Lone Girl (The Wolfling Saga) (26 page)

“Of course,” I said,
pulling away and looking at him. “But we have to leave.
Now
.”

Tom propped himself up onto his elbow. “And how do you plan on getting out? There are armed men surrounding the grounds.”

I was about to answer when the door to the room creaked open. “That was quick, Lacey-” I froze, finding Professor Colt standing in the doorway, accompanied by two orderlies, one of which was holding Lacey by the scruff of her neck. She looked ashamed of herself.

“Sorry,” she mouthed silently.

Tom and I sat up, fearful.

“Well, it seems impossible to keep you two separated,” said Colt, a crease in his brow. “I think we’re going to have to come to some other arrangement, don’t you Mr Stone? Miss Goldman?”

Professor Colt and his two orderlies escorted Tom and I to his office, but sent Lacey to bed. Once we’d been seated, Colt paced in front of us, looking thoughtful.

“I must say it’s awfully disappointing, tricking young Lacey into your little scheme.”

“
Tricking
?” I said, annoyed, but Tom nudged me and shook his head so I fell silent.

“It appears the two of you will always find a way to be together, no matter
what the odds.”

Tom and I remained silent, waiting for Colt to get to the point.

“I guess I have no choice but to alter the, uh, arrangements. Usually we would not allow it, but I suppose … under the circumstances.” Colt seemed to be talking to himself rather than to us. He paced back and forth, stroking his chin.

“What are you talking about?” I asked, tired of waiting for an explanation.

Professor Colt turned to us, his expression thoughtful. “I
may
be willing to be more lenient if the two of you would partake in a small experiment.”

“What kind of ex-” I began.

“You won’t be doing
any
experiments on Rose,” Tom growled menacingly. “You can do what you like to me, but touch her and-”

“No, no, no,” Colt waved his hand dismissively. “Nothing invasive, Tom. What we’d like to do is a
behavioural
observation on the pair of you whilst you are together.”

Tom and I looked at each other warily and I knew we were thinking the same thing.
What’s the catch?

“What I require is data
pertaining to two individuals, who are not related and are in a romantic relationship, both who are suffering from Lycanthropy. The examination would have to take place on the night of a full moon, of course.”

Tom and I glanced at each other again.

“So you want us to transform together?” I asked, frowning slightly. That didn’t sound so bad. We’d done it before and nothing drastic had occurred - to our knowledge.

“
Normally we would absolutely forbid our patients to transform in the presence of one other. Every cycle they are locked in separate cells so no harm can befall them or anyone else. We have had, erm,
incidences
in the past when we’ve attempted group transformations.”

“Incidences?” I repeated.

“He means people have died,” Tom said, looking at Colt coldly. “Let me guess; you locked a bunch of fully-fledged werewolves in a small room together to see what would happen and they were ripped to shreds?”

Colt cleared his throat nervously. “It was a long time ago, when the facility was newly established,” he admitted. “We were confident that no harm would come to the participants. It was a family of f
ive; a mother, father and their three sons. We placed them in a secure room the size of a football field so we could observe their behaviour. We even put live animals in with them – for their entertainment.  The, uh, father, once transformed, saw the three young males, his sons, as competition for the only available female and, well, you get the idea. We haven’t allowed such experiments to take place since.”

“So why do you want to do the experiment again if the last one was such a failure?” I asked.

Colt pulled out his chair and took a seat, lacing his fingers together thoughtfully. He seemed to be choosing his words carefully. “We have very little data on relationships amongst patients during the full moon. We believe it would be highly beneficial to our research if we could analyse the way Lycanthropy sufferers interact during one of these, uh,
episodes
.”

“
But the facility has other families, friends and couples who would have transformed together before coming here,” I said.

“All of whom refuse to transform amongst their loved ones, for fe
ar of the damage it might cause, especially when confined to a cell; no matter how large.”

“What? You mean you don’t force them to take part in your little behavioural experiment?” Tom
growled.

“
Of course not. We do not put our patients in danger.” Tom scoffed, but Colt continued to talk. “That is why I’ve chosen you two, if you would agree, of course.”

