Page 44 of M.A.Y.A
After discussing Maya’s physicality and the automaton program, she walked him through lab schedules, bunker layouts, and exit strategies.
Some crucial information that he found handy was the mandatory blackout period for two hours that occurred at the same time every day. During the black out, the service doors to the left of the lab desks remained unlocked. Passed the service doors, at the end of the hallway, there was also a narrow stairwell that led to the street.
“When are your friends coming?” she said as she checked her wristwatch. “Our two hours are almost up.”
Isaiah was about to tell her to relax, that her anxiety would only raise questions if someone was watching them on the surveillance tapes. Then a loud explosion echoed overhead and the bunker shook. Sediment fell on top of his glass box like a light drizzle.
Doctor Sullivan jumped out of her chair. Her tablet hit the floor with a thud. “Oh my god! What was that?”
Isaiah yanked his wrists apart and snapped the cuffs as if it was laffy taffy instead of steel. “Backup,” he said.
Doctor Sullivan scrambled towards the door to his cell and keyed in the code. The door slid open. “W-what do I do?”
“Make your way through the service exit, Doctor. And whatever you do, don’t look back.” Isaiah could feel his canines elongate and the growl rumbling in his chest.
Doctor Sullivan didn’t wait to see his shift. She grabbed her tablet, her phone, and ran through the empty lab.
It was time to let the wolf out, Isaiah thought as he heard the alarm blare in the empty lab. He let his beast take over, and his form grew, pausing only briefly as he hit the outer perimeter of the cage. The prison shattered around him, raining shards of glass, as his wolf finished form got to his feet after the last shift.
When Isaiah was free, he tilted his head back all the way and let out an ear-piercing howl.
Seconds later, it was returned with six distinct howls that echoed through the bunker levels of a ruined New York City.
Isaiah began to hunt.
ChapterSeventeen
Maya had to focus to stop herself from hyperventilating. The longer she was away from Isaiah, the harder it was to keep her cool. From the moment they’d met, she’d been drawn to him. His smell. The way that his large hands cupped her face as if she was the most beautiful person, despite all her hardware that took away her humanity. The way he wanted to tease her, take her on dates, and feed her. She may not have believed in soulmates or fated mates before, but she believed in them now. Maya was loved, and that love was being threatened.
By the time she approached the edge of the bunker portal, Maya felt like she was coming out of her skin. If it wasn’t for the Betas, she would’ve never been able to execute her plan.
Alex had taken the lead on securing the ammo for her hairbrained idea, and he’d then used schematics from the buildings in New York to ensure they had enough. Sonya was going to be her shadow, while the rest of the Betas split up into different teams.
“Let’s move out,” Maya said. Even though her knees shook, she stood at the edge of the glen next to the metal grate, her shoulders pushed back, and her hands braced on the knife at her hip. “I think if you jump into the bunker portal, you’ll land on solid ground. Once you have your bearings, move forward through the narrow passage in the dark until you see a ladder, which will lead you up into the new dimension.”
“I’ll go first,” Alex said. He looked back at the team of junior soldiers he’d assigned to watch the portal from the glen. When they gave him the clear, he ticked two fingers off his forehead in her direction and jumped in.
Sergei and Nako went next, then Cindy and Sonya followed. Maya and Drayden were after that with six other senior soldiers from the pack.
When Maya surfaced in Control Dimension 0 with the Betas and packmates, she saw a slew of disarmed unconscious or dead Coalition guards littering the floor of the mechanical chamber.
“They were waiting for us,” Alex said, his mouth set in a grim line. He was out of breath, and a trail of blood dripped from the corner of his mouth. The sleeve of his shirt was torn, and his wolf was in his eyes. “We’re clear to the stairwell.”
Maya nodded, then motioned to Drayden. “Plant the devices around the portal entrance, and through both of the basement levels.”
“Roger.”
It took them almost twenty minutes. They worked fast, and didn’t need to be discreet or precise, but the truth was that the Empire State Building had a huge footprint, and they needed to spread out the bombs accordingly.
“Brace yourselves for witnessing the worst kind of destruction,” Maya said as she led the team out of the sub-basement, into the stairwell and across the lobby. “This is what nightmares are made of.”
She knew she was apologizing for something she had no control over, but she could hardly believe it herself that this was the world she’d lived in before she crossed dimensions.
The subtle suck of air, the twisted horror that radiated off the Betas and packmates came just as they exited the building. The city was consumed by shadows, and because there were no more streetlights, not even building lights to chase the dark, they had to use their superhuman vision.
“This is awful,” Drayden said quietly, staying in the shadows while they walked toward the underground lab. “I can’t believe humans let it get so far in this dimension.”
“Maybe it’s because we didn’t have shapeshifters or other species to act as a counterbalance,” Maya said quietly. The sirens that went off every three hours made it difficult for her to even hear herself.
