I barely blinked before Rosen lunged and a body instantly crumpled to the ground. Cole hurried up and kicked the body, rolling it over with the toe of his boot.
"He's out," Cole said, starting to rummage through the man's pockets. Rosen grabbed onto my hand tightly and pulled me out from behind the door as Cole handed him a gun.
Thankfully, the guy had been equipped with two guns and a numerous assortment of knives.
I got a knife, but I doubted I would use it. A knife was too intimate.
Rosen didn't let go of my hand as we followed Cole outside of our cell. We entered a long hall made up of the same stone wall, and doors lined it as far as we could make out.
"Let's go right," Cole whispered with a shrug, heading down. Him and Rosen both prowled like animals, while I tried my best to keep my footsteps soundless.
I was so focused on watching my feet that I didn't even notice we had reached the exit door. Until Cole started shooting, than I really noticed. Rosen stepped back, pushing me into the wall behind him as he held up his gun and squeezed off a few shots.
Each shot left a man on the floor, a bullet planted in his skull.
"Don't watch," Rosen gritted out through clenched teeth, pressing me further into the stone. I gripped his T-shirt and squeezed my eyes shut as I hid my face in his back. I prayed for my life, even though I wasn't very religious.
It seemed that I was witnessing more death in the past few days than I had witnessed my entire life. The only funeral I had been to was my last grandmother who died when I was five. I never met any of my other grandparents before they had passed.
There was a beat of silence and I briefly wondered if while I was daydreaming I had gotten shot in the head. But Rosen was tugging on my arm and we were on the move again.
I didn't look at the bodies we stepped over to get to the door.
When we reached an entryway, Cole was frantically trying each set of doors before finding one unlocked. He hurried inside, and we were about to follow until there was a gunshot. I jumped, Rosen backpedaled, and Cole came running out slamming the door behind him.
"Fuck, not that way," Cole said. "Back towards the cells," he ordered, already running back the way we came.
Rosen ran, pulling me along with him the whole time and I had a strange sense of deja vu until I realized that when I first met Rosen we were running just like this.
"Keep going," Rosen urged as we hurtled over the men that we had just killed and skidded past down the hallway. I could barely catch my breath by the time we reached the original point where our cell was. The man Rosen knocked out was still inside, but I saw a pool of dark red blood trickling around him. Maybe he was more than just knocked out.
"Can't breathe," I wheezed as we took a sharp turn. Either they didn't hear me, or they both ignored me as we continued to plow forward.
I almost collapsed when we came upon a staircase, and the boys began running up it. I couldn't keep going like this and I was only slowing them down.
Rosen must have finally realized he was pretty much dragging me up each step.
"Ellie," he said in a frantic tone, turning to look at me. Cole had also stopped but was about ten steps ahead of us.
"I can't keep up. I'm going to throw up," I moaned, holding my empty stomach.
"Can you carry her?" Cole snapped, his head searching for any signs of people following.
"Yes, but not far," Rosen hissed in return. But they didn't argue for much longer as I was ordered to climb onto Rosen's back and we were sprinting up the stairs again. I clung onto his neck for dear life, and kept choking out apologies into his ear.
I felt awful for being such a burden.
When we reached the top, though, we realized we wouldn't be running any longer. There were about fifteen men who all had their guns trained on us.
Rosen gripped my legs tightly, and I only then realized I had left him vulnerable. He couldn't shoot his gun while holding onto me.
The men around us weren't holding handguns like all the members I had seen in the past. All of these guys had assault rifles. The ones you see in blockbuster movies or hear about in terrorist attacks.
We were no match for them.
Before Rosen and I could realize what was happening, I was being ripped off of Rosen's back and into someone else's arms.
I screamed and thrashed in their arms, but they held tight with hands wrapped around my stomach.
"Payback's a bitch," a voice whispered in my ear. A familiar voice.
"Knox," Rosen growled, his arms flexing. He looked ready to crush Knox's skull to pieces.
Knox swept my hair to the side, his fingers lingering on the soft skin on my neck.
"I think I finally know what you see in her Rosen," Knox murmured, and even I could hear the smile in his voice as he said it. Rosen took a step closer, but Knox immediately pressed his hand to my throat and squeezed. I gasped, clawing at his hand to try and pry his fingers from my windpipe. I couldn't breathe.
Just as quick as the choking began, the pressure ceased and I coughed, gagging and heaving in air.
My eyes met Cole who had dropped his gun to the ground, and now had his hands up as he stared down the men with the assault rifles.
I inched my fingers to the pocket of my hoodie, remembering I had stashed the knife in there. Knox and Rosen were too busy having a stare down to notice my movement.
My hand closed around the hilt of the weapon, and as soon as I had a firm grip I swung. Knox saw me coming a second too soon. His hand gripped my wrist, stopping me mid strike.
Still holding onto me, he spun me around and I came face to face with the traitor himself. He smiled. I sneered. But he plucked the knife from my hand and tucked it into the waistband of his jeans.
