“I never really thought much about tigers until I became one. I know the general wasn’t too surprised when Takhi turned into a striped feline, given her Asian roots and your legends, but me? If anything, I would have expected to become a bear or a wolf.”
“Wait, you’re saying these others that were experimented on, they had different animals?” She couldn’t help a note of surprise.
“A way wider variety than you’d expect, although tiger, bear, and wolf seemed to be the most common, wolf especially. Rumor has it some emerged as a mishmash. We even saw a guy who might have been part bat, which might explain the vampire legends.”
“I still can’t believe your own military betrayed you.” He’d told her the basics of how he’d become a tiger as they drove. How he and his soldier friends had been taken captive and injected with experimental serums. And then, when the general in charge thought them ready to transform, they injured them severely to trigger their shift. The cruelty that took wasn’t something she could grasp.
“It sucked that the people we trusted fucked us over, but I also know not everyone knew what he was doing. Pretty much all the soldiers guarding the facility had no idea. We only ever saw the doctors and lab techs.”
“And you’re sure it’s this general who sent those thugs after you?”
His shoulders rolled. “Who else would even bother? I have no other enemies, and, as far as my country is concerned, I died in the line of duty.”
“Have you thought of telling someone about what he did to you?”
“To what purpose?”
“Justice. He could be arrested. Jailed.”
“And I could end up in a lab because here’s the thing: even if I didn’t tell them about the tiger-ish side effect, he most likely would. Or the person who green-lighted his experiments would get involved and ensure I never saw the light of day. At this point, I am expendable. A failure and a danger to their secret.”
“Hardly a failure, since you can shift.”
“But can’t be used to fight, since blood changes me back.”
“I wonder why that acts as a trigger,” she murmured. “It seems so odd, because tigers primarily eat meat, but in your case, it’s like it causes an allergic reaction.”
He snorted. “Maybe I should try sucking on some Benadryl next time to see if it stops the shift.”
“Benadryl?”
“Allergy medication.”
“Ah.” While her English was quite good, a few of his expressions lacked a translation. “How much further do you think?” They’d been walking since mid-morning, and it was now getting late in the afternoon.
“A few hours, at least, but I don’t want you hiking in the dark.”
“Afraid I’ll trip and fall?”
“Yes.” He didn’t even try to lie. “I hear water nearby. We’ll make camp by it and head out first thing in the morning.”
“Are you sure? I can keep going.” She chose to fib a little. Truthfully, she wanted nothing more than to sit down and pulloff her shoes. They lacked the support and padding needed for walking over rough terrain.
“Sometimes, when in the field, getting a good night’s rest is more important than arriving quick. We’ll want to be alert when we get close to the ruins, as most likely we’ll need to avoid guards.”
“Even if we do, I don’t see how we’ll get inside unnoticed.”
“Me neither. Guess we’ll figure out a plan once we get a feel for the situation.”
While he’d claimed to hear water, it took another hour of trudging before Nadirah did, too. When it came into sight, she sighed. “Thank goodness.”
“I’ll build us a shelter if you want to go for a rinse,” he offered.
It looked so refreshing, but she knew better than to swim. Countless dangers lurked in the waters, like crocodiles and venomous snakes. Not to mention, she could hardly laze about while he set up camp. “I am not letting you do all the work alone.” Nenek would have smacked her.
Together, they gathered some large leaf fronds to make a mattress, upon which he lay the blanket he’d bought—bright pink with yellow stripes. Not anything she’d have chosen, but it had been on a discount table.
He hung their knapsacks packed with food stuffs from a branch, out of reach of most animals, although they’d have to watch for monkeys. Those sly mammals with their nimble fingers could get into just about anything.
