Beasts and Savages (The Beastly Series Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

one came to the door. I couldn’t take sitting any longer. Pacing, I thought of scenarios that would cause a delay. It could be Monday morning. Grandmother and Mother could be at work and Nana at the market. My pacing quickened as worse scenes flashed through my mind. I began to worry that Nana had to be taken to the hospital or that there had been a terrible accident at the Recycling Center.
Tears pricked at my eyes. I sat down again and cradled my head with my hands. I took a few deep breaths. Panic wasn’t the answer. Once I had controlled my breathing, I went back to the door. I checked the edges. There were tight seams along the sides of the door, but I found a small gap at the bottom. It was just small enough that I could fit the tips of my fingers under it, but the door was too thick to feel the other side. I stood and looked up at the ceiling. It appeared to be a false ceiling, the kind that had empty space above it so that the light would be flush. I climbed on the bench and reached up. I was too short to reach a tile.
A click echoed throughout the room and a rush of air pulled at my hair. The door opened. I jumped off the bench, clearing half the distance to the door.
“Lea?” Mother's head popped around the door.
“Mom!” I ran to her and wrapped my arms around her neck. I heard a metal clang and looked behind her. Grandmother and Nana stood by the stairwell. Nana held an aluminum bat and Grandmother a piece of wood. I pulled away from Mother. Something was wrong.
“Sweetie, It's only Sunday afternoon. When the alarm sounded, we thought you had destroyed the box.” Her face was apologetic.  Nana and Grandmother leaned their weapons against the wall.
“You thought I would get that violent?” My voice rose. “You were going to hurt me?”
“We came to check on you.  We had to protect ourselves, Lea.  You could have been dangerous. We never expected you to be finished changing.” There was a defensive tone to her voice.
I looked down at my hands and arms. “I only hurt myself long enough to clear the fog. Then I slept.”
The women gasped collectively.  Mother placed her hands on my shoulders. “Lea. Think carefully before you answer. Do you remember everything that happened in that room? Everything from yesterday until now?”
I stared at the women. The last twenty-four hours had been a blur of agony and rage. I nodded. Grandmother's eyes turned to steel and she turned her back to me, marching up the stairs. Nana bobbed her head up and down. She looked like a frightened child.
Mother's eyes were serious. “Don't ever tell anyone that you remember your changing.  No one. Don't even mention it to us again.”
“Mom, what’s wrong?” I whispered. Her seriousness and Nana's frightened expression scared me.
“I don't know. Your change was half the time it should have been and you remember it. That's not normal.” She hugged me and whispered in my ear, “Promise me you won't tell anyone. Ever.”
“I promise.”
     

 
    CHATER 4
    ~ The Exam~
     
Rally met me at the gymnasium doors. She shifted nervously but smiled and waved when she saw me. “Lea! We don't have to run today!”
“What?” I glanced at the windows in the closed doors. They were covered with paper. I looked back at Rally. “Why don't we have to run?”
“We have to take an exam instead.” She played with her hands as she spoke.
“What kind of exam?” I pulled open the door. Inside the gym were numbered cubicles made of carpeted walls that stood about six feet high. I strode to the closest one. There was no door. Inside the makeshift room was a cabinet on wheels, a stool, a light, and the type of table you sit on while visiting a doctor. A nurse was placing equipment on a paper lined tray and writing on a clipboard. She looked up long enough to give me an annoyed glare.
“Sorry,” I whispered sheepishly and turned to find Rally.
“Well?” Rally asked.
“A medical exam, Rally. We are getting medical