Shift

Chapter 12

"Marshall is adamant that you can shift into one of those beasts now that you've been bitten." William turned back toward me. "I'm not so quick to agree. I tested your blood, and I found no evidence that backs up his theory. You seem to be exactly as you were the day that you left this compound. However, I do have a plan to test that theory. It was a procedure done long ago. This may hurt just a bit, my dear."

Metal glinted in his hand as he swung his arm toward me. The scalpel sliced deep into my arm, slicing down the length. He waited for a moment, watching as my blood rushed from the wound. He moved down to my legs, slashing at my left calf. A scream escaped me as the blade sank bone-deep. My jaw ached; the pain almost worse than the cuts I was receiving.

"I'm not finding any fur." He glared at me. "Tell me, Sang, where do you hide your beast?"

The tip of his blade came to a rest on my chest. I wasn't sure whether he intended to kill me or to cause me as much pain as possible. He pressed down slowly, my skin parting like butter. A growl escaped me. He froze, a maniacal smile spread across his face.

"There's the beast." He whispered, pulling the blade away. "Let's have a look." He gripped my jaw, forcing my mouth open. "You have the teeth of a beast."

William reached a finger out to touch one of my teeth, I acted before I thought it through. My teeth clamped down on his fingers and my mouth filled with his blood. He screamed; ripping his hand away from my mouth. His hand came back with two fewer fingers. I spit the appendages out with as much of his blood as I could. The taste was foul.

Tears streamed down his face as blood poured from his hand. His scream stopped abruptly as he lunged for the scalpel. He didn't get very far, because the door burst open behind him. Standing in the doorway stood Jay and behind him was the masked man that I had seen at the mall. Jay sprinted for me as the masked man wrenched the scalpel from Crazy Pants. Jay looked at me and flinched, his face screwing up with disgust.

"You bit his fingers off?"

Like that was what I wanted to talk about. "What gave it away? The fingers on the floor or the blood on my face? Get me out of here!"

Jay grimaced and released me from the cuffs. "We need to go," he helped get off the table. I was woozy from the blood loss.

Jay wrapped his arm around my waist. I slumped into him. He gave an irritated sigh before swinging me up into his arms and darting out of the room. On the floor were slumped forms. Had they taken out all these people? I glanced behind us to see the masked man. I stared at the man for a moment. From behind his mask, a green eye winked at me.

"Where is Mr. Blackbourne?" I asked.

Jay grunted. "He and those guys are quite elusive. I couldn't get a moment to speak with him. So, we're here instead."

Jay ran until we were somewhere in the woods behind the compound. He set me on my feet, and I stumbled. "We have to go our separate ways from here. Continue North, help should be waiting. If you're smart, you won't go back to the school."

The masked man waited off to the side, Jay joined him, and they disappeared into the trees. A blaring sound came from the compound, so I started running. Every step with my left leg was pure agony. I had to push the pain away and somehow find the strength to run. There was no way that I was going to go back there.

There was no way for me to tell how far I had gone. I couldn't hear the siren anymore. I'd been stumbling through the woods long enough for the sun to set. A shiver ran through me. My arm no longer ached, and my leg felt numb. A howl cut through the otherwise silent woods. My heart leaped into my throat as I headed straight for the sound.