by JL Oiler
“Who is this Master you serve?” John asked as he felt his resistance begin to slip away with each moment the creature held her.
“My Master knows you, Rose. He knows you well.”
The creature began to back toward the window as it spoke its cryptic response. John knew for certain he couldn't allow it to leave this room with Thorn. Not if she was to survive. The problem was how to stop him without risking injury to her. Perhaps his best ally in that was what moved right beneath his surface. Perhaps it was time to unchain his beast.
As Keith pulled a struggling Thorn another step back toward the only means for him to escape with his hostage, John took a slow, deliberate breath and allowed the suppressed rage and anger to bubble forward carrying the darkness to the surface. Instantly his muscles rippled, their size multiplying until he could hear the stitching of his shirt begin to give way. His canine’s sprang forward in his mouth, puncturing his lower lip as they did so. John felt as though his entire body was on fire, combusting from inside as the beast lifted its head and bellowed an ear-splitting howl.
****
Thorn trembled. This couldn't be happening again. She struggled to get free of Keith’s steel like grasp. She watched the man she’d just make love to morph into something twice the size and twice as scary than the thing which held her. Keith resembled the vampire who’d attacked him while John was something all together different. Not vampire, not werewolf, not undead, but a fucked up mix of all three with some things she couldn't even identify thrown in for balance. John’s beast stalked forward, clawed hands raised up at its sides, as one would see in a cheap b rated monster movie from the seventies. Drool dripped from his fangs as he stared at Thorn with the same amber colored eyes she remembered. That's how she knew John was still there. The two creatures roared and hissed at one another, a threat of death shining in both sets of eyes with her caught directly in the middle.
Thorn felt the cold wind whip through the hole where her bedroom window once sat just as John leapt forward, causing all three of them to tumble out the opening. It was a slow motion free fall which had her flailing her arms and legs as the two man-beasts clawed and bit at one another.
The ground came up on her with hard vengeance as her body struck the frozen soil a few feet from the pair of beasts. Thorn felt unable to move as her head spun. Finally able to turn over to her stomach, she watched through blurry eyes as John and Keith rolled across the snowy yard. It was obvious Keith was over matched, but Thorn still feared for John. Pushing up to her hands and knees, she moaned, sharp pain shooting down her arm which looked cockeyed, sending her back to the ground, face planted in the icy snow as the pain increased and darkness claimed her.
“Thorn, Sweetie, are you alright?” John's disembodied voice called from somewhere far away.
She was so cold and tired, so very tired. Thorn wanted to just stay in this numb, dark world and sleep away all the drama, if only she could get warm.
“Come on, Thorn, stay with me,” John’s voice begged.
“Cold,” she whispered, her throat feeling raw for the effort.
“It’s ok baby, we’ll be in the Nest soon,” he promised in a voice which faded away into silence.
****
John paced across the corridor floor in front of the medical lab door, waiting for the doctor to come out. The rest of his team watched in silence, ready to give him whatever support he might need. Covered in mud and Keith’s blood, he continued to wear a path into the tile, anxiety making him irritable with not only those around him but himself as well. He should have heard Keith, sensed him nearby before this all could happen. Thorn was lying on that cot because he’d failed her.
“So what happened? Things were quiet here then all hell broke loose. I thought you were just going to collect her things. Next thing we know we got two dead guards and your woman in the med lab,” Bell asked as he rubbed a hand through his red brown hair.
“Boyd crashed the party and the three of us took a dive out a second story window. John told them, stopping his constant pacing to lean against the wall as he spoke.
“Why did he show up there? Did Boyd have a thing with her?” Beamer asked then stepped behind Hark when the cutting glare of John’s eyes reached him.
He couldn't really be angry with the man for asking the question. It was a possibility he himself hadn’t thought to ask her about. That and there was still the cryptic message Boyd kept repeating.
“He kept saying his Master wanted her,” John informed them as he rubbed some of the tension from his temples.
“That doesn’t make sense. Didn’t you kill the creature that made him?” Hark asked.
“Yes, he’s in the specimen lab down the hall,” John confirmed.
“Well maybe these weren’t random then,” Bell suggested as he leaned on the wall opposite his team leader. “Maybe she was the target of the first attack as well.”
“Damn, why didn’t I think of that. I was standing so close to it I should have known,” John said, knocking the back of his head against the wall at his own ignorance.
“Told you bringing her here was a bad idea, she’s a distraction,” Beamer complained then shut up and crawled back into himself as three sets of glaring eyes met him.
“Bell, you go see what Intel you can dig up on Thorn Grant, that ambulance company she worked for and this Boyd character. Maybe we can find a connection to one of our known bad asses that we overlooked,” John ordered as he straightened back up and began to pace once again.
There had to be a connection between Thorn and the increased number of incidents in the area, something no one picked up on. Who the hell was the Master Boyd went on about? Perhaps Thorn was the target of all this because the General chose her to follow John around the city?
The automatic lab doors slid open with their usual buzzing sound and Dr. Hough stepped out, bringing any further movement on John’s part to a halt.
