Chapter Two
Emily
As the front door to the facility closed behind her, Emily immediately felt like the caged animal that she was. She might not be chained up, but she was under no illusions, she was still a prisoner. And her little escort in today was just their way of reminding her. As if she needed one.
The overhead fluorescent lights in the facility buzzed slightly, casting an unnatural, sterile glow that did nothing to soothe her jangled nerves.
Every evening, as she swiped her key card, a pit of dread settled in her stomach, and tonight was no different.
The menacing presence of her two ‘escorts’—large, burly men with a perpetual scowl etched into their features—served as a constant reminder of the threat that loomed over her and her family.
Rory and Jude, the men assigned to bring her to and from the facility, rarely uttered a single word.
They didn’t need to. Their very presence was a suffocating vice, a dark cloud that shadowed Emily’s every move.
It was as if they enjoyed reminding her of her entrapment, flaunting their power and control over her.
As she made her way down the familiar sterile corridors, her mind inadvertently wandered back to earlier that evening.
The man at her condo complex. There was something about his eyes.
She had only glimpsed them for a moment, but in that split second, she had seen a depth of emotion she had never experienced before—admiration, longing, and.
..something more. When his eyes had flashed amber for the briefest of moments, her heart had raced with realization. He was a shifter.
She shook her head, pushing away the memory, even as a pang of concern twinged in her chest. It was dangerous for a shifter to be in this town, so close to her and the facility.
She could only hope that he hadn’t attracted the attention of the scouts or anyone else from the facility.
The last thing she wanted was another innocent soul held prisoner in this sinister place.
Her workstation awaited, a sterile desk cluttered with vials, syringes, and an array of equipment she used daily.
The shifters she studied were more than mere experiments to her—they were kindred spirits, caged and trapped like her, only in far more brutal ways.
For now, she had to focus on doing her job and protecting her family, but as she went about her duties, that man’s gaze haunted her, a glimmer of something positive in a world that felt increasingly cold and isolating.
Emily settled into her workstation, pulling up the notes on the computer and reviewing the latest data. Every test, every experiment, and every finding felt like a weight on her soul, but she couldn’t afford the luxury of an emotional breakdown. Her family’s safety depended on her compliance.
As she perused the numbers and charts, her mind wandered back to the time when she had first applied for the position.
Fresh out of grad school, bright-eyed and brimming with ambition, she had thought she’d landed her dream job.
It was supposed to be groundbreaking stem cell research that could change the course of medical history.
The facility, on the outskirts of town, was a state-of-the-art laboratory that upon her first visit she thought was shrouded in an aura of prestige.
It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, after all.
But the facade cracked all too soon. Underneath the polished exterior, the true, sinister objective of the facility became evident.
The screams from the sealed rooms, the coded reports, and the shifty-eyed glances from her superiors all pointed to the awful truth: they were experimenting on shifters—people who could turn into animals. People.
Her discovery had spiraled Emily into a world of deceit and moral compromise.
Initially they bombarded her with flattery and promises of accolades in her field, but she was soon made aware of the lengths the organization would go to keep their operations a secret.
They had evidence, they said, of every corner of her life.
Her family, their routines, the places they frequented—all documented meticulously, with subtle and not-so-subtle threats of the consequences of her non-compliance.
It was horrifying how swiftly the dream had turned into a nightmare.
The ever-watchful eyes of Rory and Jude became her chains, a daily reminder of her compromised freedom.
The experiments became darker, the objectives more twisted.
Instead of pioneering stem cell advancements, she found herself delving into the secrets of shifter genetics, seeking ways to harness their unique abilities for the creation of a super soldier.
Her conscience gnawed at her with every step she took in the facility.
The faces of the shifters, their pain and their anguish, haunted her dreams. She wanted out, but the threats against her family kept her tethered, unable to break free.
For now, Emily had her part to play. She had to toe the line, and protect her family at all costs, but she prayed for the day when her situation would change, when the owner of this horrible place got brought to justice for his crimes and all the shifters he had kidnapped and hurt would finally be set free and get their retribution.
Emily made her way to the facility’s main laboratory, a sanitized, sterile space that belied the horrors that took place within its walls.
She could hear the soft muffled sounds of distress echoing from a few of the cells down the hallway.
Each whimper and cry was like a dagger to her heart.
As much as she tried to steel herself against the raw emotion, the walls she built crumbled easily under the weight of guilt and empathy.
Today was one of the more distressing days.
As she passed by an observation window, she caught sight of a scene that tore at her very soul.
A young shifter, no older than seven or eight, was being pulled away from his hysterical mother.
The boy’s cries echoed in the hall, his pleas of “Mommy! Mommy!” growing fainter as he was taken to a different wing of the facility.
Emily pressed her hand against the cold glass, tears threatening to spill from her eyes.
The mother’s grief was palpable, her desperate cries resonating with the very fibers of Emily’s being.
The guards seemed unfazed, going about their cruel task with a callous indifference that chilled Emily to the bone.
Pushing forward, she tried to focus on her immediate task, but the anguish and turmoil of the facility seemed to engulf her at every turn.
Another observation chamber showcased the result of the latest drug trial.
A male shifter, strong and formidable in stature, was writhing in pain on the cold floor.
His once-lustrous fur had patches of raw skin, and foam gathered at the corners of his mouth.
The drug’s side-effects were clear and brutal.
She had to pause, gripping the edge of a table for support. Every fiber of her being screamed in protest, every rational thought urging her to intervene. But she was helpless, trapped in this nightmare by threats more potent than any cage.
Deep down, Emily vowed to find a way out for them all—for the mother separated from her child, for the shifter suffering the cruelties of experimentation, and for herself.
They deserved freedom, and she would do everything in her power to ensure it.
