Runaway (The Knight Society #1)

The next thing I became aware of was beeping. An annoying, repetitive sound that pushed through the drowsiness. My first instinct, was to locate the source of the noise and beat it till it stopped but then the memories of last night came trickling back. The forest, the mongrels, my arm. I quickly did a mental check, thankfully nothing seemed broken but then again that could just be the drugs they were pumping into my system. Because yep, that was definitely an IV drip in my arm. Which meant I was in some kind of hospital, but even as the thought crossed my mind I knew it didn’t feel right. I quickly searched my memories from last night again. I remembered moving towards a white building, banging on the gate and then…nothing. Which meant I was at an Institute. I suppressed the immediate groan the thought caused. I hadn’t been back to one since shortly after Thomas’ death.

Thomas.

His name was like a blade to the heart and I winced at the pain it caused.

“She looks like she’s in pain. I thought you said you gave her the H-toxin.”

Oh great, an audience.

“I did. There shouldn’t be anything wrong with her.” A second feminine voice replied and from the tone of her voice, she didn’t like speaker number one’s accusation very much.

“I didn’t mean it like that, Carrol.” Speaker number one quickly said.

Their voice was deeper and decidedly more male.

A soft sigh from Carrol, “I know. It’s just been a long night. Anyway, it looks like she’s waking up so you can ask her yourself in a moment.”

Alrighty then, guess it’s time to wake up.

With a monumental effort, I cracked open my lids only to snap them back closed again immediately.

Jesus were they trying to blind me or something?

Trying again, I squinted my eyes slightly until the harsh light faded from deathly to just uncomfortable. A couple of blinks later and everything came into focus. I was lying down on a hospital bed, thankfully in the same clothes as I arrived in. A quick survey revealed that the room I was in was small and bereft of much furniture. In fact the bed and medical equipment dominated most of the room, leaving only just enough space for the two other occupants to comfortably walk around in. As I guessed, it was a man and a woman. The one I assumed was Carrol stood off to the side slightly, a small but weary smile on her face. She looked to be in her late twenties, long blond hair tied up in a ponytail. She had delicate features, which when coupled with the blond hair gave her an elfish appearance. If the lab coat she wore was any indication, she was this Institute’s resident doctor.

The man was much older, appearing to be in his mid-forties. Grey streaks tinged his light brown hair. He had that whole professor vibe going on, with the tweed jacket and elbow patches. His kindly features exuded warmth, which was only made more prominent by the wide smile lighting up his face and crinkling his eyes. The small triangle and sword tattoo on his hand marked him as a Knight.

Everyone in the Society received the interlocking triangle tattoo when they turned eighteen but only those who chose to become Knights received the sword tattoo once the finished their training. My right hand carried the same marks, even though I had never officially finished training. Thomas and I had gotten ours done on our fifteenth birthdays. Two weeks after we’d gotten the ink, he’d been killed.

Taking a tentative step towards the bed, the man shot a quick glance at Carrol before turning his attention back on me.

“Hello, Jaqueline, how are you feeling?”

Well, crap.

There went any hope that they wouldn’t find out who I was. I hadn’t been kidding when I had said Thomas and I were famous. However, after Thomas died it got worse. When only one-half of their dream team came back that night, everyone wanted to know what happened. After leaving, I figured the rumour mill would run dry but every now and then I caught wind of gossip about me. Jacqueline Bell, the child prodigy. The girl who ran away from the Institute after her partner was tragically killed. Everyone had a theory on where I was. Some said I was vacationing in the Caribbean, others said I was in rehab getting treated for PTSD. My personal favourite was that I had moved to America to join the FBI.

The truth, was unfortunately nothing so glamorous. Instead of wild escapades through the Caribbean, I had spent the last two years moving from crappy hotel to crappy hotel, dealing with my shit and hunting mongrels every chance I got. The only people who knew this were probably my parents. Every now and then when I was running low on cash I’d use the emergency credit card they’d given me when I was ten. I kept a running total. The thought of owing anything to anyone, even my parents, made my skin crawl. I planned to pay them back, one day.

Pushing up on the bed, I wrestled my body into a sitting position and winced as my head pounded like it had been hit by a freight train. One of the nasty side effects of the H-toxin. Can heal just about anything, but you pay for it with a splitting headache afterward. Glancing down at my arm, I checked for signs of a wound but sure enough, unblemished skin greeted my eyes. I marvelled for a second at the sight of it. It had been too long since I had used the stuff and I had the scars to prove it. Magical miracle serum wasn’t exactly handed out on the streets in the real world. Which was a damn shame, cause I could think of a time or two where it really would have come in handy.

