Changes (23 page)

Rachel made her way down the hallway and back to the labs. Seeing his thermos, she knew he had to be there. It made sense. Now, she had to think of a place to look. It didn’t take long for her to come up with an idea.
They took him to the animal lab.
That made sense too. It felt like the best place to start, so she quickened her pace as she pushed her way through the double doors and hurried into the labs.

She went past her lab, slowing briefly to look inside it, and after seeing no one there, picked up her pace again and moved on. She reached the next intersection, and there she paused and looked down every hallway to see if anyone was there.

They all looked quiet. Everything felt still.

Seeing that, she took a deep breath, and moved again.

Coming to each intersection, she followed the same routine. When she reached the double doors to the animal lab, she stopped. She looked to the doors, and readied herself for anything that she might find behind them. She had no idea what to expect, so she had to prepare for anything. The doors were closed, and the area looked likewise still. Seeing that, she went for her access card and opened the door.

Inside the room, everything looked dark, and the room sounded quiet. She couldn’t tell if anyone was there or not, so she turned to her right, found the light switch on the wall, and flung them up without another thought about it.

The lights flared on overhead.

She looked around, and saw a bed at the far wall with someone lying on top of it. She didn’t need to see him to know who he was. “Jimmy?”

She moved to the side of the bed with only a few steps. She looked down at him, and couldn’t believe what she saw. His ankles and wrists were strapped to the sides of the bed. He looked asleep. He wore a hospital gown. Everything made her thoughts flash with horror.
How could they do this to him? Why would they do it? What the fuck are they doing to him?
Gooseflesh flew down her arms, as her heart started an endless pounded inside her chest. She began to feel herself sweat. She felt totally scared. She felt absolutely horrified by all of it. “Jimmy?” She took his head into her hands, and tapped both cheeks with her fingers.

He looked up towards her voice. He had trouble seeing her with the lights overhead blinding him some, but he did manage to do it. He squinted. He winced. He didn’t need to see her to know who it was. He knew her scent. He could have followed her for hundreds of miles just by that alone. “Rachel?” He brought his head up some. It took some time for his eyes to focus, but when they did, he couldn’t believe that it was really her.

“My God Jimmy, what are they doing to you?” She cupped his chin. “Why are they doing this?”

He didn’t fight her taking his face. “They’re waiting for me to change.” He looked into her eyes and loved the sight even more. “They want me for me.” He sighed.

“What?”

“I’m changing Rachel. They’re waiting for it.”

She shook her head. He didn’t make any sense.
They must have drugged him.
“I’m getting you out of here.” She went for the straps that held his wrists first. She had to pull at it some to get the pin to release through the hole of the leather, but she did manage to get them off him. It didn’t take all that long really. With his right hand free, she went to the left.

It felt awesome, having his arm free. It felt better than it should have felt. He lifted it up to his face, as she went for his ankles.

“I can’t believe they’re doing this to you?”

“They’re waiting for me to change,” he said again, now bringing his right hand up to his face and found himself staring at it oddly. Both of them didn’t seem to belong to him, and in fact, he couldn’t even feel them. Everything felt so odd. It all felt so weird to see and feel—everything.

“What are you talking about?” It took only moments for her to free his legs.

“I’m going to turn into a monster.” He moved his feet up, bringing his knees towards his pelvis. “I’m a wolf. They’re waiting for me to change into a wolf. They want me to change into this animal. They’re waiting for the wolf.”

With him now free, she went back to his shoulders, and stared into his eyes. He even struggled some to sit up. Seeing him react, and seeing the haze over his eyes, confirmed to her that they must have given him something to keep him immobile. He acted drugged. He didn’t seem like himself. What he said wasn’t making any sense, so it had to be the drugs talking. “Can you move?” She wrapped her left arm around his shoulders and placed her right hand on his arm.

“I don’t know.”

“Come on.” She pulled at his shoulders, and sat him up further.

He swung his legs around to the side of the bed. He struggled. He fought. He felt beyond weak, he felt almost
loose
.

“Can you walk?” She watched him struggle with just the simplest of movements, and it made her wince.

“I think so.” His mind felt so numb that it was hard to think of anything at all. With his feet on the floor, he pulled himself up using the bed behind him some for support.

Seeing him wobble, now standing, she took his left arm and helped him stand to his feet.
This is going to be tough. I’m going to have to help him.
She wrapped her right arm around his waist. So much was going on that she didn’t understand. She only knew they had to go. They had to move. They had to run. She had to help him do it. “Come on; lean on me if you have to?” She pulled him with everything she had just to move him away from the bed.

He did move. He still wobbled, but he did manage to make it to the center of the floor.

Together they made it back to the doors. Reaching for the right door, it wouldn’t move. It seemed locked. Seeing a card-reading pad to the right of the doors, she once again used her card to open it.
This is a prison.
The idea slammed her hard. Jimmy had been right after all. They kept Collins a prisoner, and they were doing the same thing with him. That alone scared her to her very core. None of the other labs had such a feature, and knowing that, it made her feel shocked. Everything was true. Everything that happened was real. It felt beyond terrifying, it just felt plain old wrong.

With the door unlocked, she opened it with her left hand, keeping her right under his arm. The wobbling seemed to lessen some now that he was standing still, but once they started moving again, it came back with full strength. It made him difficult to get through the door, but they did manage. She pulled him out into the hallway, and once there, they moved slowly, building up their pace.

It felt difficult for him. His head spun as they moved faster. Every step he made felt like a toothache. It felt nagging. It felt painful. He wobbled even more.

