Priory // h.s.

chapter twelve

"Hey Amber?" Reyna taps me on the shoulder. It's getting to be evening, and many of the interns have already clocked out. "I kind of have plans tonight; do you mind finishing cleaning up by yourself?"

"No problem," I assure her. "See you tomorrow."

Flashing me a grateful smile, she unclasps her ponytail and lets her dark hair fall over her shoulders. "Thank you!" she calls one last time, before vanishing out of the lab.

Grabbing a wet-wipe, I quickly run it over the surface of the lab table. Hanging up all the scattered sets of spare goggles and putting the test tubes back on their racks, I stand back and wipe my hands on a paper towel. At least the clean-up is done for; I can finally head back upstairs and curl up on the couch for a movie marathon or something. Maybe Jillian and I can order pizza--that is, unless she has plans with Kenneth.

As I leave the lab and make my way through the halls towards the elevator, I hear a pair of hushed voices coming from nearby. 

Out of some unknown instinct, I press myself into the wall and duck behind a corner, peeking around the side.

It's Maura and Damon Reeves. 

Their heads are bent, and Damon is scrolling through his phone with his thumb. I strain to make out their words, but they're walking away from me, and their voices are growing steadily softer.

Damon turns his head closer to me, and for a split second I can make out his words.

"... Project Invect is under way. Tomorrow..."

I never find out what tomorrow is, though. As soon as I hear the words "Project Invect", I let out an involuntary gasp. Both Damon and Maura whirl around, and I yank my head back so quickly that it slams against the wall.

"Who was that?" Maura's shrill voice rings behind me as I race madly down the hallway.

All but hurling myself into the elevator, I slam on the buttons repeatedly until the doors close. It's only once the lift is whirring upwards that I finally let myself breathe.

Shit. That was close.

But my curiosity is killing me. Maura knows about Project Invect. How many others are in on it? What does it entail? And what the heck does it have to do with all the files on snakes and lizards we found in the Lab 3 folder?

The more I ponder, the more confused I become.

The elevator reaches the Dorms floor, and the doors slide open. Stepping out, I pause in the foyer of the topmost floor, where the hallway divides into the 'Men's Dorms' and 'Women's Dorms' partitions. Obviously, I'm quite aware that as a member of the female group, I should head for the latter--but it's the sound of yelling coming from the Men's Dorms that stops me.

Besides, a few girls are heading there anyway, eyes wide as they approach the place where the sounds of fighting are coming from. Quickly deciding that discovering what's going on is more important than my dignity, I duck into the Men's Dorms section and hurry down the hallway.

It doesn't take long to locate the fight; it is clearly marked by a ring of onlookers. Some are covering their eyes with their hands, others are shouting encouragement to the two guys in the middle of the circle.

Pushing my way through the bystanders, I get myself to a position where I can see the actual contenders.

My gaze falls on a shock of golden hair, and then a mop of unruly brown curls. 

Of course.

Cade Holton and Harry Styles.

And wow, do they look angry with each other.