“And if we refuse?” Tom asked.

“
Wait
,” I said quickly, giving Tom a meaningful stare. “If we do this for you, you have to give us something in return.”

“I assumed giving you two more time together
would be a sufficient exchange.” Colt’s tone was disapproving.

I shook my head. “It’s not enough. I want you to stop all the tests you’
re doing to Tom. You’re going to kill him if you don’t.”

“Rose, stop-” Tom said in an undertone. “Don’t make any bargains-”

Colt raised his eyebrows. “Very well. You have a deal.”

I gaped. “Really?” Tom also looked surprised.

“We will cease all tests on Tom once you fulfil your end of the bargain in-” Colt checked his calendar, “Twelve days’ time.”

“
Twelve days?” I gasped. “No, you need to stop
now
.”

“I’m sorry Rose,” Colt said, crossing his legs, “We are on the verge of a breakthrough in cell repair, all thanks to Tom. He is changing lives. With a few more tests we may be able to isolate the gene responsible for his rapid cell regeneration
.”

“But you’re killing him!” I said, jumping to my feet and pointing at Tom as though Colt couldn’t see him. “He’s skin and bones. He can barely walk on his own.”

“We’re monitoring Tom’s health closely, Rose. You have no reason to worry.”

“Bullshit,” I said, balling my hands into fists. I could feel my body trembling and the heat rising in my face. “
You only have to take one look at him to see-”

“We’ll do it,” said Tom, standing up and placing a hand on my shoulder to calm me. “
Twelve more days of tests and we’ll transform together on the full moon. But after that … we get to see each other as much as we like. And I get the same freedom as the other patients. And … and Rose can leave the facility whenever she likes.”

“You can have free reign of the grounds once more,” Colt said to Tom, smiling. “We’ll conduct the usual monthly blood sample extractions before each transformation, but apart from that you two can have a full and happy life here at the Silver Moon facility. Tom, you can even teach again. I’m sure the children would love that.
And Rose, of course, can leave at any time.”

It sounded too good to be true. Surely Colt would not keep this promise.

“Do we have your word?” Tom asked, his gaze unwavering.

“
I swear it,” Colt said, standing and offering his hand to Tom.

I held my breath as the two men stared at each other.

“All right,” said Tom. “We’ll play your little game.”

Finally, Tom stretched out his hand and grasped Colt’s. They shook hands firmly. I released the breath I’d been holding in anticipation.

“It is done,” Colt nodded, taking his seat once again. “I will have my orderly’s escort you back to your room, Thomas. As for you Rose, I think it’s time you went to bed.”

“Wait,” I said, looking between Tom and Colt. “Can’t we – can’t we stay together?”

“Yes,” said Colt. “In twelve days’ time. Until then Tom will remain in solitary. Oh and I think you should give me back Misses Goul’s swipe card, don’t you?”

I held my tongue, though my rage boiled
within. Reluctantly, I pulled the card out of my jacket’s pocket and put it on Colt’s desk.

“You should know, Rose, we do not tolerate thievery here.
Any future incidences and I will be forced to reconsider this arrangement.”

“Sorry,” I muttered. I wasn’t about to get Lacey in trouble, not after she’d helped me.

Friday
– 10 days to go

My muscles ached with every step I took. The early morning fitness program was taking its toll and I was forced to hobble around the campus as though I’d had something forcibly inserted into my behind. It wasn’t so bad. In the three day’s I’d been at the facility I’d managed to lose a pound. Not that I needed to, but I’d never been a fitness fanatic.

I’d barely seen Tom since our little arrangement with Colt; we were restricted to mealtimes until the full moon. At least he looked healthier the few times I’d managed to see him. Less pale and with more of an appetite, Tom seemed almost cheery. However, I could tell that he was lonely.

At least I had Lacey for company, who followed me almost everywhere when she was not in her lessons. She’d apologized for the previous night, saying Colt had caught her out of bed and she’d been too scared to lie. I wasn’t mad at her and no forgiveness was necessary.

Maybe t
his place wasn’t so bad, after all.