Jungle of Creation
Chapter 19

The room is nearly empty. There are no windows, as in every other part of this godforsaken complex. The white ceiling lamps are overly blinding, and they illuminate the most ghastly sight of all. Presented before me on a silver platter—or an iron bed—is a pale, thin woman in a blue hospital gown who looks as if she barely has enough skin to cover her own bones. Her once tanned skin is nearly lifeless; her black hair is dull and graying. The past twelve years have aged her, leaving a trail of wrinkles from her forehead to her neck. Her face is screwed up is a constant grimace, probably due to the tube jammed into her arm, sucking the life—the blood—right out of her. There’s a discarded IV bag on the floor from when they gave her “nutrients” to survive. The room smells of sanitation, but also stinks of pain, carelessness, and abuse.

My eyes want to tear up and flood overboard but I can’t in this form. I rush to Mama’s side, wishing Cole wasn’t here so I could shift in a heartbeat and hug her. I come to just above the bed frame, so I rest my head by Mama’s hand and softly nuzzle it. What I wouldn’t give to see her warm brown eyes, or jungle green eyes, or soft, lively eyes in general. This is the moment I never knew I was waiting for: when my mom would finally come back into my life. And it will forever be plagued by fear and hatred.

I just stare at Mama’s sleeping face and nuzzle her hand. Distantly, I notice Cole zooming around to unhook her from the tube, all while staring at me with apology. No pity, just apology. Now that I’ve found Mama, worries begin to smack into me one by one. How will we get her water? Food? What about new clothes for her? Eventually Cole and I won’t be able to wear the same stuff too… We’re only human. We haven’t eaten or drank anything since hours before we broke out of the compound. Just thinking about it makes my stomach growl loudly and my tongue feel swollen with drought. I was on a one track mind. Get Mama, get out. But now?

Apparently Cole doesn’t think now is such a good time for those thoughts, though, because he hurriedly taps on my shoulder. I turn around and he looks very, very worried with his eyes wide. Then I see why. Steadily growing, is a crowd of armed guards, flanking the room line by line. Just about everyone in the compound is out there, ready to take the two of us down. I was wondering where everyone went. Even I know there’s no way we’re going to beat all of them. There’s already about fifty guards and counting. It’s a full-blown ambush. I guess they weren’t so stupid after all.

We’re trapped in a tiny room with only a bed and a IV rack to defend ourselves. Just a speedster, a panther, and a comatose mother. Just call us the Fantastic Three. With less fantastic. No windows, no air vents. Who the heck doesn’t have air vents? Oh right, psychopaths!

I’m racking my brain for any possible way for this to work out in our favor, but I’m coming up with nothing. I’m too slow to fight all of them without getting pummeled, and I’m pretty sure a bullet is still faster than Cole. Cole races over to the door to close it. As soon as he does, a spray of delayed bullets ping against it. He types something into the keypad, and then flashes back to my side in the far corner.

Speaking in a low whisper, Cole says, “That’ll keep the door closed as long as we need it to. Amira, I need you to grab the blanket off the bed and shift.”

I want to say, “What?!” but I settle for widening my eyes and shaking my head quickly. What good is it going to do for me to be human? I can’t defend Mama, let alone myself, with my puny muscles.

“Amira, I need you to do this. Please trust me.” The sincerity in his eyes stops my frantic denial. Behind that is an idea. I can sense it. But do I trust it?

I give a grudging nod and motion with my head for him to turn around. He obliges, thankfully, and I quickly center myself to shift back. Once I’m standing on two weak legs, I snatch the blanket on top of my mom. Sorry, Mama. You won’t be needing that. Wrapping it around myself, it’s pretty thin and scratchy, but it covers the important bits.

“Okay, I’m good.”

Cole quickly turns back around, as if there isn’t a second to waste. Which there isn’t. “I need you to go out there.”

This time I do say it. “What?! I already shifted back, and now you want me to waltz out there to get shot at?” I couldn’t believe this. I thought he actually had a brain.

Cole doesn’t smile. His face is a stone mask. “I don’t want you to waltz out there. I need you to waltz out there.”

