Page 96 of Unhinged Omega

We round a corner, and my blood runs cold as I see the heavy metal door at the end of the hall. Geo's infamous "guest room."

AKA his personal dungeon.

The sight of the door stirs a renewed panic within me. If he puts me in there, there's no escape. "You've made your point," I hiss. "Let me go!"

But my pleas fall on deaf ears. Geo shoulders open the door and hauls me down the stairs into the dark concrete room that's part fallout shelter and part prison for anyone who gets too unruly upstairs. He unceremoniously dumps me onto a cot pushed up against one wall. I land with a grunt, the wind knocked out of me for a moment. As I struggle to catch my breath, my eyes dart around the room, taking in the details.

The bare concrete walls. The single flickering bulb hanging from the ceiling. The ominous metal rings set into the walls at regular intervals. And there, slumped against the far wall...

Nikolai.

He's still unconscious, his white hair matted with blood and dirt. A thick iron collar encircles his neck, chained to the wall behind him. The sight makes my stomach churn, memories I've tried so hard to bury clawing their way to the surface.

I'm so distracted by Nikolai that I almost miss Geo reaching for something on the wall beside me. The rattle of chains snaps me back to reality, and I look up to see him holding another collar.

My eyes go wide. "Don't you fucking dare," I snap, trying to scoot away despite my bound arms. "Geo, I swear toallthe gods, if you try to put that thing on me?—"

"You'll what?" Geo cuts me off, his voice hard. "Give me dirty looks? Make more empty threats?" He reaches for me, and I try to duck away, but there's only so far I can go. His fingers tangle in my hair, yanking my head back as I snarl in indignation more than pain.

Infuriatingly enough, I can tell he's trying to be gentle. Like collaring a feral kitten he doesn't want to get bitten by.

"Stop!" I cry, my voice cracking in spite of my rage. "Geo, please. You don't have to do this. I promise I'll behave. I'll stay put. Just... not like this. Please."

For a moment, I think I see a flicker of hesitation in Geo's eye. Of that softness that's always been there, no matter how many layers of concrete wrapped in barbed wire he tries to hide it behind.

But then his expression hardens, and I know I've lost. The collar snaps shut around my neck with a final-sounding click, and just like that, I'm chained to the wall like a damn dog.

Geo steps back, studying me with an unreadable expression. "You've lost your damn mind," he says, his voice low and rough, but there's a hint of sadness to it that really tells me I'm fucked. Sadness and resignation. "And clearly, you're not thinking with an ounce of self-preservation. So you can have a little time out down here until it comes back to you." His lips twist in a bitter smile. "And as a bonus, you can spend some quality time remembering why you fucking hate that asshole." He jerks his head toward Nikolai's unconscious form.

"Geo," I try one last time, hating how small my voice sounds. "Please don't leave me down here."

He pauses at the door, and for a heartbeat, I think he might change his mind. But then he just sighs, running a hand through his shaggy dark hair. "I tried," he says quietly. "I really did. But today… today was proof it didn't work. I'm sorry."

I freeze, because I can't remember the last time I've heard Geo say those words. It takes me a while to work out what he even means by them, but then it hits me.

Nikolai's command.

Geo's training.

He blames himself.

I'm so furious at him, it shouldn't bother me, but it does. I clench my jaw, gritting the next words out like my throat is made of sandpaper. "It's not… it wasn't you. It's me. I'm the one who's fucked up. It wasn't your job to fix me."

"I said I would all the same." There's a bite in his voice again, but somehow, I can tell it's not directed at me. "And I failed you. But that's not gonna happen again. I don't give my word often, but when I do, I follow it through. We'll just have to figure something else out."

I feel a surge of panic as I realize what he's getting at. "You can't do this," I hiss. "You can't keep me prisoner in the name of unbrainwashing me, Geo! That's not what this is about."

"I'll send a doctor down soon," he mutters, ignoring me. "To patch you both up and take off the tape. Once you've settled down a bit."

And then he's gone, the heavy door slamming shut behind him with a resounding thud.

For a long moment, I just sit there, staring at the closed door in disbelief.

This can't be happening.

It has to be some kind of fucked up nightmare.

Maybe I hit my head during the chaos at the airfield.

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