by Aella Black
He walked so close to me that his shoulder brushed mine. I tried not to think about how good it would feel to hold his hand.
Completely unaware of my girly thoughts, he continued. “Warden Will mentioned something to me while I was in solitary. When I asked him if I was going to Lansing, he said ‘no.’ When I asked why not, he said the warden there would crush my spirit, and he didn’t want that to happen. Now I’m even more glad I didn’t end up at that place. Guess I have my parents to thank for something,” he muttered. His tone was noticeably less resentful than the previous times he’d mentioned them, so that was something. “When we get out, we have to alert people to that place, Phoebe. No one deserves to be somewhere worse than this.”
I shuddered. Warden Will might not have been my favorite person, but he wasn’t cruel. Not like the scientists. I couldn’t imagine how we’d survive if he thought the Lansing warden was vile.
“Do you think we’re ready?” I asked. “For tomorrow?”
“As ready as we’ll ever be.” Xander stopped in the middle of the track, and though I wasn’t sure why, I stopped too. He moved to stand in front of me. “I’m not going to miss this place,” he said strangely.
“I don’t think anyone will.”
Then he shifted slightly and said, “No, um, obviously I won’t miss it. We all will. Or won’t, I mean.” I’d never seen Xander look so unsure of himself. Ever.
I was attempting to piece together what he wanted to say when he spoke again, an even stranger look on his face. “But that doesn’t mean I’m not glad we’ve had this time together. And just in case we don’t make it out of here, in case it’s three-strikes-and-you’re-out for me, I wanted you to know how I feel.” Oh.
He leaned down and, without another word of warning, his warm, full lips were pressed against mine.
I froze, my breath catching, as he lightly touched my jaw with one hand. Gripping my arm gently with the other, he pulled me closer until I felt his body against mine. Oh my.
Then, as quickly as it started—too quickly, in my opinion—it was over. When he pulled away, Xander gave me the most adorable bashful smile that ever existed. No matter how brief it was, the beginning, middle, and end of that kiss was better than anything in the books I’d read.
I blinked furiously, unsure if what had just happened actually was a product of my imagination. Xander released his grip on me. “Since last time was interrupted,” he said, erasing all doubts.
An inappropriate laugh bubbled up in my chest, and it took an enormous amount of will power to force it back. “Uh, thanks,” I said.
My cheeks blazed. Thanks? What kind of response was that? I was so freaking awkward.
He chuckled, and then he turned and began walking again. I was relieved he was no longer looking at my enflamed face.
So, what now? Did I confess I’d been crushing on him for years? Tell him I’d imagined that kiss a thousand times, but never in my wildest dreams I imagined it would happen? And in a prison, no less.
My lips still tingled where he had touched them. I’d be replaying that moment over and over for the rest of my life.
As we peeled off the track and headed back in, my gaze caught on a shadowy form leaning against the outside of the building.
Woody.
His eyes tracked Xander and me as we walked, and the storm clouds on his face were every bit as threatening as the ones above our heads. Maybe more.
For just a brief moment, I wondered if the kiss had been a mistake. Pissing Woody off was the last thing Operation Chess Tournament needed. Then, as we entered The Quad, Xander took my hand and all thoughts of Woody were forgotten.
31
This morning was slightly surreal. If all went well, I’d never again wake up to the harsh florescent lights that had startled me out of my sleep every day for months.
As we prepared for our run—the last run—Rocky and I kept looking at each other. For me, it was for reassurance. For her, it was to check that I wasn’t about to chicken out.
I could see it in her eyes. Rocky didn’t trust anyone, and after her parents turned her in, I didn’t blame her. I understood why she worried she would be betrayed. It wasn’t all that different from thinking I wasn’t good enough. If my own parents hadn’t wanted to stick around, why would I think any differently?
If this stupid prison had a psych ward, I had a feeling they’d have a field day with us.
