Final Extraction by Julie Trettel

Vada

Chapter 14

 

 

 

The stench was unbearable by the time we finally reached our destination. Jake had been quiet for far too long and I was certain he was dead, though Jax assured me he was still very much alive because he could still hear him breathe.

While it had initially freaked me out, hearing the turtle shifter in my head, as the journey continued it became a great comfort to me, and I think maybe to him, too. He did not shift this time so along with me and Jake, we remained the only ones not naked.

I refused to shift during transport no matter how low a risk it would be in the pitch black darkness merely because of the humiliation factor it provided. I saw the demeaning glee in Trevor’s face every time we unloaded and I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.

This was no different. He opened the door himself as we all screeched and shielded our eyes from the bright light.

“Damn these filthy beasts reek. Bleach them down and then put them in holding with the others. All of them, even the traitor among them,” he retorted before walking away.

For once, he didn’t wait around to watch us unload. I felt like it was a snub to me and Jake, but I was kind of glad for it too.

As they unlocked the cages and we exited the truck, there was a group of seven large men and three women waiting for us. Those of us still in our clothes were required to strip down. They had us line up and then a few of the men came through and dumped bottles of straight bleach over our heads and covering our bodies. The harsh scent of chemical in the air was enough to drive any of us mad, but the bleach burned the skin as the next group came through and scrubbed us with wide hard bristled push brooms. It bit into my skin and blood trailed along the floor sending a few of the carnivores close to psychotic rages of bloodlust. The final step was for them to hose us down with a pressure washer using ice cold water. The spray hurt almost as badly as the bleach, but by then my body was numb and bordering shock.

When they got to Jake, I could see the open sores already on his body from the beating he’d experienced at Trevor’s hand.

“Please, don’t. He was on top. This isn’t necessary. You’ll hurt him,” I begged.

“Everyone,” the head woman reminded them when the men hesitated at my request.

“He’s human,” I reminded them.

The man with the bleach scowled at Jake and then spit at his feet. “Traitor!”

Jake took a deep breath and stood there with his chin lifted in defiance, his legs spread wide and his arms in the air as he stared down the man daring him to do it.

“I’m no traitor. But this is how Trevor treats those he doesn’t trust. It’s only a matter of time before each of you are standing here.”

“That will never happen,” the man said in an eerily calm voice before dumping the bleach over Jake’s head.

He closed his eyes tightly shut and clenched his jaw tight, but unlike the rest of us, he didn’t scream or even whimper. I knew then that Jake was one of the toughest men I had ever known.

As I stood there watching in horror with my eyes watering from the sting of the bleach and my nose and throat still dry and burning, I cried for him.

When it was over, my instinct was to run to him and soothe him from the pain that was evident in his eyes but not in his mannerisms.

We were next taken to a very large room. It was void of any windows and had a large steel door they were keeping locked. They ushered us in like cattle.

Inside were hundreds of people all crammed in. By the time our group enter there was little room to really move around.

Many of the shifters were sitting on the floor. Everyone was naked. Aside from the torture, it was one of the worst things I’d ever witnessed. The others were sad, many were crying. Some were happy tears as people were reunited but mostly it was tears of fear.

“I can’t see, Vada,” Jax said. “I think the bleach got into my eyes.”

“What?”

“I can’t see!”

Jax was bordering on hysteria. Jake took control and examined him while I tried to soothe him through his telepathic abilities.

Just stay calm, Jax. I’m sure it will pass.

“Tell me what you do see?”

“Nothing,” he insisted.

“Is it dark or bright?”

“Bright. Like a bright white.”

“That’s good. Real good. Do you see shadows at all?”

He shook his head.

Jake turned to me. “See if anyone has found some water. We need to flush the bleach from his eyes quickly.”

I tried to yell over the noise but it was pointless. I wasn’t tall enough for anyone to see me over the others and it was simply too loud.

Jake grabbed me by the waist and hoisted me up onto his shoulders. That quieted down those closest to us. I let out an ear-piercing whistle. I hated to do it, knowing how sensitive our hearing was, but it did the trick.

“Vada!”

“It’s Vada!”

“We’re going to be okay. Vada’s here!”

I was surprised by the shouts of my name throughout the room. They acted as if I were some sort of savior. I couldn’t save myself let alone them.

