Meet Amber, a teenage girl struggling with the death of her father, an overstressed mother- and lycanthropy. All she wants is for her life to go back to normal, but a magical corporation has lost a valuable test subject and they believe Amber will b...
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Chapter Fourteen
Every time we passed through a door, Dex paused to lock it again, but neither of us said a word. I didn't even notice as we walked through the morgue a second time, my thoughts were so wrapped up in the little girl I held. If she woke up, would she hate me? If she didn't, how long would I hate myself? When we finally got back to the break room, I felt wretched. I had attacked a defenseless five year old. No matter how much I had tried to convince myself of it over the past six months, there was no way I could deny it now: I was a monster.
"Well, at least we didn't run into any of Hendricks' flunkies," Dex said, switching the lights off, but I barely heard him. I went to the back door, and Dex put his hand on the nob. He gave me a searching look, and when I said nothing he nodded. I took a deep breath, like I was about to go underwater, and he eased the door open.
"Hey, guys! How'd it go?" Ed asked, immediately stepping into the doorway to greet us. I didn't give him a second glace as I shoved him aside, bringing Kimberly out into the parking lot.
"We shouldn't do this here," Dex called after me. "Somebody might see us."
I ignored him. I couldn't bring myself to care if anybody saw us or not. I carried Kimberly to the edge of the parking lot and set her on the grass, just short of where the trees started to grow, and then got up and backed away.
I stood there for what felt like years, watching the little girl lie motionless on the ground. She didn't look any more alive in the moonlight than she had in the dull golden light of Dex's scepter. Dex and Edgar stood a few feet behind me, not saying a word, for which I was thankful. I was in no mood to deal with either of them.
A minute crept by, agonizingly slowly, and she did not move an inch. With a doglike whine, I fell to my knees and buried my face in my hands. Dex had been right. She was dead. I hadn't turned her into a werewolf, but she was still dead. I was a murderer, a monster, a...
My head jerked back up when I heard a gasp come from Kimberly's direction. Her mouth was wide open, and she was sucking in air like she hadn't breathed in a week. Her eyes snapped open, and she sat up.
"Mommy?" she demanded at once, her little eyes wide with fear. Eyes, I saw, that had taken the golden hue of a wolf's. "Daddy?"
"They're not here," I said, my mouth working on its own while my head recovered from its shock. I slowly got to my feet, being careful not to make any sudden movements that might frighten her.
"Who are you?" she asked, her gaze now fixed on me.
"My name's Amber," I answered, taking a hesitant step toward her.
"Where's my mom and dad?"
I bit my lip, and tried not to look back at Dex for help. This was my fault. I had to handle it alone.
"They're not here," I explained. "They... don't know where you are."
Kimberly's eyes widened even more. "Are you a kidnapper?"
