Dominance

Chapter 5: Who Turned Out The Lights?

Blood oozed from the beast's mouth, drizzling down its large jutted fangs and soaking into a thick, magnificent mane. The markings on its muscular legs were faded stripes, the same as on its long tail, which transitioned into a fluffy plume. It looked like something out of a fantasy novel, or a mythological fairytale. Like a monstrous hybrid between a lion, a dog, and something fierce and other-worldly like a dragon.

Sara slowly edged backward under the desk as far as she dared, trying to quieten her breathing as much as she possibly could.

A pair of bare feet and the fuzzy tip of a familiar tail appeared in her line of vision. Intense green eyes met Sara's hazel ones as Sparkie poked his head underneath the console. There were splatters of blood on his face and his clothes, but he did not appear wounded. His gaze beamed with urgency and without a word, he effortlessly pulled her out and back up onto her feet.

Sara begged for him to let her go, terrified she too would end up faceless like the mauled security guard, who was currently staining the laboratory floor a rich red. She desperately tried to tug away and flee. But Sparkie was holding her securely with both his hands. He stared at Sara with stern reassurance.

The creature was clearly already very aware of her presence. It had turned and was staring straight at her with uniquely piercing blue irises. Its glance remained fierce and fearless, as it licked blood off its maw. A pair of canines were elongated on the bottom jaw, as well as a set on the top. They stuck out like tusks on a boar.

Sara was a whimpering, shaking mess. But Sparkie remained calm. His hands gripped her shoulders tighter and forced her to look at him. Even with the dull light the pupils in his eyes looked wider than they should be. Weird. Moderately creepy.

"Stop panicking. It's just my brother."

Sara responded to his words with a blank stare.

"It's Twister." He added, slanting his head to the side.

"No, it's not!" Sara returned in high pitched terror.

"It is," he reassured her. He nodded across towards the tiny prisons that had confined them. Sara's cage door was still open, but the two cages next to hers were not. Instead, the bars on both blocks were broken, savagely warped, twisted and mangled into sharp angles.

"How did- What?!"

"Quit standing around." Twister's voice, deeper and more menacing- but Twister's all the same, rumbled from the beast's jaws. "Just leave her. Let's get out of here."

Sara flinched but Sparkie refused to let her go. Forcing her to run, he pushed her out a wedged open door, away from that horrible room, and then along with him down the excessive stretch of hallway. Sara mindlessly went along with the idea of fleeing, and just urged her feet to keep up with the big fluffy monster she and Sparkie were closely trailing.

They only made it part of the way before a ruckus from up ahead forced them to quickly duck into a sizeable, doorless storage room. The massive bulk of the 'supposedly' Twister dashed in directly behind Sara and Sparkie. He just barely squeezed between the shelving, knocking jars, vials, and other stock all over the place as he bumped into them. There was a bang of a gun and then the metallic ping as ammunition ricocheted off the metal racks.

The three of them hunkered and squeezed tightly together behind a large pallet of boxes. Twister had to crouch low to remain out of sight. His huge head leaned straight over Sara. She could feel the long, thick fur on his neck sticky with blood and a soft growl vibrating deep in his chest. His hair left little twinges and pops where it touched Sara's neck and face. And she could see little blue static crackles emitting from the strands. 

Beside her, Sparkie was curiously staring at the strange sizzles of blue too. But said nothing of it. Instead he whispered, "Stay really quiet, okay?"

Sara wasn't quite sure if he was talking to her or Twister, but she nodded as she awkwardly tried to untangle herself from underneath his mane and put some space between them.

In the dull light and crouched position, Sara could not see far but could hear cautious footsteps and clinking of gear from at least three or four armed men.

She looked desperately around the room for another door, a window, a back exit. But there was nothing.

Sara's heart gave a frightened lurch as Sparkie grabbed and positioned her hands over the top of Twister's back. With his ears flattened and posture also tensing, Twister did not look impressed either. His large eyes leered back at Sara and she felt lurch of anxiety as a growl blended in with his strong, steady breathing.

"Climb on and hold on really tight," he whispered softly.

Sara nodded warily as she felt Twister's muscles tensing further at Sara's fingertips digging into and clutching fistfuls of soft fur. The texture eased her trembling hands and he smelled odd. A unique mixture of old wood but also sweet, like the scent of crisp Autumn leaves mixed with vanilla, sharp hospital-grade chemicals, and the metallic linger of blood.

She felt the hum in her chest resurface again to match the buzz of her fingertips. It was like a charge of electricity. A current of pressure building up inside her.

Sparkie signalled at his brother to stay and slunk out behind another tower of boxes. He made his way down a different row of shelving, picking something off one of them and stuffing it down his shirt before disappearing out of Sara's line of sight.

The man closest to them rounded the corner, his gun angled, and posture poised. Sara cowered and hoped the heavy thumping of her heart was not as loud as it felt. And before he had a chance to pull his trigger, Twister charged him. His body crunched between Twister and the wall and then dropped lifelessly to the ground.

A few meters away there was a scuffle as Sparkie, who had intended to sneak up and catch them by surprise, wrestled with the two remaining men. Even with two against one, they appeared to be struggling. Sparkie held one firmly by his throat. The man rasped and flailed in his grip. The other was kicked down and his weapon slid away out of reach. He quickly recovered and tried to retrieve his gun.

Twister snarled and Sara clung on for dear life as he charged once again. One man was caught underfoot and trampled, while the other was knocked and thrown like a ragdoll and thrust against one of the shelving units. His head hit one of the heavy duty shelves with a loud clang and slumped still.

With all three men down for the count, Sara and the two brothers bolted out the open storage room doors and continued down the hallway.

As they approached the huge doors of the exit, another three armed men appeared and dashed to block the way. All of them raised their weapons as the escapees continued charging.

One of the security guards went pale as he realised the sheer size of the opponent which was Twister. He cursed, dropped his gun, and took off through the door and into the distance, leaving the two remaining guards momentarily with baffled expressions before they too followed suit. 
Sara thought they had been the wisest employees she'd encountered all afternoon.

As they neared the looming doors, Sara's grip tightened as she braced herself for impact. She was expecting to ram straight through the thick and heavily secured doors but instead a bright blue light engulfed them. She felt the buzz of energy as it glowed brighter. It sent tingles throughout her body. A light-headedness. A stifled gasp in her lungs was forced out through her teeth. And then all the light coalesced into energy and was thrust forward.

It hit the front of the building like a bullet train and exploded, totally demolishing the doors, blowing out the brickwork, and everything else directly in their path.

All three of them paused momentarily to gawk at the destruction. Sara's mouth was agape. Sparkie looked bewildered. Twister panted heavily. Still clung atop him, Sara could feel his body pulsating like crazy. She recognised the building with the generators now had plumes of smoke bellowing outwards its open doors and shutters. The crackle and odd boom of something exploding in the engulfing flames was audibly loud. Most staff were too distracted to even notice Twister's extraordinary break out along with him now stumbling through the rubble, down the road, and out the gate - which was conveniently already open.

Freedom.

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Chapter artwork by SgtRayFox
https://www.deviantart.com/sgtrayfox