She ducked down, sucking air. Her hands pressed firmly to her mouth in an attempt to keep down the screams. Beckoned on by morbid curiosity, she twisted back to see the three men fighting with each other over the corpse. It had blood oozing from its broken fingers.
As if on some coordinated inner queue, they stopped fighting, pushed the corpse back in the blanket, and dragged it away. Cassie sat under the window for long moments. Blood pumped in her temples as ragged breaths panted from her lungs. What the hell were those things? Fucking zombies? Mutant cannibals?
The sun set, leaving her in total darkness. She felt too afraid to get up from the spot under the window. Once she’d calmed down enough to think somewhat clearly, she laid out the sleeping bag and went to sleep.
She woke with a start the next morning, to the sound of a shrill bird call outside the restaurant. She rubbed her eyes and looked out the window. There was no movement on the street.
Quickly, she rolled up her sleeping bag and attached it to her backpack. She checked the windows one more time and crept outside. Once she made it out of town, she veered off the road and over a yellow, grassy field, into the cover of a pine forest
Chapter 5
Cassie trekked through the forest, keeping track of the mountains whenever she found a clearing. As the sun tipped toward the western sky, she stepped near the edge of a ridge, trying to climb over a downed tree. Her foot slipped, and she went tumbling butt first down into a ravine. She cried out in fear and pain as the jagged rocks bit into her flesh.
When she reached the bottom in a cloud of dust and tears, she found her jumpsuit badly torn. Her ankle throbbed, and her butt and legs stung from gashes. She reached inside her backpack to get her water bottle and took a deep swig, trying not to panic.
No matter how hard she tried, she felt a rush of fear and hopelessness through the pain of her wounds. Tears bled from her eyes as she rose to her feet and limped forward. She wouldn’t lie down and die at the bottom of this stupid ravine. Her anger and determination surprised her; she hadn’t felt such strong emotions in a long time.
As she limped along a creek bed, she heard a low growl from the woods behind her. She turned, fear boiling over inside. Amber eyes peered from the darkness. A muzzle slid into the light as the creature bared its fangs.
Visions of The Program swam in her fear-addled mind. She felt as if she were reliving a nightmare in the broad daylight. A pack of giant wolves charged through the brush and lunged after her. Broken and bloody, she ran.
She couldn’t think, could barely breathe. She looked behind her and saw them gaining. She ran blindly, not paying attention to where she went. Not looking where she was going, she smashed into an earthen wall.
Flipping around to face her assailants, stones toppled around her from a small avalanche of dirt, falling into her hair and clothing. The wolves approached, blocking her in all directions. They growled, snarling over their sharp white teeth.
Cassie shouted at them like bad dogs, but they did not respond. Feeling the full blow of hopelessness, she slid down the wall and began to weep. This was not a simulation. There was no way out. The largest wolf of the pack, a massive gray beast with glowing amber eyes, approached her.
It leaned its head toward Cassie and slid its pink tongue along the exposed scraped flesh on the back of her arm. She gasped, startled. The wolf pulled back, its body contorting wildly. The rest of the pack followed suit, writhing and howling, until Cassie covered her ears with her palms and squeezed her eyes shut from the horror.
The air went silent, and she opened her eyes again. Before her, half a dozen fully nude humans stood looking down at her with curiosity in their eyes. The male who had licked her towered above. He was well over six feet tall and had glistening tanned skin and taut lean muscles. His chest rose over his rippling stomach. The defined muscles of his lower abs dipped down toward his manhood. Cassie took him in, her eyes wide with wonder.
She bit her lip. She’d never seen a naked man up close and personal like this. He wore his maleness like a mantle. His broad shoulders and square jaw commanded her attention, even through her shock and fear. He pursed his lips and ran his hand through his dark hair.
“This one is pure human. I smell it in her blood. One taste and I’m sure of it.”
“Who... who are you?” Cassie stammered.
