The rest of the team sidled into the cave with us. I had to wake Jena up, even with all of the commotion of my reunion with my friends. She was very lethargic and weak even after sleeping across my back for most of the day.
She cowered behind me as I suspected she would. So Osiston and Alpha Reggie had to talk to her over my shoulder as she clung to my back. They asked some basic questions, seeing how tired and roughed up she was.
Osiston brought Doc Sylvia right to her when she started to wobble and her legs gave out right behind me. Without my training I never would have caught her. Sylvia kicked everyone but me out. They left food and water behind for us and Osiston stood watch outside the door while the rest ran a patrol around our camp. Alpha Reggie hauled the medical supplies that Sylvia continued to ask for as she examined Jena. “Wh..what are you doing to me?” Jena’s voice wobbled and for the first time ever I heard Doc Sylvia use a slow calm tone with her. Not her usual bubbly ‘research is so exciting’ voice.
“I am going to do a superficial check on you here, just to make sure that it is safe to keep moving you. You were with those monsters so long and they kept you pretty sedated, you never know what else they might have put in you. I’ve seen trackers in so many forms and since you aren’t marked or a part of their pack they, most likely, would want a way to keep track of you if you escaped.”
Jena whimpers. I didn’t even think of that. And I didn’t miss the flinch when Sylvia said ‘put in you.’ That is something we are going to have to tell her, but not here with so many ears. Osiston and Alpha Reggie need to know, but not everyone else, she should be able to choose who she tells that story to.
For almost an hour Doc Sylvia looks at every single millimeter of Jena’s skin, in her mouth, ears and nose, cleans and combs through her hair. Then she yelps. “Got it! I knew those f*ckers weren’t smarter than me!” Then she slaps a hand over her mouth, eyes wide in shock. “I am so sorry, I don’t know where that came from.”
We both laugh at her, and it’s not the maniacal laugh we shared…whenever that was, but a real laugh at how horrified she is at her outburst.
“What did you find?” I ask through my laughter.
“There is a microchip of some kind in the back of her neck.”
“What?!” Jena jumps up swatting at her neck. “They can track me here? Come back for me? I can’t go back to that hellhole, it will be so much worse and you know he won’t kill me, but he will take it just far enough that I will want to die. Skylar I can’t, he can’t, It’s. No. Just no.” She’s not even making sense now. Pacing in a small circle in front of me. Doc Sylvia just looks at me, not knowing what she’s talking about, but I do and I’m sure I have one of those trackers too.
“Jena. Jena, stop! Now! We won’t let anything happen to you, you are safe. We will figure this out. Sit. I’m sure I have one too, there’s no way he doesn’t have us both tracked, that’s probably why no one followed us after we killed a few of their people. Mike wasn’t willing to sacrifice his spell when he could track us at his leisure.” I look over to Doc Sylvia with my theory. It had crossed my mind that we got away easily, especially after all of the drugs and sedatives and we didn’t kill as many people as I hoped we would on the way out.
“You’re probably right, come here Sky. Let me check now that I know what I am looking for. Then we can see if there is a way to shut it off or dismantle it and possibly even use it to reverse track them.” She holds Jena’s hand, trying to sooth the newfound panic.
