Episode Six

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
COPYRIGHT MS LEWIS 2020
NO COPYING IS PERMITTED

“I hear something.” Vixen ducked low, pulling Seth down beside her.

Topaz rolled her eyes and kept moving, heading toward what they hoped was the center of this place. Toward Jack. She’d had all she could take of her two companions slowing her down. She’d seen corpses move faster!

Vixen snatched her by the edge of her jacket as she passed, and yanked her down into cover. “I said I heard something!” She held up a hand for silence, all but perking her ears.

“They already know where we’re going,” Topaz said. “Our only option is to get there first.”

“That’s a really good point, actually,” Seth said.

“What do you mean, actually?” Topaz speared him with her eyes. “Like you’re surprised I could make a good point?”

Vixen sent Seth an angry look and he just shook his head and shrugged.

“We are vampires,” Topaz said. “We can move faster than their eyes can even see. But we can’t get to Jack before them if we cower in the bushes every time a squirrel farts.”

Seth snort-laughed, then clapped a hand over his mouth. Vixen wither-gazed him into silence, then returned her attention to Topaz.. “I just want us all to get out of here alive.

“And I just want to make sure Jack still is alive.” Her voice broke a little, but she cleared her throat to cover it.

“I know. I know, just…” Vixen sent Seth a helpless look. He shrugged and shook his head. Then she said, “Okay, here’s an idea. I’ll fox-out and run ahead. I can probably even get inside whatever kind of structure is there.”

“Right,” Seth said, “‘Cause they’re not gonna notice a fox running around their bad guy lair.”

“Even if they did notice, they wouldn’t know it was a vampire shifter,” she argued. “They don’t even know such things exist.”

“You’re too smart to be sure of that,” Topaz said.

“Fine, fine, then I won’t go inside. I’ll figure out a safe way to locate Jack from outside. Just to make sure he’s okay. And also, you know, for recon.”

“If you wanna shift, shift,” Seth said. “But we stay together.” He got up to his feet and dart hit him in the neck.

Vixen’s eyes widened and she reached for him as he dropped to his knees. He shook his head and said, “Run.”

Topaz took off at his word, but Vixen didn’t move.

“Go,” Seth whispered, then he fell face-first on the ground.

Topaz stopped running, focused on the human who came running out of the woods toward Seth, as Vixen backed into a copse of brush, out of sight. The DPI man was dressed all in black, with a tranquilizer rifle, backpack and helmet. She couldn't feel his thoughts at all, and recalled Vixen saying the new DPI riot gear might block telepathy.

He knelt beside Seth, slid his rifle over his shoulder to free up his hands, and then took off his helmet. Topaz instantly felt his thoughts racing through his mind. Excitement made his heart pound, pride surged. He'd won the competition! But underneath all that, there was an underlying trill of fear. And that made him dangerous.

She could reach him without the headgear and its built-in telepathy-blocking tech, though.

Did you hear? She thought, sending her vampiric will through the ethers to the man. It was mesmerizing and irresistible. There’s a ten-k bonus if you bring one in alive. Double if he’s unharmed. You don’t want to mess up a hair on this guy’s head.

Vixen heard her. Topaz knew she did, saw the way she looked around from within the bushes where she cowered. Topaz stayed hidden behind a large cypress tree. She didn’t want to be found. She needed to get to Jack without anyone slowing her down. But she couldn’t leave until she made sure her two friends would be okay.

Vixen retreated deeper into the thicket. Soon there was thrashing and shaking of the bushes around her, and Topaz held her breath, waiting for the DPI goon to notice. But he was young and very excited about the trophy he’d brought down.

“Easy, vampire” he said to Seth, who was unconscious. “Tell you what, you don’t give me any trouble and I’m not gonna hurt a hair on your head, all right, buddy?”

The bushes shook harder. Vixen had told her that it felt like her muscles were tearing themselves from her bones when she shifted. Then abruptly, the shaking stopped. A big red fox with the lushest tail any fox ever had slunk soundlessly through the underbrush, keeping to the shadowy side of every rock and tree, moving up near the men on the ground unnoticed. The man rolled Seth onto his face then zip-tied his hands behind him.

