Sakura gasped in shock, and her eyes welled up with tears. She quickly turned back to Athen, her voice quivering. "Why would anyone do this?"
Athen firmly pushed the freezer door shut.
"I told you, Sakura. We need to find a way out of here. Let's focus on finding the Alpha's pup and leaving this place."
Whimpering, Sakura asked, "What's the Alpha's son's name?"
The Beta wolf replied, "His name is Javier."
The pack's heartbeats quickened as they heard someone attempting to unlock the door to the autopsy room. Panic swept through the room. They entered the massive freezer, seeking refuge among the rows of black bags. Sakura found a spot at the bottom of the pile, nestled between the black bags. She could hear the footsteps growing louder, each step echoing in her ears. Her heart pounded as she waited for the person to enter.
The heavy door to the freezer swung open, and a sense of impending doom hung in the frigid air. Combat boots entered, and the pack could hear someone dragging a heavy object inside. With bated breath, they watched as the soldier dropped a lifeless wolf's body on the floor in front of Sakura.
Her breath caught as she locked eyes with the dead wolf, recognizing him as Grimaldo. His lifeless gaze seemed to pierce through her, and she had to stifle a sob, pressing her palm against her mouth to prevent any sound from escaping.
The soldier closed the freezer door and locked the autopsy room behind them, sealing the pack inside with Grimaldo's body. The room became eerie, and the pack slowly emerged from hiding. Heavy with grief, the Mexican wolves couldn't hold back their tears as they mourned for their fallen pack member.
Sakura's voice trembled as she spoke, "I'm truly sorry for your loss, but we can't dwell on it now. Grimaldo's sacrifice will lead us to success. Besides, I can't remain in this freezer for long in my human form."
The Mexican wolves acknowledged her words with somber nods. They followed Sakura, slowly leaving the freezer, silently bidding farewell to their fallen comrade. Sakura swiftly pinpointed another hidden vent concealed behind a lab table. She motioned for the others to join her and, with dexterity, deftly removed the vent's cover using a hairpin. Aware that the vents above weren't a workable escape route, they recognized they had no alternative but to persist in their journey through the vents below. Crawling onward, they remained steadfast in their mission to save Javier and honor Grimaldo's sacrifice.
The pack scraped their claws against the metal, carving their path through the vents; Sakura led the pack ahead. They reached a junction with three different vents, prompting Sakura to make a critical decision. Beside her, Athen offered his support, whispering, "Your instincts should guide you, not just your desires. Trust your wolf senses."
"Right," Sakura replied.
She shut her eyes, embracing a moment of calm as she drew in deep, measured breaths. Her racing heart gradually eased into a steady rhythm. In the stillness, she distinguished faint, pitiful whimpers and muted cries emanating from the vents, accompanied by the specific odor of antiseptic and festering infections. In that pivotal instant, Sakura found her direction, her eyes snapping open as she declared, "This way, follow me."
Within the confines of the chamber, Sakura was the first to enter the disheartening scene of countless young and aged wolves ensnared within eroded metal enclosures. These imprisoned souls were cloaked in filth, drenched in the stench of urine and feces, an odious cocktail further intensified by the sterile tang of bleach.
One cage cradled a timid wolf pup huddled in a corner of its corroded metal prison. The trauma inflicted upon this surviving pup's psyche was a grim reality of what occurred inside the lab's walls, a wound that might never heal.
"Javier," The Beta wolf called out. "We are here to rescue you."
"Carlos… I'm scared."
"You don't have to be afraid anymore, my Amigo."
In a swift gesture, Sakura extended her human hand to tackle the rusted mechanism. Carlos darted into the enclosure, swiftly seizing the pup by its nape before retreating into the labyrinthine vents, seeking refuge from the cruel facility.
Jack and Athen prepared to give chase; they pivoted to find Sakura seated on the frigid cement floor. Athen prodded impatiently, "Sakura, let's move."
Sakura's eyes glistened with tears as she whispered, "I can't leave them."
Athen's voice hardened. "What?"
Jack added, "I don't think I could live with myself knowing we could have saved them, Athen."
Grumbling, Athen conceded, "Fine."
