“Code.” The voice was gravelly. “P-Panel.”
I searched quickly and found a panel off to my right. “I need the code.” Each word came out calm and clear. Panicking now could possibly get us both killed.
“Five.” A cough wracked through him, loud and sounding painful. I squinted, wondering what the hell this guy had been through. “Two. Seven. Seven. Four. Nine.”
I hit the numbers as he said them.
“Hash,” he finished, and the door clicked, swinging open when the guy fell against it. He landed on the floor.
Unconscious at my feet, the man was sprawled on his front. I tugged him to the side. With no idea where we were, I couldn’t simply throw the guy over my shoulder and start charging around, hitting dead ends and burning doors wherever we went. Decision made, I cast a quick glance at the man. Wet blood covered his rich black skin, but his moving chest indicated he was breathing. Barely. Christ, I hoped he didn’t die on me. After a final glance, I rushed into the unlocked room. Just because it had been sealed from the inside didn’t mean I wouldn’t be able to get through another exit.
A door on the opposite side of the room was my target. I headed straight there, spotting vials and another room off to my right. Before I reached the exit, the scent hit me. Blood, and it wasn’t from the unconscious lab tech in the hallway. I took a tentative step in the direction the scent came from, bile already churning in my gut.
No. It couldn’t be.
Another step forward, and I held my breath, not wanting to believe it could be true.
Wide-eyed, I gasped for breath, then regretted the action immediately. Metallic, familiar, and dead. The combination of the three threatened to buckle my knees. Unable to look away, I stared hard, hating every second. But I had to do this. Flesh, torn muscle, mutilated claws; the image seared itself into my mind. Once there, a shockwave of pain ripped through me.
No.
This time I let my knees go and landed on the floor, my knee finding the blood the same shade of my own. It was her. Hazel. My baby sister.
Her lids were open, her eyes human, despite being in the state of midchange. It made no sense. My brain couldn’t join the dots beyond that she shouldn’t be here. The last time I’d seen her in person twelve years ago, she’d been over a thousand kilometres away up north in Queensland. She’d still been in the pack, had a child. My niece.
My stomach rolled, threatening to spill its contents.
Nothing made sense.
What the hell was she doing here?
Movement from outside the room caught my attention. It was followed by a cough. Red bled into my vision. Someone knew what the hell had happened, and the guy who’d just regained consciousness was going to give me answers, on his deathbed or not.
Jaw tight, fists clenched, I refocussed on getting free so my brain could function again. Pain beat at my heart, a solemn drum that could easily take me away and lead me to my own destruction. I couldn’t let that happen. Wouldn’t.
Lucinda.
Agony arrowed through me, soul deep. My niece… where the hell was she? I stormed towards the door and pressed my hand on it. Cold. I nodded in relief. Perhaps the fire hadn’t spread this far yet. An overturned metal chair in the corner seemed like my best way out. The cold metal gave a little under my grip, my anger clawing at the surface as sorrow and fury pulsed through me. The metal was strong though, strong enough to break the glass and find a new way out.
Two hard hits did the job, but it wasn’t time for relief. A war raged inside me, threatening to pull me in too many directions. Distracted, I took a second to focus. Exit. Retrieve. Retreat. Those three things I could do.
Focussing first on retrieving the man, I hauled him up and slung him over my shoulder. I didn’t dare cast another glance at my sister’s body. I would be back for her though. The same access code to another door led me to an Exit sign. It opened easily. I glanced through the doorway. Five steps, then the external door to freedom.
And answers.
I set the man’s still form on the ground, debating for the barest of seconds whether or not I should secure him. When he stirred, my decision was made. One punch, consequences be damned, and I knocked him out and hardened myself for the next task. Retrieving Hazel’s remains was a necessary horror.
After racing inside, I snatched a blanket off an unmade gurney and gently wrapped my sister’s mutilated body in the fabric. Red against white. Drips contrasting with crisp folds. Fragmented remains forever embedded in my memory. Pain lanced through me as I lifted Hazel into my arms, then followed the same route to safety. Away from the smoke and fire, and away from immediate danger, I rested the stained sheet doubling as a shroud next to the wounded man. My heart stuttered, sorrow threatening to overwhelm and bring me to my knees.
Sirens wailed in the distance. My saving grace, and the only thing stopping me from buckling. I had to call this in before the fire crew got here, else the mountain of shit I would be in would multiply. I took a moment to place my hand on Hazel and closed my eyes, making her a promise to find out what had happened and to take care of her daughter. My hand came away, leaving a bloody handprint on the blanket I’d used to wrap her body.
I looked over at the lab tech’s limp form before standing. He’d been in the room with her. Whether she’d been dead or alive, whether he was responsible or not, he must have answers. I turned and sprinted towards
