Page 15 of Splitting Secrets
“There’s something we don’t know,” Beatrix surmises.
“You don’t even know the half of it,” I agree. Then, since there’s nothing better to do, I tell them every detail of what I saw in the woods.
10
Sonny
The lights flick on again, stunning us into silence as footsteps approach once again.
We only have a few seconds to adjust before the men who brought Ava, Beatrix, and Jonah round the corner with Matilda in their arms. They handle her with a lot less grace, throwing her slim body around like a rag doll. She’s clearly cooperating, so I don't understand why they’re being so aggressive.
I watch in horror as they toss her into the cell across from mine and slam the door without a second thought. My gaze remains glued to them as they disappear back down the corridor. I only dare to speak when every ounce of light has disappeared.
“Matilda?” I question hopefully.
“I’m here.” Her voice is flat.
Relief flows through me, pebbling my skin with goosebumps. “Oh, thank god,” I whisper to myself. “I thought they hurt you.”
“Raze Whitlock will never allow them to hurt me,” she says matter-of-factly.
She sounds nothing like how I imagine an elderly woman would sound after being hauled across campus and thrown into a dark cell.
She’s not winded or flustered. In fact, she almost seems . . . bored.
“You knew they were coming,” I surmise.
She sighs. “There’s not much the Syndicate can do that surprises me these days.”
“How do we get out of here?” Jonah questions, his tone harsh and accusatory.
Does he blameherfor us being here?
“That, I don’t know. They haven’t used these cells in years. There’s no telling what they’ve got up their sleeves, but if they’re bringing him in, I’m sure it’ll be brutal.” I hear her take a couple of steps, and then the sound of something sliding against stone, as if she’s using the wall to sit on the floor.
“Worse than starving and locked in a cell?” Ava asks, panic lacing her tone for the first time since she was brought here.
Uh oh. She’s losing it.
“In complete darkness,” Beatrix adds. “I feel like I’m going to lose my mind by the time they come for us.”
We haven’t figured out how to tell how much time has passed. It’s impossible with no access to natural light. Even if we scored the walls, it would be based on our own guesses of how much time had gone by. Even then, we couldn’t see it.
I open my mouth to ask Matilda what day it is, but Ava isn’t done. “What are we supposed to do about final exams? What will our parents be told when we don’t return home for holiday break? They mentioned a trial for Poppy. Will we be given the same, or are they going to execute us, regardless?” she shoots off questions in rapid-fire, as if finally giving a voice to the terrified thoughts we’ve all been having is allowing it all to settle in.
My chest caves at the use of Poppy’s name.
Not here. Not now.
“You’ve got four other senses. Use them,” Matilda suggests impatiently. “Although, you may want to avoid smelling anything. The piss alone is going to send me into a spiral.”
“We’re doing away with all pleasantries now,” Jonah observes sarcastically. I can tell he’s only saying it to get under her skin.
“Of course we are. I don’t have the answers to these questions. We’re here because the Ellery girl has gotten us all into a world of hurt.” Even through the dark, I can feel her spiteful gaze.
“Me?” I squawk, jabbing a finger in her direction uselessly. “You’rethe one who gave me a vial of fucking poison and then sent me off into the woods to die.”
“If I wanted you dead, you’d be gone a long time ago. You’re so obtuse, I can’t—” she stops herself. “I know it’s not their fault but I don’t owe—” The words are cut off with her irritated growl echoing through the tunnels.
