Skinwalker

There is a flicker in the electricity, and it draws my attention to the ceiling. I fell asleep leaning against the brick wall, counting Levi’s chest rises and falls. The florescent lights hum as though nothing has happened, it’s the camera that catches my attention. Through the black dome, I can’t see the red light that indicates it’s monitoring me. Somehow the power to the camera has failed.

The medical team is gone, including the security guard. Apparently the four of us being asleep, made them feel secure that vacating the area was okay. Maybe they’re on break? Without getting up, or changing positions much, I examine the rest of the medical bay.

It takes several quick inspections of the area before I noticed another red light is missing. The one that lights up the keypad on my door has gone out. Before getting too curious, I wait. Certainly, someone will be coming around to inspect the power glitch. If I’m too hasty, I could blow this rare and unique opportunity. The boys are all still fast asleep.

The day has taken its toll on them far more significantly than it has on me.

I slide down into the sheets of my cot and position myself to look like I’m asleep. Not long after, footsteps approach. They pause, move around the medical area, and a few moments later there’s radio static.

“They’re all asleep,” the guard informs whoever is on the other end of the radio.

“Continue monitoring,” the person on the other end of the radio responds as the guard evacuates the area.

I count to ten and then get to my feet.

With my index finger I push on the door, and the door becomes ajar without the shock of the magic that electrifies and protects the glass. At first, I just stare at it, debating what I want to do from here and then decide to make my move. Quickly, I tuck in the sheets of my cot making the cell look vacant. People switch cells around here all the time. My disappearance needs to look intentional if anyone comes around because that could buy me some time.

Once that’s settled, I sneak through the door and shut it tight behind me. If someone came through and saw the door ajar, it may be suspicious. A shut door could be easier to overlook. The lock initiates a moment later and the etched keypad is once again red. I glance up at the hallway camera dome and through the tinted glass, I can see the ever-present illuminated red light which means it’s recording me. No alarm sounds though. To me, that means no one knows I’ve escaped my cell just yet. Maybe there’s no one on the other side of that camera.

Before that can change, I head for the door that separates the medical area from the cell block I passed through earlier this evening. No one is around. Without haste, ensuring that I’m overly cautious, I head toward the cell block of the subhumans who are here voluntarily. Passing through that area once before, I noticed the security desk was vacant and stripped down like they don’t often staff it. That room is my only hope.

The only thing to worry about now whether any of the volunteers are awake. Observing their cells I realize just how well set up they are. Not only are the lights shut off in each of the rooms, they also have curtains pulled shut preventing light from entering their space.

The clock over the desk reads 2:02AM.

Sitting at the vacant desk, I type in the universal password used on all of the security computers throughout the facility. It’s a code I learned from the documents I was able to secure from the facility and study. From those documents, I’ve learned a lot. Hopefully my knowledge now encompasses enough of what I need in order to accomplish this mission.

The computer is slow to logon, as if the system needs to be cleaned up. When the screen finally comes to life desktop icons begin to populate on the screen. Many are one’s I’ve never needed to use during my time here and my host has no recollection of them. Most have no helpful explanation as to what they are in their title, either. As I click around, I realize a few are internet links and one is a paper that someone was writing.

Searching the desk and all its drawers, I hope to find some kind of paper or binder that could guide my movements. Surly there is a training guide of some kind for new employees? The people around here have made many mistakes, maybe this isn’t one I should rely on?

Shuffling through the papers on the desk, my attention is pulled to a pile of flash drives in an ash tray. Among the see of black devices there is a white one and a red one. I pull them from the mess and know immediately these are the ones Queen Scarlet assigned me; her insignia is engraved on each of them. How did they get here? Has anyone seen them that would connect it to the subhuman government?

After being captured, I’d completely forgotten about the flash drives and the tasks I’m supposed to accomplish with them. Last time I knew where the devices were, was in the pocket of the scrub uniform I was wearing when Logan attacked me. How did it end up here, on this desk? Deciding it doesn’t matter, I stuff them into my bra and resume the search of the desk.