“I’m your alpha, girl. Someone tie her up to transport back to the compound.”
“Wait,” she protested as a dark-skinned man bound her hands and feet with a length of vine. After tying her up, he shifted back into a massive gray wolf. Two women and another man hefted her over the wolf’s body, her head dangling over its side.
“What are you going to do to me?” she screamed.
She felt a puff of air on her ass as a wet nose dipped between her legs. She could see the alpha’s legs. Even through the sting of her wounds and the pulsating fear, the sensation of the alpha’s nose sniffing her tender flesh aroused something primal within her. His raspy tongue licked the gashes, soothing the wounds. She squealed and tried to wiggle away. She’d never given her permission for this.
“You don’t have to tie me up!” she wailed. But no one listened.
The other wolves shifted, and the pack leapt through the woods, taking her with them. She squeezed her eyes shut to avoid losing what little food she had in her stomach. When she did open her eyes, she saw the ground moving under her with such speed, she had to press them closed again.
When they finally stopped moving, Cassie opened her eyes to find herself over black pavement. Hands gripped her body and slid her from the hairy back of the beast. She turned to find the alpha, naked, staring down at her.
“Take her inside and feed her. I’ll question her after I dress.”
Cassie was led into a long, low building. Inside, she found a series of tables with other humans sitting around them. She smelled food. The humans looked up at her and her naked, dark-skinned male companion. Gray streaked his dark hair, and deep lines etched the sides of his chocolate-colored eyes.
“I’m Neil. Second in command here,” he said, pointing to a chair. “Sit. Wait for further instructions.”
She sat and watched him walk away. For an older man, Neil was exquisitely formed, like all the naked werewolves. She gulped. A young woman dressed in green cargo pants and a black tank top approached. Cassie recognized her as one of the women who’d hoisted her onto Neil’s back. She had long, black dreadlocks, dusky brown skin, a round face, full lips, and wide, light-brown eyes that looked at Cassie with intense curiosity.
The young woman set a plate of mashed potatoes and red meat in front of Cassie and sat down with a plate of her own. She handed Cassie a metal cup filled with fresh water. Cassie took a long drink and then dug into her meal. She was so grateful for the warm food; Cassie temporarily forgot she’d been kidnapped.
“I’m Selina,” the woman said between bites, pointing a fork at herself. “You’re a full human, aren’t you?” Selina had a slight Hispanic accent in her smooth voice.
“I’ll take it from here,” said the man who’d captured her and sniffed her ass. The alpha. Selina took her plate and walked away while the alpha slid into the chair on the opposite side of the table.
He’d changed into clothing similar to Selina’s. His green cargo pants were tucked into black boots that reached his mid-calf. He wore a tight black T-shirt that clung to all of his defined muscles and accentuated the mass of his arms.
“What is this place?” Cassie asked.
“This is my compound. Now, I’ll ask the questions. Who are you? Where did you come from, and how did you avoid the change?” His eyes narrowed on her.
“What change?” she asked, squinting at him.
“Answer my question,” he said in a flat, low voice.
“My name is Cassandra Kline. Everyone calls me Cassie. I came from the dome, three days walk southeast of here.”
“The dome, huh. That explains it.” He leaned back in his chair. ??
?How did you get out?”
“It’s crazy,” she muttered, scooping more potatoes into her mouth. She took a gulp of water and looked at him wide-eyed. “Almost as crazy as werewolves.”
“Go on. As you can tell, nothing is that strange anymore,” he prodded.
“I was in The Program.”
“The Program?”
“Yes. It’s a virtual reality computer simulation.”
“I know what it is,” he cut her off. “What were you doing in there?”
“The Pyramid Corporation had developed a test for us girls. They said they were starting a ‘genetic rehabilitation project.’ Little did I know what that meant. Anyway, I went into The Program for my test, and a hologram of my mother appeared to me. She said I had to get out, something about the Council of the Seventh House. I’ve never heard of anything like that.” She took another bite of the meat on her plate. “What is this? It’s good.”
