And maybe that was why the two of us had been so close. We’d only ever had each other. We understood each other, because we’d been trapped in the same boat, in the middle of the same storm.
Then my dad had begun to train me in the art of self-defense, and I’d discovered I had a talent for it. It had given me something to do, something to think about, something to look forward to. But when it had come to the zombies, he hadn’t known many tricks.
Those I’d learned from Cole. Under his tutelage, I’d begun to feel confident, maybe, at times even undefeatable. But none of that training helped me now.
Though I struggled with all my might against the hold of the guards, they managed to drag me back to the cage.
HUNGRY!
NEED!
SOON!
MINE!
No longer whispering, the zombie thoughts now shouted through my mind—an echo of my own thoughts. I could smell the sweetest, purest perfume in the air...wafting from the guards, from Kat and Reeve, from Jaclyn.
Mmm...so good...
Z.A. had stepped back inside me, and I could feel her hunger. Why she hadn’t attacked Kelly while she was out of my body, I didn’t know. Unless she couldn’t. She hadn’t gone after Cole or Gavin, either. Maybe, as long as she was tethered to me, she was bound somewhat to my will.
“Stand at the back wall,” one of the guards yelled. Kat and Reeve had rushed to the bars upon spotting me. “Now!”
The girls obeyed, probably desperate and willing to do anything to get to me, and the door was opened. I was thrust inside, the door slammed behind me. Strength had long since abandoned me, and I fell to my hands and knees.
The girls rushed to my side, the sweetness of their scents so strong I had to be drooling.
“Get away,” I croaked. “You have to get away.”
“Do what she says,” I heard Jaclyn demand. “It’s for your own good.”
What would one taste hurt?
“What did they do to you?” Kat demanded.
“Oh, Ali,” Reeve breathed.
“Now!” I crawled away from the girls and huddled in the far corner of the cell. I wrapped my arms around my middle, my entire body trembling from residual pain. From cold and weakness and fear and dread and hunger...oh, the hunger...
I banged my head into the brick. Can’t think about the girls. Can’t think about how easy it would be to overpower them, to hold them down and work my teeth past skin and muscle and into—
No! Can’t think.
I banged harder, faster. So much harder. Black spots appeared behind my eyelids, and I smiled with my first wave of relief. The end of my torment was coming, sneaking in...would soon arrive... I sighed happily as I sank into blissful unconsciousness.
When I woke up, the world was, strangely enough, a much brighter place. I hadn’t hurt my friends. I’d been at my worst, hunger-ravaged and desperate, but I’d kept to myself.
Some part of me—my love for Kat and Reeve, maybe—was stronger than Z.A.
I could do this, win this. I could fight and overcome.
This time, I actually believed it.
I put together a new to-do list. Do whatever’s necessary to escape with Kat, Reeve and Jaclyn. Come back with Cole and the other slayers. Destroy Anima—start with Kelly.
To escape, I needed strength.
For strength, I needed food.
We were each given a small, dry sandwich and told to make it last—it was supposed to be our breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Amendment. First convince someone to feed us.
A little while later, I was escorted to Kelly’s chamber of horrors and strapped to the chair, electrodes taped all over me.
Kelly sat beside me. “See. I told you the toxin wouldn’t kill you.” Grinning proudly, he patted my hand like Pops used to do. “Now, let’s talk before we begin today’s testing.”
“Let’s not. I’m too hungry.”
He ignored me, saying, “We know where each of your friends lives, but what we don’t know is if they possess any unusual abilities, like you. More specifically, I’d like to know if any of them are able to heal supernaturally fast.”
“I’ll trade answers for food.” False answers.
His expression hardened. “I admire your spirit, Miss Bell, but it’s going to get you into trouble. I told you I would do whatever was necessary to help my daughter and I meant it.”
“Cheeseburger. Fries. Chocolate shake.”
He stickered me with more electrodes, these attached to the funny-looking machine, and flipped a switch. Volts of electricity shot through me, sharp and hot and carnivorous. I opened my mouth to scream.
The pain stopped as swiftly as it had begun.
Desperately trying to suck oxygen into deflated lungs, I glared up at my tormentor.
“Now, I’m sorry I had to do that, but you brought it on yourself. Thankfully for you, I’m willing to try again. Do any of your friends possess the ability to heal supernaturally fast?”
“Pizza,” I rasped.
Frowning, Kelly flipped the switch.
