Page 21 of King of Lies (Mayhem Manuscripts Season One: 1nf3ction #6)

Keaton

For the second time in quick succession, Oz didn’t spare me so much as a glance. August’s immune status very much rendered him the man of the moment in our captor’s eyes, while I’d clearly been relegated to the role of also-ran. It was no wonder August was acting weird.

Oz seemed even more hyped up than the last time, almost vibrating with excitement. The hypodermic syringe held loosely in his right hand announced his intent. August’s eyes widening said he’d seen it too.

“Let’s get started,” Oz said cheerily. “Time is a wasting.”

“What does that mean?” August asked, a note of tension having crept into his voice.

“I need to move you to the lab. We’ve got a jam-packed schedule, and it’s just not practical to keep going back and forth between here and there. Don’t worry, you’ll like the lab. It’s a lot more interesting than this room.”

“What about Keaton?” August asked, his gaze flicking my way.

Oz finally looked at me. “Oh, he’s staying here. I have no need of him yet.”

Charming! Should staying be a relief? Without August, there’d be nothing to do but stare at a wall and think about how and when I might die. Being angry enough to argue with him might not be pleasurable, but at least it made the time pass quicker.

I tried to catch August’s eye, but Oz was already blocking my view of him, syringe at the ready.

It was the only time he’d gotten close since leaving us here.

August came to the same realization and lunged at him, arms wrapping around Oz’s skinny body.

I inwardly cheered for a second, but Oz was prepared for such an eventuality and was quicker.

“Naughty boy,” he chided as he slid the needle into August’s neck.

“Did you really think you could get one over on Osvaldo Conway? That’s simply not going to happen.

You’re far too important to let slip through my fingers. ”

When he moved back, August was still conscious, fighting the effects of the drug with every fiber of his being. I offered him what I hoped was a reassuring smile. He tried to return it, but couldn’t get the muscles of his face to cooperate.

Oz straightened from where he was bent over the iron ring on the wall, frowning as he patted the pocket of his lab coat. “Silly me. I must have left my keys in the lab.” He tutted to himself as he headed for the door. “What am I like? I’d forget my own head if it wasn’t screwed on.”

August’s head lolled to one side as Oz left, his footsteps quick. In a move that seemed to take an immense amount of effort, August stretched his hand out in front of him. When his fingers uncurled, there was a set of keys in the center of his palm.

I stared at them, everything clicking into place. The lunge forward hadn’t been an attack. It had been a calculated pick-pocketing attempt. And a successful one at that. “You clever bastard.”

With his last shred of consciousness, in what must have required a herculean effort, August pitched the keys my way before slumping to the side. They fell short, a tantalizing distance away from my right foot. If Oz came back now, he’d see the keys and the game would be up.

I shuffled forward until the chain pulled taut on my other leg. There was no way I could reach it with either of my hands. But if I twisted around, maybe I could hook the keys with my other foot and drag them closer.

Pain bit into my manacled ankle as I strained to get closer, a noise escaping from my throat.

I was only a few inches away, but those few inches may as well have been a mile.

How long before Oz realized his keys weren’t in the lab and came back here?

One minute? Two? I doubted it would be much longer.

Another inch closer. I’d never wished for bigger feet before, but an extra shoe size or two would have helped.

“Come on, Keaton. You were in the fucking army. You can deal with a bit of pain. Make your choice. Pain now or letting that sick fuck get his hands on you.”

The pep talk helped, and I gained another inch at the expense of feeling like the manacle might break my ankle. I needed to be careful I didn’t nudge the keys farther away instead of bringing them closer. If I did, everything would go to shit. I’d have no keys, and he’d know what August had done.

Familiar footsteps, Oz’s quick gait already having burned itself into my memory banks in less than twenty-four hours.

I didn’t let it derail me from what I was trying to achieve.

I couldn’t. I had one chance at this. Pass or fail.

I got the edge of my shoe onto the closest key, the pain so intense that it felt like the manacle might skip a broken ankle and slice my foot off.

The footsteps were close. I reckoned I had one minute tops before he came through the door.

Sweat dripped down my face, obscuring my vision. “Concentrate, Keaton.”

