Caged

by J. A. Belfield

  I sent a quick glance to Kyle, to Brook, both of them facing the girl. Back to Lauren, I asked, “You okay?”

  Her shoulders shuddered, but she didn’t speak, didn’t turn my way.

  I climbed to my feet and moved closer to the separating bars, ducking my head in the hope of making eye contact through the blonde tendrils hanging across her face. “Lauren?”

  An indistinguishable mumble passed her lips. The tiny wave of her right hand hinted she’d said something I was expected to interpret.

  My eyes screwed up a little as I tried to figure it out. Failing, I asked, “Where’d they take you?”

  Another murmur, higher in pitch than the last, accompanied the upward point of her finger to the ceiling.

  “Want to tell me why?”

  Her headshake whipped her hair side to side.

  “Maybe I can help you.”

  “How?” That one, although it arrived on a banshee-type howl, I caught. Her delicate hands fisted, and she reached them toward me. “How you gonna”—a hiccup hitched her voice—“stop ‘em putting me”—a shuddered breath—“in the cage.”

  Oh, Jesus.

  Her chin inclined until her gaze locked with mine. A desperate plea shone through her tears. “How?” As though the bones had evaporated through her entire frame, her legs crumpled beneath her, and she landed with a thud. More squeaked incoherency pushed past the fingers she spread across her mouth and cheeks, and her shoulders wracked beneath an onslaught of violent sobbing, to the point I had no chance of deciphering anything she said.

  I stepped back from the bars and raised my face to the ceiling, sending a mental cacophony of threats and curses in the direction of those who’d treated a young girl so fuckishly. I sent a glance toward Kyle and Brook.

  They both stared back.

  Blowing out a long, slow breath, I dropped into a squat. “Lauren?”

  Her mumbles, which had lessened a little, crescendoed again to wailing proportions.

  I ignored the tic that kicked in below my left eye. “Lauren, I’m going to help you, I swear. But I can’t do that unless you talk to me.”

  The operatic crying dropped a notch as did the shake of her body. Green glistened out at me through hair fallen forward again. “Whacayoodo?”

  My cheeks puffed out as I restrained my heavy sigh, and I let it out on a slow release whilst trying to think how to calm, how to approach what had to be discussed, how best not to set off any more tears than those already spilled. “Okay … I’m going to start by telling you what I think the vampires think they know about you.”

  Although her shoulders continued in irregular judders, she moved her hands from her face and brushed her blonde straggles aside.

  “I think, they think, you can do stuff.”

  Her head shook—a tiny, almost imperceptible action.

  I pursed my lips. “I think, they think, you have the ability to move or manipulate objects.”

  A breath shuddered from her, but she didn’t deny my orated thoughts.

  “They also think you opened my door.” I held her gaze steady for a moment, before continuing. “Just like, if they’d been down here to witness it, they’d think you moved Kyle’s unconscious body across his cage.”

  Lauren’s lower lip quivered.

  “Telekinetic?” Surprise carried across in the feline’s whisper.

  An upward tilt of my chin answered Brook’s question, whilst my eyes remained focused on the green ones before me. “But … do you want to know what I don’t get?”

  Lauren stared at me. Her shoulders lifted in a shrug.

  I paused to gather my thoughts, to convince myself I wouldn’t lose her by opening my big mouth further.

  “What?” she mumbled when I still hadn’t spoken.

  I relaxed teeth I hadn’t realised I’d begun to grind and pointed a finger toward Lauren. “If you can really do what they suspect, if you really did open my door … what are you still doing here? Why the hell haven’t you made a run for it?”

  Her lips popped beneath her blown out breath. “Would you?”

  25

  I couldn’t decide whether to be happy I’d got the girl to inadvertently admit her ability, or alarmed that she hadn’t tried to make a run for it. “Actually, Lauren, I’d take any opportunity I could to get out of here.”

  “So, why didn’t you, then?” A quiet sniffle tacked onto the end of her words. “You got out your cage.” Snot bubbled from her nose. “You could have gone. But you didn’t.”

