Vera purses her lips and lifts her chin.
“I’m very well aware of the risks. You forget yourself—if it were not for me, none of this would have ever happened, and all those kids we saved would still be sold as slaves by Caligos to this day. So, don’t tell me I’m being reckless or stupid with my choices. I know exactly what I’m doing, and if you have any problems with it, you can step aside and let me deal with it on my own.”
“You know I won’t do it, child,” Ri says, a little kinder.
Vera nods. “Then, let’s get moving.” Vera waves at the carriage. “This won’t be enough for all the children.”
“Tanaka, Hojo, Bart, and Hel are on their way. We have three more carriages,” Ri says. “That will be enough, unless your intel about how many children there are was wrong.”
Vera’s words are clipped. “It wasn’t. There are twelve heads total.” Vera turns to us. “Let’s go inside. Be quiet. Jax, I rely on you to help me carry the children out as soon as possible. Phoenix, you’ll need to distract the guards so we can do it.”
I give her a nod. Adrenaline is coursing through my veins.
Vera and Ri make their way around the back of the building, and we follow suit. We’re pressed close to the walls to blend in as much as possible. The large glass windows we pass are all barricaded with wood planks, so I can’t peek inside to see what’s going on. From the sound of it, the warehouse is abandoned, not a single soul inside.
Finally, we round a corner and reach a single metal door that barely holds on by its hinges. Vera pauses only for a second before entering. We follow her inside.
Inside is dark and cold. The air is musty and stuffy; it’s hard to breathe. I bet every crevice and corner of this place is overgrown with mold. There must be at least a couple of dead rats, or even larger animals somewhere, rotting away, stinking up the place.
I have to duck my head low to avoid walking into thick spiderwebs hanging from the ceilings. We walk for what feels like forever, navigating small rooms and narrow corridors. Vera appears to know the way, so we don’t ask any questions.
As we approach the end of the corridor, the sounds of a crackling fire and voices reach my ears. There is a faint glow coming from the room at the other end of the corridor. Before going in, Vera turns to us and places a finger over her lips. Thenshe goes inside and ducks behind a large wall of wooden crates on the right.
Before I do the same, I catch a glimpse of what’s in the middle of a large room. It must have been the main production hall of this warehouse when it was still open. The blood in my veins chills at the sight.
A dozen half-naked bodies lay on a couple of filthy mattresses scattered over the dirty floor. At first, they appear to be dead, but…there is a slight movement of their chests, and an occasional twitch of muscles. One person raises their head just enough to roll over onto their side and empty the contents of their stomach.
I cover my mouth with my hand. It’s absolutely vile.
Four men sit in a circle around a small fireplace. Their bodies are heavily covered in tattoos—two even have tattoos on their faces and bald heads. I recognize that red ink immediately.
They barely pay any attention to the child vomiting behind them.
My muscles tremble as pure rage rises to the surface. I’m ready to burst. How dare they…
Someone catches my wrist and drags me down onto my knees behind the wall of crates. It’s Jax. His eyes are wide, and his grip is stronger than I expect.
You have to be careful. He mouths the words to me.
I blink, and then nod. He’s right. I almost lost myself in my rage. I don’t dare to look at Vera or Ri right now. I sniff the air and frown. The air is heavy, full of smoke…What’s that smell?Opium.Those bodies must be heavily drugged children.
I’m sick to my stomach.
Vera crawls towards me. She places her palms on each side of my face and whispers into my ear, “Make them run away in fear. We need a window long enough to allows us to carry the children away.”
She pulls away to look me in the eye. I hesitate only for a heartbeat before I give her an assuring nod. She nods back at me and lets go. The success of this rescue mission rests on my shoulders. I can’t fail.
I draw my focus to my heartbeat and breathing. Slowly, I inhale and let my eyes close. I exhale, and my heartbeat slows. I’m an empty vessel. Fully in control.
I’ve never attempted something like this before.
I can do this. I can do this. I can do this.
Inside my mind, I conjure an image of the men in the circle. Carefully, I open my senses and reach towards the men. First, I only inspect. Their hearts are beating normally. I don’t sense any remorse, guilt, or sadness in them.
None of them care.
I can’t help the rage that rises inside me. I’m furious. Instead of pulling myself out of it, and centering my emotions and attention, I allows myself to be drawn into that silent rage building inside me.
