27. Chapter 27
Chapter 27
Sage
Winnie slid a badge into my hand and I quickly pocketed it before the door closed. We followed Marcus off with no clue where we were going. I was grateful Lyric and I had both stashed our rifles in the decontamination room, thinking they’d be too obvious to carry when we no longer had prisoners. I wasn’t used to carrying one like she was and the damn thing was heavy.
My mind reeled with thoughts of everything that already happened today, including the witches. If I wasn’t a hundred percent convinced they existed before, I was now.
No one other than Marcus, Lyric, and Peach knew I’d ingested vampire blood. Well, and Winnie. I could tell by the look he had that Lyric already told him. I hadn’t meant to keep it a secret, there was just too much going on for it to qualify as a topic of conversation.
The last time the witches told me to take the offer, Peach had offered me her blood the same night. I had accepted it without even considering the witch’s words. Now I was going to hang onto every damn one of them.
Less is more. Small raindrops bring back life while large rivers will end it. What does that mean?
Although uncertain of their importance, as we walked the pristine white establishment, I had a feeling those words would come in handy.
We came to an area with a large sign that said Public Health in black lettering. Marcus scanned his badge and it opened, then he locked his eyes on Lyric, nodding his head to the side. I swallowed my nervousness as she disappeared alone through the door, grateful she had an earbud.
We passed doctors, nurses, a janitor, and even a couple guards and not one person gave us a second look. We stumbled upon a designated space for the study of hematology and Ravage scanned his badge, entering the section alone.
Like Randal, the whiteness of the area gave me a slight headache as we moved on. I was grateful I’d been walking the woods back home every day and was used to it because the halls in VRC felt never-ending.
Another five minutes had passed when I read the next sign: Anatomical Pathology. While I had limited knowledge on the subject, my gut twisted, my instincts strongly indicating this area was mine.
I didn’t wait for Marcus to give me the go-ahead before I slapped my badge onto the security pad and entered, leaving everyone behind, praying for their safety.
The door slowly closed behind me as I stared into another damn white hallway with no one in it. I inched my feet forward, taking casual strides until I came to a fork in the road. The white sign on the wall had black letters with names of the areas and arrows pointing the way.
Straight in front of me was Cytopathology, Surgical Pathology to my left, and Forensic Pathology on my right, and for some reason, that was the one that kept replaying in my brain.
Forensic Pathology it is.
The hallway was short with a large double door at the end, reminding me of ones I’d seen in hospitals. I tapped my badge and the security pad stayed red, then beeped.
This must be a higher clearance area.
Retrieving Randal’s badge from my pocket, I slapped it against the security pad and a small window to the right of it opened, revealing a keypad.
Shit.
I pushed the button on my earbud and whispered, “Winnie, I need that code.”
Silence.
I tapped again. “Marcus?” No answer. “Can anyone hear me?”
Unsure why my earbuds weren’t working, I yanked my cell from my pocket and when I went to text Winnie, I saw three little dots, alerting me he was already sending me something.
Winnie: 207948. I can hear you. Don’t know why you can’t hear me.
A small hint or worry filled me as I pocketed my phone and punched the numbers into the keypad, causing the doors to open with s swoosh.
Each muscle I had began to tremble as I stepped into the new area. This mission had been nerve-racking and the thought of getting caught lingered in the back of my mind the entire time I’d been inside VRC, but I was unsure why my body decided to alert me of something now.
The corridor I entered was empty of any lingering personnel. To my right was an alcove, a fifteen-foot-wide area containing metal racks filled with medical supplies. To my left was another recessed area with two vending machines, one with snacks and one with drinks, and a small white table with two matching chairs.
The hallway ahead of me was shorter than the others, with four doors on each side of it and led to a dead end. My gut instincts pulled me to the right side first, so I decided I’d check the rooms there, then go down the left side and end up back where I started. A perfect way to clear an area.
The first room I came to I went to tap my badge and there wasn’t any security panel for badges, only a keypad. I typed in the only code I had and to my surprise, it unlocked. Not wanting to look suspicious if someone was hanging around, I barged in like I belonged there.
The room was empty of people, the walls the same bright white as the rest of the facility. On the left side was an empty metal platform bed with enormous lights hanging above it, reminding me of a surgical room. To my right, a rolling pedestal with a laptop on it, the screen dark.
