by Adele Huxley
“Guys! We’re tied up, remember? They’re coming!”
The fear in his voice was enough to kick the others into action. Each pair scrambled back into position as Miah piped up.
“If you can, tie the rope back around your wrists in case they check.” In the light, he bore less of a resemblance to Ethan than Phoenix first thought, but he still looked familiar.
The last remnants of sleep fell away as the girl continued to scream. He knew he had to be on high alert. If any of his friends in the pen were discovered to be free, he’d have to jump into action straight away.
Judging from the noise in the barn, she’d woken everyone up. Some people absorbed her panic, probably still jittery from the fire they’d escaped only a few hours before. Others replied angrily, like Hadley continued to.
“Whatever happens to me, I’m doing to you ten times over,” she growled as she and Rebel struggled with the rope.
His muscles screamed as he slipped his arms behind his back. His and Penny’s rope was obviously destroyed, but they did their best to reattach themselves. When Penny laced her fingers with his, his heart soared.
“What should we do?” she whispered to him, her eyes on the floor.
Phoenix gave her hand a squeeze. “We wait.”
“What’s going on over there?” a voice called out from behind his head. He’d all but forgotten about Claire and Charlie.
“Don’t know yet,” Penny replied.
“Right-o,” Claire said without a drop of worry or concern. He could imagine her cuddling back up with Charlie like they were sleeping in on a lazy Sunday.
She’s an odd one, he thought.
A trail of shouts and pleas followed heavy footsteps. Despite his struggle to stay in control of his emotions, his stomach knotted. As the guards stormed closer, Phoenix snuck a quick glance over to Penny.
Her steely expression gave him the reassurance he needed. If she’d managed to go through such a horrible ordeal and come out the other side, so could he. So could they.
His gaze swung back to the door. He was ready for whatever came next. Or so he thought.
The guards were still fully covered from head to toe. In the harshness of the light, with the shock of the situation settled in, he started trying to pick out specific details. How they walked, their height, anything that might help identify them later on.
The girl in the far corner continued to yell as one knelt in front of her, thick pocket knife extended. Two more guards came in while another stood at the doorway, his assault rifle pointed to the ground.
Phoenix held his breath, waiting for the guard to react to their unsecured ropes. He tensed his muscles, expecting to spring into action. But there was nothing.
With a little commotion, both the yelling girl and the guy she’d been tied to were hoisted to their feet and unceremoniously dragged from the stall.
Everyone blinked at each other with wide eyes, silently wondering what would happen to them. Had they missed their chance at escape? They remained silent until they were absolutely sure all the guards had left.
“What if they tell them?” Rebel whispered. She didn’t have to clarify. It was the same thought on everyone’s mind. They didn’t seem like the sort who could withstand any amount of pressure or torture.
“Just stay ready,” Miah replied. He and Hunter shared a nod, each knowing as big guys, the bulk of the danger and responsibility fell to them.
Phoenix thought it might be good to talk things over with them, to get on the same page. If they could coordinate an attack, then they’d have a better chance.
Penny grabbed his hand as he tried to slip free from the rope.
“Did you recognize who that was?”
“Who? The guards? No, they were—”
She rolled her eyes. “The girl, nimrod. The couple.”
Phoenix frowned. “I mean, I didn’t get a good look at them, but they’re on the US team, right?”
Penny leaned closer, feeling the eyes of the others on her. “That was Elle’s teammate.”
Recognition hit him like a slap to the face. “Shit! And that guy is on Ethan’s team. I remember him complaining about the prick.” But as the realization faded, he was left a little confused. “But so what?”
“Elle thought that chick was the one who’d messed with her skate,” she whispered.“I didn't recognize her until now.”
“I thought it was her coach.”
Penny shook her head, the small muscles at the top of her jaw twitching. “I’m not sure.”