  “Because I have more to consider than simply what’s best for me.” I shrugged. “No way on earth would I be able to walk away and leave my pack brothers behind. Just like I now won’t be able to walk out of here without taking you along, either. I’m overprotective—it’s just who I am.” I stared at her a few moments. “What’s your excuse?”

  “So, you’re saying, they’re the reason you’re still here?” A couple of judders affected her breathing. “Otherwise you’d be gone?”

  Lips pursed, I gave a slow nod. “I’d have given it my best shot, sure I would.” Even without guaranteed success, I’d have tried. “Wouldn’t have had the advantage you have, though.”

  “Wotchoo mean?” She tucked her fingers inside the sleeve of her denim shirt and wiped it beneath her nose.

  “How’d you know Kyle was breathing, Lauren? Before he’d woken up?” I stared hard at her. “I know you couldn’t have seen him … so how’d you know?”

  She didn’t answer at first. I thought she wouldn’t until she shrugged. “I don’t know,” she mumbled, bringing her index fingers to her temples and wagging them like antennae. “I felt it, I guess.”

  My eyebrow quirked up. “In what way?”

  Her shoulders lifted again, drooping on a deep sigh. “Dunno.” She walked her fingers through the air. “Kinda like feeling my way round, or something, and then feeling over stuff when I find an obstacle.”

  With no telekinesis experience, I had no idea if what she said rang true, but I still nodded, impressed by her potential. “Anyone else in your family have this ability?”

  She hesitated before shaking her head. “I hoped my mum had, but, when I tried telling her, she didn’t believe me.” She tugged at her snot-covered sleeve. “So, I tried to show her.” A quiet laugh breathed past her lips. “She hunted for the string I’d used to move the cup, and then got mad at me for tricking her when she couldn’t find it. I never bothered to tell anyone else—‘cept Jackson—”

  “Jackson?”

  She nodded. “My friend from school, but he said it sounded like I had a brain tumour, so I kinda stopped doing stuff … just in case.” Her lips squidged to the side, and she rubbed her face using her sleeve.

  I peered away for a moment and considered the best way to address her situation, finding zilch help in the uncertainty hooding Kyle’s eyes.

  Common sense told me fear played a big factor in why Lauren hadn’t made a break for it. Getting Lauren’s agreement to aid our escape would take some tact, yet I had no option but to try—especially as I had no idea how long I had before Catherine would decide she wanted to ‘chat’ with me again.

  Blowing out a breath, I gave my attention back to the girl. “If I ask you a couple questions, for good reason, will you answer?”

  The momentary confusion in her eyes suggested I’d thrown her. “For what good reason?” Hesitancy slowed her words.

  Go for the jugular, or beat about the bush? “To figure out our chances of getting out of here.”

  Even if I hadn’t heard her swallow, the movement along her throat showed her nervous response. “Okay.” Her voice arrived at barely more than a whisper.

  I smiled in a hope to reassure as I mimicked the finger dance she’d done at her temples. “How far a distance can you feel
with your mind?”

  Her shoulders twitched, before her tiny hand pointed toward the steel doors. “I know there’s two of them outside … that there’s pretty much always two of them. I know this place is never left unguarded, which makes us screwed as far as getting farther than those doors are concerned.”

  That’s why she’s still here. Doesn’t believe there’s a way out beyond this basement. “Another question … how hard is it for you to unlock doors … like you did with mine?”

  “I never said I di—”

  “Please, Lauren.” I wanted to sugar-coat, but my mental ticking clock had been counting down since her return. “There’s no time for messing around. Not any longer.”

  “It’s hard.” She twisted her skirt hem in her hands. “Working through the mechanics takes a few minutes. But even if I get you out, you won’t get past them. They’re too strong.” Her huge eyes widened. “And they have guns. They always have those.”

  “Let me worry about the guards.” I waited a beat, before asking, “How long would it take you to open five doors?”