I had no intention of chickening out, so I made my bed and patted it in farewell. The thin mattress had absorbed so much pain, sorrow, and fear, I was grateful to leave it behind.
Not to mention it was crazy uncomfortable.
“This is it, everyone!” Cathy’s voice echoed in my head. “Commence Operation Chess Tournament. In less than an hour, we’ll be free as birds.”
I could always count on Cathy’s enthusiasm, but her words this morning displayed even more optimism than usual. Which, of course, was exactly what we needed to hear.
The group had been disappointed when I told them about Oscar, but they all said it was probably for the best. Even if he’d agreed to help, that didn’t mean he actually would. If he’d tipped them off, this would all be over before it started.
I was terrified. So many things could go wrong today. And if we did fail in our attempt to escape, what would happen to us?
Pushing out the image of Hot Rod being dragged away, never to return, I reached under my pillow to say ‘goodbye’ to the book that had helped me numerous times since I’d discovered it on that forgotten shelf. I wished I could take it with me. Perhaps, though, I’d come across another copy on my travels someday.
A guard unlocked our cell. Rocky and I stepped into the hall, and I turned and gave our cell one last look. It had been my home for months. An awful home, but one nonetheless.
I was so glad I’d never see it again.
We walked silently with the rest of the inmates to The Quad. I spotted Cathy and Birdie up ahead, holding hands. I noticed some of the other inmates around me, one little kid in particular. He couldn’t be a day over twelve.
I hated that we couldn’t take them all with us, but we wouldn’t stop until we brought this place down. If things worked out like I hoped—meaning, we talked to the right people right away—the kids might even be out tonight. The inmates at Lansing, too.
No. I needed to quit thinking of us as inmates, because that implied we were imprisoned for committing some kind of crime. This was bigger than me, bigger than all of us. These kids’ lives depended on whether we succeeded or failed.
We stepped outside. It was raining again. Based on the size of the puddles, it had been all night. Still, the guards made us run. Which was lucky for us, actually, since I didn’t know what we’d do if they canceled the run. Our operation would have ended before it even began.
I jogged a lap, keeping an eye on Tex, Cal, Woody, and Xander. I wished I’d had a chance to talk to Xander one more time before this started—talked to all of them, really—but there was nothing to be done about it now.
Cathy’s voice popped into my head. “Now?”
I craned my neck to get a good look at the guards.
There were only four. My stomach twisted in knots. Only four? Usually, there were at least six, keeping an eye on us from the entire perimeter of the track. Were they short-staffed today?
Then, the worst realization: Luther wasn’t one of them.
Panic flooded my system. How were we supposed to get the keys if the keeper of the keys wasn’t here? Did any of the other guards have the keys we needed?
This was already a disaster. Rocky slowed her jog so I could catch up to her.
“There are a few problems,” I mumbled.
“You think? The literal keys to the chess game aren’t here.” Her eyes performed a visual three-sixty. “Less guards, though, so that could work to our advantage.”
“Yeah. Think we could grab another set of keys?”
“Going to have to. Unless you’re thinking of calli
ng the whole thing off.” There was a question in her voice, and she tossed a sideways glance my way. As if daring me to back out now.
If we abandoned our plan, I was mere hours from a painful, violent death—of that, I had no doubt. If we went through with it and failed, there was a chance I would die, too. There was also a chance we could succeed. And at the end of the day, they might kill us all anyway.
“No. It’s now or never.”
I looked across the track to where Birdie and Cathy awaited my signal. I nodded once and gave them two thumbs up.
“Okay, everyone… get ready for a swarm of angry crows,” Cathy said.
I’d run almost another lap before I heard them. And Cathy was right… they sounded angry.
Other inmates noticed. They slowed their paces, craning their necks to see where the racket was coming from. Even Wolf scowled at the sky.
Then, by the hundreds, they appeared over the concrete walls and swooped down over the yard.
The chaos that followed was even more perfect than I’d imagined. Inmates ducked and dove to the ground with their hands over their heads. But it wasn’t them the birds were after.
