Chapter 1
Nova
"Subject A1735 deceased..." The words turn into a far-off echo as the reality of what has happened sinks in slowly.
Another one of us is gone. It only takes a moment for the pain to shoot through me and the others. A scream burst through me and the others as we feel the tether holding us together be ripped once more. The pain is so strong that darkness starts to take me under.
"No no. None of that. Keep them awake!" A familiar voice calls out.
"They can't handle another round today." Another voice says.
"Do it!"
I squeeze my eyes closed and wait for the burning that is about to force its way through every cell of my body. My screams and the ones of the others echos through the room all at once making it hard to hear much else.
"We're losing them." Someone tries to yell over us.
"Keep going!"
Why were they pushing so hard? They usually stopped after one death, but they are pushing all of us to the limit. Why now? Something must have happened.
I don't have long to think over this when another shot of pain shoots through me. Another one of us is gone.
"We have to stop before we lose them all!" Some yells.
I'm not sure whos talking anymore. There is too much pain.
No one listens to their warning and more and more pain rips through me. I can feel myself drifting away.
It hurts too much. I don't want to hurt anymore.
Thankfully it soon ends and it's as if everything is quiet. There is no pain.
Wait...why is there no pain? What's happened?
My mind seems to snap back into reality and I gasp for air. Only it isn't air that I take in. I cough up what tastes like dirt.
Where am I?
I try to move but it feels like my arms are tied.
My eyes won't open and the more I try to breathe the more dirt falls into my mouth.
It's cold and the smell of dirt is all I can pick up on. My mind starts to slowly register more things and I realize whatever I'm in is made of some sort of plastic.
Did they...
Why would they? If I'm not dead why am I here?
My heart starts to race and panic sets in.
I need to get out. I NEED TO GET OUT NOW!
It starts to get too hot and I feel the palm of my hands grow hotter. There is a bit of pain and then I cry out when it feels like my skin is being ripped open. My fingers feel heavy and panic has me thrashing around until suddenly my hands are free. I don't wait for a second longer before I shift around and try to push my way out.
The plastic cuts like butter under my hands but I don't think much of it as I start trying to dig my way out. More dirt crashes down on me and makes me choke but I keep going. My lungs scream for air but I keep pushing until I feel less resistance and then a cool breeze over my fingers.
It takes more frantic digging before I have enough space to suck in a much-needed breath. I gasp for air for a couple of minutes and try to clear my head. There is still a lot of dirt covering me so with a clearer mind I can start digging. Soon I'm finally able to push half of the top of my body out of the ground. I look around and let out a shaky breath at the emptiness all around me.
Where am I?
The sun is low with only a small sliver of light that allows me to see the vast nothing all around me.
There is only dirt and a few dry shrubs. Nothing else.
Was I in a desert? Why would they bury me here?
Movement catches my eye and I start to wonder if others have been buried out here. Have the others survived too?
I need to help them.
My digging becomes more urgent but a low sound makes me stop short. I'm nearly out of light but when I look around for the source of the sound there is no way I would be able to miss what's standing a few feet away from me.
A wolf. A huge wolf.
Shifter.
It lets out a low deep ground with its head low to the ground making the impact of the sound vibrate the ground around me. Half of my body is still stuck below the dirt so if he wanted to he could kill me and I wouldn't be able to put up much of a fight.
He doesn't move though. His eyes are focused on me and it seems like we are at a standstill even with him having the upper hand. Then he does something I didn't expect.
He lifts his head slightly and sniffs the air, and then tilts his head in confusion. It would be cute if it wasn't confusing. Why wasn't he attacking me?
I am still trying to figure this out when something large shakes the earth behind me. The wolf crouches down and bears his teeth at whatever it is. Since it's behind me it takes a lot of effort to turn to see who has joined this strange encounter. Also, why had I stopped trying to dig myself out?
"Do you require assistance?" I deep voice asks from behind me before I can catch a look at who or what was there a moment ago.
I blow out a breath and forget about trying to twist my body to see anything.
"Yeah, that would be great." I have no idea what I'm supposed to do or say in this moment.
The wolf is still crouched and he lets out a threatening growl and looks pretty damn scary, but the man who appears a second later beside me seems unbothered.
"Friend of yours?" He asks but I'm stunned silent at the sight of him.
The guy is huge. Not just in height, but all over. Wide shoulders, big arms, and...huge everywhere. His hair is almost shoulder length and his skin is a deep tan. He also has an accent that I can't place but it sure sounds nice.
"Are you alright?" He asks and his lip quarks up a little at my blatant staring.
I blink and come back to myself. "I'm sort of stuck so no I'm not great."
He gives out a deep chuckle that sends a shiver down my neck. He tries to reach out for my hand but the wolf isn't happy about that. The big dog rushes forward and tries to lunge for the big guy.
"Oh for heaven's sake, relax. Shift and stop with this posturing." The big guy says after standing up at his full height and crossing his arms over his impressive chest.
With him standing I can see that he is only wearing some sort of cotton pants and nothing else.
Interesting...
The wolf huffs but then a moment later another man is crouching on the ground. It happens so smoothly and fast that I barely catch the movement. When he stands I have to look up because he is almost as tall as the other guy but slimmer.
"What are you doing here fire breather?" The wolf guy asks imitating the big guy's pose.
They have some sort of stare-off while I am still stuck half in the ground.
"Excuse me! Can someone get me the hell out of here or are you about to do some sort of measuring contest." I yell making them both look at me with raised brows.
I shrug at them and the big guy breaks out laughing.
"You have a bit little bloodsucker." He says and I go still.
How did he know what I am?
He moves closer and grabs me under my arms and pulls me out in one go. I make a sort of yelping sound at the suddenness of it and then a second later I'm standing on my still-tied-together feet. My arms flail out as I try to balance myself, but the wolf guy grabs my other arm to keep me steady.
Now they each are holding one of my arms and there is a weird sensation that I don't recognize. It feels like ants crawling along my skin which makes me pull away from them and scrub over my arm to try and get rid of any bugs on me. Of course, letting them go means I have nothing holding me up and I start to fall over. Once again one of them catches me.
"Let's take care of that before you hurt that pretty face of yours." The big guy says.
He kneels in front of me and looks up at me with a smirk before a dark claw grows from his finger. My eyes widen at the sight of the few small scales that appear along his finger and then he slices through my bindings like they are made of paper.
When he stands his hands move to rest on my hip and I stare at him in shock.
Why is he touching me like that?
I try to step away from him but I bump into a hard chest and a pair of hands land on my shoulders.
Okay...this is weird.
"Look thank you for helping me but I think I'm good to stand on my own now," I say trying to subtly tell them to get their hands off me.
This has already been a horrible and strange day. I am also way too confused about how I got here that adding on these weird guys is a bit too much for one day.