Chapter 2

-Dante-

The next few days felt like an eternity. I wasn’t even sure if they were days or mere minutes. I was falling in and out of consciousness, barely aware of what was going on around me. Bernard and his fellow scientists were all over me, drawing my blood like hungry leeches, leaving me shaky, weak, cold, and in pain.

What made things worse was Lena. She had decided to keep a closer eye on me, so I was forced to see her every time I was taken out of my cell. Whenever she came to see me, it was like she didn’t even know me; like those three years of marriage never happened. We were even trying to have kids when we were married, for crying out loud! How could she look at me with such a severe lack of emotions in her eyes? I thought… I thought…

I guess I was never important to her. And to think I once loved that woman.

Suddenly, I heard a loud bang outside my cell. The noise hurt my ears more than usual, so I lifted my head to see the hallway. Three heavily armed men ran past my door, and in seconds, the whole holding area was filled with screaming and yelling. From my dark corner, I couldn’t see what was happening, but the sounds were more than enough to paint the picture.

Someone finally snapped.

It was the vampire girl… I could hear her fighting for her life with the little strength she had left. I wanted to help her, but I couldn’t even get up on my knees. The only thing I could do was hope she would finally get what we all were praying for: freedom – or death.

She let out a dreadful growl, and one of the humans yelled in agony, but it quickly turned into a furious line of curse words.

“She’s got my card!“

“Idiots! Stop it!“

For a brief second, I could feel hope rising inside me, but it happened purely out of desperation – we all knew painfully well that there was no way out of this place. It didn’t take me longer than a second or two to remember we had no hope.

I heard her light footsteps coming closer only a second before I could see her, the keycard in her hand. Then… they opened fire. She fell right in front of me, holding onto the card like she really thought she had a chance to reach the door. I stared at her painful expression. I watched it turn into a fearful one. Bullets didn’t kill her, and it seemed like she had forgotten about that until now.

“Fucking bitch…!” someone muttered in anger as the men came closer. “You’ll regret that…”

She started crying when two of them grabbed her, pulling her up from the floor. I stared at the crimson-red spot she left behind. It would’ve been much better for her is she had lost her life, but she was cursed to live forever.

A pair of sturdy boots blocked my view. I lifted my tired eyes to see Killian smirking down at me, holstering his gun.

“You want to be next, mutt?” he asked.

I lowered my gaze, leaning my head back against my knees, wrapping my arms tighter around myself.

If only death was guaranteed… Then I would gladly be next.

I was left alone for a while, but too soon, it was my turn. Again. When Killian came to drag me to Bernard, he smelled like shampoo and coffee and food – things I never thought I’d miss so terribly. Especially food… The sludge they gave us here was something even dogs wouldn’t eat. I nearly broke down in tears just by the scent of the cheese sandwich Killian must’ve eaten just before coming to get me.

“Get moving!”

Killian yanked my chains hard, forcing me to follow him. I tried to do everything he demanded as fast as I could, but I still got tased on our way to Bernard. I felt worse than ever, and the image of the bleeding vampire wouldn’t leave me. There was no way out. Nothing would ever change. I was trapped here, unable to even die.

Werewolves were supposed to be stronger than humans, but I couldn’t even look at Killian. I was afraid of him. I never was a brave man, but he’d destroyed every bit of courage I had. I couldn’t even think about attacking him without breaking in cold sweat. What could I even do? I was only half the size I used to be, a mere stick-figure. I wasn’t even able to turn into a wolf anymore. I couldn’t remember how to do it.

I had no will to try anymore. For the first time after Lena lured me into that place, I didn’t try to find a way out. I didn’t check if someone had left a keycard lying around. I didn’t count how many guards there were with me. I didn’t lift my gaze from the floor, not even once.

I was utterly defeated.

“Finally!” I heard Bernard’s voice as soon as we stepped out of the holding area. “Quickly now! We made an exciting discovery!”

Killian sighed in annoyance but started following him through the laboratory. I didn’t pay attention to where we were heading – not until we finally stopped. Then, I looked up. My heart sank at the sight of the special spectating area the scientists had. We were at the back of the laboratory with all kinds of equipment and monitors surrounding us in a nearly perfect circle, and in the middle of it all was a large cell made of the strongest metals and bulletproof glass.

Whatever Bernard and his sick peers had discovered, it only meant another hell for me. This was the place they took us to when they needed to do dangerous experiments on us – meaning they’d cause us so much pain it would trigger our transformations or make us go insane. I’d been in that cell three times before, and I would never forget the sheer horror and brutal agony I felt each time.