“How is she?” he asked anxiously while attempting to steal a quick glimpse into the room before the doors slid shut once again.
“Pretty banged up but alright. She had some internal bleeding but we got it stopped and I put some antibiotic on the bite mark in her shoulder, which was the worst of her injuries. I cast the broken arm and gave her a sedative so she will most likely sleep for a few hours.”
John started to explain the bite wasn't from the attack but thought better of it. If they discovered he’d been the one to inflict it, they may ban him from ever seeing her again or make her leave and that was something he nor his beast would accept. Now that they’d found her, neither intended to ever let her go.
“I’m going to have her moved to her own room where she can rest more comfortably,” the doctor told him as he turned to re-enter the lab.
“No need, just have her taken to mine. I plan on making certain she is kept safe,” John informed him before the doors closed and he himself headed for the command center. There were some issues he needed to cleanup before Thorn woke up.
****
Thorn awoke beneath the soft feel of a blanket, warm and safe. She laid there absorbing the comfort of being blissfully numb. Her arm felt heavy and she opened her eyes slowly to see what held it. The ugly white cast covered her from her elbow, looping around the palm of her hand. Well that explained that, she thought to herself with a sigh. It also left her wondering what all would hurt when the lack of sensation wore off. She’d hit the ground pretty hard and it was surprising for her arm to be the only thing in a cast.
“How are you feeling?” a feminine voice spoke, one she recognized as belonging to Karen Williams.
“I’ve been better,” Thorn told her as she turned her head to face the woman seated near her bedside.
“I would imagine,” she said with a tight smile. “The Sergeant has been pacing about the complex for the past six hours snapping at everyone. He’ll be happy to hear you’re awake.”
“Is he alright? He didn’t get hurt fighting, did he?” A bit of panic vibra
ted in her voice at the thought.
“No, he is perfectly fine. You’ll find that the men of the unit heal remarkably fast. Perk of the job, I guess,” Karen said with her closed off smile.
Thorn couldn't help feel the woman had a wall built around her a mile high, blocking out any happiness. It was sad, Karen seemed like a nice woman and no one should have to feel alone surrounded by so many people. Something, or most likely someone, must have caused her to lock herself away.
“Well I’m going to go inform the doctor and Sergeant Rose you're awake. You relax and try and get some rest before they come poking and interrogating you,” Karen said standing and heading for the door. “I’m really glad you’re alright.”
“Me too,” Thorn told her with a wink. “I’ll talk to you later, Karen. Maybe we can have lunch together sometime.”
“I’d like that.”
CHAPTER NINE
John sat at the small card table in the corner of the dayroom with the rest of the team playing five-card draw with piles of dimes and nickels. Over the past hour, he figured he was into Hark for a good five dollars worth of change. It was much better than either Bell or Beamer, who both were working on their last dollar or so.
“So where’s Thorn this evening?” Beamer asked sarcastically. “I figured you would be working on her daily physical.”
“She went to dinner with Miss Williams,” John said with a grunt.
He wasn't at all happy with the two women going into town with only a pair of guards but he couldn’t really supersede the General's orders without revealing the relationship between he and Thorn. They had been rarely apart in the past two weeks since the attack and John was surprised the old man hadn’t already called him on it. Most the time they would simply cuddle on the couch watching movies or sit on the bed talking. He’d been too afraid to go farther than that, to risk biting her again.
“Miss Williams, in that sexy tight pencil skirt. I’d do dinner with her,” Bell said with a wag of his eyebrows.
“You planning on going cougar hunting?” Hark asked amused.
“You don’t have the right weapon to hunt that cat,” Beamer said with a snarl as he tossed his cards into the middle of the table and folded.
“Which means she turned the asshole down,” John said with a loud laugh, which all but Beamer echoed.
“Funny, ha ha,” Beamer grumbled as he stood and headed to the soda machine.
John looked at his cards, a pair of queens, a two, four, and a Jack. Looks like he’d been holding the ladies. They played the remaining hand in silence as Hark dealt him another Queen and then called.
“Three ladies,” he said with a smile as the other players shook their heads and tossed their cards in the center of the table. Things were starting to look up.
“All DF team members report to the briefing room immediately,” a deep, male voice called across the intercom, ending the game.
“What the fuck's happening, Sarg?” Bell asked as they all stood and hurried toward the room attached to the command center.
“How the hell am I supposed to know? I’ve been with your ugly ass all day.”
General Striate was sitting at the head of the large oval table, a dozen photographs scattered across the table in front of him. He had a look on his face that said something bad had gone down.
“Sit down, gentleman. It appears that the puppet master for all the activity in the area has decided to escalate the action.” The General pointed toward the pictures and waited for each man to grab several. “Two attacks in the past twenty four hours. One female at location one about two blocks from Miss Grant's home and a male and female at location two on the opposite side of town. Both females sexually assaulted and brutalized so severally they’re unidentifiable.”
“Are we certain it's one guy?” Hark asked. flipping through his copies of the scenes.
