Page 64 of Tracking the Alpha
Everyone bolted, faster than Tanis and Peter could manage, probably why Barrett once more grabbed hold of her. She didn’t argue being scooped in his arms but rather watched behind them.
She felt the explosion before she saw it. A tremor under their feet. It led to Barrett bellowing, “Take cover.”
She wondered at the strange order, which didn’t come clear until the compound blew up. Debris rained down, chunks of concrete, wood, and even steel. A cloud of dust filled the air, leading to coughing by those who didn’t cover their nose and mouth. Tanis didn’t have to because Barrett had tucked her into his chest.
When the rumbling ceased, the haze in the air made it hard to see, but she squinted anyhow at the ruins left behind.
Literally ruins and one dead soldier.
Tanis covered her mouth at the sight of Peter crushed under a hunk of concrete. Poor kid. He’d not deserved to die so young.
The haze combined with the cloud cover made it hard to see, but that didn’t stop the shell-shocked bunch from wandering back to the place that had held them captive. Tanis hugged herself as she eyed the collapsed buildings and blown-out walls that used to act as a fence.
The burly man who’d been carrying the guy in the white coat pointed. “General blew up his own people.” At least one, judging by the arm lying on the ground missing the rest of its owner.
“He left me to die,” a panicked voice said.
Tanis whirled to see a young man in a dirty lab coat, kneeling by the severed head of a woman.
“Are you really that surprised, Wendell?” Barrett stated.
“You’re lucky I haven’t torn you to pieces yet for what you did,” snarled the petite woman, the threat causing Wendell to get to his feet and stumble closer to the rubble.
“I’m sorry. I never meant to?—”
Wendell never finished his apology. Something burst from the wreckage. A thing of nightmares and wings. Patient 39 grabbed Wendell by the shoulders and bit into his neck.
Deeply.
Savagely.
To the credit of those watching, no one screamed. Then again, they would have had to draw a breath through their wide-open mouths to do so.
The monster from lowest level in the facility stared at them, and Barrett angled his body so he blocked Tanis.
Thirty-nine cocked its demonic-looking head—with pointed ears, fangs, and a dark gaze—and croaked, “Free.” And with that, it coiled its legs and launched itself into the murky sky and flew away.
Silence reigned for a moment before someone broke the frozen moment saying, “Anyone else just piss themselves?"
Chapter Nineteen
Barrett probably should have been more concerned about the fact something so vicious had escaped, but in truth, it wasn’t his fucking problem. The prisoner with wings had just as much right to freedom as he did. And if it killed? Again, not Barrett’s fault. Blame the military. Blame those who thought it okay to experiment without permission or compassion.
The only thing Barrett cared about? Getting his people to safety.
It involved much trudging, away from the main roads in case the general had left soldiers to watch—and shoot. They walked through the forest and slept under thick boughs—while taking turns watching the skies in case 39, the only name they had for the flying beast, returned.
As they journeyed, the captives’ individual stories emerged, all very similar in the sense they’d all been given the protocol. Where they differed, other than the pair who never changed at all? Not everyone needed to be severely wounded to shift.
One guy, named Morton, who’d not been part of Barrett’s section, could turn into a wolf on the full moon, and like a werewolf, his furriness ended at dawn. Phoenix could actually shift on demand into a tiger, which explained the amber eyes. Takhi, also a giant orange feline, declined an offer to injure her to change her into a woman. Understandable, seeing as how they didn’t have any extra clothes to give her and it was getting chilly, especially overnight.
It turned out the majority of the group turned into wolves, which included Barrett, Freya, Radley—who still hugged himself and didn’t talk much—Zendaya—who’d gone from screaming to not saying anything at all and staring blankly—and one of the strangers named Lawrence. Idris claimed to be a bear and proved it when he stubbed his toe. Unlike most who required severe injury, the slightest booboo had Idris turning furry, or human, depending on his current shape. Given he shredded his clothes transforming, though, he ended up having to travel on four paws.
Only two people couldn’t change at all despite supposedly having all the right genetics. Slater and Jasmine. Both bore scars from the attempts to injure them and force the shift. Would they ever change into an animal? No one knew for sure, and there wasn’t anyone they could ask. Slater joked he’d probably end up being something dumb like a turtle. Barrett hoped it wasn’t something worse. Hearing how some people died because they lacked gills to breathe made him realize how lucky he was—how lucky they all were—to be alive.
They surprisingly enough ate well. Takhi the tiger and Idris the bear, along with Tanis, hunted for the group, meaning they had meat to keep them strong. Tanis knew the art of making a fire without a lighter or a flint. She taught them how to spit and cook the rabbits and venison they caught. Flayed fish with the simple utility knife Barrett had managed to hold on to and fried them on rocks. Not much late-season fruits or vegetables in the woods, but no one seemed to care. Blame the fact most of them carried a carnivore inside.
Their long journey on foot gave them much time to discuss their next move. The debate on whether to expose Project Therianthrope tended to garner the most heated discussion. Much as everyone wanted revenge, a surprising number didn’t feel going public would work to their benefit. As Freya pointed out, “Humanity has a tendency of balking at anything they don’t understand.”