“The anomaly in his blood reacts strongly to epinephrine – adrenalin – and with the correct dosage, it transforms his blood cells into something we’ve never seen before! We must find out what it does to him,” Bernard explained with an excited grin on his face. He looked much like a child in a candy store, and it made me sick. More people were coming in to see me suffer, and none of them gave a rat’s ass about what this new experiment would do to me.

When I turned to look away, I saw Lena sitting down close to the cell with a few other higher-ups. She didn’t even look at me. She and the rest of them were acting casually, making small talk…

Back when I was bitten, and I found out I was no longer entirely human, I hated myself. I loathed the being I had become. I hid it in embarrassment, acting like I was still normal, trying to live with the disgusting beast in me.

Now, as I watched Lena, the love of my life, waiting to see the show – starring me and my torturers – I hated her and the rest of them. I hated humans. They were the disgusting ones. I could feel my anger rising inside me, giving me strength, reminding me that giving up was not an option.

“Make sure he can’t escape,” Bernard spoke somewhere behind me, but I barely registered it. I almost failed to notice that I was walking again, being led in the cell. All I could see was Lena. She was in charge of this whole operation. She built this place. She hired these sick bastards. She found people to sponsor this torture.

I still stared at her while Killian stopped me in the middle of the room, ordering the guards to grab the chains that were lying at my feet. Soon, I had shackles around my wrists and ankles, the massive chains bolted to the floor to prevent me from escaping. The weight was pulling me down, and I was almost too weak to stay up on my feet, but my anger kept me standing. I was nearly suffocating in my hate.

Bernard came in with a syringe, and without a warning, he stabbed me with it in the neck. The spectators turned to look at me when the guards cleared out of the cell, locking the door once Bernard was done setting up his equipment. Only a moment later, I could feel a wave of warmth going through my body.

Adrenalin. At first, I didn’t notice anything odd, just the energy building up inside me. I could feel my heart starting to beat faster inside me as the adrenalin began working. It was eerily silent outside my cell as they all stared at me, waiting to see how my body would react. I was afraid – I had no idea what Bernard meant by transforming blood cells, but it couldn’t be anything good.

I started sweating. I was breathing faster. My hands were shaking. My whole focus was now on my body, and for a moment, I thought I dodged a bullet; that nothing else would happen. Bernard’s excitement seemed to be fading as the seconds passed by. I stared at him, the rage building up inside me. He was disappointed. These sick fuckers…

I wanted them all dead!

And then, all of a sudden, I was hit with a brutal jolt of pain that nearly knocked me out cold. It took me a moment to regain full consciousness, and I realized I was on my knees, screaming so loudly my throat hurt.

My body… my body was cracking, bones shifting and skin… bubbling… I opened my eyes to see my hands. My vision was blurry, but I could see it happening… I was drenched in cold sweat and my stomach turned upside down when I saw my bones moving under my skin just before it all was covered up in thick, gray fur. I watched the fur spreading in seconds, reaching my fingertips, and when my skin calmed down, my nails started growing. They were long and sharp like a hawk’s, far from what my wolf form had.

“What’s going on…?” I whispered weakly.

It got worse. Far worse. I couldn’t breathe when the collar grew too small around my throat. The shackles were digging into my skin, letting out creaks and cracks when the hard metal started giving up. My already shredded clothes were tearing apart around my shoulders. When I screamed again in pain, it wasn’t my voice anymore. It was lower… louder… something a beast from Hell would sound like.

I was turning, but into what? This was not my wolf form. This was… This was bigger and much scarier than that.

Then, the energy hit me hard. I didn’t even know I was going to move before I was already up on my feet, growling in fury. The anger I felt was now pure rage, and I lost myself in it. I wasn’t in control anymore. My emotions took over.

This was not what they expected, that much was clear. I could see their excitement turning into worry, and when I pulled the chains hard, breaking them quickly, they got up from their cushy seats, taking a few steps back as the guards raised their guns at me.

I locked my eyes with Lena’s when I stepped closer to the door, kicking forward until the rest of the chains broke. It happened so easily… I saw myself in the reflection of the bulletproof glass. I wasn’t changing anymore, but the transformation was far from complete. I was somewhere between a man and a wolf. My legs were like the hind legs of a dog, but my arms were still human’s, although covered in fur. My face was somewhat of a wolfs, fangs and ears and all, but my upper body was more human.

And I felt strong again.

So… this was the anomaly… I almost laughed at the thought.

