Page 4 of The Program

It was true that without the guards’ help like we’d had before we had to work harder to find a way out, but with so much more on the line this time it just meant we were being more cautious. We were under a time crunch to get out before they took Bal, and the clock was ticking. We had originally intended to escape already, but the scientists took me again right when we were about to run. That delay may have cost us, but I would ensure we would be successful this time.

Plus, this time there were no lying guards to claim they would help only to abandon us instead.

Libby chose that moment to come in closer and wrap us both up in an embrace. Her arms circled us tightly, and she took that as an opportunity to whisper in my ear.

‘We need to leave tonight. I was told they’re planning on taking the children to a new location sometime this week. We’re out of time.’

‘Shit,’ I breathed out. ‘And you’re sure this source of yours is on our side?’ I wasn’t about to let the past repeat itself.

‘Yes, A. I promise, he’s not like T. He’s not even coming with us, he just doesn’t like what they’re doing here.’

I sighed, gently scraping my chin across the top of Bal’s head. His thin hair was soft and tickled my skin, but it was a pleasant sensation. ‘Okay. I trust you. Did he say what day?’

She kissed my temple knowing exactly how much of a concession that was for me to make. ‘No, he just said this week.’

‘How long was I out?’ I asked. I could have been gone hours or days.

‘Two days. They brought you back yesterday but you were catatonic again. We waited for you to wake up.’

I huffed out a breath. While I would have preferred to go with them, I also would have preferred if they left without me if it meant they could be safe. Libby didn’t agree and forced me to promise her that I would never leave heragain. It hadn’t worked the first time, and I came back for her anyway. There was no way we were going to separate unless we needed to for Bal’s sake.

‘When?’ I asked. It may have seemed like an open-ended question but she knew what I meant.

‘Tomorrow.’

My quick intake of breath hissed through my teeth. ‘They’re going to check on me now that I’m awake,’ I warned.

‘Exactly.’

I met her bright green eyes and an understanding passed between us. It was likely the middle of the night going by how Bal was tiredly slumped against me, which meant we would get a visit first thing in the morning.

The door was guarded, sure, but it would also be unlocked.

It was now or never.

???

My head pounded and my vision swam like they did whenever I woke up from being drugged. That was my first clue that something was wrong. The second was the familiar surroundings of the room I shared with Libby and Bal, the same cracks in the concrete ceiling I woke up to most mornings.

The third was the anguished cry that came from somewhere else in the room.

I got up as fast as I could, ignoring the way the room spun, and rushed over to where Libby was clawing at the closed door.

‘What’s wrong? L, what happened?’ I asked, my voice scratchy and panicked.

‘He’s gone,’ she wailed, fingertips dragging down the crease of the door and leaving a bloody trail in their wake. She must have been trying to pry it open for a while now.

Her words took a few moments before they registered in my brain, and then I turned back to the room and frantically looked for Baldr. I tore the covers from the beds, looked beneath them, and even checked the bathroom facilities for any sign of him.

Nothing. He really was gone.

They must have drugged us through the vents in the night and snatched him while we were out.

I turned back to watch Libby where she was still desperately trying to get the door open. She was screaming and crying, completely hysterical, and her legs finally buckled under the terror and despair. I had seen her in an agonised state many times – too many times to count – but never like this. Never this hopeless and despondent.

Fury like none I had ever felt before burst inside of me. There was no build-up, no warning, only a fierce need to protect my loved ones and destroy the evil that dared take them from me and cause such a reaction.

It burned through my veins and poured out of me in waves of physical heat that singed the blanket by my feet. The scent of burning fibres drifted into my nose and caused me to look down. That was when I saw my skin. Instead of the typical olive tone dotted with the occasional freckle, what I found was a metallic grey spreading from my newest addition to my tattoo collection.

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