Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
The doctor couldn’t contain his glee at having caught Svetlana and her brother. It only served to enhance her frustration, an annoyance she couldn’t properly voice, but she could snarl. She’d yet to return to her human shape, and not for lack of trying.
As they journeyed, Yuri had tried to explain how to morph to no avail.
Then again, maybe her body rejected the attempt, knowing she’d be cold.
Look at Yuri, who’d shivered until he finally swapped into his ursine fur.
He only returned to his man shape when they arrived at their destination so he could better curse out Levy.
“You bastard. I’m going to rip out your entrails and slurp them,” Yuri yelled.
The doctor smirked. “The only thing you’ll be eating is slop if you don’t change your attitude.” He then turned to the soldiers milling around the truck. “Let’s get them inside.”
Growling and snapping didn’t stop soldiers from removing the cage holding her from the truck, nor did Yuri’s descriptively violent rant.
A forklift scooped up her prison and carried her inside an ominous structure.
A big concrete box with windows covered in bars, which seemed overkill given the narrow aperture that even a child would struggle to pass through.
Once she’d been placed on an electric dolly, the gleeful doctor guided it through a locked door—the security screen alongside requiring his face to open—and onto a freight elevator.
They went up, not down, a surprise, as she’d expected a lab of evil experimentation to be hidden in the bowels of the Earth.
They exited the elevator to a long hallway lined with metal doors marked with numbers, B1, B2, and so forth.
The doctor halted the dolly in front of B7 and smiled at her. “Welcome to your new home.”
She predictably growled.
“Such a grumpy mood. Perhaps it will improve once you meet your roommate.”
Wait? Would they be rooming her with Yuri? How could that be possible? They’d removed her from the truck first.
The doctor placed his face in front of a screen and tapped its surface quickly. She memorized the code, not that it would do any good since she doubted it would recognize her features.
Click. The portal unlocked and swung open, revealing her prison. The doctor drove the dolly through and had it tilt, sliding her cage to the floor with a thump. But she barely noticed, her gaze riveted by the body lying prone on the bed.
Idris!
So much for hoping he’d come to her rescue. He must have gotten nabbed in the sweep that captured her and Yuri.
“I see you recognize him. Foolish man, thought he could stow aboard my helicopter without notice.”
Well, that explained how he’d gotten here.
“He seemed very anxious to get outside the compound gate. I wonder why?” the doctor stated, staring right at Svetlana.
She knew. Her lover had hoped to free her.
“I’m afraid you’ll have to wait for the reunion. Can’t exactly open the cage while you’re awake, now can we?”
Worried she’d maul him? He should be.
“Enjoy your nap while I handle your brother.”
Nap?
She wasn’t tired.
Tell that to the gas that filled the cell. No way to avoid breathing it and the effect proved instant.
When Svetlana roused, she found herself lying on the floor, still a bear, but at least not alone.
She pushed to her four paws and shook her head to eliminate the lingering effect of the sleeping drug.
While unconscious, she’d been removed from the cage, leaving her free to lumber over to Idris, who remained passed out on the narrow bed, the term bed being kind.
A foam mattress with a thin blanket, no pillow, placed directly on the floor.
She sniffed, the scent of him a pleasing blend she couldn’t describe but recognized as uniquely his. He didn’t stir, even when she nudged him with her nose.
A glance around her cell showed they’d been given only the bare necessities.
A toilet with a sink built into the back.
No other furniture. They did have one of the skinny barred windows, so at least they’d get some daylight.
As for an actual exit, a solid metal door with a sealed slot at the base of it.
A peek above showed the lights protected by steel cages along with cameras similarly guarded.
It shouldn’t have surprised they’d be watching, and yet it somehow hammered home the fact she was well and truly fucked.
The thing she’d feared her whole life had come to pass, only she’d never imagined it would be her stuck in that situation.
She’d spent her life worrying about Yuri.
In her defense, she wasn’t supposed to be able to turn into a bear.
“Ugh.”
The groan had her whirling in time to see Idris pushing himself up on the mattress, rubbing his face. The moment he spotted her, he murmured, “Yuri?”