In the back right corner was a large cabinet and I moseyed my way toward it. I flung open the door, expecting something shocking or dreadful and found pure white scrubs sitting on the shelves. I rolled my eyes at the amount of white this place had, then shut the cabinet.
One last glance around, then I headed back into the hall and entered my code for door number two. The door unlocked and I pushed it open, not surprised the room looked exactly the same as the other. I sighed, shutting it and moving on.
The pulling of the bond twisted my stomach as I stepped up to room number three. My breaths became choppy, my heart speeding along with them. I shoved the feeling aside, brushing it off as nervousness before entering my code.
The door unlocked and my hands felt stiff as I rotated the handle, pushing the door open and stepping inside.
Despite the eerie resemblance to the other rooms, this particular one had an icy chill as if death himself lingered in the corner, ready to claim a soul.
And this . . . this disgustingly white, cold ass room . . . wasn’t empty.
A shiver of dread jolted down my spine and my body betrayed me, locking itself in limbo. Being the only part of me able to move, I narrowed my eyes, focusing on the naked man in front of me.
Empty skin clung to nothing but bone, the sight of him causing my breath to hitch, refusing to enter my lungs. Once my brain realized the man on the table looked like a skinny version of Luka, time stood still. Nothing in this world existed as silent cries ripped themselves from my throat, coming out in muted sobs.
Panic coursed through every cell of my body, the heaviness in my chest suffocating me—my windpipe tightened, the air around me threatening to take my life instead of sustaining it.
Needing desperately to hear his heartbeat, I lifted a foot, ready to bolt toward the table, but the fear was like a poison that now owned my stiff, uncooperative bones and muscles.
This can’t be him. He can’t be dead.
Still unable to budge, my gaze locked on his torso, waiting to see if it moved, pleading for him to still be breathing. When his chest expanded a slight bit, my fight-or-flight response kicked in.
And I was ready to fight.
My entire body trembled when I forced myself to take a step into the room, the door swinging shut as I stumbled my way toward the table. My unwavering gaze darted over his body, taking in his features, and a shocking pain burned its way into my heart.
This person looked like Luka, yet it didn’t. He was frail and thin—nothing but literal skin and bones. The wounds covering him weren’t healing and it didn’t take me long to realize they’d starved him.
My frantic eyes landed on the very recognizable goat skull tattoo in the middle of his chest. A tattoo I had once run my fingers across.
This . . this almost lifeless soul . . . this tortured man . . . was Luka.
Terror coursed through me and I grabbed his shoulders, shaking him, his skin ice cold against my palms. “Luka. Luka.”
His eyelids drifted open and I sucked in an audible gasp that staggered into my lungs, choking me. His once beautiful eyes were empty, hollow. The blue irises were now pale, almost white, and surrounded by bloodshot veins.
“You’re here . . . again,” he mumbled, his cracking voice barely above a whisper. “Not . . . real.”
“I swear, it’s me,” I cried out, begging for him to believe me. Perhaps, after many months of pleading for this moment to happen, I’d attempted to convince myself this was real.
“Dreams. Many . . . dreams.” His incoherent words made no sense to me.
I leaned into his ear, being as quiet as possible. “You just need blood.”
If I had any chance of getting him out of here, he needed to feed now and I had no idea where Erik was with the blood bags.
I tapped my earbud, knowing my team could still hear me. “I found Luka in Forensic Pathology. I need blood now.”
Not sure if anyone would be able to find me quick enough, I slid my hand into the top of my T-shirt and pulled my necklace out, pushing the pearl which would send my location to my friends.
As I waited for them to find us, I searched for a way to release Luka, and noticed his arms and legs were tightly secured with large metal cuffs. His bloodstained wrist caught my eye and I ran my finger along one, pulling the skin taught. Silver spikes lined the inside of the cuffs and were digging into his flesh, and when I noticed that the bed he laid on also had spikes covering it, digging into his backside, my stomach twisted in knots.
I took a breath and shoved my emotions back, keeping my tears from falling—or maybe, I was keeping myself from falling apart.
I scanned the area, looking for blood . . . a chainsaw . . . a miracle . . . anything to help me. Other than Luka’s shiny bed, the room contained nothing more than a laptop on a rolling pedestal, a cabinet, and a cart with . . .
