ROMANCE: SHIFTER: Shifter to the Max Collection (Dragon, Bear, Wolf and Panther Shifter Romances) (Paranormal Fantasy Romance Collection) (86 page)

“I need this kid prepped for surgery stat,” Dr. Unger was saying in the left corner of the room. Karyn’s hands were shaking with terror. She noticed something from behind the glass mirror on the other side of the room. Something was very wrong. The observation mirror was one-sided, so Karyn knew that she wouldn’t be able to see the person on the other side of the glass. Maybe the police were back there taking notes on the boy’s injuries.

Karyn turned her glance back down to the boy, and all hell broke lose. There seemed to be some kind of explosion. Before Karyn even realized what happened, the observation mirror had shattered and was flying all over the room in tiny bits and pieces. Karyn instinctively lowered her body over the child to shield him from the incoming shards of glass, which were now flying all over the room.

People started to shriek in terror. One of the lights overhead shattered into pieces with a loud secondary smack. Some kind of animal was flying into the room. At first, the hairy body looked like a gorilla, but the stature of the creature was taller than a primate’s height, and far more muscular. It grunted, landing on its feet, standing a little taller now. Small pieces of shattered glass lay displaced in the black matted fur. Morris stumbled backwards and tripped over his own feet-- landing on the floor. He placed both hands up in front of his face defensively. A nurse from the Philippines that Karyn had often shared lunch with, dashed towards the door and began to jiggle the handle. The woman pushed on the door’s handlebar again with all her might and turned back towards the rest of her coworkers. Her brown face was distorted by both terror and grief.

“It’s locked!” The woman cried in horror.

As if on cue, the monster went wild. First, the beast dove toward Morris swiping with one giant clawed hand. Morris’ arm was ripped clean from its socket. The monster then dove at the wound, chomping down on the hole, and sucking down Morris’ blood. The room erupted in a renewed chorus of terrified screams. There was a scalpel on the floor near Karyn’s shoe. Karyn grimaced as more tables clattered to the floor. Two other nurses rushed toward the door near the woman from the Philippines. Together, they banged on the entrance, screaming frantically for help.

Time seemed to stop. The terrible monster lunged for Dr. Unger next, sinking its sharp teeth into his throat. The monster drew back and spat the torn piece of flesh back out onto the floor. At that moment, Karyn knew the creature was killing for sport, and not out of hunger or need. The animal growled again-- letting out a terrible sound, which bellowed throughout the room. This time it sprang toward the little group of nurses who stood frantically screaming, grabbing at each other, and banging pointlessly on the locked door. Karyn heard the snapping of bone, and then nothing at all. That was it. She and the boy beneath her were the only ones left alive in the room. Karyn lay still, daring not to move. The creature approached, sniffing at the air. As it drew nearer, Karyn prepared herself to die. Surely, she would not survive. Surely, she would be torn to bits. Karyn could feel its hot breath on the back of her neck now. The bite would come any moment.

Suddenly, a series of shots rang out. Andrew, the armed security guard, a little man who looked no older than seventeen, stood in the alcove of the observation room, firing shot after shot into the animal. The animal glared at Karyn for a moment and barreled through the locked doors busting them wide open. The creature was through the doors, and was now sprinting down the hallway. Quickly, it turned a corner and was out of sight.

Andrew radioed another security officer. “The police are on the way,” he said to Karyn.

“We’ve got to get this boy somewhere safe, in case it comes back.” Karyn pleaded with Andrew. Andrew looked down at the boy’s wounds and over at the monitor, which had flat-lined again. In the midst of her terror, Karyn hadn’t even noticed. The boy was dead.

With an understanding glance, Andrew took her hand and swiftly led her out of the room. “Run for the parking lot,” he demanded.

When Karyn arrived at the parking lot, more chaos ensued. Apparently, the creature had ripped through various wards in the hospital. Many were dead, and many more were injured. Karyn felt as though she were in a dream. Even still, she immediately started applying pressure on a woman’s bleeding shoulder wound.

