Page 16

MARA

“ P rison fight!”

The whole cafeteria became a jungle of flying fists, kicking legs, and people trying to destroy one another.

The guards had no chance.

I pounced on the girl, wrapping my legs around her hips, hands balled up into fists, and just laid into her—one, two, three.

Right fist, left fist, then right again.

Blood splashed out of her nose, all over the floor, and across my scarred knuckles.

But I didn’t care. I laid into her again with a fourth and fifth, listening to her whimper.

Let her feel it. Let her feel pain like I’ve been feeling for weeks. Let her know what it feels like when the world comes caving in on you, leaving you alone to fight for your life on your own. Let her—

Someone grabbed my hair and yanked me backward, pulling me off her. I scrambled to get to my feet. As soon as I felt them release my hair, I turned to face my attacker, and—

POW!

I took a right hook— hard —snapping my face to the right. I saw stars and staggered back a few steps. I shook my head, trying to regain focus.

SMACK !

Another hit from the left. Not as hard as the last one, but still dizzying. I turned, only to see the inmate come at me for another blow. This time, she came in with her left foot, letting it fly through the air to hit me in the solar plexus.

I don’t think so.

Just as her foot was about to land, my hands snapped out and grabbed her ankle, latching on tightly.

She pulled back, trying to release my hold, but I gripped tighter.

And in the span of just a few seconds, I saw the oh shit look register on her face.

She knew she was in trouble. I almost smiled— almost —because the satisfaction of watching the color drain from her face felt so good.

I kicked into action, pushing her foot away from me hard and fast. She lost her balance and tumbled to the ground.

I didn’t give her time to escape. I consumed the few steps that separated us as she tried to scramble onto her hands and knees.

I planted a kick into the middle of her back, sending her to the floor on her face.

She screamed.

They always did.

They all loved to poke the bear, but when the bear finally poked back, they ran, desperate to save themselves.

They were all cowards.

All of them broken things wanting to make everything around them broken, too. They were hellbent on destroying anything that might hope to survive this place. If only they understood that I was already broken beyond repair, and nothing they did could shatter me more than I already was.

I watched as she desperately tried to crawl away before I sent a kick into her ribs. She crumbled, flopping onto her side.

I knew what that felt like. It had been done to me more times than I could count by my brother as he tried to kill me, unable to control himself, his mind hijacked by NIT-V2.

But I wasn’t under anybody’s control. I was just bitter.

Tired of having everyone in this place constantly attacking me at their first opportunity.

Tired of living in a nightmare that never seemed to end.

Tired of everything and seeing no way out.

I stepped up to the girl as the alarms blared, warning the entire facility that prisoners were out of control and reinforcements were needed. But I didn’t care. They poked the bear…and the bear was pissed .

I was ready to kick the girl again, ready to send her to the moon, when the sound of boots pounding the ground shifted my attention to the armed guards entering the room, shooting everyone in sight. Girls screamed out as they fell lifeless to the ground.

Oh shit!

I turned to run, but where was I going to go? The urge to flee was strong, and it didn’t matter that I was trapped. My body had to move, had to fight !

“Hold it!” a guard yelled at me.

ZAP!

I felt the electrical charge hit me in the chest, my whole system buzzing with the intensity of the shock, and then I collapsed to the ground.

Lights out.

***

Time was lost in the darkness.

When you have no sky, no sun, no glimmer from the outside world, you have no time either. It just simply vanishes for you. The darkness goes on forever and ever, and you’re left wondering when will the end finally come.

I didn’t know how long I hung there in the dark. The leather strapping dug into the flesh of my wrists, making them sore and achy. At one point, I thought I felt something dribbling down the length of my arm, but I couldn’t see anything, so I had no way of knowing what that something was.

But I could guess.

My shoulders ached, tired and worn out from the weight of my body. My fingers were numb and cold, all the blood leaving them. Everything felt stretched too thin, spread out too far. Just a dull throb that didn’t go away.

The first time I had been thrown in the pit, I wrestled with the straps.

I tried touching the floor, but my pointed toes only grazed the drain in the stone floor, infuriating me, driving me crazy as I sought relief for my arms. I tried wiggling and pulling on the straps, but nothing changed.

I hung there like a worm on a hook, waiting for the fish to swallow me whole. And he did.

He always came.

I didn’t realize I was getting special treatment until I overheard from a few of the other inmates that the pit was normally just hanging from your wrists in solitude for twenty-four hours.

Maybe a few quick canings depending on what you did.

That’s what the drain was for. A place for the blood to go and the water to drain when the pit was hosed out.

But I was different.

I got a special visitor.

I heard the metal locking mechanisms first—the steel bar sliding back into its chamber. Then the sound of the metal hinges as they ground open, creating a crack of light that pooled into the room, too bright for my dilated eyes. I closed them, turning my head away from the glare.