  The whites of her eyes showed as she stared at me. “You mean … we’re not letting everyone out?” Something that sounded like disbelief heightened her whisper. “You’re gonna leave them behind?”

  “For now.” I scanned through the shadows at the surrounding cells—too many held beings whose behaviour I couldn’t predict once released. “Unless you fancy handling them all?”

  She shook her head.

  “That’s what I thought.” I smiled. “So, how long for five doors, Lauren?”

  “It should be faster after the first.” When she stared upward and ticked off her fingers, I realised I had her. “Ten minutes.”

  “Narrow it down to five, and I swear I will do everything in my power to get you out of here.” Keeping the urgency, the plea, out of my voice took a lot of effort when all I wanted to do was demand she open our five doors that instant so we could get going. I fed my hand through the bars until it hovered before her. “Do we have a deal?”

  She stared down at my hand but didn’t take it. “They’ll kill us if we’re caught,” she whispered.

  “I won’t get us caught.”

  “He won’t,” Kyle said.

  Lauren twisted toward him.

  “I should know.” Kyle pointed between himself and me. “We’ve been friends since birth. I’ve never seen him fail at anything.”

  Though I wanted to tell Kyle not to make uncertain promises, I kept my mouth shut. Self-doubt needed to vanish if I intended to succeed; it could show its face later.

  Lauren continued to stare toward Kyle, like she was trying to work out if he’d merely told her what he thought she wanted to hear.

  I watched her, waiting for her to speak. When she didn’t, I thought I’d failed, until her head leaned to the left, her eyes screwed up as though in concentration, and a quiet click arrived from the direction of my door.

  I turned toward my exit. Just as it had done so before, the barred way out of my cage stood slightly ajar. My lips curved as I straightened to stand, and I marched across my enclosure. “Time to roll,” I muttered as I swung open the door.

  Lauren’s cage came as my first stop, to assure her I had every intention of keeping my word. When she didn’t look up, I figured she concentrated, so I kept my mouth shut. I didn’t have to wait long—less than a minute of her eyes narrowing and brow creasing—before the quiet disconnection of metal announced the opening of her door.

  A prod of my fingers sent it on an inward swing. “Ready?”

  She scrambled to her feet but moved no closer to me. “I think this is a bad idea.”

  “I think staying here is an even worse one.” I hesitated a second. considering whether to go for the blow low enough to get her to comply. “And neither of those are anywhere near as bad as going in the cage upstairs will be for you.”

  She chewed on her bottom lip. Her eyes flittered away to the side. “I’m scared.”

  “Of what? Me? Getting out of here? Going in the cage? Figure out which you’re most scared of, and try facing the other two.” I reached a hand out toward her. “Please, Lauren. Show me a little trust.”

  She took a deep breath and stepped forward. Her skinny fingers held the iciness of shock when they slid into mine. “Who next?”

  “Kyle.”

  “Okay.” Her whisper accompanied a small nod.

  I stared away whilst she worked, figured she’d be more comfortable without my scrutiny, and kept my focus on the vampire in the cage beside Lauren’s. At the rear of his enclosure, the only detail that led me to believe his closed eyes didn’t mean he slept was his vertical posture, yet no tension claimed his shoulders or features; his entire body appeared relaxed. Still, I studied him for a sign of movement. I didn’t want to imagine the ruckus he’d likely cause if he spotted our antics.

  Head tilted, I caught the light pad of Kyle’s steps, and the low squeak of his door, before his hand grasped my upper arm. “Go, get Gabe. I’ll take over here.”

  Without a word, I ducked off to the left, Lauren’s hand still in mine. When she tugged back a little, I peered down at her. “What’s wrong?”

  “It’s too dark round there,” she mumbled. “Can’t we do it from here?”

  “And risk you opening the wrong door?” I drew her in front of me to shepherd her along. “I’d rather not.”

  Lauren allowed me to guide her without further complaint, but her boots plonked against the concrete as though making a statement of protest with each step. Small tremors vibrated through my palms when I placed a hand on each of her shoulders.

