Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 132491 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 662(@200wpm)___ 530(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132491 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 662(@200wpm)___ 530(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
Virginia flicks a look at Pax. “Did you take her to see the children?”
He looks away, guilt etched on his face. “I had to do something there, and since she’s shadowing me—”
“A decision you made without consulting me.” Anger flashes in her eyes. “That’s not how we do things here and you’re well aware. She’s telling other ones we treat the children unfairly.”
Fuck. Rona. This explains the look on her face when I passed her. I’m going to have to talk my way out of this.
“I didn’t say that exactly.”
“I know what you said.” She sneers, barely contained rage making her shake slightly. “You want to escape the island and you don’t approve of how we do things here.”
Alarm hits me hard and fast. Why did I think I could trust Rona? Why did I think I could trust anyone?
“Look, it’s a big adjustment.” I turn to Pax. “You know I’m working hard to find my place here.”
“Don’t look at him.” Virginia points at me. “He’s thinking with his dick, as usual.”
“Virginia.” Pax’s pissed-off tone is also scolding. “This isn’t the time or place.”
She takes a deep breath and pinches the bridge of her nose, seeming to be trying to get ahold of herself.
“I apologize, Commander Thatcher.” She gives me a withering glare. “You’re going into isolation.”
Pax scoffs. “Come on, that’s excessive.”
She puts up a palm. “It’s not up for discussion.”
“She was just asking questions! Lots of ones do that.”
“You didn’t take the report, I did. This was more than asking questions. She’s going into isolation. She’s being called into the circle on her thirty-first day here, and if she survives it—”
“That’s not fair and you know it,” Pax says bitterly. “She’s already at a disadvantage against Marcelle. Now you want to make her go without food or training for two weeks? It’s a death sentence.”
“This is the Rising Tide way. No one said it was easy.”
A muscle in Pax’s jaw tics. “Don’t do this.”
“It’s already done. We’re taking her there now.”
He shakes his head, his voice low and menacing. “This isn’t about her and you know it.”
“Commander Thatcher, my decision is final.”
My heart races as they stare at each other for a few long seconds, the tension palpable. Pax’s glare is murderous. Finally, he breaks the stare-off, shrugging.
“Fine. Guess I’m going too, since she’s shadowing me.”
Virginia rolls her eyes. “Get your shit together, Commander. That’s not an option.”
“How is she supposed to train?”
“That’s her problem.”
They’re going to put me in a cell. I can’t be locked up again. The few weeks I spent in a cell were terrifying. I was helpless, trapped alone with only my fears and regrets.
“Can I leave instead?” I blurt, my heart pounding so hard I’m a little dizzy.
“Leave the camp?” Pax shakes his head, aggravated. “No. I told you, you’ll be dead within a day. You can’t survive this place alone.”
I’m not doing so great here either, but I don’t say that.
“You can’t leave,” Virginia echoes. “You know too much.”
Panic cracks my chest open, flooding me with anxiety. They won’t let me go. I’ll be kept prisoner here until I’m a mindless breeding and fighting machine.
That, or Marcelle will take me out in the circle, and the Rising Tiders will have an orgy next to my dead body. Both options are horrific.
“Let’s go.” Virginia grabs my upper arm to lead me away, and I pull out of her grasp.
She narrows her eyes at me, looking ready to pounce.
“I’m going. Don’t touch me.”
It was a reflex; being touched is almost always bad, and my subconscious knows it.
Pax and Virginia stand on either side of me, both tense, but for different reasons.
I have to stay calm. This is a big setback, but I’m still alive. What I do and say from here may determine whether I stay that way.
We’re near the center of the camp when we stop by a worn raft. At least, I always assumed it was a raft. The side-by-side pieces of bamboo are lashed together with a thin rope made of woven vines that are brown and brittle-looking with age.
Virginia bends and picks up one end of it, flipping it up and over, and I realize it’s a hinged door. I inhale sharply when I realize where she’s sending me.
It’s a deep hole in the ground. It’s about eight feet in diameter and fifteen feet deep, lined with smooth metal.
“No,” I whisper, fighting the burn in my eyes. “Don’t put me in there.”
I give Pax an imploring look as Virginia goes over to a building to take a long ladder, also made of lashed-together bamboo, from an outer wall. He moves in front of me and meets my eyes, putting his hands on my shoulders.
“I’ll check on you a lot. I promise. I’ll make sure you’re okay.”
“Commander.” Virginia snaps. “Help me with this.”