Twisted World Series Box Set | Books 1-3 & Novella

by Mary, Kate L.

  In the hall they stopped just on the other side of the window. Jane couldn’t look through, knowing that her daughter was in pain and that she might not be able to hold onto her composure if she saw it, but Star had no such reservations about watching the girl suffer.

  “I want blood drawn in exactly three hours, but until then I’m counting on you to keep a close eye on the subjects,” he said, his tone so cold it sent a shiver shooting through Jane. “I have a meeting that I simply cannot miss, but I want around the clock observation. Do you understand?”

  “Of course,” she said. “You can count on me.”

  Star nodded once before turning his back to the cell and heading down the hall, taking the guards with him.

  Once she was alone, Jane let out a deep breath and followed the path Star had just taken; only she didn’t leave the hall, but instead stopped outside Angus’s cell. He was already at the window, glaring at her, and she knew he’d watched them go into their daughter’s cell.

  She wanted to go to him. To kiss him, to wrap him in her embrace and tell him how sorry she was, but she knew Star was recording this. He always turned the cameras on after an injection, just in case something major happened, and going in right now would be too risky.

  But there was no audio recording in the cells, so she didn’t hesitate to push the button on the wall.

  “How could you?” Angus asked a split second after the intercom was on.

  “The pain will end soon. I promise.”

  Three hours, that’s how long she had to wait. Then she would have an excuse to go into the cells, and after she drew their blood she would inject both test subjects with the drug, ending their time inside this hell once and for all.

  She’d developed the drug herself after deciding to break Angus and the child out. It had taken her over a year to get it right, and then she’d had to test it. She’d injected a rat first, monitoring the animal closely as its heart slowed to the point where it was barely detectable. The rat was out for five hours before waking, and she’d monitored it over the next couple days to be sure there had been no adverse effects before moving onto a bigger animal, which had been out even longer. She’d tested it on a rabbit, and then a dog, and then finally a human. The last one had been tricky to pull off, but she’d managed to get the drug into a brand new test subject while no one was looking. Just like the animals, the man’s heart had slowed to almost nothing for close to five hours and he had awakened healthy, if not a little bit groggy.

  Angus watched her through the glass now, neither one of them saying a word even though the intercom was still on. He was trying to get a read on her, she knew, and she hoped that he would understand all the things she dared not say out loud.

  “I’ll be drawing blood in three hours,” she said. “On both of you.”

  Angus nodded and Jane noted the subtle way his shoulders relaxed. He was still rubbing his neck like the burning hadn’t yet gone away, but otherwise he looked calm. At peace even.

  The following hour went slowly. Jane alternated between the two cells, writing down any changes in the patients so Star wouldn’t be able to question her work at all. This was a particularly nasty strain and it hurt Jane to see how much pain her family was in, but intellectually she knew the side effects would help convince Star that the virus had killed them both, and she tried to cling to that.

  As the second hour approached, she became increasingly anxious. Angus was curled up on the bed, his hands fisted and his eyes closed, and watching him suffer was nearly killing her. Different strains of the virus had caused him pain in the past, but nothing like this. She’d never seen Angus writhe so much. Never seen him look like he was on the verge of losing control the way he was now.

  The girl wasn’t much different, only she was curled up on the floor of her cell. Her face was streaked with tears that seemed to have no end, and her body was so rigid that if it weren’t for the constant writhing, Jane would have thought she was already dead and had gone into rigor mortis.

  But the pain seemed to ease after that. Angus was the first to relax, slowly uncurling from the fetal position to stretch out on the bed, and then finally getting to his feet so he could move around. It took the girl slightly longer, but by the time the third hour was approaching, she too was up. Unlike her father, she didn’t pace the room, but instead sat on the edge of her bed and stared at the floor like she was hoping it would open up and swallow her.

  Jane watched the girl from the other side of the glass, trying to put names to the feelings inside her. The thing she felt for Angus was simple to classify, but this was something different. She had no real bond with the child, but they were blood and that meant something, and seeing her in pain had hurt Jane. She now knew with certainty that she would never be able to stand idly by and watch the torture continue, but her desire to save the child had a lot more to do with Angus than the girl herself. Doing this would mean that he could live in peace. Inside these walls or outside them, as long as his daughter was free, Angus would suffer less. That was enough to make Jane want to save the child, despite her uncertain feelings.

  She found herself standing in front of the girl’s cell when the third hour finally approached. Her hands were shaking as she typed in her code, and the syringe was out before the door had even opened. The girl looked up when Jane walked in, and the sadness in her eyes was almost enough to stop the doctor in her tracks. She kept moving, though, knowing that she had to get this done before Star returned.

  “I need to draw blood,” she said when she knelt in front of the child. “Then I’m going to give you a drug that will make you sleep, and when you wake up, you will be free.”

