Superior

Chapter 27

I scoffed at that, but quickly sobered. "Yeah, right," I murmured sardonically. I'd seen that sadistic gleam in Miracle's eyes; there was no way that we'd get off so easily. Not after we'd defiled her precious government so thoroughly.

"It's getting hard to be positive, isn't it?" Trai asked, sighing.

I nodded. I had been trying, for both of our sakes, to keep cynicism out of my thoughts, but that was becoming increasingly difficult.

"It's okay. Everything will be fine." It sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than me.

"Yeah. Everything will be fine," I echoed dismally. "Of course it will."

Just then, the same scratchy voice of the guard growled, "All right, lights out! If I hear a word out of any of you before morning, you'll sure as hell regret it!"

Trai and I glanced at each other swiftly—then we were plunged into darkness.

Caleb

They came for me late in the night. I was lying on my cot, drifting in and out of a restless sleep, when an icy hand slapped over my mouth and dragged me onto the floor. I squirmed as my back hit metal, but my assailant was surprisingly strong and easily able to pull me across the room.

I heard the faint swish of a door sliding open, then I was slung forward. I hit the ground hard and lay there, gasping, as my breath slowly returned. In the slanted shadows of the room, I saw a masculine figure hulking above me, his face invisible. Pressing my hands into the cold floor, I stared at the faint outlines of the walls, trying to borrow their solidity.

It felt like they were closing in on me.

"Well, don't just sit there," the man barked. "Get up. Mira wants to see you." If anything, that statement made me freeze up even more. Seeing Miracle was the last thing I wanted to do. I'd never admit it to anyone, but I was genuinely afraid of her.

"Do I have to?" I asked, hoping he'd have some sympathy and leave me alone.

"If you want to stay alive another day, then yes, I'd say you do," he said bluntly. Sighing, I picked myself up off the ground and followed him through the darkness, my steps like lead. Briefly, I wondered where we were; my cell had been at the very end of the block, and I was pretty sure we hadn't gone into the room next to mine, which was Trai's.

The man walked briskly, seeming to have no problem with the lack of light. As my eyes adjusted, I realized that we were going through a series of hallways that wound in a dizzying path. We kept moving until, all of a sudden, the man came to a complete halt. I barely stopped in time to keep from running into him.

He touched the solid wall in front of him and it slid away, revealing a dimly lit room whose only furniture was a desk with a chair on either side of it. Already, one was taken, and there was no mistaking the figure who occupied the seat.