Total pages in book: 139
Estimated words: 128488 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 642(@200wpm)___ 514(@250wpm)___ 428(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128488 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 642(@200wpm)___ 514(@250wpm)___ 428(@300wpm)
Poppy.
If we get out of here, I’m going to try to adopt you, Cedro. And your brother. Why not? They needed someone. Why not him? Why the hell not? Do something good with what you might have left of your miserable life, Grim. Something that makes up for your failures. The thought gave him hope, something tangible to shoot for. A goal and a dream. Two things he barely remembered.
He slept, he supposed. He wasn’t sure. But he became aware of the door opening and the same man entering their room. Grim pulled himself up, meeting Cedro’s eyes as the man came to stand before Cedro’s cage. “You’ve been rented.”
Here we go. He didn’t look at Cedro for risk of throwing him off in any way. The kid started to cry, but this time his cries were manufactured. Big gulping sobs as he sputtered and begged. “Exit or I tase you,” the man told him.
Cedro hung his head, his shoulders shaking as he cried for another moment. “Wait,” he said, reaching back and grabbing his last peppermint. “Please.”
The man looked slightly confused but then smiled slowly. “Sure,” he said. “A last supper. Enjoy.”
Cedro curled his shoulders forward and crawled on his knees slowly to the front of the cage while the man stepped back. Cedro stood and unwrapped the candy slowly, placing it in his mouth and sighing. The man jerked his head, and Cedro began to walk but then suddenly stopped short, bringing his hands to his throat.
Grim moved to the front of his cage. “Cedro!”
The man with the Taser had taken another step back as Cedro began flailing, his face turning beet red now as he brought his hands to his throat once more.
“Jesus, he’s choking. Help him!” Grim called. “Beat him on the back!”
The guard hesitated but then stepped forward, using his fist to beat Cedro’s back over and over.
Grim didn’t even notice when Cedro picked the key from his pocket. For a moment, he doubted if he had. But then Cedro drew in a big gasping breath, lowering his hands and drawing his shoulders back. There were tears streaking down his red-tinged skin. He drew in another breath, and then another, turning his foot slightly in the sign they’d agreed on through their prayer language.
Grim wanted to weep. He almost did, a sob of pride filling his throat so full he had to work to swallow it down. That’s it. That’s my brave boy. Good job, Cedro.
He took another breath, straightening and steeling his spine. One step down, many more to go.
The man gave one final knock on Cedro’s back and began to step away when Cedro spun and raised his hand high above his head, rage blooming in his young face as he swept his hand downward toward the guard’s artery.
One chance, you only have one chance, Cedro.
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
Even with his muscles tensed, pride shimmered in Caspar’s chest as he watched the dance he’d choreographed over so many weeks. He hadn’t anticipated one of his dancers being without a hand, and yet even so, they performed beautifully. The room had stilled, the sounds of old Dedryck’s wheezes easily heard in the piqued silence.
“Well, I’ll be damned,” he heard a man utter.
You certainly will be.
Grim, the man who’d once fathered a girl named Penelope and called her Poppy, burst from his cage after Cedro unlocked it and the grated door fell forward. The particulars of each game were different. The cages unique. The rooms unexpected. It had kept Caspar on his toes. Cedro stepped over the guard lying in a pool of his own blood on the floor. His aim had been pure perfection. The sharpened tin whistle lodged directly and deeply in his artery before Cedro dragged it downward, tearing it open. He’d needed to get close to use it, and he’d figured out just how. The guard had bled out in seconds. Perfect, Caspar thought. A few more steps and you’ll be free of that room.
The murmurs were rising now, the excitement and disbelief moving through the crowd of men as they watched Cedro and Grim jimmy the door that was locked from the outside. Caspar stood still, his back pressed to the wall as he watched the partners succeed in turning the lock, run from the room, and then sprint down the hallway. A guard gave chase, shooting at the men as they zigzagged, avoiding the bullets. Grim said something that sounded like “Pivot,” and they both turned together, rushing the surprised guard. They fought the gunman, Grim one handed, both emaciated, working together as though they’d trained to do so. The chatter in the room was growing louder now, men downing their drinks and reaching for more as the entertainment played out. Some drank in celebration; they’d bet well. And others scowled as they tipped back the alcohol, draining their glass in one long guzzle.