  The girl said nothing as she watched Jane prepare the syringe. At ten she was already a pro at having her blood drawn, and she barely even winced when the needle was inserted into her vein. Jane released the tourniquet and red liquid splashed into the vial. As it filled, her gaze moved over the girl in front of her, noting the scars that dotted the crooks of her arms. She looked like an addict. Like she’d spent years shooting up to escape reality when in truth, she had spent years being poked and prodded with no chance of escape.

  How could Jane have done this? Where had her life gone so wrong that she’d thought this was okay? Even if the girl sitting in front of her wasn’t her flesh and blood, she was just a child and she’d had the last three years of her life stolen from her. She’d been ripped from the only loving parent she’d ever known, had her biological father dangled in front of her and then torn away year after year, had spent all her life locked away in this building, and had endured more pain than any one person deserved. Jane had done this. She was the one responsible for all this child’s suffering.

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered as the final vial filled.

  The girl tilted her head, her gray eyes, so much like her father’s, narrowed on the woman in front of her. Jane had visited the girl every year on her birthday but she’d never told her who she was. Had never said the words out loud to anyone but Helen.

  “I should have watched out for you. I shouldn’t have let this happen.” She sealed the last vial and set it aside, then removed the cap from the syringe that was clutched in her hand. “I’m going to make it better, I promise.”

  The girl didn’t say a word as the needle slid into her vein.

  Once it was in, Jane looked up, focusing on the child’s bright, gray eyes as she pushed down on the plunger, injecting the drug into her body. “I’m your mother, and I’m going to make sure you are safe from here on out.”

  The girl’s eyes grew wide, but the drug worked fast. Within seconds, they began to droop. She blinked once, twice, three times, but her eyes wouldn’t stay open. Her lips moved like she wanted to say something, but nothing happened, and then she dropped to the bed. She managed to crack her eyes open just enough to look at Jane again, then she slid her hand across the bed, her fingers twitching like she was having to work extra hard to get her body to obey. Then her hand was on Jane
’s, clutching it. The girl’s grip was weak, but persistent, up until the second she lost her battle with consciousness.

  Tears filled Jane’s eyes as she stared at the girl. Her face was so calm and peaceful, so angelic. Then, right in front of Jane’s eyes, the color began to fade from her cheeks. Her skin went from pink and full of life to a shade only slightly brighter than white. Her fingers, still tangled with Jane’s, cooled.

  The drug had done its trick.

  The doctor got to her feet, knowing that she needed to get moving so she could inject Angus with the drug as well, and she had just picked up the empty syringe when the door opened behind her.

  “How’s she doing?” a voice boomed through the room.

  Jane’s heart nearly exploded as she spun around to face Star. She knew her expression gave her away, but she was too shocked by his sudden appearance to compose herself. Too taken surprised to do anything but stare at him with her mouth hanging open.

  He stood frozen in the doorway as he took everything in, his gaze going from the terrified look on the doctor’s face, to the bed at her side, lingering on the girl’s lifeless body before going back to Jane. He stayed where he was until he spotted the syringe in her hand. Then he was on the move, charging across the room with an expression on his face that was a mixture of confusion and fury.

  “What have you done?” he asked, ripping the syringe from her hand. “What have you done!”

  His voice boomed through the room, bouncing off the walls and echoing in Jane’s ears. She recoiled from him but it wasn’t necessary, because Star was already sitting on the edge of the bed. Already checking the girl’s pulse. He tried her neck and then her wrist, and then, in what looked to Jane like a moment of desperation, pressed his ear against her chest.

  She held her breath, praying that the drug worked the way she wanted it to. A few seconds later Star stood and turned to face Jane, and she knew it had because his gaze wasn’t focused on her, it was on the empty syringe in his hand.

  “What did you give her?” he asked, his voice shaking but more controlled than Jane had expected it to be.

  “I gave her a lethal dose of morphine,” she lied, not bothering to hide the tremor in her voice.

  She was scared. Terrified. She’d known Star for a long time and she knew what he was capable of. She’d never been on the receiving end of his fury before, but she couldn’t stop her brain from playing out the dozens of possible scenarios that awaited her, each one more horrifying than the last. Even worse was the knowledge that she wouldn’t be able to rescue Angus now. Star would have her killed, probably in some horrifying way, and then she’d be gone and Angus would be stuck here. Forever.

  She had failed him.

  Star lifted his head so he was looking her in the eye. Jane stood a good five inches taller than him, but at that moment he seemed to tower over her.

  “Why would you do this?”

  She swallowed, willing her voice to work. “She’s my daughter and I couldn’t watch her suffer anymore. I couldn’t stand the tests. This one was—” Her voice caught in her throat as tears filled her eyes, and she was thankful that the memory of watching the girl suffer was still fresh in her mind. “She was hurting.”

  “It was for science,” Star said. “It was your idea.”

  “I didn’t know how hard it would be.”

  She held her breath, waiting. Physical violence wasn’t Star’s go-to punishment, but she had seen him hit people before and she wouldn’t put it past him. Especially not when she had just killed one of his favorite test subjects.

  After a moment of silence, though, Star simply sighed and shook his head. “Women and their sentimentalities. I should have known. I was afraid this would happen after the child was born, but you seemed to be handling it well. I’m honestly surprised it took you ten years.”

