Page 116 of Sadistic Retribution

I hug her hard. “Stay behind me, okay?”

She does as I ask, and I run to the next door. It's 10, the muscular woman with the buzzcut.

“Want out?” I ask.

“Of course! Thank you, 11.”

“One of the guys will be getting to you in a minute, okay?”

“It’s fine, thank you so much.”

I nod, eyes carrying to the far end of the hall. I dead-run to 3’s cell.

“3! It’s me, love. 11—Phoenyxx! I'm here with some friends to get you out!”

I hear a whine and a cry, and his trembling form scoots out from under the bed. His eyes look like saucers. He whimpers, standing up and making his way to the bars. His hand comes up, seeking my touch. I wind my fingers with his as we wait.

“Hey, is this guy getting out?” Razor hollers back.

I look to where he’s standing. Oh shit. I look at 3. “I will be right back!”

I dart over to Razor, glaring in at 9. “This guy is a cannibal cocksucker,” I tell Razor. “IF I let you out, you promise not to eat me, or my friends?” I deadpan to 9 through the bars.

He grunts, making eye contact with me. “I will only eat the bad guys.”

I shrug, telling Razor, “Go ahead. If he tries to bite you, take him out.”

Razor laughs like a hyena. “I’ve got this, Fiasca!”

I see Ghost working on 10’s door, and the moment he gets it open, she slides out. Good. That's almost everyone.

I rush back to 3. Purge runs next to me, thank fuck. I stop in front of his cell. “This is the mute guy I told you about. Please be soft and gentle with him.”

He starts to question me, then stops himself from speaking when he sees 3, standing on shaky legs.

“This is my friend, Purge,” I whisper. “He’s going to get this door open, okay?”

3 whines again, pointing to me, then pointing to Purge, and the rest of the guys. He very pointedly draws his finger across his throat. I know what he’s saying. “3, it’s okay. I was wrong. My best friend, Valley… she's alive! It was a... trick. They were forced to play it on me. Please don’t be scared of them, okay? They want to help.”

He looks me in the eyes, coming to a decision that flits across his face. He nods once, firmly. He trusts me; that makes my heart beat just a little bit faster.

Purge works quickly to get the door open. As soon as it swings open, 3 throws himself at me, cries coming from deep in his throat.

“It’s okay, I've got you,” I soothe.

Purge glances at me. “Poor fucking guy,” he empathizes. I so appreciate him being sweet right now.

The others run to us to catch up. 3 almost loses it, but I hold him firmly to my side. “These are the rest of my friends. Synn, Razor, and Ghost.”

“Hey, man,” Synn tries awkwardly.

“We don’t have time, we have to get back to the exit,” I say quickly, heart pounding.

All nine of us turn and run past the curve to get to the stairs. Before we can sprint out the exit door, a noise alerts me to the presence of someone else.

Fuck. No, no, no! It's the masks—all four of them!

Chapter 41