Nocturnal by Jami Lynn Saunders Read Free Book Online Page B

Rebecka looked out the back and flashed Rathbone the okay sign. When she turned back, she saw Jack fall to the floor. Aiden and Salvatore rushed to him. Rebecka joined them and lifted the doctor’s head into her arms. The doctor tried to say something, but she couldn’t make out his words. She leaned down and brought her ear to his lips.
    â€œRebecka,” he whispered softly.
    She kissed his cheek. He smiled and closed his eyes, but his skin had turned blood red.
    â€œOh, no,” Rebecka murmured.
    â€œHe’ll be all right,” Aiden said. “He’s going through a change, sort of like Pippa and Abby did.”
    â€œYou mean he’s rabid?”
    â€œNot quite, but similar. I knew this was coming. I was told it would happen. I’m afraid we’re going to have to shackle him for the next few hours.”
    â€œAnd he’ll be okay afterwards?”
    â€œThat’s what the bat creatures told me,” Aiden said. “We better shackle him immediately. He’ll be dangerous.”
    Rathbone called a halt for a meal and a break, and the convoy pulled onto the shoulder of Highway 5 in a town called Portland. Rathbone got out of his Jeep and climbed onto the flatbed, where he had a double surprise—Abby was back to normal, but the doctor was unconscious and bound with chains. Rebecka related the events of the past few hours, explaining how Jack had helped Abby, how Piper was finally reunited with her daughters, and how the doctor had slipped into a coma.
    â€œDo you think the doc probing Abby’s mind might’ve brought this on?” Rathbone asked.
    â€œI don’t think so,” Aiden said. “This has been building since they changed him. I could tell by his increasingly agitated state that he was close to breaking.”
    The doctor heaved forward, screaming and straining against his chains. He emitted a high-pitched sound that pierced their ears. The episode lasted no more than two seconds before he returned to unconsciousness.
    â€œThat was weird,” Rathbone said.
    â€œHe’s calling for reinforcements,” Abby said.
    â€œYou mean he’s calling for the nocturnals?”
    Abby shook her head. “I don’t think so, since they won’t travel by day. He might’ve called out to the ferals.”
    â€œWhy would the ferals listen to a nocturnal?”
    Abby just shrugged. “They followed me for days.”
    Rathbone looked at Rebecka and sighed. “We better get ready for another attack, just in case.”
    While everyone else ate, Rathbone and Rebecka stood outside the flatbed and considered their next steps. Rathbone wanted to get rid of the hyenas and avoid a fight with the ferals. Rebecka begged him not to fight the hyenas, claiming it would turn into a bloodbath.
    â€œFine, they can go peacefully unless they want to be blown to bits and pieces,” Rathbone said. “But maybe we can just lose them. Get away from here and sneak into the Olympic Mountains. And we need to do this all while the doc is out, because I don’t want those nocturnals following us either.”
    â€œBut they’ll be able to follow Jack’s scent.”
    â€œNot if we cover his body in an un-scenting salve and begin masking our path with teargas and some un-scenting bombs.”
    â€œI don’t think the nocturnals are as much a threat as you say, but it’s your decision.”
    â€œThen we’ll initiate the plan now. Rebecka, tranquilize the doc, just in case, then cover his body in salve. We need to get out of here before the hyenas find us. We got Salvatore back, so there’s no sense waiting around for them to show.”
    At that moment Salvatore jumped out of the back of the flatbed, startling Rathbone and Rebecka. “It won’t be so easy to lose them,” he said.
    Rathbone eyed him. “Look, son, I’m sorry you heard what you heard, but we can’t trust your people. I’m going