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CHAPTER TWENTY NINE
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2023-03-17 17:43:33Related chapters
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, “
Last Updated : 2023-03-17Wish 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
Last Updated : 2023-03-17Wish 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
Last Updated : 2023-03-17Wish 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
Last Updated : 2023-03-17Wish CHAPTER FOUR
I watch the remaining color drain from his face at my murmured threat, but I also see the spark of stubbornness in his eyes.I don’t know what his problem with me is, but I have a feeling this one is going to make my life very difficult. However, I pull him up, and the wiry-looking man tosses a towel his way, barking, “Dry yourself off and stay away from the railing now!”The boy shoots me a hateful look as he scurries away toward his friends. “That was a nice thing you did there,” an amused voice spoke up. “Minus the death threat.”My head whips to the side, and I see a guy standing by the railings. He has reddish, auburn hair and intelligent, blue eyes. He watches me, those eyes dancing with amusement.“You know he was trying to push you in, right?” He grins.I shrug. “Failed, didn’t he?”The ferry is moving faster now, and we are approaching the island closest to us. “He’ll try again.”“I know.” My replies are terse. I’m not exactly interested in having a heart-to-heart
Last Updated : 2023-03-17Wish CHAPTER FIVE
I had assumed we would at least be allowed to rest, but Cheerleader Barbie has other plans.“Alright,” she clapped her hands in an enthusiastic manner, which did not match the expressions on the faces of all her ‘victims’. “Drop your bags in a corner and come here. You will be picking out a color from this bag.” She pointed toward the small, cross-satchel bag resting against her hip. “We have four colors which means four teams. Each team will have four people.”The next ten minutes are filled with shuffling sounds, sighs, and low-voiced complaints, but in the end, the groups are formed. Beth ends up in another group, but Quill is with me. Unfortunately, so is Anderson and another of his friends, Blythe.Anderson is still wet, and his upper lip curls in the appropriate mixture of fear and anger when he realizes we are grouped together.“The challenge is simple,” Cheerleader Barbie announces. “There are four trophies hidden in plain sight within the forest. Your goal is to retrieve t
Last Updated : 2023-03-17Wish CHAPTER SIX
The island we are ferried off to is a smaller one. It has a similar structure to the previous island with a forest on the outer edges of the island and cabins and large buildings in the center.As it turns out, there are only a few of us assigned the number zero, and as the counselor explains to us on our way to the island that is supposed to be our new home now, those with the number zero are the delinquents.“Aren’t we all supposed to be delinquents?” I mutter under my breath to Beth who has been clinging on to me ever since she saw me back at the island. She has a nasty-looking bruise on her forehead, but she won’t tell me where she got it from.Cheerleader Barbie overhears my comments and gives me a cool smile. “It means you lot need the most work.”My insides tighten at what clearly sounds like a threat.“Work?” I repeat, slowly. “You wanna explain what that means?”“There are five islands, each island for a specific number. The island you landed on is Level 1. The island yo
Last Updated : 2023-03-17Wish CHAPTER SEVEN
The plan is to make a break at midnight when everyone would be asleep.But as the time approaches, now bathed and clean, lying in a clean bed, my eyes feel heavy. I can already hear Beth snoring from the bunk bed under me. I can’t blame her. I’m equally exhausted. However, I know this might be our only chance. Otherwise, who knew what tomorrow would bring?I can feel my eyes slipping shut, and I force them to stay open.My eyes are on the small, faded wall clock. Amidst the sounds of heavy breathing and snores, my own eyes flicker.I must have fallen asleep because when I jerk awake, the small needle is on two.Shit! I slept through midnight!I’m about to wake Beth when something catches my attention. A soft, scraping sound.I recognize the sound almost immediately. It’s the sound of the window being slowly pushed open.I go still.Someone is coming inside. Through the window, no less.Before I can decide between waking Beth or just straight up jumping the intruder, I hea
Last Updated : 2023-03-17
Latest chapter
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 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 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 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 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 FIVE
“You must be mistaken,” Quill looks pale once I tell him what happened in the tunnels. “Why would Beth be down there?”“I don’t know,” I’m just as confused. Why would Beth go into the tunnels at night? Or at all?!“What if you’re wrong?” Quill demands, stopping me in my tracks as we rush to the tunnels, and forces me to face him. “You can’t be a hundred percent sure that it was Beth!”I stare at him.How can I explain to him this sense of knowing and dread that has been building up inside of me since the moment I heard that scream? “All I’m saying is,” Quill looks tense, “that if Suzie and the counselors are aware of Beth missing, they’ll be looking for her, and they will definitely look in the tunnels.”“They searched the tunnels and found no one.”“Well, then your theory doesn’t make sense!” Quill bursts out. “The counselors checked—”“What part of this place makes sense to you, Quill?!” I raise my voice, my frustration building. “And don’t tell me you haven’t noticed! This
Wish CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR
I grab a gasping Anderson and move rapidly toward the entrance of the tunnel. He stumbles but follows.I don’t know how we manage to get to the tunnel’s entrance, or how we get to the top, but we’re both out of breath.I fling the trap door close, sinking on top of it, gasping, “We have to—have to tell—”“O … On it!” Anderson looks pale, but his color is still better than before. He’s already reaching in his bag to take out a small, square device with a button on it.He presses it multiple times, muttering, “What was that down there?” “P … Paralyzing agent,” I gasp, still trying to catch my breath.“That’s why I can’t feel my legs,” he mumbles. “They feel stiff.”“It’ll wear off,” I reassure him, my heart still beating like a drum. “But more importantly, I thought the whole point of guard duty was to prevent students from roaming the tunnels. Where would students here get a hold of such powerful stuff?”Anderson immediately casts a suspicious look toward me. “How do you know
Wish CHAPTER TWENTY THREE
I’m lying on the cold ground with Anderson a few feet from me, his whole body shaking.“W … What happened?” I mumble, groaning as I move.“C … Crazy freak!” Anderson gasps. “That Level three girl—she was right! You’re a freak!”A freak?My memory is dim, and I feel like I’m slowly emerging from a deep haze. I manage to sit up, “W … What’d I do?”I fumble for my flashlight to look at him because he sounds like he’s in pain. When the light lands on him, I wince. “I didn’t do that.”Did I?Anderson looks pretty banged up. I can’t see any visible wounds, but he’s bruised.I struggle to get up as he groans, “Of course you did! You went apeshit crazy! Started throwing me round and screaming!”I help him up, feeling a wave of nausea overtake me as he continues, “And then you fell to the ground, convulsing like you were possessed!”As soon as he’s on his feet, he shakes off my hand, looking pale, “What is wrong with you?!”“I—” I open my mouth before snapping it shut, not knowing wh
Wish CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
My eyes are still burning from the sight of Jesse and Veronica making out in the middle of the mess hall as I get off the boat at the Level One island. Cursing under my breath when my right leg gets wet, I wonder what was going on in the head of whoever designed this entire place. Every island gets an interconnecting bridge except ours?Seems like the architect had something against our island.It’s easier to forget about Veronica’s hands all over Jesse when I’m busy being angry with something else entirely.Stomping toward the forest, flashlight in hand, I ignore the cold. This is why I never dated in the first place. Because all boys are scum, in one form or the other. As I locate the temple, I mutter unflattering things under my breath. I should’ve never let myself get caught up in his sweet words and thoughtful gestures. But then again—my hand falters as a thought strikes me—what if he had just been feeling sorry for me this whole time, and I just misinterpreted his kindness