"Naughty naughty," Knox tsked, shaking his head. His grip on my wrist tightened, and I winced. I was sure that all blood flow had stopped to my hand because of the amount of pressure he was using.
I still had enough saliva left in me to spit at him.
He went livid.
Knox pulled me so close that we were nose to nose. I tried not to shy away, but I was trembling in fear.
"I will enjoy watching you suffer at the hands of the Def," he spat out, his face red. I didn't respond and Knox pushed me away, effectively throwing me to the ground in a heap. I landed at Rosen's feet, and Rosen immediately crouched down and lifted me back up to stand. He pulled me to his chest, trying to shield me away from Knox. I clutched onto his shirt, my heart racing. I was so stupid to anger Knox.
"Enough games," one of the men with the guns spoke up. "The council is waiting."
"The council is here?" Cole said incredulously. Rosen hugged me to him tighter, his fingers digging into my side.
"The council will decide your fate. Including hers," Knox nodded at me. Rosen stood straighter, clearly understanding the threat Knox was insinuating.
"Let's go," someone ordered.
Cole was first to be lead, with Rosen and I following close behind. The men surrounded us on all sides so there was no chance of escape.
Rosen held my hand, and kept me so close to his side that I almost tripped over his feet a few times. We didn't say anything to each other, but I was tempted to. I wanted his reassurance. I doubted I would get any.
We all managed to fit into an elaborate looking elevator, and I watched as the numbers ticked upward all the way to ten. When the doors slid open, I was slightly surprised to see no linoleum or stone flooring. Instead, the floor was a lush purple carpet, and ornate decorations were everywhere.
We were ushered inside what looked almost like some sort of meeting room. There was only one table, and it was set up in a crescent shape that took up a majority of the open space.
There were no windows, but thick red curtains draped across the back wall, highlighting some religious paintings of angels.
Rosen, Cole, and I were deposited and left to stand in front of the table, while the men who had escorted us took up different posts near the doors and walls. They all stood rigid like stone, except for Knox who remained a few short paces off to my right.
He was still throwing a hissy fit from when I spit at him.
"When the council comes in, you go down on your left knee until they tell you otherwise," Rosen informed me, grabbing my shoulders and looking into my eyes. I nodded, hoping I remembered to specifically kneel on my left knee. "And don't speak to them unless you are directly asked a question. They take that as a sign of defiance."
"Eye contact," Cole added in. "Don't look them directly in the eye unless you are talking to one of them. It's disrespectful to do otherwise."
I breathed in, sucking on my lip. This council was deciding whether I would live or to die. Who knows, they may even kill off Rosen and Cole, even though they are supposed to be future council members.
The door opened and immediately Knox went to his knee. The guards remained standing, but Rosen and Cole both kneeled so I followed suit. I wasn't sure what protocol was, but I kept my head bowed, and stared at the floor.
I wanted to reach out and grab Rosen's hand, but figured that probably wouldn't be the best move.
"You may stand," A deep voice bellowed. We all stood.
Looking up, I saw 24 men all sat at the crescent table. They were wearing black robes, almost like something out of Harry Potter. I remembered not to make eye contact, but briefly observed them all. Each man appeared to be young, only in their mid 30s or so. Definitely not the old greying men I had expected.
"Rosen Parker, It seems you just can't obey orders can you," A gruff voice said. The man stood as he talked, and every other council member remained staring straight ahead. Creepy as hell.
"No sir," Rosen replied softly. Only I noticed his fists clenched at his side.
"The consequences this time will be much more severe. Including for your... friend you seemed to have dragged into this."
Rosen looked up, and he stared the man straight down. We all could tell there was anger simmering just below the surface. "I will receive whatever punishment you give to me, but leave the girl out of this. There was a misunderstanding, and she doesn't belong here." he said.
"No matter," the council man simply waved him off. "She knows of us now, and there is no undoing of that. She will also serve her time for the defaecatio."
I bit my tongue to keep from speaking. Rosen had to have felt my unease, or maybe he just needed me, as he grabbed onto my hand and held tight.
The council bore holes into our conjoined hands.
"Rosen, I hope for your sake that you have remained pure," the man sneered. I choked out a cough in surprise, and Rosen seemed to heat up a bright red. "You know that it is only appropriate for Defaecatio members to reproduce with breeders, and not for pleasure."
Breeders? What the hell was that.
Rosen had never mentioned anything about reproduction with the Def, but I think I had a pretty good idea what the council men meant. And if my assumption was correct, I was going to be sick.
"I do not belong with the Defaecatio," Rosen countered, standing up straighter. He squeezed my hand once and I returned the gesture.
"You are apart of us, no matter what your brain may believe. You were born and bred to be a highly trained soldier that will serve the purpose of the Defaecatio. You do not have a choice."
I could tell that was the end of that discussion.
"Now, let's discuss your punishment."
Two chapters in one night... Man I am on a roll! Hope you all enjoyed. Leave your thoughts below and remember to vote :)