Chapter 38
Kanine's P.O.V.
I gasped, inhaling so much ash and smoke. Something heavy was pressed against my back. My lungs were burning and itching, and everything was hazy. What the hell did Helena do? I crawled out from under the piece of roof that had collapsed on me, trying to stretch my wings out.
I realized the restraints had broken off and lay in pieces a few feet away under a couple layers of ash. What remained of the old apartment was being consumed in flames, sending thick columns of black smoke into the air.
"Helena!" I tried to growl but it came out in coughs. I was going to destroy her! I glanced around; the smoke was too thick to see anything. I took a few steps forward only to trip over something and land in a heap of ash.
I crawled forward, going through a coughing fit. In the distance, I heard yelling. I flicked my claws out, unaware what might be ahead. I stumbled through the rubble and ashes, making the attempt to growl but it just irritated my throat more. I hobbled through the smoke and almost right into a fireman. A fireman, a real human.
I quickly pulled my wings in so close they were practically invisible to him and pulled in my claws, trying to seem as normal as a girl who was created in a lab and was just in an explosion can possibly be. Kale and Lynx stared over at me and Moretta spared a glance before turning back to the fireman and trying to pull his attention back to her.
"I'm sorry, sir. We were exploring the abandoned building when smoke suddenly started filling the room. I swear, we don't know what happened." Moretta said, sounding scared and panicked almost. The fireman just continued staring as if studying us.
"Please, you gotta believe us. We were just fooling around." Moretta pleaded. "As you see, my friend's blind. She didn't know who was grabbing her. I'm sure she didn't mean to kick you." I couldn't help snicker but quickly turned it into a cough. Helena heard me cough and glared at me. I would have to turn her to ribbons some other time.
"Alright, I'm just going to call the paramedics over to check you out. Stay right here" he said, turning towards some blinking red lights through the smoke.
"Come on!" Moretta hissed, grabbing Lynx's hand and running in the opposite direction. Kale picked up Helena and followed. I shook off my confusion and haziness and ran after them and onto the street.
I took a glance back, staring at the smoke and rubble that used to be the old apartment that I was held prisoner in. I had nowhere else to go, leaving me with the rouges to help me save Slash. No matter how much they put me on edge.
I followed them into an alley where they stopped to take a breath.
"What the hell happened back there?!" Moretta asked, glaring daggers at all of us except Lynx. Her blonde hair was nearly black from the soot and her face was smothered in it. All of theirs were actually.
"Why don't you ask the blind one?" I coughed, shaking out my wings to rid them of ash. Kale gave me a glare which I replied with a weak snarl.
"I-I don't know," she mumbled, her eyes casted downward.
"I don't know," I mocked. "Yeah, hell you don't know! You almost killed me! I've been there once, I'm sure a second time wouldn't be any more pleasant!" I growled.
"Just shut up!" Kale snapped at me. I threw him a glare, flicking my claws out but only to intimidate. I wasn't looking to fight him.
"Oooh, lover boy's standing up for his girlfriend again. By how pissed she was, I'm guessing I was right; she doesn't give a damn about anyone but herself." I smirked. Kale was about to lunge when Moretta tore in between us.
"Both of you SHUT UP!" she gritted her teeth. "Can you not see what situation we're in?!" Kale took a step back, closer to Helena.
"Alright, come on. We need to find a place to wash up." Moretta said, but just as she was about to turn, a shot rang out and something went flying right past her head. We all turned, facing a large man wearing a lot of black and holding up a very mysterious gun.
He shot again but we moved out of the way. Lynx faded to invisibility and Kale's shield began to spread over his body as he stood protectively in front of Helena.
Moretta had jumped up on a fire escape, her claws flicked out, hissing like a cat. She pounced at him but he was able to move aside. He fired another shot at Moretta but Kale jumped in between, reflecting the bullet.
The man turned and pointed the gun at Helena but before he could shoot, I tackled him, my claws digging through three layers of protection on his back. I growled, pushing him to the ground.
Suddenly, an all too familiar shock was sent coursing through my body, knocking me off him. I glared up, looking right at a powered Taser, electric sparks dancing on the tips. He was from Alcatraz!
I scrambled back just as Kale kicked him upside the head, sending him face first into the brick wall. The Taser fell to the ground a few feet away from me and I jumped back from it like it would swallow me up. So many, too many, bad memories came from those devil wielded devices.
