Page 60 of Sergi
Cold air blasted him in the face as he stared at a dark tunnel. He raced down it, a slight breeze blowing in, and when he turned a corner, light reflected the rough stone walls. The tunnel made another two turns before he found the exit. There was no door, and vegetation had grown over the opening. He pushed through it and scanned the forest beyond. It was a way out.
Without another thought, he ran back into the building and shut the door. He had a few tasks to take care of before he left. And he wouldn’t leave Alex behind. The thought had popped into his head, and he didn’t question it. She’d dared her own life to save his. He wouldn’t leave her to whatever his escape would cost her.
Other emotions bubbled up and were instantly squashed, but the memory of her warm fingers as they traced his tattoos heated his skin. The heinous experiments she described and the image of someone leading her to one of the metal cages as another test subject made his blood boil. And she’d said the experiments were continuing. How many would die before Devon mounted a rescue?
He wouldn’t consider escaping without Alex, but he wasn’t sure of the best way to protect the rest of the shifters until Devon arrived. Then a crazy thought came to him. Something Carlos could assist with. The least he could do, after all, was give them a fighting chance.
He retraced his steps to the first of the barred cells. The wooden beam lifted easily, and Sergi dropped it next to the door. He opened it slowly, unsure how the shifter would react to seeing him dressed as a guard.
The shifter was curled up in a corner. His clothing was filthy and mottled with stains. He kept his head lowered but lifted it enough to see who’d entered. Sergi held his hands out. “You might not believe this, but I’m a friend. I’ve been sent by Remus, The Wolf, to help you escape.”
Nothing changed in the shifter’s posture until he heard mention of The Wolf. His head lifted higher, but when he got a better view of Sergi and noted the guard attire, his body curled tighter, and he shook his head.
“Look. We don’t have much time. Yes. I’m vampire. I’m cadre sent on a mission to discover what’s been happening in the lab.” When mistrust shined clearly in the shifter’s gaze, he added, “I was also a captive.” He opened his shirt to show the recent scars that to his surprise looked better than they did an hour ago. His evidence didn’t appear as convincing as it once had. “Alex—you might know her as S-473—helped me escape.”
The shifter’s eyes widened at the mention of Alex, or more correctly, by her assigned number.
“We have little time, and I need help letting the other shifters out. It would be faster if they saw a fellow shifter opening the door. I can’t promise that you’ll survive, but do you want to die in one of their experiments or die fighting for your freedom?”
That did the trick.
The shifter pushed himself up and took a few steps. “Some of them will be chained in their rooms.”
Sergi swore under his breath. “I assume the guards have the keys.”
The shifter nodded and stood a little straighter. “Yes. But some of these shifters are wilder than most.”
Sergi grinned, letting the tips of his fangs show. “All the better, assuming they won’t attack you.”
“There’s a room where they keep their weapons. I think the keys are there.” He glanced at the floor, then shrugged. “At least, I saw a board with keys on it. They might work on the chains.”
“Is it on this level?”
He nodded.
“Show me. Then we’ll let the others out.”
Sergi followed the shifter toward the guards’ quarters. He turned right when they reached the corridor where Sergi had turned left in his search for clothing. The shifter stopped at the second door with a nameplate that read security.
The shifter waited to ensure Sergi was behind him before he opened the door on a surprised guard, who was watching a video feed. Before he could get out of his chair, Sergi shoved the shifter aside and grabbed the guard. He quickly stabbed the vampire three times in the kidneys with one of his stolen daggers. The vampire went limp and fell to the ground.
By the time Sergi turned around, the shifter shook a set of keys in the air. Sergi checked the pockets of the guard and found another set of keys and a keycard he stuffed in his pocket. They compared the two sets of keys and determined they were identical.
Before they left, the shifter tied the guard’s legs and wrists while Sergi scanned the video feed. There was row after row of cells. They all had keycard entries, and rather than stone, the walls and floor were a bright white. This must be the second floor. In one of the monitors, a guard walked down one of the aisles and slammed a billy club into a door. He passed two doors before bashing the billy club into the third door. It was a form of intimidation, reminding the captives of who had control, as if they could forget.
They left the room, and Sergi took the lead. The second door on the right provided what he was looking for—the armory. He grabbed a shoulder harness and transferred his daggers to it, then added a couple more. He tossed the weapons belt he’d been wearing to the side, but when he turned to leave, he spotted several billy clubs leaning against the far corner of the room. He picked one up. He preferred daggers, but a club to the head would work just as well.
“Do you want one?” He raised the billy club.
The shifter grinned, and Sergi handed him one before they rushed out of the room, shutting the door behind them.
Sergi led them to a closed cell door, and the shifter opened it. This shifter was chained to the wall, and he glared at them. His gaze turned to confusion when the shifter in prisoner garb ran toward him.
“Be calm. I’m here to release you. It’s time to fight.”
The shifter looked past his rescuer to stare at Sergi.
“I’m cadre and a friend to shifters.”