I hesitated.

Help, Vada, Jax’s voice begged in my head.

“Water. Does anyone have or see fresh water.”

“There are a few buckets over here. I can’t guarantee they’re fresh,” a man yelled. He held one up and the others began passing it towards me without question.

“Thank you.”

Jake let me down when the bucket was safely in my hand.

“Do you think it’s okay?” I asked him.

He hesitated then cupped his hand and scooped up some of the water. He brought it to his nose and smelled it as he examined it closely. Then he drank it. I wanted to shake him for being so stupid, but he grinned. “It’s fresh.”

I smacked his arm. “Don’t do that again. That was stupid.”

There was some commotion behind me as a woman pushed her way through the crowd to us.

“Excuse me, I may be able to help.”

“Are you a nurse or a doctor?”

She bit her lip. “Sort of.”

Jake was already flushing his eyes with fresh water as the woman knelt beside Jax and took his hand. She closed her eyes and looked like she was concentrating.

Jax stiffened and pulled his hand away.

“Don’t be afraid,” she whispered. “I’m only trying to help.”

“You’re a healer.”

She bit her lip and neither confirmed or denied it.

“You’re a witch,” he said trying to get a reaction of her or addressing her inner thoughts. I wasn’t sure which.

So are you, so just let her help you, I thought hoping the harsh tone carried over through his connection.

I do not like that word, he told me indignantly.

Then don’t call her one.

“He’ll need to rest, but he should be fine. The blindness should not be permanent,” the witch said.

“What’s your name?” Jake asked.

“Mallory.”

“Does everyone know what you are here?”

Fear registered on her face as she shook her head.

“Don’t let Trevor discover you,” he said in a very low voice that only a shifter could hear.

Her eyes widened as she nodded before disappearing back into the crowd.

“Sometimes I feel like everyone has special powers except me.”

“Nah. Majority do not. Those that do tend to be more outcasts as they hide it from others. So they’re more likely to be easy pickings for Trevor and his goons. Makes sense you’d find more of them in here, huh? No offense, Jax,”

“Wait, him too?” Jake looked him over. “Yeah, I can see it.”

Jax frowned which made me laugh.

“Vada?” a woman approached carrying a toddler on her hip.

“Lucy?” I cried as she ran into my arms.

We hugged and celebrated being reunited as the child in her arms was squished between us until she started wiggling in protest.

Lucy pulled away from me and grinned down at the cute little blonde-haired, green-eyed kid.

“Vada, this is little Vada, the baby you helped save back in New York.”

A tear leaked from my eye and trickled down my cheek.

“You named her Vada?”

Lucy smiled proudly. “I couldn’t think of a stronger name and better way to honor the woman who saved her life, and mine.”

I sniffed and reached for the child that was my namesake.

“Hi Vada. I’m Vada, too.”

The sweet little girl hugged me as I started to cry, then sniffled to try to regain control over my emotions.

I passed her back to her mother. “She’s beautiful, Lucy.”

“Thanks.”

“Any, um, complications?”

She bit her lip and shook her head. “No. So far she’s just a normal little girl. We have fifteen successfully bred babies with us now.”

I sighed. “He didn’t stop?”

She frowned and shook his head.

“They take the kids and test them once a week. I hate it, but it was settling into a routine before they up and moved us all here. No one really knows what’s happening now.”

“He’s pulling all resources together,” Jake told her.

“But why now?”

“He’s doing all of this to try to save his mother. She’s dying of cancer and he’s desperate. Things could get really bad here quickly. We’re bracing for the worst and praying help arrives in time.”

“Help? You mean the others that keep attacking? The group you work with to get us out? They’re coming here? Vada, please tell me you can get little Vada out. I don’t care so much for myself, but please, save my child.”

I felt inadequate and scared at her request. I could see the hope in her eyes. She was looking at me like a savior. As I looked up and around the room, I realized they all were.

I’d done this to myself. I’d helped when I should have been more concerned for my own hide. I’d rescued hundreds of shifters over the years and helped get them out to safety while staying behind to deal with the fallout of my actions.

They knew. They’d seen me, and now it felt like their survival rested solely on my shoulders. Was I up to that task? Could I be strong enough to actually save them all? I wasn’t sure, but I knew I had to try.