Heart's Prisoner (Dark World Mates Book 1) Read online

  Instead, Lana lifted her hand and carefully peeled away the sheet covering him.

  Seeing him so close, and with no glass between them, was surreal. In the bright, albeit yellowish, light of the lab, she got a good look at his glistening, deep red scales and his dark purple horns. She let the cover slip from her hands to rest on Xerus' chest. Glancing around, and seeing no one watching her, Lana gently placed her hand on Xerus' chest. Her heart leaped at the first raw contact. His body was still warm, though not by much. His skin was hard yet smooth. She waited a moment, then lowered her head toward his face. She remained in that position for some time until she was truly convinced she felt no rise or fall of his chest or the slightest whisper of breath. She took her hand from his chest and encircled her own throat. She stared at him, wondering if she stared long enough would his eyes open. And if they did, would she be relieved or horrified.

  With shaky fingers, she touched the side of Xerus' face and tears once again started to fall.

  "Why, Xerus, oh god," she whispered. Her hands cupped his jaw and her fingers traced his mouth. "This didn't have to happen. Why couldn't you trust me?" Her tears hit his face as she lowered her head to his. Her vision swam. She clutched his face tighter and, before anyone could see, she dared kiss him. Likely dangerous as it was, Lana didn't think much of it nor care. This was her goodbye. She lifted her head and released her hands from him. As she straightened, she quickly placed the cover back over his face.

  Wiping away the tears, she went to turn away when a glint caught her eye. Beside the table, on a small desk, was the bracelet she had given Xerus and the lock of her hair. She thought about taking them but decided against it. Walking back to her desk, Lana shut down her computer and gathered her things then left the facility, this time she assumed for good.

  ***

  Back in her room, Lana began to pack her things. There was a ship leaving the base tomorrow morning and she figured she should be on it. There was nothing left here to do so there was no longer a reason to stay.

  Except the problem was she couldn't seem to get herself moving fast enough. Half the time she was folding and refolding clothes and the other half she was staring into space. She checked her email several times but all she found were daily announcements, dates for a sporting event, and some unimportant news about the oil strikes off of TL40. She thought about taking a trip up to the city sector and just walking around for a few hours to get her mind off of everything, but she couldn't bring herself to go outside either.

  It had been so long since she'd felt like this. So completely lost and uncertain. She thought about her father and what he used to say while they sailed on his boat.

  The sea may be vast and frightening but there's always a way back to land somehow. You just have to choose a direction and just go, Lana.

  And here she was lost at sea. And her father wasn't here to guide her. She had started one direction but now was hesitant to continue. She could leave Lazris and stay with her aunt on one of the civilian worlds until she got back on her feet or maybe even return to her original base. But none of those felt right.

  One ill logic her father forgot to mention was that the land you found might not be the one you wanted to end up on.

  So Lana continued to pack but with no real purpose. She thought about what would have happened if everything had gone right instead of wrong. If Xerus had passed the test. If he hadn't betrayed her. It would have taken a lot more time probably but she was willing to bet she would have gotten the chance to go in the cell and interact with him. He would have demanded she complete the favors she had promised and she would have done what she could even if it drove her crazy.

  A soft ping signaled a message on her computer. When Lana went to check it she saw it was from Jacob.

  Lana,

  Thank you again for all you have done. I'm sorry it had to end like this. Know that I will give you any referral you need in the future. Despite all your efforts, you did a great job and I have no regrets in bringing you in. I will be off base for a week or two but as I said before do not hesitate to contact me.

  As you might already know, the heads of level twelve are planning to do an autopsy on Asset X. I give you permission to view the autopsy if you so desire and be given any recorded data on the procedure and their findings.

  Good luck to you and see you soon.

  Officer Jacob Hartin

  Lana signed off and sat back in her chair. She wanted to cry again but she fought back the tears. Xerus had been right all along. They would dissect him and likely cut him to pieces to study his body and internal organs. The thought of it made her sick for some reason even though she had seen autopsies many times before. She looked back at all her efforts to pack and sighed.

  If you knew what was good for you, you would leave this place entirely. Leave and never come back.

  Xerus' voice echoed in her head, dull and distant. It was like he wanted her to leave. But the funny thing was the biggest threat that she knew of was gone.

  ***

  Lana decided not to take the ship that morning. Though something in her screamed she should go, another part of her fought to stay. As much as it might pain her, she wanted to be there for the autopsy which was said to take place tomorrow afternoon. After that, she told herself she would leave for good. She had most of her things packed up and ready to go and would leave on the next available ship, which departed usually every couple of days. She had called her aunt and was told she was more than welcome to stay for as long as she liked. The best plan Lana could think of was to stay at her aunt's place while looking into other possible research bases across the known map. There was said to be a base way off on the outer regions of the governed territory that was researching deep-sea creatures said to be intelligent enough to communicate. Since she had so much knowledge already on water-based creatures, she figured it was a solid chance. She also planned to take another trip back to the Gyda's territory, to see how things had progressed there.

