Chapter Thirteen: Now…We Run

AN: THANK YOU TO ALEXLUKE for your continued support and feedback!

AN2: Sorry for the delay but have been dealing with a lot of health issues and trying to get back into my 'normal' routine. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

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Sable writhed and twisted, whimpering. She reached toward the glass, eyes sad and appealing to the male who stood behind the transparent pane. As she hoped, he hurried from the room and a second later, the door swished open. Sable didn't bother acknowledging him.

She rolled toward the blankets and barked, "Now!"

Donnie sprung up fast as lightning, grasping the man's throat. With a deft twist the bones broke. The man's face remained frozen in shock as Donnie lowered him to the ground, hands patting the man's pockets to retrieve the control box.

Finding it, he examined it closely for fail safes before pressing a series of buttons. Thankfully, he wasn't shocked for his errors. The bands on his wrists and ankles clattered to the floor, the collar falling a second later to land innocently at Donnie's feet.

Sable sat up in time to see the man crumple to the ground, surprise following him in death. Then her eyes took in the giant turtle, from his lithe frame that belied his hidden strength, to the steady rise and fall of his shell atop his bare ass.

She was particularly engrossed by his backside. It was nice and rounded, muscularfirm, something directly off the pages of a fitness magazine. The sound of clanging metal on the floor drew her away from her observation, where she busied herself wrapping the blankets around her nakedness.

Not wanting his tail flapping in the wind, and further traumatize the woman, Donnie retrieved the sheet, tying it about his waist before turning to find her already examining the dead man.

"He won't alert anyone of our escape," Donnie said by way of explanation for his extreme use of force.

"Good," Sable blurted, staying focused on her task. She undone the buttons of his shirt, revealing a standard white tee beneath.

"What are you doing?" Donnie asked as she flopped the dead man around like a rag doll.

"I'm not escaping naked," she explained, undoing the man's pants and boots. "Just in case we have to walk to the nearest town, I'm not waltzing in wearing nothing but a sheet." She glanced to Donnie's sheet draped waist. "We'll have to find you some clothes, too. Can't mount an escape buck naked."

Donnie cracked a grin, an influence of Mikey. "Sure I can. No one will want to fight someone who's naked."

Sable grunted but didn't comment. Once she had the man stripped, Donnie respectfully turned his back to give her privacy to change. When she muttered her readiness, Donnie shoved the man directly under the observation window, along with the discarded shackles, to keep them out of sight.

If anyone looked into the room through the observation window, they would find it devoid of occupant, surmising another battery of tests for the mutated subject.

Donnie used the guard's keycard to open the door. He checked the hall, making sure it was clear, and motioned for Sable to follow. She did so without hesitation, keeping close to the wall and a couple paces back in case Donnie needed to move freely during an attack.

The way was clear.

Donnie swiped the card, sealing the door to his room to give the further illusion of normalcy, and strode the handful of paces down the hall, using the key card to gain access into the observation room and main computer terminal.

"Watch the doors," he ordered Sable as he went to the monitor.

The words were barely out of his mouth when the door opposite rattled and two guards, engrossed in their conversation and not paying attention to their surroundings, stepped over the threshold.

"Might be going at it again," one of them said with a raunchy laugh that died in his throat upon finding the turtle loose from his prison.

Quick as a flash, Donnie traveled the short distance to the stunned men. They didn't even have time to lift their weapons before Donnie was upon them. Looping his lanky arm around a neck, he held the man tight, his foot kicking out and landing flush with the other man's face. As he went down in a daze, Donnie gave a spastic jerk, snapping the neck of the guard held in his arms.

Donnie dropped him without expression and approached the other guard, who moaned, eyes rolling back into his head. Death soon followed him into unconsciousness. Donnie didn't bother to retrieve his sheet that had fallen off in the tussle. Time was of the essence. His modesty was the least of his concerns.

Sable blinked, stunned and terrified at the voracity and deadly accuracy in which Donnie taken down his enemies. She greatly underestimated his abilities. He had definitely had training. The quickness and efficiency at which he worked was terminally beautiful. She had been correct in trusting him. He strode purposely to the computer, face a mask of determination.

She stared, transfixed by the lifeless stares of the two dead guards.

