The Renegade Shifters

by Cheryl Rush Cowperthwait

  The air was cool as he shuffled into the darkened room. He fell to his bed as if all the air had been sucked out of his form. He usually felt supercharged after a night of feasting and ravaging, but tonight was different. Tonight was only about fury. He had to admit to himself, No, not only fury. It was about a great deception and loss. His mind wouldn’t allow him to catch the glimmering threads that he had no right to expect Bailey to stay with him or to even feel the same emotions that he held for her. He hadn’t taken the time to tell her how he felt. How could she know that she has been the only woman that pulled at his heart, the only one that made him feel of value. His anger surged again. If Rye hadn’t come into the picture, everything could have worked out. She would still be here. He hung his head over his knees and enclosed his face with his hands. He slowly rose to undress and wrapped himself tightly in the satin of his bedcovers and fought his pillow to find a comfortable place for his head. Beneath the soft glow of the amber flickering lights that imitated candles, he allowed his tears to scald his cheeks but he would not moan or whimper, for he would never allow anyone to make him feel this way again. As he drifted into a fitful sleep his mind switched from an aching loneliness to the thoughts of vengeance. A small smirk crawled across his lips as he dreamed.

  No one in the underground house had felt the noose slip lower over their necks that night. There had been no penetration of the security system, and no doors had been breached, but a stiff breeze stirred above them and spread out like bony fingers that traveled across the highway interchanges.

  Three dark clothed men stood over the dead female lying next to the wall like a rose smashed underfoot. A fourth man drove an unmarked black van next to them and turned off the lights. Soundless, the back door of the van was opened and the layer of thick plastic flapped as the wind caught the edges. The two shadow-ghosts lifted the body and quickly rolled her into the van, closing the doors against any unobserved eye. The men turned their vision to scan all around them. Finding no observer, they climbed into the van and left the premises. The man in the passenger seat removed his facial mask and gloves, then retrieved his burner phone and pushed the only number saved to the phone.

  “Sir, we have picked up the casualty. By the damage done to her throat and chest areas, it would most likely have been from the Vampire Shifter.”

  A deep voice resonated through the earpiece. “Get the body to H2. Did anyone see you?”

  “No, Sir. We were in and out without notice.”

  “Fine, fine. Bring the body, we will either reactivate it if still viable or dispose of it. I suppose there were no clues left from where the Shifter came from or returned?”

  “Nothing, Sir. Only the body he left behind.”

  “Add that location to our surveillance. We’re getting closer to at least one of them. Trust me, when we capture them, they’ll lead us to Dr. Sorlem. One way or the other, they will tell us all they know.” After his last words, the phone clicked loudly in the passenger’s ear. He slid the phone backing off, removed the chip, opened the window, and let the parts splinter as they hit the blacktop. The sun was just beginning to stretch its lazy ribbons of light against the horizon, promising another bright, sunshiny California day.

  Bailey wandered through what was described as a house but found it more a blend between a fortress and a castle without the circling moat. Leather couches stretched out before a wall sized television with bookshelves flanking it, filled with aged tomes once read in days filled with light and laughter. Someone else’s days. She couldn’t see the identity of who owned the place she walked. All that was hidden by nail holes left from removed pictures probably stored in some private safe or under sifting dust in a forgotten attic somewhere.

  So far they’d made their way to three levels of the home, outfitted with many spacious bedrooms as if several generations would one day find their solace there. The kitchen was a futuristic addition that while plain on the outside, integrated features to keep the food supply chain to the house intact… unless the outside world grew too insane. The owner, or whoever occupied the compound simply typed out what was needed on the computer screen and it was deployed to a hidden entity that fulfilled it. It traversed through the tunnels and up the dumbwaiter to be extracted without leaving the security of the building. Whoever owned this unique structure had both deep pockets and a secure system of obtaining critical supplies unlike anything Bailey could imagine.

  “So, Dave, is there a hidden staircase behind the bookcases in the living room?” Bailey raised a brow as she watched for Dave’s reaction.

  “In this fortress? Do you think it would need it?” He slyly smirked.

  She scrunched up her lips in thought and shook her head, leaving Dave to laugh, catching both Bailey and Rye off guard. He actually can laugh!

  “Follow me.” He led them into the game room. It was a vast expanse with the walls of thick paneled wood. An assortment of arcade games and an air hockey game stood against the side wall with the pool table taking center stage. They drifted towards it. Dave stood at one end and moved a lever underneath the table. Bailey jumped back as the table with the underlying carpet swiveled to the side, exposing well-lit steps leading downward.

  Dave was the first to take the steps with Rye following him. Bailey craned her neck down to look when Rye motioned for her to join them. The sound of boot heels gave a muffled echo as they descended into a room that could easily hold fifty people. Below were computer monitors flanking one wall and a table set up to hold several computers. It even had one of those old-fashioned telephones sitting on the edge of the table.

  It wasn’t merely one open room. Behind the front room were several smaller bedrooms and three bathrooms complete with showers.

  “What, is this like the place to stash the in-laws?” Bailey oozed sarcasm.

