Page 11 of Revenant

It’s a rare luxury.

After twenty minutes of blistering hot water pounding my aching body, I almost feel human again. Not exactly clean—I don’t think anything will ever remove the stench of the asylum from my skin—but I’m more at home in my body.

I quickly dress. It’s only when I’m tucking in my shirt that I detect something hard in the pocket of my pants. Careful to keep my movements disguised, not wanting the cameras to catch me—because, yes, there is a camera in the bathroom—I pull out the item.

If it’s a tracker, I don’t want them to know that I discovered it yet.

Instead, I pull out a small metal ring.

A very familiar ring.

My brain takes a precious few seconds to process what I’m seeing, then my breath hitches in my chest and my legs nearly go out from under me. The ring isn’t just any ring, but one I created specifically for Jaceson and slipped on his finger in what feels like a lifetime ago.

I hastily shove the tiny piece of metal back in my jeans, the weight of it heavy in my pocket. I want nothing more than to take it out and study it closer, but I don’t dare. My heart feels too big for my chest, like it’s pressing on my lungs, and it’s a struggle to find enough air in the room.

I force myself to pick up the brush and run it through my hair, when all I want to do is march out of the room and demand answers. I don’t dare hope that one of the guys left it for me. It’s more likely that Jaceson returned it when I was taken, and Dr. Hershamn is trying to mess with my head.

That would be the logical answer.

Unfortunately, my daft heart insists that it’s the boys.

That they’ve finally come for me.

My eyes sting, and I bite my lip to keep from revealing my churning emotions. While part of me is thrilled at the prospect ofseeing them again, another part is terrified. Sure, I desperately want them to break me out, but I don’t want their dumbasses in trouble either. Something tells me the security in this place is airtight. If caught, they won’t be turned over to the police. They’ll disappear from existence.

Anyway, what would a group of teenagers know about infiltrating what I suspect is a government facility?

No, it couldn’t be the boys, and a single tear slips down my cheek.

Unable to peer at myself in the mirror a second longer, I whirl away and march into the bedroom. With nothing to do, it doesn’t take long before I’m ready to climb the walls. Inhaling deeply, I gather up my courage, then stalk toward the door.

The only way I’m going to escape this place is if I gather information, which means I need to leave the room.

The first order of business is to make friends and pray that I don’t get shanked in the process.

Chapter Four

GUNNER

It’s been nine days since we’ve infiltrated the Paragon Meadows Psychiatric Hospital, and I’m beginning to wonder if we fucked up. We haven’t seen any new footage of Rue since then, and worry is gnawing at my insides.

Did we miss her once again?

Not once since she was taken have we ever stopped looking for her. Each time we located her, we were always too late, usually missing her by just days.

It’s frustrating as fuck.

No matter how hard we search, we’re always one fucking step behind. I’m not sure how much longer any of us can go if we don’t find her soon. Our little family is beyond ragged, each of us barely holding our shit together. None of us are sleeping, we hardly eat, and we can’t speak to each other without snapping. We’ve virtually stopped living. Though we moved into our college house, attending classes when we didn’t know if Rue was safe or even alive was pure torture.

I quit my job, unable to work on anything but locating Rue.

I need to be available for when we get her back.

Notif.

When.

I refuse to believe she is lost to us.

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