Chapter 14 - NEUROLOGICAL WARFAREThe high-frequency sound emitting from Dr. Sarah Vance’s drone was agonizing even to human ears—a piercing, metallic whine that made my teeth ache and my vision blur.
For the lion, with his hyper-sensitive hearing, it was pure torture.
He roared in agony, snapping his jaws at the empty air, struggling against his own instincts as the neurological code forced him to take slow, painful steps toward Sarah’s transport vehicle.
"Turn it off!" I screamed, shielding my ears as I scrambled out of the ATV. "You're killing him!"
"He isn't dying, Miss Maya," Sarah sneered, pointing a remote console at the beast. "His brain is simply being reprogrammed. In three minutes, his natural bond with you will be completely erased. He will obey only my voice, serving as the ultimate weapon for our shadow investors."
"Not on my watch!" Leo yelled, raising his rifle and firing two rounds straight at the hovering drone.
CRACK! CRACK!
The bullets shattered the drone's rotors. It burst into sparks and crashed onto the jagged rocks below.
The unbearable sonic whine stopped instantly.
The lion collapsed onto his side, panting heavily, foam dripping from his jaws as the intense pain receded. But the damage to his mind was already done—his pupils were fully dilated, shimmering with an erratic, volatile rage.
Sarah didn't even flinch. She pressed a button on her wrist transmitter. "Execute Contingency Plan B."
From the shadows of the canyon walls, four mechanical containment pods slammed onto the ground, opening to reveal automated defense turrets armed with heavy tranquilizer darts and net launchers.
"He's unstable!" Leo yelled, dragging me behind a massive boulder as the turrets opened fire. "The sudden disruption of the frequency scrambled his neural pathways! He can't distinguish friend from foe!"
I looked out from behind the rock and my heart shattered.
Our majestic protector was standing up, shaking his heavy mane, but his golden eyes were completely devoid of recognition. He looked at the turrets, then turned his gaze straight toward Leo and me.
He let out a terrifying, throat-tearing roar—the roar of a lost, frantic predator—and charged straight toward us.
"Maya, run!" Leo screamed, aiming his rifle at the approaching beast.
"No, Leo! Don't shoot him!" I cried, grabbing his arm. "If you shoot him now, his heart will burst from the trauma!"
May you like
"Then what do we do?!" Leo yelled as four hundred pounds of muscle and rage closed the distance in seconds. "He doesn't know who you are anymore!"
🔥 FACEBOOK HOOK: The sonic attack erased the lion's memory! He no longer recognizes the girl who saved his life... and now he's hunting her down!