These men were privy to what the doctors were allowing. Of drugging her, and Donnie, and making them act like animals. Her sympathy for the dead guards was short lived.

If they saw no problem with allowing a woman to be mounted by an animal, purely for unethical entertainment and not bother to defend her, then they were lower than slime. They were the kind of men who would stand idly by and watch as a woman was violated, if not participate in the deed itself.

They deserved no sympathy or respect.

Donnie hadn't noticed Sable's change in attitude. His eyes were focused on the monitors. As he hoped, everything he needed was conveniently available on the computers.

Skilled fingers called up base schematics and to Donnie's delight, the facility was smaller than anticipated. He heard Sable rustling around and guessed she was once again removing the dead men's clothes.

Good. He didn't want her dwelling on the fact he just killed two humans. He didn't want her to perceive him as a monster. The computer opened to his command, giving direct files on patients, staff, and experiments.

Sable was having a difficult time in her task. It wasn't so much as stripping the men of their clothing, but the reality of what happened was settling on her conscious.

Not only was she callously stripping these strange men of their clothes, but she was acutely aware of the continued dampness between her thighs, no doubt her unwanted sexual encounter slow to dissipate. The idea she had been drugged and used as a sperm receptacle turned her stomach.

Then add to the fact Donnie just broke the necks of three humans without batting an eye, and was currently stationed at a computer to find an escape route, an escape he intended on ensuring she survived, all culminated into causing her head to threaten to split.

Hoping to keep her headache (and her nausea) at bay, she calculated the men's pants and picked the largest one in hopes his pants would fit Donnie. She didn't think she could handle seeing him running around naked. And if they had to travel, it might be extremely uncomfortable, not to mention awkward for the poor turtle.

Sable was checking the men's boots when she noted Donnie's feet. Given Donnie's unique physiology, the boots wouldn't fit. He'd have to go barefoot. Rather sucky if they experienced a March squall and snow or ice was on the ground. There was no outside window, so it was hard to determine weather conditions.

The second guard was short and thin, his feet were smaller than average, which meant Sable could easily don his clothes and boots.

But not his boxers.

She drew the line at taking a dead man's bloomers.

She pulled the cargo pants over the ones she wore from the first guard, following up her ensemble with his teeshirt and long sleeved black shirt, with pockets on the breasts and left sleeve, and a Velcro patch on the right.

Knowing Donnie wouldn't be able to have anything on his chest due to his cumbersome shell, she hastily folded up the blankets she'd worn as a toga.

She wasn't adept at using guns, not to mention the noise would draw attention, so she didn't bother confiscating them. She did, however, take both of their wallets, placing them in a pocket on her stolen cargo pants.

She joined Donnie at the consol where his spindly fingers were a blur of motion, his attention rapt on the screens. "What are you doing?"

"Transmitting the data they have collected to my own secured, untraceable server," Donnie said, nodding to a screen displaying the slow transfer of files. The screen in front of him blinked as he motioned toward it, "I'm also writing a virus that will shut down their systems, erasing all their hard drives, backs up, and security sensors."

"You know how to do that?" Sable asked, impressed.

"Yup. Learned to program and hack before I was six." Donnie affirmed, adding the finishing touches to his program.

He checked the progress of the transferring data and moved to another keyboard further away. Frantically he typed, tongue pressing between teeth as he concentrated, able to keep up with the three separate monitors.

"I hate to ask what you're doing now," Sable said, half amused.

It was cute seeing him so intent on his work, his dimples highlighted by the eerie glow of the screens, tongue bitten between his teeth. It was then she realized how white, and pretty they were.

"Getting a detailed base schematic," Donnie muttered, more interested in the screen than explanations. "Need to know what we're up against in terms of escape."

"How long is that going to take?" Sable asked, nervously checking the doors on the opposite sides of the room. She didn't want any unexpected company. The longer they stayed there, the higher the chances for being caught. She was eager to get out and get away from this evil place and its monsters.

It was funny… all these years she thought it would be awesome to be rescued from monsters by a knight in shining armor.

Little did she know, her savior would be the dragon.