  “No. This is the safest place to go if an attack is imminent. There’s a two-foot steel slab that’ll slide over the opening to the steps if anyone breaks through security, or if the world at large has gone to hell in a handbasket.”

  “Whoa—” Bailey managed to whisper in awe.

  Dave walked Rye over to the long table. He flipped on the monitors allowing them to watch any room they wished including the outside perimeter. He also showed them the button that activated the steel slab to seal the room off from the rest of the house. Shaking his head, Rye ran a hand through his hair as he tried to grasp at the depth of resources Dave had… and those whom he knew. It was mind-boggling.

  “I really thought this would lead to another one of your labs, Dave.” Bailey made her way through the rooms, inspecting as she went.

  “No. It would have been beneficial for me if that were so, but unfortunately the house didn’t come equipped like that. Speaking of labs, I need to get out of here and make my way to my next safe house.”

  “Why can’t you stay here? There certainly is enough room where we wouldn’t be running over each other.” Rye stated.

  “I need to continue my work. There are many things that need to be developed. Knowing the others will be transported within days, I need to work closely with the chemists. We are developing—things that will help us when we need to extract the Shifters.”

  “Dave, you know I could help. Why not take us with you?” Rye asked, puzzled.

  “Right now, I need you both safe. Look, there are plenty of vehicles in the car park, including the bulletproof Humvee. Let me get a head start. There is much I need to put into place in short order.” He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out two new burner phones. “Both of these have my number in it. You disabled your phones, right?” He watched them both nod. “Okay, good. I’ll call when I’m ready for help. You call if you need help, got it? Otherwise, don’t use the phones.”

  Bailey exhaled a deep sigh. “I had no idea I was going to be part of some covert operation.”

  “It’s no fault of your own, remember that. Whatever happens onward—well, it was brought on by those who took you against your will.”<
br />
  “That sounds a bit ominous.” Bailey’s forehead creased as her eyes narrowed.

  “It should.” He didn’t elaborate. He turned and made his way back up the stairs, hurriedly.

  Bailey stood there, dumbfounded for a long moment, then chased behind him.

  “Wait. What are you expecting? War?”

  He turned and removed his glasses, rubbing his eyes deeply before slipping them back on. “Think about it, Bailey. Think about all that has already happened. They are after all of us. They aren’t just coming to ask us nicely to keep quiet. They are coming for their weapons and they’re coming to diffuse the bomb. That bomb is me. I know too much. I’m doing everything possible to contain their reactions and actions. Yes, it’s going to be war.”

  Rye, seeing Bailey’s jaw hang loose, walked to her side. He slipped his arm around her shoulders as they walked Dave to the door. Walking out, before he got into the van, he reminded them. “No calls. It has to be critical before you call me.” He slammed the door shut, slipped it into reverse and headed down the road before they had a chance to say another word.

  “Come on, let’s go into the castle fortress.”

  “You know, when you stand out here and look up, the way the walls of the upper floor narrow leaving natural stone between rooms… it makes it sort of look like castle turrets.” Bailey looked at the home under new light.

  They went inside. Rye locked them in and rubbed his hands together. “Why don’t you go relax in the living room while I find us some food.”

  “That sounds great. I’m suddenly starved.” As if on cue, her stomach roared, much like the sounds of a dragon. Rye heard it on his way to the kitchen and laughed.

  Turning, Bailey strode to the bookshelves, running her fingers over the covers. None of them looked new. One caught her attention. She smiled as she pulled it from its perch. She stretched out on the deep brown leather couch to ease the time away in a book. The images on the front cover lured her in. It was the story of Camelot. She opened the book and it held an inscription.

  To my darling—Love, J.

  She smiled at the sweet inscription and thumbed through the pages to see the glorious illustrations before settling back to read. As she shifted her position, the book fell. When she picked it up, a picture fell out of the book. A photograph. She blinked rapidly as she held it in her hand. It was of a ski trip, and the people in the photograph were incredibly famous.

  “Rye! Come look!”

  He rushed over and stood over her shoulder, staring at the picture. “Damn. Do you know who they are?”

  She nodded, speechless. She began looking around the room with a new light. No wonder this place was so secure, she thought.

  “I’d slip that photo back where you found it. I don’t think we’re supposed to know anything about it.” Rye moved over to the couch and sat next to her.

  “Do you really think this is their place? Maybe it is a collectors book.” Bailey’s eyes were still focused on the photo in her hands.

  “Could be. Either way, I think we should forget we saw it here. Although I know Dave’s funding and contacts are most likely from a list of Who’s Who, I also know that none of them want to be identifiable. I can certainly understand their position, especially if they’re in any political arena.”

  “It does make you think, doesn’t it? I mean, how far do his contacts go, and for what agenda? Is it simply to right a wrong? How did this all come about? We’ve been back for a few years now. All this…” she waved her arm, encompassing the room, “wasn’t built exclusively for us Shifters to use as a safe house.”