A woman across from the two of them lay draped over the lifeless body of what appeared to be her husband, screaming hysterically. The woman slowed turned to Karyn with tears drenched down her face. “My son…my four-year-old boy is still in there!”

Karyn’s heart jumped into her throat.
There was a child in there alone with that thing.
Maybe she should leave this to the professionals. Surely, the security guards could handle the situation. No. The security guards were incompetent on a good day. Karyn pushed her cowardice aside.

“Where was your son?” Karyn asked.

“He was in the children’s ward having an MRI. I was waiting for him in the hallway when we were attacked. They wouldn’t let me get my boy! They wouldn’t let me go back!”

Karyn steeled herself. She grabbed a nearby man and quickly instructed him on how to place pressure on the wound she was holding down. She had to go back. She knew the layout of the hospital better than anyone did. If the little boy was going to have a chance, she knew she needed to act quickly.

Killian’s foot slammed down on the gas pedal. By the way the code came through, he knew this was going to be a bad one. There was no way to escape the fact that there were going to be many deaths in a place filled with people who were already sick. There would be little defense.

“Left here,” Jack stated eagerly. Killian turned the steering wheel and the Audi went up on two tires. Soon, they arrived and skidded to a stop in front of the hospital. Both men sprinted hard towards the hospital’s main entrance.

Killian quickly drew the high-powered gun from the holster at his side pushing his way through a cluster of injured people who had somehow made it into the parking lot.

A woman threw her arms around his neck, “My baby is in there! My baby!” Killian peeled her arms off and continued into the building. The waiting room was in shambles. Chairs were overturned; papers, bandages, and linen lay strewn all over the floor. It was obvious to Killian that the people inside had fled in a horrific haste. Killian and Jack continued down a narrow hallway. Jack placed two fingers up to his lips signaling to Killian to be very quiet. They continued down the narrow corridor.

There was a large smeared puddle of blood in the middle of the hallway. Someone had certainly been killed in that spot. Killian knew there was no way that anyone could survive such a massive amount of blood loss. Inwardly he sighed, his muscles tensed; he was ready for a fight. Suddenly, a woman came shrieking down the corridor, her face completely covered in blood. Quickly, Killian lifted a tiny scanner up from his waistband, which allowed him to know in a matter of seconds that the woman was truly human. He gave Jack a quick thumbs up and a nod. They continued down the corridor, now following the thick long trail of blood.

Gurneys were overturned in the hallway, and even though Killian was used to seeing terrible violence, the sight somehow pierced him to his core. Jack paused and looked up, the trail of blood ended right outside the door to the children’s ward. The monster was most likely in there. Werewolves loved to feast on the blood of children. Suddenly, Killian got a flash of himself hunting the boy in his dream. Quickly he squinted, pushing the image out of his mind.



              Karyn had run into the MRI room and found a madhouse. The likelihood of coming face to face with the monster that had killed all those people did not even dawn on her. She thought only about saving the boy, and here she stood, and there it was. The creature was huge and the beast now stood directly in between the screaming young boy and herself. In one fleeting moment, she thought about running. She briefly considered leaving the young boy to his fate, and getting the hell out of there as fast as possible. Yet, even as the thought entered her mind, she knew that she could never run from a child in need. Too many adults had turned a blind eye to her pain. She refused to become like the individuals she hated most, even if that meant she would die. Karyn preferred the idea of death to the notion of becoming a coward.

She decided to instead try to create a distraction. “Can you understand me?” Karyn asked.

The monster, which looked like an overgrown hybrid human-wolf, growled in rage but did not advance. Maybe the monster could understand her.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” she said. Where had that come from? For starters, the idea that Karyn could injure that huge beast was laughable, but maybe the monster didn’t know that. The wolf looked at her menacingly and took a step towards her. Perhaps it could read her mind.

Karyn quickly, intentionally, amended her thoughts. She envisioned herself gently petting the huge monster. The wolf suddenly hesitated, but once again stopped his assent. He seemed slightly confused. Maybe her crazy plan was actually working.