The only thing I find that’s helpful is a sheet of paper next to the monitor; inside a plastic sleeve is the printed floor plan, just like the one I saw the other day. It’s the map of all the cells and printed in dry erase marker are the names of the subhuman occupants. Cassandra, Tala, and Catherine are where they’ve been since I arrived. Levi, Alexander, Logan, and myself are all listed in the medical block behind me. Neut is written into the cell on my left.

Based on what I see, it’s as up to date as possible.

I come up short on finding a guide to the computer applications and am left to my own resourcefulness. There are dozens of programs that can be opened. I read through the titles and look at the icons, attempting to determine what will be of the most use. I decide there are two that appear helpful.

The first icon that gets opened blue with a white pound sign design in it and a small red lock on the bottom right called Grid. When it launches, it fills the monitor and I’m presented with a map that mirrors the one on the desk. This one has no names posted in it, they’re just small boxes with letters and numbers. I scroll around on it, find a cell in a block that is unoccupied, and left click. Nothing happens. Logically, I follow through by right clicking. A list of options pops up including unlock.

I click it.

The entire cell outline turns from black to green and a notification appears in lower right corner of the screen: D003 unlocked. It stays on the screen for about five seconds and minimizes, leaving behind a small green bubble. Right clicking, I select the button that now says lock. The green bubble disappears, and the cell turns black again.

It would be tedious opening each occupied cell one at a time in this manner. It would be a task that could easily consume too much precious time. There has to be a button, somewhere in this program, that would unlock every cell with a single click. Surely, they would have that safety feature built into the grid, right? After searching through many of the drop-down selections, I find what I believe I’m looking for, a button that says open all. I click it.

One by one every cell being turning green and with each cell comes a pop-up notification announcing the activity. Frantically, I click the button that has now changed to lock all. One by one the cells that have turned green return to black. Hopefully no one else saw any of the notifications. I need to know where the staff is before I can start this mission, so I open the second app that caught my attention.

This icon is called ISky and looks like a camera lens. In my mind I correlate that with the phrase eye in the sky, and think of the television show Big Brother. Certainly, this application has something to do with the intricate camera system in this place. It takes a little time to load but eventually it does, and the screen populates with live images the way a Zoom call would.

Along the top of the program there are drop down bars, and in one of them I find a way to select areas I want to see. Each cell hallway has its own section, same as every security station, employee hallway, nurses’ station, lab station, and lab room. Just clicking through them gives me the information I wanted. The guard who is responsible for this section is in the breakroom with two other guards. The cameras have no audio attached to them, but it looks like they’re eating at the same table, and probably talking about something based on hand gestures and facial movements.

I find one guard monitoring the hallways and assume this is the one checking the cells after the power glitch. The guard monitoring the hallway that contains Cassandra, Catherine, and Tala has his feet up on his desk. He’s reclined back and the minimal movements which leads me to believe he’s asleep. Cassandra is pacing next to the door of her cell. Catherine is standing at her door, statuesque. Tala is sitting on her cot with her back against the wall and her lips are moving.

Eventually I find the male medical technician that started his shift in the block I resided in, hanging out in the other medical block. There are two patients in rooms and he’s in the cell with one and a guard, doing some sort of assessment. Zuri is in the lab attached to that medical area on a computer.

A text box pops up on the computer screen.

Doors remain unlocked for 90 seconds before an alarm sounds.

Several times I re-read the text that came across, wondering if I should reply to it. It looks like someone is trying to help me but who is it and what is their purpose? It could be someone is trying to flush me out. Get me distracted to the roaming guard can find me and throw me back in the cell.

Who is this? A friend will answer, a foe will divert away from the question.

Zuri.

While she plays the role of a foe well, I remind myself who put her here and that truly means she is an ally. She’s someone I need to work with and trust. Before I can trust her, though, I have to know something.

What did you give me?

Vitamin B12.

Either she’s an excellent slide of hand, or a master manipulator, because no one was the wiser. Everyone in that room believed her act. They all saw the bright red solution in that needled and each of them believed it to be some version of the cure. Not one person second guessed that, including me.

Vitamin B12. No wonder I was awake in my cell while everyone else was asleep. She’d dosed me with a little extra energy.

Start with the ones who are awake, end with the ones who aren’t. The flash drives are to your left. My badge is at my station. You need it badge to get through the doors. Good luck.

The chat stays active on the screen long enough for me to read the text once and then it disappears.

