S.A. Price (8 page)

Perfect health aside she needed to get the hell out of here. The scent of fear and sickness surrounded her dark prison. A small girl’s voice sounded to her left quickly followed by vicious dogs barking, at least two or three of them, the voice let out a short scream of surprise then shut up as the growling dogs clawed at what must have been her cage. Evelyn didn’t know if it gave her hope to know that there was more than one of them here.

A lock on the door snapped open and she heard voices, strong male voices. “Shut the fuck up!”

one barked storming into the room his boots clumping past her cage and back to the girl who’d made a noise. “See bitch, we know when you break the rules.”

The girl let out a whimper and Evelyn heard a zap, maybe something electric, the girl screamed and fell silent as the smell of burning flesh came through the tarp over the cage. She shifted uneasily to the other side of the metal cage as far away from the smell as she could get. That poor girl. A wet nose pressed up against her hand causing her to jump with a scream.

The man chuckled. “Well, well, well… what do we have here?” The boots thumped over to her cage as she silently cursed. The nose still poked at her under the hood taking deep breaths. “Think the mutt likes what he smells. Who’s he got… Number one oh two, Evelyn Rose. Now that I like…” The cover whisked off leaving her squinting in the light. “Mmm… damn girl we left you with way too many clothes on. You know my buddy here used to have your pinup on his barracks wall. Didn’t you Maxwell?”

The man, apparently Maxwell, grunted from the corner and paid no attention.

She looked up at him through the bars. They were both lean and well built. The one who'd spoken had darker hair from the other’s sandy blonde. They held themselves like fighters full of confidence and stride. Of course she was the one in the cage so she couldn't say much to thwart their confidence.

Instead she lowered her eyes to the ground; she knew when to keep her mouth shut. Growing up in the home had taught her that and if she hadn't already known then the stun gun in his hand would have tipped her off. She may have been a model but she wasn't stupid, this was a bad situation for a woman of any kind.

~33~

"Hear that bud? Now that’s what I like, a woman on her knees who knows when to shut up." He leered down at her.

"Jax, can it ok? We are supposed to watch them, not torture them." The other came to her defense.

"Torture? I am not torturing... you've seen me do that. I'm just having a little fun, loosen up."

"Nothing fun about fucking with a caged girl that isn’t in the cage of her own free will, Jax." he said still not looking up from his magazine. "Just let the swimsuit model be. I’m still saying picking her up was not Cristof’s best idea. She’s high profile."

"She's still a fucking snake whore and Cristof pays the bills, his ideas are the good ones." He looked back down at Evelyn who'd been silently watching their exchange. "Let’s get her out of that cage then...maybe give her a chance to stretch her legs." He crouched down to eye level with a lewd smile on his face. "I'm sure it’s getting awfully cramped in there."

"Jax, don’t make me pull rank. And we don’t know for a fact that she is right for the project.

Cristof might pay the bills but he’s going about it all wrong."

"All wrong? Lighten up, bud. This is a cushy number..." He stood making a show of stretching himself out. Evelyn looked on with envy, her legs were cramping up, although she really didn’t want to be outside of the cage with them. She was almost thankful for it; certain that she was much better off with it firmly in between Jax and her.

"Completely wrong. You catch more flies with honey, and abducting and caging possible Ophidians is not the way to get them to share the lamia secret, if there is a bloody secret."

He shrugged. "Don’t care about the plan to be honest, orders is all that matter and this one is a definite. She's stronger than she looks too, a real wiggler."

"Most women are when they are being abducted. And if orders are the only thing that matter to your grunt ass, then follow them. Nothing in the orders say you can fuck with the quarry." He looked up finally, his bright blue eyes settling on her making her heart leap into her throat as she quickly looked back down. "None of them should be treated like this."

"Well she is hot, but in all fairness there’s nothing in my orders to say I can't fuck with the quarry."

