Every time I try to stand, they put me right back on the ground. Pain explodes in white behind my eyes. Thalia’s screams begin to fade, and the world tilts sideways as rough hands wrench my arms behind me, placing the cold metal around my wrists. I’m dragged across the steps and shoved into the back of the cruiser, my breath knocked out of me.
The last thing I see before the door slams shut is the empty swing swaying in the rose garden.
And the space where Alma should have been.
Chapter 40
Alma
Asharp, chemical cold floods my nose and I gasp on instinct. The entire world blurs around me. I see theSan Benitostatute fading in the distance. The rose I picked for Missy loosens in my grip, and in the distance I can hear Efren shouting my name. My vision fractures like broken glass as the trees smudge into streaks of green and black.
San Benito.
Red Rose.
“ALMA!”
I try to fight it, but my arms feel like water. My legs don’t belong to me. Panic surges, but it has nowhere to go. My lungs forget how to breathe. The forest swallows me, and my thoughts slip like sand through shaking fingers.
San Benito
Red Rose.
“ALMA!”
I manage one sound, a broken whisper. “Ef… ren…” The word slices through what’s left of my consciousness. Cold air hits my face as I’m dragged deeper into the trees. My eyelids flutter, and then it’s all black.
San Benito.
Red Rose.
“ALMA!”
Eventually, when my eyes begin to open again, everything comes back blurry, and a sharp pulse spears through my temple. For a second, I think I’m still in the rose garden, but the more I blink, the more I see a face I recognize but don’t know.
“I was wondering when you’d wake up,” a voice says calmly.
It’s Ignacio Fernandez. A tremor runs through me when I taste the chemical still clinging to the back of my throat.Is he the one who captured me?I sit up quickly, but my limbs feel heavy. My eyes burst open, and I push my back into the metal wall behind me.
“What do you want from me?” I cry out. “Please don’t hurt me.”
“No. No.Tranquilla. Look.” He turns to show me where his hands are zip tied behind him. Cautiously, I sit up and move my arms to find that my wrists are also bound together. We’re trapped here,together.
“Don’t force yourself,” Ignacio says, his voice calm and collected. “You’re not gonna be steady for a while.”
“How long have I been out?” I ask.
“Twenty minutes. Maybe a little more.”
I let out a groan when another wave of nausea hits. Twenty minutes has felt like days. I keep my eyes closed tight.
“Movies lie,” he adds, almost amused. “Chloroform isn’t magic. Knocks you out for a couple minutes. After that?” He gestures at me. “The groggy, sick part, that’s real.”
“Where are we?” I ask. My throat is raw and dry, and my tongue feels thick
“The back of a diesel truck, I think. At least it smells that way.”
Just then, the smell of gas hits my nostrils. My body sways to the left, and I pull against the heaviness in my stomach. The movement confirms we’re in some type of vehicle. The truck jolts over a pothole, and I gasp. My head spins so hard that nausea punches through me in waves until I empty my stomach on the ground next to me.
