our Beastmaster ranks. Failure is inevitable. Fortunately, we found you, and in particular, Zoe."
"Zoe?" I asked. "What's so special about her? She's just another boring Chimeric."
Zoe didn't say anything but swatted my leg with her tail.
Dr. Preston dismissed my question with a wave of his hand. "We know that's not true. We haven't had our hands on a higher Chimeric since Staccato. Zoe is a golden opportunity—"
I stood up in shock and looked at Dr. Hill. "Higher Chimeric?" She knew what I was asking. Had she told him?
Dr. Hill shook her head with a grim expression.
Dr. Preston finally turned to look at me. "Dustin, there's no need to beat around the bush. With Zoe—and you, of course—we can finally unlock the full potential of the Beastmaster program and turn the tide in the War."
"What's he talking about?" I asked Dr. Hill, ignoring the bioengineer as he had done to me.