Chapter 7: Jailbreak

For a long while, Poppy felt like she was floating in darkness. Sometimes, she felt like she was on fire, but when that passed, it was just the darkness again. She was not sure what was going on. Occasionally, she thought she heard voices around her, but the warm cocoon of the inky blackness around her made it hard to make out what they were saying. But the times of fire were excruciating. It felt like her whole body was being remade, bones reknit, skin torn and placed back new. She desperately wanted to scream and cry but she couldn’t tell if she was making any noise; the darkness around her swallowed up any sound, the fire that burned her blocked any other feeling than pain.

The times of fire and the times of darkness seemed to be pretty evenly spaced at the beginning, but eventually the feeling of being on fire lessened, and the darkness seemed a little less dark. Soon she just felt like she was floating in nothingness. And that was an extremely welcome sensation.

Poppy thought she could see cracks of light in her little safe space. She was almost sad. The darkness was safe, and cozy, and peaceful. No one could reach her in this safe, dark space.

But real life had to claim her again, apparently. The light started getting brighter and her darkness was slowly fading away.

Poppy was slowly coming back into her body, but was kind of wishing that she hadn’t. She could feel her fingers and toes, and her back. God her back hurt. Everything felt stiff and as feeling came back into her limbs, they started to tingle in pain. It wasn’t quite as bad as the all encompassing fire that had burned her, but it was damn close.

The light got brighter and brighter and Poppy felt herself starting to respond to the sensations around her. In the distance, she heard a constant beeping sound. She tried to move, to open her eyes, but her body still wasn’t properly responding. People came and went and she could start to make out what they were saying.

“Mr. Murray,” a woman’s voice floated into the room, “You need to get some rest, sir.”

“I know, Michelle, but I just can’t leave her.” Malcom’s voice was close to her, almost like he was sitting next to her. She wasn’t sure that she was pleased she could identify his voice. This whole mess seemed to be somewhat his fault.

“Dr. Prince said that the worst is over and she will wake up any day now.” Michelle seemed like she was trying to reason with a child, “You should go get a rest, or take a shower or something, I’ll stay with her if you need me to.”

“Thanks, Michelle, but I want to be here when she wakes up.” Poppy felt Malcom’s hand touch hers, “She’s going to have a lot of questions and I need to be here to answer them for her.”

“You are sure she’s your fated mate, sir?” Michelle questioned.

“Yes.” Malcom sounded tired, “I’m positive.”

“So when she wakes up, what then?”

“Then I tell her about being my mate, and how I had to change her to save her life.”

“And the wolf who tried to kill her?” Michelle’s voice was soft but the question still seemed to ring through Poppy’s conscious. The memory of the attack was coming back; Natalia and the threats and her running… then the wolf and the terrible claws. Her back ached with the memory. And she almost screamed with the remembered pain. And where the hell did a wolf even come from in the middle of the city?

“Raphe is still trying to find more evidence. It was so crazy… so many scents, we all found it impossible to figure out which one actually did the attack.” Malcom sounded almost defeated, “Which is why she can’t leave, not now anyway. Someone out there is trying to kill her.”

“Because she’s you’re mate?” Michelle asked the question that Poppy had wondered.

There was a worrying long pause.

“Most likely, yes.”

“But wouldn’t that put the Reachers at the top of the suspect list? They have the most to lose if you have a fated mate.”

“Perhaps, but murder? Especially of an alpha’s fated mate?” Malcom mused, “If that is true, they would lose everything, far more than just a business deal with me. Not only would the council disband their clan, both of them would be executed. I can’t believe they are that desperate.”

“But, Mr. Murray, Callum was looking through some of the proposed contracts related to your possible mating with Ms. Reacher and he found some interesting clauses…”

Poppy heard a door bang open, interrupting whatever Michelle was about to say.

“Mr. Murray, you need to come quickly. Raphe is back and he has some important details.” A breathless voice cut through the room.

The scrapping of chairs and murmured questions accompanied by footsteps and a closing door let Poppy know the room was empty. At least for now.

