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So here I am again, in the huge concrete floored room facing the huge double doors; it’s been a few days since I last faced 453 (or Dec as I’ve decided to call him), during that period Nale and I have been tested pretty much around the clock-running long miles on the treadmills, hand-to-hand combat with a dozen soldiers, they had Nale rattling off a load of medical terms and meanings-which he can do without missing a beat-and they’ve taken more blood from me than the scientists at the base ever did! Crandall hasn’t been too successful at testing my Wild mode, mostly because I’ve been keeping my temper in check; I haven’t seen much of Duke lately, Tate’s temper seems to have gotten better and Jac and Jamie are being questioned/tortured on a daily basis-neither will cough up any info. The doors ahead slowly open and there’s poor Dec curled up on the floor; it must be pretty early in the morning, it’s hard to tell on the inside because they just switch the lights on and off-it bothered me at first but now I just bury my head into Nale’s side when the lights come on.
But once it was Jamie’s. Whoops.
Dec uncurls and stretches with a huge yawn, he seems half asleep until he sets his sights on me and pounds over with a vicious snarl; I’m not afraid, in fact I have a plan-it’s crazy-when he’s about a foot away I sit. Yeah, you read right, I plonk my ass on the floor, lean against the wall, cross my arms, stretch my legs out and cross them too; Dec skids to a halt, his nose inches from mine.
Told you it was crazy.
Dec takes a step back and looks completely dumbfounded; he’s not sure whether he should take this awesome opportunity to eat me or go back to bed, he circles himself one way and then another-I just lean back and close my eyes. The speaker crackles and Tate’s voice echoes around us.
“Marshall, get up and fight 453!” She demands. What in hell makes her think I’ll follow her orders like those idiot soldiers would?
“I’m not fighting him.” I yawn. “Don’t fight kids.”
“Fine! 453, attack her!”
Dec looks to the speaker and then to me and then whimpers; it’s not a lot of fun attacking something that doesn’t run-I know that for a fact. When I was a kid-about four years old-the scientists left a fake mouse in the room, it was a good fake mouse though-very realistic-but I didn’t take an interest; then they put a remote control one in…well…I could chase that thing around for hours on end. So I know how Dec feels. He paces around the room for a while and then drops down next to me; he’s spread out on his stomach and his nose is by my knee, I give him a few minutes before slowly reaching over and placing my hand on his snout-not in a threatening way, just lightly resting there; he opens his eyes briefly and then relaxes again…I give him another minute before lightly scratching his snout with my nails, his tail twitches slightly at first and then his leg does-thumping against the floor. I’m not fond of dogs, as you can imagine, the neighbour back home has a Yorkshire Terrier-it’s tiny and harmless-but it still un-nerves me; and yet here I am, scratching the snout of a hound that moments ago wanted to bite my head off-I can’t help but chuckle a little.
“You’re really a good boy, aren’t ya Dec?” I smile when his ear flicks at the name. “That’s what I’m going to call you, Dec.” I look up at the camera and give a little wink for Jac, Jamie and Nale; I can imagine Nale rolling on the floor and laughing. The door to my left slides open and Tate storms in, her face as red as a baboon’s ass!
“You stupid beast!” She snarls. I did say her temper was better, right? I take it back. Dec leaps onto his feet and backs away. “You brainless, pathetic excuse for a hound!”
“Oh leave him alone, General.” I say as I get to my feet. “He’s just a kid after all.”
“Get out!” She snaps. I just chuckle and step out, beaming at Crandall as I do.
“Amazing!” He pats my back. “Only a few people have 453 tamed.”
“Is Duke one of them?” I ask out of curiosity.
“He is.” He nods and looks at a file in his hand-my file. “I have a question…you have a human reproductive system, right?”
“As far as I aware.” I tell him, a little embarrassed.
“Huh…perhaps we could start a breeding programme.” He mutters to himself and rubs his chin.
I’m sorry, WHAT!? I stop and stare at him. “With who?”
“With Nale.” He states bluntly and I pale, he sees it. “No, no-it would be artificial insemination.”
Oh yeah, that makes me feel a whole lot better about the idea; let’s get on it right away!
We have to get out of here! Today!
“It’s such a shock to the system, I know, but it will all work out for the better.” He sooths as he leads me back to the room. “Would you like something with your breakfast today?”
“Apples.” I mutter. The gruel really isn’t filling. Crandall gives me another sympathetic pat on the back as I enter our room; the trio are happy to see me, but it soon dies when they see my face.
“What happened, Marshall?” Jac asks. She has a few cuts on her face, a bust lip and one huge bruise on her right cheek-she said a soldier hit her with the butt of his rifle, I think the worst of her injuries are around her chest and stomach.
