Two Flowers Read online

  Chapter Four

  Vicki directed the girls down the hall towards the breakroom as soon as she had gathered her things. When they reached the door, Cassandra immediately hung back and murmured to herself. Tracey was quiet while she peered at the damage parts of the door.

  “Stop being such a whimp, Cassie,” Vicki snapped. “There’s nothing in there that can hurt you.”

  “Those scratches weren’t made by a human,” Tracey offered.

  “Nobody asked you. Cassandra, go get the print off so we can get out of here.”

  Cassandra took three more steps back, and shook her head vehemently. “No, I don’t want to go in there.”

  “Or I’ll use this,” Vicki raised up the remote control for Cassandra’s collar.

  “Wait,” Tracey said. “I know where the printer is. Cassandra, I’ll go with you.”

  “Get moving then. And, don’t try anything,” Vicki said.

  Tracey looked Cassandra directly in the eyes, and mouthed the words, “trust me.” Reluctantly, the other girl nodded, and they entered the breakroom together.

  Benjamin had been trained not only how to treat a dino bite wound, but how to manage the effects of their venom. Mental discipline helped to slow the impact his transformation would have on his personality. Or, at least that was in theory. A pounding headache had made thinking hard enough when he was dialing his cell phone, but now it seemed like every muscle in his body was spasming. As he hung up his call, he lost control of his hand and dropped the phone on the ground. He clutched his head with both hands now, trying to subdue the pain in his head. Other than the spasms and the headache, and the tingling sensation all over, he felt a hunger which was growing more intense by the moment. There was an aroma that he didn’t recognize, yet he was instinctively drawn to it. The thought of sinking his teeth into its flesh made his mouth salivate. He reached up to wipe drool from his chin, but stopped when he felt something sharp rub across his wrist. He carefully touched his teeth with his fingers. Were those his?

  Suddenly the source of the aroma was closer, standing right in front of him. It was speaking. He could almost understand it. “Who was on the phone?” It demanded. “Who were you talking to?”

  Benjamin looked up at the source of the voice. It was the human he had been fighting named Marcus. He could remember why they entered the grassy field together, but not why. “Leave me alone,” he growled. His voice surprised him, it was so deep and gruff. The transformation was much faster than he had been lead to believe at the academy. He remembered, though, being given a field kit with a syringe. He reached into his jacket now, slipped his fingers into an inside pocket and pulled out a syringe. Not a cure, but something to counter act the mutagen from the venom.

  The human had seen the syringe, and was asking more questions. “Where did that come from?”

  Benjamin’s muscles steadied enough that he could pull the cover off the needle. It took all of his concentration now to remember that the antidote needed to be administered in a specific way. He tore the sleeve off the left arm of his jacket, and was about to plunge the needle into his arm when something hard struck him in the side of his face. Benjamin sprawled backwards, and the syringe flew off, somewhere into the weeds.

  “No!”

  “I want answers,” the human asked. “Who were you talking to on the phone? Where were you going to take my daughter?

  Anger swelled inside Benjamin’s body as the beast began to take over. His eyes focussed on Marcus and he let out a long, deep growl which revealed his sharp set of teeth. Humanity had been pushed aside, and now there was only room for one word in his mind: Light snack.

  As soon as the two six-year-old girls had entered the breakroom, they tried the light switch on the wall. They could flick the switch up or down, but the lights never came on.

  “I hate the dark,” Cassandra murmured nervously.

  “At least we’re away from her,” Tracey pointed out.

  “That’s easy for you to say, you’re not wearing one of these.”

  Tracey looked at the collar grimly. “The printer is just on the other side of the storage shelves there.” They turned the corner and nearly walked into the tail of a sleeping dino.

  Tracey covered Cassandra’s mouth as soon as she saw that she was about to scream, then urged her to follow. They backtracked until they were safely out of view. “It must have ripped the door open, and let itself into the breakroom,” Tracey said. “We’ll go all of the way around to the printer.” But by the time they reached the printer, an idea was forming in her head. In one fluid motion, she grabbed the stack of papers from the printer’s holding tray, then disconnected the network cable from the back of the printer.

  “What are you doing?” Cassandra asked. “We were supposed to give those to Vicki.”

  “We need an excuse for her to come in here. Then, we’ll wake the dino and let her deal with him while we find somewhere safe to hide.”

  “I don’t know. What about my collar?”

  “She won’t be able to shock you if she’s too busy,” Tracey said. “If we get the controller from her, or destroy it, you won’t have to worry about it.”

  Benjamin lunged at Marcus, and they both went down. Marcus had caught Benjamin by the shoulders and it was taking all of his effort to push him off. With a final heave, he gained some distance from, stood up, and started for the edge of the crater. Without hesitation, Marcus hoisted himself over the edge, and quickly scurried into the grass. Behind him, Benjamin simply had to regain his balance before jumping out of the hole.

  As soon as he found the edge of the lot, Marcus ran for the community center, pumping his legs as fast as he could. He knew from the sounds of growling and heavy breathing that Benjamin was close on his heels.

