Chapter 19

Leslie's POV

I wake up in a cage. There is no one else in the room. My head is still ringing. I don't know what happened after I lost consciousness, but apparently whoever knocked me out dragged me here. The world is still rather fuzzy. I'm not thinking straight.

Wait… MUIRFIELD… No. No. No…

This is really bad. I've never really dealt with these people, but Vincent has told me about them. Plus, they did just shoot at us. I look at the wound on my arm, and I feel my heart rate increase to the point where I feel it inside my skull. Even being shot at earlier, I wasn't as scared as I am now. Any time they've been around, Vincent has been there to protect me, but he's nowhere in sight.

What are they going to do to me?...

Evan's POV

I've been in this waiting room for over an hour. I'm starting to become impatient. I need to speak with Agent Kyle. This man at the computer, who I dealt with last time, hasn't said a word. He keeps giving me a strange look though.

Ok… What do you know that I don't?

"I've been here an hour. Any chance I can go home now?" I ask him.

"Kyle wants you to wait here," the man says. "He has a few more questions for you."

"He's an intense guy," I say. "I barely know what this is. I mean, personnel everywhere, labs on lockdown. Seems like a lot of activity to catch one target…" My voice trails off.

Oh no…

"I mean, unless this is more than just the apprehension of the creature…"

He doesn't answer me. He won't look at me though, not in the eye. Now, fear is starting to set in.

What are they actually doing? Do they have more than one target? DId they get…

I won't allow that thought to continue. I can't. It will destroy me if I let it.

"I get it," I laugh out of aggravation. "You don't even know yourself. I mean, a man at your level, you probably have to ask permission to go to the bathroom. What am I even talking to you for? I mean, you're a Muirfield man, right? Believe in the mission and all that."

His head shoots up. For the first time, he looks in my eye. He looks conflicted.

"You don't know what I believe," he snaps.

"What do you believe in?" I ask looking straight into his eyes as if we are trying to penetrate the other's soul.

"You should take a seat," he says, dodging my question. "I'm going to the restroom. Don't go anywhere."

As soon as he is out of sight, I steal the keycard off of his coat and begin to move down a hallway. I need to find out what they're doing. I go into the records room and search through files. I find one labeled "Chandler."

Catherine's mother was involved with Muirfield?

Eventually, after a few minutes of looking at things I can hardly believe, I can't take it anymore. I leave the room and continue to walk down the hallway. I enter a room with sights I never expected. I see models, lab results and DNA samples that all point back to one thing… I turn to see…

Please tell me that's a model…

I reach out and touch what appears to be a model of a human hand. Before my hand reaches it, it lashes out with extended claws and begins to move. I leave the room immediately. I continue to move swiftly down the hallway until I see a room with a cage. The creature stands inside the cage with Agent Kyle standing outside. I watch the creature's face transform. It mimics that of an animal with yellow eyes and jagged teeth. Eventually, it returns to normal. Kyle picks up a communicator and then exits the room. After he exits, I enter.

At the sound of the opening door, his head pops up. He looks at me with eyes like daggers.

"Muirfield haven't stopped their experiments," I tell him. "They're trying to make a new generation of cross species creatures."

"You're just now putting that together?" He says aggravated.

"They wanna cut you open. See what makes you tick."

"They know what makes me tick. They made me. I was part of a highly-classified secret military experiment to create a unit of super soldiers. These people are lethal, ok. That's why JT tried to stop you from joining them."

Woah, hold on. What?

"You know JT Forbes?" I ask.

"Yes," he responds. "We grew up together. Becoming clear for you now?"

"Grew up? You… you mean they didn't..."

"What? Grow me in a petri dish? Is that what you think?"

"I thought… I thought maybe they intervened at the embryonic stage."

Do I have this all wrong…

"My name is Vincent Ryan Keller, Specialist United States Army. Ok, these people destroyed my life. They injected me with-"

"Cross species DNA."

"Yeah. The experiments went wrong. They couldn't control us. They couldn't control the side effects. They wanted us gone. They separated me from the woman I once loved, who now is scared of me. It also made it where I didn't have a chance to…" I listen to his voice trail off. There is a tear that is threatening to slide down his face. "I didn't get a chance to be a true father to my child. They told her I was dead before Leslie was even born."

"But if she's still alive, then why…" I'm confused.

"Alex couldn't take it. She was crushed," Vincent explains. "It tore her apart to give up Leslie, but she says she wouldn't have been fit to raise her."

I can feel anger rising inside me. This woman… she just gave up on her before even meeting her. She sent her to the adoption agency where she was rejected time and time again. I look up to see Vincent studying me expression. He's smiling.

"I have a feeling this doesn't sit well with you," he states.

"Absolutely not!" I exclaim. "Do you know all of what she went through there?"

"Yes," he says. "I never said I condomed what she did… I also don't condomed what you've done… it's your fault that she is now down the hallway in the same situation I'm in."

WHAT?!

"She's… she's…" I can't even get the words out of my mouth.

"Yes," he snaps at me. "And they do not care that she's a child. They'll tear her apart and put her back together time and time again. They understand me, but she's a game to them. They have theories, but they have no idea exactly what this did to her. Now, here's what you're going to do. You're going to go down that hallway and get her the heck out of here. The agents are spread thin. I have feeling that Catherine and JT are already here. Now, go. Go!"

I run towards the door. I have to get her out. I won't let them touch her. I won't. My feet stop before I reach the door. I turn to face Vincent.

"I'm sorry," I tell him, truly meaning it.

"I know," he says. "It doesn't matter now. Get her out. She's all that matters."

"I will," I say. "I will do anything it takes to protect her."

With that, I run out of the room and down the hallway… towards my baby…

Leslie's POV

I'm curled up in my cage with my knees hugged to my chest. I tried to use force to get out of the cage earlier. The agent that was in here seemed thoroughly amused. He laughed at me and studied me for a while. He then pulled out a small device and clicked a button. When I hit the bars, it electrocuted me with a forced I'd never felt. It knocked me against the back side of the cage and to the floor. It knocked the wind out of me along with every ounce of energy I previously had. After that, I curled up in my ball on the floor. Looking down, I can see burn marks where it shocked me.

I'm shaking with a tremendous force. I'm sobbing. I want to go home. I want to get out of here. I want… I want my daddy. Maybe I sound like a little kid, but what ten year old do you know has to go through this?

I know my eyes are glowing. In this situation, I know I can't hide it. My claws have extended and retracted several times. My fangs have done the same thing. I'm losing control. Soon, I will have no hands on the wheel. My counterpart will be driving. I need help… I need help now…