Chapter 7 #2
Ariel regarded her with her green eyes, a blank expression on her face. “I’m not sure why you would. Some might think I deserve it.”
While Joline thought that could be true—only that other experiments may blame Ariel, not that she actually deserved what happened to her—Joline wasn’t about to admit it. “You didn’t understand what was going on. He brainwashed you.”
“I still don’t know what I think about that, but I’m done talking about it.”
Glad for a change in subject, Joline asked, “If you are able to go to town with me, what’s the first thing you’d want to do?”
Ariel rubbed her chin in thought. Her green eyes lit up. “I want to watch a sunset.”
Joline raised an eyebrow. “That’s all?”
She nodded. “I was kept underground or inside a lot. I can’t remember the last time I saw one. I’m sure I could do it here, but I’m afraid of what people will think if I’m outside alone at dusk.” Ariel’s face dropped, as if remembering something sad or unpleasant.
Wanting to see Ariel smile again, Joline offered a suggestion. “What if we watched it tonight, on campus? And then, if you get permission, maybe tomorrow we can go to the next town over and do everything it has to offer.”
“Really?” she asked, her face lighting up like she was a child on Christmas morning, seeing the ring of brightly wrapped presents around the tree for the first time.
A warm fuzziness spread through Joline’s chest. Watching Ariel beam at the thought of doing something fun left her body tingling.
Joline wanted to make her happy. She also didn’t want to get her hopes up and disappoint her.
“Don’t get too excited; it’s bigger than Nonamesville outside of campus, but it’s still just a small mountain town. ”
“No.” She shook her head, her auburn hair swaying like a curtain caught in a soft breeze. “I mean, you would do that for me?”
Joline felt butterflies take off in her stomach. “Of course I would do that for you.”
“And you want nothing in return?” Ariel’s eyes widened. If Joline didn’t know better, she’d say Ariel looked stunned.
A pinch of anger tingled in Joline’s chest. What exactly had Ariel gone through? “Just knowing you’re my friend is good enough.” She hoped Ariel believed her. It seemed, in Ariel’s world, no one did nice things without expecting some sort of payment in return.
Ariel’s smile widened. “What time does the sun set?”
“I’d say around nine this time of year. Want to meet up at the lake around quarter to?”
Ariel nodded, a wide smile spreading across her face. “I wouldn’t miss it.”
Agent’s Stone and Sparks leaned into Ariel harder than usual that night.
Ariel did her best to help, but she really didn’t know anything other than what she already told them about scoping out the human county jail.
She knew nothing about Grimm’s potential plans with a daycare.
While she had been trying to think of anything the doctor had said that would help the agents protect the kids at the right daycare, the only thing she could come up with was that Grimm had said his next project would be the culmination of his life’s work. Whatever the hell that meant.
The agents were not pleased that was all she could come up with.
In fact, neither was Ariel. She didn’t want kids to be messed with.
The more she thought about Grimm’s experiments, the more they didn’t make sense.
She thought back to the members of her group therapy.
Their augments from Grimm were random, even useless in some cases.
Was he really just a madman, testing the limits of what could be done without any thought toward the person being altered?
Ariel wanted out of this nightmare, but wasn’t sure how to exit the ride.
By the time the agents finally released her from interrogation, she didn’t feel she deserved to watch the sunset.
She wasn’t useful to her former master, and she wasn’t useful to the agents.
Ariel felt unworthy. But she didn’t want to disappoint Joline.
She promised her she’d be there, so she would.
If she ran, she’d be able to make it in time.
Why did she have to open her big, stupid mouth and add to Joline that she wouldn’t miss it?
Ariel zig-zagged through the halls of WANC, doing her best to avoid chattering groups of cadets, until a familiar angry voice had her freezing mid-stride and pivoting.
“Wh-what the h-hell d-d-do… think you’re d-doing?” Gabby’s icy blue eyes seemed to bore through her.
Her heart hammered in her chest. “I’m going to the lake to watch the sunset.
” Ariel’s first instinct was to lie—she didn’t answer to Gabby—but she was trying to turn over a new leaf, and besides, she didn’t have time for verbal sparring.
It was 8:40 pm, and any delay would have her late to meet Joline.
Wasn’t that just her rotten luck that she’d run into the one person who probably hated her most on campus?
Yeah. She bet she did deserve to have her night ruined.