I dragged them an inch closer. Two inches.

Close enough that I could reach out and grab them with my hand.

I scooped them up and sat on them, my heart going like a jackhammer.

I gave my face a quick wipe with my sleeve to rid myself of the worst of the sweat and then schooled my expression into something that hopefully looked relaxed.

All with five seconds to spare. I wasn’t out of danger, but it at least gave me a chance.

“Couldn’t find them,” Oz said as he breezed back into the room with a look of befuddlement on his face.

“No?”

He shook his head, and I metaphorically held my breath, expecting it to click that if they weren’t in the lab, then they had to be in here. All he had to do was ask me to stand up, and they’d be right there.

“It doesn’t matter,” he said with a shrug. “I have a spare set.” He brandished them, shaking them so they jingled.

When he turned to August, I concentrated on breathing normally. Not too fast, not too slow. In and out, like I’d been doing all my life. He’s not suspicious. Don’t give him any reason to start.

“Aww, look at him,” Oz said with something close to fondness in his voice. “Sleeping Beauty. Do you know that story?”

“No.”

He bent down to unlock the manacle around August’s ankle.

“It’s about a princess who gets cursed by a witch and goes to sleep for a very long time.

She’s awakened by a kiss from a prince.” He frowned.

“It’s not very scientific. Not unless the prince has smeared something on his lips.

And even then there wouldn’t be enough absorption to facilitate such a rapid recovery. ”

He grabbed hold of August’s arm and pulled him unceremoniously across the floor toward the door.

“I suppose if he had a pill on his tongue, and the kiss was a lot more graphic than the story made it out to be, it might be feasible. Who’s tonguing someone unconscious, though?

” He chuckled as if he’d made a funny joke. “Hark at me sounding like I’m fussy.”

I forced a laugh. It died in my throat as the door clicked shut in his wake and the dragging sounds continued down the corridor.

Once I was satisfied the coast was clear, I retrieved the keys from beneath me, my fingers trembling as I tried the first of four in the lock.

It was too big and wouldn’t go in. Same with the second.

The third key fitted, but I couldn’t get it to turn.

Same with the fourth. Panic had me forcing myself to breathe evenly and to think.

Slow down, Keaton. You’ve got time. It had to be one of these keys.

He’d been intending to unlock August with them, so it made little sense for it not to be one of them.

I tried the third key again. Or maybe it was the fourth. They were almost identical, so it was hard to tell. This time I went slower. It turned, the slight click it made as the lock released second only to the manacle opening on the list of most wondrous things in the world.

I was free.

Next came the door. Oz had been leaving it unlocked all day, so that it was easier for him to come and go. That, and he assumed being chained to the wall was enough. Well, he hadn’t counted on August’s cunning. Or his pick-pocketing skills. Apparently, it wasn’t just lying he was a master at.

When I pushed the door open, I half expected to run into Oz standing outside. He wasn’t there, the corridor clear both to the left and the right.

Oz’s footsteps always went right, so I went left.

The success of my escape hinged on getting out of here before he even realized I’d gone.

I slowed as I approached the bend, my heart beating quite the tattoo in my chest. A peek around the corner revealed nothing more ominous than another empty corridor.

There were doors on either side, but they were all closed, and I didn’t waste time opening them. I needed an exit, not a tour.

In the next corridor, one door stood open. A glance inside revealed neatly stacked boxes. I passed by without exploring what they contained. Around the next bend, a stairwell led up. I didn’t take it. It would only take me farther from an exit.

A couple more minutes of exploring brought me to my first window, the building having been distinctly lacking in them so far. Unusually, it still had glass in it. It was filthy, my sleeve needed to clear a patch before I could see through it.

A courtyard lay beyond it, with the building in a square around it.

My military training kicked in, and I took in as much as I could.

Overgrown foliage. No one was spending any time on gardening here; that was for sure.

Three floors in the building. A medium-sized shed in the courtyard, which looked like an ideal place to store a motorbike should you get your hands on one.

Further examination showed a gap between the buildings on the opposite side of the courtyard.

That had to be my exit point. I just needed to find a door that got me out into the courtyard.