Monsters Like Us (Book 1 in The Huntress Series)

Chapter Nine (Part Four)

Sometime after midnight, Esperanza crept down the long corridor, pausing at the stairs and hiding behind the railing. She listened as Henry invited Mrs. Blythe for tea. "You don't even like tea," she pointed out in a stern voice.

"But I do enjoy a good espresso. Please keep me company?"

"Your mother likes that I keep watch."

"Well, Mother isn't here right now, and I won't tell. We can even use the good china."

Esperanza was shocked to hear the woman laugh, like windchimes clattering on a front porch. "Oh, alright. But only because I've missed you so. You do know that you've always been my favorite, and you're your mother's favorite too, no matter what she says."

Henry took her arm and led her away from the marble ballroom, his gaze flickering up to Esperanza. They shared a knowing smile.

Once the coast was clear, she padded silently down the steps, finding her way back to the little alcove behind the stairs and pressing the button to call the elevator. Inside, she pushed Henry's key into the thirteenth lock, listening to the series of clicking noises that followed, the elevator jerking into motion.

When she arrived, she pocketed the key and stepped into the dark corridor. Though, it didn't stay dark for long. As soon as she moved over the threshold, the elaborately designed sconces that lined the walls came to life, lighting Esperanza's way. She moved soundlessly, the corridor seemingly endless, and everything was so quiet, she could hear her heartbeat in her ears. It wasn't long before doubt set in. Should I have trusted him, or have I just made a terrible mistake? Tía always said to trust no one. So, why hadn't she listened to her? Why had she made an exception this time? For all Esperanza knew, she could be walking right into a trap.

But then the corridor ended abruptly, and Esperanza found herself in a lab. The whole room was made of the same grey concrete as Bridger's playroom, the appliances a cold steel. There were Bunsen burners, incubators, microscopes. She went around, opening cabinets, discovering rows of beakers, test tubes, and volumetric flasks.

Esperanza moved into an adjoining room, much like the first and around the same size. Although this room was not a lab, it was a room where dissections were performed. Complete with four steel tables lined up evenly in the center and a whole wall of tools: forceps, scalpel, a bone saw, and various types of scissors.

Esperanza examined one of the tables, an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. She wasn't sure what she was expecting to find. Dried blood splatter, maybe. A severed ear. But no. The tables were spotless. There was not even as much as a fingerprint or smudge.

Backtracking, she returned to the main lab, not wanting to stay in that room any longer, and moved into the next. This room was surprisingly warmer. The floor was carpeted, and a crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling. The furniture in this room was a deep cherry wood and a myriad of mismatched and colorful frames decorated the walls with vintage illustrations of flora and fauna from various regions around the world. Esperanza inspected them closer, wondering if they were originals.

Further down, she discovered samples of poisonous plants, labeled, and stored carefully: nightshade, oleander, belladonna. "What are you doing with these?" she wondered aloud.

Then she turned her attention to the vivarium at the back of the room. Esperanza crouched down to get a better look. Brightly colored frogs were housed inside. They perched onto dried logs and hid behind vibrant orchids. The label read: Dendrobatidae.

Poison dart frogs.

She narrowed her eyes at the glass. "Are you the little guys that attacked me at the lake? You're much prettier than they were..."

She searched the desk—although the search yielded nothing—before returning once more to the lab and exploring further. There was a cryonic chamber, another room with preserved, mutated specimens in jars. Eventually, Esperanza discovered an even bigger room with seats stationed around what looked to be a colossal centrifuge.

Lena was in one of these seats, her arms and legs restrained by leather straps. She was unconscious. "Lena!" Esperanza exclaimed. She checked for a pulse. It was there, but barely. She patted her face. "Lena, can you hear me?" Lena peeled open her eyes, but they rolled back into her skull. "Lena!"

An idea struck Esperanza. She rushed to the sink, cupping cool water into her hands, and brought it to Lena's lips. She drank. Slowly at first, then greedily. Esperanza brought her more.

Lena groaned, gripping handfuls of her greasy hair. Her lips were chapped and white. "My head," she cried. "It's pounding. Please, please. Don't hurt me."

"Lena, it's me. Esperanza."

Lena struggled to focus as Esperanza unbuckled the straps that bound her wrists and ankles. "That's right. I know you. Your name is Esperanza Ortega, and we used to play together as children. Your father was a foreman at the factory that my father worked at, and they were friends, too."

Esperanza nodded. "That's right."

"But then you all went missing, and no one ever knew what happened to you." She coughed and grimaced. Esperanza brought her more water. She drank greedily, then gripped Esperanza's arm. "You have to leave," she said, struggling to speak. Her voice was hoarse, and each syllable seemed to cause her pain. "Or they'll take you too."

"You have to tell me what's going on here," Esperanza insisted. "Are there more of you?"

Lena nodded. "Yes. There were others." Were. Past tense. "From the waitstaff. They held us in this white room with all these torture devices and then later they moved us into these cages...Jail cells...before transferring us here. They've been killing us one by one."

Jail cells. She means the dungeon. The same one Mottie had locked Esperanza in the other night. "Why? Do you know why they killed them?"

"I don't know why, but they aren't human. You have to leave before they come back again. Before it's too late."

Esperanza looked over the ligature marks on Lena's arms and legs. There was no way she was leaving her behind. "I'm not going anywhere without you," she decided, and she didn't intend on changing her mind.

"You have to. I'm too weak. They deprived us of food, water, and sleep. Besides, I think they drugged me with something. I can barely feel my legs."

"I'll carry you. I might not look like much, but I've got the strength of an ox."

Esperanza hauled Lena out of the chair and started for the exit. "Wait," Lena gasped, stopping her. "Those bookshelves over there. The last one. The red book. The third shelf from the top. It opens into a secret room."

Esperanza hesitated. How long did they have before someone came back for Lena? "I don't know..."

"It's okay," Lena assured her. "I know why you're here, and it's not because of Bridger. You're not one of them, and maybe there's something in there you can use against them."

"Or maybe it's a shortcut," Esperanza said. She crossed the room, touched the spine with her fingertips and drew it back. Instantly, the bookcase shifted, slowly swinging ajar to let the girls inside.