Memorizing the layout of the building, and to his relief they were only two floors below ground, with a single floor up above, (more than likely the place where Sable was being held,) Donnie called up the base's failsafe measures, praying for continued luck.

"Got it," Donnie said, snapping his fingers.

The file transfer completed, beeping an alert. Donnie went to the middle computer and tapped in a command code. His long green finger hovered over the last key as he regarded Sable.

"You ready?"

Sable pointed to the chair draped with black cargo pants. "Put on some pants first, okay?"

She turned, flushing a little as she couldn't help but notice the turtle's attributes. It was weird seeing a tail between a man's legs, but she had to admit, he was quite chiseled… for being a turtle.

Lithe and wiry. Deceptively strong and obviously able to take care of himself. She was impressed with the way he took out the guards. Grossed out too, but it was as he said, a necessary thing to ensure their escape.

If the guards were merely knocked out, they could wake up and call for help and make things worse.

But dead men were not a threat.

As they proved, flopping bonelessly as Donnie dragged the two lifeless corpses to a door and shoved them into a small closet. Donnie showed no emotion as he piled them inside and shut the door.

"Ready?" Donnie asked a moment later.

Sable turned and found him wearing the cargo pants. They were a little tight. She couldn't help but notice how they accented his butt.

Wow… she didn't realize he'd look like THAT in pants. And his tail provided a rather distracting bulge to the front.

Whoa!

Sable blinked rapidly, shaking her head. Where did that stray through come from? Was she crazy? She better stop traveling down that road or it could lead to all sorts of trouble.

Since he was unable to wear a shirt, as his shell was far bigger than average human shoulders, Sable motioned Donnie to crouch down so she could reach him. He did so, timidly submitting to whatever she had in mind. She placed the blankets around his shoulders, mindful of his shell, and tied off the edges to help provide him with some protection from the elements. The black shirt from the biggest guard barely covered the top portion of his shoulders, draped lengthwise to provide some insulation and hide the roundness of his back.

"Not exactly Hugo Boss, but it will help keep you warm in case it's cold out," Sable said, finishing up securing the edges.

She didn't realize how close he was until his breath ghosted her cheek. She stared into his eyes, magnified behind his nerdy glasses, so large and emotive and gentle, despite the violence he had shown toward the guards. She could detect flecks of amber among the green of his irises.

Donnie gulped, hastily standing up right and glancing about the room. His gaze focused on the clock which read 10:18.

"We need to go," Donnie said hurriedly, trying to throw off the heat that had built under his makeshift shirt.

Sable followed Donnie without hesitation, confident he knew where he was going. Placing her trust in this strange and unusual mutant, she kept a couple paces behind as they exited the observation room.

They found themselves in a sterile white tiled lined hall. The overhead lighting flickered and dimmed, making shadows dance on the wall. Several doors were inset into the wall and bore no labels. They were identical as any other.

Sable surmised it was to confuse intruders, either those infiltrating or those trying to break out.

Donnie touched a door, leaning toward its eggshell white surface and listened. Hearing nothing, he opened it swiping the badge he stole from the guard. It gave a soft click in admittance.

Sable followed Donnie through the door and found herself in a stairwell.

"We're two floors below ground." Donnie muttered before Sable could speak.

"We're going to stroll out the front door?" Sable asked incredulously.

"Service entrance for employees," Donnie explained, climbing the stairs. When they reached the ground level he paused, listening intently.

Deeming it safe, Donnie opened the door.

And found the brick-faced guard lounging against the wall, a half smoked cigarette hanging from his mouth.

In a flash, Donnie was in motion.

Sable didn't have time to track his movements before Donnie was gone, landing on the unsuspecting human with the force of a nuclear bomb. There was a soft, muted sound of a neck crunching, then the wide eyed stare of the brick faced man crumpled on the ground.

Sable's heart pounded, thinking they had been found out. It took a moment for her brain to catch up, eyes transfixed by the dead man who stared at her. A chilling bite to the air snapped her out of her panic stricken state.

Donnie chanced a peek around the corner, taking in the surroundings before leaning back to address Sable.

"This is a loading dock. There's about a dozen cars in the parking lot. Security camera on slow rotation above the bay. Doesn't look like there's any more guards or cameras, but the building juts out so it's hard to determine." Donnie reported.

