Page 51 of Omega Scarred

"I sure fucking did," I grin. "She's packed up with the Enclave, and youcan't have her back--"

Winslow's fist collides with my face before I can keep talking, knocking me to the ground. I can feel blood trickling from my nose as I spit out a mouthful of blood, my arms still twisted painfully behind me, searing pain popping all over my skin and in my bones.

"You've done me a personal insult," Winslow sneers, looming over me. "Now, I have no choice but to make an example out of you."

He reaches down, grabbing my hair and pulling my head up. I can feel his hot breath on my face as he leans in, his eyes dark with sadistic pleasure. They're the same brown as Jade's, and it hurts to see this twisted version of her.

"You'll regret crossing me," he whispers, before slamming my head back down on the ground.

I can feel myself slipping back into unconsciousness, my body wracked with pain. Fallon is screaming at him to stop, offering information--anything to get him to juststop--

"Honey, can I talk to you?"

Jade?

He lets me go and I take a shuddering breath as I look up toward the door, seeing a female figure at the threshold. No...not Jade, but she looks a lot like her. They're the spitting image of each other, except that she's got streaks of grey in her hair and deep frown lines.

Jade's mom?

"I'm busy," Matthias hisses. "Can it wait?"

The woman's eyes dart to me, wide and scared. She swallows hard, but she shakes her head.

"No," she whispers. "Security needs your help now. Please?"

"Kathleen--"

"They got a lead on Jade," she blurts out. "Matthias, please hurry."

He sighs, then nods.

"Fine," he says, his voice frosty. "But this had better be worth it."

He leaves the room, and Jade's mom comes inside. She looks down at us, her eyes full of sadness. She's wringing her hands together nervously, and she glances around like she doesn't know where to start.

"I'm...sorry," she says softly. Jade's mom looks at me, her eyes straining to meet mine. "Matthias...he's doing terrible things."

"Should you really be in here?" Fallon asks. "He could be back--"

"I'm getting you out of here," she says quietly. "Now hush."

She quickly unties us, and we scramble to our feet, wincing at the pain shooting through our limbs. Fallon looks at her in gratitude.

"Thank you," he says. "We have to go, now."

She nods, and we follow her through the winding corridors of what I think must be the Winslow compound basement. We pass by other cells, and I can hear the tortured screams of other prisoners. It makes me sick to my stomach, and I force myself to keep moving forward--because I know we have to get out, that there's no time.

We'll hit this place again once we take down the ACB.

One step at a time.

Finally, we make it to a door that leads outside. Jade's mom turns to us, her eyes filled with tears as she takes Fallon's hand.

"Will you give this to her?" she asks.

Fallon frowns, looking down. It looks like a piece of jewelry--a locket.

"Come with us," I tell her. "You have a place with the Enclave."

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