Next, a mechanical groan echoed through the facility.
The sound of locks disengaging.
Not just Rook’s cell, but the entire wing. Every door in Block D opening at once.
No. No. No.
Alarms shrieked.
Off in the distance, guards shouted and patients cackled.
I picked up my speed. My heels hit the floor and I kicked them off without thinking—survival instinct overriding vanity, overriding everything. My bare feet slapped against the polished floor as I sprinted back.
Find the warden!
Chapter three
RUN
Listening Companion:
Welcome to the Jungle—Guns N' Roses
I sprinted down the corridor, my bare feet slapping against cold concrete.
The red emergency lights pulsed in time with my heartbeat.
The classical music cut out and a new song roared through the speakers.
Guitar.
Raw and snarling.
Welcome to the Jungle.
The song was chaos distilled.
Drums pounded.
Guitars shredded.
The band’s singer Axl Rose’s voice laughed, screamed, and promised violence all at once.
Rook is orchestrating this.
The alarms screamed.
The lights strobed.
I reached the door at the end of the corridor and slammed through it.
Thank God!
And then I froze at the sight.
No!!
Warden Harker lay spread-eagle on the floor. His thick neck was opened from ear to ear. Blood poured from the wound in sheets, pooling beneath him in a lake so wide I couldn't step around it. His eyes were open, glassy, staring at the ceiling with an expression of permanent surprise.
