Emily (21 page)

‘
Pup,’ she ordered the lab tech, ‘tell Varrick that I want to see him.’

‘
Woman,’ the lab tech responded briskly, ‘I’m busy.’

Cutting him off, Valeskia
’s tone was firm. ‘You know I’m a favourite, tell him I want to talk.’ Softening her voice Valeskia added, ‘He won’t be angry, I promise you. But he will be if he finds out that you didn’t deliver my message.’

The lab tech looked at Emily and checked her pulse. The anaesthetic had put her under again and she would not wake for another six hours. So far, her body didn
’t show any signs of stress with all the drugs that they had used on her. Looking back at Valeskia he decided to pass the message along to a supervisor. He would know what to do about this crazy woman.

* * *

Roy threw a bucket of water on Vladimir who had finally, after four hours of torture, fallen unconscious. ‘Very impressive,’ Roy said to Varrick. Even with all the different methods that they had used on Vladimir, he had not spoken once.

‘
Yes, he’s a good specimen.’ Varrick was pleased, he liked that his seed was so strong. It seemed a waste to have to kill him.

Eric had lasted three hours and was unconscious before Roy and Varrick focused on Vladimir. Varrick had liked seeing the pain in his son
’s eyes as he had tortured Eric.

‘
Will you mate him before you kill him?’ Roy asked.

‘
No, I will just harvest his sperm. I can’t imagine he would mate willingly. I will harvest this one’s too,’ Varrick added pointing to Eric. ‘His reflexes are incredible.’

‘
I prefer to keep my sperm to myself,’ Vladimir mumbled, coming to. His body was covered in blood and sweat.

There was a knock on the door and an old man in a white lab coat walked in and whispered something to Varrick. A look of displeasure came over his face.

‘How did she find out?’ he barked at the old man.

The man looked scared and Varrick paused before saying to Roy,
‘Enough for today. Get them back to their cells,’ then he stalked out of the room.

Eric was also coming round as Roy picked up a phone and ordered someone to come and take the men back to their cells. As soon as the guards arrived he walked out, cursing.

‘What’s going on?’ Eric murmured. His body had never hurt so badly in his life.

‘
I’m not sure but I think we have copped a break.’

Eric laughed weakly,
‘This is a break?’ and after a moment Vladimir joined him.

* * *

Varrick stormed into Valeskia’s cell. He noticed that she had taken care of her appearance and had let her rich, chocolate-coloured hair down. He could smell the deliciousness of the curls and it bothered him that she could affect him so. After all the years he had held her captive, she still excited him in a way no other woman could.

‘
Is it true?’ Valeskia asked. ‘Are Vladimir and Eric here?’ She would remain calm. The old game between them had started again.

Moving behind her Varrick stuck his hands into her hair, lifting it to his nose to smell it. Reaching down her front he fondled her breast, he liked how she tried to control the shudder.

‘Let’s discuss this in your bed,’ he suggested.

‘
After we see our son and Eric we can discuss anything you like in my bed,’ Valeskia replied coolly.

‘
Our son, I like the sound of that.’ And thinking for a moment Varrick added, ‘Yes, maybe that is what I need to do to bring him onto my side. Come then my love, we go to see our son.’

Valeskia
’s heart was beating so hard in her chest, she was sick to her stomach. What if this was another one of Varrick’s tricks? And yet, the girl had called their names. Walking along the hall, Valeskia stumbled and Varrick grabbed her. He could feel how fast her heart was beating.

In a moment of compassion he said,
‘They will look bad. I’ve been trying to persuade them to join me.’

As the cell opened Valeskia was assaulted with the smell of sweat and blood. Both men were now shackled to the wall. In an instant Valeskia recognised them both; her boys had become men.

‘Please don’t leave them like that,’ she pleaded with Varrick, but he was silent and stood leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. Hearing her voice, Vladimir looked up. At first seeing his mother in front of him he thought he was dreaming and then Eric gasped.

‘
Valeskia, you are alive!’ and she was kissing them both and they were laughing and crying.

‘
I thought you were dead,’ Valeskia sobbed.

