by Aella Black
But what they put me through today was inhumane. That abject fear I felt? That was torture of the emotional kind. And I felt filthy. Like I wasn’t even a person to them. Just a test subject.
Of course, that’s exactly what I was in their mind.
I collapsed on my bed. It wasn’t every day someone died and came back to life. My energy was sapped, and all I wanted to do was curl up in a ball and cry.
The thought made me think of Birdie. I wondered how she was doing, and if I would see her at lunch. Not that I had any desire to eat for the rest of the day.
I’d nearly dozed off when I heard the sound of a throat clearing outside my cell. I sat up and blinked at the door. Warden Will stood on the other side.
I scowled. “What do you want?”
He cocked his head. “Just wanted to check up on you. I heard about your test today. I’m happy to hear you’ve made a full recovery.”
I swallowed the Texas-sized lump that formed in my throat. “None of you care whether I live or die,” I said bitterly.
This didn’t even sound like me talking. I’d never once talked back to my parents, and now I was being disrespectful to adults, left and right. I’d had it with being the polite rule-follower I’d always been. I didn’t have anything to lose anyway.
“That’s not true,” he said quietly. I startled, for a moment thinking he’d overheard what I was thinking. “I don’t have control over what the scientists do. But I wanted to let you know that I’m here to help in whatever way I can.”
This man was a master liar. How dare he stand there and pretend to care?
“You lock kids in cages,” I said, my voice losing its earlier fire. I was so tired. “You let them test us. Torture us. You are not on our side.”
He sighed, his gaze dropping down to his shoes. “I understand your point of view,” he said at last. “But my job is to keep you safe. I take that job seriously.”
“Safe from whom?” The only ones hurting us were here.
“From everyone,” the warden said. Then he walked off.
I wanted to scream and holler at him, but I just didn’t have the strength.
A few minutes later, Rocky returned. She looked as horrible as I felt. Her jaw was set defiantly, but I saw the way she dragged her feet. The shake in her hands as she picked up her magazine.
Neither of us spoke. I’d ask her if she was okay, but I knew she’d snap at me. I understood, though. Hadn’t I just done the same thing to Warden Will when he tried to “check up” on me? Only difference was, he was the one responsible for my pain.
The clock struck noon, and I walked with other dazed-looking inmates into the cafeteria. If I’d thought breakfast was quiet, lunch was even worse.
I sat at our table next to Woody. Cathy and Cal were there too. No Birdie or Tex.
We grazed in silence. Finally, Cathy spoke up. “So, how did they test you, Phoenix?”
“Cathy,” Cal warned. “Come on.”
Idly, I thought it was interesting the way Cal had filled in for Tex. It sounded exactly like something he would have said.
Cathy persisted. “I’m genuinely curious. Isn’t your power coming back from the dead? How would they test that?”
Everyone looked at me. I swallowed my bite of PB and J. It still felt like it was stuck in my throat when I responded. “They injected me with something that killed me.” It felt weird to say it out loud.
The group gaped at me in disbelief. A tray clacked next to mine as Tex took a seat. “Hey, everyone. What’s up?”
Birdie sat down next to Cathy. She didn’t look sad today. Small mercies.
“We just found out that they killed Phoebe today,” Cathy said. Birdie dropped the fork she’d just picked up, her mouth falling open. “Can you imagine? I would have flipped.”
“I can imagine,” I muttered.
Tex looked at me with concern. “So it’s true?”
I nodded. I’d hoped that would be the end of it, but no such luck with this curious crew.
Recovered from her shock, Birdie asked, “Do you just sleep? How long?”
I avoided the first question—it was too morbid to think about, much less explain—and answered the second. “I was out for forty minutes.”
A stunned silence settled all around the table.
“Wow,” Woody finally said, shaking his head. “That’s unreal.” Then he quickly added, “Not that I don’t believe you. And it makes sense now why they had to carry you to make you go.”
“What?” Tex looked ticked off on my behalf.
