Page 41 of Sick Bargain

“Yeah, but what are these chips? Like actual microchips?” I ask, because I haven’t seen one yet, and now I’m invested because Director lied about Remiel’s scans.

“Facts and Glitch have been studying them after Menace gets them out. Director doesn’t want anyone at the asylum to know about them yet, so for now, Menace is playing surgeon. They say they’re like little bundles of wires that embed in the brain tissue.” Ransom rips his eyes from Monster to look at us. “Iget how Axel might be implanting randoms, but how’d he get Ghost’s mom under his blade?”

“We don’t even know if it is surgical,” Riot says. “Glitch said something about nasal implants or something.”

The four of us aren’t the smart ones. We’re better at haunting, destroying, stalking, and killing. Torture and information extraction are more up our alley than trying to understand something scientific. Ransom is smart, but not in science, so he’s just as lost as we are. I’m bored with this conversation, and I’ve already been away from Remiel longer than I care to be. I promised to keep him safe, and I’m not doing that while standing in a mine.

“This is Glitch’s and Facts’ department,” I say. “Let’s just get these four to them, let Menace fuck around in their heads, and see what Director wants to do with them.”

Separately, we all make our way back to Vile House, getting the four tourists locked in the asylum’s cells. Director is going to scan them, and whatever he finds will dictate what happens next.

On my way up the stairs from the house’s cellar, I run into Ghost. “Why the fuck aren’t you with Remiel?”

“He’s in my room. Chill.”

I push past him, unhappy with that. He’s supposed to be inmyroom, not Ghost’s. “Wait, Krypt.” He touches my shoulder and pulls away just as fast. “I need you to be my best friend for a minute.”

“I’m always your best friend. It’s you acting like a jackass that’s fucking that all up.” I look at him.

“It’s you making a bargain with Remi that’s fucking it all up,” he snaps back before calming down. “I want Remi to stay here.”

“He is.”

“I mean all the time. I don’t want him going back to my mom’s place.”

“He won’t.”

“What about Selena?” Ghost asks. “She’s in the city all week for school but comes home on the weekends. She stays there.”

Selena isn’t my responsibility, but Ghost is my best friend, so I lean against the wall and block the stairs with him. “Well, Seven says she’s killing her initiation tests. Maybe she can stay here in one of the communal bunks. Want me to ask Director?”

Seven runs the initiates. He’s in charge of weeding out the weak ones and finding the strengths of the ones who have what it takes to be here. Pretty sure he gets off on torturing them and pushing them past all their limits. Selena is doing well, and even though she’s one of only three females who has made it this far, she’s fitting in nicely. But if we invite her to stay in one of the communal rooms reserved for the lower-ranking members, she’ll learn our identities, and that’s not usually allowed until they’re fully pledged. Not unless they were raised in this house from childhood, like Ransom was.

“He’ll say no,” Ghost says, rubbing the back of his head. His hair is darker than Remiel’s but their blue eyes are the same shade, and over the years, the colour has calmed me. Even more so now. “She’s not allowed here until she’s a member, and I don’t know… if she doesn’t make the cut, I’d rather her not know I’m Vile.”

“What do you want to do, then?”

“I’ll stay at Mom’s with her on weekends when she’s there, but maybe you can bring Remi around a bit so we can watch out for both of them when we aren’t doing Vile business?” he asks. “I mean, more often than not, she’s here anyway, doing her tests, so…”

I don’t want Remiel anywhere near his mother, but I understand Ghost’s worry about his sister, too. It’s the least suspicious thing we can do since we’ve been best friends for most of our teen and adult lives. Keegan and Soren used to hangout at the Sauder house all the time, so it won’t look weird if we continue.

“Remiel is my priority,” I tell him.

“Then help me make Selena mine.”

“Selena isn’t cursed like you two are,” I remind him. “I’m going to keep Remiel alive so that it keeps you alive, and Selena is secondary to all that.”

Ghost nods to accept that. “Alright. So we go together if it comes up?”

“Fine. Or she can stay at my place in town.”

“That’ll cause questions I’m not ready to answer yet.”

I purse my lips, itching to get back to Remiel. “Okay, your mom’s place if it comes up. How was he today?”

“He’s freaked out about Mom and this chip thing, but… I dunno. He seems different. More determined or something.” Ghost’s eyes meet mine. “I’m not saying you’re good for him, but maybe he’s growing a bit of a backbone. Still pissed at you for raping him.”

I’m still unsure if I’m meant to feel guilty about that.

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