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CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE
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Wish CHAPTER TWENTY SIX
“What?” Quill looks indignant. “Why the heck not?!”Jesse just smirks. “Well, we’re going to need a lookout, won’t we?”I look between the two of them, unable to figure out what their problem is. Annoyed, I look at Jesse. “This isn’t the time for some pissing contest. We need all hands on deck and that’s just us three. And I don’t want to waste time while Beth might be in trouble.”Jesse scowls. “Fine. Go wait by the trees and don’t make a sound.”Quill opens his mouth, clearly annoyed at the authoritative tone, but luckily, he keeps his mouth shut. As we head over to the trees and wait, Jesse doesn’t take long. He is back with flashlights and a sweater.“Put your hands up,” he orders and without thinking, I do so. He immediately tugs the sweater down over my head and arms, adding, “It’s going to get really chilly.”I can’t feel my face turn red, and when I glance at Quill, he has a strange look in his eyes. However, before I can speak, he quickly says, “Well, what are we waiti
Wish CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN
I want to run toward the cry, but Jesse holds me back, his eyes narrowed.“Why’re you stopping me?!” I hiss. “Can’t you hear her?! We have to go!”“Something isn’t right.”His words have me coming to a halt. “What do you mean?”“Her voice,” he murmured, his eyes darting down the tunnels. “It’s moving.”A moment later, he’s proven right when she cries out again. The voice is closer this time. “Come on!” Jesse grabs my hand. “We have to go.”“Go where?!”I struggle, but he drags me into a smaller tunnel on the side. “Sshh! It is always better to know who you’re going up against!”He has a point. “You want to get the drop on them?”His voice is whisper soft, “Yeah. We don’t know who we’re dealing with.”We wait for a few minutes, and soon enough, we hear soft footfalls. My hands tremble, not out of fear, but worry. Worry for Beth. We’re so focused on the main tunnel that neither of us is paying attention to where we are or whether or not we’re alone.That’s when a hand gr
Wish CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT
“What have you done, Annabelle?!” Ferguson sounds horrified.Annabelle shrugs. “It wasn’t my fault. She was struggling too much. Had to beat her into submission. Kids these days are quite stubborn, you know.”I try to dart toward Beth, but Ferguson grabs me, holding me back.Annabelle smirks. “Do you really think you can save her again? What for? Her own brother wants her dead. He paid us a lot of money to do so. You’re really a thorn in my side, Taylor. I was going to use this girl to get two birds with one stone, and what do you do? The poison wouldn’t have killed her. It would have knocked her out for hours. And besides, we had to kill her anyway to get inside the vault. You, I’m going to bleed you all over that vault door now. I’ve never met a more annoying person.”Horror settles in my chest. “You poisoned Beth?!”“Careful,” Jesse breathes when I try to rush at her. “Look at Beth.”I follow his gaze and see my semi-conscious friend looking at me. She’s not crying, and her ey
Wish CHAPTER TWENTY NINE
It’s the voices that guide me.I walk slowly, building a strategy in my head. I can’t afford to be scared. Not when it’s Jesse’s life on the line.I come to an abrupt halt when the voices get louder.“… has to be a way!” Annabelle sounds furious, and I inch closer until I find a large, protruding stone to hide behind. Looking around the corner, I see the dark-clothed men holding a badly injured Jesse down against the floor, right in front of a familiar looking vault.It’s the one that I saw with Jesse and Quill.This is what they want to open?What’s even inside that’s so precious that they’re willing to spill blood over it?“Just slit his throat!” Annabelle scowls. “We don’t have time for this!”Regan approaches Jesse, his hands curled into a claw, and I see Jesse’s eyes shift back into that black color.I’m out of time. Either I do something now, or watch Jesse get killed in front of my eyes.But it’s not exactly like I have any weapons. Heart pounding, I decide to wi
Wish CHAPTER THIRTY
My wounds have healed, but I’m still covered in bruises and blood.And yet, I don’t care.Director Yearwood isn’t here yet. I’ve been waiting in her office, ushered here by Dr. Brown who looks anxious.I don’t speak, my head spinning.She offers me tea, but I don’t want to eat or drink. I want to see Beth and make sure she is okay. I want to know what is going on. What am I? What is Beth?What was all that back there?For the first time, there is no fog inside of me, no fuzzy memory. I recall the way my body felt, my teeth elongated, my strength. I remember it all. I would think that I’m dreaming, but my body hurts too bad from being tossed around like a rag doll. “Taylor—”I cut off Dr. Brown, my voice hard, “I want to see the director. She told me she would talk to me.”“I did,” comes a calm voice just as the door to the office opens. I’m on my feet as Director Yearwood approaches me. She grabs my chin gently, raising myface, and studying it. Finally, she murmurs, “
Wish CHAPTER ONE
It’s raining, and the tattered roof of the bus stop does nothing to prevent my hoodie and backpack from getting soaked. I glare in the direction of where I just walked from. A twenty-minute walk in the rain that would have been easier if she had just driven me in her faded Honda. She didn’t even bother to come say goodbye. Clutching the straps of my backpack tighter, I refuse to cry.Why would I want to spend my life in that dirty trailer? No. I don’t want to end up like that flabby woman my dad married as a last resort. I’m not going to be trailer trash like her and just spend my life drinking and gambling.That woman is fifty shades of crazy as it is. I’m still reeling over the fact that she framed me. My hand flexes around the strap of my backpack. I knew she hated me but framing me for attempted murder is a bit of overkill.I know she had wanted to send me to juvie until I’m eighteen next year. I still remember the smug look on her face when she had been sitting in the court
Wish CHAPTER TWO
Dolores’s words are ringing in my head.“James is a coward.”“He would rather leave you …”“… than take you with him.”And then the way she talked about him. Not in the past tense, but the present. It was almost as if— A sharp thought hits me like a ton of bricks and I feel nauseous, bile rising up in my throat as I stagger, my hand gripping the support railing almost blindly.Could it be that Dad isn’t dead?My mind is blank as I find myself a seat, not caring that I am dripping wet right now. A few of the kids give me strange looks, but I ignore them, my heart thundering.Could it be?But even as I think about it, the ridiculousness of the situation dawns on me. If Dad had been alive, he wouldn’t have left me here.No.No, Dolores was just messing with me.But just for a moment, the thought that he might be out there had me so hopeful. The possible opportunity to see him once again—I press the heels of my hands to my eyes, pushing back against the tears which are thr
Wish CHAPTER THREE
I get a lot of snacks for us, and Beth eats ravenously. I had my doubts about the packed, cold sandwiches at the store, but with the way she devours them, they might just be okay.By the time, the other kids return, they look brighter. The bus has picked up more kids along the way, so the numbers have increased. A few of them have found their own buddies. My eyes flick toward the boy who had tried to come on to me. He’s sitting in the back with a bunch of other boys, including the one who had name-called Beth.All of them had seen the incident take place between me and their group mate so they’ve not approached me. Smart.But I do see them eyeing Beth, and I scowl at them, making them quickly look away.Maybe some of us do need this camp.“So, what do you know about this place?” I ask Beth, curiously. “It seemed like some weird juvenile correctional facility when I looked it up.”Beth shrugged. “I don’t know. But I do know that you can only send someone through a referral. You
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