Page 103 of The Cult

Forty-One: Tobias

Isnapped my head up when the sound of pounding boots neared my room. The door swung open, revealing an out-of-breath Sterling. Sweat dripped down his wrinkled forehead. “Tobias! Hurry!” He leaned on the doorframe, gasping for air. “It’s Nine,” he panted.

The urgency in his voice jolted me out of bed. I’d been cooped up in my room since I found out about The Creed and Orcus’s connection with The Firm, planning my next move, so I hadn’t had a chance to check on Abel. And frankly, I needed to distance myself from him after my declaration last night.

“What’s wrong with him?” I asked. I stood in front of Sterling, bracing myself for his next words.

“The guards—” He pointed to his left repeatedly as he caught his breath.

Without bothering to put on a shirt, I brushed past him and bolted out of my room before Sterling finished his sentence. I sprinted down the corridor, bumping into guards passing by.

“Hey, slow down,” one of them yelled.

“Watch it!” another chided.

I ignored them and bolted toward the exit. I searched for Abel, peeking through the windows of all the rooms lining the hall, but they were empty.

“Where are they?” I yelled when Sterling caught up to me. “Sterling! Where did they take Abel?” I didn’t care whether anyone could hear me, I’d deal with the consequences later. Finding Abel and making sure he was safe was my top priority. My only priority.

“I dunno. This is where they tackled him, but I hid before I saw them take off because they were threatening me too,” he answered, motioning to the floor.

“Tackled?”

Sterling nodded in dismay. “Yeah. They tied his hands and there was duct tape on his mouth too.”

Shit. Why would they do that to him? “Was he with the other trainees?”

“No, just him.”

Panic swept through me. Did they find out about our escape plan? But why only take him? Fuck! Did they find his phone? Realization dawned. That had to be the reason. Abel never disobeyed Orcus nor the guards. That phone was his only delinquency. If that was the case, he was in deep shit, and we needed to find him soon.

“I wonder if they took him to the interrogation chamber,” Sterling said.

“Take me there,” I demanded.

“This way.” He rushed to the quarters at the end of the hallway. He entered the code with a shaking hand. The pad beeped and a red light flashed on the screen. “Shit!” he mumbled. Sterling re-entered the digits, but it was the same result. “They must’ve changed the code and didn’t tell us.”

“Let me try.” I keyed the numbers on the pad, but it didn’t work. “Damn it!” Not wasting another second waiting, I stepped back and swung my leg forward. My foot connected to the door with a loud thud, but it remained shut.

“Keep it down,” Sterling said, glancing behind me anxiously. “We can get caught.”

“I don’t give a fuck,” I barked. My charade was out, Orcus would already know my real identity. I kicked the door again, pouring all my frustration and impatience into the blow. It refused to budge.

“I’ll be on the lookout.” Sterling ran to the corner, his attention bouncing between me and the hallway. “It’s clear.”

My anger simmered to the surface as I drew back for the third time. I launched forward, and my force finally broke through the door.

The room was bright, exaggerated by the white walls and floor. Mirrored walls lined one corner of the room. My heart galloped as I approached the metal chairs arranged in front of each other. Blood stained the floor next to one. “They were here,” I said, turning on my heel and bursting out of the room, without any destination. I felt helpless; a foreign emotion I hadn’t felt since I left the life on the streets. I would burn this hell to the ground if they hurt him.

I shoved the back door open, the breeze cooling the inferno brewing inside me, but the air was no match for the fire ignited by Abel’s disappearance and the urge to keep him out of harm.

I spotted a swerving line etched into the dirt between three sets of footprints leading to the back woods. There! I chased the trail, ready to fight whoever came between me and saving Abel.

I pursued them into the forest, Sterling not far behind. “Abel!” I called, even though he wouldn’t be able to answer if they had muzzled him with fucking tape, but I wanted him to hear me so he’d know that I was looking for him. Maybe it would ease his fear. I gritted my teeth, channeling my anger through vigilance. Trees whipped past in a haze as I pushed my speed to the limit, thrusting past branches blocking my way. Every second ticking away could be the difference between life and death.

The wind carried voices between the rustling of the leaves.

I stopped running and listened as Sterling caught up. “Wait.” I raised my hand, stopping him. “Did you hear that?” I scanned the forest, looking for any signs of the guards and Abel.

---