Chapter Eleven Rescue
Freddie hit the ground again. This was getting repetitive.
Sam rocked in the corner, muttering madly to herself, "Bad girl, mad girl, so mad like a bad hatter. Bad dog, Mad dog- why isn't Sam a good dog, like a good wolf?"
He sighed. Jonah had done this, and so had he. In arrogance, they had attacked her, brought her down to a dog's level in an attempt to get revenge. Yes, she had betrayed him and Carly, yes she was a total psycho, and yes, she had been the one to show him how weak he was, just like The Big Bad Wolf, but there was a difference between the two.
She was his friend.
He spoke her name, "Sam."
She shuttered, "Bit…"
"No, your name is Sam."
She looked up in her insanity, "Broken bit by bit, like it?"
Freddie shook his head, moving to her. She shrunk back, crying to herself. The boy stopped, "You are a girl, you are my friend, remember?"
"Hard. No friends, just claws and teeth and urges. They never stop. I urge- I urge to run, but their urges don't run. They stick around, they stick in me. And it hurts, it hurts so bad, over and over and over. Why won't they stop? I beg them 'stop' and the hurt me over and over and over."
He sighed and tried again, "I am sorry, I will rescue you, but I need to know you're still in there." He paused, "C'mon, Sam, momma don't give up so easy, does she?"
She blinked coherently "Freddie?"
"Sam…?"
She struggled to her feet with the strength of a proper wolf, "You… are a nub."
Halfway across the state in Seattle, Carly was meeting with Nevel.
"I'm sorry, but I need a better reason to trust you."
Nevel sighed, "Bailing out your boyfriend isn't enough?"
She crossed her arms across her bosom to show him she was adamant.
"Fine," He rolled back his hair, "Take a look."
She had not realized before what was in front of her the whole time; scars at his hairline, a certain hardness in his eyes, his desire to bring down the Institute and his interest in the FBI.
Nevel was an Institute dog. His hand reached for hers.
She recoiled violently, "Don't touch me!"
He sighed, "I'm not one of them."
Her face filled with disgust, "Don't lie! I saw what they did to Freddie! And he… was such a pure-hearted boy. They made him a monster!"
Nevel snorted, "Not quite."
Carly backed away, panting fearfully.
Nevel took a breath, "I want to pay him back."
The girl paused and looked at him, "Dogs are hard-wired not to attack their masters. Freddie barely had the will to take on Griffin, and that was only to save me."
Nevel snorted, "I want to pay Freddie back. He saved me. I was sent there mid-semester, and he protected me. I don't know why. Maybe he thought that I would go home and keep you for myself, protecting you from Griffin and the other dogs. Instead, he freed me. They kicked me out when they realized you had a knack for messing with dog's heads. Freddie saved me, just like he saved you, though admittedly, we do not do the sideways tango like you did."
Carly looked down, ashamed. She was like a poisoned piece of meat; every dog wanted a piece, but it drove them against one another.
"If you really want to pay him back, return him to me. Get that warrant to raid that school."
He looked away for a moment, "I need a catalyst, something that clearly requires Federal interference."
She blinked, confused.
He held up a section of the school's bylaws. Carly read it, horror and understanding dawning on her face.
"Oh."
A.N. DUN DUN DUUUUN! As usual, leave a review, get a chappie! And, good news, the next one is more shameless fanservice, so... don't worry about trying to think of something mean to say! (I laught at my own jokes, I guess.) Thanks for the reviews!