Chapter 14
The food must have been drugged...
Chris realized that at he woke up and was aware that it was afternoon, late in the afternoon...He could see the lengthening shadow as it came from the small opining that allowed light in.
They were not taking any chances...
Well, he had to make up for lost time.
He shifted shape quick enough, letting his bindings fall off. He shook Oriana who made a few protesting noises for a few moments, until she was awake again.
"They made us sleep..."
"Yes. We wasted a lot of time. But we can still make it."
He switched to his halfway shape, to take advantage of its strength and sharp claws and teeth, while still holding opposable thumbs. He managed to tear up the wires from Oriana's wrists and ankles, helping her stand.
Now they had to deal with the door.. They had nothing that they could use to pick the lock. They had to batter it down. Or rather Chris had to batter it down.
That took some time, but eventually the door gave up, and they were able to go up the stairs.
"Look where you step. You do not want to trigger another booby trap" Chris told her.
There were indeed a couple of them in the stairs. But now they knew what they had to look for. That meant that they had to go up slowly (how many captives who had managed to undo their bindings, had rushed out and been recaptured that way? Probably more than one.)
And the sun kept going down...
They made it to the main floor. "If we make it to the desk it will be all right." Oriana said. "We only need to retrace my steps to get back to the front door."
They kept looking at the floor. Along the way they saw Oriana's purse, Chris' wallet, and Chris' gun.
"We need to retrieve these." Oriana said.
"Very likely they are triggers for booby traps. Think about it. The captive escapes, manages to go up the stairs, and then, there is the temptation to get the wallet or the purse."
"Yes. But that's where our car keys are."
Chris grumbled but recognized that she was right.
""Go downstairs again. Get the wires they used to bind us with. We'll turn them into hooks."
She went down, carefully, checking again for the booby trap triggers. She was down in the basement and picked the wires.
The shadows were lengthening again...
She wished she could rush up, but that was dangerous. She walked up carefully and got to Chris. They worked at straightening the wires, and made a hook at the end. The laid a chair down, and shielded themselves with it, and then fished for the purse and wallet...
It seemed to take forever until it was hooked. Chris pulled at his wallet.
And the net came, pulling it up.
But the wallet fell through, and Chris could pull it to his side.
He did the same with the gun, which triggered another net.
And the purse.
The shadows kept lengthening...
How much time this had cost them?
At least once they got to the desk they knew how to get to the door, as Oriana had said. This time they raced for it.
"I can pick the lock again," Oriana aid, rummaging in her purse. "No need to batter it down."
She sat down and worked the lock. It had seemed so quick coming in. But now... Now it seemed to take forever...
One tumbler fell. Another...
It was dark already.
Another tumbler...
"Yu made it this far. But no farther."
The children were there...
Chris pushed Oriana behind her. "Try to make a cross out of anything" he said to her.
There was a gasp among the children as Chris became a wolf and snarled at them.
He walked menacingly towards the children, determined to give as good as a he took. And the children sensing this, moved away.
"Why didn't you tell us what you were?' Cecily said, then she looked at Oriana. "I see. You wanted to protect her."
One little boy threw himself at Oriana. Oriana managed to catch him in mid-air with her extended arm, and Chris caught his leg with his teeth. He threw him across the room.
Chris felt bad. It was a child. And what would a werewolf bite do to him? Didn't the kid have enough problems already?"
The other kids seemed to think about it too. They kept their distance from hem, even as they formed a semicircle.
Oriana had fashioned a cross. She showed it to the children, and was shocked to find that they did not react to it...
"But it should work." she said, dumbfounded.
"No reason why it should, really" Cecily said. "There is much that you do not know about us."
They were at a standoff. The children would not approach Chris as he snarled. But they could wait until he got careless, and then go for Oriana.
"Keep working on the door." Chris said to her.
She had dropped her tools, as she had fended the first attack and then fashioned the cross. She had to go on all fours, looking for them...
Time was against them... Had been against them from the start...
She found one of the tools. There was another that seemed to have rolled off. Too far from Chris' protection. But if she stretched herarm...
Her fingertips sought it, but it seemed to escape her.
"We can wait." Cecily said. "And what's so terrible about becoming what we are? You'll still have your woman's body. You'll still have your ID, your bank account, your credit cards, your car, your driver's license."
"No, no." She had to find that tool...
There was the sound of a car approaching. And she found the tool...
She straightened up and went to work on the lock.
And then the door opened and Barnabas and Verhoff came in.