The Beast Within (The Elite Series) - By Jonathan Yanez Page 0,55

he hoisted himself up and stood on the narrow ledge. There was barely enough room to place his feet. Connor gripped no more than an inch of the top windowsill. He slowly shuffled to his left. Inch by inch he made his way across the ledge and to the next window, twenty feet away.

Connor’s hands were slick with sweat. Halfway to the window, his left hand slipped off the edge and his feet followed. His right hand instinctively gripped tighter. For a second he thought he was going to fall. For some reason, the grip of his right fingers was able to hold him. It seemed impossible that a few fingers could balance and hold his weight.

Regrouping, he regained his hold and realized his Elite powers were manifesting themselves without him even trying. With a firm resolve, he made it the remaining distance without incident. One hand holding onto the ledge, Connor tried to open the window with his other. But he wouldn’t get lucky twice, it was locked from the inside.

His fingers screamed in pain at the constant pressure they were under. Connor tried to look inside to see if Katie was there. From his vantage point, the room was empty.

What if I’m wrong? What if there’s no one in the room, or worse—it belongs to someone else?

Connor imagined an elderly man coming to the window, disturbed from his afternoon prune juice, or worse, Randolph smiling at him from the inside of the window as he called the guard. Regardless, Connor knew he needed to get inside. He didn’t know if he could make it back to his room. Ever so gently, he tapped on the window with the toe of his shoe.

Nothing. Connor tried again, this time more urgently. His hands were beginning to cramp and he was losing his grip. Just as he was considering whether to kick the window in or try to jump to the ground, Katie’s familiar face cautiously peered out. Katie’s eyes widened and her mouth opened. She immediately clasped her hands over her mouth to stifle a scream.

Connor smiled at her and motioned with his head at the locked window. Giving him an awkward half nod, she complied, unlocking the window and pushing it open for him.

“Connor, what are you doing here?”

He entered the room and placed his forefinger to his lips, motioning her to keep quiet. He pointed to his own ear and motioned in the direction of the closed door and the Elite that stood guard. Katie nodded, waiting for him to take the lead. The room was an exact replica of the one he’d woken up in that morning. Connor took her hand in his and led her to the bathroom, turned on the fan and light, and closed the door behind them.

Katie launched herself at him. He held her just like he’d held her so many times before. Katie wasn’t a crier. She cried now in his arms. They weren’t long, mournful sobs, but tears and quivering breaths of joy and relief.

Katie separated herself from him, wiping her eyes on the sleeves of her cardigan sweater. Katie looked as healthy as ever. The bite on her neck, much like his own, was healed, leaving not even the slightest hint of a scar. Her hair was down and eyes shone brighter than he remembered.

“Oh, Connor, how are you here? What’s happening to us?”

Connor needed to make a choice. He was forced to decide exactly how much he was or was not going to tell Katie. On one hand, he didn’t want to lie, on the other hand he didn’t want to burden her with all of his problems.

“Connor Moore, you tell me everything.”

“What?”

“You have that look on your face when you’re deciding exactly how much you should or shouldn’t say. I remember that face when Major Waffles died.”

Connor smiled, he knew exactly what she was talking about. Major Waffles was the guinea pig she’d owned when they first started dating. One day she had forgotten to lock him up and he escaped, meeting his end halfway down the street under a garbage truck. Connor found him, and not wanting to upset her, told her that Major Waffles succeeded in his attempt and was probably off enjoying an escaped convict’s life. A year later, Connor let slip what actually happened. Katie decided to let it go because she knew he had been trying to help her.

This time, Connor decided to tell her everything. For better or worse, she was in