Dying to Live: The Shifter City Complete Series

by Liam Kingsley

  “That was easy,” Bender commented.

  “Not to be cliché,” Paul said, “But that was too easy. What’s that music?”

  It was getting to them, making them all sleepy. The longer they stood, the more they became like the other shifters, staring blankly and rocking to the music. Killian opened the steel door before he could succumb to it, and found Pan playing the flute with tears rolling down his cheeks. At his feet, Floyd shimmered through multiple forms, cradling his head in his hands and moaning. Pan shot Killian a desperate plea with his eyes.

  “Sorry Floyd,” Killian murmured. He fired the pulse weapon, hitting Floyd between the shoulders. Floyd collapsed, human and unconscious.

  “Oh god,” Pan groaned, dropping his head. “I don’t know what the hell they did to him, but he is not okay. He was going to kill me.”

  “You saved the day,” Killian said. “Now let’s get the hell out of here.”

  He led them through the maze of corridors, heading for the conference room. The guard who had escaped the observation room leapt out at them, gun in hand, and was rapidly dispatched with a fist to the face. They made it through the conference room and into the garage without any more trouble. Douglas’ truck was still there, parked beside a van.

  “Check the van,” Killian told Pan. “Restraints for two and keys.”

  Pan dropped Floyd heavily to the floor, then he and the two conscious boys raced to the van and checked. Chains found controls for the garage doors. She hit one, and the door farthest to the left began to rise. Instantly, the room was full of the sounds of mad shifters. Killian’s eyes widened. Through the door, hundreds of shifters threw themselves at the bars, dead set on killing them all.

  “Close it!” Killian shouted.

  Chains gasped and slammed the controls, shutting out the terrible sight. She opened the next door, revealing a tunnel. Natural light shone at one end.

  “Is that it?” She asked.

  “I’ll check!” Bender shouted.

  “No, wait!”

  But Bender had already raced through the door and down the tunnel. He returned a moment later, to Killian’s great relief.

  “That’s the one,” Bender said. “Dirt road on the other side.”

  “We got restraints!” Pan called.

  “Keys too!” Paul added.

  Killian carried Ghost and dragged Floyd to the back of the van. Pan helped him secure them just as Ghost was beginning to make waking noises, then they cleared the back and slammed the doors shut. There was room enough for the rest of them in the safety of the cab, and they all climbed in. After a quick head count and an even quicker prayer, Killian started the van and squealed out of the garage.

  “Wait!” Chains cried. “The other shifters, we can’t just leave them!”

  “We aren’t going to,” Killian said grimly. “We need a phone.”

  “I have one! Had one. They took our bags,” Chains remembered with a frustrated growl. “We have to go back.”

  “Not without backup, and not with you,” Killian said firmly.

  “But I want to help!”

  “Sorry, kid. Let the adults handle it this time.”

  “But…!”

  “No.”

  Chains crossed her arms and scrunched back against the seat where she was wedged between Ghost and Paul. Pan reached out and squeezed Killian’s shoulder encouragingly.

  “Get as far away as you can, as fast as you can,” he murmured. “We’re still in Nebraska. Forget the phone, just get these kids home.”

  “You got it,” Killian said as they broke through the end of the tunnel into blinding daylight. The dirt road wasn’t long, and once he hit pavement he caught his bearings quickly. Home was no more than a couple of hundred miles away. He’d make it before sunset, or god help the bastard who got in his way.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  The sky was just beginning to turn red when the pulled up to the fortress-like gates of Regis Thyme. The kids were silent with apprehension, clinging to each other’s hands. Pan leapt out of the van almost before it had fully stopped and smashed the button on the intercom.

  “Regis Thyme, how can I help you?”

  “It’s Pan and Killian, we’ve got a van full of stray shifters and two are in really bad condition, and there’s an emergency.”

  “I’ll call Broderick. Opening the gates.”

