Her Compound

Chapter 28

My whole body went numb and a ringing sound formed in my ears. The previous flash of anger completely left me, leaving me to feel hollow inside.

As soon as the words had left Zack's lips, I could tell he wanted to take it back. The anger that had been in his eyes entirely vanished and he looked sad as he brought his hand up to touch my cheek.

"Zoe, I didn't-"

I instantly swatted his hand away. "What do you mean? What money?"

He knew there was no going back. He sighed and looked down at the hand that was still resting on my knee. "We don't take kids, we..."

"...You buy them," I finished, my voice sounding disconnected from the rest of myself.

He nodded, still not daring to look up at me.

I didn't know how to feel. The thought of them buying kids made my stomach turn, but what made it worse was the fact that my parents had agreed to the trade. My parents sold me to these monsters. How much money did it take for them to break?

"Zoe, I'm sorry."

I shook my head, willing the tears to not spill from my eyes. I didn't want to believe any of this.

I placed the ice pack onto the bed next to me and then shoved Zack's hand off my knee as I stood up. I could hear him calling out to me, but I ignored him and walked out of the room. Tears started their journey down my cheeks and gratitude filled me as I realized that Zack wasn't following.

I didn't want him to see me crying.

I walked back down the hallway, heading to the direction of the staircase and not quite sure where I was going, when I had to stop in my tracks. My ears just barely picked up a noise. I hastily wiped my tears away from my cheeks as I looked down the hallway to the right, where the sound was coming from.

My eyes wandered back to the direction of the exit ahead of me and then behind before I turned to the sound of the noise and walked quietly down the hallway, the sound growing louder the closer I got.

I was already in trouble... Why not get into a little bit more?

The static sound floated out of a cracked open door and I halted on the other side of it, listening into the conversation that sounded like it was coming through a radio.

"There's quite a few of them here," a familiar, out of breath voice said through the radio.

I could recognise that voice anywhere.

Ace sounded as though he were running, running away from something. My mind spun as I leaned against the wall beside the door, hoping to get a better look into the room, but I was unsuccessful. With a frown, I remained up against the wall, listening to what was going to happen next.

"When was this again?" Joan asked, speaking over Ace's heavy breaths.

"A few hours ago," a man, who I assumed was showing her the recording, replied.

Then all of a sudden, a loud screech came through the radio that made my hair stand up. The sound was most definitely not human.

Gunshots rang out before Ace's pain filled screams came over the radio. My heart sped up and I could feel a cold sweat break out along my skin. Whatever was making him scream like that sounded as though it had its claws in him, ripping his flesh from his body.

Then just as fast as his screams had started, they cut off. One last inhuman shriek came through the radio before the sound of static was all that could be heard. Joan turned the radio off and everything went silent.

I was about to leave and head back down the hall, thinking that was going to be it, when I heard Joan speak up for the final time. I detected disbelief and fear in her shaking voice.

"That's it. They're gone. We're all that's left."