He could tell she wanted to say something more, but thought better of it. He desperately wished he could pull her away to the far corner of the barn again and talk things through, but it was far too dangerous. Too many ears around. Feeling impotent and useless, he crept to the opening and checked if the coast was clear. He wanted to scope out more of the barn if possible, maybe find another exit they hadn’t covered.
Phoenix scrambled back into position just as the footsteps echoed closer. He slid into place beside Penny, slamming into her shoulder. As the guard pushed the girl back into the cell, they carefully wrapped the rope around their wrists.
All eyes were on fixated as she was allowed to return to her place by the wall unescorted.
The eyes behind the goggles were barely visible. The guard seemed to scan each of the prisoners as if deciding who to pick next. Apparently, he wanted an easy morning.
The two girls across the stall burst into tears as he approached with his knife outstretched. Phoenix again braced himself for the worst, but the guard didn’t seem to notice the frayed rope or lack of tension. He knew their luck wasn’t going to hold out for long.
Their cries rocked through him as they were pushed from the cell. He stared at the empty space in the door and only by chance, did he catch a quick glimpse of Claire being led away. Her wild, curly hair hung over her face, but he knew it was her.
As the barn settled, Penny lurched over to the quietly crying girl.
“What did they do? Where did they take you?”
She didn’t respond.
“Why the fuck did you call out for them? Did they give you something? Tell you something?”
The blonde shifted her body away, shoulders shuddering with quiet tears.
Penny huffed with frustration and slammed back down to her ass. “Useless.”
“Anna, right? That’s your name?” Rebel tried. She was reluctant to move across the stall for fear of a guard seeing.
Even the soft touch wasn’t working on her.
The guards were so unpredictable, Phoenix couldn’t feel safe to do more than talk across the expanse. People were being carted in an out, escorted at odd times.
He managed to make eye contact with Hunter and Miah. They wordlessly agreed if the opportunity were to come up, they’d both rush the guards. The thought made him sick to his stomach, but if they were able to grab a weapon of some sort, they might stand a chance.
Most of all, he wanted to talk with Penny. The things she’d revealed were hard to swallow at first, but he had questions. He’d known from the start there was more to her than met the eye, but he never could’ve guessed the truth of it.
After Rhett’s revelation at the Lodge, he’d all but written her off. But now…
More movement pulled him from his thoughts. Claire strode past their cell, her head held up high, curls bouncing. Judging from the sounds behind, she settled back into place beside Charlie. Their low murmurs started the moment the guards disappeared.
“What did they do?” Phoenix whispered through the wall.
“Fed me breakfast,” she replied. “Bread, cheese, and juice.”
Penny met his gaze questioningly. “Anything else?” she asked, her dual-colored eyes boring into his.
Claire hesitated. “They were speaking Esperanto.”
“What’s she saying?” Rebel whispered across the space.
Before Phoenix could reply, the familiar, heavy footsteps of an approaching guard pounded
toward them.
With a confident stride, the guard stepped between him and Penny. Phoenix gripped his end of the rope, momentarily wondering if he could move quickly enough to wrap it around the guy’s neck.
The sharp knife slid through the rope like it was nothing. The guard stood and waggled the tip at Penny, gesturing for her to stand. He then pointed it at Phoenix’s face and spoke through the voice altering device.
“You stay.”
He was prepared for almost anything, but he hadn’t considered what he’d do if they took Penny. Shame washed over him as he realized the answer was nothing. He’d do nothing as she was yanked away.
Chapter 12
Phoenix didn’t have much time to dwell on what might happen to Penny. The moment the footsteps faded, Claire appeared at the opening, rushing in with a blur. She slid to a crouching stop at Rebel’s feet.
“Are you okay? You’re gonna get caught!”
“I’ll be quick,” she replied with a check to the opening. “They were speaking Esperanto.”
Rebel’s eyes went wide. Despite knowing better, he inched closer to hear the conversation. The women barely paid him any notice.
“What happened?” Hadley demanded.
