CHAPTERNINE
Mr. Baker turned his head to stare at the redhead, speaking in a reassuring tone. “Calm down, Poppy. They apparently aren’t powered up.”
Her fearful eyes glanced around the room, and she shuddered in revulsion. “Ihatethese things.”
Mr. Baker lifted a white brow. “Where is the hardass soldier I know?”
“Out the fucking door is where she is,” Poppy griped. She spun on her combat boots and took a step to the door. “You can get them out of that glass room, no problem.”
“But…what if it’s a trap?” He tempted, his lips trembling when she perked up. “Like a puzzle?”
With her back to us still, her shoulders stiffened. “A puzzle?”
“Maybe.”
She tapped her hands on her thighs, thinking.
Megan sighed and waved a hand. “Hello! If you’re not here to kill us, can you please quit jabbering on like idiots?” She knocked on the glass door with her knuckles. “We can get out of here, but it would be a lot faster if you wouldsimply unlock the damn door!”
Poppy jerked her body around and crossed her arms. “Hello, Megan.”
“Hey, Poppy,” she grumbled.
Poppy’s eyebrows rose. “I thought you were in jail.”
“Long story.” Megan’s nose crinkled. “Actually, it’s short. My dad is a sick bastard with a twisted sense of humor.”
Poppy sniffed. “I still would have kicked your ass had you remained for the rest of the CA tests.”
“I guess we’ll never know.” Megan smirked. “It’s nice to see you again.”
“Likewise.” Poppy’s smile was radiant. “So, how about Finn and I get you out of there?”
“It’s about damn time,” I complained. “If anyone else wants to chat, please save it for later. There’s a bad guy coming soon.”
Mr. Baker and Poppy maneuvered between the freakish figures, walking toward us. Mr. Baker eyed each mannequin he passed, and asked, “Do you know the name of the bad guy?”
Megan snorted. “Master.”
“What?”
I answered, “The guy who kidnapped us called him ‘master.’ No real name was given.”
Smooth and calm, Mr. Baker murmured, “Poppy, I may stay behind to finally find out who this guy is.”
“Don’t even think about it. A powerful enemy, we actually know nothing about, that’s bent on chaos? We need to get those two out of here and regroup. We’ll need reinforcements, people watching our backs, if we want to take the mystery man on.”
He grinned. “There’s the hardass soldier.”
“I better stay too, in case you decide to do something stupid.”
Mr. Baker snickered as they stopped in front of us, only the glass door with the tiny holes separating our bodies.
I would take the monster I knew over the monster I didn’t. One man cut off women’s heads and decorated the room with them. This man saved women from falling down stairs and held them with care afterward.
It seemed pretty straight forward which was better.
“Hurry, please,” I whispered.
