Shifters (Feline english version)

Chapter 26

We stood in the middle of the corridor, where anyone could have seen us. Which would soon happen if we didn't move very quickly! Now that the lights were back on, they were going to find out very fast that I was no longer in my cell, and the hunt would then begin. It was my feline companion who came to her senses first and told me to open the second door on the right, which I did without taking any special precautions. After all, there was no longer time for discretion. Luck seemed to be on our side because the room was empty and apparently without a camera. I was beginning to think it was strange, all these corridors and empty rooms without any guards or surveillance equipment.

What I had mistaken for a room was actually a small corridor, a kind of airlock, with an elevator, topped by a camera at its tip. I froze and the panther mimicked me, having instantly shared my concerns. How do we get past this camera without being noticed? Answer: None. Other than crossing fingers and hoping that no one was looking at the screens at that time.

So I walked forward with a quick and confident gait, my head slightly lowered to show only my hair to the camera and pressed the button. The door immediately opened with the small ding characteristic of all elevators and we quickly entered. I looked for the control panel on the left wall with only one button, at least saving me the trouble of choosing. I pressed it and the cabin began its descent, which seemed endless to me. When it stopped, I put myself in a corner, my makeshift weapon brandished in front of me, ready for any eventuality. At least that was the idea.

I felt like a mocking laugh echoing in my mind and the panther projected her vision of me. A tall girl too skinny and in greyish underwear stained with blood, who brandished a wrench with a trembling hand, her auburn hair all tangled up falling back on her face. Not very scary, indeed! I laughed a little bitterly with her, then, when the universal ding rang out, I tensed in anticipation of what we would find on the other side.

Before us lay the same white tiled corridors, the difference being that everything here seemed new and sanitized. As we moved forward a little, we discovered a large glass door that opened onto a brand new laboratory. A person in a white coat was using a complex looking machine and turning their back on us. We took the opportunity to move quickly and discreetly, before he or she turned around and saw us. At the end of the corridor, there was another one. My partner, seeming to know where she was going, continued to give me her mental indications until yet another door.

Facing the latter, equipped with a magnetic card lock, I understood that it was time to take out my miracle tool number two. I placed it as explained to me, then nervously waited for the device to do its job, crossing my fingers for no one to appear in the meantime. Once again, we were lucky and I began to seriously doubt that it was just that. No one is that lucky and especially not me... There was something wrong.

What if the reinforcements had arrived? That would explain the hustle and bustle earlier, the fact that there were so few people inside and why no one was reacting to my disappearance. It also meant that if Worth had managed to find me, it was because Jude had to be with him. I realized then that I missed him and that I had been afraid deep down inside that I would never see him again, no matter how annoying he may be. But maybe I took my wishes for reality? Maybe after all, I was blessed with goddamn fortune! Anyway, the door was still not open and I decided to take the opportunity to test my theory. I emptied my mind and searched for his characteristic imprint among all the other signatures around me. For a short moment, I thought I had found him and my heart leapt into my chest, before all my senses were overwhelmed by the laughter of an indiscreet panther's thoughts.

« You are really smitten, aren't you? But do you think it's time to look for your love? I'll let you know, if you're still interested, that the door is open! »