“Jack,” I said instead of answering the man’s question.

He blinked a couple of times, looking disturbingly like an owl before spurting out, “Pardon?”

Grinding my teeth against the thumping in my brain. I tried to focus all my attention on the man.

“My name isn’t Jacqueline. It’s Jack.”

Thomas used to be the only one who called me Jack and in memory of him I’d decided to keep the name. Besides, the thought of going back to being Jacqueline Bell, child prodigy, Institute star, made my skin crawl. The man seemed to take my declaration in stride though and his smile settled back into place.

“Alright then, Jack. How are you feeling?”

Like someone’s taken a hammer to my head.

“Fine.”

He waited for me to continue, but when he realised he wasn’t getting any more out of me he continued to talk.

“Well that’s a relief. You had us all quite scared for a while there, when you showed up on our doorstep.” He paused waiting for me to fill the silence.

Probably expecting an explanation as to why I was banging on their door, in the middle of the night, covered in blood. Most of it not even my own. Yeah, like I was about to open up that can of worms. He, however, didn’t let the silence get him down.

Shame that.

“You’re probably wondering who I am and where you are.”

Another pause. I decided to throw the guy a bone and cocked an eyebrow.

His smile grew slightly, “I’m Pierre and this is Carrol” he tilted his head slightly towards the woman in question, who gave a friendly little wave.

I elected to not return the gesture, instead returning my focus to Pierre.

“We’re currently at Institute number twenty-seven in Scotland.”

I ran through the Institute list that had been drummed into me since I was old enough to talk and supressed another groan. Number twenty-seven was, unfortunately, a main Institute, meaning that there would be triple the amount of people living here than at one of the branch Institutes. It was the cherry on top of what had been a couple of very crappy days. Ignoring the pounding in my head and the growing urge to smash the stupid heart rate monitor to pieces, I carefully extracted the IV and all the other tubes they had sticking into me.

“Wait, what are you doing? You need to rest! Stop that!” Carrol said as she rushed forward and silenced the machine which had started beeping like crazy.

I ignored her and instead turned to Pierre as I pulled out the last of the tubes.

“Look, thanks for helping me out and patching me up and all, but I’ve got to split.” I said.

Finally free, I jumped off the bed and stretched out my sore muscles. After a few satisfying pops, I marched over to the only cupboard in the room and began rifling through the drawers. Carrol called out from behind me, her voice taking on a shrill pitch.

“Now what are you doing? Pierre!” She pleaded and he must have made some kind of placating gesture, because she ceased her complaints with an indignant huff.

I ignored them both, continuing my search, sliding open another set of drawers.

“Jack, I’m afraid we can’t exactly let you just, wander off into the woods again.” Pierre said from behind me.

Yeah I’d like to see you try and stop me.

“For your own safety of course.”

I couldn’t help but snort at that. If there was any place in the world that I was most in danger, it would be at an Institute. How could they not see that? I slid open another drawer, finally finding what I had been looking for. Scooping up the three vials, I held them up to examine their contents and sure enough, printed on the side were the words ‘H-toxin’. No point in leaving without gathering a few keepsakes along the way. Now, I just had to find my sword.

“...and of course your parents are worried-”

I had only been listening with half an ear at that point but at the mention of my parents, Pierre had my full undivided attention. Turning around I took in their anxious faces. He and Carrol were presenting a united front, blocking the door like a shield.

“What about my parents?” I practically growled but I didn’t care, the time for niceties was over.

Pierre’s brow furrowed at my question, “Well after we figured out who you were, we of course contacted them straight away.”

Damn.

Pierre continued, oblivious to my rising rage, “They, of course, were terribly worried about you,”

Yeah, right.

“and asked that we house you here, until they could come and collect you.”

Oh, hell no. Screw the sword, I needed to get out of this place now.

White noise clogged my ears and my entire being was driven with the one purpose, to escape. I rushed forward, not giving them a second to react. With one sweep of my legs, Pierre crashed to the ground and I quickly swung my attention to Carrol, who was watching on open mouthed.

Ignoring the sting of guilt, I sprung up and punched her in the face. Her head hit the wall with a dull thud and she crumpled to the ground. Pierre was still on the floor, blinking up at me in shock. After a swift kick to the side of his head, he too hit the ground like a sack of potatoes. Thank god, for whoever invented boots.