She had no idea what all that was that she had just heard. But the fact that someone was trying to kill her because Malcom Murray had stated she would be his wife was enough to make her want to run away. Malcom may have misgivings about that horrid woman wanting her dead, but Poppy didn’t. And then there was the part about Poppy not leaving wherever she was. She had no idea what day it was, but the semester was starting soon and she had to pay her tuition… if she still earned her check from Jack that is. Not to mention the whole thing about “changing her”. What did that even mean? These people were certifiably insane. She had to get away.

Poppy willed her eyes to open. It took a bit but she was eventually able to open her eyes and move her head a little. Then she concentrated on her arms and legs.

As she worked on regaining mobility in her limbs, she looked at the room around her. It was white room with light gray and green accents. She was laying on what appeared to be the middle of a giant bed, with monitors attached to her. Somewhere between a hospital and a bedroom. Slowly, Poppy was able to raise into a seated position. That was when she realized she was no longer wearing her uniform but a pale pink cotton dress that closely resembled a nightgown, but looked more like something a little girl would wear, not a young woman. There were bows and frills. And it kind of clashed with her hair color. Poppy decided she hated it.

Looking around, she had no idea where she was or how to get away. She had no shoes, no clothes, no phone, and no money.

But she also knew she couldn’t stay there. Something incredibly wrong was going on and she was caught in the middle. With no other thought than leaving, Poppy began to systematically remove the monitors from her; the worst was pulling out the IV line from her hand. For a dizzying moment, she thought she’d pass out from the blood, but she was able to staunch the flow with the bed sheet. Normally, she’d feel bad about bleeding over something so nice, but right then, she just wanted out.

She had no idea how long she had been out, what day it was, or anything. But since she seemed to be in hospital setting, she hoped she’d be able to get outside and get her bearings. Maybe find a kind soul who would help her call Melissa for a ride or help or something.

Slowly, and painfully, she sat on the edge of her bed and stood up. There was a horrible moment when she thought her legs were going to buckle under her, but she was able to find her balance and took her first cautious steps.

The more she walked, the stronger she began to feel. Silently, she padded toward the door of her room and cautiously creaked it open. The hallway appeared to be deserted.

Poppy quietly turned the door handle and stepped into a long, empty hallway with thick, burgundy carpet. There were doors on either side that appeared to go to other rooms all in a deep mahogany wood. One direction the hallway seemed to dead end in a door, the other had some natural light pouring in. Poppy hoped that meant there was a flight of stairs or something. But that might also mean people. Which could be good or bad, depending on how one looked at it. She was just going to have to chance it. Hopefully the hall and stairs were clear and she could get out of wherever she was.

Luck was on her side. The light side of the hallway did lead to a grand staircase. She was definitely in some kind of crazy large home. The carpet lined the stairs which curved in a beautiful organic way, dark wood bannister and light walls with large windows bringing in the sunlight from outside. She carefully went down until she reached the ground floor, though the effort left her breathless. Her legs shaking with the effort like they hadn’t been used in a year.

The end of the stairway was in a large foyer. Double mahogany doors with large frosted glass windows on either side seemed to lead outside. However, she saw the shadows of people milling outside the doors. Opposite the doors was a large, airy hallway that seemed empty and lead toward the back of the house. Poppy decided to chance a backdoor.

She crept cautiously down the hallway, half expecting someone to come walking out of any of the grand rooms around her. But it was quiet in the house. Eventually, she found herself in a large, professional kitchen, sunlight gleaming off the stainless steel appliances and white marble counters. For one moment, she longed to bake in such a beautiful room, but a noise from somewhere deeper in the house reminded her she needed to get out without being seen. With how wobbly her legs were, she was not sure she’d be able to run very far if chased.

Fortunately for her, a door off to one side of the kitchen looked like it might lead outside.

Opening the door, she found herself standing on a back patio, the pale sunlight was starting to fade, so she assumed it was nearing evening. That might work in her favor if she could find a place to hide… outside the building was a large open grassy area with manicured gardens and surrounding all that was woods, lots of woods.

