Howl [FIRST CHAPTER PREVIEW]

Chapter One - Free

The bastards.

"Subject K." A woman's voice suddenly rang through the room, and he schooled his expression into calm neutrality once more even as his mood darkened further. It was an unspoken command that made him want to gnash his teeth together like an angry animal. But he complied and rose to his feet, rolling his shoulders to ease his stiff muscles. With deliberate slowness he shook out his muscles, rolled his neck and flexed his fingers before he faced the wall, placing his hands spread far apart on the cool white stone. A moment later heard the tell-tale signs of heavy locks moving out of place behind him.

It was a routine he knew far too well by now. After too many incidents, they had set up a protocol for taking him out of his fancy little cell. And if he did not cooperate, as he felt so prone not to, the collar around his neck would send a steady shock through his system until he did.

He was strong and fast. He knew he could very easily break his bed frame in half and use it as a pry to get the door open. And he knew he could just as easily outrun them as well. If not for the unknown layout of the hallways, and unknown number of opponents in his path, he would have tried a long time ago. But it would be a dangerous gamble to make, even for someone like him. For now, all he could do was comply. Obey.

It was the same every day, with the same orders. Rise approach the wall furthest from the door and wait for... the leash.

Fuck, it was degrading.

Two small clicks of a lock, and the slight squeak of metal hinges later, he heard the familiar sound of footsteps behind him and the click of a button. He could distinctly hear the rapid heartbeat of the male behind him, and the tiny sigh of relief as the cord came over his head. As if the wire was as good as sedating him and assuring safety – which, unfortunately, with the amount of voltage it could put out it could.

But something was off. Right away he noticed the missing sets of footsteps that should have come in with the first. After so many days, years, trapped here there was a definite routine to what they did. Normally three guards were assigned to him, one to hold the leash and the other two to keep their guns focused on him always. And yet the most crucial part of the operation was missing. The extra guns. The true manpower.

The cord came around his neck and tightened just over his Adam's apple and above the thin but strong metal collar around his neck used to deliver shocks to his body via remote.

The leash was much like what a dog catcher might use but altered for him in specific. The simple coil around the end was far more like a hangman's noose in thickness, with the deadly twist of offering him an extra controlled zap should he try to resist it. It was a sharp jolt that nearly hurt as much as the collar on the highest setting. The pole was made of steel, but he was certain he could break it if given the right leverage. But he was not sure he could break it before he was zapped with enough electricity to fry his balls off.

And he would prefer to avoid that possibility.

"A-All right now, you come with me calmly, ya hear?"

If he had the ability, his ears might have physically perked up like dogs at the tremor of fear in the mans' voice. It was a different voice from whom he was used to ordering him about. It lacked any sort of authority, confidence, or familiarity to danger.

Curious, that they would assign someone different rather than the normal forty-something-year-old guard that was routinely given the task. They had not ever given a different guard the duty before, preferring someone who knew his patterns since day one of his containment. This man could not have been more than thirty from the sounds of it, and a definite stranger to the situation he was in.