Page 26

Sidling up to the room Silla’s in, I can’t look inside because there’s not a window on the door. Leaning against the wall, I wait. There’s not a lot of traffic off this hallway, because it’s almost nine o’clock. Shifting on my feet, I wonder what’s going on in the auditorium, and if she’s okay.

After what feels like forever, the door opens, and the students begin to scurry out of the room. They all seem stressed, exhausted, and some have haunted looks in their eyes. A few of the girls brush tears away, and I wonder if there was a casualty.

Silla walks out, her face carefully blank, but her hands are fisted tightly, her nails digging into her hands. Pushing off the wall, I intercept her.

“Hey,” I murmur, making sure she actually sees me.

She blinks, recognition bleeding into her features. “Isaac? What are you doing here?”

“I actually came to see how you were getting on here, but I want to check in on your instructors real quickly. Is there any reason I shouldn’t go inside?” I ask, waiting to see her answer.

“I… it may not be a good idea to go in there,” Silla says carefully. “They’re cleaning up after class.”

This tells me more than she knows, but anyone else would think everything is normal. Based on the barrage of people leaving as quickly as possible, I have a feeling not everyone has the ability to walk out.

“That’s fine,” I tell her with a small smile. “Let’s go for a walk, okay?”

Nodding, she starts moving, and I reach out slowly to gently rub the back of her hand. Silla swallows hard, forcing herself to open her hands. Picking up the one I’m holding, I hum as I see that her nails broke skin in a couple of places.

“Do you have any more bandages for your wrists?” I ask conversationally as we walk.

“No.” She sighs. “I haven’t had a chance to go find the infirmary. Things move quickly here.”

“That they do, and this place is huge,” I agree, my face open and agreeable. I’m not happy that she just survived a possible life or death situation, since I don’t have all of the facts. “Let’s go there now, Patricia is honestly probably still there. I know that lights out is soon, but I’ll write you a pass.”

“Why?” Silla asks me, confused. “You don’t need to do that.”

“Sometimes I don’t need a reason for something, I do it because I want to. Now, tell me about your time here so far?”

“It’s the same as everyone else's,” she lies. “Long days, studying, and learning the ropes.”

“I work here, Silla. I know what happens in Section B, and I know your instructors are assholes,” I admonish. “Please don’t lie to me.”

“Yeah, I remember you dislike half truths,” she mutters. “What do you want to hear? This place is a step above prison, so—”

Grabbing her arm, I pull her into an alcove, out of sight. Leaning into her, I cage her slightly with my arms. She can leave if she wants to, but Silla looks up at me curiously.

“Silla. I know your day has sucked big, hairy monkey balls. The Warden came by to rant about how infuriating you are,” I tease her, deciding to put my cards on the table. I don’t do deception well, and I don’t want to fuck this up trying to remember the things I’m hiding.

Her lips twitch at my words, though there’s worry clouding her eyes. “Every word he said is safe with me. Tell me what happened tonight in the classroom before you walked out?”

“We were given a crash course in making poisons, and then given a recipe. If we made it correctly, when we drank it we’d be fine. If we fucked it up, it would kill us,” she explains. My lips twist into a scowl and Silla shrugs. “Three people didn’t walk out of there tonight. They called it "culling the herd early".”

“Motherfuckers,” I growl. “Grayson has let them do whatever the fuck they want for too long.”

“That’s what I told him,” she agrees flippantly, her eyes widening slightly as she realizes that I called him by his first name.

“A secret for a secret, Little Hacker. The warden and I are friends, but no one knows that. What happened when those three realized they’d ingested poison?” I ask.

“We weren’t taught the antidote yet, so they dropped to the floor, gagging and gasping for air. There was nothing we could do. Ayden made it a rule that we had to all drink the concoction together, which was very cultish, but whatever,” Silla explains.

“The asshole has a flair for the dramatics,” I tell her, rolling my eyes. “And after that happened, did class end?”

“Yes. We all walked out, leaving them to clean up,” she says softly. “And that’s when I saw you.”

“I didn’t mean to spring myself on you like this, but the Warden’s story about his talk with you spurred me on. I needed to see you, and I knew you were learning poisons tonight. Watching you walk out unharmed was probably the highlight of my day,” I rumble.

“Your day sounds pretty boring then,” Silla teases me.