Page 1 of Homani True

Chapter one

Theslammingofadoor jars Lilly awake. She squints and winces, her head throbbing. Running her tongue over dry lips, she blinks, trying to focus on her surroundings. The cool metal of a collar at her throat and the shackles pinning her wrists to the wall above her head impede her motion. In a seated position on the wet concrete floor, her legs are stretched out before her, an oversized t-shirt covers her body and bare ass. Her breathing is shallow as she struggles, trying to free herself. She takes a steadying breath, closes her eyes, and flexes her legs, testing their strength. The chilly dampness from the concrete wall seeps through the back of her shirt, helping to ground her.

The musky scent of mildew combined with stale sweat and blood fills the windowless, ten-by-ten concrete cell. Rusted shackles hang on a far wall across from her, with brown stains spattered on the dirty floor below. A pony-tailed bare lightbulb hangs from the center of the ceiling. It’s clear this room has been host to other captives and the subsequent horrors they experienced long before Lilly has found herself here.

She shudders. Goosebumps pepper her skin, and she is a child again, held captive by a mad group of scientists, her body frail and battered by their numerous experiments.

Lilly grits her teeth as she checks in with her animal. No response.Come on. Gritting her teeth, she tries again. Nothing. Vertigo takes hold, and her empty stomach does a greasy roll.Wake up, baby. I need you.

Like almost everyone she loves, Lilly is the product of genius colliding with nefarious intentions and unlimited funding. The monsters of her youth had succeeded in splicing animal DNA with nanobots and human cells; thus, the Homani were created, a human-animal hybrid bred for battle.

Theoretically, they should have been prized pets, a marvel of modern science. In reality, the people running the trials looked at the Homani and only saw the flaws in their experiments, the aspects they wanted to improve, and the so-called ‘defects’ they hadn't anticipated. The super-soldiers they had hoped for were more powerful than they had imagined, but still not quite what the scientists or investors hadwanted. Homani of all ages were slaughtered in pursuit of ‘improving’ the results of their Frankensteinian endeavours.

The feverish pursuit of genetic tampering to produce weapons had been their downfall, but it had garnered the Homani their freedom. Humans had underestimated her people and their resilience—their hunger to survive when they were ordered to die.

This will be no different. She will escape this prison, too. Lilly leans the back of her head against the wall. All she needs is a little time and a plan. With a sigh, she closes her eyes.

How long have I been here? A day? Two?

She rubs her swollen nose against her upper arm and is assaulted by the acrid stench of smoke clinging to her matted, long black hair.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, Lilly squeezes her eyes shut again. The carnage of the humans’ surprise incursion on the Homani town of Smith’s Farm had left bodies, both Homani and human, scattered throughout the main street. Voices of friends lying in the road bleeding and calling out for help–

She startles as a blood-curdling scream rends the air, followed by muffled thuds. Her exceptional hearing detects mewling sounds before a hoarse familiar voice begs, “Please, no more.”

April! Oh my God.Lilly had been trying to help the other woman, her friend and fellow Homani, when she was taken. Her heart pounds in her chest.I’ve got to get us the fuck out of here.

Lilly struggles in earnest against her restraints. Metal bites into her skin, and warm blood trickles down her arms. “You sons of bitches! Leave her the fuck alone!” she calls out, her screams echoing off the concrete walls of her cell.

There is a slam of a door in the distance, and heavy steps grow louder before they pause outside her door. The tarnished handle turns, and she stills as a middle-aged man enters. Bile rises in her throat at the soullessness of his dark glare. He wipes his gore-covered hands on a dirty rag, and her gaze follows it as he tosses the thing to the floor. A power play?Not today, you son of a bitch.

Narrowing her eyes, she focuses on the tall, fit man before her. His pronounced brow highlights his sharp cheekbones. He runs a hand through his flow of salt and pepper hair, then across his bearded jaw. Blood stains his blunt nails.

Lilly hardens her features. The asshole before her is Vance Donahue, the leader of the town of Temple. The man who had led the attack on her home, her people at Smith’s Farm, and took her and April hostage.

“You looking for some attention, little pet?” His gruff voice makes her skin crawl.

A warmth fills her as her panther stirs.Thank God.

He steps toward her, and Lilly tenses. Her panther is watchful now that the drugs have somewhat worn off.Careful. If we shift, the collar will suffocate us, not to mention what the cuffs will do,she warns her inner animal.

He stays out of reach of her legs and gives her a half grin as he peers into her eyes. “There she is. I see her in there.” Vance turns to the side and then looks back at her, his smile still in place. “You know, I used to go with my father to the facility. He enjoyed showing me his investments.”

Lilly gasps.

He cocks his head to the side with a smarmy grin plastered on his face. “Oh, I suppose you wouldn’t know, would you?” He taps his lips with his red-tinted fingers as he whispers more to himself than to her. “My father was an angel investor. He stepped in when some of the ‘in the know’ bureaucrats couldn’t stomach what needed to be done to gain results and pulled their funding.” He sidles up next to her, one fist against the soiled wall as he leans down and whispers against her ear. “Even as a young man in my twenties, I understood the sacrifices that had to be made for cutting-edge science.”

She jerks away from his stale, moist breath and tilts her head to meet his eyes. “People were tortured.Childrenwere tortured and killed,” she chokes out.

“Oh, silly pet. They weren’t people. They were investments,” he says, matter-of-fact as he pulls away. His face hardens as his eyes narrow. “But Dr. Jamieson’s bitch of a wife had to out him…our lead scientist at that, and then the bleeding fuckin’ hearts of the world had to fuck it all up. We were ruined, and my father killed himself from the shame of his failure!” he screams in her face. “Ilost everything.” He draws back and kicks her.

A popping sound reaches her ears as pain radiates out from just below her sternum. Lilly’s seated position makes it difficult to bring her knees fully to her chest, but she needs the extra protection.

“Mymoney,” he stomps on her thigh, “my status, my associates.” Vance continues his blows to her lower body.

With each blow, the rough concrete shreds the skin of her ass. How long before it’s slick with blood? A single thought flits through her.One day I will bleed him for his sins.

“Do you know what I’ve had to do to survive in what’s left of this fucking world? Youthingscould never suffer enough for what was taken from me. You were all supposed to be dead!” he screams, the cords of his neck bulging.

---