Page 14 of Sadistic Retribution (Rise of Phoenyxx #2)

Phoenyxx

“Really? How many are in this block?”

“He’s a maneater—literally.” She whispers theatrically. “Don’t get too close.”

What? Holy shit!

Before I can respond, I hear voices. I look up to see 10 walking straight to us. “Hey, I’m 10.” She holds out her hand. I'm supposed to shake hands, I remember this. I tentatively take her hand, and she shakes it firmly. “You are?”

“11.”

“Well, 11, it’s good to meet you. Hi, 6.”

I nod; my brows pinched in confusion. She's actually... nice?

10 nods once and keeps walking down the hallway.

“Bye-bye!” 6 waves at her retreating back. She looks at me, a long sigh escaping her lips. “You’re so pretty. I like you, 11. I want to marry you!”

She claps a hand over her mouth dramatically. I can’t help but grin. Her insanity is a bit amusing. When she sees my reaction, a brilliant smile lights up her face. “11 and me...gonna be family... getting married... la-la-la...” she sings.

I'm so amused by her antics, I don’t see a huge shadow approaching. I feel him before I see him. Oh fuck. This must be 9. He’s twice the size of Synn, for fuck’s sake. Synn... God. My heart aches painfully. I blink rapidly, trying to shove that way back inside my brain.

9 towers over me, glaring with an unhinged smirk on his face. Without a single word, he grabs my hand, and... sniffs it. I yank my hand back, stepping back several steps.

He grunts, moving towards me again. “Taste,” he rasps out, grabbing my fucking arm again. He licks it slowly, moaning low in his throat.

“Nope, don’t even think about it, Cannibal Cocksucker!” I force his hand off me, backing up. “Let’s go, 6,” I say firmly, without taking my eyes off 9.

She grabs up my hand, and we walk the opposite direction.

I look around, nothing but empty cells on either side.

At first, I don’t see anything other than cells, then 6 pulls me through an entry I didn’t notice.

It looks like a common area of some kind.

There are a few chairs scattered around, and a couple of small tables.

I sit down with 6 at a table. She starts to hum, and I tune her out, going back over the fights I’ve seen in my mind.

I need to remember the moves I saw. Hopefully it will help me from not getting killed when it’s my turn.

I'm back in my cell, contemplating everything. Why am I such a strong bitch? I want to break—but my stubborn mind won’t allow it. I would love nothing more than to retreat inside of a paradise in my brain.

A female yell interrupts my thoughts, taking me to the front of my cell.

I look through the bars to see an unfamiliar girl streak through the cell block.

She’s completely naked and fairly tall, but with petite features.

A redhead, complete with freckles sprinkled across her pert nose.

She's young—possibly a teenager, maybe twenty-one at best.

Her head turns towards me as she goes by, aiming a huge smile at me. I grab the bars, whispering frantically. “Go, go! Find a staircase, check around the corner!”

She listens, speeding onward. I hear loud footsteps coming around the corner, all four masks careening around it. They see her immediately. Demon roars, breaking into a run.

“You!” he yells, catching up to her with zero effort. He grabs her around the waist, carrying her back to the other masks. He plops her onto the floor, and they all four restrain her.

“Attention everyone!” Demon says loudly. I can hear murmurs from the other patients around me. The girl struggles, cursing them all out.

“I want you to pay close attention to what happens if you try to escape.” Demon turns back to the girl, pulling out a large knife.

My brow knits in confusion. I tried to get away, and nothing happened to me.

Demon raises the knife, plunging it down. It goes straight through her throat, sticking out the other side. She gurgles and chokes, frantically pawing at her neck. The masks let go of her and she crumples to the floor. A large pool of blood collects underneath her.

Before it can grow larger, the masks pick her up and carry her off. Skull comes back into view, carrying a mop and bucket. He makes quick work of cleaning up the blood, and leaves.

