Survivor of a Twisted Fate

Chapter18

Paul sat at his desk in shock, and he shook his head.

Was it really Anna?

He rubbed his face, and the sheriff walked toward him.

“Woods! Who was that on the phone?” she asked, and he looked back at her.

“I…It….I think it was….ah…. Anna,” he stuttered.

She swallowed hard and looked at him with wide eyes.

“She said she was on her way to Charton, and she had a girl with her named Megan.”

“See if you can trace the call,” said the sheriff, and Paul nodded.

“I want to know exactly where that call came from. She could be in trouble, and she doesn’t know it.”

Paul nodded and started tracing the call. He shook his head and still couldn’t wrap his head around everything.

Did she call or was he hallucinating?

*****

Justin thought about Anna and how much he missed her.

Where was she? What happened to her?

A tear slid down his cheek. He had done everything that he could think of to find her and nothing turned up.

The phone on his desk rang, and he grabbed it.

"Mr. Hardy."

“General, how are things?”

There was a pause, and he raised an eyebrow.

“Mr. Hardy, we have run into a problem.”

“A problem? What sort of problem, general?”

“Well, sir, project A has escaped.”

Justin looked at his screen and pulled up the tracking device. The military didn’t tell him who the test subject was but gave him access to the trackers and progress.

He saw the tiny red blinking dot on the highway not too far from the facility, and the light didn't move.

“It’s right on seventy-one. Not moving.”

“Mr. Hardy, I just received word the asset has been contained. She will be back at the facility soon.”

Justin wiped his face and blew a long breath.

“That was a close call, general.”

The man laughed, and Justin shook his head.

“You will be pleased to know stage one has been completed and has moved on to stage two.”

“Really? I would like to see her. You still haven’t given me a name,” said Justin, and the man cleared his throat.

The general wouldn’t tell him who patient number three four nine was or denied Justin’s requests to come out there, and Justin thought that was odd.

“Eh sir, we should wait until she completes stage two, she is going to be angry, and you wouldn’t want to be around her, especially if she figures out you had your hand in making the beast she is now.”

Justin laughed and shook his head. For a man who was trusted to run the military, he was a little insane in Justin’s opinion.

“Not to worry sir, in time.”

The general agreed, and he hung up.

********

Anna drove to the city, confused and angry. She looked at Megan sleeping in the back seat and sighed. Anna had to find out what they did to her and hoped that her mother and the kids were okay.

She thought about Justin, and her heart surged. She missed him and wanted to be in his arms. She was scared, lonely, and wanted to be somewhere where she could relax, think, eat, shower, and sleep.

She was exhausted and didn’t have the strength to drive all the way home. The sun was setting and seemed to take Anna’s strength with it.

Megan snored for a moment and then opened her eyes.

“Are we there yet?” she asked, rubbing her eyes.

“Not yet, but we will be there soon,” said Anna.

Megan crawled up to the front seat, curled into a ball, and looked at Anna. She looked at the girl and raised an eyebrow.

“What?” she asked softly, and Megan smiled.

“Thank you,” she said softly and yawned.

“Of course, I couldn’t just leave you there.”

Megan smiled and reached out her hand. Anna took it and held it as they drove in a comfortable silence the rest of the way to the city.

********

“Simone?” asked her old chief, looking at Anna in shock as she walked in with Megan.

She took a deep breath and nodded, gesturing to the girl.

“Her name is Megan.”

The chief touched Anna’s shoulder, and she jumped back. The chief blew a breath and looked at her with care.

“Sorry. Just a little jumpy. Find her parents. Please don’t say anything about me being back. I will do that tomorrow,” she pleaded as she searched her old chief’s eyes.

The chief nodded, and Anna looked at Megan.

“They are going to help you, okay?”

Megan nodded and hugged her. Anna nodded to the chief and headed out the door.

*******

Justin walked into his penthouse and stopped immediately as his eyes widened. There was a dirty and bloody smudged hand print on the wall and dirty footprints on his carpet leading up to his room. Cautiously, he walked down the hallway and saw another smudge on the door. He slowly pushed it open and looked inside his bedroom.

Surprisingly, there was someone on his bed. He saw the thigh holsters and the auburn frayed braid lying on her back, and tears filled his eyes.

“Anna?” he called, and she didn’t move.

He swallowed hard and stumbled toward her.

“Anna?” he asked again, wiping the dirt, blood, and hair away from her face, but she didn’t stir.

“Anna?”

He looked at her and huffed a sob.

“Anna. No,” he cried and pulled her to his chest.

Justin held Anna close as he sobbed and rocked. The girl he fell in love with was gone, and his heart broke into a million pieces.

“My gorgeous,” he whispered sadly as tears ran down his cheeks.

