Page 109 of Caged
Guilt eats away at my mind for roping my best friend into this bullshit. She has no idea how suicidal this mission is because she thankfully has not had to experience the horrors happening inside Sigma. Kieren is lawless and out for blood. My blood. I’m sure he looked for me this summer. My step-cousins were convinced they saw him in his black BMW driving around Jackson Heights, but this alleged sighting happened at three p.m. on a Tuesday and I had assumed he would spend the summer in Connecticut working for his father’s firm. They begged me to let them take care of Kieren, but he's my mess to clean up. To paraphrase the words that my dear, piece of shit ex-boyfriend said to the freak show they call X, if he's going to die,I get to spill his blood.
Not that I actually plan on killing him, but lord knows I’ve thought about it. I’ll admit, breaking into his room through the same window I used to escape and slitting his throat in the middle of the night is tempting, but then I would be the villain, and I refuse to become the bad guy in this story. Besides, I have bigger plans for Kieren, and I think it’s time he has a taste of his own medicine.
I should be more forthcoming with Gabi about said plans. I should tell her the full scope of the revenge scheme I’ve been plotting for months, especially since I suspect her true underlying motives have nothing to do with making Kieren pay and everything to do with making Jace suffer. She didn’t ask if I saw Jace participating in the orgy part of the Full Moon Ceremonies, but I know it was at the forefront of her mind. Truthfully, I don’t remember seeing Jace indulge. He was always standing against a wall, observing and monitoring the night to make sure nothing got out of hand, like breath play gone wrong for example. Maybe I should have told her as much. But my hardened heart is a more selfish, vengeful version of who I once was, and I don’t think I’ll ever make my way back to the girl I was before Kieren trapped me in his literal and figurative cage.
It hurts to dwell on the past, so I don’t. I need to maintain my laser-like focus on the tasks ahead. Today’s setting sun will mark nine days until the next Full Moon Ceremony, and I can’t risk my emotions getting the best of me. The taking of innocent lives ends now – innocent being the key differentiator. Perhaps I’m just as soulless as Kieren, which I hate to admit at this juncture in my life is fine by me. I always knew we’d end up in hell together.
Gabi is one of the strongest people I know, but even the strongest can be broken. The success of my plan requires awoman on the inside, something that can only happen if Gabi is captured. Kieren won’t harm Gabi himself, but he’ll take sick satisfaction in making Jace do it. If Jace is still the man I think he is, he’ll crack, which Gabi knows she can wield to her advantage. I was foolish to think maybe I could scrap my grand plans and infiltrate Sigma myself. The target on my back is too large, which, as initially suspected, is why I need to remove myself from the equation.
This is the part I can’t share with Gabi. She might never speak to me again after all this is over, but maybe one day she’ll understand why I needed her to believe I was gone. It’s the fucked up fuel she’ll need to survive when they try to make her break.
We have nine days. Nine days for Gabi to overcome all odds and confiscate the evidence we need. Nine days as a phantom to become the final nail in Kieren’s coffin. Nine days to stop Sigma, at least on this campus.
Nine days to enact justice, assuming neither of us gets killed in the process.
51
GABI
Present Day
Iopen the front door to our apartment as quietly as the old hinges will allow, hoping my friends are out and therefore not home to grill me with questions. But alas, Ele is perched on the couch like a judge presiding over her court of textbooks and notepads when I shut the door behind me.
“Hey,” she calls from the living room area. “I texted you, but you didn’t respond. I was at the library but couldn’t find you.”
“Oh, sorry,” I offer. “I didn’t realize I had zero reception until I left.”
“It’s okay. Everything alright? You look troubled.”
Troubled would be an understatement.
I double down on my anxious, stress-riddled expression and avert my eyes, chewing on my bottom lip for good measure. “I got a call from my mom when I was walking home. She took my dad to the hospital this afternoon because he was complaining about chest pain, and we decided I should come home for a few days to be there for support.”
Seriously, how the fuck do I come up with these lies? I’m starting to scare myself at how second-nature my storytelling abilities have become.
“Oh my God, Gabi, I’m so sorry!” Ele says, standing from her spot on the couch. “I’m really sorry,” she says again, now embracing me with a hug. I hug her back, squeezing her into me like I might never see her again because it seems that is a likely scenario.
As Monroe explained her plan today, the nervous knot in my stomach grew until it had the weight of a brick. Despite claiming otherwise, I know she’s going to kill Kieren and destroy everything in her path. I’m not a fool. This revenge plan doesn’t end with the two of us riding off into the sunset with Kieren’s ring and computer, ready to air Sigma’s dirty laundry to the world. I’m not even convinced that Kieren is the head of the snake. Because while I’m certain Kieren would have no qualms about bringing back the tradition of Sigma Little Sisters, he’s not mastermind or evil enough to toss murder into the mix for his own sick pleasure. No, it has something to do with the alumni who wear the black-horned satanic masks; I’m sure of it.
My gut tells me there is more to Monroe’s story, and I aim to make her tell me over the next few days. I figure once the blood starts flowing, literally, she’ll be more inclined to open up. Something tells me Monroe knows where the answers are hidden, and access to Kieren’s Sigma ring and emails are only the first of many steps to uncovering something much bigger and more sinister than we can even imagine.
“Thanks Ele,” I say, releasing her from my grip. “I’m headed out tomorrow morning, so if I don’t see you or Viv before I leave, I’ll be in touch over text.”
“Okay, please do,” Ele insists. “If there is anything we can do to help, don’t hesitate to let us know. We want to be there for you.”
I give her a weary smile and head back to my room to pack an overnight bag. Once the revenge shenanigans begin, I don’t think it will be safe to stay at my apartment, so I’ll stay in whatever rundown hotel Monroe has picked as home base.
I still can’t decide if I’m okay with the inevitable carnage that’s about to happen. Barrett and Harrison are justifiable collateral damage. Both are horrible humans and deserve the worst – Barrett for what he put Kasey through and Harrison for holding Monroe down while Kieren shoved pills down her throat. Goddamn, the guilt I feel for leaving Monroe to fend for herself last semester eats me alive. Of course, Jace deserves to go down with the rest of them for having no balls whatsoever and for being the worst fucking person in the history of this planet.
Kieren deserves to die, and I don’t know why Monroe won’t just kill him. Fucking kill him! Fuck all this plotting and hoping the system works in your favor to expose the bad guys. Spoiler alert, it won’t! Climb in through his window and slit the fucker’s throat. That would make taking his ring and computer a thousand times easier.Ugh,I hope I can convince Monroe to see the error in her ways.
My stomach growls from lack of real food, maybe I can persuade Ele to walk with me to get a sandwich from the corner bagel store before they close. Fucking up men who have at least a hundred pounds on me will take strength. Now that I think of it, I should get a bunch of bagels to-go. Monroe can keep her diet of beef jerky and trail mix, I need real sustenance, because if I’m going to stab someone tomorrow, each strike needs to count.
52
MONROE
Present Day
