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CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
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Wish CHAPTER TWENTY THREE
I’m lying on the cold ground with Anderson a few feet from me, his whole body shaking.“W … What happened?” I mumble, groaning as I move.“C … Crazy freak!” Anderson gasps. “That Level three girl—she was right! You’re a freak!”A freak?My memory is dim, and I feel like I’m slowly emerging from a deep haze. I manage to sit up, “W … What’d I do?”I fumble for my flashlight to look at him because he sounds like he’s in pain. When the light lands on him, I wince. “I didn’t do that.”Did I?Anderson looks pretty banged up. I can’t see any visible wounds, but he’s bruised.I struggle to get up as he groans, “Of course you did! You went apeshit crazy! Started throwing me round and screaming!”I help him up, feeling a wave of nausea overtake me as he continues, “And then you fell to the ground, convulsing like you were possessed!”As soon as he’s on his feet, he shakes off my hand, looking pale, “What is wrong with you?!”“I—” I open my mouth before snapping it shut, not knowing wh
Wish CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR
I grab a gasping Anderson and move rapidly toward the entrance of the tunnel. He stumbles but follows.I don’t know how we manage to get to the tunnel’s entrance, or how we get to the top, but we’re both out of breath.I fling the trap door close, sinking on top of it, gasping, “We have to—have to tell—”“O … On it!” Anderson looks pale, but his color is still better than before. He’s already reaching in his bag to take out a small, square device with a button on it.He presses it multiple times, muttering, “What was that down there?” “P … Paralyzing agent,” I gasp, still trying to catch my breath.“That’s why I can’t feel my legs,” he mumbles. “They feel stiff.”“It’ll wear off,” I reassure him, my heart still beating like a drum. “But more importantly, I thought the whole point of guard duty was to prevent students from roaming the tunnels. Where would students here get a hold of such powerful stuff?”Anderson immediately casts a suspicious look toward me. “How do you know
Wish CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE
“You must be mistaken,” Quill looks pale once I tell him what happened in the tunnels. “Why would Beth be down there?”“I don’t know,” I’m just as confused. Why would Beth go into the tunnels at night? Or at all?!“What if you’re wrong?” Quill demands, stopping me in my tracks as we rush to the tunnels, and forces me to face him. “You can’t be a hundred percent sure that it was Beth!”I stare at him.How can I explain to him this sense of knowing and dread that has been building up inside of me since the moment I heard that scream? “All I’m saying is,” Quill looks tense, “that if Suzie and the counselors are aware of Beth missing, they’ll be looking for her, and they will definitely look in the tunnels.”“They searched the tunnels and found no one.”“Well, then your theory doesn’t make sense!” Quill bursts out. “The counselors checked—”“What part of this place makes sense to you, Quill?!” I raise my voice, my frustration building. “And don’t tell me you haven’t noticed! This
Wish CHAPTER TWENTY SIX
“What?” Quill looks indignant. “Why the heck not?!”Jesse just smirks. “Well, we’re going to need a lookout, won’t we?”I look between the two of them, unable to figure out what their problem is. Annoyed, I look at Jesse. “This isn’t the time for some pissing contest. We need all hands on deck and that’s just us three. And I don’t want to waste time while Beth might be in trouble.”Jesse scowls. “Fine. Go wait by the trees and don’t make a sound.”Quill opens his mouth, clearly annoyed at the authoritative tone, but luckily, he keeps his mouth shut. As we head over to the trees and wait, Jesse doesn’t take long. He is back with flashlights and a sweater.“Put your hands up,” he orders and without thinking, I do so. He immediately tugs the sweater down over my head and arms, adding, “It’s going to get really chilly.”I can’t feel my face turn red, and when I glance at Quill, he has a strange look in his eyes. However, before I can speak, he quickly says, “Well, what are we waiti
Wish CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN
I want to run toward the cry, but Jesse holds me back, his eyes narrowed.“Why’re you stopping me?!” I hiss. “Can’t you hear her?! We have to go!”“Something isn’t right.”His words have me coming to a halt. “What do you mean?”“Her voice,” he murmured, his eyes darting down the tunnels. “It’s moving.”A moment later, he’s proven right when she cries out again. The voice is closer this time. “Come on!” Jesse grabs my hand. “We have to go.”“Go where?!”I struggle, but he drags me into a smaller tunnel on the side. “Sshh! It is always better to know who you’re going up against!”He has a point. “You want to get the drop on them?”His voice is whisper soft, “Yeah. We don’t know who we’re dealing with.”We wait for a few minutes, and soon enough, we hear soft footfalls. My hands tremble, not out of fear, but worry. Worry for Beth. We’re so focused on the main tunnel that neither of us is paying attention to where we are or whether or not we’re alone.That’s when a hand gr
Wish CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT
“What have you done, Annabelle?!” Ferguson sounds horrified.Annabelle shrugs. “It wasn’t my fault. She was struggling too much. Had to beat her into submission. Kids these days are quite stubborn, you know.”I try to dart toward Beth, but Ferguson grabs me, holding me back.Annabelle smirks. “Do you really think you can save her again? What for? Her own brother wants her dead. He paid us a lot of money to do so. You’re really a thorn in my side, Taylor. I was going to use this girl to get two birds with one stone, and what do you do? The poison wouldn’t have killed her. It would have knocked her out for hours. And besides, we had to kill her anyway to get inside the vault. You, I’m going to bleed you all over that vault door now. I’ve never met a more annoying person.”Horror settles in my chest. “You poisoned Beth?!”“Careful,” Jesse breathes when I try to rush at her. “Look at Beth.”I follow his gaze and see my semi-conscious friend looking at me. She’s not crying, and her ey
Wish CHAPTER TWENTY NINE
It’s the voices that guide me.I walk slowly, building a strategy in my head. I can’t afford to be scared. Not when it’s Jesse’s life on the line.I come to an abrupt halt when the voices get louder.“… has to be a way!” Annabelle sounds furious, and I inch closer until I find a large, protruding stone to hide behind. Looking around the corner, I see the dark-clothed men holding a badly injured Jesse down against the floor, right in front of a familiar looking vault.It’s the one that I saw with Jesse and Quill.This is what they want to open?What’s even inside that’s so precious that they’re willing to spill blood over it?“Just slit his throat!” Annabelle scowls. “We don’t have time for this!”Regan approaches Jesse, his hands curled into a claw, and I see Jesse’s eyes shift back into that black color.I’m out of time. Either I do something now, or watch Jesse get killed in front of my eyes.But it’s not exactly like I have any weapons. Heart pounding, I decide to wi
Wish CHAPTER THIRTY
My wounds have healed, but I’m still covered in bruises and blood.And yet, I don’t care.Director Yearwood isn’t here yet. I’ve been waiting in her office, ushered here by Dr. Brown who looks anxious.I don’t speak, my head spinning.She offers me tea, but I don’t want to eat or drink. I want to see Beth and make sure she is okay. I want to know what is going on. What am I? What is Beth?What was all that back there?For the first time, there is no fog inside of me, no fuzzy memory. I recall the way my body felt, my teeth elongated, my strength. I remember it all. I would think that I’m dreaming, but my body hurts too bad from being tossed around like a rag doll. “Taylor—”I cut off Dr. Brown, my voice hard, “I want to see the director. She told me she would talk to me.”“I did,” comes a calm voice just as the door to the office opens. I’m on my feet as Director Yearwood approaches me. She grabs my chin gently, raising myface, and studying it. Finally, she murmurs, “
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