Reaching the first intersection, she stopped. She allowed him to balance himself, as she looked down all of the hallways before them, making sure they were still alone. Seeing no one there, she sighed. The area remained quiet. She did her best.

They left the intersection, and turned down the left hallway and continued moving. They kept to the right side of the wall to allow him to use it for support as they moved.

Reaching the next intersection, they stopped again. She had to take the time to see if anyone was there first, but still, no one was. Again, the area seemed overly quiet. Seeing it, she took a deep breath, and let herself breathe. When she felt ready again, they left the wall and stepped up their pace.

They headed down the left hallway and came to the double doors to labs. There, she opened the door and went out into the offices, pulling him on. Soon, they came to the stairs to the lobby. They were almost there. The next part was to make it to the front doors and make it past the guard that was behind the counter. Knowing that, she stopped at the railing of the stairs and stood him up.

“Take the railing.” She let go of his right arm and placed both of his hands onto the railing. “I have to see if the guard is still there.”

“I’ll be all right.” He took the railing into both hands, and used it to stand up straight. “Where would I go?” He chuckled and smiled. He started feeling better so he took a deep breath.

She made sure that he wasn’t going to fall first, and when he looked semi stable, she took a deep breath as well. She left him at the top of the stairs and slowly moved down them until she reached the first floor. All the while, she kept herself balanced. She took her time. She had to stay cautious. She looked to the counter as she moved, and at first, she saw no one there. When she reached counter, she could see that it was empty.
Thank God.
The coast looked clear so she went back up the stairs and retook him by the right arm. “We’re safe.” She pulled him away from the railing, and placed his weight over her shoulders again. “Come on.”

Slowly, they went down. Slowly, they reached the bottom of the steps. Slowly, they came to the tiled floor of the lobby.

The feeling of ice raced through the bottom of his bare feet. He looked to the doors. They had only yards to go. They were now almost there.

“Well, well, well, look at what we have here?” a familiar voice came from behind them, just as they reached a foot or so to the doors.

Rachel turned, seeing Gary and two other uniformed men coming out from behind the counter and around it towards them.

“Gary?” She gasped as her heart sank, and her eyes exploded with fear gripping her fast.

“What do you think you’re doing Rachel?” He asked with each of the other guards flanking him on both sides. He felt pleased with what he saw, but at the same time, he also felt disappointed.
Why is she helping him? Why is she risking everything for him?
Everything was on his thoughts.

The three men approached them, with Gary staying in the center of the group. They showed her that they didn’t intend to let them make it to the doors. It just seemed obvious that they would stop them from going anywhere.

“You have no right keeping him here.” She watched them form around her and Jimmy.

Gary laughed. “We have every right to keep our pets.” He chuckled, and his mustache curled over his lip.

Rachel’s eyes widened. “How dare you call him that!” She felt Jimmy’s weight lessen some now that they were standing still.

Jimmy looked to each of the guards and could feel himself begin to strengthen. However, his mind’s numbness increased with each word he heard. Everything felt so far away. Their voices seemed lost in a fog. He felt like he was nothing more but a spectator watching everything from the stands.

“You don’t know what the hell he is, do you Rachel?” Gary stopped only inches from them with the two other guards coming up behind them.

“I know that you have no right to do what you’re doing.” She turned her eyes to the others, watching them get closer. “I’m taking him home.”

“You’re not taking him anywhere.” Gary turned to the others. “Take him.”

The two men reached for each of Jimmy’s arms.

One of them, Reese, pushed Rachel away from him.

She struggled, but she wasn’t able to put up an effective fight. “You son of a bitch!” she screamed as she lost her grip.

“Don’t fight Rachel.” Jimmy didn’t recognize his own voice. His mind seemed to be fading fast. The eyes, which he felt before, watching him from a distance, were now there again, and they came from behind his own eyes. He could feel them getting stronger. He could feel them now stepping straight towards him. In his head, he kept hearing a strange voice saying over, and over again,
remember. Remember him. Remember—remember—remember.

“Listen to him Rachel.” Gary grabbed her by the arm and pulled her away from the others. He grabbed her other arm and held her by the shoulders right in front of him. She still faced Jimmy.

Three other guards came up behind Gary, and each of them walked towards his back and stopped.

“Take her downstairs and hold her there until I get down there.” He pushed her to the three of them.

They took her, with each one taking an arm, and the other one moving with them behind her.

“Jimmy?” she called, feeling her feet sliding along the tiled floor. They pulled her to the counter, and then pulled her behind it.

“Rachel?” Jimmy tried to reach out to her with a hollow arm, swinging it through the air, and grabbed at nothing.

Gary watched his reach, and laughed. He loved seeing it, and decided to strike him right then.

He flung out with a right clenched fist, and struck his face. The bones of his hand cracked. The sound of bone against bone echoed throughout the glass.

Jimmy felt the impact against the left side of his face, and absorbed it completely. The shock of it all pushed his head back to the right. An instant pain flung through his face and wrapped around it to the back of his head. With it, the numbness he felt only grew stronger. He began to feel himself falling away. The eyes watching from behind him came forward, almost pushing him aside.

Gary watched the strike. He felt his own pain rake his hand. He loved both of them.

“Jimmy!” Rachel screamed as she felt herself pulled across the lobby to a side door just to the left of the counter. Watching Gary’s punch only caused her fear for Jimmy to multiply by tenfold. “Jimmy! Let go of me you bastards!” They dragged her through the door. They then pulled down a set of stairs.