“Venison. The Council of the Seventh House? So it’s true.”
“What’s true?”
“It doesn’t concern you now.”
“The hologram of my mother thought it did.”
She stopped chewing and looked at her plate. She’d never eaten deer before. It wasn’t half-bad.
“Tell me how you got out of the dome.”
“I was sleeping, and then the hologram woke me up and led me out. I wouldn’t have gone, but I had a vision of what the ‘genetic rehabilitation project’ entailed, and I didn’t want any part of that.”
“What did you see?”
Cassie’s stomach clenched at the thought of it.
“I don’t want to talk about it.” She stared at her plate.
“Rafe, we need you in the pack meeting,” said Selina, coming up behind him. Rafe slid from the chair with fluid grace and stood over Cassie.
“Selina, show her to her quarters and explain everything to her. Cassandra, you will stay here. No harm will come to you in my compound. That is a great deal more than can be said for the outside. I’m surprised you made it this far.”
“So you guys aren’t going to eat me?”
He stared at Cassie with confusion and a hint of humor in his eyes. The side of his mouth pulled up into half a grin. “No. There are better uses for young human women like you,” he said, his eyes raking a hot trail over her body. “Selina, make sure she’s comfortable.”
Selina’s lips pressed together in a smirk as she looked from Rafe to Cassie. Cassie watched Rafe walk out the door of the cafeteria, his cargo pants hugging every muscle in his perfect behind. She felt a strange sensation tingle down her spine.
In the last three days, she’d seen her friend Lindsey raped by some vampire alien, been assaulted by pervo old man Tanner, and had her butt licked by a werewolf; yet, when she looked at Rafe, she felt her stomach clench with excitement. He was by far the most desirable man she had ever encountered in her life, even before the war.
Selina pulled Cassie up from the table. Cassie followed Selina through the cafeteria, past the kitchen, and down a hallway lined with doors.
“These are our bunk rooms. Most of the pack lives here. The Alpha has his own quarters. You’ll bunk here with me.” She opened a door that led into a small bedroom with two cots and little else. The walls had chipping white paint, and the floor was gray concrete. The cots sat only a foot off the floor. They were covered with scratchy-looking green wool blankets and one flat pillow.
Cassie shrugged and lay down on her cot. It was better than the floor in McDonald’s.
“I’ve been in the dome since they evacuated Denver. Tell me what happened.”
“After the bombs hit most of the major cities around the world, there was like this radiation pulse. We think about ninety-five percent of the population died within the first day of the pulse. The remaining five percent, the survivors, all mutated.”
“Mutated?”
“Everyone is a mutant now,” she said. “You need some new clothes. Yours got pretty shredded when you fell down that ravine.” Selina pulled a wooden box from under her cot and dropped a pair of cargo pants and a black tank top on Cassie’s stomach.
Cassie sat up and examined the clothing. Her jumpsuit wouldn’t be suitable to wear anymore.
“Tell me about the mutations.”
“So you’ve got your shifters, like us. The whole pack is wolves. There are packs all over the world now. There are other types of shifters too, but they stick to their own kind. You’ve got dryads. They usually hang out alone. The witches have their covens. You never know if they’ll curse you or help you. Hard to know with that type. Then you’ve got your run-of-the-mill zombie, though I don’t think they actually eat brains exclusively. They eat pretty much the whole body.”
Cassie cringed, disgusted, remembering the zombies she’d seen on the road. She hung her face in her hands and tried to incorporate the information she’d been given.
“This is all so different from anything I was told.”
Chapter 6
“Roll call,” said Selina as she shook Cassie awake. Cassie groaned and rubbed her eyes. It was pitch black in the room.
“What time is it? Why are you shaking me?”
“It’s four AM. Time to get up.”
“Wolves are nocturnal. I’m a human, leave me alone.”
“Alpha wants to see you. Come on,” she said, pulling Cassie’s arm until she sat up.
