Page 43 of Sadistic Retribution (Rise of Phoenyxx #2)

I put my finger to my lips as we creep closer. I can see the outline of the building now. I look left and right, straining my ears.

I don’t see or hear anything, but I still warn the others. “Stay quiet, and don’t try to go too fast. We need to be safe.”

They all nod. Pazessca puts a hand on my arm. “We’ll succeed with you helping me lead, Synn. In this moment, I trust you to keep us all safe.” She whirls, exclaiming, “I trust ALL of you to get through this.”

I agree wholeheartedly. “We are one unit—a team. No one makes a move without the others.”

I take in a deep breath and concentrate on getting us to that horrible building.

Phoenyxx

We come to a stop in front of the shed door. Synn pushes me out of the way, putting his ear to the door. “Nothing, it seems quiet,” he reports.

With a disgusted look, I remind him, "I need to be in the lead.”

I push past him, feeling out the area before touching anything.

After a beat, I put my shaky hand on the door handle, pulling it open slowly. It not being locked is suspicious. I shoot a look at Ghost, and he nods in agreement.

“Careful,” he mouths.

I quietly enter the shed and frown in confusion.

There’s nothing, just the tiny space. Purge holds up a finger, then starts checking the walls.

The others join him in looking over everything.

Near the back, a tiny clicking sound alerts us to a possible door.

There's a large, metal shelf standing in front of the area we need to check.

It's full of gardening tools and looks way too heavy to push out of the way.

In silent agreement, we each take a side.

We push and pull to get the shelf away from the back wall.

Sweat pours down my back as I strain to move this fucking thing.

Synn grits his teeth, and uses so much force, the veins in his arms stand up.

With a small squealing sound, he manages to move it enough for someone to slip behind.

Before anyone else tries to wiggle through, I whisper, “I’ll do it, I'm the smallest.”

I manage to get myself behind the shelf. As soon as I touch the wall, a door swings open. I turn, raising my eyebrows. “Come on,” I mouth.

Ghost makes it easily. Then Purge—barely. Razor tries to make himself smaller, and with some grunting, gets past, scraping his chest on the way. He grins at me so I know he’s okay. Poor Synn is last. The man is built like a fucking tank. I don’t know how he’s going to get behind that fucker.

But instead of following us, that crazy fucker climbs up the shelf, dropping to his feet. He crashes into us, but holds his arm out to steady me. We’re literally plastered to each other in this narrow space.

“Guys, we have to push this shelf farther back. We'll have at least three others with us on the way back through.”

Grunting, the guys try to push it back. It doesn’t budge. I blow out a frustrated breath. “Take some of the shit off of it and toss it in the corner by the door.”

Ghost slips past. He quickly swipes some of the lighter shit off. Seeing that he’ll need help, Purge wiggles his way out. Between the both of them, they get a good portion of items off the shelves.

Synn pushes out his arms, and with Razor’s help, pushes the shelves farther out, almost to the center of the small space.

“Good job,” I praise them in a soft voice. Ghost and Purge rejoin us.

I take a breath, carefully going through the doorway. It's dark, but there’s enough light to see there’s a winding hall. I stop, waiting for the others. We’ll leave the door open since we have to get back out this way.

Knowing time is ticking fast, I hurry through the hall. It cuts left and right with no rhyme or reason. It seems endless, yet we must keep going.

Just as I’m about to scream in frustration, I see a strip of light ahead. I gasp, speeding up to get to it. Synn tries to grab my arm, but I shake him off.

I hold my breath and poke my head into the opening. Not seeing anyone, I go through the entryway, eyes widening. I know where we’re at! It looks like the place Bryan and I originally woke up in.

I turn to the guys. “I know this area. It is probably the holding cell area for new students. There should be large cells coming up.”

Excitement hums through my veins, keeping alert as I look for Bryan. With my attention split, I fail to see someone coming straight for us. It's that fucking bitchy nurse. What the hell is she doing in here?

It doesn’t matter, because she will be dead in moments.

I look at the guys, and make sure they see me slide a knife out, holding it away from the nurse’s line of sight.

I walk straight up to her, and she opens her mouth to shout.

Ghost pushes behind her, clapping his hand over her mouth.

Without hesitation, I grip my hunting knife, slicing her throat.

Blood sprays—I hit her carotid pretty dead-on.

Her throat gapes open like an obscene smile, and a whistling sound comes from her neck as she tries—and fails—to breathe.

“Die, bitch!” I spit impatiently.

She drops to the floor, and I kick her body as we go past.