He starts walking, abandoning the vehicle and Bennet’s corpse. I only get a brief glimpse of the rundown city around us, nothing memorable beyond the fact that the people hanging out on the sidewalks pointedly pretend they don’t see us, minding their own business. Zane starts humming to himself, like this is nothing more than a simple walk through the park instead of marching me towards a new personal Hell. But added to the drugs pumping through my system, it quickly serves to lull me to sleep, and I find myself silently praying that I won’t wake up, not wanting to face whatever will be waiting for me when I next open my eyes.
Chapter 24
Risa
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Mouth drier than theSahara, I cough as I sit up, rubbing circles over my temple. The room isn’t spinning this time, so I must’ve been out of it for a hell of a long time. Besides being insanely thirsty, I feel relatively normal now, all of my muscles responding as I get to my feet.
Glancing around to get my bearings, I frown. The room looks like an eight-year-old girl’s, everything rainbows and unicorns. The twin bed I just crawled out of is covered in a pink, glittery bedspread, the desk across the room white and covered in stickers, matching the dresser next to it. Drawings are taped to the lavender painted walls, stuffed animals on every available surface. There’s a television on top of the dresser, and Legos strewn across a corner of the room, surrounding a half-finished castle.
When the door creaks to my left I take a nervous step back, but I’m completely caged in. “I thought I heard you get up.” Zane smiles. “Perfect timing, too; lunch is ready.”
He stands there as if waiting for something, and all the while my heart thunders in my chest. “Wh-“ I break off into a coughing fit and he frowns.
“That asshole lied through his teeth about everything, didn’t he?” he growls. “Just a nap and good as new, my ass. Come on, let’s get you some water.” Turning on his heel, he strides out of the room, leaving the door open behind him.
Staying here won’t serve any purpose beyond trapping myself, so I follow him before he changes his mind. Likely I’ll wind up locked back in the room before long, so any information I can gather while I have the chance, the better. He clearly doesn’t want me dead, but that’s really all I have going for me. My stomach churns as dark thoughts start flitting through my head, images that all of the bleach in the world couldn’t cleanse.
Death is a mercy; it’s living that’s the real Hell.
There’s a door directly across this one that’s closed, as well as one to the right. Bare feet on freezing concrete, we head left a few feet. There’s a solitary door at this end, but we follow an opening out of the hall instead, leading to a massive open space. To the right is a living room with the basics; a couple of couches, bookshelves full of board games and books, some DVDs and a television. On my left is a table, a small kitchen beyond that. My breath hitches in my chest as I see two faces looking back at me, pausing mid-bite to focus on me instead of their lunch.
“Risa,” Zane declares, sounding weirdly smug for the moment, “meet Adelaide and Hunter.” He gestures to the older kids at the table, and though I woke up feeling alright, a sudden wave of nausea threatens to knock me out of commission.
Clearly listening in on my sprinting heart rate, he quickly raises his hands in surrender before wrapping an arm around my shoulders, guiding me towards a chair. “No, no, no, don’t be afraid! It’s okay, I’ll explain everything while we eat.” He starts muttering “Idiot, you’re fucking this up,” under his breath as he rushes towards the fridge, coming back with a couple bottles of water and setting them in front of me.
Hurrying around, he quickly slides a bowl of chicken alfredo in front of me, taking the seat to my left. It leaves the boy on my right, and the little girl directly across from me, neither of which have taken another bite since I walked into the room.
Downing the first bottle in seconds, the ache eases a fraction. Clearing my throat, I croak, “What’s going on? Where am I?”
Zane takes a bite of his food, gesturing with his fork towards mine and waiting until I take a tentative bite to answer. “Safe house. You don’t need to worry about anyone hunting you down or using you ever again, Risa. You’re safe now.”
I meet Adelaide’s bright blue eyes, her brunette hair in twin braids. I’d peg her for about ten, but there’s an innocence about her that makes her seem younger. Her face lights up, an excited glint appearing in her irises. “Uncle Zane’s been trying to find you for almost my whole life. But I knew he’d find a way to rescue you, too.”
“Addie,” Hunter scolds, eyeing me warily.