  Pan jumped back in the van as the gates swung inward. As they pulled through, they could see the leaders of the city begin to converge on the small parking area in front of the research facility. Broderick, his Omega Sven, Snow, and Mariella came together in a line and waited. Killian jumped out first and Pan followed, tipping his seat forward to let the kids out. They hesitated, exchanging glances.

  “Come on, guys,” Pan said with a friendly smile. “This is my home.”

  They grudgingly slid out, one by one, and never let go of each other. They stood in a cluster behind Pan, their eyes taking in the dramatic sight of the walled-in city at sunset. The ten towering buildings cast shadows over the space between the town and the research center. Lights glowed in the rows upon rows of candy-colored houses. Behind the research facility, a new fence had been built. Silver-dusted iron, sixty feet tall, ringing the whole of the empty field; five miles wide, twenty long, with a yard of space between it and the three walls. It was this which caught their full attention, and they stared fearfully at the massive cage. Killian spoke rapidly to the leaders, catching them up on all that had transpired. Broderick barked an order, and at once the leaders scattered. Snow and Broderick went to the back of the van to tend to the two fearsome shifters, Mariella dashed into the city to rouse her troops, and Sven walked calmly over to Pan and his brood.

  “Pan, nice to see you back in one piece,” Sven said with a little bow. “Would you introduce me to your young friends?”

  Pan opened his mouth, then hesitated. He looked over his shoulder at the three kids, clustered close together.

  “Real or Ruism?” He asked.

  They exchanged glances, then Ru spoke up.

  “Both,” he said.

  “You got it. Guys, this is Sven, our leader’s Omega. He runs the Care building; meditation, life classes, the gym, that sort of thing. Sven, this is Ru. He also goes by Paul when he feels the need for privacy. He’s sixteen, he’s a bit of a genius, and he speaks in riddles. This is Phillip, who also goes by Bender under the same circumstances. He’s fifteen, best friends with Ru, and…well, I’ll let him tell you the rest.”

  “No, it’s okay,” Phillip said quickly. “He’s the leader here, right? Secondary, caretaker of the people?”

  “That is exactly my role,” Sven said with a kind smile.

  “Yeah, go ahead then. I’d rather you than me,” Phillip said.

  “Alright, if you’re sure. Phillip is a biological Omega.”

  Sven’s eyebrows raised almost imperceptibly, then his smile warmed.

  “Glad to have you within our walls,” he said sincerely.

  “And finally, Alice, who also goes by Chains. She’s fourteen, has a killer instinct for strategy, and is sort of the problem-solving brains of the group. That,” Pan said with a wince, pointing at the slight frame being removed from the back of the van on a stretcher. “Is Jacob, also Ghost. He’s twelve. His most valued possession is a flute, which is the last thing his mother ever gave him. He’s still a child at heart, but he tries to be older than he is in order to be useful to the group.”

  Jacob was wheeled away, and Killian and Broderick began pulling the last passenger from the van.

  “Finally, Floyd. The adult male head of the group. He relies heavily on Alice and Ru to organize their efforts and keep the five of them alive. He’s desperately loyal and trying his best, but doesn’t always know what that best is.”

  “You three,” Sven said, pointing from Alice to Ru to Floyd. “Are related.”

  “We’re cousins,” Alice said, nudging Ru. “Floyd’s my uncle.”

  “But not yours
?” Sven asked Ru.

  “Might as well be,” Ru shrugged. “But not by blood. Alice’s mother’s brother, I’m Alice’s father’s brother’s son.”

  Sven sketched the family tree in the air with his fingers, then nodded.

  “And Bender is Ru’s friend. I’m assuming the youngest is your friend?” He asked Alice, who nodded. “And you trust that Floyd has had your best interests at heart?”

  The three nodded again, adamantly.

  “Good enough for me,” Sven said. “You may stay with Broderick and me until we can arrange for housing. Dinner is waiting. Would you join me?”