Topaz wondered if there was some new zip tie tech that a vampire couldn’t snap like an old rubber band and doubted it. The kid was just inexperienced. He didn’t even bother binding Seth’s ankles. Maybe he thought the tranq was that good. And you know, it was, unless the vampire had access to warm, living, human blood. Blood healed everything.

The newbie—he had to be a newbie—hefted Seth up over one shoulder. Dumb, dumb, dumb. He walked away and Vixen scurried after him. Topaz gave a quick look at the stars to be sure she knew her direction, then poured on vampiric speed to run past them at a distance of fifteen yards. She must’ve felt to them like an errant breeze. A downdraft. A phantom whirlwind. Leaves blew off trees in her wake and she was gone.

Barrier! Vixen screamed directly into her mind so loud she skidded to a stop and pressed her hands to her ears.

Jeeze, Vix, you trying to give me a brain hemorrhage or what?

What if there’s a barrier like around the outside, and you run right into it and it knocks you out cold and those assholes know right where you are and come and get you? Because you know they’re monitoring the perimeter. They’re scared to death of us. So just slow. The. Fuck. Down.

Okay, okay. Topaz stopped and took a look around. Anyway, I think I’m there.

There was an oddness to the bayou ahead of her. Something was off about it. She stared, then walked a few steps left, then a few right, and slowly she realized there was a dome amid the trees and bushes in front of her. Its outer shell had been painted to ingeniously mimic the foliage that surrounded it. No, not painted. It was a projection, like an iMax movie being shown on the dome. Its panels were digital displays, seamlessly blended into one living image. It was absolutely brilliant. The leaves actually swayed and birds flew around. The images grew smaller as they climbed higher, to compensate for the dome’s curve, and the upper parts were sky so perfect she could barely tell where the real sky ended and the fake one began. A mortal wouldn’t be able to tell at all.

She moved as close as she dared, then began to walk the perimeter. As she moved, she kicked a twig toward the dome, just out of curiosity. It hit an invisible wall and sprayed blue sparks in the night. So she knew where the barrier was. It surrounded the dome about 4 feet out from the structure itself.

She followed the curve of the building, moving quickly in case anyone came out to investigate her little light show. She tried to keep about 6 feet out for safety. Even that near, it was hard to distinguish the reality from the illusion. You could find the seams between the dome’s panels, though they were cleverly concealed by vines and strategically placed moss. She could still pick them out.

She circled the whole thing but didn’t see a window or door anywhere.

He just told someone by radio that he was five minutes out, Vixen told her.

They’ll have to lower the barrier to let him in. She didn’t mean to think it loud out loud.

Vixen said, We can’t let him take Seth inside.

Topaz spotted her then. She was peering out from behind a cypress tree, back in human form. Her hair was a mess, and her clothes had been put on in a hurry. Seth, can you hear me at all? She thought at him.

Topaz felt a stirring of energy as Seth tried to answer. No words. It was more like a mental moan.

Vixen told him, Seth, when I tell you, I want you to sink your teeth into that asshole who’s carrying you. Do you understand? Just as soon as the barrier’s down…

Then Seth's captor came through the trees. Topaz darted from cover to cover in tiny, well controlled bursts of speed. Zip to the stump. Zip to the Cypress trunk. Zip to the rotting log. Zip to the thick bunch of reeds. She was so close she could have reached out and touched him. She could have touched the barrier, too. He stood right in front of it, and she noted a flat stone in the dirt that apparently marked the spot.

What are you doing? Vixen asked.

Just focus on telling Seth when to sink his fangs into that plump little tidbit. As soon as the barrier’s down.

But…

My man’s in there.

Yeah. Okay. I get it.

The rookie spoke into his wristband, which, Topaz observed, had a tiny red light on it. He said two words as if they were one. "Bloodgame." The red light turned green.

Now! Vixed shouted mentally. Bite him, Seth! Bite that fucker now!

Seth’s head moved while the rest of his body stayed limp over the guy’s shoulder. He bit right above the ass, and the guy shrieked in pure unbridled terror, spinning in a circle and flipping Seth off him onto the ground but Seth’s teeth were sunken in, and he did not let go. The guy was punching at him, but it looked like Seth had hit a minor artery, because his eyes were open and glowing red as the bloodlust took over, and the guy was weakening.