I raised my eyebrows incredulously, “And why exactly is that?”

“They won’t hurt you. They… need you. I saw Kline, Amira. This is a big deal.” You think? I barely contain an eye roll. “You saw how many people are out there! We can’t fight them and I don’t know how long my hack on the door lock will work. I need a distraction. I’ll get your mom out and then I’ll come for you. I promise you that.” I shake my head slightly, not out of disagreement but out of disbelief. We really have no other way. With all those guns trained on him, Cole is bound to get shot by one if he tries to dash by. Especially if he has to carry Mama and I together. I can’t believe I’m going to do this. I’ve just got to hope they hold off on the sedatives until Cole gets back. Dire times call for dire measures…

I nod wordlessly, attempting to convince myself that this is okay. This is for the best. They won’t hurt me. They can’t. They need my blood. Whoa. Help me Jesus. I straighten my back, raise my head, and pull on a blank mask. All while I’m naked, wrapped in a scratchy blanket. I step right up to the white door. It’s doing a great job of hiding our problems, but now it’s time to face them. Glancing back at Cole, his eyebrows are furrowed and his lips are pulled in a tight frown. He looks about as happy about this as I am. Beside him, asleep on the bed is my mom. The mom I thought was gone forever. This is for you, Mama.

“What’s the code?”

Cole gives me a grim smile before answering, “0-8-5-6-1. Be careful, Amira.”

I just nod and lift up my trembling hand. I can do this. I’ve got a freaking panther living inside me for Christ’s sake. That’s gotta be worth something. I shake off the nerves, shake off the doubt. And I pound that code into the keypad.

The door opens instantly. There are about five guys standing right outside the door, each holding a giant mallet. Guess they were going caveman on us, then. Well, there’s no need for that. I march out of the room with as much fake bravado as I can muster. Immediately the guards part like the Red Sea, revealing the one and only, Miranda Kline. Her hair and makeup seems to be back in order, her bandanna is straight, but her eyes tell a much better story. She’s bitter, she’s angry, and—most importantly—she’s scared. I smirk, though I only feel half-satisfaction. The other part of my gut is still threatening to spill my nonexistent lunch. Whatever.

I go to stand a foot in front of Kline. She cowers back. Only slightly. It’s barely noticeable. But I love it. My smirk grows as I leisurely stretch out my hands in front of me, making sure to hold up the blanket with my armpits.

“What the hell?” Some guard’s pie hole spouts out. Kline immediately rewards him with a glare and then her gaze flicks back to me. Just standing. Gawking. Sizing me up.

This is getting old so I speak up, “Well? I don’t have all day. Are you going to cuff me or not?” Around me, the guards begin to murmur encouragement. How gullible. No one steps up to do it, though. Thankfully, Kline is smarter than her bleached locks would suggest because she just continues to stare at me suspiciously.

“You know, my arms are getting really tired, so could we—”

“Where is the accomplice?”

“The what?” My forehead crinkles in confusion. She makes it sound like I’m the criminal.

“Mr. Cole Strider, of course. He was a very good agent. Until you came along.”

“Hmm… Maybe he actually has principles,” I retort, making sure to include a poor imitation of her snooty British accent. In fact, all I know about Selva da Criação Incorporated is that they’re a “top secret government agency”. It’s located in Brazil, headed by British people, and everyone I’ve met speaks English. I thought it was American, but I think this has to be bigger than that. What did I get myself into? I’m moving to Greenland.

That is, if I get out of here.

Kline simply scoffs and looks down her nose at me. She’s a four or five inches shorter than me, but the idea is still there. “Obviously, he didn’t have the principles to stay when you two don’t have a chance. It is a shame. Now we have no choice but to go after him too.” Huh, maybe she is as dumb as she looks.

I play the part, though. The young damsel in distress. I even stick out my lip in a pout for maximum effect. Cole was right. They don’t seem to want to shoot me, so this is just the distraction he needed to get Mama out of here. “Yeah. Why do you think I’m here? I wouldn’t just walk in the middle of a crowd of loaded guns if I knew I still had a chance of leaving.”

