Monitors on the walls displayed security footage, but not of the outside. One screen in particular drew his attention. He turned around and looked at the enclosed rooms on the opposite side, then back at the cameras. Of the ten rooms, seven lights were out. While Atticus could see in the dark, that didn’t translate to images generated on a screen, so he could only see what was in the other three rooms. A young woman paced in one while hugging her middle. In another, a man slept, seemingly unaware of their attack. The third was empty.
Krys marched to the back of the building, his shirt torn and chest bloody. “Don’t make my wolf come out and get you!”
When he approached a divider, a man in a white coat emerged wielding a giant pole. While they fought, Atticus directed his attention toward the enclosed rooms. He approached the first one, moved the latch, and opened the heavy door.
“Get up,” he said to the sleeping man.
The captive turned his head and peered over his shoulder. Despite the long beard, the man appeared physically young. But without knowing his Breed, age couldn’t be assumed.
Atticus crossed the room and hauled the man to a sitting position. Fear brimmed in those green eyes, so Atticus loosened his grip and turned on his Vampire charm.
“Hold my gaze. You’re relaxed now. Nothing to fear, and no one is going to harm you.”
The man’s entire demeanor changed, and his shoulders sagged as he succumbed to Vampire magic.
Atticus realized the man was wearing only a hospital gown. “What is the last thing you remember before these people took you?”
“I was walking to the bar.”
“Right. And before you got there, you were hit by a car. You don’t remember the accident, do you?”
“No.”
“You weren’t kidnapped or experimented on. All your memories since that fateful night are gone. After you were struck, you had amnesia, and you’ve been wandering around this whole time but won’t remember it because of the amnesia. A Relic found you and cured you of the amnesia. Isn’t that wonderful?”
“Yes.”
“You’ll never get those lost memories back, but you don’t care. You’re just happy to have your health. What’s your Breed?”
“Shifter. Deer.”
That was even better. Atticushad beenthinking of making him wear the dead Vampire’s clothes, but the bloody shirt had a hole and might land him in trouble walking down the road.
“When you leave this room, walk to the entrance and ignore every sight and sound. You won’t see anything but the door. How much of your shift can you remember?”
“All of it.”
“Splendid. Once you’re outside, I want you to shift. Have your deer run as far from here as he can. You won’t remember me or anything about this place, including where it’s located. The farther you run, that confusion will fade and be replaced with excitement that you’re going home. Your amnesia is cured, but you’ve lost time because of the accident and will never have it restored. Now go.”
The man headed out of the room like a zombie. Atticus couldn’t concern himself with where the man ended up. Shifters were crafty, and if they woke up after a long shift in an unfamiliar place, they knew how to get clothes and help, even if it meant stealing.
In the next room, a nervous woman paced. Her sunken eyes and a collar told a sad tale. Atticus shattered the collar and charmed her in the same manner before she ran to freedom. The next rooms he searched were empty.
Meanwhile, Krys and the other lab worker were still battling it out. When the Mage blasted Krys from behind, Krys shifted.
Atticus opened the second-to-last door, and light infiltrated the darkness. A man whirled into view and struck him in the skull with a hard metal object. Atticus reeled back in pain, blood blurring his vision.
A bald-headed Vampire with alabaster skin stepped out holding a tire iron. He swung again, only this time Atticus caught it. In a quick motion, Atticus yanked it from the man and speared it across the room, where it exploded through a row of cabinets.
“You fucker!” the guard snarled before vaulting at him.
Atticus dodged a choke hold by charging him like a bull and shoving the man back inside the room. He unleashed a series of punches, but the Vampire slammed him against the concrete wall.
Before Atticus could jump to his feet, the guard lifted a bed and hurled it at him. Atticus slid across the floor with lightning speed to block the doorway, then grabbed the guard’s ankles and pulled him off his feet. Before the pale man could get up, Atticus snapped his leg in multiple places. The man bellowed and thrashed, trying to crawl away, but Atticus grabbed his other leg and did the same.
Breaking the leg bones would only incapacitate him temporarily, so Atticus needed to hurry before any healing took place. He lifted the man by his broken legs and dragged him out of the room, ignoring his wails.
I need an axe. Anything sharp. Either that or…
