13. A Sweet Boy From My Childhood
Chapter 13
A Sweet Boy From My Childhood
Raven
Present Day
T he guard shoved me into the surgical room, and I fell to my knees as he locked the door behind us.
Jayce bent down, grabbing me carefully by my arms and gently tugging me up. He leaned forward whispering into my ear, “What’s the plan?”
Looking over his shoulder, I watched the person wriggling on the operating table. I guessed it was a man.
Do I even want to know who it is?
“Let me think.” I walked to the weapons table, perusing the tools.
What if it’s a friend of mine? Can I kill them?
My eyes landed on an item on the table. It was hidden beneath a pair of industrial shears.
Picking it up along with the shears, I gestured for Jayce to follow me as I walked up to the captive.
On the outside I did my best to be perceived as calm and collected.
But on the inside, a part of me was shattering.
Until I know who they are. The person on the table could be a stranger to me, even if they are not. An illusion. A lie I could tell myself.
But do I even have to kill them?
With my mind made up, I reached forward pulling up the stranger’s sleeve.
Icy cold tendrils wrapped up my throat, constricting my airway.
On his wrist there was a small tattoo. I recognized it.
A single scarlet rose petal stared up at me.
Without any further hesitation, I used the shears to quickly remove the hood.
“Quinn!” Jayce burst out behind me, causing me to jump forward.
Quinn’s eyes found mine for a moment of confusion, but then I could tell the moment he recognized me.
Not as Anadil.
But as Raven.
He stopped struggling, instead his attention zeroed in on me. Scrutinizing me through the mask. His body relaxed.
I removed the gag from his mouth. He panted, his breath leaving in irregular gasps, but not say anything.
“It’s okay, just work with us and we’ll get you out of here.” My hands shook as I dropped the shears next to him.
Quinn still didn’t speak as I used the other item I had retrieved from the weapon’s table .
A key.
My fingers were numb as I attempted to unlock his cuffs. After a few attempts, Jayce took them from me.
He stood behind me, his breath in my ear. “Are you sure? It’s been years.”
I jerked my head to continue.
Quinn was a sweet boy from my childhood. He was doting and kind. He didn’t deserve to be here, tied to this table, awaiting his demise.
We could at least help him.
Jayce unlocked him, tugging him up and off the table. Quinn still didn’t speak, but allowed us to walk him the few steps to the barrel; he stepped inside on his own.
“Come here, Raven,” Quinn said.
The tone was off . It was dull, emotionless. Monotone .
But he was my friend. He was one of the last remaining pieces from before .
“Don’t.” Jayce attempted to grab my arm, but I side-stepped him.
I didn’t think. I leaned forward. Into Quinn’s arm range.
It was a mistake.
Quinn lunged forward, tugging me into the barrel with him.
I felt something sharp against my throat.
The shears I had used to cut off his hood.
I ignored Jayce, the worry on his face, his pinched lips and clenched jaw. His hands stretched out to me. As if he could pull me away and protect me.
Except I had done this to myself.
“Rose is dead. My little sister is dead! And I am in this Hell because of you .” Quinn pressed the blade further into my neck.
“Rose?” I asked breathlessly. My mind was splitting. “How? ”
Quinn was always like an older brother. But that was no longer the truth. Evident by the sharp metallic blade digging into my skin.
Another scar I would wear.
If I made it out of this.
Why had I been so stupid? Were Jayce and Levi turning me soft? Had the conversation about Sparrow left me too rattled?
“Congratulations you have secured twenty organs,” the robotic voice chirped through the speakers.
The shears dropped from Quinn’s hand, his hold on me loosening.
“She died because—” He didn’t finish his sentence as he fell to the floor. His words, a broken croak.
Spinning around, I collapsed to my knees, shaking him.
“What have you done? What did you do to him?” My words were directed at the Creators, at the game. My vision blurred as I continued to shake Quinn.
Jayce bent over me, checking his pulse. “He’s dead, Raven.”
Jayce placed his bulky hands onto my shoulders, squeezing me, grounding me.
Exhaling shakily, I rose to my feet as the guards entered our space. I shut down the anxiety and overwhelming emotion that threatened to take hold. To drown me and sink me so deeply that I would not be able to escape.
It was what I had done to survive. And I needed to do it again here.
I was becoming too soft and it had almost gotten me killed.
I didn’t speak to Jayce as the guards lugged me away, didn’t meet anyone’s gaze, didn’t let my mind settle on anything.
So wrapped in my cloud, I didn’t process how many organs Jayce and I had managed to secure.