Hiding Behind A Mask | Maskless Trilogy Book 1

HBAF CH. 4 - SAMPLE

Eduard looks up from the falling glass, seeing Becca disappear behind a corner. He tries to follow her, but instead he loses her, stopping just before another hallway. The lights above flicker and the space between the walls are utterly quiet, only the sounds of Eduard's shoes bouncing back to his ears. There are only a few bodies strewn across the floor, and it makes Eduard's stomach churn. He knows they're not dead... at least he hopes so...

He shakes away the worry and walks on. He opens every door to every room, listening for the sound of breathing or the sound of movement.

Why had she reacted the way she had? What had Banshee told her? And even worse, what had she believed?

He pushes open the next door and sees a person lying on the floor, blood dripping from the edges of her mask. It's still not Becca though. Eduard truly believes that if he finds her and convinces her that Banshee is the bad guy, everything will come to a stand-still and the pieces can be picked up by who remains.

Door by door he peers into the rooms, his heart pounding harder and louder with every knob that is twisted.

Suddenly there's an explosion on the right side of the building. It shakes the ground and makes the ceiling tumble to the ground. Eduard rushes for cover, part of the roof staying in tact as the flames consume what lies before Eduard.

What if Becca was in there? Eduard finds himself thinking. He begins to sprint towards the catastrophic area to look for her, just in case.

. . .

Becca sits now, her back to a corner and her knees to her chest. She rocks back and forth slowly, trying to calm herself down. Banshee had told her... This wasn't the plan. This simply wasn't it. And on top of that, the boy who... the boy he... he's looking for her. He's going to kill her. She knows it. He's an actor. He never cared for her. He just wanted a face to hide behind, and that's what he got. A face. The Face to be exact.

A tear rolls down her cheek as she realized she played his game and fell right into his lap. The day she fell unconscious because her mask was cutting off her oxygen, Eduard didn't save her because he felt she was different. No. He took her because he knew she was gullible. He knewshe would agree to everything he said. He. Knew.

She hits the chair beside her, letting out a wail as she sinks deeper into her sorrows. There's nothing she can do now, she realizes as the rolling chair falls to the floor with a large clattering noise. The explosions are happening already and Banshee has everyone under his control now. She's powerless.

Becca reaches up to touch her bare face, the one that she's kept hidden behind a mask for so long.

She needs to bring down the Leaders. Every last one of them. There are more, but the highest is of the Nation. The Nation. So many people...

She looks out at the window letting through the pale moonlight, reminding her of the first dream she had of Quill. She didn't even know of him yet. Banshee said she had a gift, the same gift he has. It made her special.

Special enough to not know the real plan, just how Eduard had wanted her to be. Ignorant. Stupid.

She stands up, the sadness coated with a thin layer of anger, only growing as she looks up at the rising moon. If no one will keep her in the loop, she'll just have to enter it herself.

"It's time to make your own game, Becca Reed," she tells herself as she lifts the window and jumps down onto the grass.

There's no stopping her now.