I watched as the wobbly Scientist tried to get back up. His nose was gushing blood where it connected with the wall, the skin around it already beginning to bruise purple. He was weak and most likely disoriented; I could probably take him out right now; just rip up the rest of his broken face, but Kale stepped in, taking the guy’s head and giving it a jerk to the side.
A loud crack made me wince as Kale dropped the limp body to the ground. I stared, gawking, at the lifeless body that now littered the alley.
"Run! We need to get out of here!" Moretta growled. We ran from the alley and were half way down the street when Helena tripped over some garbage cans. That was maybe the first time I had ever seen her loose her balance or bump into something.
Out in the open, she was somewhat of a normal blind person, but it only made me feel a pang of… concern? Kale ran back and helped her up; carrying her down the street where we found another abandoned apartment building. We busted down the doors and ran in, trying to take a breather and sort out what the hell just happened.
"What the hell was that?" Helena gasped, trying to catch her breath as Kale placed her down.
"A bloody, freakin Scientist," I growled, the smell of antiseptic and blood rushing to me; the familiarness of the Taser and the pain of the bracelet. The unforgiving, ever-changing injections. I shuddered, reliving the terrible memories.
"No it wasn't," Moretta said, "The Scientists only work on the experiments, never track them. That guy was a Hunter and if there was one of them, there are bound to be more."
"A what?"
"Hunters are the group of people that work for the Scientists. When an experiment escapes, they send out a team of them to both hunt them down and bring them back or kill them on sight."
"Great, so not only do we not have a place to say, we have a group of Hunters after us." Kale sighed.
“So why’d you have to kill him?” Lynx asked, looking up at Kale.
“If we didn’t he would’ve went back and reported our status and location. That’s the last thing we need right now.” Moretta said, trying to brush off some of the soot from his face.
He stubbornly swatted her hand away and walked over to a dusty and torn, old couch, leaning back on it. I jumped up on the back of the chair and sat down cross-legged, studying this little pack of rouges now that they were all out in one place.
Moretta: Strong and superior, takes charge and they don’t second guess her. She cares for them, especially Lynx as if he was her younger brother. She’s the plan maker and always seems to keep cool even in the toughest times. She’ll do anything to protect her “family” and always seems to be there for them. From the looks of it, she has the DNA of a cat, or several species of cats, with the retractable claws, pointed ears on the top of her head, and golden cat-like eyes.
Kale: Serious and hard as rock. It’s hard to get through to him and even harder to read what he’s feeling, although his love for Helena is as bright as day. He won’t take crap from anyone, specifically me. In fact, from what I’ve seen, it looks like it would take no energy at all to finish me off. It would be like snapping a tooth pick to him. What I still can’t tell about him, is he can have anything he ever wanted yet he chooses to stay here and take orders from Moretta. An odd metallic shield spreads over his body when he commands and can burn you with nothing more than a touch.
Helena: Odd blind chick she is. She’s strong, independent, and thinks she can do everything herself without anybody’s help. Her likes for Kale couldn’t be any more obvious. If Moretta can’t see it, then I’m wondering if Helena’s really the blind one. Her power confuses me. It’s far too powerful to simply be electricity and it’s certainly not fire. Does she even know what it is? She’s practically a ticking bomb just waiting to go off. All you need is to trigger it.
Lynx: He’s probably the closest to normal here. He doesn’t seem to completely understand what he is or what he was created to be which I guess is more of a good thing. It’s just more pain understanding the dark things you were created to do. I’m not even sure the whole reason for my creation. Like he said only a few nights ago; he has shark and chameleon DNA; allowing him to have the ability to blend in with his surroundings, breathe under water, and have razor sharp shark-like teeth. Even though he’s eleven; he could probably find a way to kill me just as easily as Moretta, Kale, or Helena can.
“Yo, Kanine!” Moretta yelled, snapping me from my thoughts.
“There’s a McDonald’s a few blocks down. We can wash up and eat there, at the same time test you to see if we can really trust you or not.” She said, her voice sly and serious, her glare stern.
“What am I going to do with these?” I asked plainly, spreading out my wings. She sighed; obviously she hadn’t thought that out.
“I’m sure there’s a clothing store somewhere we can get some new clothes. I'm sure we can find a jacket large enough to hide those, and besides, wearing these ones will just attract too much unneeded attention.” She said, grabbing Lynx and following after Kale and Helena who were half way out the door, Kale trying to help guide Helena who looked somewhat unbalanced and unstable.
I let out a quiet growl; I didn’t have time for this, I needed to go save Slash. If they had the Hunters after us, they must know I’m alive; which makes me worry more about what they could be doing to him.