The thought made him want to vomit, and he could almost taste the bile teasing his raw throat. It was disgustingly simple how easily a disaster had been covered up. What had happened if all the monsters hadn’t been taken out? Would they have wiped the town off the map and dumped the unconscious populace into the destruction?
He pushed the thoughts aside. The town was safe now. Sam, Dean, and the farm were safe. The nightmare was over and everything was okay.
Except him apparently.
“Where a- I?”
“We grabbed you after the explosion. You are in pretty rough shape. Lots of burns and broken bones, plus you weren’t in great shape before you decided to become a human firework. I thought it was best to get you help.”
“Yeah right.”
“You’d be dead in a regular hospital. We’ve got the kind of help to get you back on your feet fast.”
“I doub- I doubt something … like that is free.”
Wolf unsnapped his helmet, and pulled it off as he stood up and leaned over Cale. His short spiky blonde hair added to his imposing angular face. A small mask covered his mouth and nose, but Cale could tell he was grinning, the mirth shining plainly in his mismatched blue and green eyes.
“Damn right it ain’t free. You’ve seen a lot kid, and you know quite a bit too. A lot of our superiors don’t like that you’re still breathin. But, I’m a step ahead of them. I’ve got an offer for you.”
“And that is?”
Cale felt his stomach churn at the question. He knew what the answer was going to be, and didn’t like it one bit.
“You join our little crusade. We jump into the infested areas like your town all the time. I think you should be right there with us.”
Chapter
13
Cale winced as some strange doctor applied a thick green gel over his face that smelled like fermented cabbage. It burned, absorbing into his damaged skin with a hissing sound. He’d drifted in and out of consciousness for what seemed like days. His breathing had returned to normal, even if he still couldn’t really move. It was good ugh for him.
The doctor never said a word, settling instead to jab various syringes of colorful liquids in him and apply the same gel to his burns. At one point, she had lowered him into a vat of something uncomfortably warm and smelling like the gel. What it was, he didn’t know. He didn’t want to know.
It felt like he was a Thanksgiving turkey being prepped for the deep fryer.
Now, he was strapped down on an operating table. They had removed the blanket and everything but his boxers. They had his gratitude for that at least. He was feeling vulnerable enough as it was; stacking being naked on top of that would have been too much.
The doctor strode out, giving him a chance to relax. His vision having returned during one of his naps, he looked around the expansive room. It was reminiscent of a medical lab combined with an automotive garage. Four vats lined the center of the room. They were transparent, resembling oversized fish tanks. Steam floated up out of them into massive exhaust vents nearly fifteen feet above their tops, which was easily four feet above the floor. Shelves, packed with stuff he couldn’t name lined three of the walls; the exception housed sinks and cabinets. The far corner was crammed full of medical equipment used for testing, some of which looked a lot more advanced than stuff he’d seen at hospitals.
It was definitely a serious operation if this was what people like Wolf had on call.
Wolf, his request was unwanted, and up until their conversation, unexpected.
He hadn’t been able to say anything, just staring in disbelief. Wolf had stood there and grinned, until he left with a brief ‘think it over’. The man had said it so nonchalantly, like he was asking Cale whether he wanted a beer or a soda. The entire concept of danger was apparently ignored.
He wasn’t sure what to do.
Tonight, or yesterday or whenever, had been the most terrifying of his entire life. Nightmares would come every night for years. Now, they wanted him to willingly jump into these scenarios again! Well, Wolf wanted him to. The crazed man’s superiors apparently wanted him dead. Would they make him disappear or frame him for some crime if he declined? They had money, power, and if they had returned Sam and Dean home, then they had the resources to get information quickly. Having a specialized task force proved that it definitely wasn’t some grassroots campaign.
And he did have a lot of questions. Of course, those could be ignored in the interest of self-preservation. But even if they didn’t admit it, Wolf, Hawk, and the rest of their group were under-prepared for his town and lacked the manpower to deal with it once the reality was realized. How many of those things would have gotten loose in the mountains and found their way to another town?
What if those things stumbled into a city?
The door on his left slid open. The doctor walked briskly back in, her sneakers slapping on the polished tile floor. Her white lab coat billowed out behind her. Immaculate and neat, it looked like it had been ironed over her curves. Her slacks and dress shirt were similarly wrinkle-free. She carried herself purposefully, with a long confident stride and a chin perfectly parallel to the ground.
Grabbing a chart from the table next to him, she pushed her wire-rimmed glasses up her delicate looking nose as amber eyes zipped over the front page. Long, wavy black hair hung over her shoulders and framed her striking features.
She undid the straps securing him to the table. He looked up at her curiously as she set the chart down.
Then, she slapped him.
“Ow!” He leapt off the table and landed on the other side, clutching his cheek. “What the hell was that for?”
She picked up the clipboard again and scribbled down some notes.
“Normal levels of sensitivity, and excellent reflexes; congratulations, you’re healed. The showers are behind you, and a change of clothes will be sitting on the bench when you exit the other side. I’ll check back with you in fifteen minutes.”