"Any way to bypass the camera?" Sable asked. It would suck if they were detected on the security feed and the alarm set off, thwarting their plans.

Donnie shook his head. "No. It's panning wide. Can't avoid it."

Thankfully, Donnie was resourceful. He stripped off the man's shirt and jacket, draping them over his bony shoulders, (Sable assisted in the covering of his shell under the dark material,) and grabbed the dead guard's hat, placing on top his head. With the dark shirt and jacket camouflaging his shell, Donnie resembled one of the guards.

With some effort, he hoisted the dead man up against his side. He grasped the man's belt, using it as leverage to adjust his limp body.

"Walk on my right," Donnie said, shifting the man around a little. "Stay in my shadow. If anyone is watching the security feed, they'll think one of the guards is sick and being helped to his car by a friend."

Sable did as commanded, curling close to Donnie's shell and tugging the black fabric around Donnie to help hide his build. As one unit they turned the corner, exposing themselves to the security camera, and traversed the sidewalk in an unhurried, even pace as to not arouse suspicion.

The camera calmly panned left and right, unconcerned with the normal, every day movements of the security guards. If any guard was watching the feed, he would find nothing out of the ordinary.

Donnie grunted, nearly dropping his dead shield on the pavement, but his quick reflexes made sure to balance the flaccid man before he tumbled. Hopefully, the little slip would resemble a drunkard or sick employee and be shrugged off. With bated breath, Donnie hoped and prayed there wasn't going to be an alarm.

Luck continued to be with them.

"Steal a car?" Sable whispered, crouched low on Donnie's hip.

"Can't risk it," Donnie muttered, directing his steps toward the distant tree line.

He didn't want to risk taking an employee's car, only to have it tracked and he and Sable recaptured. The trees swallowed the dark figures, Donnie making sure to put at last a hundred feet from the edge of the tree line before dropping his cargo.

Sable pounced on the man's body. Much to Donnie's confusion, she extracted the man's wallet.

"You're robbing the guy?" Donnie asked incredulously as Sable tucked the wallet into her pants pocket.

"We don't know where we are and might need supplies," Sable said, patting the pocket and grinning wolfishly. "Unless you have some money tucked into your shell somewhere."

Donnie blinked, not only taken aback by her sharp wit, but by her foresight.

Of course they would need supplies. Why hadn't he thought of that?

"Come on," he said. "Let's find the road and see if we can find a sign. We have to know where we are."

Sable agreed, hurrying to match Donnie's stride as he found a two lane blacktop and began following its inky ribbon. Their breath puffed in front of their faces as they ran. Sable's booted feet slipped and crunched on the gravel, threatening to make her lose her balance. She stumbled in the dark, cursing the large boots, but also blessing them, as her feet would have been chewed up from the frozen asphalt. Donnie, for his large size and species, moved with silent speed and grace.

"Sign," Donnie said, pointing ahead.

The sign was only a couple hundred feet away, but to Sable, it was as far as the moon. Panting, she reached the sign in time to find Donnie squinting at its green and white surface.

"Lock Haven one mile?" he muttered, finding his traveling companion to be flushed and out of breath. "Jersey Shore 22 miles. Williamsport 48 miles."

Sable gasped. "Where are we?"

"No idea," Donnie said, rubbing his chin. He was familiar with most of New York and part of New Jersey, but he was unfamiliar with the names listed on the sign.

"Now what do we do?" Sable asked, bending over to rest her hands on knees. Her lungs were aching in the frozen air.

"We steal a car in Lock Haven," Donnie grinned, holding out his hand gentlemanly fashion.

Sable snickered, placing her hand in his and following her turtle in shining armor to Lock Haven, (wherever that was,) to steal a car and go home.

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By the time they reached Lock Haven, Sable was drastically winded. She stumbled along and when Donnie told her to wait in the shadow of the trees while he hotwired a vehicle, she was only too happy to oblige.

The air was stinging her flesh and burning her lungs. By her estimation, it must have been in the twenties. On the horizon, giant grey battleships were forming, signaling an impending battle of freezing weather. Though being the middle of March, the weather was notoriously unpredictable.