I froze.
Upon the rolling cart laid a metal tray filled with surgical instruments. Memories of Mannie and his tray covered in torment goodies flooded me, causing a tightness to settle in my chest. Luka had saved me from being tortured to death that night and I needed to do the same for him.
“Sage . . . safe.” He let out a groan that conveyed his pain, and despite Ravage’s warnings, I knew what I had to do.
I had to feed him.
I pulled back his lip, inspecting his teeth, and his fangs weren’t visible. Even if I tried, he wouldn’t bite me.
“Fuck,” I whispered to myself before yanking a surgical blade from the tray, hoping it cut smoother than the dagger strapped to my thigh.
The edge of the table he laid upon didn’t contain spikes, and I prayed the five-inch strip of flat steel was enough for what I was about to do.
With a deep breath, I crawled onto the cold table and straddled Luka, keeping my knees on the edge so the spikes didn’t injure me.
“Not real . . . dream girl.” He blinked his pale blue eyes repeatedly as if he was swatting a fake version of me out of his head.
I mustered enough strength to control my intense emotions, and took a deep breath, slowly exhaling as I lifted the sharp scalpel. My hands trembled intensely and the blade shook too, as if it was an extension of my body. My eyes locked on the silver sheen, the sharpness scaring me, yet ultimately commanding my respect.
“Please don’t kill me,” I whispered, unsure if I was talking to Luka or to the scalpel.
This was going to either be the best or the worst decision of my life.
Ready to do what needed to be done, I laid the blade across my wrist, took a deep, shuddering breath, and . . . a door slammed shut in the hallway, halting my actions.
Needing to hide fast, I scrambled off Luka to the side of the bed closest to the wall and hunched down on the floor out of sight. Being a solid platform, unless someone walked behind it, they wouldn’t see me.
My heart raced at the sound of six beeps from the security pad before the door opened. Someone entered the room and high-heeled shoes tapped against the marble floor.
“Dream girl,” Luka whimpered.
“Is Sage visiting you again?” a woman asked, and I held my breath at the sound of my name.
“Not real.”
“At least you get to see her in your head.” She giggled, and it sent furious anger to the depths of my soul.
After the sound of her digging in the cabinet stopped, the wheels of a cart squeaked as she pulled it across the room.
“Dream girl.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know. Dream girl.” Another giggle, then more shuffling sounds.
Not being able to hold myself back anymore, I popped up from the side of the table and had the scalpel to her throat before she even knew I was there. She sucked in a large breath when my other hand went to her blonde hair and gripped it tight.
“Drop it,” I said through gritted teeth, and she immediately let go of the scalpel she held. It hit the side of the table and bounced off, the metal on metal sound another reminder of my torture.
Her eyes locked on mine. “Sage, I’m presuming. Luka said you’d come for him.”
“Where’s the blood?” She didn’t answer, but I caught sight of her hand slowly moving toward her pocket. “You try anything and I’ll slit your throat.”
“We don’t keep blood supply on this floor in case—”
I dug the scalpel into her skin, making blood roll down her neck in a light stream. “Tell me or your blood will be feeding him.” My words came out in a low growl.
“He talks about you. Dreams of you.”
She attempted to delay the inevitable by distracting me, but I wasn’t gonna let it happen. “Shut the fuck up.”
“You can kill me and save him. Do whatever you need to do, but it won’t stop us, Sage. We will get what we need. We never fail to do so.”
Pure hatred filled me when I took in her features. She was a pretty woman, middle-aged, with light skin, thin lips, and a perfect nose, and the only thing I could think of was how badly I wanted to fuck it up with my blade.
“I told you to shut your damn mouth!” My voice echoed through the room, and I reminded myself to stay quiet or risk getting caught.
“From what Luka says, I know you’re a smart girl. If you understood what we were doing here . . . ahhh.”
I dug the blade in a pinch more. “Where. Is. The. Blood?” My teeth were hurting from the amount of clenching I had to do to keep from slicing her wide open.
“We can cure cancer in children, Sage. Think about that!”
The door in the hallway slammed shut again, and my eyes darted toward the sound, which was a big mistake on my part.
