Pushing Boundaries Ch. 09

"We have to move," said Draven.

I'll heal along the way said Dominic bravely. But I will stay here and hold fort if you...

"Start walking and healing Dom," was the curt order from his Alpha.

"Follow closely behind me." Draven's mind was like a radar, 'searching' their perimeter to find the best way to avoid as much confrontations as possible. A simple mind blanking often allowed some of the guards to change their course and allowed the quartet safe and silent passage through the halls. "There is a sort of laboratory at the next turn. There aren't any guards..."

"They're frightened," said Eian softly. "I can scent their fear from here."

Draven didn't want to know whose fear his Alpha had scented. All he knew was that the minds inside the laboratory were innocent and would not attack them. Furthermore, it was the best place for Dominic to heal.

"Let me." Eian moved in front of the group, knocking on the frosted glass door of the lab. Draven could tell that his Alpha had sensed something he hadn't so he kept his guard up, simply waiting for the door to open.

When it did, he knew.

"Your Grace..." Fear masked under surprise was etched on the face of the woman who opened the door. For the simple fact that she addressed him by his title and not his name signalled that she was from Aramis and Josephine's generation.

If Eian was surprised, he did not show it. All that was evident on his face was a cool and calm expression --but the ice in his voice was unmistakable.

"Did you not know that was my daughter you touched?"

"Your Grace!" She gave a soft shriek before flinging her body into a prostrating position; her arms stretched out in shame.

Eian ignored her. Instead, he lifted his eyes to examine the lab. There was life --scientifically sustained --within some sort of tank structure. He didn't know what they were called and if they were even alive, if they needed nutrition and if they moved but all he knew was that the creatures in the tanks were adolescents... resembling his daughter.

Disgusted, he looked down and simply said, "Let my Beta heal and then I'm destroying this lab."

He could tell that she wanted to argue but instead she whispered meekly, "But these are innocent children you'd kill..."

For a moment, the atmosphere in the room fell to a hushed silence as everyone waited for the Alpha to react to her accusation. Draven and Alaron were already on their guard, should he decide to strike at her.

However, Eian merely smiled. "Who are we to play God, Hedva? These children will die the moment they are released... and we both know that you know that."

Hedva lifted her head cautiously to look at Eian's eyes. It had been centuries since she last saw him but the Alpha still reasoned and ruled with the same collectedness as he had before. She would have argued if it was anyone else --even if it was that stupid Connor. But standing before her was the Original Wolf and despite the fact that he was about to destroy her life work, she had no right to argue. Besides... there was already a prototype cell implanted inside of her.

That would do.

"And what of us, Alpha?" she murmured.

Eian gave her one last look and then raised his gaze to the other Vampire scientists inside the lab.

"Because you have killed no one, I will spare all of you." He paused as he watched her rise to her knee. "But I need you to show us all out of here."

***

Just a few corridors away, Alex and Riley were about to break into one of the rooms labelled code blue.

"I can scent four Vampires," said Alex.

Riley nodded. "You calm the girl... she's human. I'll try to pacify the Vanguards." Once he punched in the keycodes, he turned to Alex once more. "If I'm not back in five, get her out first."

Alex grunted as a response as they both stepped into the white washed cell.

The first sound that greeted them was a shrill cry from a figure curled up on the bed at the corner of the room. Sensing the approaching guards, Alex quickly made his way closer to the girl.

He could scent her fear but more importantly, she was confused. The girl had developed some sort of Were senses but one look at her, Alex knew that she was a recently turned Vampire. This was no human nor was she a hybrid.

"It's alright," he whispered. "I'm here to free you..."

Her eyes -- wide red orbs kept staring at him but she made no effort to run or even attack him. Taking his chance, Alex moved closer to hold the girl in his arms. She felt so small against him; frail and probably weakened by the many intravenous drugs hanging by the side of her bed.

It angered him for he knew that the girl could not be more than sixteen. Even though he knew she was no Were, Alex tried his best to reach out to that wolf part in her to calm her down long enough to get them both out.

