fur, smoke rising from it slowly. “You did that?” she asked looking up at Amias.
“I had to protect you,” he said, wrapping his strong hand around the back of her neck. As he lifted her face to his, she felt her stomach begin to turn and her chest begin to tighten. When he pressed his lips gently to hers the room seemed to fill with an electric sort of heat, one that consumed her inside and out. A surge of passion filled her, and she reached up to run her fingers through his shaggy dark hair.
The moment was cut short all too quickly when a loud, high-pitched screaming siren began to sound. The hall filled with a combination of red and yellow lights. Pulling away from him quickly, she felt the rush of passion she had experience become replaced with a crushing panic. Amias seemed to sense her fear, because he wrapped his arms around her again, pulling her close. “They’re coming,” she whispered up to him. “Security—they’ll be here any minute.”
She was right. Less than a minute later, the door at the end of the hallway was thrown open, and in barged five men, all in uniform with guns raised. They didn’t hesitate to begin their quick advance in their direction, stepping around Specimen 91-33 and keeping their weapons trained on Amias.
“No!” Nicole yelled out as the largest of the men reached out and pulled him up off the floor. “Wait!”
The man didn’t pay her any mind. He pushed Amias back into his cell, the door to which had been destroyed and was now lying on the floor, a mass of bent metal. Nicole pushed herself to her feet and ran after them.
Once they had Amias in the room, they threw him back against the far wall and began to beat him violently with the butts of their guns. Taking turns, they let their blows fly at his face, chest, or stomach.
“Stop!” she cried out, tears burning her eyes. “You have to stop!” she demanded, throwing herself forward and grabbing the arm of the man that had pushed Amias into the room.
He shrugged her off effortlessly, pushing her back behind him. She could see the hurt expression on Amias’ face. She couldn’t hold back her tears any longer. Her vision became blurred as she watched one of the men throw his gun into Amias’ gut, causing him to lurch forward and let out a cry of pain.
The room started to fill with a thick, dense heat. With it came a cloud of smoke. She saw a look of anger appear suddenly in Amias’ eyes. “Get out,” he mouthed to her. His body began to shake, and the temperature in the room continued to rise.
“What the hell is going on here?” Nicole heard her father’s voice call out from the entrance to the room. Everyone turned to face him, and in an instant, the heat in the room began to recede.
“Dad!” she yelled out to him as she ran in his direction.
He put up his hand, stopping her just short of reaching him. “Excuse me, young lady. I’ll deal with you in a minute,” he said pushing past her and making his way to the men in uniform. “What do you think you’re doing? Commander?” he questioned the largest of the men.
“This thing,” he said the word with a hint of disdain as he motioned to Amias, “killed one of the specimens.”
Her father let out a loud, mocking laugh. “And you think it won’t do the same to you?” he asked stepping forward. He poked the Commander’s chest hard and looked at him angrily. “You really think that bringing it in here and beating it will help to resolve the situation any?”
“He was attacking your daughter, sir,” the Commander replied weakly.
“No, he wasn’t!” Nicole yelled out, walking towards them quickly. She put herself between the men, her father, and Amias. “He wasn’t attacking me! He saved me!”
Everyone turned to look at her. “What did you say?” her father asked.
“He saved me!” she continued. “The specimen broke out of its cage, or… I didn’t lock it
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