A click.

Then a buzzing sound.

I didn’t need my eyes to know it was the dim lights of the pit turning on. Slowly, my eyelids fluttered open as my eyes attempted to adjust. I was looking at the floor, at my feet dangling, just barely grazing the ground. Steadily, my eyes adjusted, and I lifted my head to see my visitor.

“I’m starting to think you enjoy my company.

” His voice sent a chill up my spine, awaking all of my primal senses as the smell of his pungent cologne caused my stomach to retch.

I stayed silent, simply narrowing my eyes at him.

“You continue to make choices that land you here, girl. My only guess is that you rather like it.” The last few words came out taunting, teasing.

Charles Calvernon walked toward me, invading my personal space as he drew himself close.

Instinctively, I pulled back my head, turning my face away from him.

But it was pointless. Nothing I did ever changed how this whole thing went.

I closed my eyes, trying my best to keep my breaths slow and steady as Charles’s hands landed on my arms above my head.

They traveled down the length of my body slowly, coming to rest on my hips, where he gripped hard, digging his fingers into me.

I winced slightly, but I kept quiet. There was one thing I figured out on day one—the more I fought back, the more encouraged he was to continue.

I felt his breath along my ear as he whispered.

“Because of you and your fucking family, I’m losing everything !

” he said, screaming the last word into my ear.

I winced, trying to pull away, but his hand shot out and forcibly grabbed my chin, holding me in place.

“Because of you, I lost my son. What did you do to him?” He let go and slapped me.

The sound of his hit echoed in the pit. I refused to cry out, biting my bottom lip to keep from making a single sound.

“Answer me!” He hit me again, but I bit down harder, slamming my eyes shut. I knew he was talking about Chase, but his question didn’t make sense.

His hand seized my throat and squeezed. Alarms rang within me, and my eyes flew open, catching the sight of his menacing green eyes.

“What did you do to Wes? ”

Wes? He was talking about Wes ? I didn’t understand. I didn’t do anything to Wes. I killed Chase. I gave up his name to my father, causing his death, but I didn’t do anything to Wes . I hurt him…broke his heart, but other than that—

Charles gripped harder, and this time, I really couldn’t breathe. I started squirming, writhing, but completely helpless.

“Because of you, I’ve lost all control over that boy. Because of you, he destroyed this family!”

I could barely register his words, my consciousness starting to phase in and out as I suffocated under Charle’s grasp.

Finally, he let go, and I began to cough uncontrollably, my windpipe bruised.

“You’ve destroyed him, just like your father has destroyed my faction! But I refuse to lose! I refuse to be taken under by a Telvian!”

SMACK!

He hit me again, and this time, I felt something ooze from my nose down to the corner of my mouth, inching in through the crease between my lips. I tasted the metallic bitterness of my blood.

Charles brought his face so close to mine, I could taste his breath.

“Tomorrow, you have no future, Miss de la Puente. Tomorrow, I’m shipping you back off to where you belong.

But when you get there, your father won’t even recognize you.

He’ll have to sample your blood to confirm your identity.

That’s assuming you have any left when I’m through with you. ”

Fear gripped my heart, widened my wild eyes. I didn’t want to satisfy him with my panic. But I couldn’t go back to Telvia. Telvia meant death. Telvia meant I burned alive in the arena—a spectacle for all to see.

I finally spoke, my voice raspy from his abuse on my throat. “W-what are you going to do to me?”

Charles stepped back, and the look he gave me would have sent me to my knees if I’d been standing. “I made Wes a promise that he would be punished for his brother’s death. I plan to make good on that promise. He’s going to pay…just not in the way he expects.”

Ice dripped through me, and I suddenly felt so cold, so helpless.

Because Charles didn’t need to spell it out for me.

I had no idea why Charles thought Wes was at fault for Chase, but right now, I couldn’t even begin to untangle that.

Because I was going to pay for his crime, whatever it was.

And if I survived, I was going to be handed over to my parents. My life would be forfeit.

I watched with horror-filled eyes as Charles moved around behind me, out of sight.

I felt as my shirt was torn with angry hands.

I heard the water drip from the rattan cane as he pulled it from its place.

I heard it whistle through the air as it struck my exposed skin.

I registered the sound it made as it tore through my flesh.

And no matter how hard I tried to keep from crying out, I couldn’t.

I searched my dreams for happier times. For memories of stolen kisses and tender caresses. But every strike stole them away from me.

I cried. I cried because this was so much more horrible than I had ever experienced. Nothing could have prepared me for the death I was living.

Because I was dead.

Even if I survived this, I was already dead inside. Because even if my body managed to survive, what would be left of me?

Nothing worth saving.