He felt her stiffen in his arms; her head turning to look at him in surprise.

Alex saw that the redness was gone. In its place were soft grey eyes staring at him.

"Help me..." she whispered before burying her face at the crook of his neck.

Holding onto her tight, Alex looked up; waiting for Riley's signal.

Riley still had three minutes left and though the Vanguards kept their eyes focused on Alex, they were listening to him. Whatever he was saying, it seemed to be working for they weren't attacking him or advancing towards Alex.

Alex only hoped that the Vanguards had enough loyalty to Riley so that they could enlist their help. There were still four more cells listed as code blue. It wasn't going to be easy but at least it wouldn't be as dangerous and as unpredictable as what Keona was going to expect.

***

Keona's heart was beating fast from the rush of adrenaline. Although she only had two rooms labelled under code red, she knew that she had to be prepared for the worst. When she entered the first room, there was nothing but the scent of death and the remains of what had been a Werewolf in human form.

She understood that they were condemned by the facility and basically were left to die, instead of being put to death to end their misery. Riley had said that it was to see how long they could survive but Keona just felt it was cruel.

She was still thinking about the situation as she punched in the keycodes, only to be attacked by the foul stench of rotting flesh when the doors opened. The intensity of the fumes almost choked her.

Keona could sense hunger, desperation and a desire for death radiating from the creature sprawled on the ground. She wasn't even sure if it was a male or female for the body was disfigured beyond recognition --almost as if it was caught midshift. Yet it wasn't a Werewolf for it bore no scent of one... but it wasn't a Vampire either.

Keona was still in shock that she hadn't noticed the creature looking straight up at her. However, she did sense the slight stir in the air and caught the bright grey eyes of the creature --eyes that seemed to cry for help. Without hesitation, Keona took a step forward and stopped.

Kill me...

She had heard it in her mind and knew in that instant that the creature was a Vampire for only pack wolves could hear each other.

"Let me help you," soothed Keona, trying to reach out to the creature.

Kill me!!!

The first attack took Keona by surprise and she jumped back barely in time to avoid a sharp claw intended to shred her face.

Standing guard, Keona kept her stance in a defensive mode instead of on offense for she was certain that the creature could still be saved. For every swipe to her left, Keona dodged a right, hoping that her opponent would give up... but she was wrong.

It only served to incense the creature for it let out a long howl and did the most unexpected thing -- it started to claw at itself; shredding fur and skin without a single ounce of pain or regret.

"No!" Keona screamed as she lunged forward to try and stop the creature from completely mutilating itself. She didn't wince even a bit when the creature's claws dug into her skin or when its fangs clamped precariously close to her neck artery. Still, Keona fought off the creature's suicidal attempts.

Kill me... please...

No! I can help you...

Briefly Keona thought she saw the creature smile.

No one can save me... kill me... while I still have this bit of humanity left... I beg you.

The creature seized Keona by the wrist and forced her hand to clamp around its throat.

At that point, Keona understood that there was no use in saving someone who had no desire to live... and the creature was right. We should die with as much human dignity that we have despite the genes that classify them all. And for her, a hybrid with no name, Keona agreed that she too would choose to die as much a human as this creature was begging to right now.

Closing her eyes, Keona let out a gentle, controlled breath as she extended her nails swiftly to behead the creature with as much mercy as she could... to at least make death painless.

When she opened her eyes, Keona managed to glimpse at a beautiful human face smiling at her before the ugliness of death took over; blood and flesh lying unmoving on the ground before her.

It broke her heart. How dare these people... deciding whose life was worth playing with and whose isn't.

Keona could feel rage fuelling her as she slammed a fist into the concrete wall to her side. She barely noticed the entire wall crumbling upon impact nor was she aware that the room was beginning to shake.

All she cared about was the fact that someone's child was lying dead on the floor and god knows countless others who have suffered the same fate. What if it had been Marine or one of the people she loved?

Just that thought alone pushed her over the edge --

The foundations of the room were starting to collapse under the invisible force radiating from Keona. She could feel anger consuming her but all she could think about was to destroy... destroy... kill... kill everything around her.