“Uh, yeah. That was because the guard tased me.”
Cries of outrage surrounded me at this news. Once they settled down, Cathy began voicing the questions I’d been asking myself. “Does that mean you’re immortal?” She scrunched her nose. “All the immortal characters in comics have a weakness. Is there a way to kill you? Or will you always come back to life?”
I shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine.”
“What if you’re like a vampire?” Cal grinned. “Those are totally hot. And they can only die with a stake through the heart.”
“What if your head’s chopped off?” Cathy asked. Tex glared at her.
“What if you were nuked?” Cal’s eyes widened. “I’ve always wondered what it’d be like to get nuked.”
The little food I’d managed to get down felt like it was going to come back up. “I doubt anyone would come back after being obliterated like that.”
“But you’re not just anyone, are you?” Woody said.
Then the conversation shifted as though I wasn’t even there. Unfortunately, the topic did not.
“I don’t think she’d come back if her body is in pieces,” Cal concluded.
“I think a beheading would do it,” Cathy added.
“Can we please stop?” I asked quietly. But they were on a roll.
“I’ll bet electrocution wouldn’t keep her down.”
“What about a sickness that attacks her organs? Like cancer?” Cathy asked.
I stood abruptly. “No! Okay?” I shouted. “You know how I know cancer won’t kill me? Because I’ve already had it!”
I’d had enough of this, too. All of those would be horrific ways to die, but I’d thought of that particular one more times than I could count. The thought of some disease eating me from the inside out, my organs shutting down, one by one. I had no idea how anyone could survive that.
Everyone sat staring at me, stunned by my unexpected outburst. I couldn’t recall the last time I’d raised my voice, but this was just too much. Today had been too much.
I slumped back in my seat.
“Come on, y’all.” Tex eyed everyone at the table. “Sorry, Phoenix. We were being insensitive.”
Cathy appeared contrite. “I’m sorry, Phoebe.”
“Sorry, dude,” Cal said.
“I’m sorry, too.” Birdie looked like she was going to cry. Great.
“Sorry,” Woody said. Then, “You had cancer?”
I sighed. I hadn’t planned on telling them, but I supposed I couldn’t drop a bomb like that without some sort of explanation. “Yeah, leukemia. When I was ten. To be honest, I don’t think it was my power that saved me. Chemo helped, and then when it got really bad, I had a bone marrow transplant.” Glancing around, I could see they didn’t believe me. “Lots of people get cancer and don’t have supernatural powers.”
Thinking about chemo made my stomach lurch again. That PB and J was in serious danger of coming back up. “I’ve got to—”
“You don’t look well,” Woody said.
“Yeah, you’re kinda green,” Cathy chimed in.
If I opened my mouth again, I knew for a fact that I was going to ruin everyone’s lunch. I needed a bathroom. Stat.
I practically ran to the trash can and dumped the remaining contents of my tray. Then, I rushed for the doors. Luther stepped in front of me, blocking my way. “Where do you think you’re going? Lunch isn’t over yet.”
�
��I’m going to be sick,” I managed to get out.
He narrowed his eyes at me suspiciously. My stomach heaved, and I pushed past him. He followed me to the entrance of the girls’ shower room, where I remembered there was a toilet. I ran in and made it just in time.
After emptying my stomach, I flushed the toilet and leaned against the stall. I then swore off PB and Js for the rest of my life.
Luther was waiting when I stepped out of the shower room. Shaking his head, he said, “Disgusting, Phoenix. To your cell.”
I didn’t argue. My whole body was shaking. I was more than ready for this day to be over. I’d reached my limit with the test, and then my friends unwittingly pushed past it by discussing the various ways to kill me.
What if Dr. Venn had those same ideas? The thought made me want to hurl all over again.
“Let’s go!” Luther shoved me from behind.
I whipped around. “Do you want me to get sick again?” I ground out, clutching my stomach. I leaned over slightly so he’d know I was serious.