I glance at Nale and shudder, Crandall’s words echoing through my head; I can’t breed with Nale-that’s just sick! I shake my head, take a deep breath and I’m ready to take command. “Nothing, but we’re getting out of here today.”
“What happened to waiting?” Jamie’s brow rises.
“No, I’m bored. We’ll escape, you’ll call your people and we’ll be safe.” I state and let out a long breath, my cheeks puffing out as I do. Nale brushes past Jac and wraps his arms around me; he knows I’m freaking out about something but also knows better than to ask.
I take a bite out of my apple and chew. “Alright.” I say around it. “Let’s go!” I toss Nale my other apple and swallow the piece I’m eating. “Keep hold of that for me.”
“Yes ma’am.” He chuckles. As soon as I step over the threshold I almost bump into another soldier; I crack him across the temple with the butt of the pistol and he drops like a sack of bricks.
“Dibs.” Jamie grins and takes the fallen soldiers rifle. Jac and Nale lock him and the other guy in our room and we race down the corridors towards the exit. It’s not long before the alarms are going; a red light on each corridor flashes and every now and again we cross a single or small group of soldiers-by the time we’re near the exit we all have a weapon or two each and it looks like we’re home free when Duke skids in front of us from another corridor; with him are about a dozen soldiers and behind us another bunch are catching up.
“Marshall, what do we do?” Jac asks, pressing her back against mine. “We’re surrounded.”
“You three take care on the guys behind us.” I snarl, tossing my finished apple aside. Just looking at Duke is making my blood boil; I hand Nale the pistol. “I’ve got Duke and the others.”
“Without a weapon?” Jamie hisses. “Are you crazy?”
“No.” I grin, my vision already beginning to blur. “Just a bit Wild!”
“Not a good idea.” The younger boy narrowed his eyes at him. “Trust me on it.”
Jamie took one last look at Marshall as she drew a fallen soldier’s side arm and blew a hole in the forehead of another; her movements were swift, her attacks precise and her eyes…
Terrifying.
They were filled with hate and blood lust, and the way her hair fell over her eyes only seemed to add to the wild animal effect. He swung his rifle around, no longer being able to watch, and assisted Jac and Nale; the corridors were narrow, the soldiers weren’t wearing helmets-the fools-and despite the soldiers ducking into rooms to avoid a hail of bullets the three of them had enough training and skill to take head shots with ease. Behind them Marshall let out an anguished wail that made Nale glance back to check on her; the soldiers were keeping themselves between her and Duke and she so badly wanted revenge. Nale tossed the empty pistols aside as Jac and Jamie finished the last of the soldiers off-somehow without even a scratch on them-and turned to help Marshall; he stopped in his tracks, eyes wide as Marshall ruthlessly snapped the neck of the last soldier and set her sights on Duke, running a finger along a fading scar across her chest with a low, vicious growl.
“What…what’s wrong with her?” Jac gasped.
“She…she’s Wild…” Nale slowly shook his head. “No-this is beyond Wild…”
“What do you mean Wild?” Jamie snapped.
Nale couldn’t answer him, his eyes were fixed on Marshall and Duke; their battle seemed like a real cat and dog fight, they were tackling each other, scratching and biting-Duke had Marshall with his arm wrapped tightly around her neck but she managed to use all of her strength to pull his arm away and sink her teeth into the flesh; Duke howled and bit down at the top of Marshall’s shoulder and in retaliation she bent the fingers back on the hand of the arm she had bitten. Duke howled again and Marshall twisted to elbow him in the side of the snout, tackling him to the floor and slamming his head repeatedly into the tile.
Nale saw his chance. “Jamie, grab her!” He rushed forward and Jamie followed; grabbing an arm each and pulling the out of control Hybrid away.
“Is he dead?” Jamie stared down at Duke as he struggled to keep hold of a thrashing Marshall; Jac checked Duke’s pulse.
“No, just unconscious.” She looked back up to Marshall. “What do we do with her?”
“Give me a second.” Nale gripped Marshall’s wrist firmly and stood in front of her, she still wriggled and tried to pull her wrist free but he just tightened his hold; he swallowed and placed his hand on the back of her neck, he knew only Edge could calm her but the young feline had seen him do it enough times to try it himself. “Marshall…Marsh!” He snapped and her ears flicked. “It’s me Marshall…listen to me-you need to calm down, we can escape now!” She thrashed once more, but it was a feeble attempt, and her breathing steadied.
“God, Nale…” She gasped, leaning her forehead against his chest. “What have I done?”