The unfortunate guards posted in the rec yard bent over as crow after crow nosedived after them. The men screamed and hollered as the birds screeched and cawed. I never knew crows were so loud.
This was my chance.
Eyeing the key ring in the nearest guard’s belt, I tore off in his direction. He was so busy swatting at the flock of crows circling and pecking at his head, he didn’t see me approach. I reached a hand out, victory literally within my grasp, when he turned and elbowed me in the nose. That’s going to leave a bruise.
I jerked back, the pain radiating from the center of my face. But I couldn’t give up. Too much depended on my success.
Reaching for the keys again, I managed to get my fingers on a few. But when I tugged, the ring didn’t budge. It was zip-tied. And I had nothing to cut through it.
So I improvised.
While the guy was busy fending off the crows, I pushed him to the ground and we both took a tumble. His hands covering his head, I unbuckled his belt and yanked it off.
A flurry of crow wings beat against my ears and face, but I wasn’t scared of them. I was scared of not getting out of here.
Snatching the entire belt, I scrambled to my feet and made a beeline for The Quad. Inside, I found the others already waiting for me, along with dozens of other inmates smart enough to come in here to escape the commotion.
I held the belt aloft. “Let’s go!”
“Nice work, Phoenix!” Tex said.
A guard standing at the door we needed to leave through pulled out his taser. Before he could use it, Woody pulled a chess piece from his jumpsuit and chucked it at him. It wound around both wrists, cinching them shut and forcing him to drop the taser. Another chess piece, and the guard’s feet were tied.
“Nice, man!” Cal said.
I raised my hand to give Woody a high-five, but he wouldn’t even look in my direction. Guess he’s still mad.
Pushing the door open, we all piled into the hall. To the left, our cells. To the right, the garage. Racing down the long hall, we headed toward the double doors with the exit sign Xander had told us about.
“Ohmygosh,” Cathy panted. “Ohmygosh. Ohmygosh…”
“Zip it, Chatty,” Rocky growled. “We’re not out yet.
We slammed against the double doors, and, miraculously, they opened. I could have screamed for joy. This was turning out to be far easier than I could have anticipated.
Now we just needed a van—
We collided with one another as we all came to a sudden stop upon entering the garage. My heart jumped straight into my throat.
Six guards stood in front of us, all lined up with tasers in their hands. Luther was in the center. Next to him stood Oscar.
Luther grinned, showing crooked, yellow teeth. “End of the line, folks.”
32
My mind raced. How did this happen? How did they know we were coming?
Someone tipped them off, I realized. It was the only explanation.
But who?
It couldn’t have been Oscar because I hadn’t told him. Maybe Cathy—
“On your knees!” Luther barked.
None of us moved. We had come so close to freedom. It was just outside this dusty, diesel-reeking garage.
We couldn’t give up now.
“Woody!” I yelled.
He shoved his hands into his pockets. “No, Phoenix,” he said, staring at the ground. “It’s over.”
“No, it’s not,” Xander growled. “Cathy, Plan C!”
I felt her trembling just behind me, but she understood what he meant. In the next instant, the guards recoiled, hands clutching their heads, their bodies twisting as they tried to get away from Cathy screaming in their minds.
I jangled the belt. “Quick! To the nearest car!”
Xander raced right up to the guards. “Go!” he yelled. Then he wasted no time socking Luther in the jaw. Luther crumpled to the floor. Xander proceeded to punch each one of them, knocking some out and stunning others with his strength. “Go, go, go!” he yelled.
We raced to a large black van with “SCC” printed in white on the side. I fumbled for the keys. “Come on,” I muttered.
Rocky snatched the belt away from me. “I’d swear you’ve never seen a car key before,” She pointed the small remote that had been among the keys on the ring and clicked the unlock button. The van’s lights winked at us.
“Quick, get in!” I yelled.
“Phoenix!”