“Wait, what do you mean I’m healed?”
A bored expression etched itself onto her features.
“Your eyesight is fine so use it.” She sighed. “Then again, common sense may not be your strong suit seeing as you blew yourself up. Word of advice, fire is bad.”
Cale forced himself to refrain from the insult forming at the tip of his tongue. What was it with this group and the women that belonged to it? Was it just him they seemed not to like?
Moments like this were the ones he regretted his upbringing. This doctor helped him, so being rude wouldn’t be right.
He glanced down at himself and blinked in surprise. Sure enough, there wasn’t a scratch on him. Healthy skin had replaced the burnt mess from earlier. It was almost like the fire had never happened.
He looked up at her confusedly.
“How?”
She sighed again and placed the clipboard down sharply on the table. Leaning against it, the bored expression teetered at the edge of annoyance.
“I could give you the long drawn out scientific explanation, but I assume you want the quick one?” He nodded. “The solution we used on you is what we refer to as bio gel. It enhances the body’s healing process several hundred times above normal and regenerates damaged tissue. More correctly, the gel takes over the brunt of the work in healing so that the body can recuperate faster and it eliminates later problems such as scarring or joint issues. It also assists in blood production, understand?”
“Yes … thank you.”
She stood with a nod, grabbed the clipboard, and strode out.
Cale imagined if the door hadn’t been automatic she would have slammed it.
Heading straight in the direction of the showers would be smarter instead of getting a better look at the room. The lady seemed to have a pretty short fuse and getting caught near something probably would set it off. Besides, a hot shower sounded good right about now.
He let out an impressed whistle as he stepped into the showers. Spacious even while confi
ned into an E shape, each of the walls had at least eight individual shower heads. The electric bill for the hot water must be where all his taxes went at the end of the year.
Keeping his boxers on in case someone came in, he turned the water on to hot and rested his lower back on the cool tile, the heat easing out the knots in his slouching shoulders. That gel may have healed him, but nothing but a hot shower could ease away all the stress. It also served to get rid of that blasted cabbage smell that covered him.
He glanced up at the far wall, the bright green numbers from a digital clock shown through the rising steam. Seven in the morning – normally chores would be getting done right about now. In fact if the water buckets hadn’t froze, he would have just been sitting down to breakfast. Normally … what a foreign word after recent events.
His stomach started growling. How long had it been since he’d eaten? Did they have decent food here? It was probably a bunch of cafeteria slop that didn’t hold a candle to his aunt’s home cooked meals. Were she and his uncle home yet? They weren’t due back for a week, but Wolf had made it sound like they were on their way. Had his group called them and made up a story about his disappearance?
Did they even know he was alive?
He turned and rested his forehead against the wall.
Sam and Dean had to be going nuts. They had never spent more than a few hours apart let alone days. And who knew how well they were handling everything after the night from hell? Wolf made it sound like they were calm enough to listen to Hawk, but in all honestly, they could have been left for dead and the bastard was just lying to him so he’d stay compliant. There wasn’t really any means of figuring out the truth either.
The fact he was basically a prisoner didn’t escape him at all.
Despite all the facilities and care, this place was a jail. A jail filled with a bunch of violent guards unbalanced enough to jump into suicidal endeavors. Endeavors that he was probably going to grow used to.
The urge to slam his head against the wall went ignored. Bio gel or not, adding a third concussion on top of the other two was most likely a bad move.
A soft jingle, like the sound of small bell, echoed through the steam, disturbing him from his thoughts. Had someone come in? He turned away from the shower wall. When had the steam gotten that thick? A shudder ran up his back, it was far too similar to the fog.
Someone giggled to his left. He looked, then immediately slammed his hand over his eyes.
Had he just seen a woman in the men’s shower? Maybe those concussions were worse than he had thought. Parts of his brain must have been bruised and were triggering hallucinations.
Someone grabbed his hand and pulled it down.
Yep, definitely a woman.
“Hey there cutie. Who are you?” She looked him up and down. “And why are you wearing boxers in the shower?”
His eyes remained glued to the top of her curly blonde head. Cheeks burning red, he desperately tried to ignore her lack of clothing. He needed to leave, now. Get to the locker room and-
Oh God, what if he had wandered in the wrong section?
“Um miss, I think you’re in the wrong shower. Or if I am, then let me say I am really, really, really sorry.”
“Nope.” She chirped. “It’s a mixed shower. I’m Lamb by the way or Layla if you don’t like my code name.”
“I’m Cale, and I’m leaving now.”
“Aw, but Bear and I just got here.”
The name itself caused a nervous pit to grow in his stomach.
“Bear?”
“My boyfriend.”
A rather large presence stepped up behind him.
“What are you doing here?”
Chapter
14
Cale wasn’t entirely sure when he had bolted out of the showers, or how he had grabbed the black cargo pants and white t-shirt. He wasn’t sure how he managed to put them on without tripping up and becoming a human knot. Maybe, it was when he heard the thick Russian accent, or maybe, it was the seven foot wall of muscle glaring down at him. It didn’t really matter in the end.
