Changing

Chapter 10

I gasped.

She was sitting upright leaning against the side of the cage. She looked very unsteady, and her eyes were bloodshot. But she was awake!

She looked at me as flabbergasted as I was. She stared from me to the door and back again. 

Oh right I was free!

I hurried to the cage and opened the door with the keys. 

She bolted to her feet and almost fell but caught herself against the cage, before she could. 

The fever was still raging inside her body, I could see that from the sweat that coated her thin frame, and the way her eyes would unfocused every so often. 

Her breath was ragged and seemed to pain her, but she was to shocked and sick, to understand what was happening. 

I flirted to her side and dripped some of the liquid from the bottle onto her collar before she could get away from me or attack. Her lips pulled back threateningly as I closed in but she was unable even to force a growl from her teeth. 

I stepped back quickly so not to alarm her more. But she was alarmed as a sizzling noise came from the collar. The smell of burning metal filled the room. 

Bonnie jumped back clawing at the collar melting on her neck. Her eyes were beyond reason, so she didn’t realize that it wasn’t doing anything to hurt her. 

I pored the rest of the liquid on my own collar, and was fiercely satisfied from the melting and burning happening at my own throat. 

Bonnie’s collar, or what was left of it, dropped from her neck with a clang. 

She stared at it in utter amazement. Her mouth gaping in astonishment. One of her hands tentatively raised and felt the skin around her neck. She shuddered. 

My own collar landed with another clang, and I laughed. The feeling of freedom wiping away my fear.  

Bonnie looked up at me, her mouth still hanging open. 

“Come on Bonnie lets get out of here.” I said blissfully. 

She took one step towards me, fear coloring her face. Where she never shown anxiety to any of the scientists who would hurt her day after day, she was afraid of me.  

Now she’s scared of me great!

But I didn’t have time to think on this because we were in a hurry, and if this would get her to follow me at least that was something.

I trotted out the door, listening as Bonnie came after me, staggering and weaving unnaturally. 

How much is this going to hurt her chances of getting better? She shouldn’t be running but I doubt that she will let me carry her while she’s still awake. 

I speed up a little as we got into the hall, but not much because I heard how much strain this was causing Bonnie to keep up with me.  

Ana was waiting for us by the front desk. 

“The door’s open!” she called as we raced past her, “and don’t come back!” she laughed in delight.

The doors slid open before us, and then I could really taste freedom. The forest was being flung about with strong winds, the sent of decaying leaves and sap, brilliant in my nose. 

My hair flung around my face as the leaves tore their way into the sky, gusting towards me. 

The leafy hand of the forest clutched my heart in it stifling grasp and yanked me towards the safety of its dark branches.

I had to remind myself of Bonnie behind me so that I wouldn’t bolt to the trees. 

The wind whooshed pass me, and the first rain drops fell from the sky. 

The sky seemed to be crying in delight at our escape, from the prison we’ve been in for much to long. 

The gates were wide open, the guards oblivious to the fact that we were free, as Mr. Tank talked to them. They couldn’t even hear Bonnie’s labored breathing from the wind screaming in their ears. 

We were through the gate before they noticed. 

“Hey, they’re escaping!” one guard called.

“Sound the alarm!” 

I heard Bonnie crumple to the ground as her body gave out on her. 

I stopped and turned around, just as a piercing siren sounded from the building.

I raced back to Bonnie’s still form. And almost didn’t notice the gun one of the guards had pointed at me.

I balked to the right just as a bullet shot past me. 

My instincts were fighting against going back. They wanted to run. But I couldn’t leave Bonnie. 

I saw as Mr. Tank punched the man who had just shot at me, and he fell to the ground. The other guard saw this and struck Mr. Tank from behind with the shot gun. 

Mr. Tank screamed and fell to the ground limp. 

“No!” I cried. But I had gotten to Bonnie, and there was no way that I would be able to save Mr. Tank. 

I pulled Bonnie into my arms, again surprised at how light she was. 

I turned and sprinted to the woods, as the sky continued let loose tears, and as I shed my own as well.