Storming out of the room, Keona focused only on destroying the entire floor; her energy causing swirls of fire streaking down the corridors. There was nothing humane about the look on her face anymore --but pure blood lust and fury.

***

Alex was helping their last code-blue victim out when he felt the walls start to shake. Glancing up, he saw that the roof was beginning to collapse from some sort of unknown quake.

"Riley! Get them out! I need to find Key."

Riley nodded as Alex rushed off, making his way through the rubble on the floor. He hadn't sensed an earthquake or anything of that magnitude to be causing such destruction. It was his mate instincts that told him that Keona was in trouble.

In his mind, he was picturing her trapped under some concrete block and it made him panic even more.

Key? He tried to call her in his mind but her reply seemed so... far away. As worry became his fore motivator, Alex broke into a run; searching the air frantically for either of their scents.

Water was leaking through the cracks in the walls and the electricity was cut off at certain sections of the corridor. Alex wasn't sure how long the building could last before the water pressure from outside became too much.

"Keona!" he called out, still searching desperately for her. Her scent was growing stronger and stronger but all that approached him was a mass of toxic fumes and blazing heat...

Alex had to remain in his position as the entire corridor was starting to implode -- walls crumbling, lights flickering, water bursting in from every possible crack and still, Keona's scent became too overpowering until...

Her laughter at the sight of him trashed and lying on his back...

The look of pure venom when he flipped her and caused her to lose the match...

It had been so long since he had scented this pure energy and scent of his mate that he had almost forgotten what it was like. "Keona! Please!" he yelled but nothing. The wolf in him began to panic. He had to get to the source of her anger --but what?

Then it dawned on to him when he saw that she was alone.

"We saved the rest, Key. They're all safe. We have to leave now, please..." he pleaded. "I can't live without you Keona."

That did it.

The emitting bursts of energy stopped immediately and he watched her collapse to her knees in tears.

"Oh Alex..." she wept.

***

At that same instant, Eian felt every fibre of him respond to his daughter's tears. Even while she was no where near him, he could sense her pain and his instinct went on hyper alert.

"She needs me," he whispered to Draven. "Get them all out here safely. That's an order."

"But Eian..." There was no point protesting for the Alpha was already gone in search of his daughter. Draven would have done the same if he had been in the same position and thus he understood.

"Hedva, show me the cameras along our exit route," said Draven. The Were was hesitant at first, seeing that he was a Vampire within a pack structure but a growl from Alaron made her rush to the computer.

Frowning, he studied the various possible routes and made up his mind.

"Alright. Get ready all of you. We're leaving."

***

Eian followed his senses --partly smell and partly instinct. A quick look around him told him that he had less than half an hour to get out of the facility. Riley and Alex must have been destroying the place floor by floor.

Or maybe not.

Keona... Alex...

Alex raised his head almost in alarm at the sound of his Alpha's voice. He wasn't expecting help but at the sight of Eian, the tracker wolf softened and held his mate a little closer.

"We have to get out of here Alex," said Eian, helping the two younglings to their feet. Eian was saying that but both males knew that the chances of them escaping was low for neither of them knew the nearest exit.

Keona used up too much energy breaking apart this section of the building... we have to carry her Alpha.

Eian merely nodded. He understood why Alex chose to speak mentally instead of out loud --Keona was sensitive about being helped and even at her exhausted state, she could still rebel.

"Let me. She won't argue," he stated simply; lifting her into his arms like the precious china that she was. "Come. We should try to find a way out."

We could go up to where I left Riley and the others. If they're still there, we could find a way out together. He knows this place better than us.

Very well.

The entire floor in front of them was empty, dark and deserted. Not a single Vanguard stood in their way but the chill of being watched lingered in the air. Water was starting to pool up to their knees but the trio pushed through; determined to return home.

There was an unspoken agreement between the two male Weres:

If it came down to either of them, Eian wanted Alex to return home with Keona, even if it meant leaving him behind. The younger Were wasn't too happy about it but it was a decision --an order --from his Alpha; one that he could not go against.