The pain lasted longer this time, my heart actually stopping in my chest before restarting on its own.
On and on we continued. He would ask a question about the slayers and their abilities, and I would name a food—if I could speak. I was pretty sure my brain had turned into a cherry Slushie.
“Pay attention, Miss Bell.”
My head rolled in Kelly’s direction. He thought to break me, and with my body, he was succeeding, but he was only strengthening my resolve.
“If you don’t want to talk about the slayers right now, we won’t, but we’re not quite done with today’s session. You see, I sent a man to capture you. He shot Halim Bendari, and someone else shot his driver. I haven’t seen or heard from him since. Do you happen to know where he is?”
“Try looking...up your butt.”
He popped his jaw—and flipped the switch.
The chair shook with the force of my shudders, the pain acute, gut-wrenching and soul-zapping. Kelly was going to kill me. How could he not? After a while, even my skin began to vibrate, and it didn’t stop when he turned off the machine. My bones felt brittle, as if they would break at any second. My lungs had to be filled with glass rather than air. Every breath was agony.
I...came to as Kelly tapped my cheek. I must have passed out.
“That’s enough for today,” he said with a sigh. “We’ll pick this up again tomorrow. I hope you’ll be in a more agreeable mood.”
I think he’d pushed me harder than he’d intended.
“Lasagna. Spaghetti. Garlic bread.”
He scowled. “I don’t want to do it, but I’ll strap your friend Kat to the table. I’ll make you watch as I infect her. Will you talk before I inject the first needle?”
Monster! I bared my teeth at him, wishing so badly I could do more.
He smoothed the soaked hair from my forehead, knowing he’d reached me on a level the machine hadn’t. “Tomorrow we’ll have another chat. If you fail me as you’ve done today, I’ll use the already sick Katherine Parker.”
He knew. He knew she was sick, and he was still going to use her.
I was unable to support a single pound of my own weight and had to be carted back to the cage. I wanted to assure Kat and Reeve I was okay, but the moment the guards dumped me on the floor, darkness swallowed me.
“—so sorry,” a male was saying. I recognized his voice. It made me angry. Angry enough to force myself out of my deep sleep, the only thing preventing me from feeling the pain still lingering in my body.
I blinked, looked through eyes glassy from the strain they’d endured. Ethan stood at the bars of our cage, pleading with Reeve to forgive him for the part he’d played in our capture.
The anger magnified, giving me strength. Snarling like the very animal I might be becoming, I launched myself at the bars. I reached for Ethan, intending to choke the life out of him—and laugh while doing it.
He reared backward, out of reach.
Two of the lab coats rushed toward him, to protect and shield him, most likely, but he held up his hand and they stopped, quickly returning to their stations. He tugged at the collar of his sweater, keeping enough distance between us to prevent a repeat of what had just happened.
“You did this,” I shouted, surprised at the sound of my voice. I’d shouted, but only a whisper could be heard. “I’ll kill you. I’ll kill you so dead.”
“Let me explain,” he said, expression as tormented as his tone. “Please.”
“Save your words. There’s no explanation good enough.”
His gaze slid to Reeve for a second, as if seeking some kind of softness. “The man who runs this place is my father. He’s worked for Anima for two decades and was finally promoted to one of the top positions.”
A family legacy. How sweet. “I’m going to cut out your eyes, stop you from ever doing this again! You were the one in the forest that night, spying on Trina and Lucas.”
Ethan’s head dropped. With shame? He nodded. “My dad and I can’t afford failure, not if my sister is going to survive. So we wanted all the bases covered. That’s why he sent me to Reeve and why I agreed. That’s why he sent Justin to the slayers.”
“You used me,” Reeve said quietly. “And you expect me to forgive and forget?”
Reminded of her presence, I turned to her. I waited for the scent of her to hit me, to unnerve and obsess me, but encountered only a soft waft of the expensive perfume probably embedded in her skin. The darker urges were at bay.
I squeezed her hand in reassurance, and she offered me a small smile of thanks.
“I didn’t use you,” Ethan said with a shake of his head. “I mean, at first, yes, I did, but even then I was attracted to you. The more time I spent with you, the harder I fell. You were never supposed to get hurt.”
“With your dad, everyone is expendable,” I said hotly. “You should have known that.”
Ethan popped his jaw. Ignoring me, he said, “I love you, Reeve. I never lied about that.”