Page 157 of Consume Me

After my failed attempt at escape, everything changed. It’s either pitch dark, or the moment I finally fall asleep, the lights blaze on, blinding me. They flicker until I’m dizzy with vertigo. Then, sounds blare from speakers hidden somewhere in the walls—so intense and shrill that I curl into a ball in the corner of the room, palms covering my ears, and rocking gently to soothe myself. The sensory torture always takes me by surprise, denying me any reprieve. But there is one sound that maddens me: drip, drop by maddening drop. I have no idea where it’s coming from, but my sanity threatens to snap.

Caleb visits me once a day. He’s visited twice, so today marks three days since I have been here.

When the door opens, he struts inside, and I ball my hands at my sides, imagining what it would feel like to squeeze the life out of him.

“How is my guest holding up?”

I bare my teeth at him, and he adds, “I’m getting bored, so in a few days, I’ll give my son a sign.”

No. I don’t want him here. Blake needs to stay away from this place. I have to act before that, even if it costs me my life.

“Knowing him, he’ll come alone because my stipulation will be clear.”

I can’t hope Blake won’t do it when I would do the same—in a heartbeat.

“I have a new serum I would like to test. I finally had a breakthrough. I can turn Blake into an obedient soldier. And my first order will be to kill you. Then, I am going to give him the antidote to show him what he has done. He was always such a good experiment. Sadly, he had to betray me.”

“Fuck you, you demented monster! I’d kill you before you touched him.”

I march toward him, but the guard intercepts me and shoves a stun baton into my chest. A shock wave goes through me, rocking my body until blackness owns me.

When I come back to my senses, the stench of sweat envelops me, and I realize it’s coming from me. A layer of grease covers me from head to toe. I am in the same clothes I came in with. If I look the way I smell, I must look horrible. I can’t believe that’s what I am thinking about right now.

Standing up on shaky legs, I slide down the wall, an unfamiliar sound erupts. My hands instinctively move to cover my ears, but this one sounds different. Then horror crashes over me—Blake found me. My friends are here for me. But the asshole doesn’t lie, and if any of them get caught, Caleb will do exactly what he promised.

I spring up and pound at the door, but no one answers me. I have no way to warn my friends of the impending danger,and that thought is more debilitating than everything I’ve been through. I scream so loud, my throat will be sore for days.

When the door finally opens, Caleb steps inside.

“Blake must really love you. Pathetic. He found you sooner than I expected. I wish I had you as a motivator for him back then. He would have been exemplary in obedience and duty. But now we’ll never know.”

“Please, he’s your son. What would his mother think of that?” I try to appeal to his conscience, even though I doubt he has one.

“That bitch would have made him weak with her soft heart. I had to kill her. That car accident was my first attempt at conditioning, and it worked. I used to administer her very specific doses of scopolamine and barbiturates through her coffee, spending hours bringing her to a subservient state. But I soon realized that while it worked, it required constant monitoring and follow-up, as the effects didn’t last long. It took me years to perfect the process and to discover more effective serums. Until I got it right.”

He is truly a monster. Tears well in my eyes, thinking of Blake as a sweet and innocent little boy who lost his mother, the one parent who might have given him the love he deserved. I wish I could hug him and promise him he’ll always be loved by me.

“He’ll never be like you. Blake has a heart, and that’s something you can never change.”

Challenge flickers in his eyes. “We’ll see about that. Now, let’s greet him.”

The guard drags me up by my elbow, pulling so hard my shoulder might dislocate.

When the elevator doors open at the end of the hall, there he is, my man looking lethal in black combat apparel, oozing power as he stands there, bigger than the world in a gladiator stance. Covered in blood and with a gun in his hand, he’s a man with single-minded focus. He’s also alone.Where are the others?

The guard presses the gun to my temple, and Caleb says, “Put the gun down, or I’ll blow her fucking brains out.”

“No,” I cry out, but it’s too late. Blake lowers it anyway.

After two nights of unadulterated misery, there she is, and I can’t stop looking at her. I peruse every inch of Mia. Her hair is unkempt, falling lifeless to her shoulders, her face is pale, and dark circles are under her eyes. She’s wearing the same dress she was wearing three days ago, but it has lost most of its sequins and appears grimy—just like her. Her feet are bare, and trails of dirt cover her legs.

To avoid losing my shit and doing something I might regret, all I focus on is that she’s alive. The organ in my chest that slowly died resurrects when our eyes lock. Her silver ones brim with emotion, making me want to get to her by any means necessary.

One more fucking guard keeps me from her, but that fucker has a gun trained at her head, and I can’t risk it. I could easily take him down, but not when one wrong move could cost me everything.

My friends are on the way. They’ll be here soon, makingthe decision easier. The only thing that matters for me right now is her well-being. She has to survive this.

Placing my gun down, I even kick it to the side and lift my arms in surrender.

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