My fight or flight response slightly diminished, I took stock of my situation. There was no telling how long I had left until they both woke up, it could be mere minutes. Due to constant doses of H-toxin, Knights always tended to recover faster than most people and a blow to the head wouldn’t keep these two down long. It was time to make a break for it. The fact that I was still covered in blood, wouldn’t exactly help me in my escape and I prayed that the Institute’s many occupants would still be sleeping in their beds. After double checking that the three doses of H-toxin were securely tucked in the pocket of my hoody, I opened the door. Doing a quick side to side check, I determined it was empty and took off running.

I almost managed to get out unseen. After what seemed like hours but was most likely minutes of running, I made it to the top of the steps that led to the front door. By some small miracle, I hadn’t run into anyone yet and then, of course, my luck ran out. I paused for a second, glimpsing the freedom the front door promised, when they rounded the corner, freezing me where I stood. They didn’t notice me at first, granting me the chance to quickly study them and look for weaknesses.

Two boys around my age, both carrying swords. One with fair skin and blond hair, the other tan with dark hair. The swords strapped to their belts, and the tattoos on their hands a clear sign that they were Knights. They were both well-built and most likely stronger than me, but I had a feeling I could outrun them. They both came to a sudden stop finally noticing my presence.

They gawked, no doubt taking in my bloodied appearance. I decided to let them draw their own conclusions and took off down the stairs. The sound of footsteps behind me confirmed my thoughts that they were in pursuit. My eyes were fixed on the door. If I could just get outside I knew I could lose them in the woods. I was so focused on the door, I didn’t notice the person at the bottom of the steps till I crashed into them with enough force to cause our feet to leave the ground. A number of items went flying and the girl yelped in surprise as we both crashed into the cold marble floor. The sound of footsteps however launched me to my feet. In an act of desperation, I grabbed the girl I had run into with one hand and with the other I picked up something she had dropped when we collided, hoping to god it was some sort of weapon. Apparently, god had something against me today because I held it up my makeshift weapon to find a spoon.

“Are you freaking kidding me!?” I half screamed.

Hauling the girl closer to me, I held the spoon to her throat and tried to look at least the tiniest bit threatening. Unfortunately, judging by the amused look on the dark haired guys face, I looked ridiculous. A group of people now gathered around the top and the bottom of the stairs, slowly trickling in from whatever they were doing in order to watch the show. Apparently I wasn’t considered enough of a threat for them to help out, because they just stood there watching. The notion irritated as well as relieved me. If they didn’t think I was a big enough threat, then they surely didn’t realise who I was. I flicked my gaze back to my two pursuers. They both began to slowly close the distance, arms raised, as if I was a terrified little animal. The dark haired one still looked like he held back barely contained laughter. His eyes kept on flicking back and forth between my face and the spoon in my hand.

“Come on now,” he said, voice trembling with humour, “let her go and we can talk about this. No-one has to get hurt.”

My hands shook with the urge to punch him. Realising it probably just made me look terrified, I stilled them and settled with glaring a hole through his face. They took another step forward and I swung my spoon out as if it could somehow scare them off. Unfortunately that was the last straw and he burst out laughing. My jaw clenched shut. I didn’t have time to stand there and be laughed at. I was so close to the door, another few steps and I would be free.

Giving up on the idea that a spoon could ever be considered a dangerous weapon, I flung it behind me after a quick roll of my eyes. My pursuers gave me a look of newfound interest. Quickly devising a plan, I waited till they took another step forward and pushed my hostage as hard as possible at the blonde one. They both crashed to the floor. Seeing his opportunity, Giggles rushed towards me and I couldn’t help but smile. Like always, they had underestimated me. My muscles tensed in preparation and I pivoted, swinging my leg straight towards him. My foot collided with his face and on impact I could feel it was a good solid blow. He hit the floor hard and I couldn’t help but grin as he stared up at me in shock. I quickly turned before either of them could regain their composure and burst through the double doors. Fresh air rushed through my nose and I practically laughed with joy. I began my quick descent down the front stairs, when a crash quickly followed by a scream, grabbed my attention. I spun around and my heart filled with dread.