  Because in the back of her mind she thought that maybe, just maybe, she could find out more about Xerus' people. The Gyda never mentioned other races they knew of but maybe they would know of something if she dug far enough. And if they didn't know then maybe the deep-sea creatures of T19 would.

  Now there wasn't much more to do but wait. Lana forced herself from her room and went up to the city sector. She thought about calling Nicole to join her one last time at one of the restaurants but quickly chose against it, figuring she was likely too busy with matters Lana couldn't know about. She didn't bother to try to get a hold of Cole again either. Even to say goodbye. She walked around the sector and hung around, even had a drink at one of the bars, and bought a small trinket at one of the shops for her aunt.

  When the digital sky above began to darken, Lana figured it was time she returned to her room and readied herself for tomorrow, even if the thought of it made her stomach twist.

  Back in her room she dropped her aunt's gift on the bed and headed straight for the shower. As soon as the water was heated perfectly, she unclothed and stepped inside. She took a lot longer to wash up than usual, just letting the hot water pour down her back.

  After about forty minutes, Lana went to press the button to turn off the water when the lights flickered and went from the usual bluish-white to a dull orange. With a confused frown, she turned off the water and, as the noise of the stream was cut off, a muffled beep could be heard outside the bathroom.

  Lana stepped out and, as she dried off and wrapped a towel around her, she listened as the low beep continued, followed by the sound of someone speaking over an intercom. The sounds were coming from outside her unit.

  As she moved back into her main room she saw a flashing white light flickering from her computer. She turned it on and the screen flashed to a bright red. As Lana read the message on the screen her eyes widened and her heart dropped. Flinging off her towel, she dashed for her bag of clothes and put on the first set she found: a pair of panties and a sp
orts bra followed by gray coveralls with the Lazris star on the left breast. She slipped them on and fumbled with the buttons then snatched her phone off the computer desk and shoved it into one of the side pockets along with her keycard. As she went to the door, she paused for a mere second, hoping to god that it was all just a mistake, or maybe just a drill. She opened her door and the noise which had been muffled before now blasted out at her, making her ears ring. The low beep was now a siren that whooped down the hall which was now a dim tunnel bathed in an orangish glow from the emergency lights overhead.

  The siren quieted momentarily and a calm inhuman female voice rang out over it.

  "Base lockdown procedures in place. All personnel must return to their units or make their way to the nearest secure saferooms on designated levels... The base is in full lockdown, all civilian and military personnel must go to units or saferooms. Security to take the planned protocol measures."

  The siren started again. Lana took one step out into the hall and a large blast shook the base.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Lana nearly fell to the ground as the earth trembled under her. She shot her hands out to catch the wall and keep her balance. The lights flickered and another set of bells rang as the security system went down. The door locks to each room went from blue to red indicating they were no longer in working order. So much for staying in her room.

  A few others came tumbling out of their rooms, some in uniform others in sleepwear.

  "What the hell?" one shouted. They all looked around in terror. A mirror image of what Lana was also feeling.

  One man, still in uniform, calmly went to the door lock and examined it. "We aren't secure here, we have to go."

  The others shouted and argued while Lana backed herself to the wall looking down each direction of the passageway. The elevators were still running from what she could tell, which was a good sign, but the blast which had happened from below could happen again and stop them altogether.

  Lana's mind raced as she came to one bad assumption after another. The one that hit her the hardest was that she was absolutely certain whatever had caused the lockdown and the blast had something to do with level twelve.

  "Come on everyone we have to go," said the man.

  "Where?" asked another.

  "Down to level ten," said the man.

  "Are you nuts we aren't going down! Did you not feel that?"

  "We don't have a choice. That's the closest saferoom. And per protocol, this level is designated to that room."

  Lana listened to them but didn't respond though she knew the uniformed man was right. Even if going down meant getting closer to the blast site.

  Reluctantly they followed the man to the elevators, Lana looked behind her at the end of the hall before stepping into the elevator as if she feared to see something crawling around the corner and come racing down the hall.

  But no, it couldn't be possible. There was no way any of the specimens could get out.

  They rode in silence down and when the elevator doors opened to level ten they were met with a large hallway filled with people and chaos.

  There were dozens if not hundreds of people packed inside, all forming at the door to the saferoom. Shouts and screams could be heard over the sirens and the repeated announcement from the female voice. Guards with guns ordered people back as they brought equipment in from another room and stored it into the saferoom first. People huddled together then broke in a wave as the officer allowed them to enter the saferoom a few groups at a time. The floor trembled again and a few people shrieked, officers pushed back a few to wait their turn.

  "This is fucking crazy," someone said behind her. Lana couldn't agree more, but she was too speechless to react. She was pushed gently toward the saferoom until she squeezed through the door and found herself in a large concrete-floored and steel-walled room the size of a small gymnasium. There was a medical box in each corner along with several food crates and bed mats. The military equipment was set to the front side of the room while, to one corner, guards directed people away to make space as a set of men entered the room with a small group and brought them over to the sit by the medical box. The group was clearly injured in some way as one was being carried and a few others had bandages on their faces and arms. As Lana moved a little closer to see the group she recognized a few of them.