I turned to look at Bernard when I grabbed hold of the door. The humans outside didn’t move a muscle, not until the first creak interrupted the silence. I growled again when I started ripping the door off its hinges. They started firing, but the bulletproof glass protected me. The silent laboratory had turned into a loud warzone, but Bernard didn’t move. He just stood there, watching me with wide eyes and mouth open. He was still holding the syringe…

The door finally fell, and by the time it hit the floor, I was already outside, swiping my new and improved nails at the closest guards. I sent them all flying. I got hit by a few bullets, but it didn’t slow me down as I continued my way to that bastard who had pumped me full of drugs. He still wasn’t moving when I wrapped my fingers around his throat, lifting him in the air. It was then that I truly realized how much bigger I was. I had to be closer to eight feet tall.

“Thank you…” I growled at him, surprised that I still could talk, though my voice was nothing of a human. Bernard tried to pry my hand off him, choking in my grip. “This sure is an exciting discovery…”

I doubted he was listening. The guards were back on their feet and ready to fire at me again, so I threw the stupefied scientist at them and decided to make a run for it. This was my chance to escape. I had no idea how long I would stay in this form, so I had to move fast.

But when I turned around, Killian was standing between me and the way to freedom. He was holding a shotgun, aiming the barrel at me.

“Looks like we need a bigger collar,” he smirked, but he was lacking the usual confidence.

I let out a blood-chilling growl, the kind that scared even myself, before launching at him. He pulled the trigger, and I felt sharp pain spreading in my chest. Killian managed to get out of my way and fired at me again. The shot hit me on my shoulder and neck, and…

I… I couldn’t remember much about what happened next. The anger finally pushed me over the edge, and I attacked. All I could remember was a bunch of blurry images of bloody monitors and lab coats. A lot of screaming and yelling… breaking glass and falling tables…

One moment, everything around me was pure chaos. The next, I was standing in a quiet hallway, staring at a set of stairs in front of me. I begged my body to move to it. It was my only way out. I was so close! It was right there…!

I heard a muffled sound somewhere behind me, and I turned around, ready to continue fighting. It was Killian. He was holding his side with one hand, and I could see blood gushing out his stomach. The other hand was pointing a gun at me.

“I should’ve killed you a long time ago,” he spat in anger, firing the gun, but I dodged it with ease.

He then fell on his knees, breathing heavily and sweating. I took a step closer to him, thinking about all the times he tormented me… But at that moment, a door behind him flew open, and I saw three more guards getting ready to kill me.

I glared at Killian for a short moment, before I turned around and dashed at the stairs, flying up to freedom. The door at the top of them didn’t hold me back long, and when I crashed through it, I was greeted by a chilly wind.

I stopped to stare at the outside world I hadn’t seen in months. The sun was shining, hurting my eyes. The sound of nature filled my ears. The fresh air… I took a deep, deep breath, almost forgetting I was supposed to be running until my legs would give in.

At that moment, my bones started moving again. I tried to keep my voice down as the pain hit me so I wouldn’t be discovered, but it was in vain. I heard a scared yelp somewhere close by. Trying to stay conscious, I turned around to see one of the scientists standing by his car, staring back at me with fear in his eyes. He tried to run, but even in the middle of my transformation, I was too fast for him. I reached him in a heartbeat, slammed him onto the ground and stole his belongings and the keys to the car. I was seeing stars as my body changed rapidly, and I almost failed to get back up.

The man wasn’t moving when I finally managed to push myself off him, but the guards had finally gotten up the stairs. I could hear them shouting commands, preparing to burst out the door and come after me.

I had only seconds left before they’d see me. I used all my willpower to get up and sit behind the wheel. My head was spinning, so it took me three tries before I got the key inside the ignition. The guards ran outside while I was firing up the engine. They shot at me when I hit the gas pedal. The window on my left shattered into pieces, and something small hit me hard, but I didn’t take a look. I was too focused on the road ahead of me.

The big car accelerated fast as I aimed at the closed gates. I didn’t have enough time for prayers when I drove past the guards who were sending countless bullets in my way. I could only hope the gates would break, or I would be trapped. This was my only chance to escape.

In a heartbeat, I was at the gates. The iron looked awfully strong as it stood there right in front of me. I thought I wouldn’t make it, but the car flew right through it, but not without losing momentum. The pedal was already on the floor under my feet, and I screamed at the car to go faster, fearing the engine was damaged.

But no… someone was watching over me at that moment. I could hear the bullets hitting the trunk, breaking the back window, but soon, it stopped.

After that, all I could hear was the roaring of the engine, and the tires on the sand road as that fucking facility vanished from the rearview mirror.

I was free. I was finally free.