A group of mongrels had jumped through one of the windows and were now cornering the people who had gathered to watch my escape. For the first time, I registered that the crowd was filled with innocent men, women, and children, all whom didn’t have the necessary Knight training to take on the mongrels and survive. They probably have five minutes at best, before the first Knight arrived and by then there’s no telling how many of them would still be left. The two Knights I just avoided were still sprawled on the floor, staring at the mongrels in confused shock. The blonde and the girl were a tangle of arms and legs and Giggles could barely stand. For a moment, I considered leaving them and making a break for it. No-one would remember the bloodied girl who ran away after a massacre at one of the Institutes. The immediate guilt the thought brought was like a punch to the stomach and I couldn’t believe I even considered leaving. I may have run away from the Institute, but the principles and lessons they drilled into me were still there. Even now I could still hear my father’s voice lecturing me.

“Listen to me, Jacqueline. As a Knight, it is your duty to protect people against the mongrels no matter what. Even if the cost is your life.”

I may have run away before I became an official Knight, but those words were branded on my soul. With that in mind, I took a deep breath, turned around and climbed back up the stairs.

Taking a second to survey what lay before me, I quickly took stock of the situation: six mongrels had a group of people holed up in a corner of the room. All of them had their backs to me, giving me a huge advantage. From behind I could probably take out two, however how I would deal with the remaining four would be an issue. Glancing around for a weapon, I remembered the swords my two pursuers were wearing and smiled. Those would be perfect. I picked up the one hanging off Giggles, his face filled with dazed confusion. It felt different from my own, the weight slightly heavier than what I was used to, but I hoped it wouldn’t slow me down too much. I also scooped up a steak knife that had fallen when I crashed into the girl.

Of course I’m unlucky enough to pick up the spoon instead of the knife.

Decked out in my new weaponry, I wasted no time in quietly sneaking over to the mongrels. They were too preoccupied with the potential kill in front of them to notice my approach. Their bodies tensed and I knew they are about to attack. Not giving myself time to reconsider, I plunged both blades into the backs of the two closest to me, slicing through their spines. They dropped dead within moments.

Two down four to go.

I’d successfully captured the full attention of the rest of the pack.

Oh, joy.

I was hoping at this point some kind of amazing plan would have formulated in my mind, but as I stared at the remaining four monsters, I did what any rational person would do. I ran.

Yanking the sword along with me, I hauled ass. The pain in my head faded as the adrenaline flooded my system. The short reprieve from the pain helped me focus and fell into the familiar rhythm of battle. After years of fighting against mongrels, it had started to feel less like fighting and more like some kind of dance. Sometimes I worried that I felt more comfortable in battle, than I did doing anything else. It’s all I’d known in life so I didn’t miss a beat when I reached the stairs. I climbed up a few and spun around. A grin worked its way onto my face. The perfect height. I swung the sword around just as one of the beasts launched up the first few steps.

Thunk.

Off came of its head. Just as effective as breaking their spines but a hundred times grosser. I ignored the hot spray of blood, not daring to close my eyes on my remaining enemies. Its body fell to the floor and the three remaining mongrels halt for a second, giving me just enough time to thrust the blade of my sword through another’s heart. It collapsed on the ground next to its decapitated pack mate. This time the remaining two don’t bat an eye and launched at me, knocking me off my feet. I bit down the instinctual scream that rose in my throat. Using my legs, I kicked one of them away while slashing at the other with the sword. They both go flying backward, giving me just enough time to quickly get to my feet.

Crouching low once more, I see the intention to leap on me again shining in their eyes. Not wanting a repeat performance, I jumped over the banister. Scooping up three more of the fallen steak knives, I ran to the centre of the room. The beasts growled again and ran towards me. I quickly throw the three knifes at one of the mongrels, successfully hitting one of its eyes. It stopped and barked in pain but I knew it wasn’t dead.

Holding the sword in both hands, I watched as the other remaining beast came barrelling at me, launching itself into the air at the same time I swung the sword. I felt the impact of flesh against the blade and ducked to the right, narrowly missing its gaping jaw. It fell to the ground behind me and released a final whelp, which sounded eerily doglike. Walking over to the final mongrel at the bottom of the steps, I watched as it desperately clawed at the knife lodged in its eye. Sympathy flashed through me.

Stop it. They’re not human.

Raising the sword and brang it down on its neck till its movements stopped. The music stops, the dance ends and I’m left the sole survivor. The rush of battle fades and I slowly take in my surroundings. If I thought I was covered in blood before, now I’m positively drenched.

There are people everywhere now; huddled in doorways, crouching on the stairs, probably drawn by the sounds of the fight. Some are Knights, others no, but every single one of them wear the same shocked expression. Giggles looked particularly confounded, I noted with a hint of satisfaction. Unfortunately, they were all focused on me. There went any hope I would sneak out of here unnoticed.

