Sure, she’s older. And her eyes are rimmed with a haunted quality that didn’t use to be there- but that familiar girl I thought I left in my past is staring back at me. An unsettled feeling burrows deep behind my ribcage and a sharp pain shoots from behind my eyes.
A flood of forgotten memories assaults me all at once. Too fast for me to hold onto as they flit by in a frenzy.
My breathing becomes erratic, and my heart rate spikes.
The house.
The school.
My fingers digging, digging, digging, into the wet muddied earth.
The cold.
The screaming, oh my god the screaming.
I clutch the sides of my head, dropping the hairdryer on the countertop. It buzzes and blows, heat hitting my stomach as tears cling to my lashes.
My phone vibrates and my jaw clenches. Teeth scraping against each other as the unknown number flashes across the screen.
Times up.
CHAPTER 11
ACE
17 YEARS OLD
God she’s perfect.If only she didn’t have my brother’s hands all over her. His beer breath tickling her slim neck, as if he should have a right to. I know how this place has changed him. I’ve seen the secret meetings with the guards. The approving slaps on the back from Pastor Charles after answering all his questions correctly. The nods from the headmaster.
That’s why I’m so surprised he’s out here with us tonight. I thought he was turning. Thinking he’s too good for us now that he’s morphing into a teacher’s pet before my very eyes. Changing into their perfect little pupil, just like our father wants. Well, there’s nothing wrong with the way we are, in my opinion. And changing ourselves to fit someone else’s version of the world is only going to bring destruction.
I watch as Hazel steps away from Kyle, and slinks into the dark abyss of the house. Sarah and Matty are being obnoxiously infatuated with each other, turning their flirtation into full on PDA.
“Get a room.” River yells.
“Shut up. You don’t want the fucking school guards to hear you. We’re not that far off from them.”
He’s not wrong, and I find myself scanning the darkness in the woods as if they’re about to appear, lured by River’s stupidity. My back still stings from Pastor Charles’s one on one instruction. Always hitting hard enough to draw blood. Deep enough to leave a lasting scar.
There’s been several of the guys that have developed infections after, never to be heard from again. The thought gnaws at me, wondering if I’m next. Truthfully, I don’t know how long I’ll last. I’m surprised I’ve made it as far as I have. My iron will clashes with their expectations.
What pisses me off the most is that a place like this can even exist. Employing people who don’t mind inflicting a little violence on minors. Hell, mind it, some of these fuckers get off on it. You can see the glee in their faces as they wield their fists on the students. Pummeling their agenda into us with every hit.
Obey.Or else.
How fitting that the ones put on this earth to love us the most were the ones to hand us over to these monsters. The root of our pain. The destruction of our souls. All at the hands of people who pass themselves off as holy. Pretending they care for our wellbeing. If that were true, my back wouldn’t look like ground beef.
If there is a God, I hope she holds their asses accountable for the terror they’ve inflicted upon us.
When Hazel walked into the darkness, enveloped immediately by the shadows of the manor, I felt unease coating my skin. I look back to where she once stood, unable to pry my eyes away, waiting for her to reappear. This was stupid, coming out here like this. Everything inside me screams that something is going to go wrong, but I push down the feeling. Chalking it up to paranoia. I must have taken too big of a hit of that blunt Kyle brought. That shit always amps up my anxiety.
Ever since I was taken to this wretched place, I’ve been just trying to survive. The one thing that gets me through the day isher.From the first moment I saw her, I knew she was it for me. I just don’t know how to go about showing her I’m the one for her. She seems so engrossed in my brother that it makes me want to curl up and die from the attention she gives him. It should bemeshe’s looking at like that.
He’s no good for her.
A scream pierces the quiet of the night, echoing around the woods and causing a flock of birds to take off. Or at least I think they’re birds. Shit, it’s probably bats. A shiver runs down my spine as I realize it came from inside the house. My feet are moving before I realize it, running into the decrepit, dark building.
“What the fuck?” Matty asks from behind me as a floodlight illuminates the darkness around us, casting long willowy shadows.