“They brought me into a little room with a table. There was food, a glass, and a couple random things spread out on the surface.”
“Random? Random like what?” Phoenix asked.
Claire shook her head but didn’t look at him. “A pen. A spoon. A cassette tape.”
Rebel frowned and urged her to continue. “What else? What did they say?”
“They told me to eat, in English. So I did. There were two of them in there with me, one on either side. They were watching every single thing I did. I got the distinct feeling I was doing something wrong, but they didn’t stop me.”
“What do you mean?” Phoenix asked.
Claire swiped her hair behind her ear with a shrug. “I don’t know. Just a feeling. But I think it was right because as I finished my juice, one guy sort of grunted. He said to the other one, ‘This is going to take forever.’ And the other guy said, ‘But we have to make contact.’”
She rocked back on her heels and nodded as if it were somehow definitive. Apparently to the girls in the group, it was. Rebel, Hadley, and Claire all shared wordless glances.
“What am I missing?” Phoenix demanded. He suddenly regretted not paying attention to all the stuff Penny and Rhett had been droning on about over the past couple days.
They shared another few looks before Rebel replied. “The people who have been messing with the Unity Games apparently communicate in this language. Claire cracked the code and speaks it, so…”
Claire picked up as she trailed off. “The Snowtroopers are behind the other attacks.”
“Snowtroopers?” Phoenix snorted despite himself.
She blinked at him as if he were the silly one. “Yeah. What else would you call a group of clueless guys all dressed in white?”
A loud bang on the opposite side of the barn made them all jump. With lightning fast reactions, Claire flew to the entrance, crouched to make sure the coast was clear, and returned to her side.
Phoenix’s heart pounded in his chest as he took his place back against the wall. The empty spot beside him felt like a gaping void.
“That’s what happened to me too,” the crying girl sniffed, the one who was supposedly Elle’s teammate. “But they didn’t talk when I was there.”
“Were the same things on the table in front of you?” Phoenix asked. She nodded. He looked to Rebel who had jumped to the same conclusion.
“It’s a code. Whoever they’re looking for—”
“Would know what to do with those things,” he finished.
Hunter shifted slightly, reluctant to take his eyes off the entrance. “What the hell are you guys talking about?”
Phoenix’s mind raced. “She said there were weird things on the table and that they were watching how she moved or whatever. Maybe the person who they’re looking for knows what to do. Like place one on another, something like that.”
“I don’t get it,” Hunter frowned.
Hadley leaned forward. “Well, basically they’re looking for an informant and don’t know who it is.” Her sharp blue eyes snapped to Phoenix. “But I have a pretty good idea.”
“Penny isn’t the informant,” he groaned. He caught Miah’s eye, hoping he’d jump in to back him up. Phoenix didn’t want to blow up Penny’s secret, but Miah at least knew her background. But before they could gang up, Hadley kept pushing.
“Right. Cause the weirdo bitch who put cameras in our rooms is obviously innocent.”
Miah scowled and looked between everyone. “She put cameras in your—”
“There’s no proof of that!” Phoenix insisted.
Rebel pulled her hair over her shoulder. Her eyebrows lifted as she spoke. “She did have the footage, though. You can’t deny that.”
“Well, no, but that doesn’t—”
“Honey, it’s okay,” Hadley said in a condescending tone. “We’ve all been there. We’ve all let good sex cloud our better judgement.” Without looking, she held up a finger in Hunter’s direction and continued. “But if you don’t take off those pussy-goggles, you’re gonna get yourself hurt.”
He shook his head and shifted, rapidly trying to work out how to explain how wrong she was. “You don’t get it. She’s—”
“So, what’s the plan? We better figure it out quick before she gets back,” Hadley addressed the rest of the group. “I still think we can make a break for it.”
“They all have guns,” Anna whimpered.
“But we have big, strapping men who will protect us,” Hadley insisted.
Hunter snorted and crossed his arms. “I’m not your walking Kevlar vest.”