‘
We thought you were dead, too,’ Vladimir replied, tears rolling down his face.

‘
I couldn’t believe it when the girl spoke your name.’ Valeskia was wiping the blood from their faces with the corner of her shirt.

‘
Girl?’ Vladimir asked. ‘Emily. You have seen Emily?’ From his tone Valeskia knew that this woman meant something to her son.

‘
A small blonde woman?’

‘
Yes,’ breathed Eric. ‘Is she alright?’

‘
Enough!’ Varrick boomed. ‘You have seen them now. Come woman!’ He felt strangely moved by the love Valeskia was showing for the men.

‘
Please Varrick! I beg you, don’t leave them like this. They’re not a threat to you,’ Valeskia pleaded softly.

God, she looked so beautiful. Hating himself for his weakness, Varrick looked at the men and then called for the guards to come in.

‘Let them down and clean them up, but make sure they can’t escape.’

‘
Wait,’ Eric called. ‘Valeskia, is my son safe?’

‘
Your son?’ Valeskia replied confused.

‘
His name is Eben. I saw him when we arrived, do you know him?’

Valeskia thought for a moment. No wonder the boy had always seemed familiar to her.

‘I know Eben, he’s a good boy.’ Valeskia cursed herself under her breath ‘Oh, Dusana, how could I not see he was your grandchild?’ She had seen the boy when they had brought him in for tests, he had a cheeky way about him that was endearing.

Turning to Varrick, she asked softly,
‘Where is the boy?’

Varrick smiled coldly at Valeskia and then turned to Eric.
‘I sent him away from you. I didn’t want to test the boy’s loyalty with you here. Once you’ve joined me I will call for him to come back.’

‘
We’ll never join you,’ Eric’s voice was cold and there was no doubt that he meant what he said.

‘
Well then, when you are both dead, if that works for you,’ and he grabbed Valeskia and pushed her from the cell.

Vladimir broke for a moment and screamed,
‘Mother!’ as Valeskia was led down the hall, tears streaming down her face, sobbing all the way to her quarters.

Varrick was unmoved by her display and barked,
‘Clean yourself up, woman. I’ll return shortly for our discussion,’ and he strode off down the hallway.

Valeskia was numb for a moment and then she cried softly to herself,
‘think, think,’ and she moved to the washstand. Suddenly, feeling alive she cried out loud, ‘Oh Dusana! I didn’t fail you. Our sons are still alive. We still have hope.’ For the last year she had dreamed of Dusana and in her dreams Dusana had told her, ‘It is not over’. The dream had haunted her with the fruitlessness of her life. Now at last she knew what Dusana was telling her.

Washing her face and pulling a comb through her hair, Valeskia
’s mind was racing. She would welcome Varrick into her bed. She would give him what he wanted to keep her son and Eric alive. As she removed her clothing she heard the cell door open. She stood naked at the edge of the bed, facing the wall, wondering to herself if she could go through with it. Then she heard Varrick remove his clothes and then his hands were on her and they were so cold...

* * *

The joy of seeing Valeskia passed as soon as he left the cell. ‘Oh, my God,’ Vladimir cried, ‘I should have made sure she was dead.’

‘
Vlad, we thought she was. The signs were there,’ Eric replied. He too felt guilty that they had left her behind.

The guards had let them down and brought fresh water for them to clean up. One guard stood outside the cell with a machine gun pointed at the men. Clean clothes were given and food and water were brought in. The men dressed and ate the food, bland as it was
– they were so hungry. After they had eaten the guards brought in two shackles with long chains for their legs.

‘
Stay still,’ the guard commanded.

‘
Or what?’ Eric baited. But he was still as the guards put the shackles on him and Vladimir.

‘
This is titanium, no one has ever broken it,’ the guard said coldly.

‘
Good to know we’ll be the first,’ Eric quipped, and the guards left them, snarling under his breath.

‘
How is your body?’ Vladimir asked. He was still racked with pain from the torture.

Eric replied smiling slightly,
‘A bit tender here and there,’ then both men laughed. Their bodies were throbbing with pain, Vladimir’s leg was so sore he was not sure he could stand on it, but they both knew they would heal quickly as long as they were not tortured again.

