Jungle of Creation
Chapter 18

Hands still clasped together, Cole and I slink through the last few halls until we reach the corner right before the heavily locked door. Cole lets go of my hand and one of his in front of my face, telling me to stay put. My hand automatically feels the loss of his warmth, but I shake it off. Now’s not the time. He zooms up to the corner and takes a quick peek, then zooms back to my side faster than I can blink. Looking a little worried, Cole holds up ten fingers. Alright, then. Ten guards. Easy peasy. Not.

So much for getting through with no roadblocks. I motion for Cole to turn around. He looks a little confused, but does it anyway, giving me time to quickly strip off my clothes. I quickly shift and then walk in front of Cole so that he knows I’m done. I don’t worry about my pile of clothes in the middle of the hallway. They’ll know we’re here soon enough anyway. Cole and I both approach the corner as silently as possible, but my claws are clicking on the tile. Each tiny sound feels like a sonic blast, and by the time we reach the corner, I’m ready to pounce on anything in sight.

Cole holds up his fingers, counting down from three. Once he reaches one, we both leap around the corner and into the narrow hallway. I attack the guy nearest to me, while Cole knocks out guys faster than I can track. Leaping on top of the man, appearing about in his forties, I claw at his arms and legs. Every instinct in me is screaming to go for his throat, which is pulsing rapidly near my mouth. Somehow, I keep a rein on the animal in me, though, and my humanity keeps me from delivering the killing blow. Of course, my refusal to take him out allows the man to get one arm free and hit me in the head with the butt of his gun.

Stars flash behind my eyes and my head is suddenly throbbing, but I quickly pin his arm back down. I grab his hand with my mouth and rip the gun from his grasp, which pulls a shrill screech from his mouth. After a moment of thrashing and hysterical crying, the man’s bleeding wounds cause him to pass out. I get off of him and survey the rest of the area. Cole’s already taken care of all the other guards. Jeez, I need to work on my efficiency.

Attempting to spit out the nasty metallic taste in my mouth, I look up at Cole, who’s standing by the door. With his hands full. He has a gun pressed under his foot, and he has his arms restraining a familiar figure. Even with a couple extra inches of height, Grant’s strength is no match for Cole’s or his speed.

Grant’s eyes lock with mine, and he has the nerve to smirk, a sadistic sparkle in his gaze. Why I ever thought he was a good guy, I’ll never know. Now I know, that just about any one willingly working for these people—with a couple exceptions—is automatically a bad person. Their research and goals may be in the green, but their methods sure aren’t.

“Awe, the kitty finally decided to join us.” Grant clucks his tongue and a nasty snarl escapes my throat. Grant only smiles wider, though. “Wow, Amira. Surely, you remember me telling you that you’d have to try harder than that? Remember that fun little conversation we had when you first got here?” There’s a frightening insanity in his eyes as he speaks. He leans closer to where I’m standing a few feet away, and Cole’s grip on him tightens. Grant’s wince is barely discernible, but he keeps leaning forward despite the pain. Finally he looks down at me and that crazy smile returns.

“Between you and me,” Grant says, his voice lowering to a whisper, “I was assigned to keep an eye on you from the beginning. Just thought ya should know. You can rest assured that your other little buddies didn’t know, though. I know your feelings are quite fragile. It wasn’t personal.”

Oh, but it was personal. Very personal. It’s always good to know that while you thought your friend and possible crush cared, you were always just an assignment to him.

I let another growl loose, and take a menacing step forward. I can feel the power and anger oozing off of me. I’m dying for blood. My panther doesn’t take well to being betrayed, insulted, and harmed, and she is very keen on the idea of taking my fury out on Grant. I force myself to stop prowling forward, and I force my gaze away from Grant, who finally has the nerve to look at least a little scared. My panther may want blood, but I’m not going to do that to myself. I won’t taint my soul. Especially not after seeing Charley and Jane Doe. I never want to become the kind of person who would do that to someone else.

Instead, I redirect my attention to Cole, who is staring intently at me. He’s giving me the chance to decide what to do with him. He saved him for me, knowing what Grant put me through. I just don’t want him anymore, though. I nod my head slightly in a message I hope Cole will understand. His gaze searches mine for a second, making sure I’m sure before his hands move to Grant’s throat.

He deliberately makes slow movements, drawing it out for Grant. Looks like I’m not the only one holding a grudge. Once Grant realizes what’s happening, he begins struggling anew. Trying to kick Cole’s legs out from under him, but failing, Grant accepts his defeat. He focuses his attention on me and calls out before Cole can tighten his fingers too much around his throat.

“We’ll replace you, Amira. No matter where you go, we’ll replace you.” His eyes flash to Cole and he gives him a knowing smirk.

