4. Four

four

We found this cave by happenstance. And when I say happenstance, I mean Quin was walking backwards while running his mouth and dropped into a hole when the ground gave way beneath him.

It was an extensive cave system, with the large chamber that fit all of us comfortably, and smaller offshoots where we could have our own space.

We'd never had our own space before. There's no privacy when the walls are glass, and the eyes of cameras always track you.

At first, it was too quiet. We were used to the sounds of scientists coming and going, lab machinery whirring, each other's movements and other small noises. After a week, we grew more comfortable with ourselves and could spend more time apart.

I set her on the nest of blankets I'd made in the corner and turned a lamp on low for her to see. It wasn't much, but I'd salvaged several thick foam sheets that cushioned it from the rock floor. The blankets were soft and warm.

"I would have spruced up if I'd known I'd have company." I kept my tone light, sensing she needed to get the darkness out of her mind. I couldn't imagine what she'd been through.

She smiled, and I grinned.

Then she laughed. A beautiful sound I wanted to hear again and again. Wait, was she laughing at me? My head tilted and my ears drooped.

"I'm sorry, it's just…" She shook her head. "I know you're smiling, but to me, it looks like you're showing a lot of teeth. It should scare the crap out of me, but I find it adorable."

She found me… endearing? My grin grew and she laughed again, but I didn't mind. I would grin as wide as I could to hear that sound.

"Why aren't you? Scared of us, I mean. We tried so hard to not frighten the women, but they all screamed and cried."

"Drym, are you saying they put women in with you? Why?"

I crouched until I could sit on the floor. I shrugged. "To see what we would do."

She sucked in a breath and reached for me. I stretched out my arm and stared as she wrapped her fingers around my hand. My entire body lit up like I was in the fog only, I wasn't angry. I felt something, but I wasn't sure what it was. The only other time I'd felt this happy was when we knew we'd escaped, when we knew we'd destroyed them.

"What did you do?"

I snorted. "We tried to look as small as possible. As harmless as possible. You can imagine how that worked out."

"I am so sorry. That sounds horrible."

I was stunned. She just escaped a terrifying situation and she was comforting me? I snuffled. "Not as awful as being hunted in the woods, I imagine."

She shook her head. "That was awful, but they took me two weeks ago. You lived your entire life in captivity. I can't imagine the trauma you've experienced."

I'd never thought of it that way. Trauma. It was just how it was. It was all we'd ever known. We knew we wanted out, wanted freedom, wanted control over our lives and bodies.

She cleared her throat. "How did you—I mean if it's not too invasive to ask—how did you escape?"

"We'd still be there if not for one of the scientists. She was new, and I suspect she had no idea what she'd signed up for. The first time they brought her to our wing, she almost fainted. They made fun of her, and we all got mad." I chuckled. "She found her backbone soon enough. She didn't like what they were doing, but they said it was no different from any other lab animal, and that their experiments were for the betterment of all humanity.

"Isabelle believed them, at first. Then she realized we weren't brainless beasts. That we were sentient. She started making plans, passing notes to Roul since she worked with him the most. Over the course of a month, one scribbled note at a time, we formulated a plan."

She nodded. "She helped you escape."

"Yes. We owe her everything."

"Where is she?"

I hung my head. "We don't know. The escape got … messy." Visions of men and women in white coats screaming as we tore them apart, blood coating the walls, the floor, the ceiling—us. Our claws swept through equipment, computers, storage vials. We left nothing behind. Nothing that could recreate the ‘experiment' that made us. "We lost her in the confusion. She disappeared. I think she went into hiding, same as us, and is just trying to figure out what to do next."

"Roul—he must be the scary one."

I laughed. "Yes, that describes him perfectly. He likes nothing more than to rip heads, but he's fiercely loyal and protective to a fault." I sighed. "He reacted to her, like I react to you."

She laid down and snuggled into the blankets and my heart raced at seeing her comfortable in my bed. She yawned so wide I heard her jaw crack.

She hummed. "I'm sorry. I'm exhausted."

"I will leave you to sleep."

She sat straight up, panic on her face. "No! Please, don't leave. I don't want to be alone."

"Then I will stay."

She scooted to the front of the bed and patted the space she'd made behind her. I laid down, careful of my claws, horns, and the spikes on my tail. She half rolled toward me and grabbed my forearm, dragging it over her stomach. I pulled her closer and curled myself around her, silently letting her know I'd protect her from any threat.

She was asleep in moments.

With her scent in my nose, it took me a lot longer.