The racket—thumpthumpthumpthumpthumpthumpthumpthumpthumpthump—follows us down the hall, gradually fading as we pass the monitoring station. Timmons is there. Lucas breaks out of his sulk long enough to give him a wassup, then we keep going, passing my room on the right.
We eventually reach a door marked AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY. There’s another sign below that reads NOT AN EXIT. Cregg pulls up a token of some sort on his phone and waves it in front of the security panel.
Ahead is an even darker hallway. It narrows and dips downward as we go, almost like a tunnel. Lights are farther apart than before and we cast long shadows as we walk. It’s colder too, and there’s no sound aside from our footsteps on the concrete floor.
Under normal circumstances, this place would probably feel creepy, but I seriously doubt anything worse than these two will spring out of the darkness.
About a hundred yards later, the hall widens and we begin the slight ascent to a well-lit area ahead. I hear a faint hum. Maybe a heating unit? It’s definitely warmer here.
Another monitoring station, identical to the one at the testing rooms, sits unattended at the intersection of two hallways. Beyond it are two large rooms encased in cement block at the bottom and a clear material at the top. It distorts the view slightly, so I think it’s plexiglass or something other than plain glass. The unit on the right is dark, except for a small overhead light at the back of the room. I see machinery of some sort in one corner and what appears to be a smaller, clear unit in the very back of the room.
The lights are on in the room on the left. But black curtains block most of my view, letting only a few narrow ribbons of light shine through.
We turn into the left corridor, which ends at a door a few yards down. Cregg waves his arm at the security panel and we enter a second hallway. The glass or plexiglass reaches from ceiling to floor on the right-hand side, but again, a black curtain hides whatever is in the room. I’m guessing they pull the curtain at some point, however, because two rows of chairs are lined up on the other side of the hallway, sort of like a home theater setup. Just beyond the chairs is another doorway, leading into what looks like an office break room, with a sofa and fridge.
I stay on alert for the popping sensation of Dacia’s probe, and also for the humming sound that Molly remembers before Cregg took control of her body. Could I block him the way I did with Dacia? I don’t know.
For now, I sense nothing out of the ordinary. Even so, every bit of intuition tells me to stay out of that room.
When Lucas opens the door, however, I immediately change my mind.
Deo’s in there, sitting in the middle of the room with two other people—a girl about my age and a man. There may be someone else, but Lucas’s shoulders are blocking my view. I recognize the man instantly. He’s the older guy from the cafeteria, the one with the gray dreads who was writing mental graffiti on the table. The girl also looks vaguely familiar. She was probably at one of the other tables. It’s hard to be certain because her head is tipped back, almost like she’s napping.
I move to follow Lucas into the room, but Cregg puts his arm out to restrain me.
“Perhaps you should wait here with me. Lucas has something to attend to. It will only take a few moments . . . but you would probably find it unpleasant to watch.”
I push away from him, but the door clicks shut before I can reach it.
“What are you doing? I said that I would cooperate and I will. Just—”
The sound is muted, making me even more certain that this wall is something other than glass. But there’s no mistaking the fact that the booming noise was a gunshot. Followed by a second boom. And a third.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
“No!” My knees give way and hit the concrete floor so hard that I bite my tongue.
Cregg’s jaw tightens. “I was under the impression that Lucas’s gun was equipped with a silencer, but apparently not. You’ve jumped to the wrong conclusion, Anna. Deo is fine.”
It takes several seconds for the words to reach my brain. When they do, a flood of relief washes over me, followed immediately by white-hot rage at the way we’re being manipulated. But I swallow the words I want to shout at him. Assuming Cregg isn’t lying and Deo is actually okay, I can’t afford to lose my temper.
If Cregg can tell I’m angry, he doesn’t react. He simply steps forward and pushes a button on the security panel.
“Place a cover over the bodies before you open the door, Lucas. I’d like to avoid anything else that might undermine the testing.”
I fight down a gag, either from the taste of blood in my mouth or Cregg’s words or both. And I was out here. Deo was in there when Lucas began firing, right next to those people who are now just bodies. Probably thinking he was next.
Cregg reaches a hand down to pull me to my feet, but I ignore the offer and make my way to one of the chairs on my own. As much as I want to avoid angering him, I can’t make myself touch him.