Her words sit in my gut like a rock.
“Then why wasn’t he killed?” Maverick stops himself. “To be clear, I’m really fucking glad he wasn’t.”
Me too.
“Because he came to us as a child,” I answer. I look to Hedy and Anders. “That’s it, right?”
They nod. Hedy explains, “We knew it was a possibility he might end up here, but between Ant, Erik, and Edison, we thought we had a shot at pointing him in the right direction.”
“And my parents,” Anders says with a smile.
I look again at the monitor. I’m not shocked that Mama and Papa Bash were there for Silas. I wonder if they know about this dungeon.
“Are you saving this guy for him?” Maverick asks.
I suck in a breath.
“This fucking stain?” Anders asks, flicking the monitor. “You bet your ass we are.”
The idea that Silas would need this kind of an outlet…Jesus. I understand my fathers’ fear of him more than I did before, that’s for damn sure. But I don’t feel afraid when I think of Silas.
All I feel is sad.
6
SILAS
Oakley knows.
Oakley knows.
Oakley knows.
It’s all I’ve been able to think about for the last hour. Hedy’s taking him and Mav on the cave tour, and I need her to hurry the fuck up because Oakley saw my eyes and he knows I’m a freak. Not how bad—but enough.
Thankfully, Anders said he just put that sick fuck in the kill tank.
I need this. God, I need it so bad.
I watch the entrance to the cave like a stalker and breathe a sigh of relief when Hedy, Mav, and Oakley exit. Hedy is talking to Oakley about the test he’s going to run on everyone involved in Maverick’s initiation.
So. Yeah. This needs to happennow.
I wait till they disappear into the pretty office building, then make my way down in the elevator. Through the main cavern, past all the smaller ones, down the stairs—where I pass Anders—and into the dungeon.
I’ve already called dibs on three of the prisoners. I save them like baseball cards. Or maybe a favorite wine. Killing is my day job, but these are the ones I save for when it’s dire. For when drawing blood feels like oxygen. For when I really need to make it count.
I approach the side cave and open the door by scanning my hand and then tapping in the code.
The door automatically closes behind me. The man in the polo shirt stops pacing. There is a thick wall of plexiglass between him and me.
He approaches. Looks to the large button that pulls the plexiglass into the ceiling. Cracks his neck.
I take a deep breath. Let the energy consume me. Fall into the black.
I hit the button.
Sometimes it’s easier to just stand in the room during the automatic wash than to get into the shower.
