We’re in a very large room, with lots of test tubes, wires, and the thick stench of chemicals. On one side is a smalloffice, entirely encased in glass. On the other, a bunch of wires connect to what can only be described as… some sort of bondage apparatus.
An X-shaped machine, with cuffs on the arms and legs, and a metal half circle on the top that looks like it’s made for someone’s head.
It’s like I’ve walked straight onto a porn set or a crazy sci-fi movie. Or both.
And the strangest part is it feels like I’ve been here before.
I don’t remember a thing, but when Al Campbell tells us to each take a chair and sit down, I’m sure he’s said it before.
In fact, this is exactly like the first and only time I drank. I’d downed an entire bottle of vodka, and I was grey-out drunk. Not remembering a thing until something reminded me of a specific moment, and then, it would come flooding back. My fragmented memory pieced itself together over time, and right now, it feels like the same thing is happening. It’s very unsettling, and I can tell it is for one of the West Astley High idiots too. The other guy just looks confused, like he’s drawing a complete blank. Whereas Finn Austen is impossible to read.
Until the sound of two girls’ voices has his head snapping up. His shock must be a mirror to my own.
Because Cass Henley has just walked in. Accompanied by Piper Day.
Cass looks bored as her eyes take us in. She barely glances at Finn, and his black eyes grow, somehow, blacker at that. He looks as furious as I feel when my gaze stops on Piper.
What the hell is she doing here?
She seems just as confused as me when our eyes meet, but instead of the fury that seethes in my veins, she looks… scared.
Good.
But then she quickly diverts her gaze. Even though my soldier brain is trained to do exactly what Al Campbell says—sit downuntil further order—I have to fight the urge to jump up, go over to her, and…
I don’t know if I want to strangle her or get her the hell out of here.
Probably both.
What the hell is she doing in Devil Tower? Doesn’t she know how dangerous it is?
I need to remember every single thing that happens tonight. I can’t allow myself to black out again.
Piper is here, it’s dangerous, and there’s no fucking way I’m going to let myself go into zombie mode, or whatever the hell usually happens here that causes my mind to go blank. I need to protect her.
For the first time since I’ve met her, I don’t feel confused. My body hums with a single, all-powerful resolution.
I’m going to protect her. I’m going to protect her. I’m going to protect her.
My mind feels like it’s fracturing under the strength of my resolve.
“What’s she doing here?” Campbell questions, frowning at Cass, his throaty voice cleaving through my thoughts.
“She’s struggling in science class,” explains Cass nonchalantly, slipping into a white lab coat and tossing one to Piper. “Thought she could come and watch.”
Campbell frowns. “We’re working on something strictly confidential, Cassandra. You should know that.”
Cass shrugs, the kind of shrug that could only come from a smug person who gives absolutely no shits. “She’s so stupid she wouldn’t know what we’re doing if it hit her in the face.”
Campbell keeps his scowling gaze locked on Piper, while I strain all my muscles to keep from attacking Cass over her insult. But something tells me it’s a good thing if Campbell believes Piper is stupid.
And Piper certainly looks the part right now, her eyes blinking lazily as they fix themselves on the glass-encased office on the opposite side of the room.
Is Cass insane for bringing Piper to… whatever this is?
“I wanted to try the injection on her,” she whispers, her voice so low that only Campbell and I hear. “Tragen said we couldn’t try it on…” she cuts her sentence off and nods toward us, before resuming, “... so I thought she could be our test subject.”
Campbell hesitates for a beat before nodding very slightly. “Alright. I’ll go talk to the guys upstairs.”
