Page 83 of Mated By the Pack
“It’ll be light soon,” Jace says, glancing up at the sky. “Let’s find somewhere to hide out before these streets are full of people.”
We gather the fallen peace officers and carry them through Haven North, doing our best to stay out of sight. That’s a lot harder with a large group, and we have to knock out a couple of the peace officers again before we find somewhere to hide out. Calla carries our clothes and drops a few pieces along the way, but retrieves them.
“Over there,” Knox says. “It’s out of the way and looks deserted. If there’s no tunnel, it should be safe.”
“Agreed,” I reply, getting a better grip on the peace officer I’m carrying.
“This is one of the old clinics before everyone in the Middle District started going to Haven North General Hospital,” Calla says, pointing at a tattered sign. “Nobody will look for us here.”
We carry the peace officers inside and look around. There’s some old medical equipment, but the place has been mostly stripped of anything useful. Not that we need it.
“There’s a second level,” Jace calls out, leaning forward. “Let’s put them down here.”
I grunt and nod, as I carry the peace officer over to the stairs. It’s dark, but we can see well enough. Calla’s bracelet gives a little light, but she stumbles a couple of times when we get to the bottom of the stairs.
“Close that door,” I call out, waiting until Caleb complies before flipping on the lights. “There, nobody will see this from outside.”
The lower level hasn’t been completely stripped. There are things I recognize, like MRI machines, CT scanners, dialysis machines, and an old robotic arm they used for surgery. Everything is really old, has signs of damage from the solar flare, and parts have been salvaged out of most of them.
“Wow, I’ve never seen some of this medical equipment,” Calla says, looking around. “Is that an MRI machine? I saw something about that in my journal, but the only working one is at Haven North General Hospital. We didn’t have one at the Academic Medical Center.”
“It’s all from before the Great War,” Knox says. “I guess they scavenged what they could from the ruins, stuck it down here, and took the usable parts.”
“Makes sense,” Caleb mutters. “They probably prioritized the equipment that would let them determine if a woman was fertile or not.”
“Eventually.” I shrug. “Last time we were here, they were just taking their chances.”
We put the peace officers down, and we’re able to salvage some cords, tubes, and pieces of old uniforms to bind them, cover their eyes, gag them, and make sure they won’t go anywhere.
“You know,” Jace says, putting his hands on his hips. “If we put on these uniforms, people might notice us in the daylight, but at night… we could easily get to Clyde’s place. He might even open the door if he thinks the peace officers have come for him.”
“If he sticks around that long,” I grunt, pulling the cords tight around the wrists of the peace officer I subdued. “I heard a lot of talk about the women that returned, and I heard Calla’s name mentioned a few times. I think some people are connecting dots, and once Clyde realizes it, he’ll probably get out of Haven North as quickly as he can.”
“I doubt it,” Caleb says. “He may be supplying the slavers with drugs. He might even be helping them get into Haven North. But he isn’t doing it alone. We’ve seen slavers passing through The Tangle for a while. Before someone Calla’s age, or close to it, would have even been born.”
“That’s why I don’t want to risk it anymore,” Calla sighs. “We should have never even come inside. Let’s leave the peace officers, find the closest tunnel, and get out of here.”
“Having you all to ourselves is certainly tempting,” Jace chuckles. “But it’ll be daylight soon. We should wait until it’s dark again.”
“This is my fucking fault,” Vance says. “I got a little too close and a peace officer spotted me. I heard some people talking about Clyde, and didn’t want to miss it.”
“Anything useful?” Gideon asks.
“Not if we’re leaving,” Vance mutters.
“Since we’ve got some daylight to kill, why don’t we find somewhere to rest,” I suggest, glancing toward the stairs.
“I’ll stay with the peace officers,” Vance says. “Just to make sure they don’t try anything.”
I nod, pat Vance on the back, and head upstairs with the others behind me. Vance has made mistakes before. This one isn’t that bad. But he carries his guilt similar to how Caleb carries his grief. Vance will be fine once we’re in The Tangle again and he has plants to distract him. Until then, it’s best to give him space.
“An entire day with our mate,” Jace chuckles as we get to the top of the stairs. “I don’t know if I need any rest. Not yet, at least.”
I smirk and glance at Calla. Her eyes get wide, but she grins. She might not be ready for bed yet, either. I’m a little tired, but I’m already feeling the itch, especially after I caught the scent of what was happening before I got back to the warehouse.
“Before you guys descend on her like a pack of hungry wolves, I think you should hear what Calla told me,” Caleb says. “It’s important.”
“I’m sure it can wait,” Jace says, taking a step toward Calla.
