Dominance

Chapter 3: Frantic And Fearful

Sara's heart thumped loudly in her chest as she watched the panic of her other classmates. A group of them were trying to compose themselves by the rear of the large vehicle while Ms Endecott tried her best to keep them together. Another group had bolted along the fenceline despite not being able to actually touch it. 'Danger. High voltage signs" posted regularly along the thick electrified wiring. Efforts to open the keypad-locked gate appeared to be futile. 

Is this Triassic Park? What are they trying to keep secured in here?

Sara was the last to jump down from the bus steps, leaving behind the semi-conscious Mr Shale and the unconscious bus driver where they slumped. And now she felt sick. Her eyes could not tear away fast enough from a bloody corpse before her that was once a person. A person that was helping kidnap a bunch of terrified teenagers, but a person all the same. The uniformed guard's shoulder had been shredded and he lay marinating in a pool of his own blood. His body was crumpled awkwardly and his eyes were vacant. Surely no one deserved to go out that way.

"He's dead," Sara said out loud.

Ashlee said nothing but glanced palely at her horrified friend.

Clyde said nothing either. Sara watched as he frisked the man over, but there was nothing on his person he was interested in looting.

Laying close by, another guard with deep gashes to his face stirred. Clyde unsuccessfully checked that man too, before roughly picking him up by the collar. He was obviously dazed and not in any position to retaliate.

"If you open the gate, I might reconsider killing you", Clyde threatened dryly.

Ashlee was silent, but Sara let out a frightened squeak at Clyde's very serious tone.

He wouldn't really kill that man? Would he? Sara gulped at her thoughts.

The guard struggled to keep his eyes open with the amount of blood soaking into them. Sara had to look away, horrified, as Clyde pressed his thumb into his open facial wound. The man winced and hissed in pain.

"You can't open the gate from here", he gurgled in a strained voice. "Only the control room".

The guard cried out as Clyde spitefully kicked him back to the ground. Obviously, that was not the response Clyde had hoped for.

Sara, Ashlee and Clyde headed in the opposite direction, ducking out of sight of a group of guards who were orientating over to help catch students flocking by the fence. Huddling together, the three of them slunk behind one of the buildings to move to a far less active part of the compound.
As they did, they encountered a group of men who started screaming like little girls. They ran into view as something herded them like a vicious, bloodthirsty Border Collie. Except this was no dog. It was unique in appearance, oddly having both canine and feline features, like a long-legged, less graceful cougar. One man squealed when a short, bloodied muzzle and a set of carnivorous teeth tightly gripped the back of his shirt. He flung around a baton, attempting to beat it and shake it loose. Shards of glass shimmered on the sandy brown fur around its neck as it danced and dodged the retaliation. The creature used his body weight to throw the man around until the shirt ripped, freeing him.

"Stop screwing around", Clyde called out.

Sara sidestepped behind Clyde as the creature made a beeline for the group.

"Don't call it over here!" She shrieked.

Clyde ignored Sara and scanned the buildings around him. He grabbed Sara's arm firmly and quickly slunk out against the wall of another building. Ashlee was behind them, gripping Sara's shoulders as they went. Gunshots were fired from back in the direction of the entrance which was immediately accompanied by intensified yelling.