“Oh my God,” she breathes, and my finger flicks the pages faster, and I do the same with the other book.
More names appear on both.
“This…this is a list of all the rich families in Harrison?”
Every name my eye catches paints a picture.
Wealth.
Power.
Untouchable.
The words burst past my face the quicker I swipe through. A select few on the book from the year before matching. Like they’ve introduced the members as they take over.
“Ten names?” she asks, and I count down the list under each year.
“Yeah, and look who’s right at the top of this year.” My voice grows smaller, my eyes burning as I see Conrad and George placed right at the top.
Regina sighs next to me. “What the fuck does all this mean? Is there anything that says what this Sumus is about?”
I turn more of the pages, the words and names burning together, mixed in with a dead language I don’t know much about.
Only the names are in English, and underneath each of them, looks like a droplet of blood from a fingerprint.
“I think Sumus means…highest or supreme.”
The books aren’t large, the older ones seemingly thicker than the two I have.
“I’m going to take a picture,” I say, pulling my phone out and capturing the names on both books.
Names we’ll be looking into when we get back.
If Regina and I get the entire bookcase, we can find out every single person who’s in this group.
Regina’s arm grips my wrist, and a flicker in the corner of my eye catches my attention.
My lungs tighten as I watch the live feed from outside.
“Fuck.” I scoop the books up in my hands, running to shove them back in the shelves. Regina shoves the tablet back into her bag.
“What the fuck do we do?” she gasps.
Someone’s standing near the gate, cladded in the same blacked-out gear we have, and they’re unlocking it.
My panicked eyes frantically search the room; we can’t get out the way we came in, and I have no idea where the other exit is below.
I look at the opposite end of the room as we move. “The window.”
My fingers reach under it, pulling with all my strength to open it, and Regina joins me, a creak groaning as it slowly lifts.
It opens just enough for us to duck out, and Regina looks at the tablet again, picking it up from the floor. “I’m gonna need to freeze these again if we’re gonna make a run for it.”
Oh God.
This isnotideal.
“You go first.” I take the device from her as she slips through, watching the split screens as the individual walks towards the front door, their head twisting to each side, checking if they’re being watched.