Dr. Blood Stealer lifted her fist and punched me in the face, but unfortunately for her, I was used to taking way harder hits.
Gripping her hair tighter, I yanked her toward me.
She started to scream for help, but the sound came out in a choking gargle because I shoved the blade into her throat.
Oh, fuck.
Warm blood poured down my hand, momentarily stalling me.
Someone entered their code into the door, sending me into a panic.
To ensure Luka’s safety, I did what was necessary and shoved Dr. Bitch’s neck into his face, forcing him to eat. He took a small gagging gulp before turning his head away.
“Luka, feed.” I held her there until the door unlatched and began to open.
With nothing but fervor flowing through me like high octane gasoline, I propelled my body forward, plowing into the guard with my shoulder. He fell backwards with a grunt, his head bouncing off the marble floor with an eerie cracking sound, and I landed on top of him.
Raising my fist, I halted it in midair when I noticed his face void of life. I quickly jumped to my feet and saw blood pooling under his head, so I grabbed his wrist, checking for a pulse. If he had one, it was too faint to find with my fingertips. He was dead and no longer a threat to me.
Turning back toward Luka, I hoped he’d fed and regained his strength, but the doctor had slumped onto the floor, lifeless.
I stepped up to the table and peered into his eyes.
“Dream girl.”
Knowing he was only going to drink my blood, I looked around until I found the scalpel I’d dropped during my attack, yanked it up and held it to my wrist as I replayed Ravage’s warnings in my head.
You can’t let him feed from you. Once his fangs pierce you, you’ll be useless, and he’ll drink until you die.
“I’m sorry, Luka. I don’t have a choice. I love you.”
With no time to waste, I laid the blade across my wrist and sliced it open. Tiny droplets of my blood dripped onto the steel bed, the sound reminding me of raindrops . . .
Less is more. Small raindrops bring back life while large rivers will end it.
I gasped at the witch’s words.
The raindrops were my blood. If I gave him a little, it would give him life. If I gave him a lot, it would take mine.
Ravage had said if Luka’s fangs pierced me, I’d be useless from his venom and he’d drain me dry. He never said I couldn’t give Luka my blood.
Holy shit.
I finally knew what I had to do.
With a deep breath, I placed my wrist close enough for Luka to smell my blood but not bite me. His nostrils flared, sniffing the air before his head whipped toward me. With a hiss, he opened his mouth and his fangs elongated.
Hoping to feed him and survive, I hovered my wrist above his lips, letting my blood drip into his mouth.
With every drop, his tongue trembled, then slowly became pinker. But his body still wasn’t healing. He needed a lot more than a few tiny drops of blood.
I decided maybe I could control the situation. As long as he didn’t sink his fangs into me, he could get blood faster from sucking on my wrist.
Being cautious as possible, I moved in closer, pressing my open wound against his lips, and thankfully he latched on without piercing me.
He furiously sucked, and with each ravenous gulp moans of pleasure left his nose. I did what Ravage said and counted to thirty seconds in my head as he drank, making sure he didn’t go into bloodlust. When I finally had to pull away, he groaned, and I felt terrible.
Having successfully fed him and now needing a bandage for my wrist, I took a step back from the table, sliding in something wet. When I glanced down, my eyes widened.
Against the stark white, beautifully polished marble floor, a pool of blood surrounded the doctor. The old me would’ve had a panic attack from the sight of it. The new me only had one thought.
All this blood is going to waste while Luka is starving.
Deciding I wasn’t going to let it go unused, I quickly grabbed gauze and tape off the cart and bandaged my wound, then stepped up to the body. I shimmied my hands under her armpits, attempting to pull her up, and pieces of her kept slipping out of my hands.
In every movie I’d ever seen, people lugged around dead bodies like they weren’t heavy. Dr. Bitch was only a hundred and twenty pounds soaking wet, which was sixty pounds less than me. I should’ve been able to lift her with ease, but her muscles had no firmness, making it near impossible. It was like trying to scoop water with a fork.
“Sage. You’re really here.”
My breath caught at the sound of Luka’s voice. “I’m coming, baby,” I whispered breathlessly, and then hoped he was too delirious to remember. I’d never called him that before . . . and it was slightly embarrassing.
