Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 88673 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 443(@200wpm)___ 355(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88673 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 443(@200wpm)___ 355(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
I think I laughed too. In fact, I’m laughing right now.
Hysterically.
Because it was a good time in my life. I hadn’t seen them kill yet. I didn’t know what was gonna happen next, but I was in a desert oasis, getting buzzed, having fun. I had friends, and the place was beautiful. There were half-naked women dressed up in bells or something, shaking their hips at me. And the whole thing felt like a dream.
But then Collin leaned in, just like he’s leaning in now. And his eyes are tiny little slits. Like he really is a blue pit viper. And he says, in a weird, echo-y voice, “I don’t like liars.” And then something about burning bridges. “Bring him all the way up, Amon.”
Amon is suddenly right up next to me. This is when I realize there’s a IV stand next to my shoulder. Amon bends down and I see a flash of a syringe. A moment later, my arm is burning.
And a moment after that, the fog is gone. It’s like a light switch. One moment I’m all hazy, the next everything is crystal clear. But with the new cognitive function comes the pain.
Everything hurts. I feel like someone ran me over with a truck.
I stare at the face of Collin Creed. He’s like three feet away, kicking back against the concrete wall and frowning at me with his arms crossed.
Amon stands behind me and I feel something cold against the back of my head and I can see him in my mind’s eye. All dressed in black. The mask over his face. The only thing visible are his ice-blue eyes.
How many men has Amon had in wheelchairs just like this?
Twenty?
Fifty?
More?
I’d say more. It has been over six years since I’ve seen them and just that one year alone, where I was on the crew, I’d have to guess I’d seen Amon do this very thing to at least a dozen men.
“Good,” Collin says. “You’re back. We’re gonna take a moment here to have a little chat, Raleigh. And then”—Collin grins at me, and this is when all those good times fade and I go from being crew member to enemy number one—“then, Riggs, we’re gonna take you to the boneyard so you can rest in peace.”
CHAPTER 29 - CLOVER
My mind is racing as I ascend in the elevator, Hattie’s words ringing in my ears. I’ll see you up top, Clover Bradley!
I stay crouched in the corner of the elevator, staring at the floor. Listening to the pinging of bullets below me. Gradually, they become distant, then they stop altogether.
The elevator jolts to a stop and the doors open.
My heart is racing, my head is pounding, and for a moment, I can’t move. Because I don’t understand how the hell I got here or what the hell is actually happening. Did I really just spend the last week as a prisoner in my own house and then a guest of a secret underground military installation?
Laughing is the only response I have. It’s all I’ve got. It’s just a few chirps at first, but a few seconds later, I’m nearly hysterical.
The doors begin to close and I panic, snapping myself out of whatever psychological reaction I’m in the middle of having. I thrust my arm between the doors, stopping them just in time.
Then I get to my feet and step out into the brightly lit room, blinking for a few seconds as I try to come to grips with my reality.
This is really happening, Clover. And if you don’t snap out of this paralysis, you’re dead, girl. You’re dead!
OK, think. Think. It’s an office, that much is clear. But it’s not very big. The size of an average bedroom. A desk lines three of the walls and above the desk are dozens of monitors depicting various scenes. Black and white streams of different rooms—even the one I’m standing in—and the dirt roads of a what appears to be a village. The front gates of the Revival grounds and a couple of driveways that look to be in Disciple. The parking lot of the diner down in Revenant. There’s even a few shots of Bishop. But most of them show nothing but woods. All lit up green with night vision.
The doors begin to close behind me and I panic, hearing Hattie Miller’s voice in my head. I’ll see you up top, Clover Bradley!
Oh, no, you won’t, bitch. I swing around, grab a chair, and roll into the closing doors of the elevator, taking it out of the equation.
Oh, shit! But what about Ike? He said he was right behind me.
I stare at the elevator, wondering if I should send it back down. It’s a crazy idea. But what if he’s waiting for it?
What if he’s already dead?
What if the only person coming up behind me is Hattie?