Poppy crept along the side of the building looking for any signs of civilization or where she might be. All she found was a lot of open space, and eventually found herself looking at another building. This one looked kind of like a house or large garage. Poppy decided to head for the other building. Maybe she could find a car or something and get a way faster.

Though she still had no idea where she was, and the driveway area seemed to be a hub of activity so she might not be able to get very far. But that was a future Poppy problem. Right now, she was exposed, literally as she felt the wind blow across her bare legs, reminding her how short her nightgown was. She had to get to a place where she could hide.

Though she hated the thought of going back into the house, maybe she could find a phone somewhere? She hadn’t seen a landline in the kitchen, but maybe someone had left a cellphone out?

Poppy wavered for a moment, forward or back?

She was about to turn around and head back into the house, when she heard voices and the sound of people walking her direction. Hurriedly, she crouched down and pressed herself against the wall of the building. It wasn’t a great hiding spot, but if they didn’t look too closely, they would, hopefully, miss her.

“How was the entire building empty?” Malcom’s voice was angry, “How did she get up and leave the room without a single person noticing?”

“I have no idea sir.” The other guy said, sounding a little scared. Hell, Poppy was shivering at Malcom’s tone.

“Meanwhile my mate is missing.” Malcom growled, “I want security feed, now!”

“Yes sir.” It sounded like the other guy was scurrying off to obey Malcom’s order.

Poppy didn’t blame him. Malcom sounded pissed. And she really did not want to see what an angry Malcom Murray could do. She knew next to nothing about the man, but he was huge. Easily six foot five. And probably weighed at least twice what she did. Given he was planning on “keeping her” forever, she didn’t trust that he was emotionally stable enough to think through his actions when he was angry. He was giving creepy stalker vibes and she’d listened to enough true crime podcasts to know how that ended.

Well that decided it. There was no going back if they were going in there; besides, it appeared that her disappearance had been noted. It was now or never.

Poppy pressed herself against the side of the building and slowly started moving away from the voices. Soon, she found herself near some landscaping that involved some larger bushes and facing a wooded area.

She still had no idea where she was. She had no shoes, just fuzzy pink socks and her thin, cotton nightie. She had no money, no phone, no ID. This was probably the worst escape attempt in history.

But she had to at least try.

Poppy cautiously slipped into the woods, trying to stay low, in case someone was watching as she disappeared into the greenery. She half crawled, have ran toward the safety of the tree line. By some miracle, she made it without being seen, though she did wait until she was far enough into the woods to no longer see the house before she fully stood up. It was almost completely night by that time, though and she was no longer worried about being spotted.

Poppy started shivering in the cool night air, her thin nightgown was far too impractical for this weather.

She had been walking through the woods, probably in a circle knowing her sense of direction, for close to an hour. The sun had long since set in the west and she was starting to get tired and really had no idea how to identify what direction she was heading as the moon hadn’t quite risen yet.

Her body was starting to feel… strange. Despite the cold, she suddenly found herself sweating profusely and there was a sharp pain in her abdomen. Stumbling, she tried to power on. She refused to give up and die in the middle of nowhere, even though it felt like her whole body was coming apart at the seams.

She was going to live, damn it. She was going to get out of there. She just had to keep pressing on… once she was home, she could get help. But she just had to keep moving…

Falling to her knees, Poppy let out a strangled cry, doing her best to remain as quiet as possible. She had no idea what was happening, but even then, she did not want to be found by Malcom Murray and his minions and she had no idea how close she was still to the house. Soon, however, she lost even the thought of anything outside the pain. Everything hurt, like her bones and muscles were completely rearranging themselves.

She lay on the forest floor, curled into a ball and wishing everything would end. Her ears filled with the sound of her own rushing blood and a snapping and crackling sound.

Almost as soon as it had begun, the pain ended. Poppy panted for a moment, huddled on the ground, feeling weak and completely drained. Slowly, she struggled up to all fours.

Only, she wasn’t on her hands and knees. She looked down in consternation at her four paws.