So instead of talking about it, Alex shifted their focus to what lay in ahead of them.

"I can scent the other four prisoners. Riley's trying to cloak them with his ability but he's not strong enough."

"Mmm... they smell... strange," said Eian.

Alex nodded as they trudged up the small flight of stairs. Water was rising to their waist level, slowing them down considerably.

"Riley!" he shouted, causing the ex-Vanguard to be on alert; his eyes red with pure focus.

"Oh," he whispered a sigh a relief at the sight of Alex, Keona and Eian, although a wary eye kept watch on the Alpha.

"Need help?" asked Alex with a smile. "Do you know the way out, Riley? Water's already consuming the floor beneath us. We have no other way but up."

As Alex took hold of two of the prisoners, Riley nodded and pointed to an air vent.

"That should lead us to the main circulating duct. But we have to hurry."

It was then that Keona stirred and spoke up; her voice soft and weak. "No... that route leads to a hatch that is way too small for a human... or a wolf. There has got to be another way," she said determinedly, getting to her feet to steady herself.

Riley looked at her and saw that her focus was on the four other prisoners and he understood that she wanted to be strong for them. It was solidarity between victims.

Thinking for a moment, Riley closed his eyes then opened them with a smile. "The lift."

"It's not working Riley. All electrical circuits have been compromised," said Keona.

"Who says we're taking the lift?"

"The elevator shaft," said Eian. "It goes straight to ground level and it's far away from the peripheral walls to be affected by the water pressure yet."

Riley nodded. "This way."

The group started towards the elevator; aware that water was starting to leak through the tiny cracks on the wall. There was no distinguishing who was a Vampire, Werewolf or hybrid anymore for each was helping the other to move as fast as they could to the lift landing.

As the main electrical line had been severed, Riley had to manually open the lift door by prying it apart. A quick look up made him sigh.

It was completely dark but his heightened sense of sight allowed him to see the two lines of stairs leading towards the top. Riley was unsure about Werewolf senses and he doubted that the four prisoners would be strong enough to climb up the lift shaft on their own.

"No, we'll each piggy back one of them," said Keona as though reading his mind --she probably did.

"Key... you're not strong enough," said Alex but he stopped when Eian shook his head.

Let her. We'll both be behind her should she fall back.

Riley went first. The feel of the young boy on his back added extra gravitational pull but he continued climbing; aware that he might be tired even before they reach the top. He estimated that they were at least fifteen floors beneath ground level.

Below him, he could hear Keona's soft but laboured breathing as she carefully took one step up at a time. She was carrying the lightest of the four but it didn't take much for anyone to know that she wasn't at her hundred percent.

They were probably half way up when they felt the first tremors in the elevator shaft. Everybody stopped for a minute; ears perked up and all senses on alert to take note of impending danger.

"Shit! Move, move!" yelled Alex who was the last of the group to ascend. "The water's rising!" It wasn't a fear of water that led him to panic but the fact that the water was touching open circuits, sending a charge of current through the rising tide that worried him.

Riley began climbing faster, ignoring the ache in his arms. There were at least seven more floors till the surface and they were running out of time.

Keona turned her head to look down and saw that the water was rising so fast that it was missing Alex inch by inch as he made his way up at a frantic speed. She knew that she had to do something, anything to give them more time.

Turning to the little girl perched on her back, she whispered, "Little one, I need you to climb up on your own for a little while. I promise I'll come back."

The girl's eyes widened but she nodded silently, moving her tiny hands to the bar for support.

"Keona! What do you think you're doing?!" Surprise and anger was in the Alpha's voice when he looked up and saw his daughter descending.

"I can try and stop the water. I need you to trust me."

"No! I don't..."

Keona closed her eyes and forced herself to 'push' the suggestion into both Eian and Alex's mind to continue without her. She hated to do it to the both men she loved but she had to. She watched as her father's eyes widen in anger at her defiance but his body was already moving according to her mental suggestion.