“Maybe we can wiggle one of the boards free,” Rebel suggested, eyeing the wall.
“Are we breaking out?” Claire yelled a little too loudly.
Phoenix’s blood pressure went through the roof. Not only were they putting every hostage at risk, there was no organization or thought. Plus, he wasn’t about to walk out of there without Penny.
“Everyone, just shut up, will ya?” he whispered harshly while waving with both hands. “Nothing has changed. We don’t know any more than we did last night. If we just stop for a second and think about what all this means, maybe we can figure out what they’re—”
“I vote we don’t listen to him,” Hadley announced as she shot her hand up in the air.
“Seconded,” Hunter replied quickly. When Phoenix’s gaze snapped to him, he shrugged. “Sorry man, but you are kinda thinking with your dick here.”
Phoenix could only shake his head while they erupted in conversation around him. Maybe he was blind, but he knew whatever half-baked scheme they all came up with would get them all killed. Or worse…
As he stared at the floor in the center of the stall, a faint vibration travelled through the wood. He stiffened, at first having the ludicrous thought it was coming from a tank outside. It was a deep, heavy sensation he didn’t hear but rather felt. He scanned the others all locked in heated conversations, but none of them seemed to notice. It was only out of sheer luck their voices dropped just enough the incoming guards were audible.
Phoenix felt his heartbeat in this throat. The handful of seconds it took from hearing them approach to seeing Penny turn the corner were some of the longest of his life. A few people had been taken and not returned, but the moment he saw her dark hair and sparkling eyes, a weight lifted from his chest.
She was allowed to return to her spot to his left. She demurely sank to her knees, keeping her eyes averted from everyone in the stall. The guard looked each of them over, his hands balanced on the assault rifle slung over his shoulder. He stopped to consider for a moment before turning right and walking away. The space outside went quiet.
Phoenix met Rebel’s gaze for a split second. She tried to communicate something, but he didn
’t care. His only concern was Penny.
“Are you okay?”
She nodded, her short hair shaking with the movement.
“They didn’t hurt you?”
“No. I’m fine.”
He couldn’t read her body language. She was acting so strangely and worst of all, she didn’t realize what it looked like to the others.
“What happened?” Rebel asked innocently.
Penny blinked up. She slipped her hip to the side and sat on her ass, pulling her knees up to her chest. “Nothing. They let me piss and I came back.”
The others exchanged knowing looks as if it proved her guilt. The glances weren’t lost on her.
Phoenix touched her arm, trying to bring her around to him. If she could just see how important it was she tell the truth, maybe he could stop the worst from happening. “Did they blindfold you?” he whispered softly. He thought maybe she was recovering from the trauma.
“No. What the hell, guys? I went for a piss, the perverts probably listened, and then they brought me back.” She studied the faces of everyone in the small pen. “It’s not like I’m the only one they took.”
“Convenient,” Hadley chuckled.
Penny slammed her heels. At the same time, she slapped her palms flat on the floor. “If you have something you’d like to say, why don’t you say it to my fucking face instead of acting like some passive aggressive mean girl?”
Hunter pressed his lips together, scarcely able to stop a snort of laughter. In any other situation, Hadley probably would’ve set her sights on him, but Penny was her main target.
“There’s nothing passive about my aggression, sweetheart,” Hadley smirked.
Penny pushed onto her knees. “Yeah?”
Hadley matched her posture. Her smirk grew into a broad, sinister smile as she pulled her long hair back into a ponytail.
“I hope for your sake, you can fight better than you can fuck,” Penny laughed. She glanced to Hunter and added, “Bit of a starfish, isn’t she?”
It was like time froze. Phoenix felt her barbed comments stab into multiple victims. He watched the room for incoming attacks. Hadley’s arms stilled mid-movement. By the looks of it, Hunter didn’t know if he should laugh or defend his ex. And like a switch being flicked on, all hell broke loose.