“They’re in the danger zone!” Topaz realized and shouted it at the same time. The fallen man lay right across the flat stone.

“You in yet, Samson?” A crackling voice asked, coming from the wristwatch. Then with alarm, “Samson!” And then, “Activating barrier.”

Vixen bolted out of hiding, grabbed Seth and yanked him toward the bayou. Topaz dove over the barrier, landed in a somorsault and reached back to clasp the DPI trainee’s hand. She pulled him, and Vixen pulled Seth in the opposite direction. The barrier crackled back to life and they both went flying backward as resistance gave way. Topaz was on her ass on the ground, blinking, still holding the guy's hand, which was attached to the upper upper half of his body. He’d been severed across the middle.

She let go, skittering backward and wiping her hand on her jeans, unsure whether she said “OhGodOhGodOhGod” out loud or in her head.

Her back hit shrubbery, and she stopped moving, dragged her eyes off the poor guy’s upper half, and turned to look at the building behind her. A geodesic dome made of polished black triangles. The projection wasn’t on them. It was outside them. Like a halo.

One of the panels opened, sliding sideways into itself, and a man in an ordinary gray suit looked out and spotted the bi-sected body. “Shit,” he said, shaking his head. Then to his wrist, "send a crew out to pick up what’s left of Samson. And put everyone on alert. His prisoner is on the loose."

He walked away. The triangle remained open. Topaz took a deep breath and throwing caution to the wind, she sprinted inside, ducked behind the first item she saw, which was a cart loaded with what looked like tactical gear, just as two men in olive drab scrubs jogged past her out the door. One of them carried a litter, the other a body bag.

Topaz heard their voices, shocked murmurs, low whispers. She felt their emotions, they were grossed out and shocked and terror stricken.

She looked around her while they were outside. She was in a curving corridor that followed the outer edge of the circle. It had narrow, arched tunnels leading inward off it. She ducked into one of the tunnels and moved inward toward the hub of the place.

The end opened into space. Twenty feet down there was a round stone floor with a manmade pool in its center. Alligators basked along the smooth concrete edges, sliding slick into the dark water when the mood struck them. A barred cage, like a shark cage, hung over that deadly pool. It was below her, turning slowly a little bit one way, then a little bit the other. She could see the top of Jack’s head. His clothes were dirty, his arms and legs bruised and crisscrossed with scars that should not be there. A vampire’s body regenerated during the day sleep. Wounds healed. Unless he was too far gone.

He wasn’t moving.

She almost shouted his name, but then she felt him, gentle in her mind, weak, but alive. God, Topaz, you shouldn’t be here.

He was alive!

She looked up again, and all around the room, seeking every vantage point. She saw no cameras, no guards, no one watching. There were chains running from the top of Jack’s cage, up through a pulley, then sideways to the wall across from her, and downward to the floor, where they connected to a series of levers. There were multiple passages like the ones she was in, across from her, all around the sides of this place, and on multiple levels all the way down to the lowest.

Turning, she went back through the tunnel-like passage to the curving hall. It was like a concert venue, except no seats. She passed several more tunnels and never encountering anyone at all. There must not be very many people there. She entered the tunnel that would come out nearest the chains, seeing as well in its darkness as she did in daylight. It was arched on top, smooth concrete, plain gray, end to end. She moved slowly, feeling her way, expecting an ambush with every step.

How the hell are you talking to me? I thought this place blocked signals.

The walls block anything from getting in or out. If we’re both inside, we’re good.

What’s your condition?

I possess the strength of your average kitten.

A feisty kitten, I hope?

A sleepy kitten, I’m afraid. You?

Running on anger She reached the end of the tunnel and she could see him through the front of his cage. His back was pressed into a corner, one knee bent, the other leg extended a little more. His clothes were filthy and ragged. His skin was marred with the remnants of wounds.

Don’t look so horrified, babe. It’s not as bad as it looks.

His cheeks were hollow, his skin, shockingly white, even for a vampire. His eyes didn’t shine they way they usually did when they met hers.

I’m going get you out of there, and then I’m going to kill someone for this.