Ensuring I know where the employees are, I filter through the cameras once again. Once I validate everyone is I switch back to the program that blueprints the entire facility. My heart is pounding clear into my head, but I do what I must, and I unlock the cells of my three allies.

The vampire is the first to notice the lock is inactive and, in the blink of an eye, she is missing from her cell. The door closes behind her and I lock it. When she reappears, she’s on a different monitor, standing next to the sleeping guard, staring down at him like he’s a meal.

Tala is next to realize what’s happening. Immediately she goes after Catherine. The werewolf wraps her arms around the vampire, intentionally covering the girls’ mouth and nose so she can’t smell the temptation sleeping in front of her. The werewolf begins guiding Catherine away. It isn’t done without a struggle. I can see the fight rippling through both of their bodies. Yet, they somehow remain silent enough that the guard continues to sleep.

Cassandra sneaks out of her cell, carefully pushing her door shut behind her and then she closes the door of Tala’s cell. I’m not sure why she does it, but I’m thankful she does because I reinitiate both locks. This removes the green alert on the bottom of the computer screens, hopefully buying us a little more time. It also delays the 90 second alert that doors are open.

Cassandra negotiates her way past the two struggling women, through the hallways, and eventually notices me sitting at the desk. Her whole body relaxes, and she walks toward me.

“We have to get Catherine out of here,” she says.

“Shh.” I point at Neut’s cell knowing that if he wakes up, this whole mission could be destroyed. “I need a badge to get through the exit doors.”

Cassandra walks around the desk and looks at the screens I’m looking at. I flip screens to see what is happening throughout the facility, making sure we still haven’t attracted unwanted attention.

Abruptly, she points at Logan. “Unlock his door.”

“No.”

Her eyebrows pull together. “Unlock the door, Piper.”

“Are you out of your mind? He’s the reason I got caught.”

Frowning she insists again. “He can get a badge for us.”

Frowning, I debate the possibility. “He’s asleep.”

“I can wake him up.”

“You could get caught.”

“I can communicate with him from here.”

Reading her face, I know I can trust her. Despite wanting to keep the crazed demi-demon in his cell for as long as possible, I sigh and give in because this escape plan only works if I trust the people who are willing to help.

“One of the lab tech’s is a mute, she’s helping us.” At least I hope she truly is. “Her badge in one of the drawers at the medical station. Top middle, I think.”

A few moments later, Logan rolls onto his back and sits on the side of his cot. Cassandra’s eyes are closed and she’s leaning against the desk. The bracelets are still secured around her wrists and since I saw her last, the poison in her fingertips has returned with a vengeance. The purplish-black stains her veins clear up into her wrists.

Logan stands and approaches the door of his cell, but he doesn’t do anything just yet. He waits. I pray that she can keep him in line and unlock the door. He moves through the door, goes directly to the drawer the badge is in and collects it.

I’m on my feet a moment later when someone rounds the corner into the cell block. Tala is holding onto Catherine’s upper arm, directing her toward us. My pulse is slow to react but now it’s dancing. This interaction reminds me that at any moment our fortune can change. I’ve left the staff unattended for too long. I don’t know where any of them are, and I need to. Filtering through the cameras I feel relief that our activities have continued to go unnoticed.

“What next?” Cassandra asks.

Grabbing the floor map next to the computer I begin pointing at cells and giving instructions. Levi and Alexander have been injected with the cure and need medical attention outside of here, they share the medical bay with Logan which means its imperative that he remove them. Neut must be abandoned, he is too much of a danger to us. As for the other subhumans, they could be a threat to us as well. I have no idea who is cooperating in the trials and who has been deeply disturbed by them.

“How are we supposed to wakeup 89 people to get them out of here?” Cassandra asks.

Before I can answer, Tala says, “Simple.” She then let’s go of Catherine and the vampire moves so quickly away from us that it’s like she vanished.

All at once Cassandra is yelling at Tala, Logan following through with his rescue mission, and from the other room comes a blood curdling yell from the guard Catherine is making a meal out of. Soon an alarm blares, echoing throughout the building, and I stick the flash drive into the port in front of me, following the steps Leona made me memorize to activate it. This is going to take at least nine minutes by her estimation.