Superior

Chapter 44

Chapter Forty-Four

Caleb

I didn't look back once as I sprinted through the darkness, hurrying Jeanette and Christopher ahead of me. There might have been shouts and footsteps following us, but I was too busy running to notice. I had no idea where we were, or where we were going, and at that moment, I hardly cared. The only important thing was getting out of there without being shot down by Leary's minions.

And, for me, trying not to think about Ms. Shea, lying dead on the floor of her prison cell.

"This way!" Christopher shouted from in front of me, his waving hand a barely visible outline in the shadows. I saw Jeanette dash after him, turning a corner through the endless hallways of the cell block. Resisting the urge to glance over my shoulder, I followed as well, through an open door and into what looked like another cell.

Jeanette was in there, hands on her knees, breathing so hard that you'd think she had just run a marathon. She glanced up slightly as I skidded in and looked around the small, dim space.

"Where's Chris?"

"Hell if I know," Jeanette panted, shrugging. "I just need a break."

I frowned, knowing better than to call out for my brother as I walked the perimeter of the room. Unlike Ms. Shea's cell, there was no second entrance, no shrouded doorway leading into a maze of corridors. It was possible that Chris had gone on down the hall, but if he had, we would have heard his footsteps.

"Was the door already open when you came in?" I asked, turning around.

Jeanette, who was leaning tiredly against the wall, nodded. "Wide open. I expected your brother to be in here, but he wasn't."

My frown deepened, and I quickly forgot about our potential pursuers. Running my hand against the wall, I roved its surface for any signs of a door carved into the stone. There was none. I could see every miniscule ridge in the rock, but there were no telltale slots or indentations.

"Jeanette, are you sure you didn't see any—"

A sharp gasp from behind me cut off my question. I froze, and without looking over my shoulder, murmured, "Jeanette?"

Two light footsteps and the unmistakable click of a closing door were the only response I got.

I turned around very, very slowly, expecting Leary's two guards or worse, Leary himself. Instead, to my utter shock (and horror) I found myself faced with someone else entirely. Charisma stood by the door with a smug expression, one hand pressed over Jeanette's mouth and the other curled around her throat. She smirked at me, her eyes conveying intense dislike toward me. I was surprised at her sudden appearance, to say the least. But I was floored at the sight of the person beside her, standing confidently with a gun in his hand.

"You've got to be kidding me," I muttered, bringing a hand to my forehead. "Is this some kind of joke?"

The second figure laughed, a sound that bounced off the walls and seeped beneath my skin.

"Sorry, little brother," he said, "but this isn't a joke at all."

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I was at a loss for words, and could do nothing but stare at Christopher as he crossed his arms and smiled at me. He didn't have the same menacing, disconcerting presence as Dr. Leary, but that didn't make me any less distraught. I didn't know what was going on, but based on the leering grin on my brother's face, I knew it couldn't be good.