He took a step backward as quick as his big body would allow. I took a deep breath to try to settle my stomach. Meanwhile, Luther miraculously kept his mouth shut and his hands to himself.
Footsteps sounded from down the hallway, and I wondered which poor soul was just now finishing up their test. I didn’t even feel guilty that I hoped it was Wolf.
Bonus points if he was crying.
My nausea contained, I stood straight and turned back around. When I rounded the corner, the person came into plain view. I halted in my tracks.
Brown curls.
Ocean blue eyes.
Dimpled cheeks.
No. It couldn’t be. I’d been through too much today, and my eyes were playing tricks on me.
The last person I expected to see at Leavenworth was now standing directly in front of me. In his football uniform.
Xander Aldrich.
What in the name of all that was holy was he doing in the supernatural prison?
17
“Xander?” His name tumbled from my mouth. I still couldn’t believe it was him. “Wh-what are you doing here?”
His eyes were wide, and he stared at me like he was seeing a ghost. Which, now that I thought of it, made sense. The news said I was dead, so why would he think otherwise? This probably was as shocking for him as it was for me.
But what was he doing here? A rich, popular, star football player with powerful parents. Maybe there’d been a mistake. Because truly, he was the last one on earth that should have ended up in this place.
“Are you alright?” he asked.
I noticed he hadn’t answered my question, but there would be plenty of time for that later. I opened my mouth to respond, but Luther called out, “Move it, Phoenix, before I move you!”
My voice stuck in my throat. Shrugging a shoulder, I started walking toward my cell.
Fan-freaking-tastic.
Even in jail, I couldn’t talk to him. What was wrong with me?
I looked back to see that Xander, who had a guard of his own, was being escorted in the direction of the guys’ cells. Luther pushed me into mine and slammed the door. He obviously didn’t care if I threw up again, since he was no longer in the danger zone. But amazingly, I felt one-hundred percent better.
Xander was here. This changed everything.
His parents were not only powerful, but they had tons of connections. If he’s here and they didn’t know about it yet, they would burn Kansas City down looking for him. And when they found him, they’d find all of us.
We could get out.
The hope that generated made me curl both hands around the bars so I didn’t collapse with relief. My mind began replaying our brief interaction over and over again.
The look of shock and disbelief on his face when he saw me might have been hilarious in other circumstances—okay, maybe it was a little funny now. And seeing Xander wearing his football uniform. At Leavenworth. What was that all about? Had he just come from a game? Then, as if he hadn’t just unexpectedly arrived in a prison, he was asking if I was all right.
Giddiness bubbled inside me, and I flopped down on my bed. Minutes later, I heard the lock to the cell disengage and Rocky walked in, the guard banging the door closed behind her. She eyed me. “You still going to be sick?”
I shook my head. Not even Rocky’s grumpy attitude could bring me down from the high I was on. Xander was here! Everything would work out.
“You don’t look very sick,” she observed, sitting on her bed.
I bit my lip to hide my smile. When I was sure I’d sufficiently suppressed, it, I turned on my side to face her. “Yeah. Feeling better.”
“Huh.” She eyed me suspiciously. “I passed the boys’ cells. There’s a new guy. He’s hot.”
I couldn’t help it. Her words made me burst out in laughter.
She glared at me. “What?”
I covered my mouth with my hand. “Nothing. I just… I don’t know. I didn’t think you were into boys.”
She arched a brow. “You saying I’m into girls?”
“No, I meant… Sorry. Doesn’t matter if you’re into… Whatever, I don’t care. I just…” I stammered. “I just didn’t think you noticed anyone, really.”
She snorted. “I’m human, aren’t I?”
Not according to the SCC.
I decided now wasn’t the best time to tell Rocky that fun little fact—or ever. Then again, she’d been here longer than me, so there was a good chance she knew that already.
Rocky grabbed her magazine—how were there any pages still left in that thing?—and opened it up to the middle. I dropped back to stare at the ceiling.