“He left a calling card.” Striate informed them, tossing the last two of the set of print into the middle of the table.
A crudely written name scrawled in blood was found at both locations Thorn. John attempted to take a breath but his chest was too tight. She was the target and now she was topside with only two regular guards and a secretary. As far as they knew something was stalking her at that moment.
“Have you contacted Miss Grant and Miss Williams to have them return to the nest?” Hark asked.
“I have. Lt. Carmichael is attempting to reach them now. However, as of ten minutes ago, neither of the ladies would answer the cells I gave them before they left. We should have a marker for the GPS in each soon as well.”
“So what’s you order, sir?” Beamer asked as he slipped on a pair of shades that made him look even dorkier than usual.
“To start, lose the glasses. I want you all to suit up and head to the Inferno Club. They have some blood rave happening there tonight and that a lot of easy prey. Keep your coms up and be ready to be called in to pull the women back to the nest if we discover they have a problem,” the General ordered.
John wanted to scream. He didn’t want to go hang with a bunch of vampire wanna be kids. He wanted to go get his woman and make certain she was back here in the Nest where he was certain she would be safe from whatever stalked her. Standing, he headed stiffly toward the armory his sense of duty doing battle with his heart.
****
“Excuse me, Miss Grant,” the taller of her two military escorts interrupted just as the waiter brought out two slices of cheesecake with strawberries. “We have orders to return both of you back to the base as soon as possible.”
“What wrong?” Thorn asked as Karen requested the waiter bring two to-go boxes and the bill.
“I don’t know, Miss Grant. I only know that I am to have you either back to the base in the next ten minutes or the General will have me peeling potatoes for the remainder of my enlistment,” he told her looking about apprehensively, one hand resting on the pistol at his side.
When the waiter returned with the bill, both women threw a twenty on the table and dumped their dessert into the small Styrofoam boxes. The bill was only thirty-two dollars and some change, which meant that the cash was more than enough to pay and make the server happy with the tip.
“Where are Sergeant Rose and the other members of the team?” Karen asked as they were ushered into the running Jeep.
“According to dispatch, they were sent out to an attack site. We’re to contact them if we run into trouble,” the driver said as he pressed down the accelerator and sped away before Thorn even had time to buckle her seatbelt.
There was a high-pitched squelch across radio as they did what Thorn liked to call mach nine trough the city streets. At this rate, she was surprised they didn't have the cops chasing them down, military or not. At least the man knew how to drive.
“DF leader One to Santa confirming you have the package,” John’s voice came across the radio making her laugh at the call signs. Evidently, she was some sort of Christmas package.
“That is confirmed, Sir. The package is safe in the sled heading for the South Pole,” the driver acknowledged into the radio mic.
“That’s ack….” The transmission stopped and was followed by what Thorn thought to be screams.
“Shit, what happened?” She asked, leaning forward in the seat and grabbing the handheld microphone from the driver's hand.
“DF Leader come in! DF Leader come in!” she called before the second Thorndier took it away.
“Miss Grant! If he is involved in a combat, you could distract him.”
Thorn had not thought of that and suddenly she felt very foolish. She could cause him to get injuries or worse because of her panic. Damn she had a hell of a lot to learn about being part of a military team. Hanging her head, she rode silently the last few minutes of the trip back to the base, her hand firmly in that of the woman and friend at her side. Fear and anxiety still overwhelmed her but she wasn't about to let it get the better of her common sense again.
The control room was abuzz wit
h activity when they entered, requiring Karen to leave Thorn standing there as she went to attend her important duties, which made Thorn feel a bit out of place and useless. If this was to be her world then Thorn needed to find her nitch and contribute. This standing around just waiting sucked.
With a moan, she headed toward the medical lab. She could at least get things ready just in case they brought in a new specimen or one of the team needed medical treatment. Dr. Hough was already inside the room talking to someone on his cell about some injection they needed. He glared at her and flipped the phone shut when he saw her walk in. He definitely wasn't the most friendly man. Since their first meeting, the guy seemed like an anal-retentive asshole.
“What do you want?” He growled her general direction as he turned his attention to drawing up a vile of some strange blue-tinted fluid.
“I thought I’d go ahead and get this room read in case it was needed,” Thorn informed him as she went to the cabinet to double check the supply of bandages and gauze.
“Well I suppose that’s all right,” he said after a moment.
Supposed it was all right? This jerk was a real piece of work. Thorn had met this type of doctor before but never expected one to make it to a place where he actually ran an entire military lab. Usually his types were the wonder from hospital to hospital wearing out their welcome type.
Thorn jumped when the sound of the alert signal echoed through the room indicating the team was coming in hot and everyone was to be on alert. Butterflies began to bounce around her stomach as she watched the doctor begin to glove up and then nod in the direction of the box indicating she should do the same.
****
John felt as though his entire body was twisting from the inside out, extreme mind numbing pain leaving him a cold sweat. He could hear the other team members talking to him as they loaded him from the jeep onto a medical gurney, but their words were a gargled mess of unrecognizable echoes. Things had really gone wrong this time.