“Eleanor. Yes. I told you about my kidnapped daughter, and I begged you to find her for me. Then, I ran away, and faked my death. It gave you more motivation to honor my last request. But, I realized that it was going to be harder than you just taking her. She needed to escape on her own. She needed a reason to leave.”
I took in everything she was saying, trying to process it all. She kept going, as if she hadn’t just dropped an atomic bomb’s worth of information on us.
“The Daddy she was assigned to was very by the book. I knew him from when I was in school. It didn’t take a lot of manipulation to convince him to pick Eleanor as the Young Lady they gang up on.”
“What?” I stepped back. She’d been the one to orchestrate my almost gang rape and murder? She ignored my word.
“But I hadn’t planned for the boyfriend, the DIT. The asshole? So that took a little extra work, but in doing that, I learned about his best friend Callahan: the one that had a crush on sweet Eleanor, but she never gave him a second look. It was so simple to get things in motion then. Callahan was easily themost handsome one in the bunch, and if I got Milton out of the way, my plan would work. He saved her from the orchestrated attack, replaced her original Daddy, and just as I’d expected, they fell in love and needed to get away from the bunker. And they did, with your help. It worked out so perfectly, I couldn’t have planned it any better.”
“You used me to— I’m so confused.” Riot rubbed his eyes. “What exactly was your plan? Why involve Eleanor at all?”
Myrtle was deranged, I realized. She was in another realm of existence. She didn’t see what was real, but what she wanted to be real. She was trapped in a fantasy world.
“It was the only way for you to get you out of Heathen Heights. You wouldn’t leave without having a good reason. And you loved me so much to do that for me. You’d get her out. She’d want to know about the bunkers, and you wouldn’t be able to let her go alone, because of your duty to me. Riot, I knew you loved me. I knew you’d come for me.”
“I didn’t come for you, Myrtle. I thought you were dead. I’ve come for my friends. I… I don’t love you. I’m sorry.”
The room fell silent, except for a weeping, vomiting half-plant, half-man in the corner.
“You don’t love me?” Myrtle’s voice cracked. “Of course you do.”
“I don’t.” Riot stepped back and clutched me closer to him. “I love your daughter.”
Myrtle’s eyes darkened; she seemed to shrink and then suddenly grow taller. She dug into her dress, and before we could move, she ripped her hand out and plunged a needle deep into Riot’s belly. He gasped and dropped to the ground.
“I guess I had to use the serum after all.” She looked at me, hatred in her eyes. I put my hands up and backed away. She dug her hand back into her pocket for another syringe. I did thesame, removing my pistol. I aimed it at her and she paused. Her eyebrow rose, and a slow, chilling smile slid onto her face.
“Well, this is interesting.”
Chapter 66 - Eleanor
Ignore the monologue, focus on the hands.
“Bonnie?” Myrtle called. A growl came from behind me and I turned just in time to see a hulking being that used to be Bonnie charge at me. She knocked me to the ground, and the gun slid out of my hand. Myrtle ran to it, scooping it up. “I’ve spent almost two years planning this. Don’t think you can outsmart me, daughter.”
“You’re no mother to me,” I spat from under Bonnie. She pulled me up and I inhaled deeply.
“Take her to 87,” Myrtle ordered as she unlocked the elevator. I was shoved inside, and Myrtle followed a few moments later, dragging Riot’s limp body into the car. She pushed the button and we jolted upward.
“You’re insane,” I said to Myrtle.
Bonnie held me firmly, her enlarged fingers digging into my skin, bruising me. She growled low but didn’t speak. Myrtle smirked.
“No, I just see the world for what it is. This isn’t like the bunker, Eleanor. Everything isn’t pink rainbows and teddy bears. The monsters are worse than you could ever imagine. I’m just beating them at their own game. I’m getting the ending I deserve.”
“And what is that exactly? Riot doesn’t love you.”
“Not yet.”
“What does that mean?”
She didn’t answer. The doors opened and Myrtle swung the gun in my direction.
“Bonnie, take Riot to unit 879. I’ll walk Eleanor.”
Gun to my head, I walked behind Bonnie, watching Riot’s limp body flopping around over her giant shoulder. His eyes were closed but he was still breathing.
“What did you do to Bonnie? And Soda? And Riot?” I asked.