She messed up a lot of lives in her time with Grimm.
The crow shifter tapped her foot. She kept the large, black wings tucked behind her, though they peeked over her shoulder.
They were Gabby’s gift from Grimm, wings that wouldn’t go away, even in human form.
And in crow form, she kept her human arms. They no longer shifted to wings. No wonder she was pissed.
Ariel felt stupid that she hadn’t seen it before. Grimm turned people into freaks. What was his endgame? While it looked random, Ariel knew it wasn’t. He learned something with every experiment. But what was he after?
“I m-m-mean th-this,” Gabby broke through Ariel’s thoughts, holding up the paper invite for the club she was trying to start.
Ariel had figured out where the crow shifter was living in the dorms and slipped it under her door.
“What’s your angle?” Gabby sang the question, probably wanting to get all the words out without her usual stutter.
Grimm’s experiments left Gabby with some sort of aphasia that made it difficult to speak.
While she had come a long way since she was first captured, she still struggled at times to get her words out.
Part of Ariel wanted to say anything to get Gabby off her back, then she could run out to meet Joline. But she was trying so hard to do better, be better. She sighed. “I want revenge.”
Gabby raised a dark eyebrow. “On whom?”
“Grimm.”
Gabby narrowed her eyes on Ariel as if inspecting her for a tell. When she didn’t find one, she asked, “Why?” Gabby was probably keeping her sentences short so she wouldn’t stutter.
Ariel decided she was done lying. “Because he left me here.” Her shoulders sagged. The sadness tugged at her anger, poking holes in it. She was so sick of hiding how she felt that she let it show.
Gabby scoffed. “N-not ‘cause”—her face scrunched up with frustration over trying to find her words—“it’s r-right t-t-to do?”
Ariel shook her head. “I’m sure it’s also the right thing to do, but I’m still too selfish for that.” A wicked smile spread across her face as she thought about all the terrible things she wanted to do to Dr. Grimm. “I want my revenge because he used me.”
“I’m in.” Gabby shrugged as if satisfied. Ariel blinked at the crow shifter. She was surprised Gabby accepted the truth. Maybe this being honesty thing wasn’t so bad.
Gabby turned and walked away before Ariel could remember what she’d told Joline at dinner—that she needed to apologize to Gabby.
She considered running after her, but stopped herself, deciding to take the interaction as a win, a good first step.
An open door that would lead to another opportunity where she could say what she needed to.
Besides, if she didn’t get going, she going to be late meeting Joline.
She ran the whole way, and was breathless by the time she reached the edge of the lake.
A painful stick wormed its way through the ribs on her right side, and each breath was near agony, causing a burning sensation to ripple through her chest. Her stump stung from the prosthetic digging into her thigh—it wasn’t designed for running.
There were probably fresh blisters forming on her skin under the sock she wore on her thigh to guard the skin from the plastic and metal of the prosthetic leg.
But none of that hurt as badly as knowing that the sun had already dipped below the trees.
The oranges and reds had dissipated, leaving the sky a purplish smear of color.
Stars had begun shimmering, winking down at them from the inky sky overhead.
She’d wanted more than anything to see that sunset with Joline, and now it was over. She’d missed it.
Ariel spotted the dark silhouette of Joline on the ground by the lake, appearing as though she was hugging her knees to her chest. At least she hadn’t given up and left!
Ariel’s legs gave out on her as she plunked down next to her friend and immediately attempted to explain herself between huffs of air. “Sorry… I’m… late.”
Joline barely looked back at her. “I thought you changed your mind.” Her voice sounded flat, almost emotionless. She was not at all her usual bubbly self. That was a dagger to Ariel’s heart.
“No, not at all. It was just one thing after another. I ran to get here when I did.” Ariel smoothed out the blanket Joline was sitting on and slid next to her. Ariel’s ribs ached. She put a hand on them as she fought to catch her breath. If she never ran again, it would be too soon.
“Why didn’t you tell me tonight wasn’t a good night?” Joline continued to stare ahead as if she couldn’t bear to look at Ariel.
Ariel sighed, rubbing the stitch in her side. “The interrogations don’t normally take this long, but I cut out early yesterday, so they made up for that tonight.”
“To punish you?” Joline’s head swiveled over to her and Ariel saw her eyes darken with anger toward the FUC agents.