Director Kline nods satisfactorily, completely believing that I’m falling at her feet. Luckily the guards are still too busy gawking at me giving myself up to check the room Mama is supposed to be in. As soon as they realize she’s gone, the jig will be up.

As if the world suddenly wants to mess with me, a guard starts yelling at the top of his lungs. “She’s gone! Director, the test subject is gone!”

Kline’s glare immediately returns to me and she shoves a bony, manicured finger into my face. “What have you done, you snake?!” I bare my teeth at her. Her words don’t register, not really. All I can think about is the fact that the guard just called my mom a freaking test subject.

“A snake you say? I’d check in the mirror if I were you, Director.” I snap at her finger, which she moves away just in time. I picture a rainy day in the jungle, the birds chirping, and the air full of cool mist. The insults to me and my mom push me over the edge, giving my panther full control. The change takes over almost instantly as my teeth elongate into fangs and my nails shift into long claws. I drop the blanket and not a second later I’m on four paws, leaping at the witch. My claws barely graze her face when I’m thrown over a shoulder. Kline flops onto the ground, eyes wide with fear. The animal in me is itching to finish what she started when I first woke up.

I snarl and crane my neck to look at my attacker, only to see Cole speeding down the hall. Realizing that he’s not a threat, I force my instincts to back down and let Cole cart us away. We leave the yelling and screaming and shooting in the dust as he rounds the turns. Once we get to the fancy, ominous door that I hope I’ll never see again, Cole stops for a millisecond to punch in a random code that he must have memorized on the way in. Once the door’s open, he zooms straight through, past the empty hallway. Grant and the other guards must have woken up and left to join the other guards. The only stop we make is for the forgotten pile of clothes I left in the hallway. I mentally send my thanks to Cole because I didn’t even think about needing them after this whole fiasco was done. We still need water. We still need food, and new clothes for Mama. But my clothes are a start.

I could almost laugh when the warm jungle breeze hits my face again, even though I physically can’t right now. They stationed a couple new guards outside of the front door, but we whoosh past them. They don’t even know what happened, except that a strong wind just knocked them off their feet. I let out a happy growl, if that’s even a thing. I’m going to need to get off Cole’s shoulder in a minute so I can prance around. We did it! We’re still fugitives, but we got mom back and that’s all that matters to me.

Finally we stop at our makeshift campsite a few miles away, and Cole sets me down. I jump up and down, knocking the leaves from our beds all over the place. I miss my little sister, her unbearable continuous energy. In honor of Lyla, I’m channeling her excitement.

Cole looks down at me playing in the leaves with a grin on his face. He’s breathing heavily and he looks downright exhausted from running back and forth, but he stills looks almost as happy as me. Chuckling, he releases a big breath. “Glad that’s over.”

I growl in agreement and trot over to where he’s standing. Mama is laying on the bed he slept in. Her cheeks still look hollow and her skin is still too pale, but a quiet peacefulness has taken over her features. I think she is all too happy to be back in the jungle.

Cole holds out the pile of clothes. They still don’t fit right and they’re still dirty, but they’ll do. I take them with my mouth, carefully avoiding Cole’s fingers, and I go to stand behind a tree. Gently exhaling and gaining control back over my own body, I shift back and dress.

“Well, that could have gone worse.”

Cole chuckles and nods, “Yeah, it definitely could have. Unfortunately, it’s not done yet. You still sure about getting Ash out of there?”

I nod, the smile leaving my lips, “Yes. I made a mistake. Getting her out of there is the least I can do.” Cole nods and a certain vulnerability enters his eyes. A kind of somber sadness. Somehow, I think he understands my point more than he would ever admit. I clear my throat, “Umm… Are you still sure about going in alone?”

The true emotion leaves Cole’s face, replaced my grim determination. “Yes.” I nod slowly. I get it. I guess. As if sensing my doubts, Cole stares intensely into my own eyes, the blue sparking and sizzling. “Their defenses will be down. They won’t expect us to come running back so soon, and they definitely won’t be expecting us to come back for Ash when we only showed interest in your mother. It will be a lot easier for me to get in and out unnoticed if you just stay here. Besides, someone should stay back to keep an eye on your mom.”