"And there’s nothing that does, but there is something that says for you to follow orders from your superior officer, who is me, and I’m saying to leave them the fuck alone." he said, his voice a menacing growl.

Jax turned squaring up to the other for a tense second or two, before shrugging. "Eh. See if I care... I'm going to hit up Louisa and see if she's up for some fun. You stay down here with the dogs and the reptiles." He chuckled, grinning back over to Evelyn. "You know, I wouldn’t blame you if you took her out for a test run, bud." He winked at her then turned jogging out the door.

"Yeah, and Louisa won’t cut your nuts off either… good luck," he said as the door closed. "Ya fuck." He turned towards Evelyn. "Are you thirsty?"

She was and she was hungry too, she had no clue how long she'd been here for. She wasn't taking anything from them though. They’d put her here and most likely it would be poisoned or drugged. She shook her head looking up at him. "No thank you."

The man stood and came to her bringing a bottle of water with him. He opened it and took a long drink and then offered it to her. "No tricks, like I said, I don’t think this is at all fair. My name’s Homer Maxwell and I’m probably the only friend any of you have got here." He took a small energy bar out of his fatigues and offered it to her.

She took the water through the bars opening it and gulping it down thirstily. "Thanks." She smiled taking the bar from him.

"Do you know where we are?"

She shook her head moving away from him to the far end of the cage. "Does it matter?" She looked around her seeing at least six identical cages just like the one she was in, as well as others, larger and further down the expanse of the room.

~34~

"Yes it does...Look. You have no reason to trust me right?" he said and passed a paper to her through the bars, then got off his knees and whistled, the dogs in the long room looking up at him. He patted his leg and opened the door to the side pen, the dogs running out into the devastating brightness of the day. They were alone now; aside from the occupants in the other cages.

"None whatsoever, you've been nice but... you still put me in here." She sighed trying to be braver than she felt. "I was an extra in a horror movie once. I know what’s going to happen or at least some variation of it." She looked up pleading with him. "I don’t want to die."

"Actually I didn’t put you in here, but I am going to let you go. That paper is coordinates to here, and I don’t have long to get you out."

"Why?" She asked suspiciously moving to the door of the cage. It couldn’t be true; he was surely messing with her.

He smiled. "Why indeed. Let’s just say I have serious doubts about the work Cristof is doing, and you’re the only one that’s come in so far that’s strong enough to escape...And I don’t want anyone hurt."

"Anyone? What's this project?" she asked panicking slightly. She didn't feel strong enough to escape but the thought of staying trapped in a cage waiting for torture and death wasn’t very appealing.

"Calm down. You’re going to be forced into participating in the Lamia project, like the rest of the girls. I have a plan, but you gotta help me, ok?"

"Ok." She nodded knowing that, whatever the Lamia project was, being forced into it really didn't sound like a good thing. "I can do that... calm down that is." She smiled nervously into his blue eyes.

He was kind of hot, for a not so evil bad guy. She looked away trying not to blush, gods the body sure does play crappy tricks on you at the worst time. She hadn’t even looked at a man, or anybody, in that way for years and now was the time her messed up head chooses to start noticing one. "I've never been in a cage before... willing or otherwise." She blurted out horrified at her own words.

"I didn’t think you were that type of girl, Evelyn." he smiled. “I’m going to let you out ok? Don’t bolt. I have a plan, but it’s going to require your help Hun."

She nodded looking around. "I may be a model but I'm not stupid enough to think I can get past those dogs."

"Bright girl." He opened the cage and offered his hand. "There’s more water and food too. And we’ll be alone for another hour before that fuck Jax gets back. So we gotta be quick."

She crawled out taking his hand and letting him help her stand. Her legs seared with agony and refused to hold her. She fell into him grasping onto his noticeably well-muscled body for support.

Homer caught her and chuckled, lifting her and carrying her to the large padded chair he’d been sitting on and setting her down. "Here," he said giving her another bottle of water. "Shake out the knots." he said, grabbing her leg under the knee and carefully massaging her calf.

