Page 104 of He Who Sleeps

“Ah, young love. It will be nice to have you spend the holiday with him.”

“I’m sorry I won’t be able to do the Christmas eve overnight.”

“Nonsense, Petra. You need to have a life, too. You have done it three years now. Jerry can take the night, he already said he wasn’t going back to Wisconsin.”

“Still, I feel...”

“Nothing!” Wilma waved it off.

“Hey, Wilma?” Taggert, the kennel tech, said as he came in. “Call on the scanner, we are getting intake in five.”

“What is it?”

“Sounds like dogs, puppies.”

Petra smiled. “Ooh, more friends for Brutus. I’ll go and grab them, can you get the intake ready?”

Wilma and Taggert nodded. It was part of her job, and she was close to ending her night. This last intake, a walk home with Brutus and another day closer to seeing her seven.

The idea of her guys high on her mind, she walked out, clipboard in hand, into the loading dock area where the trucks came in for intake and frowned as she saw a truck there, lights on, but no driver.

“Hello? Wilma is ready for intake...” she said as she turned and gasped.

He'd been waiting behind the door, masked and dressed in dark clothing, but it wasn't one of her guys. She barely had a split second to react before he'd grabbed the back of her head and pressed a mask to her mouth and nose, flooding her airway with something harsh and chemical smelling.

Struggling, fear gripped her as she tried not to breathe whatever it was in. Who was this? Were they from the organization? Why was this happening?

No... No... Brutus...the guys... Fuck...

Darkness took her in moments.

Chapter 37

Kendrix sat with hisfather, schooling his face to the blank unreadable mask his father preferred. Three days at headquarters was too much time, and he was itching to get back to his lovely victim.

They had been met at the airfield by Stephan, which was unusual, and had put them all on alert. His father had been pleasant enough, speaking of the best energy harvest they have had, thanks to them, and that they were celebrating something huge at Solstice, which at this point was only hours away.