I spun. Oscar was right behind us, gun aimed at my head. “Take one more step and I shoot.”
We all froze. He was visibly shaking. A bruise was forming just above his right eye where Xander had punched him. Not hard enough, it seemed.
The garage went eerily quiet. “Get back into the prison,” he barked. “Now!”
No.
We were not letting Oscar, of all people, ruin our escape. “We won’t,” I said firmly. “Let us go.”
“Can’t do that,” he said. “Back inside. Everyone.”
This was not happening. Not when we were this close. I took a step toward him. Then another.
“Phoenix…” he warned. “I will shoot you.”
“Do it,” I said. “I’ll just come back to life.”
“Phoebe,” Xander said in a low voice. “What are you doing?”
Xander had never actually seen it in person, so it made sense he doubted it could be done.
I took another step forward, my gaze locked on Oscar’s.
His mouth was pressed into a hard line. Then, he said softly, “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Then don’t. Take ‘the sunny side,’” I said, hoping he knew what I was referring to. I stopped a foot from the gun’s barrel. I saw the way it shook in his grip. Saw the bead of sweat roll down the side of his face.
I was close enough now to target the pressure points Rocky had shown me. Just one swift kick to the groin, and then—
Oscar dropped the gun.
The movement was so sudden, I flinched.
He frowned at me. “Go,” he said. “But they’ll find you. They have special tracking teams. You can’t run forever.”
I blinked in surprise. He was… letting us go?
He waved a hand. “Hurry up! If you’re leaving, then go!”
I heard the door to the van wrench open and my friends start to pile in. I was speechless. ‘Thank you’ didn’t quite seem enough. I threw my arms around his neck. “You did the right thing,” I whispered.
He returned the hug only for a second before pushing me away. “Go. Don’t stop running.”
I nodded, then raced to the van.
Just as I raised a foot to climb in, I heard a gun go off. Instinctively, I ducked, then whirled around.
Wolf stood only yards away, his pack behind him. He held a gun. And Oscar was on the ground, blood pooling a
round his body.
“No!” I screamed.
Wolf and his gang rushed at us. He grabbed me, ripped me away from the van, and tossed me to the ground before I even knew what had happened. “Thanks for the sweet ride,” he rumbled.
My head spun from the blow when I hit the floor. I lifted it and saw Oscar’s body sprawled in front of me. Lifeless.
Fury shot through me like the bullet in our would-be savior’s body. I heard Birdie scream as someone threw her out of the van. More shouts, and then the sound of skin-on-skin contact as punches were thrown. I forced myself to my knees and looked back at the van.
There was no one in the getaway vehicle.
Zapper electrocuted anyone he came in contact with, and Dizzy was clearly at work with Xander, who threw sloppy punches that Wolf easily dodged.
Zapper, Dizzy, and Ghost all hopped into the car, and Wolf took the driver seat. “Get in here, Woody,” he said. “You deserve it for telling us about this idiotic plan of theirs.” He laughed as Woody, without hesitation, jumped into the car.
What? Woody had betrayed us? It didn’t make sense. He hated Wolf.
“Nice knowing you,” Wolf taunted, then hit the gas. The van squealed, knocking into another car as it spun away toward the exit.
It was at that moment guards swarmed the garage. They surrounded us, guns trained on each of our heads. “Hands in the air!” Luther screamed. “Rory, take out Wolf.”
Half the squad piled into cars and roared after the black van—the one that was supposed to be our ride to freedom.
But it was over now.
We’d failed.
Who knew what would happen to us now.
33
So this was solitary confinement.
Turned out, it was under our feet this whole time. And it sucked.
They stuck us in separate cells, and we weren’t allowed to leave for any reason. It was just as Xander had described—no rec time, no morning runs, and our meals were shoved under the door. He hadn’t mentioned how dark and cold it was, though. Sure, there were lights, but they were from like the early 1900s, yellow, dim, and producing barely enough light to be considered lightbulbs.