Smiling, I reply, “I get it. It makes more sense for you to get in and out by yourself. I just… I don’t get why you would do all of this for me.” I look up at him and smile slightly. “So thank you.”

Something enters his eyes, making the icy blue warm and inviting. His face transforms. He’s not just my kidnapper, or my instructor, or my friend, or my “accomplice”. He’s none of those things and he’s all of them. I notice the way his blond hair is messy from all the running, hanging just low enough to graze his eyebrows. I notice how his jaw crisscrosses in sharp lines, strengthened by the stubble that’s been growing the past few days. His long eyelashes only make his eyes pop more on his tan skin, and the shirt he gave me may not fit very well, but his sure fits him. Very well.

Once a couple feet away from each other, we somehow gravitated to where we are now. I’ve noticed his looks before, but now. Now, he’s just breathtaking. There are only inches separating us as he looks down at me. That unidentifiable emotion still residing in his ocean eyes.

“Amira, I don’t know why.”

Confusion knocks a little sense back into me. Just a little. I step back, though I still stay pretty close to him. “What? What are you talking about?”

Amusement twinkles in Cole’s eyes and a little smirk settles on his lips. That infuriating, beautiful smirk. “You said you don’t understand why I’m doing this.”

“Yeah…” So? What does this have to do with anything? I thought we were having a moment.

“Well… I don’t know either.”

“Okay…”

The smirk disappears and that same look—the one that gives me shivers all over—returns. “What I do know, is that I’d do just about anything for you. Forget about the why.” Oh… Wow. Where have I fallen into this trap before? Where have I succumb to sweet words only to replace that the mask can never truly hide a person? As Cole leans in, though, the worries melt away. I can’t replace it in me to believe anything bad about him. He attacked me, he lied to me, yet I have undying faith in him. Where is the sense in that?

I know. There is none. There’s never any sense in lo—.

“Kitty?”

“Yeah?” I can’t think. He’s so close. His eyes are so close. His lips are so close.

“Don’t punch me please.”

My eyes widen a little, but not a second later Cole pushes his lips firmly against mine. His arms come to wrap around my waist, and I feel myself melt against him. My eyes seal closed and my hands go around Cole’s neck. Where Grant’s kiss was soft and gentle, Cole’s is passionate and demanding. It feels like a story with so many unwritten words. There was so much time wasted and it’s all going into this lonely kiss. As quickly as Cole’s hands knotted in my onyx hair, as quickly as my own dug into Cole’s broad shoulders, it’s all over.

We pull away slowly at arm’s length. We’re both gasping for breath, and my cheeks flame from the idea of kissing right in front of Mama, as unconscious as she may be. Cole’s fingers brush my cheek and a slow grin stretches his lips. My own lips smile slightly. I can’t help but feel giddy and bubbly. At this moment, anything seems possible. Everything melted away, and all I want to do is go back to that dimension.

Cole steps away, holding my hands in his. I get a full view of him. Lean muscles in jeans and a T-shirt, disheveled hair, no stupid navy bandanna.

His mischievous grin melts away for a second, leaving raw vulnerability and care. He just looks at me for a moment. Long enough that I’m about to ask what’s on my face when he finally speaks up. “I’ll be right back.” I see a flash of regret and hesitancy before he covers it with a smile and zooms off.

I release a sigh, halfway between dreamy and disappointed. I run my head through the kiss. There was so much more emotion in it than in the one with Grant. The one that I now highly regret. I can’t believe I didn’t see it before. I can’t even remember losing myself in it like I just did with Cole. There was no passion, only minor attraction. I sigh again, but this time it is dreamy as I relive the kiss. Remembering how my hands went up to rest on his bare neck and how they ran through his hair. How… Wait.

I know I’m missing something. Some little detail is eating away at my instincts and I suddenly realize my panther is going crazy inside of me. Something is bothering her, and some gut feeling is drawing all of my attention to it. There’s something I need to remember. Something I’m not recalling. Something like… A gasp escapes my mouth.

My bubble pops in an instant.