They’re expecting you to try. You can’t come for me, Topaz. They’re waiting for that. Who’s with you?

_Reaper and Briar are in the freaking bayou from hell covering our backs. Seth and Vixen are just outside. I’m the only one who got in. There’s an invisible barrier around the building. Electric. Same thing around this entire swamp. It’s a big circle and you’re in the center."

"Yeah, it’s some kind of sick training game. I’m the bait. You should leave me here, let them all focus on your rescue attempt while you go the opposite direction, straight out to the edge of this thing and figure a way out. It’s your best chance."

While he rambled on as if he could actually talk her into leaving him, she was checking out the chains, where they met the wall about ten feet to her left, smack in between two of the arching tunnel openings. The one she was standing in, and the next one.

She leaned out, judging the distance to the chain. It wasn’t very far. So she backed up to the far edge of the opening, did a one-step push-off, and ignored Jack’s horrified objections ringing in her brain as she grabbed hold of the big chain with both hands. It was more slippery than she’d expected, and she slid down a couple of links before adjusting her grip. Then she wrapped her leg around the chain. She pulled with her hands and pushed with that foot. It wasn’t hard, just awkward. And dangerous, since it was a freakin’ long way down.

You're going to get yourself killed! Jack was shouting in her head.

Stop your bitching and keep watch. Let me know if anyone is coming.

I am so mad at you for this.

Yeah, I’m kind of mad at myself for this. I don’t want to fall into your gator pit. Seriously, I’ve already killed one alligator this trip, so…


She was nearing the top, and had to change from climbing upward to climbing horizontally, over the concrete floor and gator-infested blackwater pool below. She had to jump a little, and she wrapped one leg and both arms around the crossways chain. It sagged lower with her weight and began to swing dangerously. She stopped moving, just held on and waited for it to stop. And when it did, she started inching her way out, away from the side walls, toward the center.

Two men in white coats emerged from one of the hallways onto the lowest level of the pit. One was old, one very young. The old one read something from the screen of the tablet he carried, then looked up. “Recruit Samson was killed right at the barrier, and the vampire he captured escaped.”

“Outside the barrier, I hope!”

The older one nodded. “Of course outside. The bulletin would say so, otherwise.” But he didn’t look convinced.

“Well, that’s one less for Powers to beat,” said the younger guy. “Who’d you take in the pool? Your money’s on Rodriguez, isn’t it?”

“My money’s on the vampires,” the old man said. “I’ve been around long enough to know this isn’t going to end well.” He looked up at Jack, whose cage dangled above and tapped his screen.

Topaz stayed perfectly still, willing herself to blend into the shadows. There was a whirring sound below, though, from Jack’s cage. The device affixed to the side like a hamster’s water bottle slowly began to fill with what looked like pink-tinted water. If they could feel her fury they would melt, she thought.

Steady, my love.

Do not drink that shit. I can smell the tranquilizer from here. I’ve got something way better.

I have to pretend to drink, or the little shit with the acne gets the cattle prod with the really long handle. He leaned forward until he could reach the straw that emerged from the thing. He pretended to drink.

The two watched for a moment then, nodding, walked back into the dark passageway from which they’d come.

Jack leaned down and spat the liquid into the gator pool below. Then he sucked the rest out and spat that as well.

Topaz continued her perilous climb across space until she reached the center pulley, then had to transition again, to a downward climb this time. Jack’s cage was right below her, hanging from a ring in the top center. The chain ended with a large hook that held that ring.

She leaned forward, gripping the downward chain with one hand, then the other. She had one leg around the upper chain, behind her, and managed to hook her other leg out around the lower chain. Now all she had to do was pull her leg off the upper chain, shifting all her weight onto the lower one and—shoot! She slid down the chain, practically peeling all the skin from her hands on the way, and then she hit the top of the cage, and the whole thing dropped.

Jack wrapped his arms around her waist through the bars as the cage plummeted about ten feet and stopped so suddenly she damn near bounced right off the cage into the gator poor below. Except that Jack had hold of her. Weak as he was, he didn’t let go.

The cage dangled, swinging dangerously. Topaz she pressed her face to the cage, and they kissed between the bars.