It was as if the whole room held its breath and then with a rippling effect the tension snapped. Whispers started and spread across the room, until the air was buzzing with voices. Ignoring them, I studied the sword in my hand trying and failing to block out a nearby conversation between two women in their mid-twenties.

“Oh my god! That was so cool! Did you see when she threw the knife in its eye?”

“Do you think she’s a Knight?”

“I’m not sure, I can’t see a tattoo with all that blood covering her.”

“Wait, I think I know her… I swear I’ve seen her before.”

The weight of the blade would take some adjusting to, but it should work fine as a replacement for my own.

“Wait a second isn’t that…no, it can’t be. But I could swear that it’s…”

I gritted my teeth and examined the pattern on the sword. The design was of some kind of dragon…cool.

“Who? Who do you think it is?”

Hooking the sword between my belt and jeans, I surveyed the room for any possible exits. A swarm of Knights now cramped the doorway, making it impossible to leave through there, I searched for another option.

“I don’t know, she just kind of reminds me of Jacqueline Bell.”

The world stopped turning, my gut clenched. Here it comes.

“Wait, do you mean- As in the child prodigy that disappeared two years ago?”

The words were like hammers to the skull and the headache that had disappeared during the battle returned with a vengeance.

“Yeah, that one. I thought she was supposed to be in America working for the CIA or something.”

Others nearby overheard the conversation and suddenly the whole room was saying my name and throwing around words like prodigy and Caribbean. The ache got worse until, finally, I had to close my eyes in an attempt to block it out. Unfortunately, that just seemed to make the voices louder.

“Is she okay? Maybe she really does have PTSD.”

“What was the name of her partner again?”

No. Please no.

Of course, they couldn’t hear my silent pleading.

“Thomas O’Shay wasn’t it?”

His name was like a scalpel to my heart. Cold, precise and painful. The room seemed to trade out my name for his and suddenly it was the only thing I could hear. It all came rushing back. The blood, his smile, the defeat in his eyes.

Love you Jackie-Boy.

Tom-Tom no!

Using everything I had, I pushed it back. I willed all the emotions, the grief and sadness, into a corner of my mind I refused to touch and focused on one thing. Escape. Snapping my eyes back open, I decided to take my chances with the Knights at the front door. I had just started to make my way over when a voice called out above the others.

“Jack!” Pierre’s voice seemed to have a silencing effect and once again the room was deathly quiet.

I ignored him, continuing on my way to the door. The Knights blocking it glanced at me uncertainly as I approached them. I stopped right in front of them, ignoring Pierre’s second cry of my name.

“Move,” I growled.

“Don’t let her leave!” Pierre shouted and suddenly they seemed to bunch together tighter, staring down at me with determined expressions.

“Jack!” Pierre called out once more, closer this time.

Sighing, I rubbed at my temples, trying to soothe the throbbing. Spinning around, I glared at Pierre but apparently I’m not the only one skilled at ignoring things because he once again smiled at me warmly.

“Thank you for waiting.” He said and I was torn between wanting to laugh and wanting to punch him.

“Now as I was saying before you, ah… left the room. Your parents-”

I held up a hand, cutting him off with a sigh, “Look, Pierre, this doesn’t have to be a big deal. Just let me go and tell my parents I ran off or something.”

At least he wouldn’t be lying. He let out a small sigh and I knew before he spoke what his answer was going to be.

“I’m sorry Jack, I can’t do that. Besides, even if I hadn’t already promised your parents I would keep you safe, there is no way I could condone letting a seventeen year old girl wander out into the forest with no way to fend for herself.”

The sword hanging from my belt said otherwise. Damn his principles.

I stepped around him and the whispers started up again. Rolling my eyes, I marched over to the window the mongrels had conveniently broken upon entry and climbed through it. Taking a moment to orientate myself, I turned towards the opening in the black gate and took off sprinting.

Chaos erupted behind me, but I pushed forward, pumping my legs as fast as they could take me. Someone called out and I put on an extra burst of speed. I could see the forest in front of me, almost welcoming in its lush density when I felt a prick on my leg. My body slowed despite my protests and with groggy hands, I reached down and plucked out the foreign object sticking out of my leg. Holding it up, I stared at it in disbelief. A tranq dart. They freaking tranquilized me. I could feel the darkness closing in and my body starting to give out. Collapsing to my knees, I used the last of my energy to throw the horrid little dart away. The ground rushed up toward me and I knew the landing was going to hurt.

“Oh, fu-” Everything once again faded to black