The Badass Protector

Iris

THE YOUNG girl was trapped inside the glass-walled room. When her body began to tremor, she wrapped her arms around herself as she spun around, looking for an exit, but there wasn’t any that her unique blue eyes could find.

“M-mom?” Her voice was shaking. “Mom, I’m s-scared. Can you please come and get me out of here?” she pleaded and cried. Her chin and lips trembled, but no one seemed to hear her pleas.

With shaky knees, she slowly and cautiously walked toward the glass wall and wiped the mist with her slim fingers to see what was outside. What she saw behind that glass made her gasp. Her horrified blue eyes were awfully wide to see who was watching her all this time.

The white-haired old woman in a white coat spoke to the microphone. “Third day-July eighteen, Monday, Ten-thirty-seven hours, fifteen seconds. Serum 7-V034 had been administered to Patient-7-028…”

The faint voice of the old woman seemed to fade from her range. She was young to understand everything, but she’d seen it on TV as many times as she could count, and she definitely knew that that woman behind the glass was an evil witch.

The microphone rang. Her sudden increased sensitivity to the sound made her jump. In a few seconds, the mist released from the ceiling, and she screamed the moment she got lost in the dense room.

Before a primal scream escaped her throat, the siren went off, echoing throughout the facility.

She jumped in surprise, then retreated herself into a fetal position. She covered her ears with both hands and rocked herself to cry. Alone.Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

“Blue Iris?” A rumble of thunder from a distance had rolled, forcing my lids to flutter open.

I froze and realized something was different. What was that dream all about?

The air was heavy, with a strong smell of rain that gave me chills. Hell, I was shivering.

Lightning streaked from the open window, and heavy rain was pouring down. I could tell by the weather that it was a new day. Or rather, a new night.

I was inside a light pink room tucked securely under a white sheet of a single-sized bed, and it looked clean. A single fluorescent lamp above my head cast a soft light all over the room. And I was not attached to any tube, draining my blood like before.

I looked down and still had the cotton swab plastered on my left forearm.

My heart instantly raced. Where am I?

Colt! Wait. Where’s Colton?

Ignoring the flare of pain in my back, I untucked myself and hurriedly got out of bed. I was wearing a pink hospital gown. I slipped into a pair of slippers beside the bed.

The first thing that came into my mind was my gun. I grabbed the pillow where I usually slipped under-it was empty.

My stomach did a nosedive.

I pulled the drawer open and sighed-it was there. I took it and checked the magazine-the number of bullets was still the same.

The room seemed calm, though. The door was unlocked when I reached there.

Peeking my head out, I sensed no violence and danger, but I remained vigilant.

Once I was outside, I aimed my gun and followed the empty hallway. It was silent-almost serene.

The place had the same layout as the clinic I was in before I passed out.

Who transferred me to that room? Was it Max?

Suddenly, the door swung open. Adrenaline spiked through me. An old man with glasses appeared and stiffened as I was already aiming my gun in his direction.

My brows furrowed when I realized I knew him. My hope rose higher.

“D-Dr. Hull?”

“Oh, dear. You’re finally awake,” he said enthusiastically and marched closer to me.

“Where is Colton?” Tears were already welling in my eyes, causing my sight to blur, but I kept my gun pointed at him. It was my instinct because I thought he was dead.

“He’s in that room,” he said so casually.

My head snapped to my left. In a matter of seconds, I pushed the door wide. A loud bang echoed inside, causing someone to whine in pain.

“Whoa!” Frost had his hands raised.

“Frost?” I asked in ultimate shock.

“Who else is handsome you knew, huh? Missed me already?” He grinned-the same grin he used to do back at the camp. “Gun down now, Iris.” He pushed the gun down slowly, then took it from me and pulled me into his arms. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

Once we pulled apart, he gestured his head to his left with a tight smile.

My stomach twisted, scared of what I was about to see, but my heart did a little leap of excitement to see Colt again.

With all my strength left, I turned to face him. So slow that I could count my heartbeat on my fingers. And there was Colt with an oxygen cannula attached to his nose. He was lying flat on the bed with her head slightly hoisted.

My steps seemed like a thousand years to reach him. I wiped my eyes to see the man I thought I had lost.

I stilled in disbelief.

Then I busted up laughing like crazy, ignoring what they might think about me. My voice was ringing around the room, probably the entire clinic. I thought I was losing my mind, but it was definitely Colt.

“He’s alive!” I covered my face with my trembling hands. I had hoped, but I couldn’t finish what I started before I passed out, yet here he was-breathing.

Oh, thank God! There was a light feeling sitting inside my chest.

“Indeed he is,” Dr. Hull cheerfully replied.

“Oh, my God.” I did a slow disbelieving shake of my head. “How did it happen?”

“I have no idea,” said the old doctor.

“How did you find us?”

“Frost and the group went back to the camp. Luckily, I went back there after the fire. They told me that Colt was infected. Lois thought you might spend with him in the nearest town or someplace close to that cabin.”

“We searched for the nearest building and were glad we found your car parked outside. Then we met Max next. He told us that you gave your blood to Colt.” For the first time, I saw Frost’s eyes light up.

“If it was not because of Max, I had zero idea what to do. I panicked. God-“