  “Can you help us?”

  “What is it?” Vicki asked impatiently. Her hand had gone up as soon as Cassandra had stepped out of the breakroom. In it, she could see that Vicki held the controller for her shock collar. “Where’s Tracey?”

  “The paper is stuck inside the printer,” Cassandra said.

  Vicki rolled her eyes, “Oh for pete’s sake, can you do anything right?”

  “It’s not our fault! The paper jammed.” The plan had been for Cassandra to lead Vicki into the room, but the woman hurried into the room without any prodding at all.

  Vicki stopped to survey her surroundings. The lights were off, and the sun was going down, so it was getting harder and harder to see anything. Cassandra grabbed her hand. “I’ll show you where the printer is.”

  They turned the corner around the last row of shelves. A lamp nearby the printer made it easier to see. The printer’s lid was open, and Tracey was standing on a stool inspecting its innards.

  “The printer won’t do anything until we can remove the stuck paper,” Tracey explained.

  “Did anything print?” Vicki asked.

  “No,” Tracey said.

  “Out of my way, then.” Tracey barely avoided being pushed aside as Vicki stood in front of the printer and reached in. “This doesn’t look too bad, girls. Just the one sheet.”

  Tracey nudged Cassandra to get her attention, then pointed to the table. Vicki had set down the shock collar controller when she began working on the printer. Without a word, Tracey sidled up to the printer. “Are you getting it unstuck?” She asked, while at the same time scooping up the controller.

  “Almost. You girls stay around here. I want to keep an eye on you.”

  “Sure, sure,” Tracey said. She spotted a big blue button on the controller which was labeled “release,” and pressed it. Then, she set the remote back down on the table.

  Cassandra had wandered back to the row of shelves next to where the dino was sleeping. She heard a click, and then her collar suddenly loosened. She pulled it up around her head, then studied the dinosaur hybrid. The two girls had decided that they would never be able to fit the collar around its neck, so they had agreed to try a leg or an arm. She slowly crept towards
the dino until she was inches away from its back. She leaned over until she could reach past its knee, and carefully slipped the collar over its left foot. A press of the collar’s controls caused it to instantly shrink.

  “Cassandra!” Vicki’s voice startled Cassandra. The dino stirred. Cassandra stood up, zipped her jacket as far up as it would go, and then hurried back towards the printer.

  “Where were you?” Vicki asked.

  “I needed to use the bathroom,” Cassandra said.

  “I never said that you could leave the room,” Vicki snapped. Her hand hovered close to the remote control.

  “I’m sorry,” Cassandra said. “It was an emergency. I couldn’t hold it.”

  “You should know better,” Vicki said. She pointed at the printer, which was now closed up and powered on. “I cleared the paper jam, but its still not printing.”

  “Did you turn it on?” Tracey asked.

  Vicki reached around the back of the printer, and flipped a switch. The printer whirred to life, and a display on the front read “Printer Ready,” then changed to “Check Network Connection.”

  “What?” Vicki snapped. She reached around. “The network cable’s been pulled out,” she said. With a snap, she returned it to the back of the printer. The display changed back to “Printer Ready.”

  “It’s not printing anything,” Cassandra said.

  “I know it’s not--Cassie, I left my purse in the hallway. Grab it for me. I need it.”

  Cassandra looked up at Vicki, and said calmly, “No.”

  Vicki’s hand shot out towards the controller. “What did you say?”

  Cassandra was trembling, but her voice remained steady. “No.” She could feel Tracey’s finger as she gently grabbed her hand.

  “You little snot, you will do as I say--” Vicki pressed her thumb down on the controller dramatically. Cassandra simply stood there and stared at her. Behind them, there was a low growl.

  “I don’t understand.” Vicki said. She began pressing the button over and over again. “You. Will. Obey. Me.” She had raised her hand to slap Cassandra, when there was a loud roar, and the bookshelves began to shake.

  “Run!” Tracey shouted. The two girls took off for the exit, with Vicki close behind them. But they were only halfway across the room when a giant form suddenly swooped up Tracey’s body, and she screamed.

  “Don’t look! Don’t look!” Tracey shouted.

  Marcus didn’t dare look back until he was just a few feet away from the van. As he spotted Benjamin running towards him at full speed, he slammed into the side of the van. Marcus thrust his hands into his jean pockets, looking for his keys but didn’t find them. He ducked just as Benjamin pounced towards him, but hit the side of the van instead.

  Marcus ran to the other side of the van, and was aiming for the community center when he heard Vicki scream. Benjamin heard it too, and stopped in his tracks. He sniffed the air for a couple of seconds, then headed back towards the library.

  Vicki fell into the hallway, skidded across the floor, and turned towards the fire exit. The dinosaur hybrid was close behind her. At the last minute, she tore up the stairs to the third floor, where she could see that the elevator doors were open. Vicki dove in, and punched the button repeatedly until the elevator doors closed just as the creature pounced. Out of breath, bruised, and scared out of her wits, Vicki curled up against the back wall of the elevator and waited for it to reach the first floor.