Karyn took a slow measured step toward the side of the wolf, who looked unsure, but did not attack. “What’s your name?” she asked. Karyn allowed the huge beast to raise his muzzle into the air. The creature howled horribly, and then almost seemed to cackle.

Karyn had no idea if the wolf was trying to say his name, or was simply howling to announce that he was about to eat her. One small measured step at a time Karyn moved herself in a half circle, while the wolf watched. Finally, she had accomplished her immediate goal, which was to get to the small, terrified child. As she placed herself in front of the tiny boy, she could clearly smell the strong stench of urine. The young boy had quite obviously wet himself in the midst of his terror.

The wolf seemed to suddenly sense that Karyn had tricked him. The creature’s huge yellow eyes darted quickly around the room. Karyn shuddered as the beast took an angry step forward. She took small step backwards, desperately trying to shield the small boy without pushing the werewolf into an attack. Karyn imperceptible extended her hand out behind her back. Now, she was firmly positioned in front of the boy. If the monster wanted to get to him, it would have to come through her first.

The werewolf suddenly stood up on its hind legs and let out a growl so low it sounded like a tornado. The creature’s golden eyes flashed dangerously. As Karyn watched the beast, she seemed to see two images superimposed on top of one another. One image was of the terrible wolf-creature she saw in front of her, but the second image was of a young man of about twenty.

The creature in front of her began to sniff at the air, and small whimpers escaped from its wide hairy throat. Karyn had a sudden flash of the dead woman on the gurney that she had tried to save earlier that day. Without knowing how it was happening, Karyn realized with perfect clarity that these two souls were somehow linked. That poor woman who had died on the table was this thing’s mother, and it had killed her.

Karyn stared into the wolf's eyes. She could see two great tears welling up at the bottom of the giant yellow spheres.

“I’m so sorry,” Karyn said aloud. “I know you didn’t want any of this to happen. I know it was an accident. You didn’t mean to hurt her. I know that. Just like you don’t want to hurt us. I can see how scared you are, and I can help you.” Karyn had no idea why she was saying this. The creature had killed people she respected and admired. It had killed innocent men, women, and children, and seemed to intend to kill the small boy behind her, not to mention herself.

Yet, she felt sorry for the hairy beast. Something inside of him seemed so lonely and so sad that it was almost unbearable. Without thinking, Karyn reached her hand forward and took a small step towards the wolf. It was a mistake. Whatever connection they had just shared evaporated, and the killer was back in full form. The wolf reared back on its hind legs and howled, his already massive claws seeming to expand as if in anticipation of the kill.

The boy behind her whimpered loudly. “It’s going to be alright,” she said without moving a muscle. Karyn knew there was no way she would survive this, but maybe she could buy enough time for the boy to escape.

“When that thing attacks,” she said to the boy without turning her head, “…run.” The child remained silent. “Do you understand me, sweetheart? Run as fast as you can, and follow the big red signs on the wall. Do you know the color red?” The boy was crying hard, but managed to squeak out a small yes.

Karyn braced herself for death, yet strangely she refused to close her eyes. If she was going meet her end, she would meet it with her head held high. She knew she was going to die, but she would not allow this creature to take away who she was. She’d come a long way from the broken little girl who used to wander the streets of Kansas City at night, rummaging through other people’s garbage, looking for scraps of food.





              Killian placed the scanner back in its holster and gestured to Jack, offering to take the lead. Jack nodded. Killian’s gun was now held up at the ready, as he walked around his partner, taking the front. Killian placed his hand on the door handle and turned. The passageway opened with no resistance, the lock having obviously been smashed. Killian heard a low growl and froze in place, with one hand still on the door handle and the other on his weapon. He cocked the gun with his thumb.

Crouched low, Killian entered the room. He quickly moved to the left side of the room, so that his partner could take the right. He scanned the room and took everything in. The lights flickered eerily overhead, illuminating a chamber that had been ravaged. Large dents and tears were evident on the walls, floor, and furniture. An MRI machine lay in a crumpled mess of mangled metal up against the wall.