He leaned against his headboard and sobbed.

“Anna, please. Don’t go,” he whispered.

Suddenly, he felt her move and inhaled sharply, looking down. Anna gave him a panicked look, and he grabbed her face, searching her wide eyes.

“Oh my, Anna, you are alive.”

“Justin,” she whispered.

She stared, and he rubbed her cheek.

“Justin, " she cried and scrambled in his lap.

She straddled his hips, grabbed his face, and kissed him hard. He kissed her passionately and ran his hands up her back. She pulled back and tears streamed down her face.

“I’m sorry about the mess,” she sniffed, and he laughed through his tears.

“Who cares, you’re alive.”

Justin pulled her close and rested his forehead against hers.

“I thought I’d never see you again,” he breathed.

“Me, too,” she cried and hugged him tight.

**********

Justin made tea while Anna took a shower, and he gave her a pair of his sweats to wear. She sat down next to him on the couch, and he handed her a cup. She wanted to stay with him. He made her feel safe and not alone, but she knew that she needed to stay on track to find her mother and the kids.

She sat in his lap, and he wrapped his arms around her.

“I missed you,” she said.

He pulled her collar back and kissed her shoulder, and she ran her fingers through his hair.

“I missed you more, gorgeous. You can believe that,” he said, and she giggled.

“I believe you.”

She snuggled against him and sighed. He rested his chin on her shoulder and blew a breath.

“You’re leaving again,” he said, and she looked at him.

Anna knew he wasn’t going to like her leaving again, but she had to find her mother and the kids. If they were going through what she went through then any time spent not looking for them was giving the people behind this more time to hurt them.

Justin looked into her eyes and pressed his lips together.

“I don’t want to lose you again,” he said, pressing his forehead against hers, and she blew a breath.

“Justin. You’re not going to lose me. Trust me. I’ve got skills,” she chimed, and he shook his head.

“Anna, this is dangerous.”

She pressed her lips to his, kissed him sweetly, and leaned into his ear.

“Maybe I should leave you with a small incentive,” she whispered, facing him.

He leaned back, and she straddled his lap. He slid his hands up her thighs, over her butt, and up her back, and she gently kissed his neck. He groaned softly, and she pulled back, licking her lips.

“Just think when I come back. I won’t have anywhere else to run to, and maybe,” she said, leaning into his ear.

“You’ll get what you want.”

He squeezed her thighs, pressed his body against hers, and hissed. She looked at him thoughtfully and bit her lower lip.

*******

Leonard's phone rang, and he answered it.

“This is Leonard.”

“Mr. Maverick.”

It was the general, and the man smiled.

“General, I hope that all is well regarding patient number three four nine.”

“Sir, she tried to escape, but now has been contained.”

Leonard thought momentarily, twisted his mouth, and nodded.

“Good, I will have patient six-four-five ready to combine with her, soon.”

“Sir, about your other project, project x. He and she are ready.”

“Fantastic!” Leonard exclaimed.

“We will be ready to test the test subjects with them.”

“Good, I will gather them up and head your way,” said Leonard and hung up.

Leonard was out of the country and found a rare type of bat, down in the depths of the caves in Guatemala. This particular bat was called an Ambopteryx Longbrachium Bat. Its blood dated back to the Cretaceous period, and he wanted to run tests to see what discoveries lay within the ancient genes.

The body was rodent-like and furry, with the head of a raptor, only smaller with rows of super-sharp fangs, reptilian eyes, and a large thick dinosaur-like tail. The wingspan was seven to ten feet wide, and the wing skin membranes stretched thin between elongated arm bones that attached to a special wrist bone that sprouted three sharp claws.

The creatures had thick muscular legs, with large curved claws on their feet, and short arms with thick talon-like claws. Nasty-looking creatures drooled and screeched, and were clumsy fliers.

Leonard captured a couple, tested a serum his company developed, and watched the mutation begin. He turned them into super creatures and gave them speed, agility, and strength.

“General, I would also like to see Project A. She needs to be taught not to meddle in other people’s business that doesn’t concern her,” said Leonard with a sneer.

The general blew a breath and wiped the sweat from his brow.

“Yes, sir, as soon as she is restrained and brought back to the holding facility,” the general said, and Leonard looked at his watch.

“Where is she?”

There was a pause, and Leonard frowned.

“Where is Project A?”

“Out on route seventy-one. My men have reached her.”

Leonard hung up the phone and smirked. He knew that baby would come in handy one day. Nosy, just like her parents were. Guess she deserved to die with her parents. He thought as he looked at the newspaper. Ah well, at least he could use her to test out his new pets. She probably won’t last long, and he couldn’t wait to hear her screams.