  "Those are my colleagues," she said aloud. She pushed through the throng of people until she was standing before the injured group. Ben was resting Dahlia against the wall while Sarah, the lab tech, was huddled beside them in tears, another tech trying to comfort her.

  As Lana stepped forward, a guard got in her way. "Maam, please step back–"

  "Those are my colleagues," Lana repeated. "I work with them on twelve."

  The guard glanced over at an officer who nodded his head. He stepped aside. "Alright, but keep out of the medical staff's way."

  Lana nodded, noticing a few from level six opening up the medical box and gathering supplies. She hurried over to where Ben was searching through a bag he had placed on the ground while keeping Dahlia company.

  "Ben, is everyone okay?"

  As Ben swerved around to look at her, Lana nearly jumped at the sight of him. He was pale as a ghost, his eyes wide and his mouth slack-jawed. His fingers and legs trembled as he shifted over to sit beside Dahlia. "Lana...Jesus." He wiped his face with the back of his hand. "How did you...I thought you left."

  Lana knelt beside him. She glanced at Dahlia who had her eyes shut, a bandage wrapped around her head, covering her left eye. "No, I was going to stay for...nevermind. What happened?"

  Ben wiped at his face again then took out the e-cigarette from his pocket. With shaky hands, he put it in his mouth.

  "Sir, no smoking in here," the officer said. Ben grimaced and cursed and shoved the cigarette back in his pocket.

  "Fuck," he whispered combing a hand through his hair. "It's bad, it's so fucking bad."

  Lana frowned and leaned forward, examining Dahlia a little closer, giving Ben time to calm down and explain.

  "She'll be cool I think. The medical staff says the glass missed her eye," Ben said.

  "I heard the blast."

  Ben nodded. "Yea. Those fucking asshole marines didn't even give anyone a chance to take cover."

  Lana’s brow wrinkled. "Marines?"

  Ben shook his head. "Sorry. Galger, and his team." He rested his head against the wall and shut his eyes, taking deep breaths. "Those bastards shot up the whole place. Didn't even wait to get the others out first. I was coming back from a cig break when it all went down and saw everyone running out and heard the shots. We only just made it through to the elevators before they let off the bomb. And much good it fucking did."

  Lana shivered. "I don't understand. Why would they..."

  Ben's eyes shot open and he bent forward from the wall. "Can you assholes please shut that door already!" He yelled at the guards in front of the door who were still bringing in more equipment while waiting for the possibility for others to arrive seeking shelter. "Tell them they need to close the doors now!" Ben shouted at the officer standing near them.

  "Sir, we have to wait for others."

  "There are things–" Ben began to shout again then stopped himself. "Just keep the guards watching the halls will ya."

  "They are patrolling, just calm down."

  Ben dropped back to the wall with a thunk and mumbled something Lana didn't catch.

  "Ben," Lana tried to get his attention. "Why would they do that?"

  Ben finally looked her in the eye. "They got out," he said softly. "They all got out."

  Lana went cold. "The specimens?"

  Ben shut his eyes and nodded.

  "How?"

  "It was him," came a shrill voice next to her. Lana looked over and saw Sarah's tear-stained face twisted with fear. "It was him, I saw it."

  "You don't know what you're talking about," Ben said with a detached voice.

  "Like hell I don't," Sara
h cried. "Just look at the feed for yourself." Sarah tugged away from the other tech who was trying to comfort her. She slid closer to Lana, her mouth trembling. "I saw Dr. Kingsley go into the computer. I watched him deactivate the security system. I–I would have said something b-but..."

  "It wasn't him, it's not possible," Ben said.

  Sarah slammed her fist on the ground. "How else could the units have been unlocked?" she shrieked at him through clenched teeth. "No one else has authorization to do that! And you know no one can hack the system!"

  Ben shook his head again, refusing to believe. "Officer Torrence has access as well."

  "Officer Torrence was the one who tried to stop him!" she nearly screamed.

  "Miss, calm down," the standing officer ordered.

  Sarah clamped her mouth shut and hot tears spilled down her face. She looked to Lana with tight desperation, grabbing her sleeve. "You have to believe me. I know it seems impossible that he would do such a thing, but I know what I saw. He let them out...he let them out!"

  Calmly, Lana grasped the girl's hand, releasing it from her arm then holding it gently. As hard as it might be for others to believe, Lana knew the girl might be telling the truth. There had been something wrong with Cole for a while.

  "Did you see his face?" Lana asked.

  Sarah nodded her head.

  "Was he bleeding? Like from his nose?"

  Sarah nodded again. "And from his mouth. His eyes were messed up too. He looked..."

  "Sick?"

  Sarah bowed her head and let her hand slip from Lana's. Lana gazed back at Ben. "It was like what happened to Jeff, you remember?"

  "That gangly guy who worked in the bacteria lab? Jesus, yea. But what does it mean?"

  Lana shook her head. " I don't know. But whatever it is, it's compromised the facility."

  Dahlia stirred and moaned and Lana placed a hand on her arm. When she opened her eye, she looked around and frowned. "What happened?"