It just scared the crap out of him enough that he seemingly appeared in a random hallway like a lightning bolt.
Blasting past the startled doctor, he went into the hallway on his left. His feet slapped painfully on the polished floor as his eyes darted around. He wanted his shotgun, his knife, and his coat. Then, anything was welcome to come after him, be it zombies, insane violent women, or gigantic Russians. Running probably wasn’t necessary, especially since he had no clue where he was and everything looked nearly identical, but it was the only thing he could do. The sheer amount of adrenaline that had coursed through his system must have fried his nerves, kicking his instincts into permanent flight mode.
Unfortunately, he never noticed the heavy black combat boot stick out from the corner ahead of him.
He tumbled out onto the floor, then quickly scrambled up to his feet, his guard up in front of him like a boxer.
“Glad to see you up and about, Kid.” Wolf grinned at him, his masked chin cocked up victoriously. “So, any reason why you’re running around here looking like you’ll piss yourself at any moment?”
Cale let his hands drop slightly.
“I found myself in a shower with a giant Russian and his girlfriend. I was … uncomfortable with the situation.”
Wolf threw his head back and laughed loudly, the rough voice echoing through the halls.
“Yeah, modesty isn’t really a strong point of those two. Although, the showers are coed, so most of us get used to it.”
“You have a miracle gel that I’ve only heard about in sci-fi movies, and you guys couldn’t add a wall of cinderblocks?”
“The guy who designed the place must have been a lonely pervert.” Wolf walked past him and turned left. “Normally, the crew schedules times for genders, but the rest of the time it’s open, and those two sneak in occasionally. Come on, let’s get you oriented and then you can tell me you’re joining us.”
“Don’t you mean ‘if’?”
Cale jogged up next to him as one blue eye turned towards him.
“You’re not that stupid. Kid, you’ve got two choices. You help us, or you disappear. Besides, you’ve got some potential. Why waste it shoveling cow crap?”
“Maybe I enjoy shoveling it. It’s definitely more appealing than blood being splattered everywhere.”
“A matter of opinion.”
He didn’t like how easily Wolf talked of his life- old life. It reminded him of how there was no escape from his current situation. They would find him. Through the DMV, traffic cameras, or his family, they’d find him and maybe hurt his loved ones in the process.
Wolf stopped in front of a door to their right and tapped a button on the wall next to it. Stepping inside a large room, a wave of vertigo slammed into him as he looked down at the transparent floor.
The ground had to of been miles beneath them.
His eyes snapped up and took in the large bay windows taking up the top half of the walls before meeting regular ceiling. Were it not for the few tables, televisions, and exercise equipment, he would have almost thought Wolf was throwing him into the sky.
This was not how he imagined his first time flying.
“Oh yeah.” Wolf chuckled. “I should’ve warned you. Kid, welcome aboard our home; The Beetle. Our very own personal flying fortress.”
The man strode out to the center of the floor and faced him.
“Completely invisible to the naked eye and all tracking equipment, this place gets us where we need to be quickly and silently. The Beetle has everything we need in storage: weapons, vehicles, food, a complete medical lab, just enough staff and all of it is paid for by the great U.S. of A.”
Cale steadied himself on the nearest table as the queasy feeling lessened. Farmers were struggling with milk prices from the Sixties and this was what the government put their money into? There was no justice in the world.
Even if it was re
ally cool that something like this existed.
Getting his feet under him, he slowly walked out onto the floor as the door they had entered from opened again. Layla bounced in with Bear close behind, the little bell tied to a choker around her neck jingling brightly.
“I thought I told both of you to stop scaring people out of the shower.” Wolf folded his arms across his chest. “Lamb, you almost gave the virgin here a heart attack. Bear, you’re going to give people the wrong idea if you keep sneaking up on them.”
“I always wear pants until I am alone with my lamb chop.”
“Is that why you were wearing boxers, cutie?”
“Boxers? Kid, that’s just sad. I was just joking about the virgin thing.”
“I’m not-”
“Groping Hawk in the woods doesn’t count.”
“Ooh, so he’s a naughty boy,” Lamb giggled.
Cale bit back an irritated groan. Ten minutes since waking up and he had developed a phobia of open showers and was probably labeled with an unwanted nickname.
Great way to make a first impression to a bunch of crazy people. Now the trigger happy redhead just had to show up, and the entire situation would be perfect.
“Wolf, should he be moving around so soon?”
Hawk walked in, a man with wavy black hair tied back into a short ponytail right behind her. His eyes were the same color as the doctor’s, and the resemblance was easy to see. Cale frowned. If they were siblings, did they have the same people skills?
“He’s fine, Hawk. The Doc fixed him up good as new. Besides, Lamb and Bear scared him out on his own. Kid’s still a little freaked.” Wolf walked over and leaned on a table across from Cale. “Besides, the rest of the team should meet our newest member.”
“He’s a civilian, Wolf,” Hawk said with a frown. “He has no training.”
Breathe Deep Fear Vol. 1 Page 7