C a p t u r e d

5: Life Saver

Chapter Five- Life Saver

mutation

1. A sudden departure from the parent type in one or more heritable characteristics, caused by a change in a gene or a chromosome.

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I woke up with an emerald bedspread wrapped around me. It was plush and comfortable, like the tiny one I'd had as a toddler. Vaguely, I wondered if I was back in the hospital. My head was swimming.

Light pierced into my closed eyelids. My throat felt dry. The bed was horribly damp, like I'd wet myself. My whole body felt like it was burning up.

"Your vital signs aren't back to normal yet," a strange voice said.

My eyes shot open, and Tyson was sitting an inch from my face.

"Oh my God!"

I lurched backwards. He studied me, and I stared at him.

Tyson didn't have fangs anymore. His hair was tied back, showing off his wide-set ears.

He smiled like he could read my mind. "My fangs are only retracted."

Retracted.

Retracted.

Retracted fangs...

My throat hurt. My body ached, like I'd been running. A thousand chills swept over me, as if I had the flu.

Where was Jackie? Where was my dorm? Why the fuck was I in here?

A younger woman stood calmly, a few feet next to us. She wore a black lab coat, which contrasted nicely against her frosty hairdo and pale teeth.

"Move over," she murmured.

Tyson got up, immediately. The woman took his seat, and looked up at me. She smelled like lemons and toffee.

"Laurie, my name is Estelle. Did you hear me before? Are you feeling dizzy?"

"Where am I?" I muttered.

Estelle just shook her head. I sat up, slowly, trying to memorize every detail of the room.

Machinery in the corner. Grey walls. Windowless. Closet-sized.

I looked down at myself, and realized that I was wearing a white cotton nightgown. No socks or shoes. My hair felt strangely shorter, like they chopped it off in my sleep.

Every detail I saw, the more fervently my shoulders shook.

Tyson had really done it.

He'd kidnapped me.

I sat up, my movements jerky. Tyson was standing motionless, like a statue in front of the doorway. He barely knew me, yet he'd pegged me right. He was sure that I wanted to make a run for it.

"Laurie, answer me."

The woman's fangs flashed, and I gasped. Instinctively, I scooted away from her. Whenever I moved, my head throbbed.

"I-I'm not dizzy," I lied. "Please don't bite me."

"I'll restrain myself, I suppose," she murmured, smiling. Her voice was high and effeminate.

She turned around and grabbed a plastic bottle of something red. Then she downed it in an instant, like a dehydrated bird.

"You're right, Tyson. She does smell good."