  “Marcus!” Marcus looked around until he spotted Chad Whittaker waving to him from his police car. The two met alongside the road just across from the cemetery.

  “Officer Whittaker,” Marcus said. “My daughter and I were taken hostage. My daughter is still inside.”

  “Whoa, whoa,” Chad said. “Take it easy. I ran the plates on the car in the parking lot. I’ve also called for backup.”

  “Good,” Marcus said, resuming his course for the front of the library. “Because you’ll need it.”

  Tracey had lead Cassandra down to the first floor, passed the staircase, and into a storage closet that she sometimes liked to play in when her father worked a shift on the weekdays. They listened with the door cracked open until the upstairs was quiet again, then started for the front door. As they reached the most open part of the library, the elevator doors opened and Vicki stumbled out. The two girls shrieked. Vicki’s reaction was to lift up the controller for the shock collar and press down hard on the button at the front.

  There was a thundering roar, then the body of the dino tumbled down the staircase, richoceted off one side of the railing, then crashed through the other. The dino picked himself up, and was staring intently at Vicki. He reached down, and tore off the shock collar, then tossed it aside with a growl.

  Vicki pulled her handgun out of her pocket but her shots were so wild that only one grazed it on its shoulder, and made it even madder.

  There was the sound of glass shattering and something massive galloping towards them. Tracye and Cassandra ran and crouched behind the first floor reference and watched as a second dinosaur hybrid slashed at the first one. Soon, they were tangled together in combat.

  “Vicki! Get out!”

  “Benjamin?” Vicki asked

  “Get out!” Benjamin turned, and bounded up the stairs, with the other dinosaur after him. Without skipping a beat, Vicki headed to the front door, but stopped when Chief Whittaker appeared with his weapon drawn.

  “Daddy!”

  Tracey zig zagged between tables and tossed herself at Markus, wrapping her arms around him.

  Marcus crouched down and wrapped his arms around her. “Sweetie, are you okay?”

  “There was a dino in the break room, daddy!” Tracey exclaimed. “He was sleeping, but we scared him awake with Cassie’s shock collar.”

  “I strapped it onto his leg,” Cassie said.

  “And I stopped Vicki from steeling names.”

  Marcus looked at Tracey. “What names?”

  “The names of the kids from my class,” Tracey answered.

  “Vicki shot your computer,” Cassie said.

  “That’s not very considerate,” Markus said, deadpanned.

  Chad had returned, and tapped Markus on the shoulder. “EMS is here. You and the girls should probably get checked out. I’ll also need to get your statements.

  Markus ushered the girls towards the ambulance, where two medical technicians were waiting for them. They were accompanied by a frowny-faced woman in a business suit. She was carrying a clipboard.

  “Chief Whittaker, just the man I wanted to see.”

  “Evening, Lolita,” Chad said. “I didn’t realize that my office had contacted you.”

  “They didn’t need to. I monitor all of the radio bands for activity.” She peered at Cassandra. “You must be the little girl who was with the couple that broke into the library.”

  Cassandra nodded.

  “They’ve both had a long day,” Markus interjected. “And need to be checked out. If you have questions for them--”

  “I was actually here to speak with--” Lolita stopped mid-sentence to glance at her clipboard. “Vicki. If what I’ve heard is true, she is in a lot of trouble for mistreating Cassandra.”

  “Mrs. Burns,” Chad said stiffly, “respectfully, your authority doesn’t allow you to interview suspects.”

  “But, she is the suspect in the abuse of a halfling. That falls under my jurisdiction. I will be getting statements from the girls later on.”

  Lolita nodded to the two men, and continued on into the library where Vicki was being processed.

  While Markus was being treated for his injuries, Chad escorted the girls to a second ambulance. Tracey and Cassandra sat patiently while they were poked and prodded. Fortunately, the most serious injury was a cut on Cassandra’s knee which required a Bandaid.

  Chad raised an eyebrow when Tom, the Medical Technician, drew blood samples from both girls. “Is that necessary?”

  “Ms. Burns insisted. For dinosaur-b
orn children, I’m required to collect blood samples.”

  “Fine,” Chad said.

  “The Superintendent is very disappointed with you Benjamin.” Benjamin jerked up his head at the familiar sound of Lolita Burns’ voice. Between the rampaging dino and the police that had swarmed through Hartland, his only option had been to take shelter inside the museum at the edge of town.

  “We had the girl, and Vicki was getting the list. We didn’t count on the librarian showing up.”

  “Your mission was to kill VanNocker, and to get an updated copy of her school’s roster.” Lolita bent down, and stretched out her hand. Inside it, there was a syringe. “You could have seriously exposed the Institute.”

  Benjamin picked the syringe up out of her hand, and jabbed it into his shoulder. “Now what?”

  Lolita extended her left hand. It contained a thick stack of pages. The top page contained a list of names with addresses. “You’re going to complete your mission.”