But for now, she had to play the game, treading the fine line between complicity and rebellion, all the while carrying the heavy weight of the secrets that she bore witness to.
Walking past the sterile corridors, Emily glanced over at the caged shifters, their desperate eyes tracking every passerby, hoping for a hint of humanity. She’d managed to discreetly connect with some of them, earning a sliver of their trust. It wasn’t much, but it was a start.
Tonight, she had secured extra bread rolls and a few pieces of fruit—contraband in this bleak place. As she neared one cell, a soft voice called out, “What do you want now, human?”
“It’s Emily,” she whispered, trying to keep her voice steady, “I’ve brought something for you.”
The shifter, a young woman called Megan who had fierce hazel eyes, looked at her with a mix of hope and skepticism. “Why should we trust you? You’re one of them.”
“I didn’t choose this,” Emily responded, her voice tinged with pain. “I would never willingly be a part of all this. I’m trying to help. Here,” she murmured, sliding a small bag through the bars.
Just as the shifter was reaching out, the echoing footsteps of guards resonated through the corridor. “Quick, hide it!” Emily urged, panic lacing her voice.
The shifter swiftly tucked the bag away just as two guards approached, their faces hardened and suspicious. “What are you doing here?” one of them barked.
“Just...checking on the results of today’s trials,” Emily improvised, praying they would buy it.
After a tense moment, the guards continued on their rounds, but not before shooting Emily a final, cautionary glance. She exhaled, not realizing she’d been holding her breath.
The shifter peered out, the bag now safely hidden in her quarters. “Maybe you’re not like the others,” she said, her voice a soft whisper.
Emily nodded, tears threatening to fall. “I’m trying,” she whispered back, “I promise.”
With that, she hurried away, her heart racing, determined to make as many of these covert deliveries as she could before the night was over.
She was making her way past the guards’ lounge, a small room adjacent to the experimentation chambers, when she overheard muffled voices. The conversation that trickled out through the slightly ajar door made her stop in her tracks.
“... heard it’s a whole family this time. A mom, dad, and their two pups,” one of the guards, a burly man named Derek, said with a hint of excitement in his voice.
“And they’re sure they are shifters?” a second voice, belonging to a guard Emily recognized as Mark, asked.
Derek laughed, “Oh yeah. Scout spotted them near the edge of the forest after they’d shifted and followed them home. They’re going to be rounded up tomorrow morning. Another set for the experiments.”
Mark chuckled, “Makes our job easier when they’re all together. The ones that are separated from their pups can be…difficult.”
“Yeah, don’t I know it.”
Emily’s heart pounded loudly in her ears. Her hand went to her mouth to stifle the gasp threatening to escape. The thought of an entire family being brought in and subjected to the same torment she’d witnessed, was horrifying. More victims. More suffering.
Leaning against the cold wall for support, she tried to process the information.
A part of her wanted to scream, to lash out and do something.
Not for the first time, the idea of going to the police flashed through her mind, but just as she had every time before, she dismissed it.
Even if they believed her about the experiments, telling them about the existence of shifters?
She’d be labeled insane. Besides, the guards, the facility, they had their claws deep into her life.
What would happen to her family if she acted recklessly and spoke up without any sort of plan in place?
Her younger sister, Claire, with her bright blue eyes and innocent laughter, flashed in her mind. The thought of anything happening to her was unbearable. Emily felt a suffocating pressure, a sense of helplessness so profound it was paralyzing.
She sank to the ground, her back against the cold, unfeeling wall, tears prickling her eyes. The weight of it all seemed too much to bear, and she wished for a way out, a miracle, something. But more than anything, she wished she could protect those who couldn’t protect themselves.
She pulled herself together, wiping her eyes. There had to be a way to help them all. She just had to find it. Determination built up inside her, fighting against the despair. She would not let this defeat her.
Later, as she approached another dimly lit cell, Emily could hear soft moans of pain. There, huddled in the corner, was a male shifter, grimacing with every breath. Finn had been subjected to a particularly aggressive experiment earlier that day.
“Finn,” Emily whispered, kneeling beside the cell, “are you okay?”
His amber eyes, normally filled with fire, now only showed anguish. “What do you think?” he spat bitterly. “They gave me something so that I can’t even shift to heal.”
Emily cautiously extended her hand, revealing a couple of painkiller pills. “I brought you these. They’re not much, but they might help a little.”
Finn’s eyes darted to the pills and then back to Emily, a mix of hope and suspicion. “Why?”
“Because it’s the right thing to do,” Emily replied softly.
He hesitated for a moment, then weakly reached out, taking the pills. “If you’re trying to earn my trust or gratitude, it’s going to take more than this,” he murmured, his voice cracked with pain.
“I don’t expect either,” Emily replied. “I just...I can’t stand by and watch this happen without doing something, even if it’s something small.”
Finn eyed her warily. “Well, I suppose it’s a start.”
Emily nodded, her heart aching. “I promise, Finn, I’m doing all I can.”
The heavy silence between them spoke volumes as she stood, making her way towards the exit.
The weight of her life and the things she was being made to do was crushing her.
She was caught between the world of her captors and those she desperately wanted to free.
Every compassionate act was a risk, not just to her but to her family as well.
And if the organization thought they were at risk of exposure, they wouldn’t hesitate to kill every shifter they held captive to cover up their sick experiments.
The consequences of discovery were too dire to contemplate.
As the cold night enveloped her, Emily’s inner turmoil deepened.
Her desire to help warred with her fear of retribution.
The path ahead was more uncertain than ever, but one thing was clear—she couldn’t stand by any longer and do nothing.
She had to find a way, not only to help ease the shifters’ pain, or to give them a little bit more food, but to rescue them from this terrible place once and for all. Whatever the cost.