‘
Do you think Janak will come through tomorrow?’ Eric quickly asked Vladimir.

‘
He’d better,’ Vladimir replied. He knew that neither Eric nor he would last another session in the White room and he so badly wanted to live now; he needed to free his women.

Vince was stunned for a moment after materialising by where the train had left them, the dense forest looked menacing around him. The small group, Rumour, Applejacks, Vondra, Ross and Vince
’s men, Martin, Frank and John, froze for at least five seconds before moving. Vondra had transformed back into her human form and looked at Vince and Ross.

Ross gently asked her,
‘Can you untie us?’ he was trying not to look at her perfect, naked body. Vondra untied Ross and then he untied the rest of the men.

Rumour was whimpering and Ross bent down to look at her while Vince removed his shirt, handing it to Vondra to put on. Applejacks
was distressed, he couldn’t contact Emily, Vladimir or Eric – he was unsure if they were still alive.

Realising
that Applejacks was upset, Ross spoke softly to him. ‘It’s okay, we’ll get them out, but I don’t think we should stay here.’

Applejacks nodded, glad that at least Ross could understand him.

‘
Vince, Rumour is hurt. We need to make a sling to carry her in.’ Ross spoke calmly. Vince nodded and gestured for another man to take off his shirt, they were all wearing thermal singlets that would keep them warm until they could find some supplies. Vondra looked at Ross intensely as he tenderly looked over Rumour and she had seen how he had spoken to the horse as an equal.

‘
You care for dog?’ Vondra asked Ross in broken English.

‘
Of course, she is important,’ Ross replied as the men put together a sling for her. Gently lifting Rumour, Ross’ voice was soothing. ‘It’s okay girl, you’ll be alright.’ Vince instructed the men to form a protective circle around Applejacks and Ross.

‘
Where are we going?’ Ross asked Vince, lifting Rumour into the sling and gently putting it onto his back.

‘
I’ll send John and Martin to where we’ve hidden the spare weapons and supplies. If they’re still there we’ll meet up. Right now we move east for two kilometres, we need to vacate this area immediately.’

Before moving off, Ross turned to Vondra and asked,
‘Will you stay with us?’

Pulling Vince
’s shirt off she responded, ‘I will stay with you,’ and turned back into a white tiger. Ross picked up the shirt and tucked it into the sling. When he turned he found Vince smiling at him.

He repeated Vondra
’s last words to Ross. ‘I will stay with you?’ Vince asked. Ross turned bright red. He wasn’t sure what she had meant but he had an uneasy feeling that he would find out.

* * *

Emily’s thoughts started to come together and slowly she became aware of her surroundings. But it was like another person was thinking her thoughts; they didn’t make sense, she couldn’t understand them. The noises around her were confusing, she could hear dripping and metal scraping then nothing.

Not knowing how long between thoughts, Emily came to and realised she was still strapped to a metal bench. Her body hurt, especially her arm, and it was so hard to move. It was hard to understand why her body didn
’t want to respond to any commands that she made of it. After what seemed like hours, she moved her head slightly to the left and opened her eyes. The bright light hurt and the pain stabbed through her head. Closing them quickly, she waited for a while before opening her eyes again. The pain was less but her vision was blurry. Her mouth was dry and she tried to lick her lips but there was no spit.

Much later, she didn
’t know how long, her vision cleared and she could see the drip that was connected to her arm. The fluid was bright purple.
I know that colour
, she thought to herself. Another thought popped up,
I don’t like purple
, but the thought seemed odd; her favourite flower was lavender.

After a while there were people in the room. They were talking but the words, while familiar, didn
’t make sense to Emily.

‘
She has almost completed the final dose,’ a man’s voice said.

‘
Yes, her body seems stable,’ another voice said. ‘Should we put her under again?’

‘
Yes, I think she can stand another six hours.’ Then darkness spread through her body and Emily’s last thought was,
Why?

Waking again, Emily felt different. The purple drip was gone and in its place was a clear fluid.

