“Hey! Can I have your badges back, please?”
I vaguely think how weird it is that no one stops us. So much for Devil security. We’re walking straight out of the building with badges that would allow us to return to the restricted areas. As long as we manage to walk past the entrance that’s being guarded by a single receptionist.
Hubris. Pure, fucking hubris. Devil has gotten so used to being invincible that it’s not even taking basic precautions anymore. It would be so easy to bring down the entire organization.
My mind somehow latches onto that last thought as I grow less foggy.
It would be so easy to destroy Devil. Maybe I can do it. Maybe I can be the one to burn it to the ground.
I justknowDevil is to blame for everything. Quill was training to be a Devil soldier when I greeted him one day of freshman year with my most cheerful grin, only to be nearly drowned in the filthy toilet of the even filthier first-floor bathroom.
He was training to be a Devil soldier when, after a rainy day, he pushed me down into the mud outside the high school, coating my entire body with wet, brown dirt as the other kids cheered, ruining the new clothes I’d just gotten for the new school year.
I’d been so proud of those new clothes.
And he was already a fully fledged Devil soldier when he ordered Dane to hold me down while Liam raped me.
Now, Devil has ordered him to kill my parents. I know what Devil soldiers do. They train to kill. My parents are dead, and it was a Devil job.
I don’t have proof, but I’m going to get some.
I’m going to go straight back to Officer Jones’ office and demand to see my parents’ file. And I’ll find the fucking proof, and I’ll force him to put Quill Nelson in jail.
I won’t stop till the monster fucking fries on the electric chair.
And then I’ll set a fire to Devil Tower, with all of them inside. I’ll watch as they burn, screaming out in pain. I’ll listen to Liam and Dane’s cries for mercy, but there will be no mercy. Not for them. Not in this life.
And if there’s a God, I’m sure he’ll make them suffer in the next one, too.
Thoughts of revenge soothe me. I blink a few times behind my glasses, feeling the fog that’s accumulated on my lenses clear. Or maybe it’s the fog in my eyes that’s gone. Whatever it is, I look at Josh with sudden resolve. Only to notice he’s not looking at me anymore. He’s staring at some point behind me.
Without thinking, I’d been following him through the streets bordering Devil Tower, and I suddenly see we’ve reached one of the alleyways behind the tower.Fuck. I know why he brought us here. He thought we could hide in case the receptionist alerted others to the fact we just stole two visitors’ badges.
If I’d been more alert, I would have realized where we were going, and I would have warned him to stay away. There’s no hiding in these shadows.
This is where the monster hunts.
I don’t even have to turn around to see who’s here. A silhouette in a white, faceless mask. Quill.
Everything suddenly feels like it’s going in slow motion.
I turn to Josh, whose face has grown nearly as white as the mask sheathing the monster’s face, and mouth, “Run.”
Only then do I suddenly become aware that Josh is gripping my hand. I’m only aware because as he turns away from Quill, I feel myself yanked and forced to follow.
I try to wriggle out of his grasp, because I know the monster wants me, not him. He can save himself if he runs. But he won’t make it if he keeps my hand imprisoned in his.
He doesn’t let go of my hand, though. We’ve nearly turned the corner and I suddenly find myself wondering if, after all, we’vemanaged to escape when I feel two arms lock around my thighs, making me tumble down.
The force of my fall makes Josh break contact with me, and before even realizing what has happened, he’s gone several feet without me.
Quill is on top of me, nearly crushing me with his weight, his breath hot and heavy on my neck. Josh turns and stares at us uncertainly, then his white face grows, somehow, even whiter as I feel Quill grab something from his back pocket and aim.
Fuck!
He tilts the barrel of his gun so it’s pointing straight at Josh.
I word mouthlessly at Josh to get the fuck away from here, but there’s no need. I guess if my fight-flight-or-freeze response is to freeze, his is to run.