  They looked to Pan, who nodded. “Go ahead, guys. It’s okay, he’s good people. I’ll check in on you tonight and let you know what’s going on.”

  “What are they going to do with Floyd and Jacob?” Alice asked.

  “They’re going to give them the best medical care in the whole world. Nobody knows shifter medicine better than Dr. Snow, and he doesn’t even have to experiment on shifters to get it.”

  She seemed satisfied with that answer, and the trio followed Sven to the big house on the shallow hill which overlooked the city. It was the largest, grandest house in town, but with a purpose. It was the first stop of any stray shifter before they were integrated into the community. It had bedrooms enough to house a large pack, excellent food on a schedule, and proximity to Sven. Sven, in addition to being a fabulous host, also had a way of intuitively understanding what people needed. What the kids need right now are their parents, Pan thought with a twinge of sadness. He wished for the day when this shifter thing would stop tearing families apart.

  A flash of memory ripped through Pan’s mind and he winced. He’d been younger than most when the epidemic hit, young enough to feel the loss of his mother cut to his core. When he’d boarded the bus to Regis Thyme with the other shifters in his town, the people he’d grown up with suddenly turned into monsters. His brothers, his friends, people he’d known since he was in diapers had thrown stones and sticks, anything they could get their hands on, while shouting terrible things at him. It had been an utter rejection, dehumanizing and pointlessly cruel. His heart broke to think of new shifters experiencing that, and he feared the day that humans decided to take the heart of Nebraska back from the shifters. Broderick owned the land, but Pan had done well enough in his history classes to recognize the truth; that fact didn’t mean much if those in power decided that you were subhuman. He shook his head at the dark turn his thoughts had taken. The kids were safe now. It would have to be enough for the moment.

  He followed Killian and Broderick to the hospital at a jog, eager to know what the plan was and how he could help. After just a few steps, he felt something fall from his waistband and down his leg, nearly tripping him. He picked up the flute and dusted it off with great care. Tears sprung to his eyes and he broke into a run. Jacob had to recover. He just had to. Pan had promised him flute lessons, and he’d be damned if he wasn’t going to keep that promise. He slid through the automatic doors in his bare feet, and suddenly became aware of how much he’d changed since the last time he stood there. He followed the low murmur of voices down the hallway, and found Broderick and Killian outside the Omega Shift rooms; rooms which were designed specifically to bring Omegas through their second shift safely, with restraints on the beds, cooler air temperatures, and extra-large IV bags for hydration.

  “How are they?” He asked breathlessly, sliding to a stop in front of Killian and Broderick.

  “Snow’s examining Jacob now,” Killian said tensely. “He was in bad shape when we pulled him from the back, though. Foaming at the mouth. Delirious. Dehydrated. Floyd isn’t much better. I just want to know what the fuck that witchy cunt did to them.”

  Pan took half a step back in surprise. He had never, in all the years he’d known Killian, heard him talk like that. Killian saw his expression and lent a tight smile.

  “He’s twelve,” he said by way of explanation. “He’s barely older than Junior. He should be sitting in my classroom, not strapped to a damn Omega bed. Who does that shit to a child?” Tears shone in Killian’s brown eyes as he clenched his jaw in rage. Pan, risking his temper in a moment of heart-pounding bravery, closed the distance between them and wrapped an arm around his waist.

  “Snow’s the best shifter physician in the world,” Pan said, as much for himself as for Killian. “He’ll fix this.”

  “If anyone can, it’ll be him,” Broderick added.

  “That’s a pretty big ‘if’, Broderick,” Killian said. He shook his head and cleared his throat, gazing in through the small window in the door of Jacob’s room. No one had anything more to say. They were counting on Snow to give them good news, but they all felt the hopelessness of the situation. They stood a little closer than necessary, clustering like the children had, until Snow stepped through the door.

  “How bad is it?” Killian asked.

