Page 14 of Beta Lies and Cursed Lives
“Excellent work, Miranda,” Major Tomlin says as my gloves land on the floor beside me. “Bring in the rest of the faculty,” he calls, I assume to the soldiers, as I climb off the block of ice that was once a vile bastard.
I don’t look at the doorway or the people returning as I hear their footsteps. I glove my hands, my heart beating hard and fast.
Am I a monster? I can’t be any worse than that doctor was, can I?
“What the hell is going on here?” a female voice shrills. “What has the subject done?”
“What I commanded her to do.” Tomlin’s voice booms through the building, met with silence.
A part of me is surprised that he told the truth. That same small part of me that was sure he would send me to my death after doing his bidding. But he stayed true to his word, for now.
“You may examine the late doctor’s body and find your answers. The soldier’s body turned to puddles within a few hours, so document and take your samples quickly.” The major approaches me and grips my upper arm with far more delicate care than he had last night. “Laurant,” he calls, and the headmaster’s stricken face looks up at him. “I have things I must attend to immediately. I want you to take Miss Amato to release the hare into the wild.”
My head snaps to Tomlin’s face above me, pure shock coursing through me. He’s allowing me to set the rabbit free? Why?
His lips get dangerously close to my ear as if he could hear my unspoken question. “I told you I love animals.” He straightens then as Headmaster Laurant approaches us, his expression still shellshocked and also worried. “I have promises to keep,” Tomlin says cryptically as he steps away.
A moment later, I’m holding the caged creature as Major Tomlin exits the building with his soldiers, leaving me with the faculty, security, headmaster, and whirling thoughts.
There’s no way that this plays out exactly as Tomlin promised. Right?
Laurant’s hand touches my forearm. “Come with me,” he says aloud before saying in my mind, “Speak freely in the car.”
As he leads me to the doorway, I feel eyes on me while everyone else clamors around the doctor’s body, swabbing and photographing and doing whatever it is these people do. When I raise my gaze to find the source of heat on my face, I’m met with a sight that steals my breath.
A young man with snow white hair, straight yet wild about the top of his head and falling over his forehead into his eyes, which are wrapped tight with a red blindfold, the tails cascading over one of his shoulders. His skin is creamy, his frame tall and lean, wrapped in all black clothing. Despite the covering on his eyes, it’s as if he can see me clear as day.
It’s when that thought strikes me that my senses are overloaded by the most glorious scent, like smoky cherry blossoms, something I have never encountered before.
The young man’s head follows the headmaster and me as we pass through the door, and I find myself craning my neck to keep looking at him until I’m unable to.
The sense of loss is...concerning.
“Raito.”Laurant says the word in my head I jolt back to attention. “His name is Raito.”
Raito…
I’d never heard the name before, and to say I was intrigued was an understatement. What I didn’t know was why.
I clutch the cage tighter to my chest and try my best not to jostle the small rabbit within.
The headmaster releases my forearm and says, “This way,” gesturing to our right when my feet touch the paved walkway.
It isn’t long before we reach an open lot with several all-terrain vehicles, many of them new and glossy in the sunlight. I follow him to a smaller SUV, and when he opens the back hatch, I gently place the cage inside. Laurant uses a tie-down to secure it, and a grateful feeling wells inside me.
I still can’t look at him. This kind man who I just met...what he must think of me now.
He gets behind the wheel, and I climb into the passenger seat.
The roads we traverse in silence are narrow but paved until we reach a dirt path that diverts off the main road.
Laurant stops the vehicle, and I follow him to the back, where he opens the hatch and lifts the cage before handing it to me.
“This way,” he says, gesturing to the denser woods ahead.
I follow again until he stops and says, “This looks like a good place.”
I look at him then, his profile, as he looks into the trees, a near-wistful expression on his face. There’s a touch of longing there as well. For freedom lost, I think. And I understand that more than I can express.
