The giant beast nudged me in hello before commandeering the lounger I’d just vacated. Turning to face him, I ran my thumb over the leaf and wondered.
Unfortunately, wondering always got me into trouble.
“If she’s not like the others...if she’s telling the truth...does that mean I could use her?”
Whisper yawned and rested his head on his huge paws.
“If she’s really not here to hurt me then...she could be the key to getting out of here.”
His eyes locked onto mine, his head coming up again.
Crushing the leaf in my fingers, I let it fall.
It didn’t matter if I didn’t trust her.
It didn’t matter if I still suspected her motives.
As long as I manipulated her, she could be useful.
My fingers tightened into a fist, once again glad that I’d systematically destroyed every camera and listening device in this place. They’d buried me under surveillance, and it’d taken years to uncover them all. But now...now I was fairly confident the only eyes and ears they had were the drones that flew overhead.
Looking upward to make sure the coast was clear, I whispered quietly, “I’ve had everything plotted for almost adecade. I’ve been ready to make this move for far too fucking long. I’ve just been missing the catalyst.”
Going to the panther, I sat down beside him and scratched his ear. He purred instantly but my thoughts were elsewhere. On potential freedom and possible escape.
It could go spectacularly bad or...deceptively easy.
Either way, my suffering could end forever.
Digging my fingers into his thick ruff, I muttered, “If I use her, I could be free.”
Whisper huffed under his breath, and I took it as approval.
“Alright then, let’s do it.” A wash of warmth crashed over me that had nothing to do with the drip of poison from the vitalsync core. I shuddered, clutching my heart, confused and afraid.
I braced myself for yet more pain. Perhaps this was a different concoction than usual, something that would deliver a different kind of agony, only...I burst out laughing.
“How about that?” I shook my head. “I’m actually feeling something other than hate and despair. I’ve completely forgotten what hope tastes like.”
Whisper rolled his eyes and stretched.
How sad was it that I barely remembered what hope felt like?
Fury and revenge kept me surviving but such things stole all joy from living.
But now?
Fierce determination settled in my bones.
No matter who she was.
No matter why she was here.
I would use her to escape.
And if the day came that I succeeded, I would thank her by not killing her.
All while I went on a killing spree to murder the rest.