  I bent down to her ear. “You’re safe with me.”

  “I know,” she whispered back, yet her scent held a strong redolence of fear and anxiety.

  Searching the dimness for disturbance from the surrounding beings—all of them in varying stages of distress—footsteps in the far corner identified the pacing of one, but only slumped or defeated felines, canines, vampires, and whatever the hell the unidentifiable scents were, filled the other spaces.

  I kept my attention on my goal as we passed along the passage, in an ‘if we stayed inconspicuous, no one would ever notice us’ kind of fashion. My body instinctively curved around Lauren’s the closer we got to Gabe. If she noticed, or if it bothered her, she showed no indication above the unease she’d already portrayed.

  As though he’d heard us coming, Gabe’s eyes already aimed toward our approach.

  I sent him a smile of reassurance and kept my voice low to avoid unnecessary detection from the surrounding enclosures. “Hey, Gabe.”

  He narrowed his eyes, and his nostrils flared as he took a deep inhalation. “Wh-who’s this?” The stammer somewhat killed his toughness aura.

  “Her name’s Lauren.” I watched him as I spoke, unsure about the way he studied the young girl.

  “W—” His jaw tightened as did his fists at his sides.

  “Lauren’s our skeleton key.” I caught his gaze with my own until his steadied, and hoped he received the unspoken order to play nice. He backed down with a nod, and I said, “She’s going to let you out of your cage.”

  His head whipped up. As he took a couple strides toward us, a tiny jolt of Lauren’s body knocked her back against my chest. Despite the nervous energy pumping from him, hope emanated from his gaze.

  “You ready to get out of here?” I asked him when he reached the bars.

  “As ever.” Something resembling a smile spread across his face beneath his jittery eyes.

  “Okay, Lauren. Work your magic.”

  Other than the rise and fall of her chest, her body stilled. For a few moments, only her breaths filled the stagnant air.

  Gabe sidestepped to his door. His eyes bored into it, like he could somehow join forces with
Lauren’s mind to get the job done quicker. His muscles drew taut across his shoulders and through his arms. Even his thighs bunched tight—ready for springing. “Where’s K-K-Kyle?” he asked.

  “On sentry.”

  Gabe pressed a hand against the door. The second it disengaged, he yanked it open and nigh on dived from his cell. “Let’s g-g-go!” His body gave tiny jerks in time with his speech impediment.

  I twisted to follow him, but not faster than Lauren who leaned around my torso. I tracked the path of her focus, finding it on Gabe making his way down the passage to where Kyle waited. It took me a second to realise she must have been staring after his naked butt.

  With a twitch of my eyebrow, I nudged her to get going.

  Her chin lifted as she walked, yet her head didn’t turn away from whatever had her attention. “Who’s number five?” she whispered. “The shifter?”

  “Yes.” If she’ll agree to come.

  Kyle ruffled Gabe’s hair as the younger werewolf sniffed at his wounds. Lauren and I headed straight for Brook’s cage. I half expected her to have shifted to her panther form, considering the inconsistency of her changes, yet she stood at the door as though confident I’d never leave without her—shoving any doubt I’d had about that out the window.

  I moved close to her bars. “You with me on this?”

  She answered with a chin inclination, before adding, “And you’ll watch my back, yes?”

  “If you’ll watch mine.”

  A scuffle in the adjoining cell preceded the emergence of the werewolf from the shadows at the rear, drawing my and the feline’s attention that way. “Take me with you.” An underlying desperation dominated his whisper.

  One captive requesting to join us was a minor issue. If others caught on and started calling an SOS, it would become problematic pretty fast.

  I leaned in close to Lauren’s ear. “Tell me you’re working on Brook’s door, already?”

  Without speaking, she nodded, and around thirty seconds later the lock clicked.

  Brook exited her enclosure but hadn’t even stepped through the doorway when the other werewolf’s hand shot out, and he grabbed hold of her upper arm.