She and Donnie needed to find out where they were and get home, as quickly as possible. They couldn't survive long out in the wild in the frigid temperatures. Especially Donnie, was who undoubtedly cold blooded due to his reptilian nature. He was probably colder than she, and she was wearing two pants and four shirts!

Three minutes after he left her, a dingy, beat up truck pulled over on the side of the road and the door opened, the interior light showing a grinning Donnie hunkered down behind the wheel. Sable laughed at his goofy expression as she climbed in, immediately reaching for the heat controls.

"Where did you learn to hotwire a vehicle?" Sable asked, rubbing her frozen hands together.

"Umm… I learned on youtube, but have practiced on various vehicles as a precaution in case the need ever arises," Donnie answered, resolutely staring at the road and driving toward the next town.

"I'm glad you had the foresight to do that," Sable said, taking a chance to reach over and pat his blanket and jacket covered shoulder. The dead guard's black shirt was rolled high on Donnie's neck, acting as a scarf.

Donnie gave her a tiny smile and returned his attention to the road. They drove on in silence for nearly ten minutes when Donnie read out the next sign.

"Jersey Shore, South Williamsport, Route 15 Junction to I-80."

Sable shrugged. "Well, we're not in Jersey. I know most of the places around Free Hold, and none of that sounds familiar."

"You're a Jersey girl?" Donnie asked, tickled to learn she was from a neighboring state.

"Dad's from Pittsburg, mom's from Buffalo, and somehow they managed to meet, get married, and settle down outside of Trenton," Sable explained. "Where are you from?"

"New York City," Donnie grinned when Sable stared slackjawed at his declaration. "Born in a genetics lab. Mutated and released into the sewers when a fire broke out at the lab."

"Wow," Sable breathed. She had guessed he was a genetic experiment, more than likely a military secret, super soldier, but his true origin was far more unbelievable.

They traveled in companionable silence for several minutes. Approaching a town, Donnie read through the signs.

"Junction to I-80. Should we follow or continue on this road?"

Sable scanned the plain two lane road for a moment, deep in thought. "I think Interstate 80 branches with 280, which leads to Newark. Then it's about an hour drive to home."

"Home," Donnie sighed, taking the right hand lane that lead to the interstate.

A couple of miles on the main highway and the truck began knocking under the hood. Donnie patted the dashboard, muttering for it to last them a little bit longer so they could be closer to home.

"And if we're on I-80, that means we're probably in Pennsylvania." Sable muttered thoughtfully, more to herself than to her companion.

Donnie offered a noise of shock, but it was drown out by the sound of the engine doing back flips on itself inside the chassis. He lowered the speed, coasting the last mile to the exit labeled Bloomsburg, and pulled up under a street lamp. He didn't want to risk pulling into a gas station or rest stop in case a camera would capture his shell backed appearance and give their pursers an idea of their direction.

Popping the hood, Donnie coughed, fanning the noxious steam from his face to check the engine. He was limited with what he could do, but if it was a simple fix, he could get them back on the road before dawn.

Unfortunately, there wasn't any more life left in the engine. It gave a lasting bark of overheated engine before sighing into its metal deathbed.

"Any saving him, Doc?" Sable asked, already knowing the truck was a goner.

"Flatlined I'm afraid," Donnie said, closing the hood and glancing about.

Roughly 100 feet ahead was a rutted, dirt road. Not wanting their getaway vehicle to be traced just yet, Donnie put it in neutral and pushed the truck to the side road, Sable providing the stiffened steering.

There was a small embankment on the left hand side, with overgrown brush and scrubby trees. Donnie pointed the tires down the slope and gave the truck a push. It rolled easily down the bank, banging its hood into several saplings and came to rest halfway in a multi-floral rose thicket.

Wanting to hide the evidence, Donnie grasped some long branches and long winter grass and slid a couple hundred feet down the embankment, providing some camouflage to the truck and hopefully keep it out of the public eye long enough for the two escapees to put some distance between themselves and their crime.

Donnie topped the bank where Sable was waiting. "Now, it looks like we walk."

Sable nodded, shivering a little from the frost in the air. But her heart was warm. She was going home.

And so was Donnie.

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Hooray! They escaped! Or did they? Muhahha! You never know with me!

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