She shook her head.
His nostrils flared, and a second later, his eyes widened. “Svetlana!”
A nod had him scrambling to approach. “How? Don’t tell me Levy’s already experimented on you. How long was I out?”
Since she couldn’t exactly reply, she tapped the floor once.
“One month?”
She shook her head.
“One week?”
She grunted in frustration.
“One day?”
Probably more like hours but it was close enough so she dipped her head.
“Levy didn’t do this to you.” He finally grasped the truth. “Holy shit, you’re just like Yuri.”
So it appeared. Although why that ability chose now to show itself, she couldn’t have said.
“Jeezus, this is bad.” Idris paced.
Understatement.
He paused in front of her. “I take it you can’t just shift back?”
A negative shake.
“Was pain the trigger?”
Not the physical kind.
He resumed pacing. “I’m sorry I failed. I thought hitching a ride here would allow me to intercept the truck carrying you guys so you could escape. But Levy captured me.”
Sweet that he’d tried, but now with them all locked away, they had no hope. Dejected, she slumped to the floor with her head on her paws.
He sat down beside her, draping an arm over her bulky body.
“I don’t know how, but I’ll find a way to get us out of here.”
A promise he likely wouldn’t be able to keep. She exhaled loudly.
They sat like that for a while. Could have been minutes or hours, no way of knowing. A faint noise eventually drew her attention to the door, more specifically the slot that opened. Someone shoved two boxes through the opening before slamming the metal slide shut.
Idris fetched the items and sat down cross-legged in front of her before flipping the lids open.
“Well, this is an upgrade on the usual gruel,” he weakly joked.
He held out an apple, which smelled surprisingly delicious.
She daintily plucked it from his hand and crunched.
Mmm. Yummy. She’d not realized the extent of her hunger until presented with food.
Along with the apple, they’d been given some kind of meatloaf, boiled potatoes, and carrots.
Once they finished eating, Idris took the remains and placed them beside the door. “They’ll remove it the next time they knock us out.”
Her head tilted. While they’d talked about many things during their time together, he’d avoided the subject of his time in custody.
“Guess you’re wondering what to expect. For one, they never open this door unless we’re asleep.
Doesn’t matter the shape we’re wearing. They don’t take chances, nor do they give us warning we’re about to be knocked out.
” Idris sat back in front of her. “Since you’re already a bear, you won’t be subjected to the protocol, but expect to be tested.
They’ll take every sample imaginable and then some.
Blood, tissue, hair. For men, semen, and with you, I imagine they’ll harvest eggs. ”
Excuse me? Grawr.
“Yeah, I’m not happy about all of it either.
As Levy’ lab rats, we don’t really have a choice.
The only good news is apparently the general’s missing.
Davidson’s even more sadistic than Levy, which isn’t saying much.
” Idris grimaced. “Because I could shift at the slightest pain, I ended up not having to deal much with Davidson. He actually wanted to ditch me for being a failure. My mates were the ones he tortured most. Seems when the protocol was completed, if a person didn’t shift, Davidson would force it, usually by shooting them. ”
Didn’t know a bear’s jaw could drop until hers hit the floor.
“Yeah, I know, kind of extreme. Those made by science and not nature tend to be jolted into our animal shape through extreme injury.”
Would that work for her?
As if Idris read her mind, he said, “It’s likely that’s the first thing Levy will do to you.”
Grrr.
“You won’t have a choice. You’ll be either chained or strapped down.”
This just got better and better.
“Shit, looks like it’s time. Here comes the knockout gas.”
She’d not noticed the change in the ventilation until he mentioned it, and then it was too late.
The next time her eyes popped open, she found herself strapped to a metal table in a room straight of Frankenstein’s lab. Beeping machines. Bright lights, some of them on moveable arms. A glass door fridge with vials. Several people in white coats and the doctor.
Dr. Levy, wearing surgical scrubs, leaned over her. “I see you’re awake a little sooner than expected. Pity for you, as I’d planned to do the next bit while you couldn’t feel it. In good news, it won’t hurt for long.”
What wouldn’t—
Grawr—“Aaah!”