Day 340 of 365 Days of Writing Prompts: Set a trap.
Shannon: “Here’s how you get him,” I slid the paper across the table and waited for her to unfold it. “You ask him those four questions. If he gets any of the first three wrong, he’s lying. If he knows the answer to the last one, I’d say he knows too much.”
I watched as she read through them. “I love it. This is genius.” I saw hope in her eyes, and it felt good that I could put it there. Though I hoped her suspicions were incorrect.
Erin: Sometimes I think that I got away with something when courting my wife. Logic says a guy like me never ends up with a woman like her. Only I did and despite me insisting I had tricked her she had this idea that she knew everything about me. Even kind of liked everything about me. Sometimes I thought that was her only flaw.
Time to catch your prey.
Pelky Sisters 
Rick had received Jacey’s distress call, just like he taught her. He just never thought she’d ever use it. He then jots down the location, then grabs his jacket and goes off, not telling his father where he’s going because he’s out at a meeting.
Rick drives, trying to plan. He has a few gadgets in the back that could help, but he doesn’t know what the fortress looks like.
He arrives, finding a two story building with a modern style. He parks the car, getting out. The moment his foot touches the dirt, he’s pulled into the ground. He tries to dig out, but his arms are stuck at his sides. He struggles to breathe, only to pass out from lack of oxygen.
***
Jacey keeps looking at her door. She has no window, as most of the building is underground. ‘How would Rick be able to help me escape?’ She wonders to herself, ‘now he’s worried and there’s no way out of here.’
She sits on her bed, considering to try to become a mouse again. But she knows there aren’t any cracks in her room big enough for even an ant to get through.
‘Oh, Rick, Uncle, please save me.’
The door opens. Jacey looks up, finding Ms. Roberts there.
“I think you have some explaining to do, la Bête.”
***
Jacey follows Ms. Roberts to one of the training rooms. She finds Rick is secured to one of the targets, not fully awake yet. “No!”
“You called someone to find you,” Ms. Roberts states. There are other Kaplite members present, watching out of fear or anger.
“I… I just want to go home,” Jacey says, “I don’t like it here. I’m a prisoner.”
“But you failed in one thing,” Ms. Roberts, says, cupping Jacey’s cheek, “You didn’t succeed, and now I know there is one person that shouldn’t know the location of our base.”
She moves her hand from Jacey, shooting an ice spike at Rick with one fluid flick of her wrist. It imbeds in his shoulder, making him wake up in pain.
“And for that, he can’t leave. Nor can he live,” Ms. Roberts states. Jacey’s feet are frozen to the floor as Ms. Roberts turns to Rick. He’s struggling at his restraints, looking around in panic.
“Rick!” Jacey yells, pulling at her feet.
Ms. Roberts flicks another ice spike. It hits Rick’s leg.
“STOP!” Jacey yells.
“You are the cause for this, la Bête-”
“No, you aren’t Jacey,” Rick says, teeth gritted to the pain, “I came here, I was stupid. I didn’t tell Dad and I didn’t plan it out. This is on me, not you.”
With every three words, Ms. Roberts throws another spike, “You wanted to learn from us. You are here because-”
“They forced you, Jacey! There was manipulation, not genuine concern to help,” Rick yells above Ms. Roberts’ lies. “They said they wanted to help control your powers, but they just want to control you!”
“You belong here, you belong with us,” Ms. Roberts says. She stops throwing spikes, Rick bleeding from every limb and shoulder. He has a deep gash along his cheek and cold water dribbling down his body, making him appear more injured than he really is, but showing his real pain.
He looks up at Jacey, “You belong with family.”
Ms. Roberts throws a final spear. It imbeds in his stomach.
“NO!” Jacey starts to change. She falls to her knees, her feet breaking the ice holding them captive as they grow. Her skin becomes scales, her shoulder blades sprout wings. She roars at the assembled Kaplites. They all move away from her in horror.
“la Bête…” Ms. Roberts whispers. Jacey’s tail swipes them all off their feet. She goes to Rick, ripping the restraints from him as she still changes. She picks him up, and turns as she feels something hit her exposed under wing. She looks at them and roars again, “LEAVE US ALONE!”
Everyone cowers, except for Kara. Jacey then motions for her to come with them. Kara hesitates, then runs at Jacey, holding onto one of her limbs.
Jacey isn’t sure how she broke through the ceiling, but she broke out into the night sky, holding her cousin as she finds the car. It’s beat up on the side of the road, just out of sight of the fortress. She lays there for a second, knowing they might be coming for them. But she has barely any strength left.
She slowly changes back, which hurts more than any other times. She looks at Rick, then at her clothes. She has blood coating her front.
“…Jacey,” Rick groans.
“I’m here,” she gasps.
Kara helps put Rick in the back. Jacey collapses in the passenger seat, and Kara sits at the wheel, trying to remember how to drive.
“What was I?” Jacey asks.
“…It wasn’t an animal I knew of,” Kara says, quickly reaching down to hot wire the car to start, “it looked like a bear, but had wings and feet like an eagle, and you had scales, like a crocodile.”
“There’s… there’s a word for that,” Jacey says, trying to think, “multiple animals in one…”
“…A chimera?” Kara suggests, driving out onto the road.
Jacey looks at the window, “yeah, a chimera…” She looks at the dash, finding a phone. She points to it, “Call the first number. That’s our uncle. Tell him…”
“Jacey?”
“Tell him… Rick’s dying, and I’m safe…”
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