Selina led Cassie through the bunkhouse and out the door of the cafeteria without offering her food. She smelled the savory scent of scrambled eggs.
The air outside was crisp and cool in the predawn darkness. They walked across the compound, past a group of SUVs parked in the cement lot. The sound of farm animals caught Cassie’s attention, and she noticed animal pens beyond the buildings. Selina led Cassie up some stairs and through a doorway into another building.
Rafe sat with a group of men and woman eating breakfast and drinking hot tea that steamed from their white porcelain cups. He wiped his hands on a napkin when he saw Cassie and nodded to the others to leave. They dispersed after one gesture. His eyes went to Cassie.
“Sit,” he said, pointing to a chair next to him. “Selina get her a plate of breakfast.”
Selina scurried out of the room, and Cassie slid into the chair next to Rafe. His tanned skin looked darker in the dim light of the room. He took a sip from his cup and focused on her.
“Did Selina get you a room?”
“Yes. She said I could share with her.”
“I see you have new clothes. Good. Ask Selina to show you the shower. You smell like the road.”
“Thanks,” she muttered.
Selina came back with a plate of steaming scrambled eggs and a cup of hot tea. She set it in front of Cassie and left. Cassie dug in, savoring every bite.
“Tell me what you know about The Program,” said Rafe.
“It’s a computer-simulated virtual reality,” she began. “Inside The Program your brain believes the simulation to be real. You can get injured in The Program if you have an experience that would injure you in real life. Success inside The Program is measured by how able you are to overcome obstacles, and, I learned recently, to see beyond the virtual reality for what it is.”
“And you have had a great deal of experience inside The Program?”
“Yes.”
“Considering your familiarity, I’d like to send you inside. It could be beneficial to our operation.”
“You have a terminal? Wait. What operation?”
“We are still at war Cassandra. If you haven’t noticed.”
“I’m getting that,” she muttered, shoving more eggs in her mouth. She felt her heart twist. She’d been deceived for five years, living with people who might have been responsible for the deaths of nearly seven billion people.
“I’m not sure what they told you about The Program, but it’s a central part of their plan.”
“What plan?”
“Let me just say, it’s more than a computer
simulation. That’s all you need to know for now. I won’t tell you more until I know you can be trusted. It’s quite possible you are a spy.”
“Thanks a lot. I just ran for three days to get away from my home, all my friends, everything. I was dehydrated, almost raped. I tore apart my feet and fell down a ravine. And you want to call me a spy? I’m not the freak, mutant werewolf here. How do I know you can be trusted?” His eyes grew wide with surprise. Cassie took it he wasn’t used to being spoken to that way. His eyes softened, glowing with mirth and the corners of his lips twitched into half a smile.
“I understand your position. We can be mutually beneficial to each other if you are willing to play by my rules. I’m feeding and housing you. This is my compound, my pack. The terminals belong to me, and I developed them. I can tell you or not tell you whatever I’d like. Take it or leave it. You can always see how you fare with the zombies.”
“Fine. What do you want me to do?”
“The pack is about to hunt. We hunt at various times of day or night, depending on the movements of the local pray. Later this morning, I will send someone to bring you to a terminal. I’ll explain the rest then. Now, go back to sleep if you’d like.” He waved his hand at Cassie as if to dismiss her. She gave him a weak glare and slid out of the chair, picking her plate up off the table as she left.
She could feel his eyes graze over her body as she walked out the door, leaving a tingling hot sensation on her flesh. She wanted to glance back at him over her shoulder, but the power of his eyes on her body left her intimidated.
Cassie strode back across the compound to put her plate in the kitchen where a man and a woman cooked and washed for the entire pack of about twenty people, er, werewolves.
When she got to her room, Selina was gone. Selina was supposed to show her the showers. Now that she had nothing else to do, she became intensely aware of how dirty she was. Not to mention the fact that Rafe had said she smelled.