I sink back heavily onto my mattress. I'm a bit shocked, but not really surprised. I'm still so numb, the horror doesn’t hit me like it should. Shaking my head, I lay back and close my eyes. Hopefully sleep can take me far away from here.

Bryan

I'm shaking as I’m led down the hall, presumably to patient 9’s cell. While I was being collected, I heard a bonging sound. I asked the mask what it was and he just muttered, “Free time is over.”

I don’t know what that is, nor do I have any idea what’s in store, but it likely includes a beating—at minimum.

We stop, Skull jangling keys to open the cell in front of me. “Patient 9! We have a visitor for you.”

I hear a deep grunt, and someone steps forward further into the light. Oh My God. This guy is well over six feet, built like a tank. His head is shaved bald, and he has tattoos covering his face and neck—practically every inch of skin.

His eyes are dead and cold. He just glances at me, tips his head back, and laughs. And keeps laughing. I step backward, only to be pushed forward by Skull, who shoves me all the way inside, locking the door behind me.

The giant doesn’t speak, just stalks forward tilting his head. He lifts a massive arm, poking me with an extended finger. He just... pokes me, all over.

“Do you have any body fat? I don’t like bones,” he casually tosses out there. He reaches up and strokes my hair. “Soft,” he grunts. He then leans in close, sniffing the side of my neck. “Fresh meat.”

What the hell? He surely can’t mean...

I scream as he darts in, biting down hard on my arm. He pulls back, my blood covering his mouth and chin.

He licks his lips. “Prime meat.”

He pushes me, attempting to get me on the floor. Anger washes over me, and I swing, trying to punch him. To my surprise, it connects with his jaw. He laughs again, swooping in, knocking me down and pinning me on my back. He goes to sniff my neck again and bares his teeth.

Right before he tears my throat out, Skull comes back inside. “Get back, 9! That's an order.”

9 gnashes his teeth, growling like an animal. “Mine!”

Skull wastes no time breaking out the taser and takes the giant down.

“Go!” he yells to me, jerking his head toward the open door. He locks 9’s door, and barks at me, “Back to your cell.”

I comply, in too much shock to say anything.

“Good shot, 13. This should make things more interesting...” Skull mutters to himself.

I fall onto the floor of my cell, noticing the bowl of plain oatmeal and water beside it. I quickly eat, saving half of the water for later. I curl onto my side, the cold concrete making my aching body hurt even more.

I contemplate whether letting that foul man kill me would’ve been a good thing, or if it would’ve taken terrifyingly too long for me to die.

I just don’t care anymore.

Hunter

Jax leads me into the giant kitchen, where the other ZYGOS members are sitting and waiting.

The kitchen is massive. There aren’t two, but three large, convection ovens and stovetops, three microwaves, two dishwashers, and two large, fancy refrigerators side-by-side.

Everything is spotless stainless steel. There’s a huge table dead center, sitting at least twenty people easily.

I didn’t even know they made kitchen tables this big.

Plus a large island closer to the ovens, with stools pulled up all around it.

Jax claps his hands once, addressing the men sitting at the table. “Alright, everyone. I'd like to introduce our newest member, Harris. Stand up and introduce yourselves and tell him a bit about you.”

A lot of nods and heys go around the table. There are at least twenty men of various ages, eighteen to forty from looks alone. I already know some of them—Thor, Bill, and Trav included.

The one at the end closest to me stands up.

“Hey, I’m Mav, or Maverick. The oldest here.

” He’s a big, bulky guy, a bit shorter than me with a blonde buzzcut and intense eyes.

I nod a hello. “I'm ex-military and have an affinity for pizza and literally anything off the grill. I listen to rock, mostly, but some rap once in a while.”

The guy at the far end stands. “I’m Dylan.

The youngest.” He’s average height, slimmer build.

Messy black hair with matching eyes. “I’m a metalhead through and through.

I was a huge mosh pit fan—love to bash assholes faces in for blocking my view,” he laughs.

