Page 115 of Sawyer

That will give me a little more energy. Also, it helps with my plan. I won’t be able to get too far, and that’s okay. The goal is to get far enough away from the cave for the guards to find me. And then…

I’ll let them take me.

My best chance of survival right now is whatever doctor or healer is at the facility. If they let me die, at least I’ll know what happened to the gammas and why.

My head swims, and I struggle to keep my eyes open. I can no longer see the cave behind me, though that could be entirely because of the venom.

I stumble over a log, my legs giving out as I fly toward the cold ground. Everything hurts as I just lie here, focusing on my breath, on living and making it through this and whatever my future holds.

Sleep slips through me, taking away the hurt, the fear, and all the unknowns. I don’t know how long I sleep, only that I do, and when I wake up, it’s to something wet on my face.

My eyes blink open, and crust pulls at the lids. Focusing ahead of me, I feel the wet tongue of a creature licking my cheek and another licking my hand.

Darkness swells around me, making visibility difficult. A part of me is almost grateful for it, because I would more than likely freak out since I’m sure wolves are licking me.

Wolves.

A slight whine and a wet nose confirm my suspicions.

“Tired,” I tell the beast.

He or she barks once, then the other barks before a howl splits the air.

This is it.

Salvation or damnation.

“What do you have, girl?” a male voice questions. He sounds far too nice and not like a gamma murdering bastard. Even so, I can’t help the fear that spikes through me.

He isn’t quiet as his boots crunch on the forest floor, slowly nearing me.

I can feel my heart rate increase, and my scent blooms in the air.

“Hey there, Iris.” A man sinks beside the wolf, and all I can see are their outlines. “Who did you find?” Fingers press against my throat, finding my weak pulse, and the wolf whines.

A moment later, light flashes before me, shining directly into my pupils.

“Sawyer,” he says as though he knows me, but I don’t think he does. I can’t even scent him. “Dammit, what did you do?”

I watch as his silhouette moves closer, my pulse spiking as he lifts my hand. “That’s a deadly bite.” He gently places my hand back down. “I sure hope you and your pack know what you’re doing.”

For some reason, my gut says to trust this stranger, whoever he is.

“All right, sweetheart. I’m going to have to call the others. They won’t be kind, and the doc is a mean bastard.” He grunts. “I’ve been trying to take this place down for years, and I sure as fuck hope you guys have a plan. Otherwise, we are all dead,” he says in a thin whisper.

Static fills the air, and the man before me leans back.

“Wallace here.”

“Simon.” Static fills the air again before another man comes over the walkie-talkie. “What’s going on?”

The man before me sighs. “I don’t want to do this, know that,” he whispers before talking into the walkie. “I’ve got the reporter.”

“Ping your location.”

“I’m bringing her in. We are about twenty feet from the road. Just send a car down until you see me.”

“Out.”

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