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And what was scarier was that the prisoners seemed to prefer the arduous mining to whatever horrors awaited in the black building.

When she didn’t move quick enough, one of the guards ventured closer, pressing a red button on a handheld device.

A sharp, electrifying pain sliced through her wrists, and she collapsed to her knees, twitching uncontrollably. The muscles in her neck held tight and her teeth clamped together, fighting the scream building in her throat.

“When we say go, you do it faster. Understand?” The guard’s face was beat red, and spit flew from his mouth.

Takeshi shouted something, lunging forward, but the guard shocked him too. He hunched over, sweat beading on his forehead, muscles trembling as the other prisoners kept pounding away at the walls.

When the electric pulses finally relented, Khalani sucked in a sharp breath, her limbs still shaking on the ground, tasting metal on her tongue.

“Start working, or I’ll triple the voltage next time,” the guard threatened, glaring at both her and Takeshi with disdain.

She braced herself against the rocky floor, struggling to stand, but she ignored Takeshi’s hand for help.

Khalani could handle this without him. She could.

All she had to do was last one week.

22

Peer closer and you’ll see all the battles buried in my skin.

Khalani lost all sense of time as they worked. She let the quiet rage fuel her, every echoing slam of metal building into a war cry. Beside her, Takeshi’s pickaxe crashed against the wall, a deep-seated wrath lying beneath his eyes.

Despite her protests, he deliberately took the heavier rocks from her, leaving Khalani the lighter ones to place into the nearby carts. She didn’t miss his white-knuckled grip on the pickaxe.

When a shrill whistle cut through the air, all the prisoners bent over, hands on their knees, panting heavily as they struggled to catch their breath. But Khalani and Takeshi stood tall as they exited the tunnel, accustomed to living in harsh conditions.

“Get in line,” one of the Dealer’s barked as they re-entered the expansive cavern.

Now that the effects of the injection had worn off, she was able to focus on the area around her and get a clearer view of the prison.

The cavern’s ceiling loomed thirty feet overhead, with several large, spiky stalactites hanging ominously. They looked one whisper away from skewering whoever was unfortunate enough to stand underneath.

Bright white lights hung from the four corners of the cavern, casting a harsh glare on them. Ten buildings dotted the cavern. To her right were five white rectangular buildings that appeared to house all the prisoners.

To her left were three large brown buildings, the Dealers moving in and out of them like clockwork. Directly ahead was a small, discreet grey structure, and in the corner, atop a ledge, stood the mysterious black building where Dr. Strauss had vanished.

The only exit appeared to be a long tunnel on the far side of the cavern, where several Dealers were posted.

Nothing in the vast space gave any indication to where the prison camp was located.

For all Khalani knew, they might not even beinHermes anymore.

Most of the prisoners shuffled into line with unsteady gaits, their hands covered in open blisters. At the front, two men used ladles to scoop a murky, brownish liquid into bowls.

Her stomach growled, and just as she slipped into line, a rough jostle from behind nearly sent her flying.

The thin prisoner who bumped into her didn’t offer an apology. The middle-aged woman simply shuffled forward, nearly shaking in anticipation.

When Takeshi pulled Khalani back, a smaller prisoner protested, “No cutting!”

Takeshi turned, fixing the man with a glare so blistering it could melt ice. The prisoner’s mouth snapped shut, and he quickly found another spot in line to stand.

Khalani bit her lip and faced forward, begrudgingly recognizing the advantage of having Takeshi by her side. For now.

It didn’t make her any less tempted to activate his shock cuffs, though.