‘Hello Emily,’ a voice boomed, it was Varrick. He was standing over her, his face close to hers, looking down as she lay on the metal table.
I know this voice
, Emily thought. Looking at his face she thought he looked familiar, but it was not a face she wanted to see. Again Varrick spoke, ‘Emily, focus here.’ And he snapped his fingers in front of her face. ‘Her reflexes are slow,’ he said, turning to the tech.

‘
It’s normal. She’s been under for over forty-eight hours,’ another man said. ‘She needs more time to recover, her body is dehydrated. The serum always depletes the fluid levels in the body.’

‘
How long?’ Varrick asked again.

‘
At least a day. We need to get some solid food into her as well,’ the tech responded.

‘
Good. Keep me informed,’ and Varrick stalked out of the room.

Emily felt a sponge being pushed between her teeth.
‘Suck on this, it will ease your throat.’ The voice was business-like.

She pressed her lips on the sponge and it released fluid into her mouth, it was water with sugar and it tasted so good.

‘We are going to sit you up now,’ the voice spoke again and Emily felt hands lift her head as the metal bench was tilted into an upright position. Slowly Emily opened her eyes, she could see two men working around her. One man had a clipboard while the other was checking her drip. She could see another machine was hooked up to her but she didn’t know what it was for.

‘
Where am I?’ Emily choked. Her throat was on fire.

‘
Oh, hello,’ the man with the clipboard said. ‘How are you feeling?’

‘
My head hurts,’ Emily choked again.

‘
Hmmm, yes, that is to be expected. Don’t worry my dear, it shouldn’t last long.’ The man was trying to be nice but Emily knew he was not her friend.

‘
Where am I?’ she asked again.

‘
Safe and sound, my dear, just relax, all will be fine,’ and as the men had finished with their tasks, they left the room.

Feeling weak and alone, Emily couldn
’t brush away the tears as they fell on her face.

‘
Emily, can you hear me?’ A woman’s voice came from a small window in the door.

‘
Yes,’ Emily replied. The voice then spoke words that were magic to her.

‘
Vladimir and Eric are still alive.’

‘
What?’ Emily cried on hearing the men’s names. She raised her head but fell back onto the table. It was too much, her body just didn’t want to move.

‘
Who are you?’ Emily asked, tears still falling down her face.

‘
Vladimir’s mother,’ Valeskia replied.

‘
What? You can’t be. She’s dead.’ Emily was confused, maybe this was another trick.

‘
No, that was just another lie that Varrick spread,’ Valeskia replied. She needed to make this girl believe her.

Emily head was so foggy, she wasn
’t sure if this was the truth as her instincts were blurry and she wasn’t sure of the feelings in her body.

‘
Why do I feel so awful?’ she choked again.

‘
Oh child, I am so sorry for you, they have given you the gene therapy. They have given it to all of us.’

‘
Will I become a wolf?’ Emily asked softly.

‘
I don’t know what you’ll become. For myself, I didn’t change after the treatment, only my age has slowed down. For others it can be...’ Valeskia paused, knowing that she would tell the truth, but how to say it? ‘For others, it’s difficult. There are many dark creatures locked away in our DNA.’

‘
How soon will it happen?’ Emily asked again.

‘
It’s almost instantaneous but they have kept you unconscious. Even now you are sedated. They will keep you like this until they understand how to control you,’ Valeskia’s voice was tender, she was sorry for the girl.

Emily could hear a door open and footsteps.

‘I must go now,’ Valeskia called and then she was gone.

After a moment the door of her cell opened and the two techs came in again, one had a bowl of soup.

‘Are you feeling better?’

Emily was silent; her thoughts were so slow. She knew there was a way to get free but it eluded her. If she could just focus on it she would know how to escape.

Lifting the spoon to her mouth the tech ordered her to eat. ‘Come, you need the food.’

Emily was sure she shouldn
’t eat the food but her body overrode her concerns and, while plain, the food was warm. After eating all the food in the bowl, Emily was sleepy again.

‘
Oh good, the drugs have worked,’ the tech told the other one, and again Emily felt the darkness envelop her.