Chapter 37
Micah
Since there are no windows in our dungeon, we count time by the creak of stairs above us and the flicker of the bulb, each shift a false sunrise. But our time chained in that chilly, monstrous lab is punctuated with some regularity.
Every morning and evening, Corinne appears in her scrubs, sets down food and water, usually humming under her breath like this is a hospital ward instead of a prison.
Vale comes less often—always at night, always with the same twisted smile—but his presence stains the air. He bargains with me, trying to convince me to talk, but I refuse.
I’m surprised when Katana starts talking to Corinne, her tone careful, probing for anything useful. Part of me admires her courage, the way she slips questions in like knives. But the rest of me is terrified. Vale will notice if she pushes too far, and then he’ll punish her just to watch me break.
Most of the time, Corinne answers with a smile and says something vague, like “structure is important” or “you’ll adjust.”
When we’re alone, Katana and I whisper. At first, she resists—her shoulders tight, jaw locked, like she resents me for not telling her about my past. But I keep probing, needing to hear her voice. The hours are long, and silence is worse than fear.
“My mom’s boyfriend tossed her down the stairs,” she admits. “Listening to the sickening thud of her flesh and bones crack off the old wooden stairs... it gave me nightmares afterward.” Hazel eyes meet mine. “You were the only thing that quieted them.”
Her words pierce the deepest part of me, breaking through the chains wrapped around my heart. I never thought I was capable of caring for anyone after what my sister and parents did. Never thought I could feel sympathy... until her.
When she asks about me, I give her nothing. Not the truth about my parents. Not the truth about my sister.
Not in this place. The walls have ears.
Katana sighs and rolls her body away from me, huddling against the wall.
It seems like an eternity later that the lock clicks and the door opens.
Their footsteps thud down the stairs, his heavier and slower than hers.
Vale’s eyes immediately go to mine, darkness and insanity glimmering in them.
A smirk pulls up his lips as Corinne happily sings, “Good morning,” before opening the small closet door and pulling the machine from it.
I wonder if it’s my turn today.
Vale pulls a metal folding chair close, his voice smooth as glass, playing a dangerous game with a monster. “Let’s make this easy.” He claps his hands together. “Answer my questions, and she doesn’t suffer.”
I don’t say a word, keeping my face impassive. But my thoughts are spinning violently. If I could get a hand free of these chains, I’d wrap it around his throat.
Corinne straps Katana down with the calmness of a nurse prepping for a procedure. Buckles click, leather groans. Katana thrashes, spitting curses, but can’t break free.
Her breath hitches on a whisper. “She’s going to kill me this time.” It’s so faint I almost think I imagined it, but the terror in her eyes makes my chest cave in.
My muscles tense, knowing what’s in store for her.
“Let’s try this again. How long have you been talking to Katana?”
I remain stubbornly silent, grinding my jaw as the first shock tears through her body. She jerks, her cry splitting the air.
My chest caves. I snarl and strain against the pipe until it feels like my wrists will snap. “Stop!” I hiss.
Vale crouches near me, his eyes glittering. “Then answer me. How long have you been talking to her? It’s a simple question.”
I grit my teeth. I won’t give him anything.
Corinne dials the machine again. The scent of charred leather and a click before Katana screams, her back arching against the straps. Her eyes are wild, searching for me, begging even as she spits at Vale through her tears.
Something breaks in me. “Enough!” The word rips from my throat raw and desperate. “Punish me, not her.”
Corinne ignores me, checking Katana’s pulse.
Vale smiles like I’ve given him exactly what he wanted. “Oh, I am punishing you. She’s just… encouragement.”
Another shock. Another cry that claws straight through my ribs.
My wrists are raw and swollen from my struggles. I can’t take them shocking her anymore.
“Stop!” I choke. “I’ll answer.”
The current fades, leaving Katana trembling, gasping for air. Corinne smooths the hair from her damp face, murmuring something clinical, almost gentle. I want to rip her hands off.
“Good,” Vale says softly. “Then tell me.”
I grind out a reply, empty words I know he’ll twist however he wants. “A couple of weeks. I... I approached her.” I give him pieces, scraps, anything to slow the machine, anything to give Katana a moment to breathe.
But even as I speak, Vale nods to Corinne, and she flicks the dial again.
Katana jerks, a strangled sound ripping from her throat. My heart feels like it’s tearing out of my chest.
“I’m talking!” I roar, yanking my chains so hard the skin splits across my wrists. Blood slicks the iron. “I’m giving you answers!”
Vale leans close, savoring every fracture in my voice. “And still she screams. Because no matter how much you give me, Micah, it will never be enough. She’s yours. Which means she’ll always be mine to break.”
Her cries echo in the concrete room long after the machine falls silent. I memorize every dial Corinne touches, every key on her belt, every second between each surge. I map their cruelty, building the plan in my head even as I feel myself breaking apart.
They think they’re winning. They think this is power.
But all they’ve done is carve their deaths deeper into my memory.