I still couldn’t believe Xander had somehow ended up here. With me. Out of all the classmates, coworkers, and people I knew. Out of all the people in this country.
What were the odds? No one else here that I knew of had known anyone else prior to their arrival.
I suddenly didn’t feel quite so alone anymore. And though I adored my new friends, Xander was someone familiar. Someone from my past. Someone from home.
And, for the first time since we were kids, we were back on a level playing field.
I turned to Rocky. She was staring at me. “You’re grinning like an idiot,” she said. “Did you get drugged up during testing?”
I shook my head, sobering. I needed to get a grip. If someone found out I had a crush on Xander, they could use that information against me. And him. The guards, the doctors, Wolf…
With everything that had happened today, I’d forgotten I’d acquired a target on my back yesterday. Wolf absolutely could not know. No one could.
I tried to changing the subject. “Hey, I know we haven’t been super friendly with each other. And I know you’d rather be on your own during rec time, but, well, you can hang out with me and the others any time.”
I felt stupid saying it, but one of us needed to break the ice. Maybe this way, things between us might start to thaw.
She looked at me knowingly. “Yup. They definitely shot you up with something.”
“I’m serious.” And I was.
Rocky had been rude to me from the start, but perhaps that was because she was lonely. I should have keyed into that earlier, since I’d spent the past year feeling that way myself. I knew better than anyone you could be surrounded by people and still feel alone.
The friends I’d made here had been an unexpected blessing, and now that my mood had lifted, I wanted to share that with someone else.
Rocky eyed me, then shrugged. “Sure. Whatever.”
I smiled. And this time, it had nothing to do with Xander.
When rec time rolled around, I nearly bolted out of the cell in my eagerness to see Xander.
He wasn’t there. I scanned The Quad a few times to make sure and then checked outside in the yard. No sign of him there, either. Maybe he was still getting settled.
Rocky walked up to the group’s usual spot at the same time I did. Tex and
Cal were already there. “Come sit with us,” I said.
She grunted and followed me to the table.
“Hey, Phoenix. Feeling better?” Tex eyed Rocky warily.
“Much.” I scanned the room again, disappointed that Xander still wasn’t there. Could he have gotten lost on the way? And what would I say to him when I saw him? What would he say to me?
“Hey, Rocky,” Tex said. “What’s up?” I could always count on Tex. No one was better at making people feel welcome.
“That southern charm doesn’t work on me,” she growled.
I sighed. Rocky really didn’t play well with others.
The rest of the group arrived. If they were surprised Rocky was sitting at our table, they didn’t remark on it. Woody was moodier than usual, and Rocky snapped back at whoever was talking with sarcastic remarks. Between the two, the atmosphere was definitely different. And not in a good way. I hoped I’d made the right decision inviting her to hang out with us.
Tex pulled out a deck of cards. “How ‘bout a card game? I’d suggest poker, but we’ve got nothing to bet with.”
“All I know is ‘Go Fish,’” Birdie said.
“’Go Fish’ it is.” Tex looked up at Rocky and me. “Y’all in?”
I nodded. Rocky rolled her eyes. “Dumbest game ever. But sure.” Then, as Tex shuffled, she added, “No cheating.”
“Hey now, I’m a man of my word,” he said. “No color changes, I swear.”
Tex started dealing out the cards. Woody, who had been quiet up until now, finally spoke up. “That new guy is my cellmate,” he announced, his eyes on me for some reason. My ears perked up, but I forced my face to remain neutral. “One of those jerk jocks. Definite Wolf pack material.”
I choked back a retort. Xander was not a jerk, and he certainly wasn’t Wolf pack material. I didn’t think so, anyway. It wasn’t like I knew him well anymore.
“There he is now,” Rocky said. It was the first thing she’d said that wasn’t an insult.
My eyes landed on the entrance to The Quad where I saw Xander standing, decked out in prison wear like the rest of us. I went both hot and cold at once.