His hands felt warm and hard, they were a little rough from what she imagined was handling all sorts of different weapons. The warmth tried to spread up from her calves but she furiously fought it back down. She just wasn't that kind of girl, despite what the papers said and for all she knew this could have been his plan, a cruel joke aimed at her. Let her think she's free, get her real thankful and then slam her back in the cage or worse. "So you kidnap girls often?" she asked holding the bottle of water out for him to take a drink from.

He took it and smiled. "No actually, and that’s why I’m here. You and the rest of the girls need to get out of here. Luckily the guys they picked up haven’t said anything, or they just don’t know anything. Either way, you’re all expendable and that’s not a good thing."

She swallowed hard. Expendable didn’t sound like a good thing to be. "I wouldn't imagine so."

He chuckled. "Truth is they want me to seduce you, gain your trust and then fuck you, but that’s not going to happen. Neither of us are guinea pigs." he said putting her leg down and picking the other up.

~35~

"And then kill me? Why? Guinea pigs for what? And if seduction was on the cards you didn't have to put me in a cage, call me old fashioned, but a nice restaurant and a bottle or two of house red normally does it." Or it would have back when she’d had a sex life.

He smiled at her, a dazzling display of perfect teeth. "I’ll remember that, though I doubt it will be something for the future. As for Guinea pig, I told you it’s the Lamia bullshit. But still what they want is part of my plan..."

"Ok I'll play..." She said still not trusting him, despite her body’s assurances that he was all-good.

"Before I even tell you the plan? Shit it’s gotta be the calf massages."

"Not quite. I'm agreeing to hear the plan." She shook her head glad that at least she sounded more confident than she felt, a definite perk of her job. "Tell you what, I'll put you in that cage for god knows how long and then see how agreeable you are to escape."

He laughed. "No more cage, and just so you know, you have only been in the cage about eight hours."

"And them?" She nodded over to the other cages.

"They all had this choice too... Some guy, not me mind you, got to play hero to them, take them out, seduce them, sex, which I’m sure most of them were cool with. When it was done they had a day then were put back in the cage. So far as I know none of them have been hurt, but some have been in the cages for a few days. Cristof has been trying to get them to change but again, I think it’s highly unlikely."

"Why?" She tried to keep the horror from her face. The whole situation was plain barbaric, how could anyone think to do this to another living person all in the hope that they’d shift into a snake.

"I told you the Lamia project."

"No why won’t..." She shook her head; if he didn’t believe in shifters she wasn't about to change his mind. Why they hadn’t shifted was of no immediate concern to her. Her own shift wouldn’t come for weeks and by then she’d be long gone. "So, you’re helping me escape?"

He nodded. "Yes." he smiled. "I’m going to do this as they planned, but you’re going to escape, with keys to a jeep that’s been planted a mile from here, east. I play incapacitated, say I underestimated you. You need to get that paper I gave you to the authorities and save the girls. Once you escape, you will only have forty-eight hours to get them back here, or the facility will have moved.

You won’t be escaping tonight though. We have to make this believable."

"Oh." She blinked taking it all in. "Ok... I get it."

Homer smiled, more then relived. "Good. So, shall we play this up? Start the ruse?"

"What’s going to happen to them?"

"Anna will be on guard for them tonight. She will feed them, and she lets them out. Most of them are too weak to run, or been here too long, the fights taken outta them."

"And then?" she asked not wanting to know the answer. She didn't trust him one bit, there was the chance he was just being crueler than the others telling her what he was going to do well before he was going to do it. Giving her hope before locking her back in the cage and crushing her like one of those poor girls. The fact that they haven’t changed meant that there was a chance they weren’t even Ophidians. In her experience with men, the sexier and kinder they pretended to be the worse they were and this guy topped eleven on all the charts. She had to play along with him and wait for her moment.