After pulling and struggling for a few minutes, my arm muscles and lungs burned with the fire of Satan, causing me to almost give up. Using the last of the strength I had, I yanked her up as far as I could. She started to slouch, so I shoved the front of her chest against the table, using her boobs for leverage. Her head was hanging and I cringed when the blood seeping from her neck dripped onto my favorite boots.
Grabbing her wrist, I threw it in front of Luka’s face. “Drink.”
His eyes widened. “Did you kill her?”
“Yes, and your wounds haven’t healed, so you need more blood. Now drink.”
Sadness filled his expression and he shook his head. “It’s not your blood.”
The doc began to slip and I stuck my knee under her body to help hold her up. “If you get mad, you can feed.”
“No.” He tightened his lips into a line.
“Luka, if you don’t get mad and drink this goddamn blood, I’m going to end up on a table next to you.”
“I can’t do it. I’ve tried.”
Frustration filled me, sending anger pouring out of my mouth. “She was about to cut into you. Think about all the shit that you went through and drink the fucking blood!”
Luka’s eyes met mine, locking onto them as if I was the only thing in the world that mattered. Each breath he took came harder, faster, before the tiny veins of his face came alive, rippling beneath his skin.
His mouth fell open and he sucked in an angry breath, letting it out in a hiss. It was hard to witness the hungry desperation he had when his fangs throbbed like they were begging for food. I pushed the doc’s wrist against his mouth and he didn’t hesitate to pierce her skin.
Assuring he didn’t overfeed and go into bloodlust, I once again counted the seconds in my head. Each gulp he took brought life back into him. The dark circle under his eyes faded away and his pale skin regained its color. Another few gulps and his ribs weren’t as sharp and protruding as they previously were.
Once I got to thirty seconds, I pulled the doc’s wrist away, letting her dead body tumble to the floor, splattering even more blood on my boots and now my pants.
A growl vibrated in Luka’s throat, and I knew it was from starvation, not him being angry at me.
I laid my hand across his chest, right on his goat skull tattoo, and rubbed my thumb across his cold skin. “It’s okay. You’re safe.”
After a few ragged breaths, the veins in his face slowly stopped pulsing. “Fucking kiss me,” he whisper yelled, the relief his voice conveyed making it hard to deny him.
Standing on my tippy toes, I smashed a quick kiss against his lips. Unfortunately, time was important, so I pulled back and wiped the doctor’s blood from my mouth.
Gross.
Finally safe to free him, I looked at the cuffs, not knowing where or what to touch without injuring him further, or possibly myself.
“Luka, how do I get these off?”
“The computer. Dr. Cuntface controlled the lengths of the spikes for my wrists and the table from some kind of software.”
What the fuck?
Knowing she had the power to control how much pain Luka felt ignited a fire within me, and I wished I had a shot at killing “Dr. Cuntface” a second time, I’d make the pain last longer.
I headed toward the laptop and clicked the enter button to bring it out of sleep mode.
“Shit. It’s password protected.” Turning my head toward Luka, he had a look of contemplation.
“Try Venezuela. It’s where she was going to retire. But all caps. She once told me she hated small letters.”
What a fucking psychopath, I thought as I typed V E N, then second-guessed myself on the proper spelling of a word I rarely used.
“How the hell do you spell it?”
“V. E. N—”
The security alarms sounded and a red light in the upper right corner of the room flashed, sending panic coursing through my body.
“Hurry!”
“E. Z. U. E. L. A.”
I finished typing, hit enter, and hoped for the best.
It unlocked and I was relieved for a split second until I remembered how much I suck at computers.
There were multiple programs and spreadsheets already open, and I had no idea what any of them were. I clicked on a few different ones with no luck. “I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing here!”
Gunshots rang through the hallway and whomever was out there would be here any second. I swiftly swiped the blade off the ground and hid behind the door, which remained ajar due to the dead guard.
The person’s shadow cascaded across the marble floor before they entered the room. I lunged forward with my blade held high, and Winnie grabbed my wrists, halting me.
“Easy, killer.”
“Winnie, I need you!” I dragged him toward the computer and frantically pointed at it. “This controls everything on Luka’s bed. Can you get into it?”
Winnie sniffed the air, then glanced at Luka before laying his hand on the mouse, and my heart raced as he opened up a couple programs, clicking around.
