“Of course,” I muse. “But this changedoesleave us at a disadvantage, doesn’t it?”
Varsha studies the blueprint. “We’ll be in the middle of it all,” she says, then meets my eyes. “No matter what, we’ll either have to ascend, or descend, an entire floor to get away once we’re done.”
“Exactly.” I work my jaw as I look at the image again. “And the first floor has no exits, no shortcuts. It’s got the ballroom, a very open hallway, a massive dining room, and a bathroom. Good places to perform the kills, but not close enough to our possible retreats.”
“Then perform the kills on the ground floor,” Solo tells us.
“Where, in the very-easily accessible foyer?” Jayce counters.
“It’s got a bathroom and a dining area as well, you dumbass,” Solo says.
“Right.” Jayce rolls his eyes, and the rest of us chuckle.
“So it’s settled, then,” Alex states with a slightly manic gleam in his eyes. “We’ve got everything figured out?”
“Chill,” I tell him. “We know the kill order and the layout of the place where we’re to perform them, but the rest we’ll have to figure out after observing the event. Making concrete plans restrains us within the lines we’ve drawn around the formulated idea. Let’s not be completely decisive over anything unless we’ve studied the grounds and taken in every factor once we’re actually there.”
“Well said, Dor,” Solo states. “Going into this with a tunnel vision won’t help. You’ll need to watch each other’s backsandsides.”
“Agreed,” Varsha adds, just as Jayce says, “Copy.”
Alex rolls his eyes. “Fine; kill my joy before it even has a chance to fuckingbreathe.”
“But that’s kind of our job, isn’t it, babe?” Jayce tells him, to which Alex simply flips him off, making him laugh.
“Alright, guys; I’ve gotta go,” Solo tells us. “I’ll see you 4 on Saturday, yeah?”
“Yup,” we say in unison.
“And Dor?”
“Yeah?”
“I want you focused – entirely, you hear me?”
I know what he means by that; he’s indirectly asking me to keep my wits about me.
It’s pretty obvious that Cignette will be attending the event, and despite being aware of that little factoid, I’llhaveto do my job; I’llhaveto perform those kills.
I gotta admit: I’m clueless as to what my state of mind will be then – with her being close – but what Idoknow is that I’ll try my best not to fuck shit up, because if I do, then it’s not just me who’ll take the fall, but also Solo and my crew.
Easier said than done, though, especially when it comes to Cignette being my object of imperiling distraction.
I clear my throat and slide my hands into the pockets of my joggers. “Adios, boss; I’ll see you in 3 days,” I tell Solo, then give my crew a quick nod, turn around, and head for the gym’s bathroom.
12.
The echoes of forgone calamity are the first thing she hears as she opens her eyes against the void. But, as she blinks to make sense of the situation she is in, walls begin to rise around her. Thick, slightly cracked, stone walls.
They open their eyes – milky-white and lifeless – and stare down at her kneeling form.
The ground beneath her moves. No, it slithers. It shifts like it’s formless; unstoppable.
She looks down, and sees nothing but ink-black water under her. It swims past her – unaffected by the intrusion she’s caused by being there.
“Come to me,” a lithe voice, boundless of any direction, whispers to her. “Come to me…”
She lets go of a breath, and watches as puffs of air slip past her lips, and that’s when she realizes that it’s cold in here.
