Page 2 of Traithorn

I didn’t let them touch my hair when I was admitted, and as I’m the first woman they’ve had, the guards didn’t quite know what to do with me, as if they had never seen a woman before. Pathetic.

“Ouch, what the fuck was that for?”

I only roll my eyes at him, glancing around the desolatecorridor.

Blood spills on the floor before us, gathering around the corpse of a guard, his uniform soaked. Well, fuck. Now we won’t be able to use his clothes.

“Nice job,” I mutter, staring back up at Vernon, the vein in his neck popping as he stares at me.

“Thanks, sis,” he teases. “Now, let’s get the fuck out of here.”

That’s right—this goddamn infuriating beast of a man is my brother.Worse,my twin.

We slip into the dimly lit corridor, the stench of blood and sweat clinging to the air and making me scrunch my nose as it assaults my senses. Vernon’s gaze flicks down the hallway as we keep to the shadows, knowing full well we’ll be able to escape this way. Many escape attempts have been made during the years we’ve been locked up, and this is the time when we’ll succeed.

Fucking finally.

That little birdie put us in jail, and it’s time we finally claim our revenge.

Footsteps echo before us, and Vernon shakes his head at me, his sign of telling me to stay quiet. I peek around the corner, seeing the guard approaching us with determined steps in his gait.

“I got this,” I say, voice barely a whisper.

The moment the guard comes around the corner, I’m there, my hands clasping at his throat from behind, forearms pressing against his Adam’s apple. He stumbles for a second and drops his flashlight, which Vernon quickly reaches down to give to me. The guard struggles under my hold, but I have years of rage and venom toward guys like him in my arsenal. It doesn’t take much to get him to the floor, where I grab the flashlight and smash it into his face.

“Fucking bitch,” he groans, and I press my knee into hiscrotch until he’s screeching, using the flashlight to smash his face over and over again, until blood spurts and he’s lying motionless on the floor.

“Never call a woman a ‘fucking bitch’,” I spit at his face, wiping sweat from my forehead.

Vernon whistles behind me, and I give him the finger.

“Nowlet’s get out of here,” I declare as we hurry down the corridor.

A blaring sound echoes throughout the space, and I’m suddenly lost for what to do, my heart plummeting inside my chest.

“That’s our cue,” Vernon mutters as he grabs my hand in his cold one. “It’s now or never.”

It’s been now or never for months—years. Yet we’ve never been as close to escape as now, and it’s all thanks to the help of our source on the outside.

I push my leg forward until I physically can’t run anymore, fighting my way forward through the dissonant sound of the screeching alarm that makes my ears hurt. Guards can be heard shouting in the distance, and Vernon pushes his feet faster, pulling me along with him.

We weave through the shadows of the prison, through the doors that have finally been unlocked. As we pass, the inmates in the other passage bang on their cell doors, shouting with desperation to be let free as well.

The exit looms all the closer as we round another corridor, and Vernon pulls the final key he stole from the guard he killed from his pocket. His hands tremble slightly as he holds it tightly, running on pure adrenaline.

Then, we reach the back door exit—a door looming over us like a silent sentinel. It’s heavily armed, made of metal with deadbolts, and Vernon scrambles to get the door to open. Footsteps resonate behind us, making our escape attempt evenmore frantic.

“Come on. Come on,” I whisper, hearing the footsteps echoing inside my ears.

I know if we get caught now, our chance of ever escaping again will be blown away as if by the wind. They’ll send us out of the town into maximum high security, reducing our chances of ever seeing each other again. Then, our source won’t be able to help us anymore.

In another life, we’d be burned for the things we’ve committed.

With a final click, the door swings open, sending a rush of wind to wash over us. We tumble out into the night air, cold and sharp against my sweaty skin. I turn around just in time to see the guards round the corner, flooding the hallway as they spot us. Their screams are muffled by the heavy door slamming shut behind us. The snow instantly falls around us, making me savor the taste of freedom.

God, how long has it been since we last were outside?

We don’t have time to delve into anything, so we rush through the snow with our bare feet, sweatpants, and T-shirts, hoping to get as far away as possible. The alarm is blaring behind us, screeching ever louder, an automatic voice announcing that a lockdown will commence.

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