  Snow sighed heavily. “The seizures are responding to fluid and medication. His vitals have stabilized. He still appears to be delirious; he cannot tell me his name, and does not know where he is. His temperature is higher than that of a first shift, and lower than that of a second or third. What he is going through is something that we have not yet seen here in Regis Thyme. I will take samples and send them to the lab as soon as he is hydrated enough to allow it.”

  “And the older gentleman?” Broderick asked.

  “Floyd,” Pan interjected. It seemed important that everyone know his name.

  “Floyd is…unstable. On every level that I can observe. His vitals are fluctuating dramatically. His form will not stabilize whatsoever. Pan, you were with him first. Prior to your capture, was Floyd able to shift into a full wolf?”

  “He was,” Pan said with a nod.

  “Curious.”

  “What is?”

  “He is fluctuating between human and beast, and various variations thereof. He has not, however, shifted into a wolf. There are any number of possible explanations, and I will know more when his test results come in. Also….”

  “You were able to get samples from him, then?” Broderick interrupted.

  “I was. In fact, I was forced to have Maude dig up some old stainless steel needles. The shifter bone needles were far too powerful.”

  “You mean…?” Killian began, looking a bit green.

  “I mean his sub-dermal layer appears to be dissolving. The needle pierced through to his bone. Broderick, you know I am never eager to create more work for myself. However, in this case, I urge you to retrieve the warehouse shifters quickly. If they have undergone the same treatment as either of these men, they will not survive long without care.”

  “I’ll send Mariella right away. Killian, Pan… both of you know where this warehouse is. We could use your tactical skills, Killian. Pan, you are free to stay here.”

  “No,” Killian said quickly. “Pan, we need you, and your flute. Or Jacob’s. That’s going to be the only way to do this without bloodshed.”

  “Flute?” Broderick asked, confused.

  “Pan kept Floyd and a crowd of unfriendly shifters at bay for a long time with his music. He’s got some kind of hypno-magic skills.”

  Pan blushed and grinned at that description, but it reminded him of something he’d nearly forgotten in all of the chaos.

  “How are the Pavlovs holding up?” He asked, thinking of Boris and little Damian.

  “Sven would know more than I,” Snow said, shaking his head. “I have not seen any of them since I finished testing Damian’s blood. Which, by the way, does contain an alpha-form of the shifter gene, and there is a very good chance that puberty will trigger his own, more natural version of the third change.”

  Killian frowned thoughtfully for a moment.

  “Most of these kids were turned when they were very young, elementary school young. Is it possible that they weren’t bit by wolves at all, but naturally encountered the third shift as they hit puberty?”

  “Literally anything is
possible,” Snow said with a shrug. “I would appreciate examining the other children, and interviewing them.”

  “Sven is feeding them dinner now,” Broderick said. “If you’ve done all you can here, you could visit them at the house. It would be better for their nerves, I think, to be away from clinical environments for the moment.”

  “Of course. Give me a moment to collect my things, and I will be with you.”

  Snow hurried away, and Broderick turned to Killian and Pan. “You should get ready. You will be leaving with Mariella and the squads the moment they are ready to go. I should talk to Sven while Snow is working with the kids….” He trailed off on that thought and turned away, meeting Snow as he came out of his office.

  “There should be spare clothes here,” Killian said, starting to walk away. “We should change here, then hit the range for….”

  “Killian, wait.” Real life was crashing hard into their adventure, and Pan was beginning to feel the strain.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “We might not survive this.”

  “I know.”

  “Is it worth it to you to do it anyway?”

  “Of course.”

  “Me too. But….”

  “But what?”

  Pan’s breath caught in his chest and he acted impulsively, yanking Killian toward him and crushing his mouth with a desperate kiss. Killian jerked back, almost pulled away, then relaxed. They melted together in the embrace of those who know they may not see the morning. The world whirled around Pan as Killian lifted him by his waist and spun him through the door of an empty room.