Embers & Ice

Chapter Thirty-Nine

When Hunter woke up, it was dark and cold and silent. She was lying on a far comfier mattress than the one in her cell, and definitely better than the steel table in Dr. Wolfe’s lab. It only took her a second to realize she was in the old quarters, because the candles were blazing and she could smell the sweet, toxic odor of cigarettes. It only took her a second more to remember what had happened before she passed out.

She was so paralyzed she couldn’t move. Before today – or whatever time it was – she thought that nothing more in this place could surprise her, but Dr. Wolfe had just stepped into a whole new level of deranged. When did he find Jack? After the warehouse? After he found Hunter? Had he really been locked up in a glass tank all this time?

And then there was Jack himself. Joshua had said he was special, that he was like them. But the Jack she had just seen in Death Cave 1 was not the Jack she used to know. The old Jack studied in the school library and followed after her like a puppy. The old Jack was sweet and innocent and harmless.

This Jack was a cold-blooded killer with a powerful ability: Destruction.

And Dr. Rosenthal shot him.

Hunter turned her head and watched Will blow out a long puff of smoke. He had his eyes closed.

“Hey,” she whispered.

He jumped in surprise and relief filled his features. “Oh, hi. Are you alright?”

As she sat up, she rubbed her eyes and reached for his cigarette. She was wet and muddy all over her back, as though she’d been dragged through the sewers. “I really need one of these. Thanks.”

“Sure,” he smiled. “That was a pretty shocking sight in there.”

Hunter nodded and breathed in heavily. As much as she wanted to tell Will it wasn’t the sight of the guard exploding like a tomato in the microwave or the horror of the mutated people locked in the dirty cells that made her faint, she wasn’t sure she wanted anyone knowing about Jack. Why, she hadn’t figured out yet.

“How long was I out?”

“A few hours. Everything is back to normal upstairs. After Dr. Rosenthal shot that guy, they detained him and put him in one of the other cells like the ones filled with people. Apparently the shot wasn’t enough to kill him. He must have some sort of power like mine. They’re repairing Death Cave 1. I dragged you in here before they could find us, then I went back upstairs and there were guards everywhere. Everyone was quiet. Zac said that they waited for us but we never came.”

“We lost our chance,” she whispered, rubbing her eyes. “There was no security, we could have escaped. We wasted our time.”

“Not exactly. The others thought of a plan while we were downstairs.”

“What?”

He pulled out another cigarette from the pack and lit it up. “Marcus and Mosi have been talking about it for months now. Apparently the lack of guards made it easier to carry out the plan. Marcus and Chantal snuck down to Dr. Wolfe’s office. That’s where he keeps the map of the institution.”

“A map?” Hunter’s heart was thumping. “Are you serious?”

“Yep. And it seems luck was on their side. Dr. Wolfe keeps the restraint locks in his office as well. Marcus was able to crack the safe even without his powers.” Will huffed a laugh. “Wolfe’s not exactly on top of things these days, is he?”

“After what we just saw downstairs, I’d say he’s a little distracted. What about the security cameras? Doesn’t he have those in his office?”