Page 17 of Captive Beta
It’s hard to pull my eyes away from her. I don’t want to see what she’s doing, but it’s like I can’t look anywhere else, only at her. I don’t know if it’s because of how dangerous she is and I need to make sure I don’t lose sight of her so I can protect myself, or the kids, or because of some other reason.
I take another step, noticing the floor is uneven a moment before whatever it is starts rolling and my foot slides out from under me, making me fall on my ass. A scream catches in my throat as I realise what now lies between my legs, what I stepped on.
A finger.
A finger she cut off from one of the guys.
Fucking hell…
Who is this girl?
The guards sprayed a shitload of pheromone suppressant and other scents around, to hide the fearful pheromones from the kids and because the guards really can’t stand each other. The slightest provocation sets them off. This way, they at least won’t kill each other while we transport the kids to their new location. But it also makes it hard to breathe, the competing scents like a thick blanket in the room.
This isn’t the first time they’ve given me guards who would rather kill each other than protect us, they do it because I won’t complain. They do it because it bothers me and because I can’t do anything about it. If I make even a peep, they’ll make it even worse next time…
So, it’s not like I really care what happens to the guards. Their job is to protect us and my job is to protect the kids. As long as I keep the kids safe, they can’t punish or blame me for anything.
I carefully slide along the wall on my ass, making sure to avoid any of the blood, which isn’t particularly easy, and move one of the nearby chairs against the door to the room where the kids are. The door opens in this direction, so, with the chair, they can’t get out and get themselves in trouble.
The fearful pheromones from the kids slip under the door, which are much stronger now I’m so close to it. But they’re smart enough to stay where they are, to protect themselves.
Now I can fully focus on protecting us, now I don’t have to worry about them going anywhere or seeing anything they shouldn’t be seeing.
I have no idea who this girl could be or where she came from.
We arrived at the warehouse on time and settled the kids in the other room so they could hopefully get some sleep before we’re picked up for the next leg of the trip.
One of the guards went outside to let headquarters know we’re on schedule, all the same as usual and according to plan.
Things went off-plan when there was a sound, a strange gurgling, coming from outside, and the other two guards were on their feet in moments, their weapons drawn.
It was all so fast and unexpected that I didn’t immediately know what to do. This has never happened before.
The girl slammed the door further open, the loud noise making everyone flinch as she jumped inside, weapons at the ready. She got up close to each of the guards, like she was scenting them, before she snarled, cutting each of them across the arm, making them drop their guns.
Then she met my gaze and electricity shot through me, like I was hit by lightning, before she glanced at the door to the room where the kids were hiding, meeting my gaze one last time. Something inside me recognised her, something instinctual, even though I’m sure I’ve never seen her before in my life.
I watched as the look in her eyes went from curiosity to intense fury as her attention shifted to the two guards.
She spun away from me, no longer focused on taking the guards down but instead focused on hurting them as long and as much as possible. And she was taking some strange pleasure from it.
It’s hard to believe that someone so small, so doll-like, can take on people so much taller. She’s like a doll from a horror movie, her hair and dress covered in blood and grime, light reflecting off her knife from time to time as she keeps going at them.
One of the guards trips and falls backward, hitting his head against the edge of the sink and he slumps to the ground, not moving anymore.
Is he dead?
Did she just kill him?
For a moment I want to go over to him to check, but self-protective instinct makes sure I don’t move a muscle and stay where I am, as far from the fight as possible.
The girl doesn’t seem to pay any attention to the unmoving guard, now focusing on the last guy. His movements seem slower, his feet slipping in the blood on the floor and she keeps lunging at him, before pulling back, exhausting him.
The overhead light makes her wide open eyes shine, the shadows of her grin making it even more eerie. She’s toying with him.
This short girl in a flower dress is toying with a guard, not giving him even a moment to recover.
A shudder goes through me.