Luka’s bed made a ticking sound from the spikes lowering, then the huge metal cuffs opened up, releasing his hands. Before I even had a chance to run to him, he was already in my face.
Making sure this was real, I placed my hands against his bare chest and his strong heart beating against my palms assured me he was alive.
A whimper conjured in my throat and burst out, my heart attempting to mend itself, as Luka placed his hands on my cheeks and peered down at me. His eyes . . . his beautiful perfect eyes were bright blue again, darting across every inch of my face like he had trouble believing this was reality.
“I didn’t think I’d ever see you again, Princess.”
My nickname rolling off his lips was better than all the music in the world. A sweet serenade of love and devotion, and nothing less than pure magic.
Before I could respond, Winnie interrupted my three seconds of peace. “Copy, Jimmy.” He turned toward us, a wary expression. “We gotta go, now.”
Luka’s hands dropped from my cheeks before he headed to the cabinet, quickly grabbed a set of scrubs, and handed them to me. “Hold these.”
I wondered what the hell I needed to do with them as he grabbed a second pair, sliding the bottoms on.
“There are others being held captive here. Release all the beds and unlock the doors.”
Winnie scoffed, shaking his head at Luka. “We don’t have time to save them all.”
“Release them so they at least have a chance!” Luka’s voice rang loud over the still blaring alarms.
Winnie hesitated for mere seconds before he turned back to the computer. My eyes went to Luka, watching him put the scrub top on, and I couldn’t help but notice his body was back to normal size.
By the time Luka adjusted his shirt, Winnie had finished.
“All the doors are open, and just so you know, I think this is a bad idea.” Winnie clicked his ear piece. “Kill the damn alarm, Jimmy.” A second of silence as Jimmy answered. “Yeah, I know we’ll lose some of it, just do it anyway. We gotta get the fuck out of here so I need those doors opened too.”
The alarms stopped, leaving my ears buzzing in the quietness.
Luka grabbed my free hand and I tucked the extra scrubs close to my side. We stepped around the dead guy before entering the hallway.
“Carmen?” Luka called out.
Not hearing a response, I wondered who he sought as he dragged me down to the last door and opened it, pulling me inside. I glanced over my shoulder into the hall at Winnie and he shrugged, shaking his head.
“Carmen?” Luka repeated.
As I worried about him possibly still being delirious, a naked girl with thick curly hair stood, appearing from behind the table. Her skin was a deep, warm taupe, her eyes dark brown, conveying the worry she had as her gaze bounced between us.
“Luka?”
“It’s okay. These are my friends.” Luka let go of my hand, taking the scrubs from me and handing them to Carmen. “Put them on and follow us.”
“Incoming,” Winnie hollered, and I went to peek my head into the hallway to check on him and I’m glad I didn’t get far enough. Bullets flew by right after Luka yanked me away from the door, shutting it all but a sliver.
I pulled my Beretta from my holster and pushed him aside.
Laying my back flat against the wall, I kept my gun pointed to the ground as I peeked out the crack, barely seeing Winnie in the dark room across the hall. He held up two fingers and pointed in the direction the bullets came from.
I inched the door a little more and saw two guards armed with AR-15s, slowly making their way toward us, checking every room.
Since the guard on the opposite side of the hall was ahead of the other guard, he would approach Winnie’s room first.
My gaze went back to Winnie and he pointed to him, held up one finger, pointed to me and held up two fingers again, then he ducked down into the shadows.
I took his sign as I was supposed to take out guard number two.
Never have I felt more grateful for the training I received from Venom—a tool I would use to beat them.
Remembering my breathing techniques, I slowed my breaths and waited patiently for the guard to walk into Winnie’s room. As soon as he did, anguished cries filled the air.
The other guard swiftly approached, pointing their gun into Winnie’s room, and I took quick aim, shooting him in the back of the head.
My once steady breaths were now coming fast and hard.
“Give me the gun.” Luka softly placed his hand on my shoulder and I shrugged it off.
He’d already done his job saving me, it was my turn to protect him.
“He’s not the first person I killed today and won’t be my last. Our window is closing. Let’s go.”
Winnie stepped into the hall the same time we did, and Carmen followed closely behind as we headed for the door.