  Jane exhaled as relief flooded her body. He believed her, but even better, he was going to forgive her. He was going to let her live and eventually, after a little more planning, she’d be able to get Angus out as well. Everything was going to be okay.

  “I blame myself,” Star said, tossing the empty syringe to the floor. “This is my fault. You’ve always been reliable, and if I had put a stop to this foolish plan in the beginning this wouldn’t have happened.” He paused and a chill moved through Jane’s body at the cold look in his eyes. “Your input on this team has been invaluable, but you know I can’t let this go unpunished.”

  Star snapped his fingers, and for the first time Jane noticed the guards standing at the door.

  Angus James

  He had put all of his faith in Jane, had given himself to her, had allowed her to pull him in and make him care even though he knew he should hate her. He’d tried to resist at first, but eventually he’d come to a point where he’d had to admit that she meant something to him, and there was no going back now. No matter what.

  The whole thing had made him hate himself at first, but then he’d remember Hadley and Jon.

  Back when they were in Vegas looking for supplies, Jon had kidnapped Hadley and Vivian, dragging them to the Monte Carlo where Hadley had been held prisoner and eventually raped. It had all been Jon’s fault for taking her there, but she’d forgiven him, had even fallen in love with him, and they’d been happy together. Probably still would be if zombies hadn’t intervened.

  What Jane had done to him was different and so much worse, but she’d promised she would make it right, whispering in his ear night after night, and Angus had believed her. He’d allowed himself to hope, something he hadn’t done for years, had allowed himself to care.

  He’d started to doubt her over the last few days, though. She’d come to him almost every night for three years, had brought his daughter to his cell several times a week, had given him the chance to get to know her. That was something he’d never thought he’d be able to do. Then, three nights ago, she hadn’t shown up. When she didn’t come the next night or the night after that, he’d wondered if she’d changed her mind. Then she’d come with Star and had watched while the guards held him down and injected him with yet another strain of the virus, and Angus had wanted to kill her, knowing that she would do the exact same thing to their daughter.

  Trust her. That’s what she’d asked him to do. It was a hell of a lot to ask.

  Angus had very little trust left inside him. He’d had it sucked from him a little at a time throughout his early years, most of it taken away by a deadbeat dad and an abusive mom. He’d been angry after that and held onto the trust he had left like giving it away would kill him. It had gotten easier, though, after the virus. Who knew that a zombie apocalypse could make your life better? It had for him. Had made him realize that trusting other people could make your life easier.

  Here, though, inside the walls of the CDC, that trust had been worn down to almost nothing. The people who worked here weren’t human. They didn’t feel, didn’t care what kind of pain they caused. Didn’t give a shit if the person they were hurting was a man or a woman or a child, good or bad, it was all the same to them. Angus had watched the endless parade of test subjects pass his room. Marched in as human beings who deserved more, then wheeled out on gurneys weeks, sometimes months later. Everyone who’d entered this hall had eventually left in a body bag except him, and now his daughter was here and he was expected to trust the woman responsible for it.

  How could he do that?

  Love, that was how. She’d said she loved him and even though he wasn’t ready to say it back, he did care about her and that meant he had to trust her. As much as it hurt him to do it.

  Only it was taking too long. She’d gone into their daughter’s room to draw blood but hadn’t come back out yet. She should have come out by now. It shouldn’t be taking this long.

  He was standing at the window waiting for Jane when the door at the end of the hall opened and Star appeared. Everything in Angus clenched and tightened until his gut was nothing but a ball of worry. Jane was still in the cell and he didn
’t know what was going on. What if she hadn’t had time to inject the drug? What if she got caught before she could do it and their daughter ended up stuck here forever? What if she had done it but got caught anyway?

  Star passed him, not even glancing his way, then headed to the other cell. Angus pressed his face against the glass hoping to get a better look, but Star disappeared through the door and then there was nothing to see but the guards standing in the hall.

  Angus stayed where he was at first, but after a few seconds he found it impossible to stand still. So he paced. Keeping one eye on the window, he traced the perimeter of his room. He’d lived in this prison for more than eleven years and he knew exactly how many steps it took to get from one wall to the other and back again. He counted as he walked, focusing on the numbers instead of what might be happening down the hall. The routine usually calmed him when he felt ready to explode, the counting and the pacing, and right now he needed that more than he had ever needed anything in his entire life.

  He was halfway through his second pass when movement caught his eye. He hurried to the window, his heart pounding harder than it ever had before, and found two guards dragging a terrified Jane down the hall. Star, frowning but calm, followed behind them at a safe distance so he didn’t have to get his hands dirty. If there was one thing Angus knew about Star at this point, it was that the man did not like having to get his hands dirty.

  Jane’s eyes were big and wide and full of tears, but she didn’t fight. There was fear in her expression, but Angus couldn’t read her well enough to know if she had accomplished what she’d set out to do. Had she done it? Had she been able to inject their daughter with the drug?