Once Bitten, Twice Dead - By Bianca D'Arc Page 0,92

thick strap a little at a time. It took some doing, but she finally was able to move her hips. Next came the strap at her knees, which she could just reach. Once that was gone, she bent her knees and forced her ankles out from under the straps at the lower end of the table.

Free from the waist down, she was able to scoot downward on the table and wiggle out from under the upper straps. A few minutes later, she was free.

She didn’t dare flip the lights on in case anybody was monitoring the room. She did pull the IV from her arm now that she could stand. There were packets of sterile gauze on the tray, which she made use of after yanking the sinister tube from her arm. She waited to disengage the heart and pulse-point monitors in case the readings were available somewhere else besides the machines that recorded her vitals inside the room. She’d take them off at the last possible moment. No doubt they were already registering her elevated heart rate and pulse, but she hoped if anyone was reading the stats, they’d assume she was panicking about being tied up and helpless.

Sarah was anything but helpless and she was about to prove it. She buttoned her shirt and looked around for her shoes. They’d been thrown in one corner along with her socks. She slipped them on quickly, knowing it would be easier to escape if she was properly outfitted. She’d been lucky so far. Her utility belt and weapons were nowhere to be found, however She couldn’t be that lucky.

So she armed herself as best she could from the instrument tray. It wasn’t much. A few blades and a couple other pointy things. It would have to do. She also pulled the wire leads off her body, leaving only the suction cups they’d been connected to.

Sarah headed for the door, watching the gap at the bottom for a few moments to see if there were any changes in the light patterns. That might give her some indication about whether people were moving about on the other side, but she couldn’t tell anything. There wasn’t enough light, for one thing, and for another, anyone moving would have to be right near the door for her to see their motion this way.

“Screw it,” she said under her breath as she reached for the knob on the door. It wasn’t locked. Sellars had been too confident, assuming she couldn’t get free.

She opened the door and found herself in a cluttered lab area. It was dimly lit and empty of people, like it was shut down for the night. Stalking silently forward, she finally plucked the suction cups off her skin. If someone was watching the monitors, they’d know she was up and around. But it couldn’t be helped.

There were no windows anywhere, which led her to believe she was probably underground. She moved as quietly as she could. Hanging out with Xavier the past few days and watching the way he moved so stealthily had apparently rubbed off. She didn’t make much sound as she went through the empty lab toward the brighter light she saw near a door at one end. She was going under the hope that where there was light, there might be a way out.

Sarah was at the door when she heard a voice drifting down the corridor. It was a one-sided conversation, as if the man was on the telephone. She recognized the voice. It was Sellars. She peeked around the edge of the door to find a corridor. There were a few doors along the hall. One was open with light spilling out, and at the end of the hall there was a staircase leading upward.

Listening carefully for a moment, she realized the volume of the conversation remained constant. Sellars was stationary. Probably inside that well-lit room, which was most likely his office. She had to get past him to get to the stairway.

She weighed her options. He might leave for the floor above if she waited until his call was over. Or he might decide to check in on her again in the room she’d just left. It was late at night. Chances were he’d go to bed soon…unless he was on the same schedule as his creations were. Damn. That was a very real possibility she had to consider.

Looking around the lab area, she picked up a few more objects she could use as weapons but