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“Of course, I don’t want to hurt anyone.”
“You already did. Your mother will have a scar on her beautiful face for the rest of her life from the glass you broke.”
“I’m so sorry,” I say, looking down.
I feel my mother behind me. “Don’t worry, sweetheart; soon you will fulfill your great purpose. Then you won’t be able to hurt anyone again. You will be sixteen soon.” She hugs me from behind. “I’m so proud of…” She trails off when I hear a thud behind me.
“Mother?” I see her lying on the ground.
“Father, call 911!” I look over to him and he sits upright, his jaw lax and his eyes rolling in the back of his head as his head leans to the side. I back away as I stare at them, shaking my head. I feel my chest heave and I want to scream when I hear the basement door swing open.
“Cade!” I yell out, tears streaming down my face when a boy no older than me follows behind him. “Who are—” Cade cuts me off.
“Jack, take her to the truck and start heading out. I’ll take care of the bodies.”
“What is happening?” My confusion mixes with fear when the boy with blond curls comes up to me, blocking the sight of my parents’ bodies.
“Hey, you’re safe, all right? We need to leave, but Cade will be right behind us.”
He grabs my hand and guides me out the door into the night, taking me to a blue truck parked out front. Jack opens the passenger door and urges me in.
“What’s happening?” I ask through the tears.
“We’re saving your life.”
The click of the key in the engine pulls me from my sleep.
Gods, I wish I could forget that…
I continue to hear the clicking. No, it’s more of a gentle tapping. My eyes blink open, attempting to adjust to the darkness, but they never do. For a moment, I think I imagined the taps were an echo of the dream. But there they are again. Then I hear the latch. I’m blinded by the fluorescent lights spilling through the crack in the door, and I can’t see who stands in the doorway.
“Calli, I need you to come with me,” a voice says quietly.
“Cade?”
Someone rushes over and kneels next to me on the floor.
“Calli, I need you to get up.”
“Gen? Who’s with you?” I ask, standing.
“Ben just got me out of the room a few doors down from yours. I know you’re exhausted, but I need you to move.”
She puts my arm around her and helps me out of the room and I see Ben for the first time. He’s not what I imagined. He looks dangerous—not someone I would associate Genevieve with. He wears a well-pressed pinstripe suit and has slicked-back hair with a single strand that hangs over his piercing eyes. There’s a body lying on the ground at his feet, blood dripping from his head.
“Is that…” My stomach flips and I begin to retch. Nothing comes out as I gag.
“I know this is fucked-up,” Ben says. “Your brother knows where you are, but we don’t have time to wait. Rosa is moving now, and we need to get you both out of here so she can’t use you as collateral. I need you to be strong, okay?”
We begin to move down the hallway and turn the corner around another body. Ben stops us and puts a finger to his mouth, telling us to stay quiet. I avoid looking at the man with his head bashed, and Gen grips my hand, attempting to ground me. Ben looks in both directions and gestures to us to move. I can see the stairs up ahead past the hallway. He motions for us to hurry, but I’m slow. My body does not want to cooperate. My muscles are weak and I feel so sore everywhere. Right as we approach the steps, the sound of clapping echoes through the hallway.
“Well done, Benjamin. Well done.” We all turn to see a woman in a white pantsuit, her hair in a tight bun, a streak of white hair on the left side contrasting with the rest of her black hair—Rosa.
She stands in front of two large men, weapons in hand.
“I don’t recall telling you that I wanted to bring her to the circle, but it looks like you’ve been a bit of an overachiever lately.”
“You know I do my best, Rosa,” Ben says, nodding. The trembling in his voice gives away how nervous he is, but he doesn’t look it. With his confident stance and large stature, he’s far more intimidating than Gen described.
