Page 8 of Unhinged

I reach for her hand, squeezing. “We need to get out of here,” I say, my voice barely above a whisper.

“Right, but how?” She signals to the bars of our cage.

Little bird.

The man’s voice echoes in my head. I’m a bird trapped in a cage.

“Luna? Alice?” Blake’s voice catches our attention, and then we notice a large crack in the wall between our cells.

I rush over to it. “Oh my God. Are you guys okay?”

“Shaken.” She glances at Kali, who’s rocking back and forth, clutching her legs into her chest on the floor. “Kali is more shaken than me.”

I nod. “We need to get out of here before that man returns.”

“But how?” Luna asks, her voice laced with desperation.

I glance around the cell, searching for any escape routes. And then I spot a small vent in the ceiling. “Up there,” I say, pointing to the vent.

Luna purses her lips. “How small do you think we are?”

I admit it looks like a tiny gap, and it would be a squeeze, but we’re out of options. “We need to at least try. Give me a boost.”

The look on her face is one of pure horror. “Or don’t, and we can just rot in here and die.”

She sighs, crouching down for me to put my foot in her hands. “This day is just getting worse and worse.”

“I think giving me a boost will be the highlight of your day if we don’t get out of here.” My voice is strained as I climb onto her shoulders and reach the vent.

“Fuck, you’re heavier than you look.”

I grit my teeth as I’ve never been stick-thin like her, so I don’t appreciate the comment. I pry the grill from the vent and pass it to Luna. And then I stick my head into the hole, looking on either side. It’s dark and thinner on the inside than I imagined.

Luna’s hands are shaking beneath my feet. “What do you think?”

I shake my head. “It’s tight. And I don’t know where it leads, but what choice do we have?”

“Okay, try to fit inside.”

My heart hammers against my rib cage as I brace my hands on the metal and use my severely lacking upper body strength to pull myself up. I struggle, trying to get my legs in behind me. This looks so much easier in the movies.

“Are you sure you can get up there?” Luna asks.

I grind my teeth, probably looking like a fish out of water, as I cannot pull myself into the vent. The metal grates scrape against my skin, but I push through the discomfort. Suddenly, a loud bang echoes throughout the vent, causing me to lose my grip. I land on the concrete floor with a thud.

“Shit,” I cry.

Luna rushes over to my side. “Oh God, are you okay?”

“Someone’s coming!” Blake warns.

The vent cover remains on the floor, and I quickly grab it, pushing it behind me. The man who was here merely twenty minutes ago reappears.

“Alice, Alice, Alice.” He shakes his head. “Did you think we don’t have cameras here, little bird?”

Cameras.

I glance around and spot one in the corner, feeling like a fool for not checking that first.

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