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Authors: Elizabeth Einspanier
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had been certain that he was about to turn that wrath on her as well—and then he’d turned to her, and his expression had softened, as though someone had flipped a switch. He’d looked...
What? Worried? Concerned?
Heaven forbid, frightened ?
What the hell did he have to be frightened of? This was his lair, with his minions, and she was the one who’d just seen her soon-to-be-ex turned into something horrible.
She picked up the shirt, bandages, and rubbing alcohol and headed back towards the bathroom. Halfway there she stopped in her tracks as another idea struck her.
He wasn’t afraid of anything. Maybe he was afraid for her.
She continued walking.
No. That was stupid, thinking he was afraid for her. If that were the case he wouldn’t have mangled Jim like he had.
But you saw that expression of relief on his face, said the sensible voice. It looked a whole lot like he was worried you’d been hurt. And when he started to reach for you...
Julia shut the bathroom door a bit harder than she’d intended. She didn’t know what he’d had in
mind when he reached for her. She’d just had a cat-monster jump on her—of course she flinched away!
She stripped off the bloody shirt again, feeling the dried blood scratching against her skin, and tossed
it aside. She doubted even his people would be able to get the stains out if they intended to, and in any case, it was all torn up. They could do whatever they liked with it now. She started cleaning the scratches again, this time with the alcohol. She hissed in pain as the alcohol stung her wounds, but kept going until she’d treated all of them as thoroughly as she could. She didn’t know if cat-monsters carried cat scratch disease or toxoplasmosis or rabies, but she wasn’t going to take any chances. She wrapped her ribs in the bandages to protect the wounds before putting on the fresh shirt, and then started to wash her hands.
Okay, now that her wounds were treated, now what?
The next thing you’re going to need is a map of the place, said the sensible voice. Otherwise you’ll never get out of here.
“That would require paper and pencils, probably,” Julia whispered. “And lots and lots of patience. What else?”
This is going to be the hard part, Jules. You’re going to have to gain his trust.
She blinked. “What—make nice with Dr. Mechanus? Hell no.”
Calm down, Jules. If you gain his trust, you’ll be able to gain more access without getting stopped by his minions.
“Yeah, and?”
And he might have a communications room so you can call for help.
Julia sighed. “Well, there is that.”
A sudden stinging pain in her hands made her jerk them back and look at them. She’d scrubbed them raw.
She hadn’t done that in...
Well. In a while, anyway. It had almost become a problem when she was a resident and was washing her hands dozens of times during her shift. It got to the point where she couldn’t get her hands to feel clean no matter how much she washed, but the washing relaxed her. A classic case of OCD, her therapist had told her.
And it had cropped up again after she’d survived the attack. After Jim had rescued her—
She closed her eyes, leaning against the sink. She didn’t want to think about that again. For the longest time, her brain simply refused to let go of the experience, even after weeks of talking to a therapist. She didn’t sleep right for a week. It was just how her mind worked, seizing on an idea and twisting itself into a loop.
She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Well. Her hands didn’t feel dirty now, but she would have to watch out for this.
She rinsed off one last time, dried her hands, and pulled on the fresh shirt. She looked less like a shell-shocked accident victim now—barely. She splashed water on her face, and then took a deep breath. This wasn’t going to be easy. At all.
She left the bathroom and stood in the middle of the main room, regarding the red LED that marked the security
What? Worried? Concerned?
Heaven forbid, frightened ?
What the hell did he have to be frightened of? This was his lair, with his minions, and she was the one who’d just seen her soon-to-be-ex turned into something horrible.
She picked up the shirt, bandages, and rubbing alcohol and headed back towards the bathroom. Halfway there she stopped in her tracks as another idea struck her.
He wasn’t afraid of anything. Maybe he was afraid for her.
She continued walking.
No. That was stupid, thinking he was afraid for her. If that were the case he wouldn’t have mangled Jim like he had.
But you saw that expression of relief on his face, said the sensible voice. It looked a whole lot like he was worried you’d been hurt. And when he started to reach for you...
Julia shut the bathroom door a bit harder than she’d intended. She didn’t know what he’d had in
mind when he reached for her. She’d just had a cat-monster jump on her—of course she flinched away!
She stripped off the bloody shirt again, feeling the dried blood scratching against her skin, and tossed
it aside. She doubted even his people would be able to get the stains out if they intended to, and in any case, it was all torn up. They could do whatever they liked with it now. She started cleaning the scratches again, this time with the alcohol. She hissed in pain as the alcohol stung her wounds, but kept going until she’d treated all of them as thoroughly as she could. She didn’t know if cat-monsters carried cat scratch disease or toxoplasmosis or rabies, but she wasn’t going to take any chances. She wrapped her ribs in the bandages to protect the wounds before putting on the fresh shirt, and then started to wash her hands.
Okay, now that her wounds were treated, now what?
The next thing you’re going to need is a map of the place, said the sensible voice. Otherwise you’ll never get out of here.
“That would require paper and pencils, probably,” Julia whispered. “And lots and lots of patience. What else?”
This is going to be the hard part, Jules. You’re going to have to gain his trust.
She blinked. “What—make nice with Dr. Mechanus? Hell no.”
Calm down, Jules. If you gain his trust, you’ll be able to gain more access without getting stopped by his minions.
“Yeah, and?”
And he might have a communications room so you can call for help.
Julia sighed. “Well, there is that.”
A sudden stinging pain in her hands made her jerk them back and look at them. She’d scrubbed them raw.
She hadn’t done that in...
Well. In a while, anyway. It had almost become a problem when she was a resident and was washing her hands dozens of times during her shift. It got to the point where she couldn’t get her hands to feel clean no matter how much she washed, but the washing relaxed her. A classic case of OCD, her therapist had told her.
And it had cropped up again after she’d survived the attack. After Jim had rescued her—
She closed her eyes, leaning against the sink. She didn’t want to think about that again. For the longest time, her brain simply refused to let go of the experience, even after weeks of talking to a therapist. She didn’t sleep right for a week. It was just how her mind worked, seizing on an idea and twisting itself into a loop.
She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Well. Her hands didn’t feel dirty now, but she would have to watch out for this.
She rinsed off one last time, dried her hands, and pulled on the fresh shirt. She looked less like a shell-shocked accident victim now—barely. She splashed water on her face, and then took a deep breath. This wasn’t going to be easy. At all.
She left the bathroom and stood in the middle of the main room, regarding the red LED that marked the security
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