Sakura swiftly released the latches on the cages, allowing the experimented wolves to escape alongside the Mexican wolves.
Sakura instructed, "Jack, follow them and ensure they're healthy enough to return to the pack. I am counting on you. We'll be right behind you."
With a resolute nod, Jack moved to carry out her request.
Athen transformed into his wolf form and approached Sakura, his eyes filled with guilt. He said, "I'm proud of you for helping them. Honestly, I'm not sure I would have done the same."
"It's okay, Athen. We saved them, and that's all that matters."
Their moment of reflection was suddenly shattered as the military police burst through the door, shouting, "Freeze, put your hands where we can see them!"
Sakura grabbed a nearby glass bottle filled with ethanol from the cabinet. She didn't want to harm anyone but knew it was the only option to escape.
"Drop the bottle, lady!" The military police shouted.
Sakura smirked. "Aye, as you wish," she said.
She dropped the bottle, which shattered on the floor. The police shot at the bottle, but the ethanol spilled and ignited, quickly spreading across the room. The military police, panic-stricken, screamed and ran for cover as the fire rapidly crept. With Athen by her side, Sakura escaped through the vents, leaving a room engulfed in flames and chaos.
Sakura coughed, struggling to breathe, and the metal at their palms heated up fast. Driven by the situation's urgency, they pushed forward. The heat and smoke became increasingly unbearable as they neared the exit.
When they finally reached the vent's end, they could only see the furry tails of the wolves they had released from their cages. Sakura squinted, unable to comprehend why they hadn't escaped yet. But before she could react, she crawled out of the vent and stood up, followed closely by Athen. What greeted them was a row of ten soldiers, their pistols aimed directly at Sakura and Athen.
Sakura let out a heavy sigh. "Feckin shite, why are there so many of them?" she asked.
A soldier cautiously approached and demanded, "Get down on your knees with your hands up."
With a fierce growl, Sakura responded, "Ya, I don't bow to men."
The soldier yelled, "I will not repeat myself. On your knees, lady."
Athen and Jack joined the growing chorus of growls, steadily moving closer to Sakura to form a protective barrier against the approaching soldiers. The rest of the wolves also chimed in, adding their snarls, displaying their readiness to defend the Alpha who had rescued them.
Sakura's anger boiled within her, and she growled like a wolf. The wind blew her hair, and her eyes blazed with a vivid red. A radiant, white light enveloped her as her body transformed into a majestic, ten-foot-tall black wolf illuminated with brilliant lines. Stars shimmered across her body as she let out a thunderous roar, thoroughly equipped for all-out war.
The wolves seemed like mere toy breeds compared to her towering size. Drool dripped from her jaws, forming a menacing sight. Her pack dropped their jaws, gazing at her new form.
"Wait, the lot of ya," Sakura yelled, her voice urgent. "We can avoid anyone gettin' hurt."
"Those humans deserve to pay for what they've done!" The Mexican wolves shouted.
"Oi, no one deserves to die, do ya understand?" Sakura demanded firmly.
"Get back in your cages, you disgusting, vile monsters," a soldier barked.
"Release us, and there won't be any need for bloodshed today," Sakura declared.
The soldiers cocked their firearms, fingers resting on the triggers, their aim fixed on the wolves' foreheads, right between their eyes.
Abruptly, a noise pierced the stillness, involuntarily causing Sakura to jerk her ears back. She widened her eyes and turned to look behind her, only to witness a blazing firestorm rushing toward her, accompanied by a mighty gale of wind. In an instant, the explosion erupted, propelling the wolves and Sakura with incredible force.
The explosion catapulted the pack well beyond the gates, and Sakura was lifted off her feet and hurtled toward the soldiers.
Her body collided with a private first class, unintentionally killing her. Sakura skidded for ten feet before coming to a halt beside a large tan vehicle resembling a cattle truck. The impact sent another soldier flying, smashing him onto the pavement. Sakura lay there, her gaze drifting away, fixated on the consuming flames as they devoured everything around them. Her mind embraced the darkness as her body attempted to recover from the sudden blood loss. She groaned, and murmured, "Athen..." before resting in the dry dirt cloaking her black fur.