“I finally got my ass tossed out for it.” I grew up part of a gang. ” He shrugs, before sitting down.

The next guy stands up. “I’m Tyler. An ex-cop, one of those who wasn’t dirty.

I was an honest guy, until I was pushed too far.

I may or may not have killed a perp who was a woman-beater.

” he smirks. He’s slim to the point of being skinny, but I can make out the outline of abs through his t-shirt.

He has strawberry-blond, short hair, and light green eyes.

A beefy, fit guy stands up. He's got long blonde hair, pulled back in a loose ponytail. He has penetrating green eyes, and hard lines etched into his face. “Fight Club,” he starts off, and Bill bursts out laughing. He glares at him. “Since I was so rudely interrupted, I’ll continue. It was an illegal fighting ring. I was the champion, for five years running. I had no intentions of stopping. Then some asshole got us busted in a raid. Name’s Fist.”

A scary-looking guy goes next. He has stark-greyish-silver hair, and hard, black eyes.

His bronzed, well-muscled skin stands out against the white shirt he’s wearing.

“I’m Blade. Ex-hitman via your kindly United States government.

Yep, - sanctioned by the freaking White House.

Best advice I can give you is trust no one. Especially politicians.”

“My turn, I guess. I'm Black. Ex-CIA. I was the right-hand man to the last President. I couldn’t stand the guy; he’s a lying piece of shit.

Still did my job, though. For a while, anyway.

..” He’s also on the taller side, with a wide nose and thin lips.

Pretty standard short, combed back light brown hair.

Nothing really stands out about him in the looks department.

As the introductions continued, there were some ex-FBI agents, an ex-Mexican drug cartel runner, and ex-informants for the various mobs out there.

Wow. These guys are all so vastly different, but I can appreciate the value each one brings to the team.

“Good to meet everyone,” I say.

“Tell them a bit of your background,” Jax urges.

“Well, I’m a former Navy SEAL, and a former gang member. I'm a therapist now.” Fucking Bill bursts out laughing. I cut him a look. “Fuck you, BILL.” Laughs ring out.

“Well, you definitely belong here with us,” Lee cracks up, tears rolling down his cheeks as he laughs.

I smile and shake my head.

“Okay, everyone get your chow, then back to work,” Jax orders.

I grab coffee and snatch some bacon off the table. I stand there, munching. Somehow, Thor finishes in record time and heads back to the computer room. I slowly sip my coffee, mind whirling, as usual.

“Hey, Harris! You might want to see this!” Thor comes up to me, motioning towards the kitchen exit.

I drain my coffee, then set my cup in the dishwasher and walk out with Thor.

He sits at his computer. "Check this out—someone is trying to hack your military files,” Thor says.

I curse, muttering “Fucking Purge.” It has to be him. The Director already knows my secrets.

“Purge?” Thor questions.

"Yeah, one of The Sadistic Six at The Retreat. The hacker.”

He frowns. “Real name? And age, if you know it.”

“Nikolai Volkov, age twenty.”

“Russian, huh? Interesting. Wonder if there are ties...” He trails off as he’s typing at lightning speed. “While I’m waiting, shoot me all their names and ages. I don’t know why I wasn’t informed of this already.”

“So the others are Synn, Joseph Franco Jr. Age twenty-three. Trikk—James Barbieri, age nineteen. Frost—Damien Aslanov, twenty-one. Ghost—Aleksey Petrov, nineteen. and Razor—Antonio Marino, twenty-two.”

“Thanks, bro,” he keeps typing, inputting the details. “Three Russian, three Italian? Definitely not a coincidence.”

“Care to share?”

“Not quite yet. Let me find out what I can from searching these guys first.”

I lean back in my chair, closing my eyes. I'm not even pissed Purge is looking into me; I get it. He's good though, to be able to get my military files. I'm wondering what we could accomplish working together...

I let my mind drift, closing my eyes for a few precious minutes. Thor will alert me when he gets something.