Chapter Thirteen
~ Aspen ~
I marched into the room, practically seeing red. I don’t remember feeling this angry, ever. Five hours. I had been locked in that disgusting place for five fucking hours. I was proud of myself for finally getting out, yes, but my rage was much stronger. I didn’t stop until I was face to face with my father, the man I’d watched go crazy in front of my eyes. Or, rather, the man I watched finally unleash his crazy in front of me.
“That’s my girl.” He leaned back in his wheeled office chair, hands clasped against his stomach, a proud smirk on his face. I wanted nothing more than to punch that smirk right off. My hands clenched into tight fists. A girl can dream.
Chapter Fourteen ~ Lexa ~ I swallowed hard. I had given an ultimatum and I didn’t know where it would stand. I was told we would talk more about it tonight, but that had been a long way off. All the staff had taken on a new form of cruelty since I had said my piece. But I knew my odds of getting Will out of here relied on this. When he was awake, he had done nothing but glare at me, but now he was asleep, and I was preparing to give him as much energy as it would take to help him get out of here alive. I was hopeful that S could help him find the others, but I doubted she’d be able to. “You’re bold,” Mr. Oakley stated loudly when he finally walked in. “Giving me, a highly ranked officia
Chapter Fifteen ~ Aspen ~ My body was stiff, each step taking more effort than the last. We were almost at the tree line now. The journey to get here had been rough due to the stubborn guy at my side. “Can you please just cooperate?” I gasped out, giving Will a pointed look. It was weird seeing him outside that cell. Good, but weird. He was a real person now, not just a caged stranger I’d been keeping alive for a few weeks. He seemed to be doing better somehow, with more energy than I’d ever seen. “Not a chance.” He quipped back
Chapter Sixteen~ Lexa ~ I laid on the floor of the padded room they had placed me in and closed my eyes. I liked the padded room. It made me feel less crazy. I remembered in the classes back when I was in school, they told us that this was the kind of place mentally unstable people would end up. It was a way to make sure they couldn’t hurt themselves. The irony was that they were the ones hurting me, but still it somehow calmed me. It made me feel like what I had done was crazy, but I was no crazier than the craziest. Of course, that was not their intention. They wanted me to go mad in solitude. They wanted to break me. But solitude and I got along. It had been a long time since I had been anywhere this silent. My h
Chapter Seventeen ~ Aspen ~ I moved through the trees slowly, counting my steps as I went. I had never taken the time to look around during my trips to see everyone underground. The forest was truly beautiful in its own way. Some kind of animal ran into my path, and I jumped back. I watched it run away, wishing I was free enough to do the same. There were so many things holding me back. My obligations to dad, to E, to practically the whole world were beginning to weigh on me. I felt as if the fate of all the sick was in my hands. Technically, it might be. I played with the half full syringe as I approached the hole I’d gone down several times too many already. I’d made a silent promise to bring the serum to Jax. I knew it was impor
Chapter Eighteen~ Lexa ~ I couldn’t breathe. The pain was coursing through my body and there could be no relief. Tonight’s serum was worse than this morning’s. I could tell S hadn’t given me all of it, and that probably had something to do with it. I closed my eyes and tried to focus. “Miss. Lexa,” Mr. Oakley’s harsh voice shouted from across the gym. “You need to pull it together or our deal is off!” I wanted to tell him that I was trying. I wanted to tell him that the pain was unbearable. I wanted to tell him I needed a break. But that wasn’t an optio
Chapter Nineteen~ Aspen ~ I woke to the sound of laughter. The muscles in my neck protested as I stretched away the sleep. Surprisingly, it’d been the best night’s rest I’d gotten in a while. I blinked a few times to clear my eyes and sat up. The sleeping bag around me pooled at my waist before I slid my legs free. I made my way toward the entrance of my tent, which was actually Grey’s tent, and peaked my head out. I stopped to watch the source of the happy sounds, a small smile pulling at my lips. Gracie was playing with two young boys. They were running around, trying to catch each other but mostly just falling over in fits of giggles. Seeing them so carefree reminded me of why E wa
Chapter Twenty ~ Lexa ~ I could hear commotion before I opened my eyes. Fear and realization hit me. I was back in prison. That was the only reason it could be so loud. I had passed out in the woods. Of course they had found me. I hadn’t gotten very far. Now I was going to pay for what I did. And even worse, I had shown them what I was capable of . “Lexa,” A quiet fearful voice whispered. “Lex, can you hear me?” I moved my head slightly. Yes, I could hear them, but why was there a gentleness in their voice? What was going on? “Lex, it’s me, I need you to wake up. Please, please wake up.”
Chapter Twenty-One ~ Aspen ~ I sat on the dirt ground with my back pressed firmly against a large rock. This is where I’d been for what felt like hours now. I was just watching. Watching everyone distribute food and supplies for the evening, watching some talk and laugh while others looked overwhelmed. Despite my conversation with E earlier, I didn’t feel like I belonged here. All these people are a family, and they probably wouldn’t be too willing to add on another member like me. Now, almost everyone had turned in for the night. There were a couple people wandering around here or there, not doing anything of importance. I hadn’t seen E or any of the guys for quite a while. After talking to E, I’d made some random excuse and found this secluded spot to sit and think by myself. I had