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)
9
In law enforcement, we all face danger, provocation and disrespect. How we respond in these situations is a reflection of our character. Emotion is a part of our job. Our duty is to always maintain emotional control in high-stress situations.
- Excerpt from a police training manual written by Ben Hollis
The next morning, I wake up more rested and clear-headed than I’ve been since I got here. Before, I was like a kite on a still day. I knew I wanted to get off this island, but it was a huge, intangible goal that was overshadowed by just trying to survive.
Seeing the emotionless child soldiers being drilled yesterday was the powerful gust of wind I needed to fly.
It all makes sense now. Whitman is using the people of Rising Tide to breed soldiers. Those kids are probably being psychologically programmed along with all the physical training. I don’t know where their supernatural skills come from, but that’s beside the point.
It’s cruel to create children just so they can serve. No matter the cause. I can’t worry only about myself now that I know the truth.
“Hey, kid.” Billy passes me a wooden bowl of murky, watery broth.
My stomach roars in protest, but I smile at him and say, “Thanks, Billy. It looks good.”
A corner of his mouth lifts in a smile. “It’s an old family recipe.”
I sit down by myself at a table. Pax told me to meet him here at eight this morning. I felt guilty snoozing my way through the camp alarms at five thirty and six o’clock, especially when Rona had to get up to come to work. The extra rest was nice, though.
I’m not sure what time it is, but I know it’s not eight a.m. yet. I take my time with the warm broth, sipping it slowly. Some people at other tables are talking and laughing, while others stare forlornly into empty bowls. I wonder how many of them know what’s happening to the children here.
“You’re fucking dead!”
I snap to attention, setting my bowl down. Everyone in the dining shelter turns to look at the man who yelled. He’s stalking toward us, his blond hair unkempt and his expression unhinged.
A woman stands up from her seat as he walks into the shelter, putting a palm on his chest. “Hey, take it easy.”
He pushes her arm aside. My skin prickles with awareness of approaching danger. His furious attention is locked onto someone, and people are starting to get up and scatter. I’m on my feet, about to move, when the man wraps his hand around the back of another man’s neck. He yanks him from his seat, the other man yelping with alarm.
“You got her pregnant! You fucking asshole. You knew I wanted her.”
Before I can even process what’s happening, the wild-eyed man is shoving the other guy into one of the shelter’s thick wooden support posts. His hold on his victim’s neck lets him smash the man’s face directly into the post, the squishing and crunching sounds with each hit sending my heart rate soaring.
“You! Fucking! Knew!” He slams the man’s face into the post over and over again, blood running down the wooden surface.
“Adler, stop.” A tall, muscular man wearing a four bracelet barks the order, putting his arms around the attacker’s midsection to pull him away.
The body of the man he killed falls limply to the ground. His head is halfway gone, the force of the hits so powerful that it broke his skull into pieces.
“What the hell happened?”
Virginia Marsden races up to the two men. It’s the first time I’ve gotten a close look at her. She’s lean, like everyone here, the lines in her face making her look like she’s in her early thirties. Her blond hair is secured in a neat bun at the nape of her neck.
The four, who’s holding on to Adler, waits for him to speak, and when he doesn’t, he locks eyes with Virginia.
“Rodriguez was sitting here eating when Adler pulled him up and did that to him.” He gestures at the body on the ground.
A muscle in Virginia’s jaw tics as she turns to Adler. “Well?”
Adler’s expression has morphed from madness to contrition. He looks like a different man now, fear swimming in his eyes.
“I shouldn’t have done it.”
She shakes her head. “What a waste. You could have called him into the circle.”
His shoulders slump. “I know. I just...my rage just took over. I couldn’t control it.”
She pulls a knife from its holster on her hip, then turns to look at those of us still gathered here. There are around three dozen people, all of us silent. Some are deliberately looking away, but others, like me, can’t help but look at Virginia.
“Briar.”
My stomach rolls as she says my name. How does she know who I am? And what could she possibly want from me?