With that, Cole gives Grant’s throat a good squeeze, and only a moment later Grant goes limp in his arms. I watch as his body flops to the ground with a thud. He’s still breathing. Everything in me wants to stop it, but he’s still breathing. I walk forward and step over Grant, as Cole crouches down in front of this other door to get to work. Pulling out his mini-laptop that I didn’t realize he brought with him, Cole sets right back into his focused silence. Come to think of it, he’s been pretty silent this whole trip. Lingering doubts settle in my mind. What if he’s regretting helping me? What if he’s selling me out? What if his plan was to return me to a cell all along?

I shake my head violently to rid myself of those thoughts. I don’t think Cole would do that. He kidnapped me, yes. But he also trained me. He comforted me when I was shot. He told me about his family. He rescued me from this place. And he’s here now to help again. Yes, he’s lied to me. But he’s also tried to make up for it in any way he can. I trust him. I trust him enough to lead me to Mama... Nope. Let’s stop right there. I don’t have time for this.

Directing my attention back onto the situation at hand, I see Cole is still hard at work trying to crack the multiple security systems and locks. I’m pretty impressed, honestly. Even though he assured me he could, I still doubted that he’d actually be able to hack the system. People tend to sell themselves better than tacos on a Tuesday. Anxiously tapping my paws on the tile, Cole is finally done after about fifteen minutes. It took him a lot longer to do this door, but considering it has a lot more going on, it’s understandable.

The door slides open with a smooth click. Is it just me, or does this door even sound nicer? Especially when you’re a wanted fugitive who shouldn’t even be within fifty miles of this compound, let alone this smooth talking door. I think I’m in love.

Cole snatches me by the paw and yanks me to the side, causing me to trip over myself. I start to release a snarl, but stop when I remember that the door is now open. Thankfully, Cole had the sense to pull me out of sight before the door fully opened. Sneakily peaking around the door frame, Cole’s face takes on a grim tone, telling me all I need to know. There’s probably an army in there. An army that just saw a highly secure door magically open.

“Umm… Guys… We’ve got company.” Some random guy’s voice rings out in the hall ahead of us. It’s time for us to move. Knots that had dissipated start forming in my stomach all over again. Cole ducks his head back towards me and begins mouthing some words. I’ve never been that great of a lip reader, so through all the eye-squinting and eyebrow-furrowing I only pick up “follow,” “fast,” and maybe a “quiet” thrown in there somewhere. That’ll have to do.

Cole stretches to grip underneath my armpits, and I think I’m starting to get the picture. I step a little closer so I’m within reach. Before I can even blink, Cole has one arm under my head and one under my lower back. If I was in human form, he’d be carrying me bridal style, and that thought would make me blush if I could. Cole zooms straight past the guards at a record pace, then turns into unfamiliar hallways. I have to close my eyes when they start to water from the speed. Closing my eyes, though, only makes me think about how Cole can lift a freaking panther with what looks like barely any effort.

I open my eyes when we finally stop at the end of an empty hallway that I’m hoping holds my long-lost mother. Cole sets me down onto shaky legs and I stumble a bit before I’m able to replace my natural footing again. I can already feel bone deep exhaustion setting in, and I know that pretty soon I’ll need to switch back. It’s only my second change, after all. Looking back up at Cole, I do see some sweat on his brow and he’s breathing heavily, showing his fatigue from carrying me. Somehow, that seems more appealing than the idea of him not having to put in any effort at all.

Shaking my head, I start forward down the hallway with not really a clue where I’m going. There’s one pristine white door behind me, at the end, and there’s a couple other doors scattered in front of me down the hall. I just start on my way. My head is high and my steps are sure.

Until Cole bursts out laughing.

Quickly covering his mouth with his hand, Cole tries to smother his amusement, though his eyes keep twinkling. I turn around and just stare at him in confusion. What’s so funny?

“I’m sorry...I’m sorry,” Cole whispers with a hint of humor still in his words, “It’s just… A panther high-stepping it down the hallway was more than I could take today. Too much adrenaline. All I could think about was you with a crown on your head, pink-painted claws, and a prissy expression on your face.”

I bare my teeth and glare at him, even though I don’t really mean it. The image is pretty out there.

Cole lets out another low chuckle before continuing, “Plus you’re going the wrong way.”

That time I do growl.

Cole just grins and then points to the door that was right in front of us. The one sitting suspiciously at the end of the hall. Why didn’t I think of that? When we step up to the door, Cole doesn’t pull out his weird mini laptop. Instead he steps right up to type in the code. The code to Mama. He knew it this whole time. He has it memorized. Of course, I already knew he’d have clearance to her because he told me as much. Still, the stab of pain in my chest returns. I’ve chosen to forgive, but that doesn’t mean I will forget.

The air is devoid of anymore laughter. Of any sound at all. There are no guards standing watch at this door, or this hallway. They must have been stupidly confident that we wouldn’t get past the other guards. But then, we have powers and they don’t. Take that. The code still works. The door clicks open, though not as smoothly as the big creepy door. I take a deep breath and steel myself for what’s waiting inside.