  “No, you’re right about that. But think of it this way. There any many who have specialized places in case the world goes bad in a heartbeat.” Rye laughed. “Don’t you remember when there was all the hype when we hit the year 2000? People were building all sorts of ‘bug out’ places hidden from society. The people that had fat bank accounts, that is. No doubt Dave knows a lot of people in that category. Hell, he holds, let me correct that, he held an extremely high level of security and I’d guess his pay scale was well compensated for his knowledge.”

  “So all these people he knows are that much invested on saving our few hides? I don’t buy it, Rye. There’s something else, something Dave isn’t saying.”

  He slid his hand to her arm and gently caressed it. “Does it really matter why they want to help us? Isn’t it enough that they do?”

  “I think it does matter. I don’t want to be a part of anyone else’s agenda. I’ve had enough of being played.” Bailey slipped the photo back into the book and slipped it into the bookcase.

  “Are you saying you don’t want their help? Look, I’ve already told you if you don’t want the cure when and if they one is developed, that’s fine. You won’t be forced one way or the other. There are people out there though, that are wanting to find all of us. That’ll no doubt end up one of two ways. They’ll continue to mess with our genes until there’s nothing left we would recognize or they’ll kill us. I don’t like either of those options.”

  “So, do you think they’re after Geoff, Marlow and Linken?”

  Rye nodded. “They’d have to be. This whole Shifter thing has got to be priority one. Think of the humiliation the top advisors are under for allowing us to escape. No one is supposed to know what they were doing, and we escaped. I’m certain they’re being pushed to resolve the issue, and that’s not even considering the amount of money invested in this so-called program of theirs. Shit has hit the fan somewhere. And my guess—that fan is still slinging shit until the clean-up crew is finished. It’s the clean-up crew I think has been given orders to find and capture us. I can’t force you to help. That’s up to you. I can only tell you that I’ll do everything I can to help Dave put a stop to this.”

  “I’ll stay and help however I can on one condition.”

  A brow lifted in an unspoken question as he continued to wait for her answer.

  “I’ll help if that isn’t our pizza I smell burning.”

  Rye sprung from the sofa and ran into the kitchen, fumbling to get potholders out in time to save their dinner. “I guess you still have to help. The pizza is only extra crispy on the crust.” He grinned as he set it down on the butcher block and cut it into eight slices. The fridge was stocked with beer. He pulled two out. “Dinner is served.”

  Grabbing the beers, Bailey returned to the living room and hit the movie channels of the television to have something to watch as they ate. Rye smirked a half-smile as he entered the room with their plates, seeing she’d put it on one of those old black and white movies. He enjoyed learning new things about her. He hoped they’d have time to learn more than their Shifting tendencies. Clinking their beers, they settled in for a movie, food, and an escape from the last few hectic days.

  Morning came late the next day. It was the wee hours of the night when Bailey and Rye finally put the day to rest, after spending several hours watching movies and talking. There were more to each of them than the other could have ever guessed. By sharing their stories, they became more understanding of the walls each had built on the way to capturing their personal freedoms. While Rye knew it was impossible to feel the depth of Bailey’s pain, at least now he felt as if he could understand her better. Sometimes, understanding is all another can hope for since nothing can erase the past.

  He’d begun to think it was all him making things so complicated between them. Now he knew if he felt as deeply as he thought he did, he needed to give Bailey time to trust him. That would have to come on her own terms. Nothing he said would offer her any reassurances of his intentions. She was worth it to him, worth the time to chisel down the walls she so effectively placed around herself.

  Part of him counted himself fortunate for coming back into her life as this point in time, a time she was more inclined to be more flexible. It was hard to believe a man would leave a woman like her but he had to be thankful that someone did. Rye felt he was everything she needed. And he knew fo
r a fact she was all he wanted and hoped for since the day their lives became entwined.

  The day passed by unhurriedly, reading books and enjoying the time of rest. They still had their medications to take, the ones that helped with the new changes their bodies endured. Bailey found that she wanted more rest than usual for her, perhaps it was because she finally felt more secure—yes, safe was what she felt. Sheltered in a place that no one could sneak up on her, a place where she wasn’t always looking over her shoulder. It was that very reason she looked up the Shifter organization in the first place. She needed to understand who she was and it had become more difficult living amongst the one-hundred percenters and always being aware she was different—a freak—someone who’d get reported to authorities if the knowledge became known.

  Ever since the rumors spread about the Shifters, it seemed as if the whole world were looking for one of them so they could either kill them or use them. Whatever the reasons were, Bailey didn’t want to find out. Neither did she want to go the way Rye had suggested and find treatment to become normal again. Not now that she held a power that made her feel safe.

  Bailey raised her eyes from her book to glance at Rye, a small half-smile caught in the crook of her lips. He was the first man she’d known who’d listen to her and not be judgmental. She hadn’t needed to fit into some preconceived idea of who she should be. She liked that. She found as the days passed, she liked him even more than she was ready to admit—at least, not ready to admit it out loud. He even looks sexy when he’s reading, she thought. The way his long dark hair caught the light from overhead, giving his locks a glint of blue. Every so often he bit his lower lip whilst reading, unwillingly sending her heart racing. She drove her eyes to focus on the pages in front of her, but had already forgotten who the characters were. Slow and easy, she thought, he may be a keeper.